Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-15
BATTLESHIPSARE
AWF-INSPIRING
CALM DIGNITY OF ARMADA
IMPOSING
MAGNIFICENT NAVAL SPECTACLE
SEEN BY THOUSANDS
Ancient Vessels of Early Explorers
Seem as Pleasure Craft When
Compared with Fight
Ing Ships

Special to The Herald.
SAN DIEGO, April 14.-Wlth a calm
dignity that was awe-inspiring the six
rode slowly into the bay of San Diego
de Alcala at noon today, and true to
the promise of Admiral Thomas,
dropped it's anchors before l o'clock.
The shades of Cabrillo and Viscaino
may have seen the approach. II they
did they must have cherished chagrin
that when their fleets entered the bay
hundreds Of years ago they were but
as the pleasure craft that filled the
bay today. The caravels Of the two
mariners that Spain sent to find India,
with their rounded bows and their high
sterns and square sails must have
seemed somewhat smaller than the
steam yacht Of Fred Dorr as it circled
the battlesh- p Connecticut with merry
party singing national airs. Certainly
in comparison with the State of Cali
fornia, as she rounded the fleet and the
flagship of Admiral Thomas, listing
with the weight Of the hundreds OF
passengers as the.- shifted from side to
side, seemed mountainous beside the
ships of Spain.
But whit those poor shades have
thought of the comparison between
India, but which found the first land
ing place of Europeans on the Pacific
shore, and the sixteen shimmering ma
chimes of gigantic build that steamed
out of the hazy mid-morning light into
the horizon of the bay and that grew
and grew until they took their place
on the landscape along with the noun
tains of the islands and the great index
finger of Point Iona, as 1t seems TO
indicate the place of anchorage. Be
hind the great fleet as 1t rested in the
afternoon sun lay the irregular con-
tours of the Coronado island. They had
been the silent witnesses of the cara
wells of Cabrillo and Viscalno. They
saw Cabrillo's little squadron as 1t
sailed into the bay fifty years after
Columbus had discovered America
with the shore lined with tens of
thousands, the bay full of sail boats,
launches, tugs and passenger steamers
the entrance of the fleet was a spec
tacle. First in the misty morning lgnt
the smoke assuming, like Hamlet
cloud, an ever changing shape, and
which seemed at times to be spelling
strange words as it trailed along the
horizon, told that 1t was nearing the
entrance. Between the islands and the
south point the smoke first appeared
dubiously. then a little more certainly,
ana nnally llS scope pecdlHo SuCll tiielI
there was no doubt as to the Identity
of the fleet For an hour this smoke
remained the only witness of the fleets
presence. although the wireless station
at Point Iona was talking with the
Connecticut. Slowly the smoke mag
nifled and presently the glasses re-
the four objects seem l to separate as
was that four battleships were leading.
But soon this proved to be wrong, for
the folr objects seemed to separate as
they approached until each one be-
came four objects, and as they grew
more distinct the whole fleet of sixteen
battleships could be seen with the
naked eye. They appeared on the hori-
zon first like specks, then growing and
growing and revealing it seemed at
every minute new details of outline
until they suddenly burst with their
white hulls and yellow tops clear into
view.