The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-02-08
ON LAST lap OF
WORLD CRUISE
American Battleship Fleet
Leaves Gibraltar.
REACH HOME ON FEB. Y

Arrival at Hampton Roads Will End
Trip of $4,000 Miles, During Which
No Mishap Has Occurred to Any Of
the Sixteen Monster Vessels Com
prising the Fteet-GIorious Weather
Marks Departure From Last Port.
Gibraltar, Feb. 8.-With the bands
on board playing Home, Sweet
Home" the fleet of sixteen battleships
under Rear Admiral sperry left Glib
raltar for Hampton Roads on the last
lap of its famous around the world
cruise of $4,000 miles.
The vessels will follow the south
ern route to Hampton Roads, a dis
lance of $500 miles, and about thou
sand miles off the American coast
they will be met and escorted home
by the Third squadron of the Atlantic
feet under Rear Admiral Arnold.
The weather conditions at the time
Of departure were glorious. The sky
was without q cloud and there was
just enough breeze to curl the crests
of the sun flooded waves. Nothing
could have surpassed the beauty of
the marine picture as the American
armada weighed anchor from the
shadows of the towering rock of Glib
raltar and moved out into the straits.
The difficult operation of getting the
sixteen huge battleships out of the
narrow war basin of the port and I'M
der way was accomplished with a skill
and perfection of maneuvering and
detail which won the admiration of all
the foreign naval officers who wit
messed the proceedings critically from
land and sea.
For a distance of about twelve
miles the fleet stood to the south.
Then being clear of the most south
erly point of land and with nothing
but the broad Atlantic between them
and home the flagship headed abrupt
ly to the westward and in Indian file
the splendid feet left the ancient pill
lars of Hercules behind and steamed
through the straits and out to sea.
Trip Began on Dec. IS, 1907.
The fleet, composed Of sixteen war
ships, is now on the last run of it's
famous cruise around the world. It
left Hampton Roads Dec. 16, 1907,
and when it again anchors in that
port Feb. % it will have been gone
one year and sixty-eight days. No
accident has marked the progress of
the greatest armed fleet that ever
made such q long voyage. The cruise
has been in every respect an unquali-
fed success.
The trip has been watched with the
greatest interest by all foreign pow
ers and wherever the vessels called
South America, Australia, Japan,
China, Ceylon, Egypt and the ports of
the Mediterranean-the officers and
men have been given hearty official
and private welcome.
The fleet left Hampton Roads un-
der Admiral Robley D. Evans, who
conducted 1t as far as San Francisco.
Rear Admiral Charles M. Thomas
then took command, but he was sue
ceeded May Is by Rear Admiral
Sperry, who brought the vessels home.
Rear Admiral Arnold's Third squad
ron Of the Atlantic fleet, consisting of
the battleships Maine, Mississippi,
New Hampshire and Idaho and the
scout cruisers Chester, Birmingham
and Salem, will meet Admiral Sperry's
feet in the Atlantic about thousand
miles from the coast and then, with
Admiral Arnold's ships as an escort,
the world touring vessels will proceed
towards Hampton Roads, where they
will be received BY President Roose-
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