The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 10, 1898, Page 1

# VOLUME LXXXIV.—NQ ' the This Paper not to be taken from Library.++++ =3 10 SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, JUNE 10 PRICE FIVE CE NTS. INSURGENTS SAW CERVERA' FLEET IN SANTIAGO HARBOR A UNCLE SAM: “NOW I KNOW I'VE GOT ’EM.” PAYS A BEAUTIFUL O000020Q0C0O0D0000000O0O00 OFF SANTIAGO, June 8, via Mole St. N pl the wi of m TRIBUTE TO HOBSON ON BOARD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DISPATCH /BOAT DAUNTLESS, OFF SANTIAGO DE CUBA, June 5 (via Kingston, iica, June 6).—Commodore Schley paid a beautiful tribute to the or of Lieutenant Hobson and the gallant crew of the collier Merrimac as he sat on the afterdeck of the flagship Brooklyn, lying five miles o de Cuba, on Sunday afternoon, talking with a correspon- off Santia dent of the Associated Press. Pointing toward the gray walls of Morro stle, where Lieutenant Hobson and his brave men were said to be arcerated, the commodore spoke as follows: ‘History does not recite an act of finer heroism than that of the gallant men who are prisoners over there. I watched the Merrimac as she made her way to the entrance to the harbor, and my heart sank as I saw the perfect hell of fire that fell upor those devoted men. I did not think at one of them could have gone through it alive. They went into t} It was Balaklava over again, without the i e which the Light Brigade had. Hobson led a forlorn he power to cut his way out. But fortune favored the ve the recognition and promotion he de- longas the heroes of the world are remem- it was possible th jaws of death. , without t nd I hope he will h His name will live 2 bered.” WITH THE BLOCKADING FLEET, the exchange of Naval icholas, June 9.—Lieutenant Hobson d his heroic companions in the ex- oit of sinking the collier Merrimac at rance to the harbor of Santiago not be exchanged for some time. To-day Admiral Cervera sent a flag truce to Admiral Sampson with a ze that the prisoners were in the s of the military authorities and their case had been referred by | unable to move in the, matter. es; formation from Rear Admiral Samp- | son in regard to his negotiations for Constructor | Hobson and the remaining heroes of | the Merrimac. Not knowing the basis upon which the Spanish will agree to | | make the exchange the authorities are | It is| | appreciated that Rear Admiral Samp- | son is doing everything in his power to | expedite the negotiations and Repre- | sentative Pearson, a relative of Hobson, was informed to-day that an exchange would be made with all possible dis- the military Governor of Santiago to Governor General Blanco. The plan of exchange submitted by Admiral Samp- son to Admiral Cevera is thus tempo- rarily frustrated. NEW YORK, June 9.—A Washing- ton special to the Herald says: Anx- Jouslx the suthorities are waiting in- | This is provided by law. | patch, though, of course, the Sp:..ish | authorities are rather prone to “ma- | nana” in all matters. Notwithstanding the confinement of Hobson and men under his command they will recetve their full pay as if on active duty. 000C00000000000000000 FALL OF SANTIAGO IMMINENT Call Office, Riggs House, ‘Washington, June 9. The war situation to-night may be thus briefly summarized: Fifteen thou- sand regulars and ten thousand volun- teers under tle command of General Shafter are en route for Santiago, where they are expected to arrive on Sunday night. General Blanco is now totally isolated from the world; the last cable has been cut and the cable ends are attached to buoys. In a day or two the United States ship Mayflower will have been converted Into a floating cable station, and daily reports from Sampson &nd Shafter may be expected. The Porto Rico expedition 18 expected to safl from Fernandino, Florida, with- in ten days or two weeks. Either Gen- eral Coppinger or Fitzhugh Lee will lead the expedition, and will be made military Governor. The report from San Francisco that the Charleston, instead of proceeding to Manila to Dewey's ald, will stop at the Ladrones and take possession of those islands is not true. The Charles- ton will not rest until she reaches Ma- nila, for she carries ammunition which Admiral Dewey needs as soon as it can reach him. 5 The military successes of Aguinaldo, chief of the insurgents, are encourag- ing, and the administration is hopeful that Manila may be taken before our troops arrive. There is some fear, how- ever, that the insurgents, fired by their success and in the absence of American troops may commit excesses which may place this Government in an embar- rassing situation before the great pow- ers of Europe. For this reason, if for no other, the Charleston, Monterey, Monadnock and Bennington. as well as the troopships, will be hurried to Manila. After Manila is taken will be time enough to think of capturing the Ladrones or the Carolines, say the officlals. Stories of the appearance of myster- ious warships in Cuban waters floated through the Navy Department during the day. The officers quickly con- demned them, declaring thkat if the boats were Spanish they were nothing more than some unarmed launches, and not to be feared by any number of transports convoyed by such fine gun- boats as the Helena and Bancroft. But when these stories reached the War Department they were received with a different spirit. Nothing is more helpless in warfare than an unarmed transport full of soldiers. She would fall an easy victim to the smallest gun- boat, and the soldiers, knowing their therein. the harbor. be sustained on this. SCHLEY ARRANGED TO SECURE THIS [INFORMATION Commodore, Complete List and Location of the Spanish Warships Furnished to the American OFF SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Saturday, June 4 (via Kingston, Jamaica, Monday, June 6, 9 a. m.).—After driving the Spanish fleet at Santiago de Cuba into a more protected position in the harbor by the bombardment of Tuesday, May 31, Commodore Schley opened communication with the insurgents eighteen miles from Santiago, to the east. | They were urged to obtain, if possible, the names and numbers of the vessels of the fleet in- side the harbor, as the contour of the land at the entrance made it impossible to accurately deter- mine by a view from the American fleet just how many vessels of the Spanish squadrc;n were On Friday afternoon Lieutenant Sharp of the Vixen went to the place of rendezvous and received from the insurgents a map of the harbor, showing the entire Cape Verde fleet, with the exception of the destroyer Terror, inside and close up to the city under the protection of the guns mounted on Blanco battery, at the northern extremity of The ships there, according to this chart, are the Cristobal Colon, the Viscaya, the Almirante Oquendo, the Maria Teresa and the Reina . Mercedes, all cruisers of the first class and heavily armored, together with three torpedo-boats. The definiteness of this information naturally gave Commodore Schley great satisfaction. With Admiral Sampson’s arrival on Wednesday, June 1, the blockade was much strength- ened and the plans to starve the city, its troops and the enemy’s fleet were pushed vigorously. Just how long Santiago can stand besieging is a matter of conjecture. the city is unproductive and mountainous, and the insurgent camps are so close that there is little or no communication between the city and its environs. The railway service is not carried to a distance much beyond ten miles from the town. Since Sunday last, May 29, when Cervera's squadron was penned up by the flying squad- ron under Commodore Schley, nothing has gone in, and the auxiliary cruiser St. Paul captured about 4000 tons of coal consigned to the port. It is thoroughly believed that only a short time will be needed to bring Santiago to a starva- tion basis. Naturally the fleet has a supply, perhaps for two months, but the Spanish soldiery cannot The country about An important fact was learned to-day from the insurgents on shore, with whom communi- cation has been opened up. There are not 20,000 soldiers, as has been stated, in this part of the province of Santiago de Cuba, but only about 6000. Even these are badly fed and much disheart- ened. weakness in this respect, are loth to undertake to cross the Florida Straits until ,these disagreeable visitors have been removed from the pathway. ‘Without respect to the character of the strange craft that are sald to be dodging the blockaders at Havana they will be removed from the scene of ac- tion in short notice, as it is understood that Sampson has been acquainted with the situation and will be expected to redeem his promise to provide safe con- duct to the army when called upon. He has an ample force to conduct the operations at Santlago to a successful {ssue and still spare vessels of any power desirable for use in the Florida straits. It was pointed out to-day by & naval officer that the admiral, since the ar- rival of the marine battalion on the Panther, has at his disposal what he may regard as a sufficient force of men to capture Santiago, even before the troops arrive. The 800 marines on the Panther, added to the marines pre- viously with the fleet, would make a total of about 1500 men. Without im- pairing the efficiency of his ships Ad- miral Sampson could spare 1000 blue- jackets for a landing party, and, with this total force of 1500, if the insurgents, who have been armed by the United States Government, do their share, it geems possible for Sampson to capture Santiago at short notice. There seems to be a very decided air of expectation this afternoon among the officlals who are acquainted with the Government’s plans in the cam- paign that almost warranted a conclu- sion that an engagement of some kind was expected to-day. FIRST EXPEDITION A FORCE OF REGULARS Army of Twenty Thousand Men De- parts From Tampa for the In- vasion of Cuba. NEW YORK, June 9.—A Jackson- ville special to the Herald says: Major General Shafter and an army of 20,000 men started yesterday for the invasion of Cuba in the vicinity of Santiago. The loading of the transports and the em- barkation of troops was practically completed Tuesday at Tampa, and everything was in readiness when the order was given to move out of the R R R e e R R ! CURIOUS PICTURES + o OF SPANISH WARFARE + + + + e Two curious pictures of war were presented yesterday. In the afternoon the .-oanish chief of staff was sitting amicably in Ad- miral Sampson’s cabin and say- ing, over a glass of wine, “You know there is nothing personal in this,” and a few hours later his torpedo boat comes out of Santi- ago harbor and tries to blow the Admiral and his ship out of the water.—Cablegram from Kingston, Jamaica, in reference to an attempted night attack by Spanish torpedo- boats on the American fleet on June 3. D o R R R e o R harbor yesterday. With the gunboats Helena, Castine and Annapolis as con- voys and the Hornet acting as a rear guard, the transports crowded with troops, who were aroused to the high- est enthusiasm because they were at last starting for a point of actual war- tare, the fleet sailed out of the harbor amid the applause of hundreds who lined the shore. The vessels were formed In three squadrons, each vessel sailing 1000 yards astern of the one ahead. These squadrons sailed abreast, a gunboat leading each one. The sailing speed was limited to eight knots an hour. From Tampa the big fleet of transports proceeded to Key West by way of Re- besco Shoals. From Key West the troops will be convoyed to the point of invasion by fighting ships, which will be strong enough to protect them from any attack. ""he route beyond Key ‘West cannot, ® course, be given, but there is no doubt the troops will be safely landed early next week at a point that had been settled upon. I have been unable to give the exact details as to the troops which started for Cuba. It is known, however, that they were selected by, General Shafter from troops that have lately been en- + + + + + + R S S O O R R P P Y P S + + ..+ | camped at Tampa. The greater part of the troops selected for the first inva- | sion are known to be regulars. The | troops of the regular army that have | been in camp at Tampa include the | First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, | Seventh, Eighth, nth, Tenth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, ~Sixteenth, Seventeenth, | Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-first, | Twenty-second, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Regiments of Infantry. | There were twenty-seven regiments of cavalry, including the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth. There were also ten light and foun heavy batteries of regular artillery. The volunteer forces at Tampa in cluded the Thirty-second Michigan, Third and Fourth Ohio. the First Dig< trict of Columbia, Second New York, Fifth Maryland, First Ohio, One Hun= dred and Fifty-seventh Indiana, Third Pennsylvania, First United States Vol~ | unteer Cavalry, First Illinois, Sixty- i ninth New York, First Florida, and | Second Georgia. i The transports In which the troops | salled have all been given numbers. The | number s painted in white figures four | feet long on the bow. The number is | also painted on the smokestack of I each vessel. | SANTIAGO REPORTED TAKEN BY AMERICANS | Improbable Story Brought to Cape | Haytien by a Schooner From Turk’s Island. ‘ Copyrighted, 1895, by the Associated Press. CAPE HAYTIEN, Hayti, June 9.— (8:40 a. m.)—A man who arrived here | to-day In a schooner from Turk’s Is- | land, one of the Bahamas, and about 110 miles north of Hayti, says it was re- | ported there on Tuesday that Santiago de Cuba had been taken by the Ameri- | cans. Cable communication between | Cape Haytien and Cuba is still inter- | rupted. At L _ Spanish Spies Expelled. MONTREAL, June 9.—Word has been received here from Ottawa that a mes- senger has left there with the notice of | expulsion from Canada of Lieutenant Carranza and Senor Dubose, recently attached to the Spanish Legation at, ‘Washington £