The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 1, 1898, Page 1

| Thus rape V- to be taken from the Librar y_QQOQ - The Call VOLUME LXXXIV.—NO. 31. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1898. ROUGH RIDERS DYNAMITE GUN 10 BATTER SANTIAGO'S DEFENSES s ORDERED 10 LEAVE PORT SAID So Camara Must Soon| Start Through the Suez Canal. Commodore Watson Will Be Sent to Pursue and De- | stroy the Spanish Fleet. S ©] Epecial cable to | Call and the New York 535, by James Gor- PORT SAID, June 30.—The steamer Isla de Luzon, laden with coal, has joined Admiral Ca- mara’s fleet in this harbor. The| San Ignacio de Loyola, also la- | > | The Big Spanish Liner Antonio Lopez, Ashore Near San Juan, Porto R came a Target for the Auxiliary Cruisers St. Louis and St. Paul. ish Gunboats Take a Hand With But Little Effect. PRICE FIVE "V g aa ico, Be- Two Span- — FORCED A BLOCKADE RUNNER TO RUN ASHORE MADRID, June 30—2 P. M.—The Governor General of Porto Rico cables that the cargo of | States auxiliary cruisers St. Paul and St. Louis, which prevented her landing her cargo at San Juan. provisions and material have been landed from the Spanish steamer Antonio Lopez, which was run ashore at Salinas, near the entrance of the harbor of San Juan de Porto Rico, to escape the United | were unable to prevent her from landing her cargo. NEAR SAN JUAN He states that the Spanish gunboats Concha and Isabella after fighting the American cruseris several hours repuised them, but that they afterward returned, and for some time fired at the Lopez, but den with coal for the Spanish | squadron, arrived at this port to- | day. The warships have heen| coaling from their own colliers | with their own crews, but the| Egyptian Government has now | for lden further traosshipment of coal in this habor. So far only | the torpedo-boat destroyers have been supplied with coal from transports. The Governor of| Port Said has also received in- structions from Cairo to request Admiral Camara to withdraw hisi fleet from here as soon as possi- ble. CATRO, June 30.—Tt is officially an- nounced that Admiral Camara was no- tified to stop taking coal from the Spanish colliers, and informed that he | must leave Port Sald, whereupon the Spaniards said their ships needed re- pairs, and began discharging coal and material in order to repair. NEW YORK, June 30.—The Wash- ington correspondent of the Herald tel- egraphs: Officials are convinced to- night that Admiral Camara’s squadron will proceed to the Philippines. Al- though refused coal by the Egyptian Government the Spanish admiral has coaled some of his vessels from colliers accompanying him, and he has also paid tonnage dues and is preparing to pass through the canal. Official infor- mation to this effect was received by the State Department to-day from Consular Agent Broadbent at Port Said. Mr. Broadbent informed the de- partment that Admiral Camara had paid $150,000 in bills on France, which were accepted by the Canal Commis- sioners, and arrangements were being made for the passage of his ships through the canal. Mr. Broadbent and the consular agent at Suez will do everything possible to prevent the Spanish ships from taking on supplies in the canal or at Suez, and in fact such action is forbidden by the canal regulations. The authorities believe that all the ships will not be through the waterway before next Monday. State Depart- ment officials read with interest the Herald’s dispatch from Port Said this morning announcing the intention of Camara to leave his three '.nrpado: boat destroy behind. As such action will materially weaken the strength of his squadron naval experts express the opinion that Camara will change his mind and take the destroyers along, if repairs to their machinery can be ef- fected. As the Spanish admiral has to give the canal authorities full details regarding his squadron this Govern- ment will be able to secure valuable in- formation regarding the number of his ships, their armament, condition and number of trcops on board. Agents of this Government at Port Said are mak- ing a determined effort to learn Ca- mara’s plans, his immediate destina- tion in the far east being particularly desired. It is appreciated by the au- thorities that he will not at first pro- ceed to Manila, but will go either to Tloflo, which * still in the possession of the Spanish forces, or to some other point where colliers are lying. If not a prey to Rear Admiral Dewey's men-of-war, Admiral Camara’s fleet ‘will be the victim of the Eastern squad- ron of Commodore Watson. I learned to-day on excellent authority the mis- sion of the Eastern squadron has but slight reference to the bombardment of the coast of Spain. Its primary duty will be to follow Admiral Camara and destroy his command, provided he shall not have already met his fate at the The Navy Department, at the instanced of the Naval War Board, is making all | preparations to provide the fleet with | an ampla supply ot coal and fresh | meats, vegetables and ice. The depart- ment has been informed that Rear Ad- miral Sampson and Commodore, Watson are arranging the details of the forma- tion of the Eastern squadron, and it is kncwn that Sampson is anxious that Cervera’s fleet shall be destroyed before any other operations are attempted. But the necessity of overtaking Ca- mara’s force, if possible, is so pressing that the authorities are anxious to dis- patch the Eastern squadron after him as promptly as possible. The- advan- tage the American squadron will have in making the trip is its ample supply of coal. Each vessel will arobably take on at Newport Newil's supply sufficient | to take it to the Balearic Islands or some other Spanish possession on the other side of the Atlantic, one of which will be seized, and under its lee the men-of-war will take 7400 tons from colliers, leaving in the holds of the lat- ter vessels more than 6000 tons. “You can depend upon it,” said an official with whom I talked to-day, “an attack upon the Spanish coast, if it is | made, will only be in the nature of a diversion. The serious business before Commodore Watson’s command is the capture or destruction of Admiral Ca- mara’s fleet.” In accordance with instructions to her commanding officer, Captain C. F. Goodrich, the auxililary cruiser St. Louis is now on her way north to re- celve armament, which will make her the equal of the St. Paul. It has not yet been definitely determined whether to make the necessary alterations at Philadelphla or Newport News, but the former point will probably be selected for the reason the materials have been collected at Cramps’ ship yard. The Yale and Harvard are now serving as troopships and may be required to con- tinue this duty until the troops now operating against Santiago are trans- ported to Porto Rico. It is the inten- tion, however, that ultimately the four American liners will be attached to a squadron which will include a couple of armor clads and a protected cruiser, and which may be sent to Spain to harass the enemy’s commerce and pick up any gunboats and torpedo boats which may attempt an attack, leaving to Commodore Watson's squadron the work of following Camara’s squadron and destroying it, provided it should escape Rear Admiral Dewey. The St. Louis, St. Paul, Yale and Harvard, by reason of their large steaming radi' and ability to store an immense amount of coal, would be just the vessels to at- tach to a squadron which it was desired 1o keep at sea for a long time, as will be necessary in operations against the Spanish coast. WASHINGTON, June 30.—It was an- nounced at the Navy Department this afternoon that the Spanish Cadiz squadron had paid the heavy Suez canal tells and was about to proceed eastward through the canal. This statement was probably erroneous in view of the later reports to the press indicating that the BSpanish vessels were stopping for repairs. The ad- vices only hastened preparations mak- ing for the departure of Commodore ‘Watson's eastward squadron. The commodore has reported to the Navy Department his arrival off Santiago and is in consultation with Admiral Sampson respecting the details of the cruise, which it is expected %ill occupy four months, provided the war endures that length of time. The delay to which the Spaniards are; subject at Port Said will redound very greatly to the advantage of Admiral Dewey.if Camara is still in reality bound for the Philippines, for the insure the arrival of almost the whole of General Mer- ritt’s military forces and almost cer- tainly of the cruiser Charleston and the bands of the Aslatic squadron. The task which is before Commodore Wat- gon is not to be lightly entered upon. i ;nonl:?lrl sl(:::e:ey and Monadnock be- ove the Spanish squadron could Manila harbor. SRbreac Shafter Ready to Strike With Sampson to Crush Linares and Cervera. [OJOXOROJOXORONORORONOROROROJOXO) Special Cable to The Call and the New York Herald. GENERAL SHAFTER'S HEADQUARTERS, JUARAGUA, via Playa del Este, June 30.—Another notable achievement has been placed to the credit of the Rough Rid- ers, who under the direction of Sergeant Hallett Alsop Borrowe, who left the super- intendency of the Jersey Railroad to become a soldier, have dragged a heavy dyna- mite gun as far as Sevilla. but Sergeant Borrowe’s men went at it with great determination. their way up the mountain paths, past the field upon which several of their com- panions fell last Friday, and on down to Sevilla. ,as the result of this successful effort. Sergeant Borrowe and his men will be de- pended upon to do destructive work when the attack on Santiago’s defenses begins. Copyrighted, 1898, by James Gordom Bennett, This was a task requiring almost superhuman effort, Slowly they made Great things are expected of them [OONORONOROXOJONORONOXOXOXOXOXO) The Call gives this morning a consecutive account of the progress made around Santiago by the American army of invasion since it landed one week ago yesterday. This information was contained in a series of dispatches filed by The Call-Herald special cor- respondents from June 27 to June 29 and delayed in transmission. General William R. Shafter, it will be seen from the news, has accomplished great results in the seven days his men have been on Cuban soil. He has driven the Spaniards into their last trench, the city of Santiago, and "has placed his men in such positions that he can, as he notified Washington on Wednesday, take the beleagured city in forty-eight hours. The Call this morning is able to give the general features of the attack which the Americans will make upon Santiago. » Our forces will advance against the city in four directions, moving from the northwest, the northeast, the east and southeast at the same time. It is General Shafter’s plan not only to take the city, but he intends to prevent General Linares’ escape with his army. He has formed plans by which he is confident of capturing the largest Spanish force in Eastern Cuba, and by which he will also enable Admiral Sampson to capture the best vessels in the Spanish navy. There were developments of the great- est importance at the east of Santiago on Tuesday. General Shefter. after careful consideration, ordered General Kent to move with his troops to the north. This order was carried out suc- cessfully, 2and General Kent is now lo- cated atyEl Caney. With General Gar- cia’s Cuban forces he will press to the north and west while General Wheeler and General Lawton will fill the gap which the advance of these troops will make. Their places in turn will be taken by detachments of the army now at General Wheeler's headquarters at Se- villa, while the Reugh Riders and some of the regulars will press to the west in the direction of Morro Castle. Escape for General Linare, thus will become impossible. He will be hemmed in on all sides and completely at Shaf- ter’s mercy. Less than half a mile now separates the outposts of the two arm ‘2<. | General Linares seems to have a doned entirely the aggressive policy he formed just prior to the debarkation of the American troops. Stolid and hope- less he waits General Shafter's on- slaught, determined to sell his military honor dearly. There is certain to be fighting of a most desperate character before the city can bé taken. General Shafter has deferred the as- sault in order to get all the artillery and plenty of ammunition to the front. He desires the battle to be decisive, so it may end the campaign in that part of the- island. Men and women, panic stricken, are fleeing from Santiago to avoid the storm of war which is about to break. Many of these refugees have entered the American lines. They estimate the strength of the Spanish army at San- tiago from 8000 to 12,000 men. They re- port a great scarcity of food in the city, and assert that widespread terror exists among thé non-combatants, who dread the horrors of a prolonged siege. Admiral Cervera and General Linares, according to the general belief in San- tiago, will allow the Americans to reap as few benefits as possible from the cap- ture of the city. Itis Admiral Cervera's plan, according to the reports brought by the refugees, to blow up his warships the moment the Spanish flag is replaced by the stars and stripes. on Morro Castle. General Linares, it is added, has laid a plan to blow up the arsenal and to destroy all the military stores. General Linares on Monday issued a proclamation to his soldiers declaring a powerful Spanish fleet was on its way with re-enforcements, exhorting his men to defend the city tenaciously until the re-enforcements arrive. This pro- clamation, however, is regarded merely as General Linares’ method of trying to keep the courage of his men. Pri- vately Sp: officers are complaining menaced by no foe on land, has sent no help to them. Sixteen thousand American and Cu- ban troops now hold all the desirable positions between Peluca and EI Caney, a distance of five miles. Gen- eral Garcia's men, barefoot, but game, follow General Kent to the north. Gen- eral Wheeler's division, consisting of two brigades of mounted cavalry, forms the left, while General Lawton’s division and the Rough Riders are in the center. Brigades commanded by’ Chaffee, Miles and Van Horne have taken positions a short distance beyond Sevilla. To their right is General Kent with brigades commanded by Hawkins, Theaker and Wykoff. Garcia and Castillo, with their 4000 Cubans, are advancing to take the extreme right, while the brigades com- manded by Bates and Duffield will form aire)slenre force. This ig the disposition of the troops decided upon Shafter for the attack, é‘:& nSZrl?c;:r:? the regiments had taken their positions by Tuesday night, RECONNOITERING ABOUT FIVE MILES FROM SANTIAGO GENERAL LAWTON'S H;!:AD- QUARTERS, Five Miles East of San- g-;u d:“su;lh,’ ‘Wednesday, June 29, 6 L gston, Jamaica, - , June 30).—American tmc:mnmnmt | yesterday in feeling for the enemy, otherwise engaging in reconnaissances. General Shafter in person, with a small escort, went almost to Caney, a small town five miles northeast of Santiago, with which city it is connected by rail- road. Lieutenant Standing and a de- tall of Cuban and American sharp- shooters occupied a smell hill northwest of the American lines and looking di- rectly down on poth Caney and Santi- ago. Caney now seems to hold only about 300 Spanish troops. The small number of troops now at Caney indi- cates that the Spaniards have practi- cally evacuated the place. Lieutenant Standing was not molested during his observation, though he passed through a camp which twenty-four hours pre- viously had been occupied by a strong Spanish outpost. Corporal Hutch of Company D, Sev- enth United States Infantry, who, with seven men, was sent out on outpost duty two miles from Santiago yester- day miorning, returned to camp to-day. They had repeatedly seen the Span- iards, who did not offer to molest them, and the Americans spent the day as if enjoying a picnic in the woods. The corporal said that if he had with him safficient force he could have brought in forty Spanish prisoners. The American officers generally:ex- pect a movement to-day to capture Caney, which is a short five miles northeast of Santiago. This, however, is not official. Such a move may draw the Spaniards in force from Santiago, but, in view of their previous retreats whenever the army might have been seriously harassed on the march, an ag- gressive move on the part of the Span- fards is considered unlikely. AMERICAN TRANSPORTS HAD NOT YET ARRIVED AT MANILA MONDAY HONGKONG, July 1.—The Japanese cruiser Matsushima arrived here to-day afternoon of Monday, June 27. She reports that the American trans- ports had not then arrived, and that the situation was unchanged. The Spaniards continue to erect defenses, and the Insurgents are keeping their position, which is about 2000 yards from the city. Food is growing scarcer: The Mat- sushima reports also that when she left Manila harbor there were five Ger- ;| man and four British warships there. RUMORS OF A GREAT BATTLE AT SANTIAGO Of Course, the Spaniards Claim a Victory, but as Yet There Is No Definite News. MADRID, June 30.—A rumor is in circulation here to-night, though un- confirmed, that there has been a great battle at Santiago de Cuba, resulting in favor of the Spaniards. NEW YORK, June 30.—The Herald’s ‘Washington correspondent sends the following: When I saw Secretary Al- ger at midnight he had not received any confirmation of the press report from Madrid that a battle had been fought to-day at Santiago. The Secre- tary and other officials of the War De- patment believe it quite probable, how- ever, that there was fighting in the neighborhood of Santiago, as the last dispatch received from General Shafter, dated yesterday, indicated that his forces were gradually closing in on the city and its defenses. They do not be- liéve that the general has yet attempt- ed to take the city, but they think it probable there has been some prelim- inary skirmishing, resulting from Gen- eral Shafter attacking some Spanish outposts at points that he wished to occupy before making his attack upon the city. from Manila, which port she left on the | CENTS. e SIEGE CONS THE CAUSE OF DELAT General Assault Now Contemplated in a Few Hours. Spaniards Fire Upon Ameri- cans From Ambush—No Casualties Are Reported. Specfal cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Copyrighted, 159, by James Gor- don Bennett. ALTARES, June 29, via Playa del Este, June 30.—The unex- pected delay in getting the siege artillery to the front has led to the postponement of a general as- sault for two or three days. Hun- dreds of men are working to im- prove the roads, which have been washed by the heavy rains, so that wagons loaded with provi- sions and ammunition can be | transported. There is a proba- bility that the siege guns may be carried to the railroad. To-day a train was fitted up at Altares and a company of infan- try placed on board. In com- mand of Captain Fitch the Engi- neer Corps steamed slowly along in fear of torpedoes and crept safely across the bridge which spans Juraguasito Creek to within three miles of Morro, where it was ambushed by a small force of Spanish infantry, which fired on the train from the cha- parral that covers the bluff. The engine was quickly reversed, and ran back to Altares. A number of Mauser bullets struck the train, but no soldiers were in- jured. The expedition showed that the roadbed was not under- mined and apparently opens a quick method of advancing the heavy guns. ey SPANISH USING ’ RED CROSS FLAGS FOR PROTECTION ON BOARD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DISPATCH BOAT DANDY, OFF JURAGUA, June 29, 6 p. m. (via Kingston, Jamaica, June 30.)—The force of the American army is being mobil- ized as rapidly as possible in the vicin- ity of Aguadores, four miles from San- tiago de Cuba. The moment the tedious task is completed the attack on Spain’s last ditch in Eastern Cuba will be be- gun. When that will begin General Shafter himself cannot say. The troops can be moved «without serious delay and are pushing forward rapidly, but the movement of the pack trains, wagons, ambulances and artil- lery is taxing the skill and endurance of the officers and men to the utmost. From Baiquiri, where the artillery was landed, to the present point of concen- tration, the road runs through a tangle of tropical underbrush, up and down steep hillsides and over treacherous swamp-bordered streams for a distance of over ' twelve miles. Through this continuous thicket the rear guard of the army is cutting its way. Engineers are at work leveling the track and filling pits, while a large force of volunteers and regulars with axes, alded by Cubans with machetes, are hacking down trees and clearing out the brush. A few light guns have already reached this port. The siege guns are not yet within five miles of the vanguard. General Shafter left his ship to-day and took up his quarters with General ‘Wheeler at the front. His appearance there gave rise to the rumor that an attack on Santiago-~would occur to- morrow, but the staff officers say to- night it is impossible to get the army in shape to strike a blow for several days. Much amusement has been caused among the officers by the large number of Red Cross flags flying from buildings in Santiago. Seven such flags have been counted to-day and it is reported that two more were hoisted to-nigh* They were all flying from the lar- and most prominent buildings ar officers say the Spanish soldi~