Show A VOYAGE OF THE TRANSPORTS W Sis Days On the Way An Impressive Spectacle Copyright 1898 by the Associated Press With the United States Transport Ships off Santiago de Cuba Monday June 20 noon via Mole St Nicolas Hayti Tuesday June 21 1 a mhe fleet of United States transports having hav-ing on board 16000 men under the command com-mand of General Shafer arrived f Santiago de Cuba at noon today be I ing exactly six days out from Port I Tampa The army of Invasion left Eg mont key at noon on Tuesday June 1 convoyed by the United States warships j war-ships Indiana Castine Helena Annapolis 1 Annap-olis Bancroft Morn and Hornet The passage was necessarily slow a two big water barges and the schooner Stevens also used for water had to be towed At Rebecca shoals lighthouse the Meet was joined by the warships I Detroit Osceola Wasp and Ericsson When the transport fleet left Tampa it was the intention to take the western west-ern course around Cape Antonio but later it was decided to go via the Florida Flor-ida straits that being a shorter distance dis-tance After the fleet got Into the rough waters of the straits the transports were formed into three lines about 1000 yards apart while 600 yards separated the ships I I The easily advancing transports presented pre-sented a very impressive spectacle stretching for miles over the blue waters I was one of the largest fleets ever gathered together the grim look in menofwar hovering like watch I I dogs on the outskirts of the human freighted ships At night every precaution pre-caution was taken to guard against any possible attack No lights were allowed on the transports and the gunboats in I the direction of the shore were doubled in number while at frequent intervals i shifting searchlights swept the waters in the direction of Cuba in search of I hostile vessels Throughout the voyage voy-age not one Spanish gunboat or sign I of the enemy was seen On Friday the convoying fleet of warships war-ships was reinforced by the Montgomery Montgom-ery and Porter of Port au Prince The voyage throughout was tedious I and uninteresting To the weary soldiers sol-diers life on board the transports is as I unwarlike as 1 journey on a fruiter The spectacle of transferring the sick at sea was presented on Saturday For four hours the fleet lay to while the ships boat carried 1 patients to the hospital ship Olivette In the rough waters of the Bahama channel this work for the little bat was quite dif cult and the hoisting of the limp forms to the rolling deck of the Olivette seemed seem-ed dangerous But it was accomplished in safety The weather throughout the voyage was excellent and consequently there consequenty tere was little suffering from seksickness But 14 cases of typhoid fever and some measles developed the former being especially on the boats which carried horses and mules Surgeons however say the health of I the men is unexpectedly good The first sight of land was obtained II in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba and when the topmasts of the blockading I blockad-ing ships were seen they sent a thrill of enthusiasm through the soldiers and they are now eagerly awaiting the lading lad-ing in Cuba The men seem confident of a swift and easy victory but they seem rather to hope for hard fighting The heat and long confinement in the holds of the transports have told very severely on the horses and mules and many of them died during the last few mjny days of the voyage I |