June 3d the auxiliary cruiser _St. Paul_ returned to New York, after a
two weeks' cruise in West Indian waters; she had been detailed for guard
and scout duty, and was one of the first to discover the Spanish fleet
in Santiago Bay. She left Key West May 18th, and arrived off Santiago
about the 20th. The St. Louis had been detailed for similar service, and
had been watching Santiago harbor with the expectation that the Spanish
vessels would attempt to enter there; she, however, left on the 19th. It
is supposed that Admiral Cervera must have entered the harbor in the
twenty-four hours between this date and that of the arrival of the _St.
Paul_.
As it was advisable that her whereabouts should not be discovered to the
Spaniards, the _St. Paul_ cruised backward and forward about twenty
miles out; she kept this distance off shore in order that the Spanish
torpedo-boats might not make a dash out of the harbor in the darkness
and torpedo her. It was not until the 23d that anything was seen of the
Spaniards. Captain Sigsbee is quite confident that on this date he
identified the _Vizcaya_, the _Christopher Colon_, and several
torpedo-boat destroyers within the harbor; they were evidently making
preparations for departure, but were too late, as our fleet under
Commodore Schley reached the harbor before they could get away.
The only excitement that the _St. Paul_ had was the capture of the
collier _Restormel_. The vessel was sighted very early one morning about
five miles from the harbor entrance, running with all speed to obtain
the protection of the batteries on shore.
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