could accomplish when it arrived on the scene of action. The
naval superiority in the West Indies would still be in the hands
of the concentrated American Navy, for the Spanish forces would
still be divided, only more equally, between Spanish and
Caribbean waters. The American vessels, moreover, would be within
easy distance of their home stations, which could supply them
with- every necessity. The islands belonging to Spain, on the
other hand, were ill equipped to become the base of naval
operations. Admiral Cervera realized to the full the difficulty
of the situation and protested against an expedition which he
feared would mean the fall of Spanish power, but public opinion
forced the ministry, and he was obliged to put to sea.

For nearly a month the Spanish fleet was lost to sight, and
dwellers on the American coast were in a panic of apprehension.
Cervera's objective was guessed to be everything from a raid on
Bar Harbor to an attack on the Oregon, then on its shrouded
voyage from the Pacific coast. Cities on the Atlantic seaboard
clamored for protection, and the Spanish fleet was magnified by
the mist of uncertainty until it became a national terror.
Sampson, rightly divining that Cervera would make for San Juan,
the capital and chief seaport of Porto Rico, detached from his
blockading force a fighting squadron with which he sailed east,
but not finding the Spanish fleet he turned back to Key West.
Schley, with the Flying Squadron, was then ordered to Cienfuegos.
In the meantime Cervera was escaping detection by the American
scouts by taking an extremely southerly course; and with the
information that Sampson was off San Juan, the Spanish Admiral
sailed for Santiago de Cuba, where he arrived on May 19, 1898.