same date Admiral Sampson's squadron arrived at San Juan, Porto
Rico, whither it had gone in the expectation of meeting with Admiral
Cervera's fleet, which had sailed westward from the Cape Verde Islands
on April 29th, after Portugal's declaration of neutrality. The Spanish
fleet, however, did not materialize, and Admiral Sampson, while on the
ground, concluded it would be well to draw the fire of the forts that he
might at least judge of their strength and efficiency, if indeed he
should not render them incapable of assisting the Spanish fleet in the
event of its resorting to this port at a later period. Accordingly,
Sampson bombarded the batteries defending San Juan, inflicting much
damage and sustaining a loss of two men killed and six wounded. The loss
of the enemy is not known. The American war-ships sustained only trivial
injuries, but after the engagement it could be plainly seen that one end
of Morro Castle was in ruins. The Cabras Island fort was silenced and
the San Carlos battery was damaged. No shots were aimed at the city by
the American fleet.

Deeming it unnecessary to wait for the Spanish war-ships in the vicinity
of San Juan, Sampson withdrew his squadron and sailed westward in the
hope of finding Cervera's fleet, which was dodging about the Caribbean
Sea. First it was heard of at the French island, Martinique, whence
after a short stay it sailed westward. Two days later it halted at the
Dutch island, Curacoa, for coal and supplies. After leaving this point
it was again lost sight of. Then began the chase of Commodore Schley and
Admiral Sampson to catch the fugitive. Schley, with his flying squadron,
sailed from Key West around the western end of Cuba, and Sampson kept
guard over the Windward and other passages to the east of the island. It
was expected that one or the other of these fleets would encounter the
Spaniard on the open sea, but in this they were mistaken. Cervera was
not making his way to the Mexican shore on the west, as some said, nor
was he seeking to slip through one of the passages into the Atlantic and
sail home to Spain, nor attack Commodore Watson's blockading vessels
before Havana, according to other expert opinions expressed and widely
published. For many days the hunt of the war-ships went on like a
fox-chase. On May 21st Commodore Schley blockaded Cienfuegos, supposing
that Cervera was inside the harbor, but on the 24th he discovered his
mistake and sailed to Santiago, where he l