The American Eclipse Expedition 



60 



for work, let us return to the two ships 

 that were left at Gibraltar to prepare for 

 the campaign in Spain. 



From Gibraltar the Ccesar precedes the 

 Minneapolis to the port of Valencia, 

 Spain, and announces to the flagship by 

 signal when that vessel reaches the ap- 

 proaches to the harbor that cordial greet- 

 ings had been extended by the Spanish 

 authorities upon her arrival. The Cmsar 

 not being a saluting ship, it became the 

 duty of the Minneapolis to fire the first 

 national salute to the Spanish flag that 

 had been given, I believe, in a Spanish 

 port since 1898. This was also probably 

 the first salute that was ever given by an 

 American man-of-war in the Grao de 

 Valencia. 



The recital of the facts of this first 

 visit of an United States war vessel to 

 Spain since the Spanish-American war 

 seems rather tame, but the visit was at- 

 tended with momentous possibilities that 

 might wreck plans that had taken many 

 months to get into shape, and the manner 

 of our reception therefore was most im- 

 portant to us. 



It is seldom that one enters the confines 

 of Spanish territory and does not find in 

 progress some sort of entertainment for 

 its pleasure-loving inhabitants, and this 

 occasion was no exception to the rule. A 

 ten days fiesta had lust be° r un and soon 

 we were drawn into crowds of men, 

 women, and children, all bound for a 

 good time and as indifferent to every 

 other care as if all business had ceased 

 for them forever. 



The Minneapolis, after having been 

 made to shine like a new pin, was thrown 

 open to visitors, and as this was about 

 the only ^lace of interest in Valencia for 

 which there was no admittance fee, ad- 

 vantage was taken of the concession, not 

 usually given by their own men-of-war, 

 and thousands visited the ship almost 

 daily during the entire stay in port. The 

 ship was secured to the quays which 

 mark the limits of the port and form a 

 promenade, and our fine band gave to the 

 manv !<c^d!c usunllv found there a free 

 concert morning and evening", a treat that 

 was apparently appreciated by all. 



One of the features of the fiesta was a 

 boat race, which took place in the harbor, 

 and we were early invited to take part in 

 it ; but I must admit that the honors on 

 this occasion were something like those 

 of the boy who stood next to the head of 

 his class of two members. The only two 

 boats which entered for the regatta prize 

 were from the Minneapolis and the Ccesar, 

 the trophy going to the winning scrub 

 crew, which had never pulled together 

 before, owing to a fluke which brought 

 misfortune to the other. Still the squad- 

 ron brought back to our country a por- 

 tion of that $20,000,000 which went to 

 pay for the Philippine Islands. 



Of course no saint's day or week could 

 be properly celebrated in Spain without a 

 bull fight, and we were all invited to wit- 

 ness the one that took place soon after 

 our arrival. Some of us escaped this 

 ordeal, however, owing to a misunder- 

 standing which happily removed the event 

 from an official basis. I wish to say here 

 that not all people in Spain go to bull 

 fights, and two officials whom I asked if 

 they intended to witness the scene replied 

 in rather resenting tones that they never 

 went to such entertainments. 



THE STATION AT DAROCA, SPAIN 



But we had work to do, and after a 

 reconnoitering party consisting of Lieu- 

 tenant Commander Hayden, Professor 

 Littell, and Mr. Peters had scoured the 

 country, passing through miles of vine- 

 yards, where a native wine is produced 

 and sold at a few cents a gallon, a 

 spot is found on which to locate one of 

 our camps. Arrangements were then 

 made to establish stations, one about 12 

 miles from Valencia, at Porta Coeli, and 

 the other at Daroca, on the highlands of 

 the interior. The Daroca party and im- 

 plements were transported by train along 

 the coast to the old fortified town of 

 Sagunta, where the road turns inland 

 over the hills to the city of Calatayud, 

 passing by the anciently walled city of 

 Daroca. 



Historically, Sagunto is one of the 

 most interesting cities in Spain, and the 

 high hills on which it is located clearly 



