American sense of humor never fails, and even in this period of stress the people took time to smile over the story of the Spanish Minister’s journey from Washington to Canada.  In Toronto, Senor Polo sought to discredit the assaults that had been made on Minister Woodford’s train in Spain, and related that he himself had been the victim of assaults at two or three important cities on his journey through New York, which threatened great danger to himself and the train on which he was riding.

Upon inquiry it was revealed that the assaults which had aroused his fear were not quite as hostile as he believed.  At the division stations on the line, the railway employees, according to custom, passed along the cars, tapping the tires of the wheels with steel hammers to test them for a possible flaw or break in the wheel, and it was this that made the Spanish Minister believe that he was the victim of an American outrage.

First guns are fired.

The United States cruiser Nashville of the North Atlantic squadron, with headquarters at Key West, had the honor of firing the first shot in our war with Spain.

Early on the morning of Friday, April 22, the American fleet sailed from Key West, and, steaming southward across the straits of Florida, came in sight of Havana and the frowning fortifications of Morro Castle before six o’clock the same afternoon.

The sailing of the fleet, as dawn was creeping over the Florida keys, was a beautiful sight and a significant one, for from the time the first signals were hoisted until many days after, there was hardly an hour of inactivity.  It was at three o’clock in the morning that the signal lights began to flash from the New York, Admiral Sampson’s flagship.  Answering signals appeared on the warships all along the line, and in a few moments black smoke began to belch from the funnels of all the ships and the crews woke from quietness to activity.

As soon as day began to break, the cruisers and gunboats inside the harbor hoisted anchors and moved out to join the big battleships which were already lined outside the bar.  At five o’clock, when all the fleet were gathered around the battleships, Captain Sampson signaled from the New York to go ahead.  The formation of the line had been agreed upon some time before and each vessel was in position for line of battle, the New York in the center and the Iowa and Indiana on either beam.  The ships presented a most beautiful appearance as they swept out on the ocean without a vestige of anything not absolutely necessary on the decks.  They were stripped of all useless superstructure, awnings, gun-covers and everything that goes to adorn a ship.  Officers paced the bridge, marines were drawn up on deck and every man was at his post.  They appeared as they were, grim fighting machines, not naval vessels out on cruise nor a squadron of evolution and maneuver, but warships out for business.