The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-13 00:00:00

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SPAIN AND JIOROCCO.

(From the Correspondent of the Times.)
'DAMP IN FRONT OF CEUTA, DEC. 31.
Yesterday was a summer day of great beauty and
eonaiderablo heat, when it was pleasanter to remain
under the shade of the tent than to scramble over
our hilly territory during the four mid-day hours.
Apparently the Moors thought so too, for they Lad
the discretion to remain quiet until three p.m , when
they advanced and opened fire upon our left, direct-
ing their attacks especially against the parapets in
front of Ros de Ola.no's camp. They concentrated
their force more than usual, instead of spreading it
over a very long line, rind. their fire was so well sus-
tained as to induce some to believe that they must
have got a supply of cartridges, sparing them the
time theygenerallylose in loading their long guns out
of a bag of loose powder and bullets. But it is more
probable that the difference arose from their being
massed. They were bolder yesterday than they
have lately been—probably they were fresh troops,
for of late we had observed that they were any-
thing but forward. Some of them actually came to
the low parapets which are thrown up in advance
of the redoubts as cover for our troops, and, seiz-
ing the stones, tried to pull them down. Our total
loss in the affair was 17 wounded.
I am enabled to give you, from Spanish official
sources, some details of the proceedings of the squa-
dron the day before yesterday at the port of Tetuan.
The vessels arrived at the mouth of the river at one
p.m., and by half-past one were in position, when
the Moorish forts began the fire. These consist, ac-
cording to the acccount given to me, of the small
tower already often spoken of, another fort, and an
earth battery. At the first broadside fired by the
squadron, in reply to the Moorish cannonade, the
fort blew up, a shell having fallen into the powder.
magazine. By half-past two the fire from the ships
had silenced all the Moorish guns, and the squadron
steamed out of the river, but presently re-
turned, when the fort and castle recommenced
their fire. In less than half an hour this was
silenced for the second time, and the ships again
departed and again returned. This time the Moors
did not fire. The ships opened upon the works
and knocked them to pieces, destroying all that
was not solid stone, and at halipast three finally
departed. The captain of the French steamer,
which was present at the bombardment, congratu-
lated the Spanish Admiral on the very complete
manner in which he had done his work, and on the
rapidity with which it had been executed. The
vessels that chiefly distinguished themselves were
the steam frigate Villa de Bilbao. which did not
go out of the river on the two occasions when
the others left it, but remained circling and ob-
serving the enemy, and the little steamer Vulcano.
The fire of the Moors did no harm whatever; not
a Spaniard was wounded, not a hull, spar, or rope
touched. This is the Spanish account of the affair.
To-day is not so fine as yesterday, and the wind
has shifted to the east. It is but a light breeze at
present,—but this is the way these Levanters begin,
and to-night it may blow a gale. Nevertheless, a
move is decided upon for to-morrow. Six rations
are being drawn, heavy baggage is to be sent on
board the steamers that will accompany us, the
General-in-Chief has struck his tent and had it re-
placed by a small one. H this wind holds, I believe
head-quarters will move only to a short distance
beyond our present extreme left ; if it changes we
expect to go further,—as far, I presume, as it is con-
venient for the army to march before night, and in
• presence of the opposition we expect from the
enemy. A large mass of rations is on board the
steamers that are to follow us along shore. Half a
million rations—a month's supply—have been for
some days shipped, and I believe the quantity has
since been increased.

General Jose Concha arrived in camp soon after
noon to-day. Finding himself at Cadiz, on his re-
turn from the Havannah, he came across to visit
General O'Donnell. They have now ridden out to
the redoubts.

So far as I have had as yet an opportunity of ob-
serving, and of ascertaining floor officers who have
been here from the very first day of the war, the mili-
tary tactics of the Moors are very limited and mono-
tonous. Their stratagem is always the same; they
throw out a few men as a decoy—a sort of forlorn
hope—in the expectation that the Spaniards will
advance against them as an easy prey. If the Spani-
ards did so they would instantly become a mark fur
hundreds of sharpshooters, concealed in holes and
corners, among rocks and behind trees, and vigi-
lantly watching for a mark. To the possible suc-
cess of this use de quarre it is obviously essential
that the Spaniards should not be aware of the
proximity of a lurking foe 50 times more numerous
than the one visible in the open ground. To con-
ceal their ambush the Moors display all the craft of
savages. One rarely sees a strong body of them
ensconcing themselves in a position. One sees five
or six in one direction, and eight or ten in another,
converging towards an apparently uncertain point,
while in other directions other small groups move,
often only two or three men, sloping quietly along as
if they were admiring the landscape rather than
meaning mischief. Then they disappear, either
among trees or behind inequalities of the ground,
and are seen no more, and you know not whether
they are gone until you have had enough experi-
ence of their ways to feel sure that they have all
betaken themselves to an allotted position, and that
while perhaps you have never seen 50 men at a
time, there are probably a thousand assembled
within range of your skirmishers. The aversion they
show to coming to close quarters and encountering
a bayonet charge, renders it difficult to believe that
their frequent advances against our positions are
prompted by a serious hope of obtaining possession
of any part of works fully manned, defended by ar-
tillery, and which every day renders stronger. I
should rather take their object to be to provoke our
troops to move out from their cover to ground where
they might afford easy marks for the espiniyardas of
the enemy. They have only been too often success-
ful in this, and the consequence has been the killing
and wounding of hundreds of men without any cor-
responding advantage. A great deal of ammunition
has thus been fired away, which had been much
better spared. The Spanish generals, however, have
begun to find out their mistake. Theist Corps,which
has been longest here, and has had the most expe-
rience of this kind of warfare, has for some time
pant adopted the plan of not replying to the Moorish
skirmishers, but of lying quiet, and letting them
con le on (if they please, which they rarely do) until
they are near enough for action more decisive than
the exchange of long shots. Similar reserve has, I
here, now been enjoined to the 2d Corps, and judg-
ing from the conduct of those troops of the 3d Corps
which were yesterday engaged, it is probable that
General Ros de Olano, who, on his first arrival here
seemed rather disposed to retaliate upon aril follow
up the foe, now sees that there is nothing to be
gab led by such a course, with a quickfooted enemy
wb.3 flies when attacked and returns in swarms
when the Spaniards retire, as they must ultimately
dos to their r ositions, to hang upon their rear and
pelt them with bullets.

A Moor was brought into camp this morning,
svAs at first supposed to be a prisoner, but was
proved to be one who had come over, impelled, it is
supposed, by hunger,judging at least from the eager-
ness with which he threw himself upon the first
piece of bred he caught sight of. He is not a good
specimen of his countrymen, being undersized, ill-
in de, and, seemingly, of very obtuse intellect.
spANISII HEAD-QUARtERS, CAMP
OF CASTII,LEJOS, JAN. 2.

We have at last made a move, althougl: but a
short one, hae. an action elsewhere than on tl.e old
monotolious vuund immediately around the re-
doubts, and obtained a full and near view of the
Moorish camp, Long before daylight yesterday
thineral Pritn':! division struck its tents, and when
the trumpets s moiled (liana, which they did at an
unJosually early hour, it was marching off to our
le*, past Res's division. Head quarters shortly
followed. Fighting began about 8 o'clock. The
object of the movement was, I need hardly say, to
march upon Tetwan ; but this is not to be done with
thelacility it might be were the distance the only
ditHeulty to he got over, our first day did not take
us very far, and several others (I fear to conjecture
how many) are ally to elapse before we reach the