Evening star., 1898-07-26

- A11 IL lLAN AAN ~ ~ Il
given out on the work in whispers and full
and complete Instructions as to how the
work was to be done were given just be-
fore starting. Finally, all was ready and
the men moved off grimly and silently to
| thsir work of the night. AS the line crossed
the crest of the hill the men were just dim
ly visible against rift in the clouds in the
southern horizon and made picture which
was specter-like and weird in it's effect.
Clouds had been gathering all the even
ing, and out in the direction of Santiago
there was a great deep blue mass, which
was occasionally lit up by gorgeous dis
plays of lightning. About 10 o'clock rain
began to fall. To speak of the downpour
which soon followed as rain would give but
a feeble impression of the actual condition.
Water just seemed to come down from the
clouds in laminated sheets with barely
breathing space between the layers. 1t was
| simply awful. Our wretched apologies for
shelter, the brush tepees, were worse than
useless, for they seemed to accumulate the
water to the amount of about double
handful and then let it fall in lump on
the unfortunate victim below. The men
preferred to get right in the open and take
the deluge without the aid of such futile
attempt to break it's force. The camp was
soon a picture of utter wretchedness as it
was lit up at frequent intervals by brilliant
flashes of electricity. The men were wan
dering aimlessly and helplessly about with
such scant covering as they had at hand to
protect them from the elements. Finally
some of them got together and built fire,
around which the drenched wanderers col
lected like night flies around an electric
lamp.
To add to the general gloom and horror
of the situation sharp firing began out on
the trenches about midnight. 1t seems that
the 1st Illinois, which occupied a position
just to the left of the District troops, also
had party out digging trenches. Though
Col. Harries had notified Col. Turner by
| messenger that he would have a party out
on the line, the message appears never to
have been delivered. Consequently when
the Illinoisans heard our men at work on
their right they mistook them for Span
iards and blazed away at them. Our boys
dropped quickly into the trench they had
made and by rare good fortune no one was
hurt.
The March to the Front.
The march from Siboney to the front
was new experience for the District
men, but luey proved quite equal TO -, as
they have to every duty that has been re-
Quired of them. They left Siboney about
u o'clock Sunday night and marched four
miles toward Gen. Skaters headquarters
and pitched their tents for a short rest
Reveille sounded at 4 o'clock the next
n. orning, and, leaving their tents under a
small guard, they struck out again for the
front. The night march was full of a sort
of weird interest for the men. The road
winds around the hills which skirt the
southern shore line of Cuba. Dense under
growth, making a sort Of Indian Jungle
skirts the trail on either side. The air was
heavy with the odor of sandal woo3 and
the night stiffness often broken by the
cries of strange birds Occasionally they
would pass the camp of some other regi-
| ment, who had started ahead of the Dis
trict men and had stopped for rest
There would be the usual hearty sold!erly
greetings, inquiries and good-natured chafs
and badinage
The road to the front is very narrow
and in some places only one wagon can
pass at a time. Soon after leaving camp
Tuesday morning we began to see evil
dences of the fighting which had taken
place between Skaters forces and the
Spaniards. There is many a grave along
the route to mark the path of progress and
liberty which Uncle Sam is blazing out for
these Cuban people who yearn to be free
of Spanish tyranny. Col. Harries camp
was pitched the first night near where the
gallant Capron and several of the Rough
Riders fell.
Capt. Paget's Tribute
All along the route We hear echoes of
that gallant fighting by which the Span
iards were driven back on Santiago's forti-
fications. l met the other day Capt. Paget
of the royal English navy. He is of that
famous family of Pagets who have been
so conspicuous in military and naval af-
fairs. This grizzled veteran was most en-
thusiastic in his praise of the American
troops. He had seen them storm block
houses built of stone half way up and the
remainder constructed of heavy timbers
The position of the Spanish inside seemed
impregnable to everything save artillery
Yet he had seen American troops charge
across the open in the face of this CALLING
fire and batter down doors and drag forth
the astonished Spaniards from within. He
had in his time seen Soudanese inspired by
religious fanaticism, make wild gallant
desperate charges against what seemed
overwhelming odds. He had seen English
| troops hemmed in by unequal numbers gal
said, an entirely new experience to see
these cool, steady Yankees advance delib-
erately into the face of such a whitening
fire that every tenth man dropped under
the effect of 1T and carry their point as
steadily as if they We're on parade. No re-
ligious fanaticism to brace these men in
their struggle, no wild excitement of a
glorious charge, where heavy cordons of
cavalry could sweep across the open and
carry all opposition through sheer force
of momentum, none of these things to re-
lieve the stern and deadly fate which stared
these men in the face so unmistakably
They were only Yankee infantry charging
coolly and collectively under a sense of
duty-nothing else. 1t might be- he
thought, that some sentiment, such as in
spires one who takes up the cause of a
weak man against stronger rival, might
have actuated our men; but he doubted
| that, as he had discovered a feeling of
something stronger than contempt among
our men for the Cubans. He could only
account for the splendid courage he saw
| displayed on the theory of calm adherence
TO Hlfy Thny had