Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1898-07-15
BRAVE ROUGH RIDERS.
Richard Harding Davis Tells of Their
Grit and Pluck.

K1cnaru harding Davis Tells OF AEeir
Grit and Pluck.
New York, July 15.-Richard Harding
Davis, in very interesting dispatch to
The Herald, gives some facts about the
rough riders.
Since Colonel Wood was promoted to
the command Of the brigade Lieutenant
Colonel Roosevelt has had complete
control over the regiment of rough rid
erS. He is, in consequence, very happy,
and the devotion of his men to him is
something fine to see. Roosevelt in the
last Is years has played many parts
cowboy, big game hunter civil service
commissioner, police commissioner, as
sstant secretary Of the navy and writer
of American history. He is now MAX
ing American history, and making it
very we'll.
On Friday, when he was ordered to
take his regiment into the open, he
found the regulars lying in the grass
under a heavy fire. They We're being
shot without being allowed to make
any return. This did not seem good
enough, and Roosevelt led his regim mt
through their lines and rode up ahead
of his men toward the blockhouse on
the hill. The younger officers and the
colored soldiers of the Tenth follow 2
instantly.
No one who saw Roosevelt take that
ride expected he would finish it awe.
AS the only mounted man he was the
most conspicuous object in range Of tie
rifle pits, then only 200 yards ahead
1t looked like foolhardiness; but, as a
matter of fact, he set the pace with his
horse and inspired the men to follow.
He reached the bockhouse with foui
troopers before all the Spaniards had
abandoned it and killed one of them,
who was still firing with his own re-
volver
The charge was followed almost i'm.
mediately by another to the hill on the
right, which he occupied with 800 flen,
the scattered fragments of six dis
mounted cavalry regiments. The rough
riders have remained in this position
ever since. When last saw them, only
half of the men We're left of those with
whom I started from Sboney ten days
ago. Six Of the eight troops have lost
their captains the rest are commanded
by second lieutenants and sergeants.
But the spirit of the men was high, and
they We're as cheerful and content as in
the rocking chair days at Tampa.
Sharpshoot and cowboys were pot
ting at Spanish guerrillas in the trees at
the rear as impassively as though they
were contesting for badges in a rifle
range. One man, Corporal Goodwin of
Arizona, shot six. The other men were
lying on their backs watching him. Bull
let's were passing over them continuous
ly and so close to the crest that they
moved about on their knees.
The rough riders, as they are now uni
versaly called, have been in the two
hardest fights of the war and in the
front of EACH They have lost in killed
and wounded half their number, and be-
tween the western man and the eastern
man there is nothing to be said of either
except of praise. The grit of the COW
puncher has never been doubted. but
whenever we have wished to illustrate
the fact that the swell will fight we
have had to refer to the bravery of the
English guardsnen and dandies at
Alma and Balaklava. Now we can refer
instead to the courage Of the young
men of the universities and of the
knickerbocler club when they forced
the pass at Quasimas and charged I'M
the hill of San Juan. 1t is a more IN to
GATE example, and the men are Amer
leans