Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-07-29

urney into the hills. Colonel,
CebrecO's little force we found en-.
camped under the palms in that
ched hints with sapllng uprights.
Tho ragged seminaked men lay
about IN dirty hammOcks, but
rlfirs we're Springdelds, 1873, and
their belts were tull Of rtrl dyes,
The tall guinea grass had been
trOdden fat by their bare feet.
We asked tor u guide, and the
colonel gave us an escort OF five
men for our ride over the moan.
tains.
The first ridge we rode up was a
simple illumination az to why the
insurgents if thev bad food and
ammunition could hold out for
years. There is no getting men
ont Of such hills it they choose to
stay in them. The path, rocky as
the bed of a stream, zlgzagged
higher aud higher until the Ameri.
can fleet blOckading Santiago was
merely a collection Of tiav, shape
| less shadows on the steel bosom of
AZ immense sea.
At the summit we looked upon
a new series of ridges and peaks,
near aud far, all green. A strong
breeze rustled the foliage. 1t was
he kind Of country in which com
merclal physicians love to estab
lISh sauitarIums. Then down We
went, down and down, sitting on
the pOmmels of our saddles, with |
oar stlrrnpS near the ears of the !
horses. Then came brawllng |
noisy brook like an Adirondack !
trout stream. Then another ascen
sion to another Cuban camp, where
Just at dusk the picFets in bunchts S
of three were coming In to reporl
to the captain, layily aswing. One
baretooted negro private paused
in his report from time to time to
pluck various thistle and cactus
spurs from his sOles. ScOvtl asked
him IN Spaiulsh 'Where are your
Sboes7'
THE tsitered soldier coOly re
piled in English, Il lose dem IN de
woods We cheered. Why, hello
therel Where did you come irOmY
To our questions be answered; On
New York. leve dere, Mulberry
street. Ode-tree year. My name
Joe Riley There he stood, beard
ed, black, a perfect type of Wes'
Indian negro, speaking the soft,
broad dialect of these islands, and
harp of Iteland-hls name was
Riley. l have heard of a tai
GuatamalAn savage who somehow
accumulated the illustrious names
of Dutfy, but Shley-
AS we swung and SIN oked IN OuI
hammocks the Cuban soldiers
crOOued marvellous songs in the
darkness, bile the freight cover.
ed with crimson glare some naked
limb or make tragic some daIk,
patient lace. The hills we're softly
llmned against sky strewn with
big stars.
We were up IN the cold of the
dark Just before dawn. With 10
men as escort, we moved again up
the bills, la time We arrived on a
path that curved around the top
of ridge. Here we found Cubin
posts. They, having no tools with
which to dig trenches, natural ly
turn to the machete. They can't
dig down, 80 they build up. These
Cuban posts were each frOnted
With a curious structure, 4 mere
rack made Of saprngs, tied iasl
with siuewy vines and then 1llei
with stones. They were about six
feet high, one foot thick aud long
enough to accommodate from five
to eight riflemen. These structures
paralIeled the path at strategic
pOlntz.
Soon we came 10 a point where
0pOu looking across a narrow but
very deep valley we cOnld see in
the blue dawn the SHINE of Spanish
campfres. They were within Iide
range, but We skunk along unseen.
Oar horses had now been left be
hind. Then came a dive INTO the
daik, deep valley-intO Spain. The
hillside was the steepest thing IL
hlsides which could well he III
aglned. We slid practically from
tree to tree, our escort moving
nOlselessly below and above us.
BY the time we reached the bot.
tom of this hill the day had broken
wide aud clear. A stream was
4 4