Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-09

without any serious accident. ind July S
was spent at that point. July was main
~ used up IN an interesting II not highly
successful. effort to make the fresh water
pump pun water out Of the tanks for the
men TO drink II Was useless TO start for
Cuba with this machinery out OF fix and
| every effort was made to get Il into work
ing order. The naval station people al Key
west helped materially in this work and
| showed strong anxiety to help in any
way to relieve the men and to HURRY the
snip toward the scene of war In strong
contrast to the earnest work of the naval
people at Key West, IL may be said that
no assistance OF any kind was received
from the army officials although the
Catania was troopship. loaded with 600
much-needed recruits for the relief of Gen.
Smarter, and the army officials Were equip
PED with Tugs and material which might
nave quickly helped the boat TO get started.
During this delay the other ships of the
| ehpeditlon got away on the morning Of the
| 9Th, leaving the Catania in SOLITARY
grandeur, much TO the disgust OF every
| man on board. The delays Of the trans
port on which the District regiment had
the misfortune to be shipped were exas-
I perating in the extreme as the men felt
mat they were losing record-rraking days
IN cuba While the regiment was waiting
! at Key West Skaters first CONSIGNMENT
of wounded came in on the Iroo1lois wing
the signal "Victors returning Then cane
the particulars Of the first DAYS fighting
before Santiago. and the District regiment
4
Catania was not in condition to sail until
| ii o,clock on July 6. when she left with
the United States boat Wasp as convoy.
/ Inc ofhcerS school was kept IN during the
| period the men spent on the Catania
On the same afternoon the men got their
| frst sight of anything Cuban in a siirnp-e
OF one OF the big lighthouses along the
Cuban coast. After breakfast on JULY 4
the Cuban coast line was clearly visible
July . Cape Maysl was rounded and in the
early morning Of that day the stanc. ship
, Catania was delayed a good many hours
by reason of a broken boiler tube. After
that she moved so very few knots an hour
that they were scarcely worth recording
AT O'Clock in the afternoon OF the 9th
Guantanamo was reached and the Catanla
waited outside while the Wasp went in TO
ind out what was going on and II there
mad been any change in the orders. The
wasp brought the information that SAM
tiago had been given until noon of the lOth
| tthe following day) TO surrender and or
dered the Catania to follow her as rapidly
| as possible. The poor old Catania made
one effort to follow, and then her boiler
broke down. This was the last straw, and
the officers and men gave way to their
anger The morning OF the 10th it was
found that the Catania could move slowly
about five miles an hour, and she steamed
slowly to Sihouey, which was reached at 8
O'Clock in the morning.
Landing at siboney.
Then came the question of how to get
ashore. Tie boats belonging to the Ca
tania would not float even IL they could
nave been gotten from the blocks which
was an impossibility. The people on shore
had their hands full and seemed unable 10
render any assistance in unloading the
Catania, which had to lie away out IN the
harbor because of her inc hility to steer
and because there was no anchorage close
in. Finally Colonel Harries managed to
hail a boat from the Machias, winch carried
him ashore, where he made arrangements
for unloading the transport. In this matter
he was helped greatly by Lieut. Harry
McCre2 of the Machias and % this city
A number Of beats belonging TO the gun
boats Machias and Wilmington were Sc
cured and the work of landing the men
commenced. Company + was the .irst to
get ashore just after dinner July Ia. Ma
jor Creli was taken at the same time and
| every man brought his equipments along.
Colonel Harries did not allow the men
to remain at all in Siboney. The wounied
were being brought down at that time ard
CoIonel Harries experience with yellow
fever taught him that the place was faint
ed. Besides, other regiments had landed
at Siboney and had remained there in
definitely. The District regiment had come
to Cuba TO get to the front, and to the
front they were sent hey
touched their feet en- Cuban soil AS fast
as a company was landed they were
marched at once to La Quasina, several
mics out of Siboney, and where Roosevelts
Rough Riders had had their first fight.
Before all the men could be landed from
the Catania the gunbcats were called way
and il looked If the District regiment
would be divided for the night Energy
and push. however will accomplish much,
and Major Hine going Immediately 10 Cap
tain Burr secured the use of "A big pom
toon scow. He put to this craft snd
loading the men on board. twenty at a
time, brought them on shore through the
surf. This work was kept up throughout
the night and every man with the eNcep-
ton of small guard was landed on Cuban
soil by 2:30 in the morning. The r1en were
pushed right out to the temporary camp
at La Quasina where they made some
coffee and ate 4 hurried breakfast
To the Front.
Early in the morning. when the day was
breaking, the regiment took up its line of
march in an effort to get further forward
and to make itself useful. Colonel Har-
rics went ahead and reported TO General
Shafter at headquarters about FIVE miles
from camp.
The regiment was there: il had unloaded
itself from a transport and without orders
carried itself TO the front, and was even
then swinging along the road toward the
trenches. Other regiments that had start
ed sooner from America and had come
faster were still either on transports or
had not moved from Siboney. II danger
was the goal Colonel Harries and his men
were seeking there, energy and persever-
ance were rewarded. for Colonel Harries
Lawton on the right of the line at the front.
The regiment moved along to its post OF
danger in splendid formation, every officer
and man afoot with the exception of Major