The Portland daily press., 1898-06-29
FALLING BACK.
Pursuit Of Spaniards Into
Santiago.
Copyright 1898 by the Associated Press.

Y tSDO
At the Front on the Rio Guamo, Mon
day, June 81 (Noon), per the Associated
Press Boat Wanda, via Port Antonio,
JAM, June 2s, Tuesday Forenoon, via
Kingston, JAM, H. 35 p. m.-The Ameri-
can front has been advanced beyond the
first crossing of the Rio Guamo, about q
mile, and tug lies three and half miles
from the Spanish entrenchments.
General Lawton's brigade rests on the
road to Santiago de Cuba. The th ird
brigade, under General Chaffee, the
seventeenth, twelfth and seventh regi-
ments, holds the trench with his COM
mand lying across the road and river.
The first brigade, the eighth, twenty
second and second Massachusetts,. under
General Evan Clarke, lies on the left
flank, slightly in the rear, and the second
brigade, the first, fourth and twenty-fifth
occupies the opposite position on the right
flank
General Wheeler, with the cavalry, is in
S',e rear, between Savilla hills and Rio
Guiana. A strong line of outposts is
maintained ahead.
General Chaffee's brigade with three
thousand Cubans under General Aguirra
and several hundred under COL Gonzales,
vas skirmishing towards the city this
| mornin g.
| The Cubans had several slight skir-
mishes with the Spaniards stationed on
| the hills on the ground on the American
right flank and our auxiliaries occupied
the blockhouses in that vicinity which
| were evacuated before daybreak by the
| Spaniards. The latter retreated towards
| Santiago de Cuba. No fatalities are re-
| ported. General Lawton, General Chaffee
and General Wheeler have thoroughly re-
connoitred the Spanish position, and,
with the aidrof information furnished by
the Cubans, have very. good maps of the
roads and defences of the city. Much in
formation has also been obtained from
| Spanish paciticos who have stolen out of
the city and given themselves up in the
hope of getting food. They report starya-
| tion and disease in Santiago.
They say the Spanish troops are on
short rations and that all the supplies are
being held for their use. The sick in the
hospitals, the paciflcos also say, are suffer-
ing from want of food and they report
that seventy seven Spaianrds were killed
and eighty-nine were wounded as the re-
suit of the engagement of Friday last
with Col. Woods and Young's commands.
The most startling information obtained
from the pacificos is that since the ad-
| vance began, almost twenty thousand
Spanish soldiers have arrived at Santiago
n (nh no cfofn &c do Al
authority Of General Lawton and he is al
SO of the opinion that General Pando may
be able to effect a junction with General
Linares at Santiago de Cuba.
There are two forts of considerable i'm
portance within the Spanish lines, Punta
Blanco at the southern end Of the bay and
Santa Ursula, at the southeast corner.
On the road to Canay, on the northern
is another fort. There are about four
hundred and fifty men in each of these
Qualifications, and stretching around the
whole city are nine barbed wire fences.
fifty yards apart, while just inside of
these are lines of rifle pits, outside, to the
eastward, about two miles beyond the
American outposts, is line of entrench-
ments extending from the northern ex-
tremity of the city to Moro Castle.
A little west of South, at a distance of
seven miles from General Lawton's head.
quarters, lies MORO Castle. The road to
within few hundred yard of the bat
teries at the rear Of Moro, was recon.
noitered yesterday afternoon by General
Chaffee and several members of his staff,
The Cubans believe that If the water
supply of the city can be cut off Santiago
will have to yield at once. They say that
Admiral Ceryera's S entire fleet except the
torpedo boat destroyer Terror is in the
harbor.
General Lawton is inclined to discredit
the reports that guns have been taken
from the ships to strengthen the defences
on land. He says 1t would be impossible
for Admiral Cervera to reach the position
of the American army with his big guns
from where the Spanish ships lie.
No aggressive move by the Americans
is anticipated for several days. The road
to the base of supplies must be greatly
improved before the onward movement
can be safely made. AT present it taxes
the quartermastels' department to the ut
most to get provisions and ammunition.
Last night one pack train arrived with
supplies sufficient to last until tonight
and as this despatch Is being written an
other train of ammunition is coming in.
A train of ammunition has reachsd Cen
eral Chaffee's brigade and a battery of
Gatling guns, and dynamite guns, at