The age-herald., 1898-11-18
compelling the men to lie on the ground. causing sickness.
 fsanaraI Youor Testsfiea

 causing sickness.
 General Young Testsnes
 Maior-General s. B. M. Young was be- fore the commission at its afternoon ses- sion relating in detail his experience at Santiago and vicinity and afterwards at Montauk. He said he had landed at Dali quiri on the Fist of June and that by the morning of the 2Sd his entire brigade had been put ashore He had notified General Wheeler immediately and had received orders to move on four or five miles and secure a good camp. He accordingly pushed on to Siboney. He had asked General Wheeler where the good camping ground was and he had replied that the Spaniards occupied it.
 T then," said General Young, asked permission to go out to see the ground,
 saying I should like to get it for our own
 troops, to which General Wheeler as- sented."
 In accordance with this arrangement he moved out at o'clock next morning to fight the battle of Guasima, sending the volunteers, the Rough Riders, by one road and the regulars going by another. lie declared that there was no surprise in this fight, and no ambuscade had been reached. He had reconnoitred the Spanish camp with a glass for half an hour before the fight began, and he had attacked the Spaniards and not the Spaniards him. Speaking of the Rough Riders, he said lIGTe ndu DeGH HO Bl6dASA pCiNShtn6S oA casualties among them than among the regulars, and that they were not led into any situation not to be expected in war 1 The report that they were allowed to be | ambuscaded was due, he said, "entirely to 1 the demoralized reporter and the demorai- l ized adjutant of the regiment, who hao 1 left the service soon afterwards. General l Young said he had occupied the enemys camp that day, "and 1t was very good 1 camp,'' he added naively. In reply to question as to what aid he had secured from the Cubans in this fight, he replied none whatever. The Cuban guides had de- serted him upon the first fire. General | Castillo, on the night before, had told him | that he would send 300 Cubans with nm, | but when the next morning came he had 1 sent to notify Castillo that he was prepared l to proceed, his messenger had found card l on the Cuban commanders door saying 1 that he must not be disturbed. He had | therefore proceeded without the Cubans. Picked Up the Baggage l After the fight was over, however, some 1 of the Cubans had come up under the cum mand of Frenchman, who saluted very | tragicaly with his sabre, saying that ne l had been ordered by General Castillo To follow the enemy and fight him wherever | he could find him. General Young said ne | simply ordered the Cubans to the rear ana l the only service they had performed was 10 gather up the baggage that the American soldiers had discarded General Young said he had been the only man in the command at La Guasima who was mounted, and that he rode a mule He carried no baggage eX- cept a rubber scker, a paJama and to- IL brush. The wounded were carried back 10 Siboney and while the hospital there was somewhat congested, the men were well at tended to.
 General Young said that immediately aft- CT the Guasima fight he had looked the ground over towards Fl Caney and had in- 1 formed General Wheeler that he was con | fdent that he could take the place that night with his brigade if he was allowed to do so.
 General Wheeler replied that his orders l from General Shafter were not to advance without notifying him and he would notify the general of his General Young se wishes. He had not heard anything more. of the matter.
 With this General Young's services in Cuba ceased, as he was taken down with fever on June 30 and sent back home. After recovery General Young was sent to command Montauk camp.
 He detailed the difficulties of the prepara- ton of the camp. He said it had been inn possible to get in the foeFs and he had not considered them necessary either for health or comfort. 'I gave them lumber, ham,
 mers and nails, however,, and told them 10 make themselves floors If they wanted
 them. l thought they were being treated too much like babies"
 Supplies Allowed to Spoil
 He regarded the commissary supplies, he said, as abundant, and that enough had been allowed to spoil to feed 1,500 men daily.
 The hospital and quartermaster stores were also ample He had never in all his experience seen army hospitals so well supplied with medicines and stores of all kinds. The controlling motive in selecting Montauk was that of securing proper quar- antine and a very strict quarantine was observed. He considered the camp very healthful. and the site very desirable.
 "What was done there for the soldiers?" he said, T think l deserved more credit for what I did at Montauk than for what I did at La Guasima. I think more was done than should have been done.''
 Telling of the hardships of one command just arrived from Cuba he said: '"They were not the heroes, being only regulars" He said the privations of war were not so serious as Indian campaigns he had been engaged in. There had been occasions when he and his command had to live on corn, and others when there was nothing to be had except horse meat or burro meat. "But that" he said, twas not in the news papers,"
 He was satisfied that most of the com plants against the camp were unfounded. Many of these complaints were made by men and women who had never seen men in camp. Approaching the situation, the soldiers had played it on'' the visitors. making complaints that were without foundation in order to get delicacies. Sol- diers like to be made babies of, he said, and some of them got so that they would not eat their regular rations."
 General Young concluded his testimony with the statement that the soldiers were far better cared for than they were in the civil war.
 ENDICOTT'S REPORT.