The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-19
STORIES FROM THE FRONT.
HOW THE ROUGH RIDERS WON
THEIR BRILLIANT VICTORY.

Says the Americans Were Not AM
buscaded-The Dove Signals of the
Spaniards-Once More the Question
of POwder-Springa eld Rifles
Thrown Away.
The United States transport Olivette,
with $50 wounded soldiers from Cuba
aboard, arrived in the lower bay and an
chored off quarantine at S:15 O'Clock Sat
urday night, says the New York Sun. On
every wharf from st. George to Fort
Wadsworth. on the Staten Island shore,
were hundreds of people, many of them
friends or relatives of the men on the
Olvette. At Stapleton there were over
1000 people and 100 private carriages. for
it was known that a this point over 100
of the injured were to be landed and con-
veyed to the United States marine hospital
at Clifton Some of these people had been
waiting since early in the afternoon, and
they We're nightly relieved when the big
transport poked her nose around the cor
ner of Fort Wadsworth,
AS soon as the Olivette came to anchor
the quarantine boat Gov. Flower, having
on board Health Officer Doty, Surgeon
! General Sternberg Surgeon Majors Bush
nell and Hail and Federal Judge j. P.
| Thomas of Vinita, T. T.. went out to her.
The first man aboard the Olivette from
the Gov. Flower was Judge Thomas Judge
Thomas is over 90 years of age, but he got
up the rope ladder like young fellow,
and moment later was in the arms Of
tall, bearded young soldier in the uniform
| of a Rough Rider. The young Rough
| Rider was his son, Capt. John r. Thomas
! of Company L. Young Thomas started
| out as a lieutenant in Company L. but
after the death on the field of Capt Ca
| prom he was made captain of the troop.
| Thomas has four bullets in his left leg.
| He was reported killed after the fight at
| Las Guasimas, where the Rough Riders
were reported to have been ambushed by
the Spaniards, but his father was notified
later that he was all right. He has suf-
| fered greatly from his wounds, and his
! face is pale and drawn; but the surgeons
| say he will be IS good as ever after proper
| treatment. Judge Thomas was in costa
| sizes when he laid eyes on his boy. After
| hugging him for fully minute without
word, he held him off at arms length and
| in loud voice declared;
81 want everybody to know that this is
| the happiest moment of my life. My boy
no one will ever be as proud of you as
! am al this moment. God bless you and
ala these brave boys see standing arouad
you"
The wounded soldiers standing around
| gave a mighty cheer for Judge Thomas.
| Then Miss Thomas, whom the Western re-
! cruits among the Rough Riders elected the
daughter of the regiment, stepped forward
| and greeted her brother. She also was
cheered. Young Thomas had this TO say
/ of the fight at Las Guasimas:
''The story that we were ambuscaded
| is absolutely false. The Rough Riders
| and the regulars with them went into
that fight with their eyes wide open. They
| knew 1t was coming twenty minutes be-
fore the first shot was fired. Two scouts
of the Tweuty-second United States In
fantry, who had been in the front, came
! back and said: Boys the Spaniards are
| ahead of us There wasn't a word from
a man, but every fellow took a little tight
er grip on his gun, set his teeth together
and marched ahead. There wasn't man
/ to falter; not a man who wished to turn
back. We marched ahead with full ranks
ready to meet the enemy. 1t was twenty
minutes after the scouts made the report
! that Trooper Thomas Isbell of Troop l.
saw the first of the enemy. A Spanard
| sprang up in the brush TO the right and
| fred IsbeI plucked him in a fash 1t
was the first shot fired by the Rough Ri
| ders, and Isbel killed his man. Then the
| Spaniards showed up on every side They
| were formed in a semi-circle, most of
! them being on the surrounding hills, so
| that they were able TO pour in a deadly
| fire on us / judged from what l saw
| that there were fully 1903 of them. I
/ have since heard that there were more.
| In order to get at them we had 10 march
| right into a cul de sac but we~went in on
| the double quick, giving them shot for
| shot. Soon after the fight opened, Capt.
| Capron was killed. A sergeant of our
/ Gels 1T l,,.t H.,
himself on his elbow and waved the man
aside. Leave me alone he said, and
| go on. I'd sooner lie here
"Three-quarters of an hour later / was
! shot Col. Wood saw me fall, and riding
up jumped from his horse and said:
! Thomas, take my horse ard go to the
| rear l refused to take his horse, telling
! him that the boys were better off with
| him on its back in plain sight He said
no more about the matter, knowing that 1
! preferred to stay where l was.
The fight was beyond description, but
want to say for the Rough Riders that
/ there wasn't a man who showed a sign of
fear despite the terrible odds he was
fighting against. AS for the New York
society boys, they fought side by side and
| sent shot for shot with the toughest of
the Westerners. 1t must be said for the
| Rough Riders that they were fortunate in
their commanding officers. Say, Roose-
and Col. Wood is just as brave man.
Both we're in front of the regiment every
/ time there was a fight, urging the boys
! on AS for Isbell, who fired the first shot,
| forgot 10 tell you he got shot seven times,
! and here he is walking round the Olivette
as though they'd never touched him"
A correspondent of the New York Even
! ing Post in describing the first terrible
experience of the Roosevelt Rough Riders
in Cuba says IT was a mere mess-up, due
10 the want Of most ordinary military pru-
dence.
A few ragged Cubans were ahead. SAYS
the correspondent, and following, single
file, were a drummer a corporal, a SER
gcant and so on-no thanking force-all
advancing along the trail through the
close growing bush, garrulous as a lot Of
1aborers going homeward after a days
work. Above the tramping noises and
the confusion OF voices you could hear
Jim Smith, who used to keep the store al
Red Horse, l. T.. arguing with much bias
phemy about the capabilities of Sheriff