The record-union., 1898-12-28

tropical vegetation. When we reached
the town, 1 found that I was TO be
taken out to the hospital ship, the Oliv-
cite. There was a wretched little wharf,
which ran out only a few feet into the
ocean, and from this I was lowered into
a boat. The surf was SO high that the
boats did not land. They came in to
the end of the wharf Men waded out
into the water, and held the boat as
steady as possible. Other men lowered
me from the wharf. and when the boat
rose on the crest of the wave I was
dropped into the craft, and then rowed
out to the ship. where by a similar
process I was lifted on board.
When the surgeons went to work on
me they found that an inch of nerve,
muscle and tendon. had been shot away
in my ankle. Muscle and nerve are
elastic, and will grow out and to-
gether, but the tendon is inelastic, and
that has been the difficulty in attending
to my wound. A plaster cast was
placed on my leg and taken off daily
to have the wound dressed. While the
vessel bobbed up and down on the
waves a steward had to stand with
both feet braced, and during all the
time the cast was off pull my leg with
all his might. If he should let go a
moment it would shorten up and stay
So and on a rolling ship this kind Of
leg pulling was ticklish, and not pleas
ant
The surgeons used to come around
and say cheerfully: IF you had got
shot four years ago we would have
been obliged to cut your leg off, The
marvellous advance in antiseptic sur
gerry in recent years has brought about
a great change in the number of legs
and arms lost in war.
For twenty days we cruised up and
down the coast, taking on men all the
time from the shore. In this way we
kept ourselves informed of what was
going on on shore. Each newcomer
would add something to the story.
The food supply was not of the choic-
est, and in order to get what they
thought I would like the privates who
We're taking care of me did not scruple
to steal anything they could get their
hands on. Hearst came along and
gave US several tons of ice, and with
lines from on shore and distilled water,
l had iced lemonade all the time, and
made my cabin a rendezvous for the
officers of the Olivette After twenty
days of this we were taken to New
York and there landed in civilization
again.
The story of the flag Of the Rough
Riders is an interesting one. When
the war began, the Phoenix W. r. C.
made fine flag and presented it to
Troop B, Captain McClintock's COM
mand. Individual troops have no col
ors, so the women's gift became the
squadron flag. Another flag which
was expected to become the regimental
flag failed to arrive, so the Phoenix
Stars and Stripes waved over the
Rough Riders during their Cuban cam
paign. Still further distinction awaited
it, for the flag is claimed to have been
the first raised over Cuban soil.
"On June ODD" said Captain Nc
Clintock, 'the New Orleans was she'll
ing block-houses along the coast. You
remember that the ships moved up and
down the coast for thirty miles, drop
ping a shell wherever it seemed proba-
BILE that there might be Spaniards, in
order to make it impossible for them
to tell where we intended to land.
'On a sugar-loaf hill at Baiquiri was
a Spanish block house. A few shots
were fired against it and then a land
ing party was sent ashore Dr. La
Motto, surgeon Of our regiment, and
the chief color bearer, climed the hill
and surmounted the block-house. The
halyards were found to have been cut
The Americans chopped down the pole
and fastened the flag to it's summit,
then raised it again. There were forty
war vessels and transports within
sight, and $4,000 men. Every vessel
saluted with its steam siren, and all
the 10 600 men cheered It was the
most inspiring salute to the flag
ever saw.
Nov the Rough Riders flag. riddled
with bullet holes, is back once more in
Arizona, restored to the care of the
Phoenix w. r. c., which presented it
to my troop"
Captain McClintock's troop was char
acteristic of the regiment in the va
riety of types of American citizens
which it contained. Primarily it was of
Westerners, but there were also col
lege men, merchants, and men from
every walk of life. One private had left
salary of $4,000 a. year as a mining
superintendent to follow the flag. Dave
Goodrich was there, once Captain of
Harvard's boat crew, and Dudley
Dean, the famous Harvard quarter
back, and Sanders, another Harvard
man who had won honors on many a
hardfought football field. The two
Leutenants and the four Sergeants
had all served in the regular army.
Their trained skill added to Captain
McClintock's initiative and force, and
the privates' high efficiency made
Troop B a redoubtable portion of the
most famous of all the volunteer regi-
ments of the Spanish war