The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-19

ash warfare. IL is difficult at FIRST TO real
ize in war that human beings with guns
are lying in wait for you. and that they
will shoot TO XIII. On struggled the horse
less troopers, eXecrating the sun which
made them drop out and sit by the way
side. or throw off their blankets ana half
TENS as deadly Cumbersome. or suffer
pangs OF thirst, with no relief in their can
teens, or fall back to the hospital line.
or tumble, overcome. in the path. For
ward the lire came across the dead body
of a Cuban. The shot that killed him was
nor heard above the clamor of marching
and talking.
Immediately there was firing from left,
right and front But you know the story
Mauser rifles and machine guns from am
bush played among our men with horrify-
ing havoc. AS is the American impulse,
oaths and imprecations rose from the
wounded and their comrades, till Col,
Wood commanded: Don't swear. fight"
1t was a relief to swear, but it was also a
relief to fight, and, with. chins set grimly,
the eXasperated troops, al one time nat
on the ground, later in extended order,
shot blindiy in the direction from which
the bullets came. Overhead these bullets
cracked and snapped among the Jwigs till
it was thought they were exploding OF
course, the men were bit demoralized
by the sudden attack and the stampede of
the mules. The thing to do, the infectious
thought of the moment, was TO run.
Come to your senses, men," yelled one
of the officers, and before long Troops +
and G were advancing, driving ahead the
hidden enemy. Here was a Spanish sol
der, in his blue dungaFee, stretched out
on his back amid American dead, arms
thrown out, jaw fallen ana eyes staring
at the sun end not blinking any more To
see men bleed to see them thrash in
agony and foam al the mouth, is unset
n ha Npt a mol 4
| when a friend, face flaming with heal and
excitement, PUSHES up 10 tell you some
thing, stops still, and can only find voice
enough to say a weak, choking, inconse-
quenI "Hellov What he wants TO say is
that Ham" Fish is shot as you learn
afterward, and that his head is so badly
shattered that only by q watch in the dead
! boys pocket can you be assured that 1t
indeed is Fish.
Several give their attention to one man.
| wounded in the spine, upon whose brain
| the hurt is pitiful. In a sane moment lis
1t sane moment0 he asks for a cigarette.
and on the stretcher, paralyzed below the
/ waist, he smokes in seeming comfort 1t
| IS very kind of them, he SAYS to help him
so much. But aren't they missing the
/ tight? He 'swOons again; again he re-
| wives, and asks for a cigarette Then in
! a pleasant baritone, he sings, 1T Is Moon
! light on the Wabash" going through ev-
! cry stanza, wondering, perhaps. that no.
! body joins. Boys" he asks. will Won
| have hanson on the beach for me? I've
! got to meet Mr. - right away" Yes.
/ they tell him, there VIII be a hanson on
! the beach for him. 1t suggests New York
! to them-Madiscn square, upper Broad
way, with its rumble and life, sidewalks
! filled with fine women going to tbe matinee
/ or to shop where you have but to raise
! your finger to send hurt man easily ia
! hOGnff41 &c feyI1 kaf a
this one to the little shed where the dead
| and wounded lie together, candles making
! the place werd by their little bright un.
diffused specks of light
/ Who were the dead? IL was days be-
| fore it could be known. Looking for the
bodies the men found corpses without
! faces. mot vultures," explained the
Cubans. but land craps" They were
the ugly, crawling things that had come
! across the path at the same time the wood
doves cooed frightened from their holes
/ in the bushy ground by Spaniards sneak
/ ing up 10 our unsuspecting line We did
not read the signs, and the crabs Toasted
/ This may not look nice In print but think
! OF looking upon the thing itself, and give
up whatever illusions you may have that
war is anything but hell.
! When the Spanish prisoners boarded the
| st. Louis, all with the exception of Ger
! vera were asked to sign an agreement
| that they would do their utmost during
! the voyage TO quiet disturbances. and
| would under no circumstance be tempted
! to tamper with the machinery of the ship,
/ says an exchange. One man refused saw
/ ing that the word Of a Spaniard was
enough. He was put under guard and
/ refused the special comforts given to the
4 others. Al the eud Of the ffrst day at sea
/ he offered to sign anything which ne was
asked to sign, but Capt. Goodrich replied
! that the good offices of the United States
were rendered only once.
| Long before our army saw the Spanish
| soldiers they heard the Spanish guns, Gays
| the New York Press letter from Siboney.
! dated July 2. When the first voGey of
musketry came or the first shrapnel smell
exploded, scattering its leaden death, came
the signal to halt, aim, fire. advance and
fire al will
Aim? at what?
Fire? In which direction?
Each American soldier had to use his
own judgment. His eye could tell MIN
| nothing. He couldn't see artillery or in
fantry or earthworks or rife pits. All he
could see was tall grass and cactus and
underbrush in front and on all sides Of
him. The ping of the Mauser rifles
somewhere ahead was his only guide. SO
he shot his piece, aimed at a sound.
The Mauser rife, which the Spanish
army is provided with, has snokeless pow
der in its cartridges The field rifles Of the
Spanish artillery use snlokeless powder.
Our own soldiers Of the regular army
are equipped with the Krag-Jorgensen
rifle, which gives no curl of smoke when
fired to betray the location of the soldier
who carries it, But the Seventy-hrst.
They had the Springfield rifle, the old
style, smoke-nuisance gun, discarded by
the war department years ago. When the
Seventy-first fired a volley. every Span
lard across the firing line knew where to
aim his rife or where TO train his bat
terry. Consequently the bullets flew thick
est and the hail of shrapnel was fiercest
among the ranks Of the New York volun-
teers
The smoke from the Springfield. rifles
of the Seventy-first New York was as
effective In drawing the Spanish fire as
would have been a sign post raised on
high and carrying this descriptions