The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-03
DEATH OF SURGEON GIBBS.
MAN WHO WAS PRESENT DE-
sCRIBEs THE WOUND.

Bullet Entered Left Temple and Left
n Hole About the Size OF "A Lead
PenciI-Came Out at the Right
Temple and Left "a Hole as Large
Around as IA Tea Cup - Sergeant
Smiths Heart Reported Cut Out
When His Body Was FOund-span-
iards Refused to Bury Their Dead.
New York, July 2--As soon as the Pan
Their. which Is now at the Brooklyn navy
yard, receives her armament, il is ex-
pected she will join the new squadron,
commanded by Commodore Watson, which
is being formed to harass the Spanish
coast The Panther VIII carry a compile
ment OF 2Sl sailors and marines. The bat
terry will consist of six 5-inch and four
rapd-fire guns. 1t was from the Panther
that the first body of troops, consisting of
800 marines, was landed at Guantanamo.
"A man on the Panther who was pres
ent when Surgeon John Blair Gibbs was
killed, told the following story of the
killing: Surgeon Gibbs was shot while
dressing a wound. The bullets were spat-
terlng about like hail. Gibbs had cleaned
the wound of the man and was dressing
it when he was struck The bullet, a
Mauser, mushroomed. 1t went in at the
left tempel and came out ali the right
Where ii went in the hole was about the
size of lead pencil. Where is came out
It was as big around as tea cup.
HE was leaning over at the time and
fell forward on his face. When picked up
he was dead
The stories that our men were not
mutilated is wrong. l know what l am
talking about.
"Sergt Smiths body was mutilated. his
heart had been cut out when we found
him. He was SO badly chopped up that all
we could do was to bury him where he
was.
The day of the last fight Capt Elliott's
men closed up well that gave the Span
iards drinking water. After the fight we
found forty-seven dead Spaniards that had
tried TO reach a stream to get water They
hau dragged themselves to it, and they
had died
I'VE sent the Baby McCalla,' that Is
the name of the Marblehead's launch, to
The city OF Guantanamo, under a flag of
truce, and asked the Spaniards to bury
their dead. We told them they might send
men out and they would not be interfered
with. They did not do it. We sent Uhem
word again, but they refused to bury
their own dead. The buzzards were about
in sWarms and the sight was a sickening
one.
THE treatment OF the Spanish wounded
Is terrible. They leave them on the field
to die There are no ambulance corps in
their army and their soldiers are naked.
Their guerrillas wear roughly fashioned
palm leaf hat; another palm leaf as a
mask, cartridge belt, a rifle, a machete
and pair of shoe soles tied on like san
dals is their make up.
THE Cubans go in about the same way,
and make no prisoners. They cut the
Spanish throats and smile
I'VE did not think much q the Cubans
at first, but they are wonders They go
through that brush like rabbits, head
down and machete ready. They come
back with a Spaniard's gun and equip
ments. Asked where the prisoner Is they
say: 'Hispaniola' and draw their hand
across their throat.
There Is plenty of fun in the situation
and the Cubans furnish 1t. We gave them
shoes. In a day their feet were blister
ed and some had corns. They had cut up
the shoes until there is nothing left but
the soles and these are tied on their feet
When they got the shoes they were pleas
ed. That night many of them came back
to the camp over the cactus in their bare
feet, carrying the shoes on their backs"