The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-07-01
Only the Unfaltering Courage
of Our Men Prevented
a Disaster.
The CASUALTIES INCREASED
Now Known Americans Lost
Sixteen Killed and Sixty
Wounded.
Bodies of Thirty-SeVen Span.
iardS Are Recovered and
Inferred.

JURAGUA, Cuba, via Kingston, ia
maica, June 27.-The initial fight of
Colonel Woods rough riders and the
troops of the First and Tenth cavalry
will be known in history as the battle
of La Quasina. That it did not end in
the complete slaughter of the Ameri-
cans was not due to any miscarriage in
the plans of the Spaniards, for as per-
feet an ambuscade as was ever formed
in the brain of an Apache was
formed, and Colonel Wood and his
men walked square into it. For an
hour and half they held their
ground under perfect storm of
bullets from the front and sides, and
then Colonel Wood at the right and
Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt at the
left led charge which
Turned the Tide of Battle
and sent the enemy flying over the
hills towards Santiago. It is now
definitely known that 16 men on the
American side were killed while 10 are
wounded or are missing. 1t is impossi-
BILE to calculate the Spanish losses
though it is known that they were
much larger than the American as re-
CARDS actual loss of life. At present 81
have been recovered and bu ried, while
others are undoubtedly lying in the
thick under brush on the side of the
gully or the slope of the hill where the
main body of the enemy was located.
That the Spaniards were thoroughly
posted as to the route to be taken by
the Americans in their
Movement Towards Sevilla
is evident, as shown by the careful
preparations they had made. The
main body of the Spaniards was
posted on hill on the heavily wooded
slopes on which had been erected two
blockhouses, tianked by irregular in.
trenchments of stone and fallen trees
At the bottom of these hills run two
roads along which Lieutenant Colonel
Roosevelt's men and eight troops of
the First and Tenth cavalry, with a
DdUG6Iy VI lOuI uOWltLCIoS duNduCOu.
These roads are but little more than
gullies, rough and narrow and at places
almost impossible. In these trails the
fight occurred. Nearly half mile
separated Roosevelt's men from the
regulars, and between them and on
both sides of the road in the thick un.
derbrush was
Concealed Force of Spaniards
that must have been large, Judging
from the terrific and constant fire
they poured in on the Americans. The
fight was opened by the First and
and Tenth cavalry under General
Young. A force of Spaniards was
known to be in the vicinity of La
Quasina and carly in the morning
Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's men
started off up the PERCEPTIONS bluff.
back of Siboney to attack the Span.
iards on their right flank, General
Young at the same time taking the
road at the foot of the hill. About
two and a half miles out from Sibo-
ney some Cubans, breathless and ex-
cited, rushed into camp with the an
nouncement that the Spaniards were
but little way in front and were
strongly entrenched. A bend in the
road soon disclosed hill on which
The spaniards Were Located.
The Hotchkiss guns were again
brought to the front and placed in
position, while the men crouched down
in the road waiting impatiently to give
Roosevelt's men, who were toiling over
the little trail along the crest of the
ridge, time to get up.
At 7:30 a. m. General Young gave
the command to the men at the Hotch-
kiss guns to open fire. The command
was the signal for fight that for stub.
bornness has seldom been equalled.
The instant the Hotchkiss guns were
fired the hillsides gave forth volley
after volley from the Mausers of the
Spaniards. Crawling along the edge
of the road and protecting themselves
as much as possible from the
Fearful Fire of the spaniards
the troopers watched the base of the
hill and when any part of Spaniard
became visible they fired. Never for
an instant did they falter.
In the meantime away off to the left
could be heard the cracks of Colonel
Woods men and the regular firing OF
the Spaniards. Over there the Amer
lean losses were the greatest. Colonel
Woods men went squarely into the
trap set for them by the Spaniards and
only the unfaltering courage of the
men in the face of fire that would
even make veteran quail prevented
what might easily have been disaster.
AS it was Troop L, the advance guard,
under the unfortunate Captain Ca
prom, was almost surrounded and but
for the reinforcements hurriedly sent
forward every man would probably
L. Ill