El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-09-27
ALFRED S. PINKERTON.

ish block houses, in the entertainments,
and the Spanish soldiers were forced
out and driven back by the Americans
They retrested gradually back into
the city, followed up by the Americans
pouring vOlley after volley into their
ranks, and getting volley after volley
in return.
''As the firing line moved forward,
we, in the band and hospital corps,
would follow, sheltering ourselves as
much as po5sibles from the storm of
bullets flying over. our heads and all
around US. We had been following an
old street or road, on each side of
which was a forest of bamboo, and 9TH
err thick growths of vegetation of a
swampy character. At one place the
| firing got so hot and bullets came 40
close, that we sll made q rush to get
behind the walls OF house on one side
| OF the street. No one had to be told to
hug the ground after we had gotten
| behind shelter, everyone had become
suddenly tired and wanted to lie down,
| not even minding the mud, that WAS
about knee deep. Three or four bull
lets struck pretty close to where we
were lying, and about that time SOL
der came along from the firing line
going back to the reserves. He shout
ed to US as he passed, You fellows had
better get out of that, q sharp shooter
is firing at you.' 1t did not take us
long to come to the same conclusion
and so we jumped to our feet and start
ed on a run to the opposite side of the
street to get out of sight in the tall
bamboo and grass on that side. Here
a funny Incident occurred that is worth
telling.
1--WE carried with US four litters.
with four men to each litter, two
of whom carried the litter.
Carrying one of the filters was
short, fat German belonging to the
band, and tall, lean fellow belonging
to the hospital corps. When the rush
was made to cross the street, the Ger
man, whom L will call Chess, for short,
was in the lead carrying one end of
the litter, with Jimmie, the hospital
man, closely behind, carrying the 9TH
err end. Chess was not long in gaining
the other side, and plunged head first
into the the bamboo thicket, followed
by Jimmie. He had not gone far into
the bamboo when his foot caught in
some grass and he fell head first into a
puddle of mud, knee deep. Jimmie
did not stop to assist his fellow COM
rade out Of the mud. but grabbed the
litter and disappeared behind bamboo
hedge. Chess scramb led to his feet as
quickly as possible, dug the mud out of
his eyes. and looked around, putting
and snortiug like q porpoise. He did
not see Jimmie or the litter, and in q
voice of lamentation and sorrow, cried
out: % Lord poor Shimmie is gone:
he fell in hole sixteen feet deep;
come somepody quick and help get him
oudt.' OF course everyone laughed and
went on, leaving Chess to follow in his
despair and mud.
AFTER we were all safely hidden be-
hind an old stone wall, we concluded |
to wait until the fight was over before F.,
moving up again. We had not been |
there long, however, when there was q |
lull in the firing and q call was made i!
for the hospital corps, which was
responded to by all taking up
the dOuble-time and proceeding to the |
place where the fight had waged hot !
test. l did not expect to find less than /,
fifty of our boys killed and perhaps |
twice that number wounded. The !
Spaniards were retreating back into ]
the city, closely pushed by the Ameri- !
cans.
when we arrived at the scene of |
the fight We found some of the reserves
throwing up breastwOrks across the |
street, TO withstand an assault of the
Spaniards, should they succeed indriv-
the street was an old Spanish church
which we turned into temporary hos
pital, and into which we carried the
dead and wounded. While the hottest
part of the fight was in the immediate
vicinity of this old church. still the
firing lines extended to the beach on
our left, and though they kept up
constant firing down the lines, there
were not as many of our men killed and
in any other wing of the as
sault, as there were near the old
church: and as we had only five killed
and twenty-one wounded in the church,
you can gain an idea of the poor marks
of the Spaniards.
I'VE covered the dead soldfers-two of
W HON were the LIST and End sergesuts
Of the Aston battery-with rubber
ooncbos, and bound up the wounds of
5he others, making them as comforta-
Die as possible under the circumstan-
,es. 1t was decided to take the wound
I'd men back to camp, where they
could receive better treatment at the
hospitals. The road was so cut I'D
with entertainments that the native
,arts could not get nearer than about
! quarter of a mile to the church, so
We were compelled to carry the wound
I'd men on filters to where the carts
we're stationed, and from there they
we're conveyed to camp on the carts.
w started with four men on the Iit-t
,ers, over the rough and muddy road,
sinking knee-deep in the slush at each ,
step, trying our best not to Jolt the I
boys, who would grosn at any
sudden jerk of the filters. which occa- .
ionally we could not avoid making.
We had not yet arrived at the place
where the carts were stationed, when
We heard q low murmur in the direc-
ion OF the city, that sounded like dis
ant waterfall. then swelled into a 6
mighty roar. which we kDaw was tho
cheering of thousands of troops. and
;ould have but one meaning-Victory.l .
sure enough the Spa lizards had sur