Evening star., 1898-08-18
TACT WITH THE CUBkNS
Gen. Wheeler Tells How to Eauage the
Insurgents.
Comments on the Change OF Battle
Conditions From Those in
the Civil War.

| some OF General W heelerS friends re-
marked to him here yesterday that his ap-
pearance suggested that another campaign
like Santiago would act upon him like the
| spring Of perpetual youth. He is little
thinner than he was before he went into
the war. but he is bronzed, and his eyes
are bright, his step springy and his move
| ments full of energy. He looks five years
| younger than before he endured the hard
! ships of the campaign
| General Wheeler will remain in the army
| Until the volunteers under his command
| are mustered out, or until December. His
| reelection to Congress is said to be as
sured. practically without opposition, and
/ the reassembling of Congress will demand
his attention in that body after December.
| Tie general speaks very modestly about
his part in the Santiago campaign, in fact,
| not talking about himself at all, and ac-
| cepung congratulations with extreme mod
esty.
| But he speaks in very high praise of the
American army. and says that he thinks It
mas demonstrated that we can in this coun-
| try raise an army in a very short time.
| pable Of contending against the army OF
any nation on earth. The spirit and cour-
age of the men, he says, is indomitable. and
| with drill and training they become the
| best soldiers that can be conceived of.
| Speaking of the Cubans, General Wheeler
says that his impression of them was some
what different from that prevailing.
Tact Needed with Cubans.
| The Cuban soldiers, he said, were ragged
| and half famished, and so debilitated that
as much should not be expected of them
! as some seem to expect, and moreover, the
difference of custom, mode of life and Ian
| guage led to a lack of understanding be-
| tween them and our own people He said
| that he found, however, that IL care was
taken to employ competent Interpreters ard
| TO explain TO them fully purposes and mo-
1 h.aN-
to the best of their ability. AS an example
of this, he spoke of colonel of the Cuban
army who reported to him Ito cooperate
with the American army"
Il told him." said the general "to rsport
to Gen. Chaffee for orders. To this he re-
piled that he had his orders from the COM
manding Cuban general, but when -ex-
psained TO him with care the impossIbllity
of cooperation If he followed the orders of
the Cuban general instead of the American
general, he accepted the situation and re-
ported to Gen. Chaffee for orders. The
same thing happened in connec lion with
the work on the roads. The Interpretation
from English to Spanish not always
very clear,and som etimes the translation re-
suited in the use of terms that were harsh
and calculated to offend the pride or digni-
ty of the Cubans. But whenever trouble
was taken to explain away this, we got
along very we'll
The general, in reply to an inquiry as to
the impression he got Of the capacity of
the Cubans to govern themselves. expressed
the opinion that they would develop the ca
paclty, and added that the Cubans must
not be judged by their ragged army. that
We did not always meet in the field the
best class of Cubans, and that there were
many men connected with the Cuban cause
who possessed ability in the line necessary
to self-government.
Change I'm Battle Conditions.
The general said that when he first went
into battle the great difference between the
conditions surrounding the fight now and
those surrounding the great battles of the
civil war impressed him strongly. During
the war he said, I'VE fought at close
range and there was tremendous noise and
smoke.
In this war the range Of fire was 500
yards or more; II ere was very little noise.
and the use of smokeless powder disposed
of the smoke of battle. 1t seemed strange TO
me, when the fighting first began, not being
able TO see any smoke, hearing none of the
ordinary noise and seeing the men fall
about me. l saw probably the first man
struck in the fight. He was near me, and L
went to him just as he had fallen, and
could sea no mark where he had been
struck yet ne v as in the last agony Of
Death and died in few minutes, almost in
stanty. L heard no noise, had seen moth
ing and could not even see the wound on
him, and yet he was there dying.
We undId his belt, and there was Just
the least hole where the ball had gone
right through his body. The range of fire
is so great with the modern guns that dis
tance seemed to make little difference in
the matter of danger. There is no such
thing as seeking safety in the rear of the
line of fire. When We got up TO within five
hundred yards, why practically the whole
army was exposed TO the fire. those IN the
rear being in danger, as well as those for
ward"
The Charge on san Juan.
Speaking of the capture of San Juan
hill, Gen. Wheeler said that it had not
been his intention to make the assault
when they did; that they marched to a cer-
tain point. and intended to remain there.
He was in command, and two considera-
tions led him to order the army TO go
ahead. One was that they were exposed TO
fire where they were and were in as much
danger at that distance as they would ba
in making the assault. and another was
that Gen. Lawton's command, which was
to come up from the southeast, might have
advanced to position where the assist
ance of the forces under Gen. Wheeler
would be needed. The intention had been
to remain where he was until Lawton
should come up, but the uncertainty as to
how far Lawton had advanced and the fact
that Gen. Wheeler's command was exposed
as much where they were as they would
be in the advance led to the forward move
ment at once.
Why No Retreat Was Made.
The depressing condition of affairs on tho
1st of July. when the dispatches received
1io4S SausSu suSh dhAiety anu even Iear OF
disaster, Gen. Wheeler said was due to the
absolute discomfort and suffering of the
whole army, having had to wade through
the San Juan river, wet to their skins. and
not being in condition to withstand a Sc
we're attack by strong force; but that they
had determined that after the progressive
victories which had been won by our troops
the enemy would not be in a condition TO
make such attack any more than our
troops were in condition to repal It, and
therefore our men stood their ground and
future events speedily terminated all
thought of retiring from a foot OF ground
that they had occupied.