The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-27

-"dt D-elead let go their guns aDparentlv
WIN telling effect. The loss of life among
we we spanish must have been heavy. al
tnOush there was no opportunity to ac-
curately determine how many were KILLED
iO"aIos night Col. La Borda of the Gu
Ddu army arrived with sixty men. and
S sheI camp was pitched near the site of the
puIhlhs village a supply camp under the
suaru Oh twenty marines having also been
placed there.
| With darkness bAgan tba bit+oras+ ,,ie-l,+
OF the week for the Americans.
ENhausted by their unwonted exertions.
| without sleep for forty-eght hours. and
worn WIN intense excitement, they were
N no condition for a hard fight The
| opahlards had evidently determined that
we camp was to be recaptured that night
Ihey began at s o clock with heavy firing
from their favorite position on the ridge
70 the eastward. For an hour they poured
| then shot from that vicinity. slightly
shifting their position, frequently under
the heavy fire of the marines. The latter
hred as coolly and deliberately as though
| at target practice.
After an hour and a half The f-e from
their field pieces and rifles dislodged the
! enemy but within an interval of scarcely
| haIt hour the Mauser bullets began
| again to whistle over Huutington's men,
| this time from the north. The steady
work from the hilltop again silenced the
| Spaniards and another interval of rest
| succeeded
| Inc next attack was from the ridge
| close to the water and to the seward
from the American position The enemy
| crept right down to the beach, firing up
| the hill al the camp, out over the bay at
| the fleet and along the shore at the sup
| ply camp, and the Cubans beyond. The
Cubans replied wildly, and without regard
| to the little detachment guarding the sup
hpf 10
| firing lines were driven into the bay and
| compelled to swim to the boats That none
was lost is little short of miraculous.
A company of marines was sent to the
| brow of the hill with orders to drive the
| enemy from the beach and thirty minutes
work cleared the vicinity of the enemy
Thus shifting and attacking the Span
| iards spent the night, the American camp
| being almost continuously under fire. Dur
| ing one of the volleys brave Sergt. Maj.
| Goode lost his life. He had left the shell
ter Of rife pit to issue an order and with
| the word of command on his lips fell
| shot through the heart.
The greater part of the Spanish firing
was done from the hills east and as a
result hundreds of bullets fell in the
harbor among the ships of the fleet. The
| Dandy lay a half mile off shore and the
| same distance south of the camp, but de-
| spite the apparent safety of her position
much of the night Several bullets struck
! her, three piercing the pilot house, and
| scores could be heard singing over the up
| per deck. The guns of the fleet were used
| al times. but were of little value as the
danger of dropping shells in the Ameri-
! can camp was very great.
Notwithstanding the bitter work of the
night but two deaths resulted and only
! one man was seriously wounded Had
| the Spaniards been as clever with their
rifles as they were in their methods of at
| tack and retreat, the American loss would
| have been frightful.
With Monday morning came relief from
| active work, very few shots being fired
| during the day. But the men were grow
! ing restless and were inclined to criticize
| the policy which kept them in SO warm a
| place without what they considered good
| reasons. They did not object to fighting,
| but they wanted to sleep. During the day
| it was decided to put the Cubans on skir-
| mish duty at night and the little black
! warriors soon proved their worth. So
| well did they keep the brush beaten that
| not shot was fired Monday night, the
| Spaniards being unable to approach with
out detection. The nights rest which re-
| suited put the men in better spirits and
Tuesday Col Huntington decided on an ag-
| gressve movement. Five miles to the
| eastward lay the principal camp of the
! guerrillas, a little village of shacks built
| around large well, the only one left with
! in radius of five or six miles, and there
fore of the highest Importance. Already
a well near the coast had been destroyed
| by a shell from the Dolphin.
! At 8 o'clock Tuesday morning 200 ma
rines started for the Spanish rendezvous
accompanied by fifty Cubans under Col
| La Borda, Company G under Capt. Eli
Oft and company under Capt. Spicer
comprised the marine attachment. Capt
Elliott being in command.
The march was fearful one. The trail
ran over two hills, and along the sea-
shore sharp rocks and barren patches, all
| ternating with bush bristling with cacti
| and thorny shrubs. The sun beating vi
| ciously down on the little command
was almost as much to be feared as the
| Spanish and before the battle ground was
| reached twenty-five men had fallen, af-
| fected by the heat. The surgeon In at
tendance was able 10 get them all on their
| feet and not man missed the finish
| The Spaniards lay on the side of
| ridge facing, and not more than mile
| from the sea. 1t was noon when from the
| top of the nearest hill Capt. Elliott caught
sight of the place on the ridge below him.
The men were quickly formed in line Of
battle, the Cubans on the left flank, and
a stealthy approach through the thick I'M
| derbrueh began. The Americans were
| within $50 yards of the camp when start
| led Spanish sentry yelled out a warning,
fired his rifle, and disappeared behind a
! shack.
A moment later a volley burst from be-
! hind the huts and trees and dropping on
| their knees, the marines opened fire. As
| steadily as through a drill they settled
themselves to their work Their aim was
| deliberate and their firing deadly The
| sun came fiercely down upon their heads,
cacti pierced their clothes and pierced
| their hands, and Spanish bullets sang con-
| tinuouslv above them, but not a hand
| trenbled and not man fiinched. 1t was
a splendid exhibition of cool bravery and
| II had its effect upon the enemy.
! From the first the Spanish firing was
| high and wild and after twenty minutes
! steady exchange they began to break
! from cover and retreat There was no
| panic rush. the retreat being conducted in
| true guerilla fashion. In groups Of three
and four they jumped from cover and
darted zig-zagging up the hillside towards
a dense thicket which offered shelter
| Through it all the Cubans on the Ameri-
| can flank were blindly banging away with
their rifles, bowling curses at the Span
iards and waving their machetes. Their
contempt for the Spaniards and their abb
| eo1uta faarleseupSa was amply proved: but