The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-06-30
Sixteen Americans in
the List of the
Dead.
MANY SPANIARDS KILLED.
Thirty = Seven Bodies of
Enemies Found by
Our Men. ......
A PERFECT AMBUSCADE.

JURAGUA, CUBA, June 26.-The ini-
tial fight of Col. Woods Rough Riders
and the troopers of the First and
Tenth regular cavalry will be known
in history as the Battle of La Quasina
That it did not end in the complete
slaughter of the Americans was not
due to any miscalculation in the plan
of the Spaniards, for as perfect an am
buscade as was ever formed in the
brain of an Apache Indian was pre-
parad, and Lieutenant-Colonel Roose-
welt and his men walked squarely into
it.
For an hour and a half they held
their ground under a perfect storm of
bullets from the front and sides. and
then Colonel Wood at the right and
Lieut.-Col. Roosevelt at the left, led a
charge which turned the tide of bat
tie and sent the enemy flying over the
hills toward Santiago.
1t is now definitely known that 16
men on the American side were killed
while 60 were wounded or are reported
to be missing. 1t is impossible to cal
culate the Spanish losses, but it is
known that they were far heavier
than those of Americans, at least as
regards actual loss of life.
Already 81 dead Spanish soldiers
have been found and buried, while
many others are undoubtedly lying
in the thick underbrush on the side of
the gully, and on the slope of the hill
where the main body of the enemy
was located The wounded were all
removed.
That theSpaniards were thoroughly
posted as to the route to be taken by
the Americans in their movement to-
ward Sevilla was evident, as shown
by the careful preparations they had
made. The main body of the Span
iards was posted on hill, on the heav-
lily wooded slopes of which had been
erected two blockhouses, f1anked by
irregular entrenchments of stones and
fallen trees.
At the bottom of these hills run two
roads, along which Roosevelt's men
and eight troops of the First and
Tenth Cavalry, with battery of four
howitzers, advanced. These roads
are but little more than gullies, rough
and narrow, and at places almost i'm
passable. In these trails the fights oc-
Cured.
Nearly half mile separated Roose-
velt's men from the regulars, and be-
tween them and on both sides of the
road in the thick underbrush. was
concealed force of Spaniards that
must have been large, Judging from
the terrific and constant fire that
poured in ON the Americans.
The fig ht was opened by the First
and Tenth Cavalry, underGen. Young.
A force of Spaniards was known to be
in the vicinity of La Quasina, and
early in the morning Roosevelt's men
started off up the precipitous 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 half miles out from
Siboney, some Cubans, breathless and
excited, rushed into camp with the
announcement that the Spaniards
were but a little way in front and
and were strongly entrenched.
Quickly the Hotchkiss guns out in the
front were brought to the rear, while
a strong scouting line was thrown out.
Then cautiously and in silence the
troops moved forward until bend in
the road disclosed hill, where the
Spaniards were located. The guns
were again brought to the front and
placed in position, while the men
crouched down in the road, waiting
patiently to give Roosevelt's men, who
were toiling over the little train along
the crest of the ridge, time to get up.
AT 7.30 a. m! Gen. Young gave the
command to the men at the Hotch-
kiss guns to open fire. That command
was the signal for a fight that for
stubbornness has seldom been equal
ed. The instant the Hotchkiss guns
were fired, from the hillsides COM
manding the road, came volley after
volley from the Mausers of the Span
iards.