The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-06-17
FIRST LAND BATTLE.
American Marines Fight Spanish
Guerril1as at Guantanamo.
Lieut.. Col HuntingtOn's 500 Men BraveIy
Stand on the Spanish Troops Until Re-
Inducements ArrIve-Four Ameri-
cans KTIled-spanish Loss.

OFF GUANTANAMO, June 13.-Lieut.
Col r w. HuntingtOn's battalion Of
marines, which landed from the trans
port Panther on Friday and encau.ped
on the hill guarding the abandoned
cable station at the entrance to the
outer harbOr of Guantanamo, has been
engaged in heading of a rush attack
by Spanish guerrillas and regulars
since three o'clock Saturday afternoon.
The fighting was almost continuous
for - hours, until six o'clock yesterday
morning, when reinforcements were
landed from the Marblehead. Four of
our men were killed and one wounded.
The advance piclcts under Lieuts. Ne
vile and Shaw are unaccOunted for
The Spanish loss Is unknown, but It
was probably considerable. The
splashes of blood found at daylight at
the positions the Spaniards occupied
indicate fatalities, but their comrades
carried of the killed and wounded.
The engagement began with desul-
tory firing at the pickets, ], 900 yards
inland from the camp. Capt. Spicer's
company was doing guard duty and
was driven in, finally rallying on the
camp and repUlsing the enemy at FIVE
o'clock. The bodies of Privates Ne
COlgan and Dunphy were found, both
shot IN the head. The large cavities
made by the bullets, which, inside a
range of 500 yards, have rotary mo-
ton, indicate that the victims were
killed at close range The bodies
were stripped of shoes, hats and car
fridge belts and horribly mutilated
with machetes.
Lieut.. Col Huntington and Mai.
COclrell gave high praise TO the nerve
and steadiness OF officers and men,
especially the young ones. as the en-
gagement was a baptism of fire for
large majority. The men were in
darkness and In u strange land, but
they stood TO their posts with courage
and fOrtitude and there was no symp-
tom Of panic. The marines, though
much exhausted, were eager for more
fighting, promising 70 inlet heavy
punishment They complimentcd the
daring of the Spaniards with chlrac-
teristic camp profanity.
OFF GUANTASANo, Cuba, June To-
The invasion of Cuba by the American
forces began to-day. Six hundred ma
rines have pitched their tents about
the smoking ruins of the outer fortiG-
cations of Guantanamo and the stars
and stripes for the first time float on
q Spanish flagstaff IN Cuba TO Capt.
Clark and the battlcship Oregon be-
long the honor of accomplishing
the first successful landing of
the war. Forty marines from
the battleship went ashore this
morning and occupied the left en-
trance of the bay until the trOopship
Panther arrived with COO marines.
These, under the command of Lieut..
Col r. w. Huntington, arrived at
three o'clock, and within half an hour
they had burned the buildings OF the
Spanish camp and set FIRE to the miser-
able little village which crouched
on the beach under the hill
top Of Guantanamo. The whole
operation Of silencing the guns
and landing the forces was as easy as
placing q Sunday school picnic. The
Marblehead, backed by the Vixen and
Dolphin, opened fire on the earthwOrlls
yesterday. The shores to the right of
the entrance were lined with guns and
rife pits, but the Spaniards stampeded
after firing few shots.