Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1898-06-16
FIRST LAND FIGHT
Marines at Guantanamo
Attacked by Span
ish Troops.
FOUGHT ALL SATURDAY NIGHT
Our Losses Were -Four Men Killed and
Eleven Wounded = 4 ssistant Surgeon
Gibbs Among the Former-The I'm
emy's Loss Is Not Known.

on Guantanamo, via Mole st. Mich.
olas, juno IA Lieutenant. Il. w.
Hnntineton's battalion of mirines,
which landed from thetraIspor Panther
Friday and encamped on the hill,
guarding the abandoned cable station
at the entrance Of the harbor OF Guam.
tanamo. has been engaged in heading
of a rush attack by Spanish guerillas
and regulars since 8 O'Clock Saturday
afternoon
The fighting was almost continuous
for l3 hours. until O'Clock this morn
ing, when reinforcements we're landed
from the Marblehead.
-Four Of our men were killed and II
wounded.
The advance pickets, under Lieuten-
ants Neville and Shaw are unaccounted
| for.
Among the killed is Assistant Sur
geon John Blair Gibbs, son Of Major
Gibbs, OF the regular army, who fell
in the Custer massacre. His home was
at Richmond, Va, but he has been
practicing in New York, and entered
the service since the war began. lie
WAS very popular officer.
The others killed are Sergeant Chas.
Fl. Smith, Of Smallwood; Private Will
liam Dunphy, Of Gloucester, Macs,
and Private james McCOIgan. of Stone-
ham, Mass.
Corporal Glass was accidentally
wounded in the hand.
The Spanish loss is unknown, but it
was probably considerable. Tie spots
Of blood found at daylight at the posi.
tion the Spanish occupied Indicate
fatalities, but their comrades carried
off the killed and wounded.
The engagement began with desul-
tory firing at the pickets, 100 yards in
land from the camp.
Captain Spicer's company was doing
guard duty, and was driven in, finally
rallying at the camp and rorting the
enemy by o'clock.
The bodies of Private McColgan and
Dunphy were found, both shot dead.
The large cavities made by the bullets,
which. inside range of 500 yards,
have rotary motion, indicate that the
victims were killed at close range. The
bodies were stripped OF shoes, hats
and cartridge belts, and horribly mutt
lated with matcbetes.
When the marines were landed the
whole battalion was formed on three
sides of hollow square about the
camp on the hill back of the bay,
where the warships were at anchor.
Back of the camp is deep ravine. and
behind this are steep hills. The ada
cent country is thick with bushes.
The sky was blanketed with clouds
and when the sun set gale was blow
ing seaward. Night fell thick and i'm
penetrable. The Spanish squadron,
concealed in the chapparal cover, had
the advantage, the men furnishing
fine target against the sky. The Span
ish fought from cover till midnight,
discoverable only by the flashes from
their guns. The repeaters sounded
like crackers In barrel.
The Marbleheads launch, with
Colt machine gun in her bow, pushed |
up the bay eniilading the Spaniards,
and il is thought that some were killed. |
The marines trailed much blood |
to the waters edge, and there lost it.
Sharks are numerous in the vicinity. |
The ships threw their searchlights
ashore, the powerful eyes sweeping the |
deep tropical foliage and disclosing oc-
easionally skulking parties OF Span
iards
Each discovery Of the enemy was
greeted by the cracks OF oarbine fire
along the edge Of the camp ridge or by
the long roll of the launch's machine
gun searching the thickets with leaden
stream.
Shortly after midnight came the
main attack. The Spaniards made
gallant charge up the southwest slope,
but were met by repeated volieys from
main body, and broke before they were
one-third Of the way up the hill, but
they came 80 far that at points there
was almost hand-to-hand struggle,
The officers fired their reyolvers,
The Spaniards got through the open
formation to the edge of the camp.
Colonel Jose Campani, the Cuban lead
or, discharged his revolver and the Gu
bans, turning and finding themselves
without support, ran heller skelter
down the reverse side of the hill.
1t was during this assault that As
sistant Surgeon Gibbs was killed. He
was shot In the head in front of his
own tent, the farthest point OF attack.
He fell into the arms of Private Sulli-
van and both dropped. A second bull
let threw dust in their faces. Surgeon
Gibbs lived 10 minutes. but did not
regain consciousness. The surgeons of
the hospital corps then removed their
quarters to the trenches, about the
Spanish stockade. north of the camp.
The attacks were continued ut inter-
walls through the rest Of the night, with
firing by small squads in various di-
rections
Toward morning the fire slaokenod.
Dawn is the favorite time for attack,
and as the east paled, the marines. ly-
Ing on their guns, weie aroused. Some
were actually asleep, as they had had
no rest for 4S hours, and tired nature
could no longer stand the strain. 1