The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1898-07-01
IN A DEATH TRAP.
Some More Details of the Battle of i
Ouasina.

L.
Quasina.
Juragua, Cuba, June 25-The initia
fight of Colonel Woods rough riders
and the troopers of the First and Tentf
regular cavalry will be known in his
tory as the battle of La Quasina
That it did not end in the complete
slaughter of the Americans was not dut
to any mlscalculation in the plans
of the Spaniards, for as perfect an am
buscade as was ever formed in the
brain of an Apache Indian was pre-
pared and Lieutenant-Colonel Roose
velt and his men walked squarely into
it. For an hour and a half they hello
their ground under perfect storm OF
bullets from front and sides, and then
Colonel Wood at the right, and Lieu.
tenant-Colonel Roosevelt, at the left,
led charge which turned the tide Of
battle and sent the enemy flying over
the hills toward Santiago.
1t is now definitely known that 1f
men on the American side were killed,
while 80 were wounded or are reported
to be missing. 1t is impossible to cal.
culate the Spanish losses, but it is
known they were far heavier than those
of the Americans, at least as regards
actual loss of life. Already 81 dead
Spanish soldiers have been found and
buried, and many others are undoubt,
edly lying in the thick underbrush
The wounded were all removed.
That the Spaniards were thoroughly
posted as to the route to be taken by
the Americans in their advance toward
Sevilla was evident as shown by the
careful preparations they had made.
The main body of the Spaniards wAs
posted on hill in the heavily wooded
slopes on which had been erected two
blockhouses, fanked by irregular en-
trenchments of stone and fallen trees.
At the bottom of these hills run two
roads, along which Colonel Roosevelt
and eight troops of the First and Tenth
cavalry, with battery of four howitz-
ers, advanced. These roads are little
more than gullies, and at places almost
impossible. In these trails the fight
occurred.
About two and a half miles out
from siboney, some Cubans, breathless
and excited, rushed into the camp with
the announcement that the Span
iards were but little way in front,
and strongly entrenched. Quickly the
Hotchkiss guns out in the front were
brought to the rear, while strong
scouting line was thrown out. Then,
cautiously and in silence, the troops
moved forward until bend in road
disclosed the hill where the Spaniards
were located. The guns were again
brought to the front and placed in po-
sition, while the men crouched in the
road waiting impatiently to give Roose-
velt's men, who were toiling over the
little trail along the crest of the ridge,
time to get up.
At 7:3O A. NJ, General Young gave
the command to the men at the Hotcn-
kiss guns to open fire. The command
was the beginning of fight that for
stubbornness has seldom been equaled.
The instant the Hotchkiss guns were
fred, the hillsides commanding the
road gave forth volley after volley from
the Mausers OF the Spaniards.
Don't shoot until you see some-
thing to shoot at" yelled General
Young, and the men, with set jaws
and cleaning eyes, obeyed the order.
Crawling along the edge of the road
and protecting themselves as much as
possible from the fearful fire of the
CT,a,, 10 hn frnn of fI,nx,
stripped to the waist, watched the
base of the hill. and when any part of a
Spaniard became visible, they fired.
Never for an instant did they falter.
One dusky warrior of the Tenth, with
a ragged wound in his thigh, coolly
knelt behind a rock, loading and firing.
and when told by one of his comrades
that he was wounded, laughed and
said:
"Oh, that's all right; that's been
there for some time. ;"
In the meantime, away off to the
left, was heard the crack of the rifles
of Colonel Woods men, and then the
deeper toned volley firing of the Span
ish. Over there the American losses
were the greatest.
Colonel Woods men, with an ad-
vance guard we'll out in front and two
Cuban guides before them, but appar-
emily with no Hangers. went squarely
into the trap set for them by the Span
iards. and only the unfaltering courage
Of the men in the face of a fire that
would make even veteran quail, pre-
vented what might easily have been a
disaster. AS it was, tropp L, the ad-
vance guard, under the unfortunate
Capron, was we'll surrounded, and but
for the reinforcements hurriedly sent
every man would probably
have been killed or wounded.
''There must have been nearly 1900
Spaniards in front and to the sides of
u.s." said Lieutenant-C Colonel Roose-
velt today, when discussing the fight.
They held the ridges with rifie-pits
and guns, and had body of men in
ambush in the thick jungle at the
'ides of the road over which we were
Our advance forward struck
he men in ambush and drove. them
,ut, but we lost Captain Capron, Lieu
enant Thomas and about Is men
zilled or wounded.
II want to say word for our own
men," continued Lieutenant Colonel
Roosevelt. EVERY officer and man
lid his duty up to the handle. Not a
nan f1inched."
Prairie Ordered tn Kew West.