The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-07-15

Spanish feet was destroyed, which has
been the real object OF the campaign. IL
seemed 10 be the general disposition 10 al
low Gneral Toral to evacuate Santiago.
This would give US military and naval
base. permit the starving refugees TO re-
turn TO theirhom es, and would allow the
immediate embarkation OF the bulk Of our
army for the Porto Rico campaign.
The rain now falls in sheets every day.
drenching the soldiers. washing out the
roads and swelling the streams into tor
rents. In fact our base OF supplies is act
uaIly threatened by the mountain streams
Two bridges have been carried away this
"wednesday afternoon after downfall
in which an inch and half Of rain fell.
The Aguiado river is impossible. the
water, shoulder deep. running like small
Niagara. A mule ambulance which at
tempted to cross the river was carried 2o6
yards down the stream. filed with refu-
gees. to Caney where the passengers were
rescued with difficulty.
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt is one of
those who believe that the army is threat
ened with great disaster unless General
Toral and his troops are allowed to de-
part. The situaho has been communi-
Gated to Washington and it is considered
probable that the conditions imposed in
the American propositions for surrender
VIII be modified.
Two of General Randolph's batteries
reached the front today and were post
ed in the center Of General Lawton's d.
vision of the extreme right. where they
command the town beyond our lines, and
over the churches, hospitals and other
public buildings flying the Red Cross flag
at the eastern edge of the city.
The belief is common among our officers
that the end is close at hand and that
Santiago will be ours before next Monday
without further fighting. Already the
movements Of the army for the future are
based on the fall of the city. The plans
of the generals are not 10 allow our
to enter the city except a garrison of i'm
munes, which viii remain here, proof
against the yellow fever. Until ready for
embarkation on the transports at the city
piers our men will be encamped on the
heights surrounding Santiago, where the
water is good. Strict instructions have
been issued to the soldiers to boil their
drinking water, but owing to the poverty
of their equipments this is almost i'm
possible. The rainy weather has acceler-
ated the spread Of malarial and other fe-
vers. In some of the regiments over a
third of the men are unfit for duty.
General Chaffee, in addition to General
Dufteld, is suffering from fever.
General Miles was received with the
greatest enthusiasm all along the line
and was greeted with cheers all along
the line. The general expresses himself
as being exceedingly gratfied at the
strength of our position and at the char
acter of the works thrown up. He com
pNmented many of the commanding offic-
ers personally on the work accomplished
To a correspondent of the Associated
Press General Miles said he was proud
TO command an army which had carried
the lines of hills on which our center
rests. He added that there was no proud
er page in our military annals than that
written on July 1. In conclusion General
Miles remarked that he felt satisfied from
General Torars manner and words that
he was anxious to surrender