Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-02
sHAFTE,R on THE LOSSES.
Desperate Character of the Fighting
Indicated by Number of Casualties.

The profoundest concern throughout
| military and official circles marked the
| opening of the second day upon which the
| battle of Santiago is being fought. The
desperate character of the fighting is now
fully known to- the War Department. The
information is in addition to the report
made by General Shafter last midnight.
! when he roughly estimated his casualties
| as above four hundred. Later reports, off
| cial and direct from the field, indicate that
this estimate was far too low. General
| Shafter had not, up till II O'clock this
| morning. placed any exact figure On his
| loss, but he had made it clear that his
| first estimate at 490 was much short of
the actual loss. The Associate Press dis
| patch from the field, giving the casualties
| at about 1000. is in line with Gen. Shat
| ter's later intimation, although, as stated,
he sets figure.
The military authorities were alert early
| in the day. despite the fact that they had
| been up well through the night in anxious
waiting for the latest reports. Secretary
| Alger and the adjutant general of the
army, General Corbin, held a conference
| soon as the Secretary arrived this morn
ing. Then Surgeon General Sternberg was
sent for and joined in the conference. AS
a result 1t is understood that the surgeon
general will send a large force of medical
officers, some forty or fifty, to Santiago at
| once, in addition to those already with
Gen. Skaters men. All suitable appli-
ances will be provided.
A Terrific Engagement.
Neither the Secretary the adjutant
general would add anything to the infor-
| nation given out at midnight. 1t was
said, however, that the estimate of casu-
aties first made by Gen. Shafter was un-
der rather than over the real loss, as the
dense growth of cha apparel in which the
American troops fought made it well nigh
in possible at first to learn the real extent
| of the loss. An impressive seriousness per-
vaded all military ana official centers.
That our gallant men had pressed their
way, foot by foot, up to the commanding
plateau of Caney welcome indeed,
but there was now the full realization that
this had been done in the face of a wither-
| ing fire. Instead of a skirmish on the
right flank, the later reports yesterday
indicated. it is clear that a general
en- ga cement. and a terrific one, had been
fought under the broilng tropical sun and
in the tangled vegetation northeast of
Santiago.
The Temperature Was IO6.
An idea of the conditions under which
the battle of Santiago is being waged is
conveyed in a telegram received at the
War Department today to the effect that
the temperature at Santiago registered 1C6
degrees yesterday.
General Miles and his staff were to-
gether at headquarters early in the day.
Spread on the generals desk was a map
showing in mnutest details every road
trail and elevation q in
The general traced the line of operations
yesterday, and the probable line of action
now in progress. He had received nothing
additional from the field. He spoke grave
ly of the fierceLess of the fighting yester-
day. From strategic point of view, Law
tens taking Of Caney yesterday gave him
command of elevation the right
wing. serving the double purpose of di-
verting the enemy from the left ana open
ing way to our left wing. 1t also gave
our troops a more commanding sweep of
the enemy's northern defenses Inciden-
tally, it accomplished the important pur-
pose Of preventing, at least to some ex-
tent, Pandos coming down with reinforce
ments from the north, and turning our
right flank.
Officially Unaware of Fighting.
mot a word has been received from Gen
Shafter by the War Department since his
dispatch of o'clock this morning" said
Adjutant General Corbin at o'clock this
afternoon. The dispatch referred to was
that in which the general indicated his fear
that he had underestimated the actual
casualties and had asked for medical
sistance Consequently, the authorities are
unaware officially of any fighting that may
be in progress today and know nothing
more regarding affairs at the front than
is contained in the press dispatches. Gen.
Shafter is not stopping to write reports if
he is engaged in a fight" said one official
today, "but will make his report when op-
portunity occurs"
There were number of callers at the
War Department today. but few saw Sec
retary Alger. The latter, after comforting
with his assistants regarding Skaters re-
quests, went over to the White House and
remained there several hours.
No Advices Up to O'Clock.
The deepest suspense existed throughout
military and official circles as the day pro-
crossed and no word came from Gen. Shaf-
ter. At o'clock, when a round was made
at all of the points Of the War and Navy
Departments where dispatches are usually
received, nothing was forthcoming as to
the situation on the field.
Adjt. Gen. Corbin, to whom the first
military reports are submitted, reiterated
what he had said earlier in the day, thai
nothing had come from Shafter since 4
oc clock this morning. The officials We're
not even aware that the battle itself was
in progress SO far as information received
today was concerned.
The lack of reports was attributed MAIN
ly to the fact that General Shafter was
so thoroughly occupied with the impera
tive duties of the hour that there was
scant time or opportunity for giving. the
detailed progress of his movements.
The Secretary of War remained at the
White House some hours and did not re-
turn to the War Department up to a late
hour this afternoon. The Navy Depart
ment was also lacking in any specific in
formation Of the situation around Santi-
ago, although here. too. there was the
deepest anxiety and suspense over the con-
dition Of affairs
FOR THE JOINT COMMISSION.