The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-13
1893 by Associated Press.

On Board the Associated Press Dis
patch Boat Dauntless. of Guantanamo.
Sunday, June IL. via Mole st. Nicholas.
June 12.-Lieutenant Colonel r. w.
Huntingtons battalion of marines
which landed from the transport Pam
ther on Friday and encamped on the
hill guarding the abandoned cable sta
tion at the entrance to the harbor of
Guantanamo has been engaged in head
ing of a rush attack by Spanish gueril-
las and regulars since 3 o'clock Satur-
day afternoon. The fighting was al
most continuous for 13 hours. until s
o'clock this morning. when reinforce
ments were landed from the Marble
head. Four of our men were killed
and one wounded. The advance pick
cts under Lieutenants Neville and Shaw
are unaccounted for.
Among the killed is Assistant Surgeon
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 prac-
ticing in New York, and entered the
service since the war began. He was
a very popular officer. The others killed
are Sergeant Charles II. Smith Of Small
wood; Private William Dunphy OF
Gloucester Mass. and Private James
McColgan of Stoneham, Mass. Corpor-
al Glass was accidentally wounded In
the head. The Spanish loss Is unknown,
but 1t was probably considerable. The
splashes OF blood found at daylight at
the positions the Spanish occupied indi-
cate fatalities. but their comrades car
ried off the killed and wounded.
The engagement began with desultory
firing at the pickets, a hundred yards
inland from the camp. Captain Spicer's
company was doing guard duty. ana
was driven in. finally rallying on the
camp and repulsing the enemy by s
| o'clock. The bodies Of Privates McCol-
| gan and Dunphy were found. both shot
| in the head. The large cavities made
| by the bullets. which inside range OF
500 yards have rotary motion, IN
dicate that the victims were killed at
close range The bodies were stripped
OF shoes. hats and cartridge belts. and
horribly mutilated with machetes. When
they were brought in the whole bat
TALON formed three sides Of hollow
square about the camp on the hill top.
Below in the bay were the warships
at anchor. In the land front OF tne
camp is "A deep ravine and behind this
are steep hills. The adjacent country
is thick with bushes. The sky was
blanketed with clouds and when the
sun set a gale was blowing seaward
Night fell thick and impenetrable. The
| Spanish squadron concealed in the
chapparal cover. had the advantage. the
men furnishing a fine target against the
sky. The Spaniards fought from cover
till midnight, discoverable only by the
flashes from their guns. The repeaters
sounded like crackers I'm BARREL
The Marblehead's launch. with Colt
machine gun In her bow. pushed up the
bay, enfilading the Spaniards. and II Is
thought that some were killed. The
marines trailed much blood to the
waters edge and there lost 1t. Sharks
are numerous in the vicinity. The ships
threw their searchlights ashore. the
powerful eyes sweeping the dense tropic
| foliage and disclosing occasionally
skulking parties Of Spaniards. 1t all
represented a transformation scene at
the harbor. Each discovery OF the enc
my was greeted by the cracks Of carbine
fire along the edge Of the camp ridge or
by the long roll Of the launch and the
machine gun. searching the thickets
with a leaden stream.
Shortly after midnight came the main
attack. The Spaniards made gallant
charge up the southwest slope. but were
met by repeated volleys from the main
body and broke before they were one
third of the way up the hill; but they
Came SO ClOcc Nudl at POintS tiNAN oo
almost a hand-to-hand struggle. The
officers fired their revolvers. The Span
iards got through the open formation to
the edge Of the camp. Colonel Jose
Campina. the Cuban guide. discharged
his revolver. and they. turning and
finding themselves without support. ran
helter skelter down the reverse side Of
the hill. 1t was during this assault that
Assistant 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 Sullivan
and both dropped. A second bullet
threw dust In their faces.
Surgeon Gibbs lived 10 minutes. but
did not regain consciousness. The sur
geons of the hospital corps then re-
moved their quarters to the trenches
about the old Spanish stockade north
of the camp.
The attacks were continued at inter-
walls throughout the rest of the night
with firing by small squads in various
directions. Towards morning the fire
slackened. Dawn Is the favorite time
for attack and as the east paled the
marines. lying on their guns. were
aroused Some were actually asleep. as
they had no rest for 4s hours. and
tired nature could no longer stand the
strain. But no attack came.
Three new two-pound field guns
which could not be used during the
night for fear of hitting our own men.
shelled several squads OF Spanish after
daylight. They dove into the bushes
like prairie dogs into burrows as the
shells broke over them In the gray
dawn.
AS the correspondent Of the associ-
ated press talked with Major cockrell.
who was in charge of the outposts.
word came of the finding of the body of
Sergeant Smith. He was reported as
having been killed at O'Clock on the
previous day. but IL appears that he
had been seen alive at 10 o'clock in the
evening. When and how he was killed
no one knows at this writing. Neither
had the men been mustered out. nor