Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-08-04
NEWS FROM MILES.
He Says That Things Are Going on Smooth
ly,

Washington, July 31.-General Miles
In command of the Porto Rlcan expe
dItlon, sent the following dispatch Il
Secretary Alger. which was made pub
lie ut the War Department ut II
o'clock tonight:
Ponce, Porto Rico, July 81, 3:33 p. m
Secretary of War, Washington, d.
O.: Your kilograms received and an.
swered by letter.
Volunteers are surrenderlng them.
selves with arms and ammunition.
Four-fifths of the people are overjoyed
at the arrival of the army. Two thou.
sand from one place volunteered TO
serve with 1t. They nre bringing In
transportation, beef cattle and other
needed supplies.
The custom house has already yield
cd $4,000.
AS soon as all the troops are dlsem-
barked they will be In readiness to
move.
Please send nny national colors that
can be spared, to be given to the DIFF
ferent municipalities.
request that the question Of the tar
in rate to be charged in the parts of
Porto Rico occupied by our forces be
submitted to the President for his ac-
tion, the previously existing tariff re-
naming meanwhile in force.
As to the government and military
occupation, l have already given in
structions, based upon the Instructions
issued by the President In the case of
the Philippine islands, and similar to
those issued mt Santiago de Cuba.
MILES,
Major General Commanding.
A dispatch from Ponce says:
The railroad Is in good order, but
much OF the rolling stock has been de-
stroyed. Yesterday General Stone
found several engines wrecked. The
Spanish sympathizers Mt the round
house and hidden. General Stone gave
them two hours to get the engines In
to working order, under penalty of i'm
prisonment, and In less than thnt time
the engines had steam up and We're
ready to move.
The Spaninrtis will probably retire rs
far back as Albonito, about thirty-five
miles on the road to San Juan, where
they are likely to make q stand II they
receive reinforcemcnts. They left here
without artillery, which makes 1t even
more obvious that nn attack at this
point was SaNar dreamed Of by them.
Not n gun was mounted. The gnrri-
son was small and poorly armed. All
the guns, with one exception, that
were abandoned in the arsenal when
they beat their hasty retreat Wednes-
day last, were Remingtons and Maui
sers. There was not mine In the
harbor Of Ponce, although two ancient
dffairs, covered with barrels, were
found at Puerto de Guanica. These
had been placed there years ago, and
resisted every effort to explode them.
1t is evident from the wholesale de-
sertion on the part of the Spanish vol
unteers that Captain General Macias
must depend as the last resort upon the
regulars. These do not number over
5000 in the whole island and every
thing thus far indicates an easy con-
quest.
General Wilson thinks he could take
the island with his own troops unaided,
and he predicts that If the troops now
expected arrive Porto Rico will be ours
In less than three weeks.
General Miles is in constant COM
munication with all his forces, and is
keeping the artillery steadily in ad-
vance. By tomorrow night he will
have the entire army encamped along
the military road to San Juan, but he
does not say when he will put them in
motion. He is acting throughout
however, with n promptness which in
dicates quick action all along the line
as soon as the transports containing
the remaining troops arrive.