The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-09-23
Cliff Scott, Rough Rider.

NiUi SCOUT, KOuEH NtueT,
Cliff ID, Scott, who served through
the Spanish war as private in Troop
d., of the Rough Ridersn, is in town
on his way to his home in Oklahoma.
He Is looking strong and sturdy, and
it is needless to say is receiving a
hearty greeting from his old friends.
On the back of Cliffs discharge, un-
der the heading BATTLES, engage
ments, expeditions, - is written, "Ex-
petition to Cuba, battles of Las Guis-
amas, June "a, San Juan, July, list,
2nd aud 3rd 1895" And under the
heading Character, is written, "a
brave and gallant soldier" 1t is a
proud record, and in making 1t he has
passed through some experiences that
he will be long forgetting. Out Of it
he comes, sound and well, with patri-
otism that can never he shaken, with
pride in the splendid regiment to
which he belonged that will last az
long as life, and with an admiration
and love for its gallant Colonel, "Ted-
dy" Roosevelt, that cannot be express
ed in mere words.
Talking to reporter for the REGIS
TER this morning, he said that his
feelings in battle were precisely the
same as they were when out hunting,
a feeling of felt forgetfulness and ex-
hilaration, that every true hunter
knows but cannot describe. "Iou do
not realize that the man Dext to you
is firing', he said. "and you can see
your best friend fall without second
thought. | remember at the battle of
San Juan / Noticed six of the boys of
my troop across the road to my right
and called to them, come over here
boys, there Is fine shooting here. :
They started to come, but on the way
across that few feet two of them were
killed and three were wounded
~ did not realize that we had been
shooting to kill, until stood on the
trenches from which the Spanish had
been just driven and looked down at
their dead. The trenches were full of
the dead. So full that there was no
room for The living. That is the reas-
on that the living left them. | felt
guilty for awhile, as | looked at those
hundreds Of dead if il were not
quite right that we should have de-
liberately shot them down. They
had fought like demons, those Span
ish in the trenches. They had evil
IDENTIFY gone there to stay. But we
charged the hill and got within fifty
or twenty-five yards of them, and
they could not stand 1t. AS they
started to run and thus came
into full view, our line stopped
running and shouting and every man
dropped on one knee and began pump
ing lead into the fugitives. We couldn't
help hitting, and the slaughter was
awful. Going on up the hill after.
wards 1t seemed to me as if there was
a dead man at every step"
IL saw Colonel Roosevelt Kill two
Spaniards with three shots from his
revolver. We were within about
fifty yards of a rife pit when two
soldiers jumped out OF it and started
to run. a dozen of us leveled our
csrbines at them but the Colonel
called out, Hold on boys, those are
my men, His first shot missed, but
the second and third struck home
and both men fell. One was killed
instantly and the other died in an
hour. AS the last man fell the Col.
one patted his revolver and said,
BY George, boys, wouldn't take
five thousand dollars for that gun = "
at was two days after the battle
between the fleets before we knew the
result of it. We heard the awful fir
ing when the battle began. 1t made
the earth and the air tremble. IL
lasted for what seemed 10 ~ a week
and then died slowly away. It seem.
ed impossible to Ne that all of the
Spanish ships should have been sunk