The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-12
SOLDIERS FROM SANTIAGO.
HOSPITAL TRAIN ARRIVES AT FORT
MCPHERSON.

brings 235 sick and WOunded-Sev-
eraI of the Rough Riders and
MANY Members of the 71st New
York Among Them-The spaniards
Represented as TreacherOus in the
Extreme-Take Special Delight in
Firing ON Litters With Wounded
and Our Hospital Tents.
Atlanta. Ca. July 1.-Two hundred and
thirty-f1ve sick and wounded soldiers
reached the general hospital at Fort Nc
Pherson to-day from Tampa.
Among them are several of the Rough
Riders and many members of the Seventy
first New York
The most seriously wounded are Capt.
Ducat and Lieut. Lyons of the Twenty
fourth Infantry. whose families are now
at Salt Lake, Utah.
The doctors are much encouraged by the
improved condition of the men tonight
and say they viii recover.
Many of the wounded men give thrilling
accounts of the great fight on July l, and
from several sources unsolicited came the
information those Spaniards use eXplo-
sive and brass bullets"
Dwight Cialloupe, chaplain of the Tween
ty-fourth Infantry. of Newark, N. j., IS
suffering from internal hemorrhages, but
he will recover He told a story of the
utter disregard of Spaniards for the Red
Cross flag ION The afternoon of the Sd,
said the chaplain, Il was visiting the
wounded in a hospital tent near the point
where firing was the hottest A lieutenant,
whose name / do not know, was in the
nd IF looking after
of his men, Suddenly a shell came through
the tent and exploded The officer was
torn into shreds, l was hurled fully fifty
feet and injured as you sec and every
man in the tent was thrown from his cot.
THE Spaniards took special delight in
firing upon our field hospital. We had to
move il seven times on that account. One
of the sergeants was killed while dress
ing the wounds of a soldier In the hasty
retreat which the enemy's heavy fire
made necessary from the first hospital
lot of our wounded were left behind and
were killed"
Several of the new arrivals say the re-
ported suffering of the Spanish soldiers
is greatly exaggerated.
The Spanish soldiers get better food
than ours do" said one of the men, The
citizens of Santiago suffering, but
the soldiers are getting the fat of the
land"
"They are hard fighters" he continued
but very treacherous Once during the
early part of the battle a white flag was
thrown upon one of their batteries. Our
men approached it, matter of course
but were shot down when they drew
near"
Capt. Ducat of the Twenty-fourth In
fantry is shot through the thigh and his
right leg is partially paralyzed. Propped
up on a cot. he told an Associated Press
reporter a story of the bitter fight which
resulted in the wounding of himself and
his first officer. Lieut.. Lyons, and the loss
of many privates.
On the first day of the fighting near Ell
Caney, Capt. Ducat with seVenty-fve
men, set out to take a stone blockhouse
at the top of a steep hill Safely housed
behind the stone walls of the house sixty
Spaniards poured in a murderous fire on
the plucky Americans as they entered the
narrow path leading up the hin. Step by
step the men forged ahead, their COM
rades falling every minute. BY the time
the top of the hill was reached but TWEEN
tytwo of the band remained. With
shout they forced their way into the
coveted stronghold and in a desperate
hand-to-hand fight with revolvers sue
ceeded in scattering the Spaniards. Capt
Ducat and Lieut.. Lyons received the
wounds at close range. OF the seventy
five men but twenty answered the roll
call
Johnny" Bigelow of the Ninth Infant
ry, whose home is at Highlands, opposite
West Point, N. Y, and a brother of Poult-
ney Bigelow, is wounded in four places
a part of his jaw being torn away.
All are bitter in their denunciation of
explosive bullets.
The special train bearing the wounded
reached the fort at 80 clock over the
Contra! Railroad and was side tracked into
the reservation where a large corps of
hospital attendants and soldiers were
waiting a. receive them.
Eight SlppDpTe were OCCuOip1 V
Yates, one by the officers mine in number),
and one by the surgeon and his staff.
There We're about twenty-five who had to
be carried on stretchers or in the ambu-
lance. All were in bad shape their cloth
ing being just as at was when they came
Oft the battlefield
The train was in charge of Maj. Richard,
surgeon, and Capt, Stiles, assistant sur
geon.
From the battlefield the wounded were
carried in ambulanees eighteen miles over
rough roads to Siboney and placed on the
Cherokee, which took them to Tampa
leaving Siboney at night The Cherokee
was running quietly without light to avoi1
attracting attention. 1t was sighted,
however, by the Scorpion, an American
vessel which fired upon st. The Cherokee
was hit several times, and some of the
snots came near sinking her. The lights
were at once turned on, and the Scorpion
approac he'd 20 examine her and upon dis
covering her identity, she was allowed to
go on without further molesta ton. The
Cherokee was subsequently hailed by an
other vessel, but was not again fired upon
The wounded men have brought mum
Der of battlefield trophies with them. Some
CT them have cartridge belts and car
tridges taken from the Spaniards.
Snakes arae reported Plentiful around
Santiago ard some had skins tied around
their hats for bands.
HOSPITAL TRAIN COLLIDEs.