The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-26
the troops after their landing at Bal
Quiri, last Wednesday,

quiri, last Wednesday.
Information had been brought to the
American army headquarters by Gu
bans on Thursday that forces Of Span
ish soldiers had assembled at the
place where the battle occurred, to
plock the march on Santiago.
Gen. Young went there to dislodge
them, the understanding being that
the Cubans, under Gen. Castillo, would
cooperate with him, but the latter
failed to appear until the fight was
nearly finished. Then they asked per-
mission to chase the fleeing Spaniards.
but, as the victory was already won,
Gen. Young refused to allow them to
take part in the fight.
PLANS WE'RE PERFECT.
Gen. Young's plans contemplated the
movement Of half of his command
| along the trail at the base of the range
Of hills leading back from the coast,
so that he could attack the Spaniards
on the flank while the rough riders went
off to follow the trai, leading ever the
ill to attacx them In front. This plan
was carried out completely. The troops
left Juragua at daybreak. The route Of
| Gen. Young and the regulars was COM
paratively level and easy Of travel.
Three Hotchkiss guns were taken
with this command.
The first part Of the Journey of the
| rough riders was over steep hills sew
eral feet high. The men carried two
hundred rounds Of ammunition and
heavy camp equipment. Although this
was done easily In the early morning,
the weather became intensely hot and
the sun beat down upon the cowboys
and Eastern athletes aus they toiled up
the grade with their heavy packs, and
| frequent rests were necessary. The
trail was SO marrow that the men had
| to go single file. Prickly cactus bushes
lined both sides of the trail, and the
underbrush was SO thick that it was
impossible to see over a few feet on
either side.
| All the conditions were favorable for
| murderous ambuscade, but the troop
ers kept close watch and made as
| little noise as possible.
The rough riders entered into the
spirit Of the occasion with the greatest
enthusiasm. 1t was their first oppor-
tunity for fight and every man was
| eager for it.
The weather grew swelterlngly hot
| and one by one the men threw away
| their canteens.
ENEMY LOCATED.
The first intimation had by Col.
Woods command that there were
| Spaniards in the vicinity was when
| they reached point three or four miles
back from the coast, when the low
cuckoo calls of the Spanish soldiers
were heard in the bush. 1t was diff
cult to locate the exact. point from
which these sounds came. The men
| were ordered to speak in whispers, and
frequent halts were made.
Finally place was reached, about 8
o'clock, where the trail opened into a
space covered by high grass on the
| right hand side of the trail and the
thickets. A barb wire fence also ran
along the west side. The dead body
Of Cuban was found on the side of
the road, and at the same time Capt.
Capron's company covered the out
post, heads Of several Spaniards being
seen in the bush for moment 1t was
not until then that the men were per-
mitted to load their carbines. When
|. the word to load was given, they acted
on it with will, and displayed the
| greatest eagerness to make an attack.
/ At this time the sound Of firing was
heard mile or two to the right, ap-
parently coming from the hills beyond
| the thicket. 1t was the regulars re-
plying to the Spaniards, who had
| opened on them from the thicket. In
addition to the rapid rifle fire the boom
of Hotchkiss guns could be heard.
CRACK OF THE MAUSERS.
| Hardly two minutes elapsed before
MaUsers commenced to crack in the
| thicket, and 100 bullets whistled over
the heads of the rough riders, cutting
leaves from the trees and sending chips
flying from the fence posts by the side
of the men. The Spaniards had open
| ed, and they poured in a heavy fire,
which soon had a most disastrous ef-
feet.
The troops stood their ground with
the bullets singing all around them
Private Colby caught sight of the
Spaniards and fired the opening shot
at them.
FIRST TO FALL.
Sergeant Hamilton Fish Jr was the
| first man to fall. He was shot through
| the heart and died instantly. The
| Spaniards were not more than 200
| yards off, but only occasional glimpses
| of them could be seen. The men con-
tinued to pour volley after volley into
| the brush In the direction of the sound
| Of the Spanish Shots, but the latter
| became more frequent and seemed to
| be getting nearer
Col. Wood rode along his lines, dis
| playing great GOODNESS. He ordered a
detachment of his troops to deploy
| into the woods, and sent another de-
tachment into the open space on the
left Of the trail. Lieut.. Col. Roosevelt
| led the former detachment and tore
through the brush, urging his men on.
The shots came thicker and faster
every moment, and the air seemed
filled with the singing and shrieking
sound of the Mauser bullets, while the
short pop Of the Spanish rifles could be
| distinguished easily from the heavier
reports Of the American weaDons.
Sometimes the fire would come In a
volley, and again shots would follow
each other in rapid succession for sew
eral minutes.
DEATH OF CAPT. CAPRON.
Capt. Capron stood behind his men.
| revolver in hand, using IT whenever q