Evening star., 1898-06-29
CLOSE TO THE ENEMY
American Front Has Been Advanced
About a Mile.
SEVERAL SLIGHT SKIRMISHES
Denial Of Report That Linares Has
Been Reinforced.
WHEELER CLIMBS A TREE

WHEELER CLIMBS A TREE
The American front has been advanced
beyond the first crossing of the Rio Gu
ama about a mile, and a tug lies three
and a half miles from the Spanish in
trenchments.
This news is contained in an Associated
Press copyrighted dispatch, dated lat the
front, on the Rio Guiana, June -, noon,
via Kingston, Jamaica, June IS and it
goes on to say:
General Lawtons brigade rests on the
road to Santiago de Cuba. The Sd Brigade,
under General Chaffee, the 17th 18th and
7th Regiments, holds the trench, with his
command lying across the road and river.
The 1st Brigade. the Sth, 22d and I'd Mas
sachusetts, under General Evan Clarke,
lies on the left flank, slightly in the rear,
and the ID Brigade, the 1st, 4th and 18th,
occupies the opposite position on the right
flank.
General Wheeler, with the cavalry. is in
the rear between Sevila hills and the Rio
Guiana. A strong line of Outposts is main
tanned ahead. General Chaffees brigade,
with 5000 Cubans under General Aguirra,
and several hundred under Colonel Con
Zales, was skirmiShing toward the city this
morning.
The Cubans had several slight skirmishes
with the Spaniards stationed the hills
on the American right flank, and our aux
ilaries occupied the block houses in that
vicinity. which were evacuated before day
break by the Spaniards. The latter
treated toward Santiago de Cuba. No IA
talitieS reported.
General Lawton, General Chaffee and
General Wheeler have thoroughly recon-
noitered the Spanish position. and with the
aid of information furnished by the Gu
bans have very good maps of the roads
and defenSeS of the city.
Much information has also been obtained
from Spanish pacificos, who have slipped
out of the city and given themselves up in
the hope of getting food. They report great
starvation and distress in Santiago.
Aid Reaches Linarcs.
The most startling information obtained
from the pacificos is that since the ad-
vance began almost 10000 Spanish soldiers
have arrived at Santiago de Cuba. This
statement is made on the authority of
General Lawton, and he is also of the
opinion that General Pando may be able
to effect a junction with General Linares
at Santiago de Cuba.
There two forts of considera bile i'm
portance within the Spanish lines-Punta
Blanco, at the southern end of the bay
and Santa Ursula, at the southeast corner
On the road to Caney, on the north, is an
other fort. There are about 45O men in
each Of these Notifications. and stretch
ing around the whole city are nine barbed-
wire fences, fifty yards apart while Just
inside these are lines of rifle pits.
Outside to the eastward, about two miles
beyond the American outposts is a line
OF intrenchments extending from the north-
ern extremity of the city to Morro Castle.
A little west of south, at distance OF
about seven miles from General Lawton's
Tha a
TO within few hundred yards of the bat
teries at the rear of Moro was reconnoi-
tered Yesterday afternoon by General Chat
Zee and several members Of his staff
The Cubans believe that if the water SUD-
ply OF the city can be cut off Santiago will
have to yield at once. They say that Ad-
mlral Cervera's entire feet, except the tor
pedo-boats destroyer Terror is in the bar
DOR. General Lawton is inclined to dis
credlt the reports that guns have been
taken from the ships to strengthen the de-
fenses on land. He says it would be impos-
slbie for Admiral Cervera to reach the no.
sition of the American army with his h;p
guns from where the Spanish ships lie
Onward Movement POSTPONED.
r. No aggressive move by the Americans is
anticipated for several davs. The road to
the base Of supplies must be greatly i'm
proved before the onward movement can he
safely made
Al ore5tht i taxes the quartermaster's
department to tie utmost to get provisions
and ammunition. Last night one pack
train arrived with supplies sufficient to last
until tonight and this dispatch is being
written another train of ammunition is
coming in. A train of ammunitnn has
reached General Chaffee's brigade and !.
battery OF Gatling guns and dynamite guns.
attached to the rough riders. has been
moved to General Wheeler's camp.
There IS no high ground in the resent
position where Hotchkiss or Gatling eurs
could be put in position, but a i.tie further
on IS groInd where guns can be mounted
rected at the Spanish entertainments.
There We're no alarms last night.
Gen Caiixto Garcia, with 800 men, who
landed Yesterday, is expected 10 reach the
front today
Americans In Good Health
The Americans are in excellent spirits
and there is remarkable la X o. sickness.
Thus fac the water supply has been good
and there have been no bad effects f;om
the change, except a few cases of dysen-
terry. There was brief rain squaIl last
night.
AT noon today Major Coolidge received
orders to clear the road beyond the 'front.' |
where the stream doubles back across it
for the advance of artillery. A dynamite |
gun and Hotchkiss gun will be put in po-
sition.
General Wheeler who made a reconnois-
lines this morning, finding that he was un-
able to secure the desired view through |
the luXuriant tropical foliage dsmounted |
and climbed tree
The Report Contralicted. |
Denial of the report that reinforcements |
have reached Gen. Linarss is afforded by |
the following dispatch published In the |
New York Herald today. dated at Juragua |
Monday last:
Information has been received here from |
Manzanillo to the effect that five battalions |
Of Spanish troops which left that city sew |
eral days ago to reinforce Gen. Linares re- |
turned to Manzanillo two days after their |
departure.
This is by far the most important news !
received today. 1t is regarded as indi eating |
the failure of the Spanish attemp., under |
command of Gen. Pando, to rush 10000 |
trained troops to the defense of Santiago
Gen. Pando. as has been tod in former |
dispatches began a desperate effort 20 get |
his troops to Santiago as soon as i. was
known that the Americans would land and |
begin the invasion of Cuba in that vicin-
ity. He commands the most important |
Hf,1 Of r1ch