The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-19
ROOSEVELT LAuDs HIS MEN.
Record of the Rough Riders VIII
De Hard to Beat. lie Says.


Camp Wikoff. Moutauk Po.1.- THEODORE
Roosevelt made this statement late this
afternoon;
'Of course I am proud of my regiment.
There was never such another In fifty
days It was raised, organized, equipped,
armed. mounted, put into Transports car
rled to Cuba and put througl Two victor
ious fights. That's the record that
think will be hard to beat Ii is mainly
a Southwestern regiment from New Next
co, Arizona, Indian Terrtory and Okla
homa. We have men from almost every
state in the Union, Maine, California. New
York, Massachusetts, Texas Louisiana,
everywhere, and IL is a thoroughly Ameri-
can regiment. / think We have got about
every race and every rehgi2u OF our PEG
pie represented, though the men are 80
per cent, native born. OF the last five
promotions recommended from the ranks
to the grade of second lieutenant one
was Jew, one a Catholic, two Protest
ant. The religion of the fifth / know moth
ing about. We have men from East and
West, Indians, half breeds ana white. We
judge each man purely ON his merits. If
he can fight and march and mas the Hnack
of commanding men he will so up
1.-THE groundwork of the regiment is the
coWpuncher, the man who has herded cat
tie on the great plains for a living, and
rext to him comes the Rocky Mountain
miner who has also usually been small
ranchman then the professional hunter
the mining engineer and civil engineer
and the packer, and mixed with them the
college athlete and the man who has all
ways been fond of rough out-of doors
sport They all go in together without a
hitch.
-Four of the men were New York police
Of 4r1 gal
fellow, was killed. We have two clergy
men in the regiment and they fought
nobly."
A humorous recollection of one of his
preachers stirred in Col. Roosevelt's mind
and he broke out laughing.
You should have seen him." he SAIL
zone morning sitting just below the bomb
proof where the shrapnel kept cracking
over his nat They couldn't reach him,
and he knew it. Though they touched the
brim Of his hat at times, he sat perfectly
placid, breaking the beans for his coffee
with the butt Of his revolver, and mind
ed the bullets no more than if there had
not been any. He was a game preacher
"Ninety-fve per cent. of my men had
at one time or another herded cattle on
horseba or had hunted big game with
the rifle. They were, therefore, natural
riders ana good shots, used to out-or-door
life, a dead game lot and ntelligent--so
we could discipline them. They were not
used to 1t, but 1t was astonishing how
quickly they became used to it. In the
essentials of discipline they were as good
as any men could be. They yielded most
prompt obedience and were just as good
in policing the camp and keeping guard
as on the march or i'm the fight. Very
many of them had been under fire before
They had been Indians traders in Arizona.
sheriffs and deputy sheriffs in New Mex
leo, marshals and deputy marshals in the
Indian Territory. Scores of them had been
in hard fights with Indians and white
desperadoes. They formedsa nucleus
1.-THE minute fighting began they all
took naturally to it. They strapped by
nature, I suppose. Perhaps it isn't very
elegant language, but it Is a fact. One
of my best men, Georgian, named Crock
ct, had been internal revenue officer,
camping against moonshiners, pretty good
practice for steadying7 nerves. He was
wounded in the Santiago fght. au
"Our first fight was at Las Guasimas.
1t is the veriest nonsense to speak OF
that as an ambush, as some coffee cool
ers in the extreme fear at first reported.
We knew just where the Spaniards were,
end Gen. Young, with the First and
Tenth regulars, arranged with Col. Wood,
who had the Rough Riders, that they
should march by different routes and hit
the Spaniards' right and left wings at the
same time. He struck them almost ex-
actly together. 1t was a mountainous
country covered with very thick jungle,
and to force pass, defended by double
our number of course. made a brisk fight
and some loss, but we forced It.