The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-29
Believe They Can Lick the Whole
Spanish Army.
TOUGH AND COURAGEOUS
THEIR SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS
AT GUANTANAMO.
Climate Is All Right and They Have
Become Hardened Soldiers-Their
Cuban Allies Win Respectable
Starved, But Thirsting For Veng-
eance-Efect of Modern Rifles.


Camp, Guantanamo Bay. Cuba, June
20 (via Port Antonio, Jamaica, June
2O.-Aside from the energetic attack OF
the Spaniards on the first American
camp established in Cuba, nothing has
astonished the inhabitants of Camp
McCalla and the fleet generally, as
much as the present long dry interval
in the midst of what was supposed TO
be Cubas rainy season. May was ush-
cred in with rains on the northeast,
and when the troops reached the south
coast there were a few afternoon rain
gusts, then cloudy threats, but no
rain, and since the marines have
landed at Camp McCalla there has
been but one brief shower and no more.
The Cuban auXiliaries say this is the
usual thing for this vicinity, and
prophesy no more rain until the first
day of August ushers in the hurricane
season.
Camp McCalla has proven healthful
and a fine place to acclimate and har-
den soldiers. The men, some of whom
Were half sick from six weeks con-
finement on the Panther when they
landed, are ali as brown as Indians
and hard as prize fighters. They have
had their baptism of fire and stood the
ordeal. They have gone six miles in
land and smoked the Spaniards out of
their holes on the peninsula, beaten
them in the brush at their particular
kind of fighting and lost one man
wounded in the exploit, while the Span
iards lost 70 dead and wounded and
not accounted for.
When Lieutenant Delehanty's pioneer
expedition to clear the river of mines
below Caimanera was preached yeSter-
day the marines were eager to follow
the achievement by capturing both
a nd
standing that Guantanamo is 10 miles
inland from the bay and far out of
supporting distance from the warships
Besides there are 5000 Spanish regulars
there, but the marines thought if two
companies of them had whipped six
companies of Spaniards at Cusco
mountain, the whole party ought to
come pretty near getting away with
them dagoes up the river The Off
GERS smile quietly at overhearing these
enthusiastic outbursts, and are well
satisfied with the spirit that prompts
them.
All reports from inland agree in
picturing the Spanish situation as des-
perate. The Cubans invest Santiago
and Guantanamo so closely that even
dispatches between sections of the
Spanish army are captured oftener
than they get through. The military
governor of Santiago made peremptory
demand three days ago on Guantanamo
for food and reinforcements The cap
tured reply despondently stated that
Guantanamo was worse off than San
tiago, and that nothing could be sent.
The Cubans watch every creek and
crossroads, gathering in Spanish
couriers and bringing them in to Nc
Gala or Sampson.
EFFICIENCY OF CUBANS.
The Cubans are gradually winning
the respect of the American regulars.
The Cuban soldiers so far seen, are
about 50 per cent negroes, usually with
white Cuban officers. The officers are
intelligent and anxious for their troops
to win the good opinion of the Ameri-
cans. They are ready for any service. |
These black Cubans are fine fighters,
skilled in woodcraft and are invaluable |
guides. Most of the trouble with them
as guides has been when they at
tempted too much. They are greedy |
as to American food, but will readily |
be excused for that when they are seen
to strip for swimming off the marine |
camp. Every one of them is emaciated, |
owing to the uncertain commissariat !
of the insurgent army. They have |
been almost unconsciously but sys-
tematically starving. 1t will take |
many weeks of good feeding to get |
them into comfortable condition.
debt against Spain. AT Camp McCalla |
there is one big negro whose real name |
is not known, but who is called by the |
marines "Old Machete,'' for his fond |
ness for the Cuban national weapon.
He has with him his little boy, the only
one of his family left. All the rest,
even to his cousins, have been butch
cred by the guerillas. In action the
old man becomes half mad with ex-
citement, drops his gun at the first
chance for close quarters and plies his
big machete like a fail.
When the expedition from Cusco
mountain yesterday brought in a cou-
pie of bullet-pierced Spanish skulls as
medical specimens, the old man eyed
them like a connoisSeur, and, rolling
one over gently with his bare foot in
the sand, chuckled deeply and muir
INJURED: "Uno bueno Espanol zone
good Spaniard)." He had probably
never heard the American army phrase
about the only brand of Good Indian"
Admiral Sampson is reported to have
been faVoraDly impressed with his in
terview with the veteran. General Car
cia. If the regulars of the army take
as kindly as the marines of Camp Nc
Gala tc their dusl1y allies of the rank
and file, and take the trouble to Gull
tivate their good qualities and deal
leniently with their defects, there
seems no reason why the ''allied
armies should not do swift and eff
fective work in Cuba.
EFFECT OF MODERN RIFLES.
Ever since the introduction of the ,
modern high power, small calibre rifle
among the armies Of the world, there
has been intense interest in the med :
ical profession, as well as among the
laymen, to know the effect of the new
arm in the nature of wounds it would :
infiict ano the proportion of mortality !
to wounded. DR.. Orlando Quicker of
the American Medical association, who
is here to study the practical aspects
Of battlefield surgery, as well as trop-
zeal diseases and their treatment, went i
over the. battlefield of CuSco mountain I
with Surgeon Edgar of the marine I
corps, and examined the bodies there I
A sight of the battlefield gave the inn s
preston of a bigger fight than had &
been conveyed by the cold official state {
nent of the case at Camp McCalla last I
Tuesday. The additional bodies found g
,aised the estimate of Spanish killed e
rom So the first days count to more
han rs. Many bullet pierced straw
lats Uttered the ravine where the Span Y
ards made their last disastrous retreat. t
The narrow glen was literally covered S
With empty Mauser shells for half a d
nile. while cactus plants were plenti-
ully pepDered with the tell-tale bullet G
loles, and trees were SCARED and twigs Il
we're hanging in profusion along the S
lose-g grown foot path. t
Only eight bodies were found in con- d
ition to examine. The doctors brought "
Jack two bullet-punctured Spanish q
kulls. Speaking of what he had learn n
d, DIR. Quicker said: 1.-The effective "
less of rifles of small calibre but of r,
-reat initial velocity, like the Krag- e.
orgensen, Lee-Metford or MaEser, for c