The evening times., 1898-08-23
SIX MEN CAPTURED C0AMO
Galloped Into Town Ahead OF
the Main Body.
MARCH OF THE MEN IN BLUE
Early Morning Work of tise SIX
tceuth Pennsylvania Regiment
Scared Natives PeerhhS Ut
Passing CaNaIcnde-sccnes IN the
tnthuifc Cemetery.


Porto Rico. under date of August H.
gives the following description Vi 1"e
capture of that place.
"ReyeilIe is such beautiful can tha'
men who would much prefer TO sleep
are so charmed by its notes toat 'heS
sit up and forget to be indignant p"'
there was no reveille on the nof"hs
of the day the Sixteenth PennsyNa".s
took Coamo. AT Gen Wilson's heau-
ouarters a sentry shook the flaps OF the
tents and told us 1t was time to get up
He reminded me of Pullman car porter
shaking the curtains of berth and say
ing Only twenty minutes 10 Ne"
York 1t was so unmiiitary tlat e'eiS
one refused to wake.
..Then Gen Wilson taught the oncers
of his staff a lesson in punctuaiity py
riding off without them, and they na"
to gallop three miles to overtAke MIN:
..The road was bStter than any ROAD
outside of the city parks in America
with a hard, siopinS surface ana ram
cutters at each side and brick prloges
over the streams. 1t was shaded oy
pink and red trees and a few common or
garden trees of green so that we might
not think we were passing beneatn
succession of triumphal arches. Some
times on our right, above the sugarcahe'
we saw the sea and the Wnite spray
breaking on the reefs.
LAS the cavalcade passed the Porto
Ricans came out lazily to the roadsioe
and peered at the officers over the FENCES
of cactus. and neglected, brown, nakeu
children fell out of the doors and bumped
down the steps, bowling dismaiiy: Inc
white helmet of the general was still half
ayd sal
aide was beating his horses TANKS like
club. The hoofs of our horses rang ike
hammers on the road. and the swords
and picket pins clattered and jangied
There were great hills to the left and
right, clothed with hundred shades OIL
green, and below them green lakes OF su-
gar cane, with the corrugated iron roofs
and the tall chimneys of the sugar mills
rising out of them and looking like tur-
tieback steamers pushing their way
through the fresh water lakes.
las we raced by We saw teams OF six
oxen pulling long plows through choco-
late-colored earth. Small boys rode one
of each yoke of oxen and sang in chorus
a drowsy, droning song, which sounded
like the song the Lascars sing on p.
& o. steamer when they pull on rope.
The morning was very still, for there are
few birds in Porto Rico, and only the hum
of innumerable insect life answered the
ring of the horses hoofs.''
After describing the firing on the block
houses and the death of the command
ante. who, the correspondent says, SEEM
ed to wish to die the letter continues:
"For a mile the road was quite empty,
and the houses on either side were either
shut and barred or open and deserted
A rifle pit. also deserted, stretched acrosI
@1,a hf,t he Ca~ap NH ui
It and, turning with the road. brought Us
into the main street of Coarno. Gen. Erns
was not in the street. nor were there any
Spaniards. There was a man with a
white flag in the middle of it, and he
seemed inclined to drop 1t and run il
needful.
The horses were racing now. and th'
clatter they made in the empty street
was impressive. As We passed a few meI
crawled out from under the porches ant
shouted, Viva Americanosi' and then raI
back again and hid More men with whit
flags peeped out from round corners ant
shook the flags at US franticaliy.
'It was like a horse race. with start
ers stretched out all along the course
Barricades of iron pipes across the stree
and more rifle pits failed to d.scourag'
the horses. They were excited by th
shouts and by the flags, and they car
ried US. racing neck and neck, to tn
other end of Coamo. There We found
to our embarrassment, that 1t was empt,
of American troops and that. unwilling
ly and unwillingly, We had been Offered
its surrender.
"Capt. Breckenridge and Lieut.. Titu
looked at each others shoulder straps
and Lieut.. Titus congratulated his su
perior officer on having taken a town o
5000 inhabitants with only six men.
''Then they borrowed a flag of true
and wigwagged to the Sixteenth that
was safe to come in. The people wer
glad to see our troops. but there was
difference between the reception the
gave them and the reception the peopi
of Ponce gave them. which was as mark
ed as possible. At first the people o
Coamo were terrified and carried brand
bottles with them as being possibly
stronger means of protection than IN
flags of truce. But as soon as they say
no harm would come to them they becam
more friendly but not so delirious as wer
the people of Ponce. The Americans di
not care They sang: Just tell them tina
YOU saw us, and that we were doin
WELL
"Gen, Wilson had established himself i
the home of the alcade and was sendin
modest kilograms to the commander-in
chief at Ponce and receiving congratula
fiOnS, The men were SIHOhihS Tic SiS'
rettes and drinking the wine the peopl
messed upon them, and the officer
avarmed in the only hotel and fought tn
skirmish over again.
"Rut some one always has to pay tn
cost. and back of the negro quarters
the town, at the end of an avenue
naIms. the men who had paid the hea'
lest price were being buried in the Cath'
lie graveyard. 1t was just after sunse
and the place was damp ana emily an
d.rk Two hospital stewards, who hs
haan keenine count of the Spanish dea
"a thew were put into the graves, sat
q tombstone and checked off the last 10
e,gn name on the list with stub of
pencil. ,,,.
".Well, that's ALL said the hospit
steward, as he put on MS oiouse-
can go now.
.rhe rrayediggers gathered up the
shades and looked anxiousiy tor the
nav. and the keeper of the graveyai
stood at the iron gate and Jansiea u
KEYS against 1t as a sign to hurry III
that his supper was waiting. 1t SCENE
as though no one had time nor thoug
20 SPARE for the soldiers who had 1u
heen hidden from sight forever. The
Spanish friends in the town had n
dared to stand at their graves their coz
rades were marching to Coamo as pri
pners or being driven there wounded
the ambulances. 1t seemd a pity tn
there was no priest nor firing squad n
bugier to sound Lights out and to pi
the soldiers the last tribute. which is Il
least tribute country can pay the m
who die for her. With all these rumo
OF peace In the air. 1t seemed a pity tn
they should have died at all.
1.-The HIVES of a. few Spanish Office
would not have counted to the Americ;
a,o1,l lvy For