The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-08-02
LETTER FROM GEN. SKATER
RECEIVED BY SECRETARY ALGER
 AND MADE PUBLIC.

santiago's Surrender Completed With Little Loss of Life Compared to What
 1t Would Have Been Had the Spanish Fought 1t Out-More Munitions of War Captured Than Was Expected Sha fter's Only Fear As of Sickness. Washington, August 1.-The secre- tary of war has received the following
 letter from General Shafter transmit ting the report of the surrender of the Spanish army at Santiago:
 Camp before Santiago, Cuba, July 1S, 1898.
 q take the liberty of sending to you, this morning, a copy of the agreement between the commissioners on my part and the commissioners on the part of Spain for the surrender of Santiago. The schedule just submitted shows there are a little over 22,0O0 men and officers, about 5000 more men than I have had myself and I am glad to say that we have got all these men with very little loss of life, compared to what it wo,,ld have been had we to fight them. The city of Santiago is simply network of Notifications at
 every street corner. had no proper conception of its strength until I went
 into it, although I knew those old stone
 towns were naturally very strong. Ev- erything is going admirably, so far as
 the transfer is concerned, and the Spanish troops are behaving well, as they are perfectly delighted at the thought of getting home.
 q send to you personally a telegram of General Linares to his government which one of the consuIs gave me. It shows the straits to which they were
 put and the feelings that animated them. He stated the case exactly; I l did have him so surrounded that 1t was | impossible for him to get away. send | out tomorrow morning to receive something over 2,000 men in the in- terior about thirty miles and in two | or three days will send to Guantanamo | to receive the 1000 that have surren- l dered there. They should be shipped | from Guantanamo Bay direct to Spain. 1 There are also about 800 men each from Baracoa and Sagua de Tanamo on the north coast, who will come into the | port there for shipment. I will send
 an officer around with Spanish officer l to take their arms and military SUD- 1 plies.
 We have got great deal more than | I had any idea of getting in the way l of munitions of war. In everything
 but food they were well supplied. Have 1 got a few beautiful modern, high | power guns, about dozen. My only | fear is that we shall have some sick
 ness and it is for that reason that I
 have wired you so earnestly about get | ting these prisoners away so that we | can go up in the mountains with my command fifteen or twenty miles, at
 the end of the railroad, at San Luis, which is said to be very healthy. It
 is, at any rate, about 1,50O feet above
 the sea and has communication by rail 1 with Santiago.
 | ''So far there is no fever in Santiago. I suppose because there is no one there
 except immunes. Three cases only SC 1 far this year and the English consul | tells me there was very little last year. | Of those here who served throughout
 the civil war, all declare they never had 1 anything that could compare with it l for hardship. I can recall no instance l where a greater surrender has been
 made than this. The surrender of Gen. 1 eral Toral to myself and my generals 1 was highly dramatic as well as the posting of the flag over the city of
 Santiago one of the oldest cities in this
 continent. I want to thank you and | the president for the words of cheer that
 have come to us and to say that none | of us have ever doubted that every ef- 1 fort possible to make our lives as se- l cure and our situation as comfortable as is possible would be done"