Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1898-08-18

me still. While passing tent which
contained four mortally wounded
comrades l was called by one Of then
asking for drink. | stepped to hi'
side and as did so be raised up and
said, "Give me water, am dying
| sat down, placed bis head on my LAP
and as the light went out he said,
Mother, Katie, tell them" and bis
spirit had taken its flight. While
this is but one Of many such incidents
Of that days work, it shows that
home and loved ones are last thought
of.
The sharpshooters made it very un.
pleasant for US, it not being safe even
at the hospital to step to the river a
few yards for water, and as they use
smokeless powder it was almost i'm
possible to locate one in the thick
underground and trees. Their marks
manship was very poor. While they
were very hard to locate, an ambu-
lance driver and another fellow saw
one in a tree. He had shot and killed
the wheel mule. They decided after.
ward that he had shot at them but
had from long training on the fleeing
Cuban miscalculated the speed of a
government mule. 1t was hard on
the mule. When Mr.. Sharpshooter
was picked up Of the nine shots fired
from their six-shooters, five had found
their mark.
The flag Of truce went up Sunday,
July 8, at 10 m. and for a week terms
of surrender were discussed. Mean
while we, with the First cavalry hos
pital corps, had been moved up to
the trenches where our men were
throwing up breastworks and she'll
proof excavations. We were ordered
to the trenches at o'clock, July 10,
as terms Of surrender had been re-
fused by the Spanish general. At 5
p. m. the bombardment commenced
and the Spanish bullets flew over our
heads again. The next day the firing
was resumed when at ! p. m. they
said "We have had enough. Your
terms will be complied with" You
all know OF the surrender and the
terms agreed on. We celebrated the
victory on Sunday, July II.
This part Of Cuba is very noun
famous and covered by dense under
growth which is almost impossible.
There are no roads, only paths wide
enough for men to march single file
only. The soil is very rich judging
by the rank growth Of grass which is
green all the year. The timber is
small here. The palm and cocoanut
tree grow in great profusion. We
have had all the cocoanuts we could
use and find they are very substan-
tial fruit.
The condition of the people is sim
ply awful. Naked, starved aud dy-
ing, they are an object of pity. Pic
lures Of them in our home papers do
not tell half the story of exposure and
starvation. The Cubans run in color
from the blackest negro to the genu-
inc Spaniard and most OF them seem
intelligent and, Judging from the fine
plantations now ruins, they have been
industrious. do not believe they
are good soldiers and they can't fight
our way at all. They are armed with
every kind oi weapon known in an
cient and modern warfare. The
machete you have heard so much Of
is nothing but corn knife. | have
cut corn with machete many day.
Some Of them are finely made and en-
graved but corn knife just the same.
How do the Spanish fghtP Very
much the same as our American In
dian. His stronghold is ambush fight
ing. With their position no army
should have defeated them. Col.
Fred Funston was right when he said
they were poor marksmen. Their
sharpshooters seldom killed a man,
only wounding them. | had a very
good opportunity of seeing the effect
OF the famous Mauser bullet. 1t
makes a clean hole not shattering the
bone or tearing the flesh and those
OF our men who were not killed out
r;uht havo n oood obo,oo for roooyar,