The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1898-06-26

packs and frequen, rests were necessary.
The irail was so narrow for the greater
part of the way that the men had 20 pro-
coed IN single NE. Pr.ck.y cactus brushed
both sides " the TRAIL and the under
brush was so thick ,ha, !, was impossible
20 see ten feet on either side All con-
dluons were favorable f1r a murderous
ambuscadc bu, the troops kept close
watch and made as ut,lc noise as pos
Ablc.
The rough r.ders entered into the sp.r-
it OF The occasion with the creates. en-
ihuslasm. II was their opportunity Tor
q nght and every man was eager Tor
lt The weather grew swealtcrlngly hot.
aud one by one the men threw away their
blankets and tent rolls and cmpticd their
can,eens
The hrs, ln,imauon had by colonel
Woods command that there were spanl-
ards In the vcia!ty was when they
r,achde point three or four miles
back from the coast, whore low cuckoo
calls Of Spanish soldiers were heard in
the bush !, was daiculi to locate the
sNac, point from which these sounds
came The men were ordered 20 speak In
whispers and fr,Quen, hal,s were made.
Finally a place was reached, about S
o'clock. where the TRAIN opened into a
space covered with high grass on the
right or The trail. and ,h.ckets. A barbed
wire fence also ran along the let, side.
Tho dead body OF cuban was found
on the side OF the road, and at the same
time captain Capron's troops covered
the ou,posts the heads Of several Span
iards were seen the bushes for a mo-
mcnt
It was no, until then that the men were
permitted to load their carbines. When /
the order to load was given they acted |
with a will and displayed the creates,
eagerness to make the attack.
At this moment sound Of firing was I
heard mile or two away TO the right, !
apparently coming from the hills be- |
yond the thicket. II was the regulars re- !
plying TO the Spanlards, who had opened |
on them from the thlcket In addition
To the rapid rifle fire, the boom Of Hotch-
kiss guns could be heard Hardly two |
minutes elapsed before Mauser rifles COM
to crack In the thicket, and hun
lrcds Of bullets whistled over the heads
II the rough riders. cutting the leaves
from the trees and sending chips flying
from the fence posts by the side OF them.
The Spanlards had opened, and they
poured in heavy fire, which soon had
. most disastrous effect The troops
stood their ground with bullets singing all
,round them
Private Colby caught sight ot the Spani-
.rds and fired the opening shot at them.
Sergeant Hamilton Fish Jr,, was the
irst man to fall He was shot through
he heart and died Instantly.
The Spantards were not more than 200
ards away but only gllmpses OF them
ould be seen,
The men continued to pour volley after
.oney into the bush In the direction OF
he sound Of the Spanish shots, but the
after became more frequent and seemed
o be coming nearer Col, Wood walked
long his lines displaying the utmost
oolnesS He ordered the troops to de-
,lov into the thlcket and sent another
detachment into the open space on the ,
eft of the trail, Lieutenant-Colonel
roosevelt lead the former dtachment
md tore through the brush, urging his
men on. The shots came thicker and
hlcker every moment and the air seemed
illed with singing ana shllekllS suunu
# Mauzer buts, while the short pop OF
he Spanish rifles could be distinguished
asily from the heavier reports of the
american weapon,
Captain Capron stood behind his men,
evolver In hand, using 1t whenever
,panlard exposed himself. His aim was
ure, and two Of the enemy were seen to
all under his fre, Just as he was pre-
,aring to take another shot and shouting
riders to his men at the same time, his
evolver dropped from his grasp and he
ell to the ground with ball through
lis body, His troop was badly discon-