The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-07-25
THE FIGHT At TALLABACOA
SHARP ENGAGEMENT ON
THE COAST OF CUBA.
Rough Riders and Cubans Effect a
Landing from the Champion Fill
busterers Florida and Fanita.

tuS largest anu plODdOlS TIC last
expedition sent to the aid Of the
insurgents.
Coptain Jose Manuel Nunez,
brother Of General Emilio Nunez,
was killed. Winthrop Chanler of
New York was shot through the
right elbow and FIVE Cubans suffer
ed trihing injuries. The debarka-
ton was effected on July 3, at Palo
Alto on the southern coast of Cuba,
but the fighting occurred before
then.
On board the steamers were
thirty-fve Cubans under General
Nunez, fifty troopers of the Fifth
United States Cavalry under Lieu-
tenants Johnson and Ahern and
twenty. FIVE Rough Riders under
Winthrop Chanler, brother of Col,
William Aston, two dynamite guns
with $50 thirty-pound projectiles,
two full batteries of light field
pieces and large quantity of small
arms and ammunition.
Four miles west of Las Tunas,
at the mouth of the Tallabacoa Riv-
er, stood a large fort built of rail-
road iron and surrounded by earth
works. The Peoria ran boldly in
and fired several shots from her
three-inch guns, but brought no
response and no signs of life. A
scouting party made up of fifteen
volunteers under Winthrop Chand-
Ter and as many Cubans under
Captain Nunez was sent ashore,
The Peoria took position within
) short range of the fort to protect a
landing or cover a retreat, as events
might determine, aud the small
boats headed for the shore. They
reached it 500 yards east of the fort
! and the boats were beached and
their occupants cautiously scram-
bled toward the brush. At almost
the very moment they set foot on
the sands the forts and entrench-
ments burst into flame, and shot and
: shell screamed about the little band
a of invaders.
Captain Nunez was stepping
|. from his boat when a shot struck
him clean between the eyes and he
= went down, dead. Chanler fell
: with a broken arm. The others
safely gained the thicket and replied
with a sharp fire directed at the en-
trenchments. Meanwhile the Pc
oria set all her guns at work and
rained shells upon the fort until the
enemy's fire ceased.
A retreat was ordered and the
party rushed for the boats, but vol
: ley after volley came from the shore
and they were compelled to throw
themselves into the water and pad
die along beside the boats, with
only their heads exposed, until
the ships were reached. Five
Cubans were wounded, though
none seriously.
The Peoria opened her guns on a
grove of cocoanut palms, from
which the Spaniards had been
sending in hot fire, silencing it.
Four rescue parties were sent
: ashore during the night to recover
the wounded. Toward morning
Lieutenant Ahern, in charge of one
of these, found Chanler and his
companions. After sunrise Agra
monte and his Cubans were dis
covered and brought off.
: The next day the gunboat Hell
ena arrived and on Friday morn
ing she and the Peoria attacked
Las Tunas The Spanish gunners
! fired but fifteen or twenty shots
before their guns were flying in the
= air, their earthworks a mass o.
! blood stained dust, and their gun
ners running for their lives. Bott
the Peoria and the Helena were
struck several times, but none Oh
either ship were injured. AS they
withdrew several buildings OF
shore were in flames.
That afternoon both ships agar
turned their attention to the for
and the entertainments at thu
mouth of the Tallabacoa river, anC
for half an hour poured a wicked
fire upon them. The Spaniapd
had been largely reinforced during
the day and some field pieces hat
II been mounted near the fort. Thes
replied to the American fire, bu
. without effect and the shells of tn
two speedily silenced them,
h During the night the landing ex
petition proceeded to Palo Alto
fifty miles to the eastward. Will
u the Helena lay off shore maxim
lively play with her search light
II toward the shore, the Peoria, tn
Florida and the Fanita slippe
" silently away, They reached Pal
k Alto at day break, and the me