The record-union., 1898-09-03

would have been better. If the war
had continued we would have stayed
right there, fever or no fever. The sud-
den end of the war was unexpected.
We were not prepared for the unexpect-
ed. / made it an inevitable rule 10
send home in a transport 20 per cent.
less than she had brought south That
was fair view to take.
Il am satisfied with the Santiago
campaign. When it is understood, with
all it's difficulties, it will receive just
place in military history. We were hur-
ried off to Cuba. We landed and could
not have gotten our stores back on
board if we wanted to. When the inva-
sion was planned it was obvious that IL
must be a rush such as it was.
and it was a success, complete and
unequivocal Many things We're done,
it is true, that were forced upon us by
the exigencies of the hour, but the
means employed even under such stress
proved to be wisely chosen. l was COM
PEELED to do a great many things that,
under different circumstances, Wouio
not have been considered.
81 sized up the SpaniardS correctly.
For example, at San Juan 1 was sure
works and attack US. The Ell Caney
fight hoped would be finished at lo
a. m. but it took until 5 o'clock, and
rather feel now that it was for the best.
Had 1 had Lawton on the right of the
line we would undoubtedly have
taken the city of Santiago that night,
in which case only the garrison would
have surrendered to us, whereas, later
all the troops in the region surren-
deren The men outside of Santiago on
July I'd could have gone to General
Pando / knew that the war was over
as soon as Toral spoke to me about
surrendering the troops in the eastern
province / almost fell over.
I'VE never had on the fighting line at
any one time more than 1900 men,
and with these we captured 27,0O
Nine thousand Spaniards were for
titled in the best intrenched positions L
ever saw. Indeed, the intrenchments
were of such a character that shelllng
with the guns We had did not do them
serious damage. Where a 13-inch shell
from our ships dropped into house in
the town it demolished the dwelling,
but all the occupants We're gone
Did Cervera's men help in the San
Juan engagement was asked, to clear
up a mooted point.
Yes, indeed He had 1000 men
ashore from his fleet in the battle of
July 1st. His Chief of Staff, Busta-
mente, was killed. His marines and
sailors suffered severely. Cervera put
them all back on board July I'd, and on
the Sd he tried to get to sea.
Sra nj aT.1S n their
last bit of rice when they surrendered,
but they declined on the first day to
accept rations offered to them. They
said that American charity Inundated
them, but / noticed that they came
around for the grub on the second day"
Why was your food supply short be-
fore San Juan?'
Il had to act quickly and shove my
men right into the field because / knew
they We're growing weaker and weaker
every hour. We had plenty of rations
unloaded at the shore, but there was
only a single road, hub-deep in mud,
over which they could be brought to the
front, and if we had had good army
wagon we could not have got the pro-
visions where they We're needed. Pack
trains saved us. They were invalu-
able"
What is the condition of Santiago to-
day?" was asked
1T is in a fair state of health" re-
piled General Shafter. Under the mill
tary GOvernorship now in existence it
will soon be cleaned and made thor
oughly healthy. 1t is a pretty town,
but the surrounding country is in a
state of wreck. You can't imagine the
destitution of the Island of Cuba"
What do you think of the Spanish
hospitals?"
Those in Santiago are as good as
any in the world My surgeons tell me
they inspected them carefully and
never saw better sanitary arrange
ments. The chief hospital there Wilt
hold 1000 patients comfortably, and
during the investment Of the city at one
time held 1900 men. The barracks are
not SO satisfactory, but they are being
thoroughly overhauled by our troops.
The city is growing quiet
Did you see any reconcentrados?
only a few. l fear that most of
them are dead But the death rate in
Santiago has dropped from eighty
day to thirty five, and most of the
dNdbiiS e1It VI OIu ptOplt VI cUlluE6I VINO
had not recovered from the starvation
which they had endured"
When will the military occupation
of the island occur?"
Some time in the latter part of Oc-
tober," was the answer
You asked me about the use of
cavalry in Cuba, and I reply that if
we have got to go down there and fight
the Cuban guerrillas we shall want the
cavalry beyond question; otherwise,
not. l hope that small garrisons of in
fantry scattered over the country will
suffice
How about the western part of the
island?" was the next inquiry.
Havana Will certainly be garrisoned.
and everything possible will be done to
render the city healthy and revive it's