The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-07-24

WIS disappearing. The Mauser bullets
began 20 sing overhead. Some of the
men joked about them Most Of the men
were silent. They were advancing or the
blockhouse OF e. Caney and the Spanish
trenches. They could see the hats OF ths
SpaniardsJ Everything but shoes ana
pantaIoons on the part OF the men were
thrown away More hats were discarded
Chauncey gave the order 70 fire and the
BATH. 50 far as that company was con-
cerned. began. One man went over
Chauncey heard him excla!m:
I'm shot"
Almost instantly another mans head
dropped and he fell forward. The men
did not look. They kept their eyes straight
ahead. They cid not look al one another
OF al their officer but at The word kept
firing and advancing. More and more Of
them dropped out All Of them took care
ful aim The sound Of the enemys' bullets
ceased in the rattle OF their own guns
Every little while there was an exclama-
ton and someone dropped. Otherwise
there was no voice but The regular COM
mand. There was 10 time 10 become
frightened. Chauncey had orders TO keep
any faEerer up in line. He looked 10 this
duty but no one fsltered. With every
wounded man he detailed another SOL
der TO watch over him and do what he
could. The men were fighting like tig-
ers." Their hats were of. most of their
clothing gone, their gun-barrels were not
and their left thumbs benumbed with
heat They advanced faster than the COM
mand and had 70 be ordered 10 slow up.
Within two hundred yards Of the block
house they were halted and fell down
fat. The fire of the Spanish from the in
trenchments was terrible. The sergeant
of Chauncey's company raised his head
and was shot through the brain and went
tumb.ing over. Again they advanced in
the face of a deadly fire. At the same
moment a regiment on the left swung
in on their flank and went up before them.
Just before this last advance courier
came 10 Chauncey's regiment with orders.
He came through the grass on his hands
and knees, covered with slime, and went
away post-haste in the same posture.
The town had been taken and in a few
minutes all the troops were there.
II felt very confident" said Chauncey
yesterday. that the day was going our
way, for we had been driving them back
and l knew they were fighting just as
hard to the right and left Of us as We
were"
The men were very tired. They were
glad it had ended as it did. Then orders
came for the regiment 10 march TO the
left on San Juan. 1t was an all-night
march. The mems spirits fell. That was
rather rubbing It in. But off they SCI,
reaching, under cover of darkness, the
brow Of little hill right up against the
Spanish b,oekhouse az San Juan. They
got there at o'clock Saturday morning,
July > Everybody went 10 sleep at once
and got one hour and a haH's rest. The
next morning just over the hill from the
Spaniards they threw up intrenchments
and got into them. They did no fighting
in the open that day. but kept rapping
away at the Spanish trenches and the
blockhouse. Everybody was dead tired.
The hill was so situated that, unlike other
regiments, they could not reach stream
of running water. Right back OF them
was slough. Water would collect in the
tracks Of wagons and hoofs and from this
the men could dip the water with a CO.
coanut gourd, filling their canteens. The
water was terrible and the men would
hold their noses when drinking it. Sun
day morning there was tremendous fir
ing al sea and the men said: Sampson
is reducing MORO again. CeTveTa was
being destroyed. Chauncey did not know
the Spanish feet had been destroyed IN
til July S. The men drank this water and