The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-21


I his body. IL was big enough to put YOUR
| hat in, \ young man named Seabright
was instantly killed by the same shell.
and l was wounded in the arm
Five men fell in a heap right there but
the others kept on without any hesitation.
| The shells thrown were 6-inch, and the
men at the guns must have been good
marksmen, for they created havoc in the
advancing line. AS we went on we could
hear the dull roar of the Iowa guns and
see where the big shells tore up the rocks
and earth.
There were two men in that outfit I'll
never forget. One was Chaplain Charles
| II. Sage and the other was a Detroit re-
porter, named Donohue. The chaplain
was everywhere, IL seemed to me. He
wasn't doing much praying or preaching,
| but was helping first one wounded man
and then another, without. paying the
slightest attention to bullets, and / can tell
| you they were pouring down on us like
rain drops.
"Donohue came up to where 1 was lying
and recognized me- We had met in Camp
Alger
Look out ] said to hlm-I was in
some brush behind small tree-theres a
| Spaniard up there somewhere, and / think
hes got a bead on this spot and just as I
| spoke there was plng and the earth was
| torn up right IN front of Donohue. He
| didn't mind IL, but grabbed up my gun and
began popping away. When we went for
| ward he was as gritty as the grittiest OF
them, aud kept right In the first line OF
| fire
Those were not particularly unusual ex-
periences,' continued Rawson, but had
one other which you may think little out
OF the ordinary. After i was wounded /
was ordered 90 stay in the rear, but l
wanted TO get further forward, and stole
ride In an ambulance. The Spaniards
/ kept punking at it-they did not respect
10 ~ IA FL nd han
we got opposite a patch of woods | saw a
eolorCd soldier Of the Tenth cavalry, evil
IDENTIFY wounded. / jumped out and as |
did so a Spanish bullet struck the seat on
which l had been seated. When l reached
| the soldier ne said, better be keerful boss
| One of dem Spanish sharpshooters ez up
a tree, an he'll done gone get you sho,'
Several shots warned me that we
were in a hot place i took a good look
through the tops OF the palms, and all
of sudden saw the lower part of a mans
legs. Picking up the rife / let drive,
aiming just a little higher up taan the
exposed limbs. Down came a machete In
a leather case, and the Spaniard, all in
heap five seconds after. l gathered up
the machete, which l brought on with me
as a trophy.
''The cavalryman saw that was rather
weak from my wound, and told me to
lean on him while we walked out TO the
trail 1 put my arm around his neck, and
we had taken but a few steps when a bull
let struck my new found friend i'm the
back of the head. lie dropped dead at
my feet. / crossed his hands over his
breast and left him lying where he fell"
Corporal Rawson brought out the
chete, which was In a well worn leather
case. It's blade was blood-stained and the
edge nicked in many places
II suppose that has cut off many a
head" said he as he returned the weapon
to It's scabbard. Both the Spaniards and
the Cubans ike to do that. never saw 1t
done myself, but heard it on good au-
thori1y"
Il don't think there's any doubt OF it.'
said L. L. Stewart, d Rough Rider, who
stood by, listening 10 Rawson's story. II
wouldn't put 1t past them. l am a member
of G Troop, and my home is in Ration,
New Mexico. have seen a great deal Of
the lower class of Mexicans, there and in
Old Mexico-the peon class as they are
generally known. / always thought they
were about the meanest thing on Gods
footstool until l came across these low
class Cubans.
Il must say the low Cubans are worse
fnan the poems. They are thieves, liars
and towards.
you will remember, we were hemmed in
and In danger of being cut to pieces, when
the Tenth Cavalry got an their fine work
and We got off with forty-two killed and
wounded, Instead of all of us being butchI
cred.
Let me tell you what the Cubans aid for
US. We sent four Of them out on scout
duty with instructions 20 make a careful
reconnaissance up ahead of us at a point
where Col. Roosevelt suspected some Span
iards 10 bs in ambush. The Cubans start
ed out, and after awhile came back ana
reported that there was a Spanish outpost
about a couple of miles beyond They
pointed out the exact route, and we went
forward. What did we do but run against
1900 Spaniardsl That's what the Cubans
called an outpost.
why, they haven't got any more sense
than chickens. If a scout saw one SPAN
ish soldier he would come all the wav
Daek TO report u, instead of finding cur
Just how the force was deployed and how
Dig 1t was. Worse than that, they viii
steal When we threw away haversacks
and piled them up with other stuff we
couldn't carry they looted right and left.
They don't hesitate to rob the dead on
the field"
II is remarkable the unanimity with
which this charge Of stupidity and theft
is made against the men who were depend
ed upon as valuable allies. Ii has been
iterated and reiterated by officers and men
OF so many different commands that there
may and probably will be an official inves-
LEGATION.
A regular army officer, who did not wish
his name TO be quoted, said last night,
notwithstanding he was largely in The
minority, that he did not believe the rob-
berry Of the dead or the theft of the prop
erty OF the living was the work of the
Cuban soldiers, who were under regular
commands, but rather by the starving,
naked pacifcos.
'rhe wretched condition of these peo-
pie" said the officer lis beyond the pow
er Of description. They have been reduced
TO such desperate straits that they are
more like animals than human beings.
believe II an investigation is instituted it
viii be found that these are Che thieves.
driven by hunger and not the soldiers Of
Garcia"