The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-06-25
HEAT IS AWFUL.
American Soldiers Compelled to
Abandon Their Packets.

Copyright, 1898. by Associated Press.)
Off Juragua, June %, by Associated
Press dispatch boat, filed Kingston, ia
maica, June 25.-Juragua, though less
than five miles by coast from Baiquiri,
the original landing place of General
Skaters troops, is IL miles distant by
road, the worst road Imaginable. The
town or village lies IN the throat of
raVlne opening between the coast range
of hills and the ocean. 1t has a good
railway station with 300 ore cars on the
track and a large cOmmissary supply
of flour. The village itself is inconsid-
cradle, consisting of a few houses near
picturesque, palm-Shaded beach,
where today a hundred exhausted
American soldiers battered like school
boys the headquarters lately occupied
by Gen. Linares.
They have captured orders which
show that the Spanish planned in the
event of American troops attempting
to land there, to repulse them from the
shore and if this were not sufficient to
charge the landing parties with
machetes All this, however, was to be
done, the orders stated strictly with
out loss to the Spanish In case loss
was inevitable, a retreat was ordered
westward.
The latter instructions were obeyed
most implicitly, since the Spanish burn
ed Baiquiri and retreated on the ap-
pearance of American troops without
firing a shot Apparently judging the
American methods by their own, they
seemed wholly unprepared for Gen.
LaAton's swift advance on Juragua,
by way of Demajaya-
Gen. Lawton, on the other hand,
acted as though he were after hostile
Apaches on the war path. Daylight
saw the first move of the Americans
from Demajaya, the Twenty-SecOnd in
fantry passing the Eightieth infantry
on the extreme outpost. While the latter
breakfasted, the Cubans secuted ahead,
hoo inc 1a SN1 nj iGh ma rf1-id SrnG
and driving them headlong.
The Spanish hastily tried to disable
a locomotive, standing with steam up
the track, by disconnecting the
several essential parts, burying some
and throwing others into the sea.
Two engineers happened to be with
the advance squadron of the Twenty
second infantry and the troops went
for the locomotive with a yell. The SOL
diers, hunting about for the missing
parts, found some and imprOvised 9TH
ers. One engineer acting as fireman
and the other at the throttle, in TWEEN
ty minutes ran her into Jura qua, with
the tender full of sharpshooters, delir-
iOus with enthusiasm over Yankee in
genuity. The engineer remarked: IF
the. fools had knocked in the cylinder
head we could not fix her."
The iron railway bridge at Juragua
was slightly damaged during yester-
days bOmbardment; but the rolling
stock is safe and if the track to the east
is not destroyed the transportation
problem is solved
The haste of the Spanish evacuation
is shown by the fact that breakfast was
on the table and the bacon actually
frying. Our soldiers profited by this.
The Spanish tried to destroy the flour
supply by cutting open the bags, but
much of this was saved by our troops,
who are on very short rations, as they
carried only about three days supply
from Baiquiri. Indeed, the second
Massachusetts, infantry took nothing.
The heat led many soldiers to discard
their rations as well as their cloth
ing. The heat of the jungle fenced
road was awful, especially to heavily
accoutred men, and the path was lined
with packets. Their shirts were dis
carded by hundreds as we'll as blankets
and haversacl1s. Several men were ex-
hausted and removed to the rear not
from sickness, but from heat.
Gen. Wheeler is in command of all
the cavalry, and with Gen. Lawton at
the front those two should keep any
enemy's attention thoroughly engaged.