The Lafayette gazette., 1898-08-13
THE CAZETTE.
S.1s<,.pkier Price, ;: 81 Per Pear
FROM SANTIAGO.
lieut. Moss Writes an Interesting
Letter, GivinQ Z Graphic ,Ac-
Count Of the Fight.


The following letter was received
by Mrs. A. ]. Moss Thursday:
In Camp near Santiago de Cuba,
July 26, 1sa8-For the last, two
weeks an epidemic of s.breakrbone''
fever (thee doctors don't seem to
to know what kind Of a fever it real
1y IS, so. the soldiers have. dubbed
it t.breaf-bone"J has been raising
havoc among our troops. One day
our sick report numbered 1so.out OF
$50 men, and we had one'fof the
smallest sick reports in the corps,
one regiment about mile away
having almost 400 men sick. The
disease does not seem to be danger
, Gus, no. deaths having SO far been
: reported. 1t is, however, very,
:; very painful-stomach out of order,
\ splitting head ache awful pains in
, all your bones and a high fever. I
!. have just run the gauntlet; hence,
; my delay in writing home, but am
now as we'll as ever before in. my
life. - a. - D..
AS you have undoubt edly by this
time learned from the newspapers,
Santiago, surrendered, in fact, on July
IA and formally two days later.
Cen Wood, formerly colonel of the
Rough Riders, has been appointed
military governor of Santiago, and
with one regiment of infantry and
some cavalry as a police force, now
occupies the city, while the rest Of
the 5th army corps is camped on
the hills surrounding the town.
Although the eagle of victory now
very, very dearly for our success.
The Spanish soldier is greatly un-
derestimated in the United States
in his intrenchments he is a formida-
bic, murderous foe, and this is just
where we have had to fight him. AS
for myself, 1 have lots of good,
wholesome respect for Mr.. Spaniard
and his Mauser rifle.
Well, mother, I am now San old
veteran" having participated in two
general engagements, and having
been subjected to fire number of
times. So varied, trying and ex-
citing have been my experiences
during last month that scarcely
know where to begin relating them.
A happy thought strikes me. I have
been keeping brief diary, and I'll
just quote from that, beginning June
80, the day before my first battle:
Thursday, June 3o:-Command
mustered about 1890 a. IN. After
noon took bath in improvised tub
luxurious event. About
S p. m. ascension of balloon to OBJ
serve the enemy's position. Broke
camp about that, time and waited
several hours before taking up the
Long and muddy night
Very disagreeable tour of
outpost duty that night-wandered'
around in high, wet weeds and thick
4 anderbrush trying to establish line
Of pickets as directed-the dew al
most as heavy as rain. 81. Ii
Friday, July about 5:3o a.
n. started for the Ducrot Mansion,
IN estate in ruins and about one
nile from Ell Caney, a small town :
If about 600 Inhabitants. At 9 =:
o'clock reached grove 600 yards
rom the Mansion and stopped in. +,
hade of trees, waiting in reserve.
Heavy, CONTINUOUS fire near by. i
About noon we were ordered to
trip for action, and leaving small
,uard in charge of our blanket rolls
nd havre-sacks, we resumed the ,
march. fwo hundred yards brought (
IS to the main FL Caney-Santiago 7
Dad. Turning to the right we fol-
owed this road about 81 of mile {
md making another turn in the t
anne direction, the comma and en- i
cred a lane. Here we halted a +
began to fly over our
dead, wounded and dy- r
ng were beipg taken past us to the s
ear-the wounded and their at f
endants telling us, stCsive them 6