Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1898-07-27
HOW THEY SURRENDERED.
STORY OF HOW THE SPAN
IARDC LAID DOWN THEIR
GUNS.
Tho City in an Awful Condition
Vultures In the Streets Plentiful
as Sparrows in America.

SANTIAGO, July 21.-The events pre-
ceding the hosting of the American
flag over the governors palace here,
amid the booming of guns, the strains
of martial music and the wild cheering
of 10000 men along seven miles of en-
trenchments, were full of interest.
Shortly after o'clock on Monday
morning, Lieut.. Crook, of General
Skaters staff, entered the city and
all the arms in the arsenal were turned
over to him. The work of removing
the mines which INSTRUCTED navigation
at the entrance of the harbor had been
progressing all night. About7 o'clock
Gen. Toral, the Spanish commander,
sent his sword to Gen. Shafter as evil
dence of his submission, and at S:45 a.
m. all the general officers and their
stats assembled at Gen. Skaters
headquarters. Each regiment was
drawn up along the crest of the
heights.
Gen. Shafter and his generals, with
mounted escort of 100 picked IN n from
the Second cavalry, rode over our
trenches to the open ground at the foot
tiago, midway to the then deserted
Spanish works. They were met by
Gen. Toral and his staff, all in full
uniform and mounted, and n select de-
tachment of Spanish troops. What
followed took place in full view of our
troops. The scene was picturesque
and dramatic. Gen. Shafter, with his
generals and staff grouped immediately
in the rear and with the troops of
-cavalrymen with drawn sabres on the
left, advanced to meet the vanquished
foe.
After few words of courteous greet
ing, Gen. Skaters first act was to re-
turn Gen. Torals sword. The Spanish
general appeared to be touched by the
complimentary words with which
Gen. Shafter accompanied the act, and
he thanked the American commander
feelingly. A short conversation fol-
lowed as to the place selected for the
Spanish forces to deposit their arms,
and Spanish infantry detachment
marched forward to a position facing
our cavalry, where the Spaniards were
halted. The latter were without their
colors.
Gen. Toral then personally ordered
the Spanish company which. in min
command. to ground arms. Next, by
his direction, the company wheeled
ana marched across our line into the
road and thence to the place selected
for camping them. The Spaniards
moved rapidly to quick notes of the
Spanish march, played by the
trumpeters. but it impressed one like
the Dead March From Saul"
Although no attempt was made to
humiliate them. the soldiers seemed to
feel their disgrace keenly and scarcely
glanced at their conquerors as they
passed by.
But this apparent depth of feeling
was not displayed by the other regi-
ments. Without being sullen the
Spaniards appeared to be utterly in
different to the reverses suffered by the
Spanish arms, and some of them. when
not under the eyes of their officers.
seemed to rejoice at the prospect of
good food and an immediate return to
Spain.
Gen. Toral, throughout the cere-
mony, was sorely detected When
Gen. Shafter introduced him by name
to each member of his staff. the Span
ish general appeared to be very
broken hearted man. He seems to be
about 60 years of age and of frail con-
stitution, though stern resolution is
shown by every feature.
Gen. Toral replied with an air of alb
straction to the words addressed to
him, and when he accompanied Gen.
Shafter, at the head of the escort into
the city to take formal possession of
Santiago, Gen. Toral spoke but few
words. Only once did the faint shadow
of n In I'M oil x>f
his mouth. Thiswas when the caval-
cade passed through barbed wire en-
tanglement. No body of infantry
could ever have got through this de-
Tense alive, and Gen. Skaters remark
about its resisting power found the
first gratifying echo in the defeated
generals heart.
Further along the desperate char
acter of the Spanish resistance, as
planned, amazed our officers. Although
primitive, it was well done Each
approach to the city was thrice bar
ricaded and wired, and the barricades
were high enough and sufficiently
strong to withstand shrapnel. The
slaughter among our troops would
have been frighttul had it ever become
necessary to storm the city.
Around the hospitals and public
buildings and along the west side of
the line there were additional works
and empiacements for guns, though no
guns were mounted in them.
The streets of Santiago are crowded
by narrow lines of one story houses,
most OF which are very dilapidated, but
every veranda of every house was
thronged by its curious inhabitants
and disarmed soldiers. These were
mostly of the lower classes.
Few expressions of any kind were
heard along the route. Here and there
was shout for free Cuba from some
Cuban sympathizers, but as rule there
were only low mutterings.
The better class of Spaniards re-
manned indoors or satisfied their curl
osity from behind drawn blinds.
Several Spanish ladies in tumble
down carriages, averted their faces as
we passed.
The squalor in the streets was fright
D full. The bones of dead horses and
n.Some of the string beans which grow