Evening star., 1898-12-22

and again to rate and threaten him for run
ring needless risk
Great gallantry was also shown by four
troopers whom | cannot identify and ny
Trooper Winsow Clark Of C. 1t was after
we had taken the first hill had called out
to rush the second and. having by that
time lost my horse, climbed a wire fence
and started towards it After going couple
of hundred yards. under heavy hre
found that no one else had come. As dis
covered later IL was simply because IN the
confusion with men shooting and beng
shot they had not noticed me start toip
the five men to wait a me nent as IL might
be misunderstood il we all ran pack' "tiis
/ ran back and started the regiment ana
as soon as / did the regiment came with
a rush. But meanwhile the I'VE men cool
" Law down in the open returning the hrt
from the trenches 1t is to be wondered at
that only Clark was seriously wounded
and he called out we passed again to lay
his canteen where he could reach II, bnt 20
continue the charge and leave him where he
WAS All the wounded had to be left until
after the fight. for we could spare no men
from the firing line
Very respectfully,
THEODORE ROOSEE ELT,
Lieut.. Col. First L s. Volunteer Cavalry.
Suffering After the Fighting.
Col Roosevelt made another report July
90 detailing the experiences of the resi-
-r11ent after the battle and summarizing the
contents of the first report. He then goes
on 20 say:
For the next seven days. until the lOth,
we lay in our line while the truce con-
tinued We had continually to work at ad-
ditionaI bomb proof and at the trenches ana
a. we had no proper supply Of food. utter
Iv Inadequate medical facilities, the men
suffered a good deal. The officers cnlppea
together purchased beans. tomatoes ana
sugar for the men. so that they mlght nave
some relief from the bacon and hardt:ich.
ylIfF We rot =
..As for the sick and wounded. they suit
ferel 81 i'm the hospitals Hhsc SSc-s % ire
rear for lack Of food end attention thdt
We found it hest to keep them at the front
and give, them such care as our own doc
tors could As | mentioned in my previous
letter, thirteen of our wounded men con-
riuuai 10 fight through the battle III spite
nf their Wounds and of those sent 70 the
rear many. brrh of the sick and wounded
came Gp 10 reiOin us as soon as thelr cor
dition allowed them 10 walk Most OF the
worst cases were ultimately sent to the
states.
"On the 10Th the truce was at an end
and The Commandment TeCptned. As far as
our lines were concerned, 1t was on the
Spanish part very feeble We suHereu no
losses and speedily got the fire from their
trenches in our front completely under On
tnt. I1th We were moved three-quarters of
a mile to the right, the truce again beng
on Nothing happened here except We con-
tinued TO watch ard do our best to get the
men. especially the sick. properly fed and
havirg transportation and being unable
to g-t hardly any through the regular chan
nels We used anything We could find, cap
tured Spanish cavalry horses. abandoned
mules which had been shot. but which our
men took and cured; diminutive, skinny
ponies purchased from the Cu5dnS, etc
BY these means and by the eXertiUnS of
the officers We were able from time to time
to get supplies of beans. sugar, tomatoes
and even oatmeal, while from the Red
Cross people We got our invaluable load of
rice. COrnmeal, etc. all of this was of the
utmost consequence, not only for the sick
nominally well, as the lack of proper food
was telling terribly on the men. 1t was ut
terly impossible to get them clothes and
shoes; those they had We're in many cases
literally dropping to pieces.
ON the 1Ith the city surrendered.
ON the 18th shifted camp to here. the
best camp We ever had. but the march
hither under the noon-day sun told very
heavily our men. weakened by under
feeding and OverwOrk, and the next morn
ing 125 cases were reported to the doctor,
and | now have but half of the 600 men
with hich I landed four weeks ago. fit for
duty. and these are not fit to do anything
like the w1.k they could do then.
As mad but one wagon, the change
rsCesSiIsted leaving much of my stuff be
hind. with a night of discomfort, with
sCanty shelter and sCanty food for the most
OF the officers and many of the men. Only
the possession of the impoverished pack
train alluded 10 above saved US from being
worse. Yesterday l sent in Z detail of SIX
officers and men to if they could not
purchase OF make arrangements for a sup
ply ~ proper food and proper clothing for
the men. even if We had 10 pay for il out
OT our own pockets. Our Suffe ring has been
due primarily To lack Of transportation and
OF proper food or sufficient clothing and Of
medical supplies. We should row have
wagon sheets fOr tentage. Very respect
fully. THEODORE ROOSEVELT