The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-07-27

and French residents Of the city. Their,
was some cheering by American sym
patllizefs. which was objected 10 by the
Spaniaris. with the result that there
We're several iist fights IN the crowd,
bat the trouble was quelled almost a.
soon ms Il began.
After the Americans had arrived Al
the palace the Archbishop of Santiago,
Fray Brolhesl Jose de Slurrs de Isa-
inz y Crespo. the most powerful ee-
cleslastic la Cuba, accompanied by Ten
priests, came on the scene, gravely
salu,ed General shafter and entered
into conversation with him.
TURNING OVER THE CITY.
PrIorto the formal ceremony Of hand
ing over the city TO the Americans u
lunch was served at the palace. The
only Cuban present at any of the cere-
monies was General joaquin Castillo
and one OF his aides, who were the
personal guests Of General Shafter.
The reason that no Cuban participated
IN the ceremony was that General Ia
lixto Garcia did not like To enter the
city while 1t was slili under the rule OF
such enemies 10 the Cuban cause as the
Santiago officials had been.
Very little time was occupied at the
luncheon. Just before noon Lieutenant
Miiey, carrying the American flag,
went TO the top OF the palace. General
Shaf,er aud the other Americans, fol-
lowed by the Spanish military OIL cers
and officials, went into the Piaza,
where the American cavalry and infant
~ were drawn up. Lieutenant Miley
with two other oiii GERS bent the flag to
the halyards attached to the palace
flagstaff
When Admiral Cervera's fleet ar
rived at Santiago the Civil Governor
gave great public banquet At that
time he had put up on the front Of the
building letters two feet deep, made
of gas pipe, which Rad, "Viva Don
Alfonso XIII.p These were illumin-
aied at night. The letters were still
there They stood out black but dis
tinct, Immediately under the staff
where Lieutenant Miley was ready to
float the Stars aud Stripes. As the
great bell ia the tower of the cathedral
gave the first stroke Of II o'clock Lieu
tenant Miley ran the flag up to the top
of the staff and il broke out, its folds
spreading to the southwest breeze.
CHEERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
BY this time every house around the
Plaza was jammed with people, and
as many were in the square rs could
crowd themselves into it. AS the flag
floated to the breeze all hats were re-
moved 10y the spectators, and the sol
diers presented arms. AS the last stroke
of the hour tolled out a military band
played the Star Spangled Banner,
which was followed by three cheers for
the Red, White, and Blue. The sol
diers cheered, and they were joined by
more than half the people, who yelled
"Viva los Americanos." The crowd
was composed of MISUNDERSTANDING
wretches, whose appearance told more
plainly than words the sufferings they
had undergone since the beginning Of
the siege. They all seemed grateful
that the Americans were in possession
of the city, evidently anticipating that
their days of hunger and misery were
over.
As the American flag hoated over the
city, Captain Caprons battery, at the
right centre of the American line, fred
a national salute. AS the guns thun-
dered, our $4,000 men, from the Third
on the left of the line, to the
Eighth Regiment, far Off on the FL Co
bre road on the west, yelled, eheered,
roared, threw their hats into the air,
and jumped up and down.
By following with the ear the salvos
of cheering, one got an idea Of how
Santiago and the Spanish
army were hemmed in. Our soldiers
stood on the crests of the trenches.
which they had won at the cost of so
many lives, as far as the eye could
reach.
The hills were alive with men dane
ing with joy. The regimental flags at
the centre, waving in the gentle breeze,
lent color to the sombre uniforms of the
army.
The Rough Riders were the most con-
spicuous of all the troops. The First
Illinois Volunteer Regiment started to
cheer them, when Private Hughes, of
the Rough Riders, called for three
cheers for Colonel Roosevelt.
The response was electric, and
mighty roar went up. Colonel RoOse-
welt, in response, called for cheers for
the army, and they were given with
hearty good will. The cheering was
heard in the city.
After cheering the flag on the palace,
the soldiers in the city eheered General
The ceremony of taking over the
city being completed, General Shafter
and his officers left for the American
camp. Soldiers were assigned to patrol
duty in the city.
LAUNCHES ENTER THE HARB0R.
Meantime the navy had determined
TO take part in the ceremonies OF sur
render. Admiral Sampson had receiv-
ed requests for permission to enter the
harbor from every small boat i'm the
fleet. He, however. refused permis-
sion to all on account of the danger
from submarine mines, but he permit
ted launches to go in.
Three of them entered, feeling their
way along up into the harbor past the
wreck of the Spanish cruiser Reina
with which the Spaniards
had tried to block the harbor; past the
which Lieutenant Hobson
had almost succeeded in sinking across
the channel, and up into the bay, at the
head of which Santiago lies. They ar
rived in time to take part in the final
They found the army al
ready In possession of everything.
The only war vessel in the harbor
was the small gunboat Alvarez, which
mounts a modern fOur-inch gun for