The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-06-17
FIRST LAND FIGHT.
Spanish Troops Attack the Ameri-
can Marines at Guantanamo.
THE ENGAGEMENT At CLOSE RANCE.
Four Americans KILLED and One Wounded
The Advance Pickets of the Marines
Also Unaccounted for-spsn-
ish Loss Unknown.

ish Loss Unknown.
OFF GUANTANAMO, June 10. Lieut.
Col. r. w. Huntington's battalion of
marines, which landed from the trans
port Panther on Friday and encamped
on the hill guarding the abandoned
cable station at the entrance to the
outer harbor of Guantanamo, has been
engaged in heading off a rush attack
by Spanish guerrillas and regulars
since three o'clock Saturday afternoon
The fighting was almost continuous
for Is hours, until six o'clock yesterday
morning, when achievements were
landed from the Marblehead. Four of
our men were killed and one wounded.
The advance pickets under Lieuts. Ne
vile and Shaw are unaccounted for.
The Spanish loss is unknown, but it
was probably considerable. The
splashes of blood found at daylight at
the positions the Spaniards occupied
indicate fatalities, but their comrades
carried off the killed and wounded.
The engagement began with desul-
tory firing at the piclSets, 1000 yards
inland from the camp. Capt. Spicer's
company was doing guard duty and
was driven in, finally rallying on the
camp and repulsing the enemy at five
o'clock. The bodies of Privates Nc
Colgan and Dunphy were found, both
shot in the head. The large cavities
made by the bullets, which, inside %
range OF 500 yards, have u rotary mo-
ton, indicate that the victims were
killed at close range. The bodies
were stripped of shoes, hats and car
fridge belts and horribly mutilated
with machetes. When they were
brought in the whole battalion
formed three sides of a hollow square
about the camp on the hilltop.
Below, in the bay, were the warships
at anchor. Inland from the hill camp
is deep ravne and beyond this are
high hills. The adjacent country is
heavy with thicket growth. The
sky was blanketed with clouds and
when the sun set gale was blowing
seward. Night fell thick and impen-
etrable. The Spanish squads concealed
in the chapparel cover had the advau-
tage, the men furnishing n fine target
against the sky. The Spaniards fought
from cover till midnight, discoverable
only by flashes at which the marines
fred volleys. The repeaters sounded
like tirecrackers in barrel.
The Marblehead launch, with a colt
machine gun in her bow, pushed up
the bay, enfilading the Spaniards, and
1T is thought that some were killed.
The marines trailed much blood to the
waters edge and there lost it. The
ships threw their searchlights ashore,
the powerful eyes sweeping the deep
tropic foliage and disclosing OCCASION
ally skulking parties of Spaniards. 1t
all represented a tranformation scene
at the harbor
Each discovery of the enemy was
greeted by the cracks of carbine fire
along the edge of the camp ridge or
by the long roll of the lauuch's ma
chine gun, searching the thickets with
leaden stream.
Shortly after midnight came the
main attack. The Spauiards made
gallant charge up the southwest slope,
but were met by repeated volleys from
the main body, and broke before they
were one-third way up the hill; but
they came so close that, at points,
there was almost a hand to-hand
struggle. The officers used their re-
volvers. Three Spaniards got through
the open formation to the edge of the
camp. Col. Jose Campina, the Cuban
guide, discharged his revolver and
they, turning and finding themselves
without support, ran helter-skelter
down the reverse side of the hill.
Lieut. Col. Huntington and Mai
Cockrell gave high praise to the nerve
and steadiness of officers and men,
especially the young ones, as the en-
gagement was a baptism of fire for
large majority The men were in
darkness and in a strange land, but
they stood to their posts with courage
and fortitude and there was no symp-
tom of panic, The marines, though
much exhausted, were eager for more
fighting, promising to inhict heavy
punishment. They complimented the
daring of the Spaniards with charac-
teristic camp profanity,