The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-28
1 VERY HAZARDOUS TASK AHEAD.
May Be Necessary to Lay a Reg
- ular Siege to the City.
LINARES ON THE DEFENSIVE.
Difficulty in Transporting Supplies to the
Advance Forces, Who Are Now Almost
Near Enough to the Spaniards to See the
Whites Of Their Eyes-The Cubans With
Our Advance Troops Seem to Be Utterly
Worthless, Despite the Good Behavior Of
Their Comrades at Guantanamo.

Thelr Comrades at Guantanamo.
On the Rio Guiana. Cuba, via Kings
ton, June 28.-The advance force of the
American army rests on this stream,
with the city of Santiago de Cuba four
and half miles westward, in plain
slight. Saturday night the outposts.
consisting Of two companies of the
Seventh infanty under Major Coolidge,
occupied positions at right angles to
the road, guarding the crossing a mile
and half beyond Sabanilla, where
three regiments of General Lawton's
division camped. The Eighth, Second
and Twenty-second Massachusetts,,
with rough riders, Tenth cavalry and
portions Of several other regiments
strung out behind them towards Jura-
qua. About 800 Cubans. under General
Gonzales, were camped around Cen
eral Lawton's headquarters. but less
than so of them did scout duty.
The top of every hill and mountain
north and east of Santiago is occupied
by blockhouses, from whence the
Epaniards can view the movements of
the American army as 1t advances be-
yond Sabanilla, while to the eastward
Of the city. gashing every knoll and bit
Of high ground, are Spanish entrench-
ments, completely fencing every ap-
proach to the city. The ends of the
trenches overlap where breaks in the
line occur, thus securing comparatively
safe retreat from rifle fire in case
parts Of the trenches are captured.
Upon one Of these works modern guns
have been mounted They can be
plainly seen with the naked eye.
Spies report that inside of the en-
trenchments are four parallel lines of
rifle pits, shoulder deep and in front
Of them are marked ranges and several
rows of barbed wire fences.
No officer who has surveyed the field
over which the advance must be made
underestimates the task ahead of the
Americans, although our boys still ex-
press the most contemptuous opinion
of their adversaries. The general opin-
Ion is that more artillery will be nec-
essary before it will be safe to at
tempt to make an assault upon the
Spanish works. as the fire of the rifle
sufficient to demoralze any force, no
matter how brilliant In Its courage.
Some officers believe 1t will be nee
-ssu-rsr-to to lay a regular seige to San
tiagoN and advance with a line of
e8rthworks until the rife pits can be
shelleaswitlf -shrapnel by the light ar
tillery. These pieces have an effective
shrapnel range of $500 yards. and the
Mauser rifles in the hands of the
6paniards are sighted to 1900 yards.
and they kill at 2,100 yards.
Howver gratifying to the national
pride is the careless attitude of our
enlisted men, the grave fear remains
that they may need more severe les
son than the ambush Of the rough
riders before they realize the deadly
possibilities of modern warfare, even
In Spanish hands. The road over
which the ordnance must be brought Is
densely lined with underbrush. Every
yard is an artificial hedgerow and the
road to the base of supplies is in a
similar state.
But very little danger Is apprehended
of flank attack, as it Is evident Cen
erai Linares is acting strictly on the
defensive. The failure OF the Span
ish troops at Holguin. Manzanillo and
Guantanamo to effect junction with
him have left the Spanish commander
so weak that it would be an act of
Insanity upon his part to attempt to
assume the aggressive or to retreat.
The problem now confronting the
army Is the transportation of supplies.
fnr hn do m ha ct
passable for wagons, but are being i'm
proved. In the meantime the pack
train Is being used The officers and
men were completely out of rations on
Saturday and Sunday.
The Cubans with the advance forces,
In spite of the good behavior of their
comrades at Guantanamo seem to be |
utterly worthless. All day they sit in |
the shade of their palm thached camps.
and at night they make cigarettes and
gorge on Uncle Sans rations, while
In sight of them Uncle Sans boys, with
empty stomachs and not a bit of to-
bacco for their pipes, build roads all
day under the blazing sun and sleep
On their rifles, under the starit sky,
II night
sheathed lead bullets, and the brass
rips on touching and tears the flesh
horribly, while the small brass spln-
fers cause blood poisoning. They are
practically explosive bullets and are
nsed in the Remingtons. They also cut
D small cross through the end of the
Mauser bullet, so that 1t mushrooms,
pn striking, with a similar result.
The outlook here Is threatening.
Everybody believes a great battle is
Imminent. With the Spanish and
American advance posts almost close
enough to see the whites Of each others
lyes. collision may occur at any
Three Alleged Spanish Spies.
Savannah, Ga, June 2S. Three
Spanish suspects, names unknown, ar
rested at Tybee on suspicion of being
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