The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1898-06-18
FIRST LAND BATTLE.
Marines and Spaniards
Fight for Thirteen Hours.
Position of Our Forces mt Entrance
to Guantanamo bay sustained-
Enemy Repulsed with Heavy
LOss-FOur Americans Killed.

On Board the Associated Press Dis
patch Boat Dauntless, OF Guantanamo,
via Mole ST. Nicholas, June 13.-Lieut.
Col. X. 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 of the
outer harbor of Guantanamo, has been
engaged in heading off rush attack by
Spanish guerrillas and regulars since
three o'clock Saturday afternoon. The
| fighting was almost continuous for 10
hours until six o'clock Sunday morning,
when reinforcements were landed from
the Marblehead.
Four Americans Killed.
Four of our men were killed and one
wounded. The advance pickets under
Lieuts. Neville and Shaw are unac-
counted for. Among the killed is AS
sistant Surgeon John Blair Gibbs, son
of Maj. Gibbs, of the regular army, who
fell in the Custer massacre. His home
was at Richmond, Va, but he has lately
been practicing medicine in New York
city. The others killed are Sergeant
Charles II. Smith, of Smallwood;
Private William Dumphy, of Gloucester,
Mass., and Private James McColgan, of
Stoneham, Mass. Corporate Glass was
accidentally wounded in the head.
The Spanish loss is unknown, but is
probably considerable. The splashes
tions the Spaniards occupied indicate
fatalities. but their comrades carried
off the killed and wounded.
Story of the Engagement.
The engagement began with desul-
tory firing at the pickets, thousand
yards inland frcm 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
McColgan and Dunphy were found,
both shot in the head. The large cavi-
ties caused by the bullets, which inside
range of 500 yards have a rotary mo-
ton, indicate that the victims were
killed at close range.
Bodies Robbed md MuItiIated.
The bodies were stripped of shoes,
hats and cartridge belts and horribly
mutiluted with machetes. When they
were brought in the whole battalion
formed three sides of hollow square
about the camp on the hilltop. Below
in the bay were the warships at anchor.
Inland from the hill camp is a deep ra-
vine, and beyond this are high hills.
The adjacent country is heavy with a
thicket growth. The sky was blanketed
with clouds, and when the sun set a
gale was blowing seward. Night fell,
thick and impenetrable.
Americans mt Disadvantages.
The Spanish squads concealed in the
chapparel cover had the advantage, the
Americans on the ridge furnishing fine
targets against the sky and the white
tents. The Spaniards fought from cover
till midnight, discoverable only at
flashes, at which the marines fired vol
leys. The repeaters sounded like fire.
crackers in barrel.
The Marblehead launch, n Colt ma
chine gun in her bow, pushed up the
bay, enfilading the Spaniards, and it is
thought that some were killed. The
marines trailed much blood to the wa
ter's edge and there lost it. Sharks are
numerous in the vicinity The ships
threw their searchlights ashore, the
powerful electric rays sweeping the
deep tropic foliage and disclosing oc-
casionally skulking parties of Span
iards. 1t all represented a transfer
nation scene at the harbor. Each dis
covery 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 launch's machine gun, searching
the thickets with leaden stream.
Driven Back.
Shortly after midnight came the main
attack. The Spaniards made gallant
charge up the southwest slope but were
met by repeated volleye from the main
body and broke before they were one
third of the way up the hill; but they
came so close that at points there was
almost a hand-to-hand struggle. The
officers used their revolvers. Three
Spaniards got through the open forma-
ton to the edge of the camp. Col. Jose
Campina, the Cuban guide, discharged
his revolver, and they, turning and
finding themselves without support, ran
helterskelter down the reverse side Of
the hill.
| The attacks were continued at inter-
rails throughout the rest of the night,
with firing from small squads in va
rious directions. Toward morning the
! fire slackened Dawn is the favorite
time for attack. and, as the east paled
the marines, lying on their guns, were
aroused. Some were actually asleep, as
| they had had no rest for As hours, and
| tired nature could no. longer stand the
strain. But no attack came. Three
new two-pound field guns which could
not be used during the night for fear Of
hitting our own men shelled several
squads of Spaniards after daylight.
They dove into the bushes like prairie
dogs into burrows as the shells broke
over them in the gray dawn.