The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-07-03

Meantime the cavalry division had
moved forward on the main Santiago trail
headed by a light battery of the Second
artillery. under Captain Grimes. The
movement of this battery was aheart-
breaking task, owing 10 the mud in the
valley and steep hill. Under the fire Of
the cavalrymen the Spaniards in the town
of Ell Paso retreated and Captain Grimes
Battery took a position there and began
rapid firing into Caney. The guns of
the two batteries made the place so hot
that the enemy finally retired, having no
artillery.
The town was surrounded by earrhworks
and lines Of barbed wire.
After the enemy had ben driven from
FL Paso twenty-one shots were fired by
Captain Grimes and Captain Capron from
that position into the outer Notifications
Of Santiago before a response came. When
It did come, however, II came with excel
/ lent accuracy, shots and shells from
3-inch rifles, evidently taken from Ad-
miral Cerveras warships, and mounted
behind the Notifications.
The Spanish gunners raked the hill on
which FL Paso stands ana which mean
time has been made the headquarters of
General Sumner and the Cuban generals,
Garcia, Castillo, Capote and Rabi. One
shell struck large sugar store house, on
: the red corrugater roof of which stood
/ ten Cubans viewing the fight. The roof
fell and all the Cubans were wounded and
! three of them viii die.
A detachment Of 200 Cubans went for
Z D.. 4 81
with the Rough Riders, the First and
Tenth cavalry, started down the hillside
J straight for the enemy's Notifications.
/ Captain Grimes battery poured a steady
. fire into the Spaniards to protect Colonel
Woods advance. The dismounted cav
airy paused on their way through the
tangled grass and underbrush, and, half
way down the hillside, selected good
spot to halt, and from there opened and
maintained for twenty minutes a hot fra
The opposing batteries banged away, Cap
tain Grimes sending d storm OF lead down
into the outer fortitications and the Span
1 iards pounding away at the hill top with
vicious persistency.
/ Most of the Spanish shells went over
/ the hill tops and fell in a ravine beyond.
4 There several detachments of Cuban
| troops were stationed as reserves, and
/ before they could be moved seven insurg-
! ents were seriously wounded and several
slightly hurt. AT the same time two
Americans were killed and nine were
wounded. The Spaniards used smokeless
! powder and shot with much more accur-
! acy than during the previous engage
ments. The wonder is that many more
lives were not lost, as the opposition bot
teries were less than two miles apart.
| Colonel Woods command behaved with
great bravery. firing steady and deadly
volleys, with the enemy's shells screech-
ing and bursting over their head.
Twenty minutes of fearfully hot work
silenced the Spanish batteries. Ten shots
were sent into them after they ceased
firing but there was 40 response and it
is presumed that the guns were dismount-
| ed or the gunners driven off.
Away to the left General Lawton's d.
vision, with Chaffee's men and Capron's
| battery, was meantime fighting fierceIy
with the enemy entrenched in and about
I Caney. The Spaniards contested every
inch of ground bitterly and fought with
| unexpected cooIness and courage, but the
irresistible onward movement of the
Americans slowly forced them back and
beyond Caney About II o'clock the terri
bic fire from Captain Capron's guns and
the muskets of the men broke the Span
ish line and retreat began towards the
line of outer fortifications. The enemy
took the trail known as the main Sand-
ago road and Captain Grimes battery
immedia tely began pitching shells in
ahead of the retreating men, while a de-
tachment of 240O Cubans headed by Gar
cha. were started to cut off the retreat.
No report has yet been received from
them. A large detachment of General
Kents reserves we're sent 70 aid General
Garcia in this work and it is probable
that fierce fighting occurred.
All this time General Sumner had COM
manded the center owing to General
Wheeler's Illness, but about Il 80 General
Wheeler started on the two-mile journey
to the front in an ambulance. About half
way to the front he met a number Of
filters bearing wounded. The veteran.
under protest by the surgeons, immedi-
ateIy ordered his horse and after per-
! sonally assisting the wounded into the
ambulance, mounted and rode onward.
! The men burst into frantic cheers. which
! followed the general all along the lines.
BY noon. although stln very IN. General
! Wheeer had established headquarters at
! the extreme front and center of the line
/ and still holds his position.
The hardest fighting Of the day seems
/ - have been on the right flank and heavy
/ casualties are reported from there. The
/ advance there was more rapid than at
J other points on the line. and General
/ ChaTees' brigade was the first to cross
! the little San Juan river. close to the line
/ of outer Qualifications.
! At o'clock Caney had rot been entered
by the American troops. but they had
pushed on past it, and it was theirs at
any time they chose to march into it.
! At that hour General Shafter. whose
! headquarters for the day had been three
/ miles to the rear went forward to as
sumo personal command Of the opera
tons.
Some surprise IS expressed that he 6id
/ not wait for the siege guns before COM
mencing the fpal attack. SIS the siege
guns are still on The beach az Baiquiri,
but he decided yesterday that they were
unnecessary and determined % strike al
once. The only movement that did not
meet with success was General Dufield' :
attempt 70 occupy the sea viuag Of Aqua
do-es, The New York. Suwanee and
Gloucester shelled the old fort and the
rife pits during the forenoon drove al
the S7aniards from the vicinity and
/ -. n
the Spanish flag. but owing 70 the blow