The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-07
TOLD OF THE FIGHTfNG.
Stories of CoIored Soldiers In the
War With Spain.
From the New York Post.

| of monkeys as a company of negroes" a
captain in the regular service said at Camp
Wikoff the other day. Whatever the worth
of his taste, the colored soldier has a high
place in the estimation of MS white COM
rade as a fighting machine and one little
lower in his affection as a good fellow. A
volunteer whose regiment was brigaded
with the Twenty-fourth (colored) Infantry
through the Cuban campaign said that the
ringers were better Christians than the
white men,"
I'VE had lot of trouble about firewood
on the isiand' said he. 1T was hard to
| find, and it often had 10 be carried two
miles to our quarters. Gathering it was
heavy job for our fellows, for most of
| them were pretty weak, on account of the
| fever The fellows in the white regiment
| in our command were a little better off
| than we were-they We're regulars, you
| knOw-and managed to have fires pretty
| regularly. If we had had to depend on
them, We would have put cold rations in
our stomach all the time
" Say, old man. 1 heard said to Them
| let's cook a little stuff on your fire when
| you're through with it, won't you, please?
And what do you think they'd say?
. 'Aw, go hang one of EN- said to me-
we am 1 SON eHOuSn Ter ourselves.
1t was a good deal to ask of a man, III
admit. Why. I've seen half-a-dozen sick
/ men wait around a fire until the men who
| owned it were through, and then make a
| rush for the embers, like seven dogs after
| one bone. But the niggers were different;
| they had bigger hearts. They stood the
campaign in great shape you know and it
| wasn't much for them to gather firewood
! They'd build fire six feet long, and they
never crowded a poor devil of a weak
| man out II he wanted to use it.
| Gimme chance at your fre?" the fell
lows would ask them
" 'Cose,' they'd say. What yo' think
we made big fire TO-, anyway? T. cook
| our own grub on'y? Come on, honey
That's Just the way they'd say it, and
| as jolly as you like. The niggers are an
| right; and I've got place in my heart
for the Twenty-fourth Infantry, 1 tell
you"
The men tell many instances Of like kind
nesses. They do not begrudge credit to
the colored soldiers for their bravery
| through the campaign. And the negroes
appreciate this show of good feeling.
| Why" one of them said. not long ago,
| them Rough Riders are like brothers, I've
ct with EN-; I've slep with 'em; I've fit
with EN-; an l feel as if 1 was one O.
en-"
A regular who came into close contact
|
Il remember once we were standing In
the bushes along the trail when the Ninth
| came by us. The men were in great spirits
laughing and talking, though the fight
was just little way before them.
q" Hello, boy, one big fellow yelled to
| me. Any fruit on the trees round yere?'
L amt seen any, a man behind me
says. An I amt lookin' for any-not in
my state
"Wen, the niggers burst out laughing,
and they kept it up-'haw. haw, hawv
What kind of fruit?' says 1.
" 'Oh-sharpshooters,' says the big man
| that spoke to me. 'Haw, haw, haW;'
I've heard they found some"
|, 1t has often been said that a negro
| regiment must be well differed and well
| pushed" or it will not give a good ac-
count of itself on the firing line. The
| white privates at Montauk, however, seem
to think that the Trigger is a fighter for
the pure love of it."
In the trenches at San Juan" said a
| volunteer corporal, ''the Twenty-fourth re-
| lever US and we them. Lying in the
trenches there was hard and nervous work
and it was happy time for the squad
when relief came. I've heard our men, kick
when they had to go in to the fight again,
| but never heard a colored soldier do it,
| 1t was coming hard one evening, and
| guess the colored fellows knew it and
| thought we might need a little support,
! though things hadn't got critical at all.
All at once 1 was startled by two big
men scrambling in nearly on top of US.
| They were cooder soldiers.
What the p" the man [ was with
began.
All right boys, don't get seated. It's
all right. We thought yo' might want a
niggah er two, an we come up T. see.'
Come up said I; over the hill? The
bullets were Swimming over our trenches
you know, and sweeping the top of the
hill, behind which the reserves were ly-
| ing.
""Co'se we didn't come now how else
says one. There was three of US stat
ed
Where's the other one?' says T.
We carried him back says they, an
| come on ag'in.'"
This volunteers comrade told the story
| of a negro sergeant whose name he did
| not know.
ut was on that same fight" said he,
land as bunkie here has told you, we
took turns in the trenches with the Tween
| ty-fourth. You must understand that We
| held both sides of The hill, and that the
trenches were high up on the one side
| and the place where the reserves were
| pretty well down on the other; the Span
| iards We're firing on our line from the bot
| tom of the hill, so the bullets went over
| the crest low down, and 1t was a darned
dangerous place to be. When we were re-
lieved we had to get over that spot to
| reach our reserve position. There was no
cover, and the Spanards had the range
| down fine; and what's more, they knew
| just about when they could get us there.
Well there was a block house on the
top of the hill, with a door in the side
of ii. That door was in sight from both
sides; so 1t took a nervy man to dodge in
or out of it. One morning, when we were
about to go back to rest, negro sergeant
who was in charge of the relief squad,
lodged in from behind without getting hit
We were waiting to make a run for it
when we saw him. The Spaniards caught
sight of him as he ran in, and fired hot
Out he jumped and yelled:
'Now's your chance, boys. Come on,
Then he got in again
"A couple of the boys ran out and over;
and the shooting went on. They were
firing in volleys; and every time that SER
geant would hear q volley he'd be out
waving his hand and yelling:
" They can't hit yo'. They can't hit yo'
Now's your chance