The times., 1898-07-12
Graphic Description of Scenes
on a Cuban Battlefield.
OUR ARMY NEEDS MACHETES
ting Through the Dense Under
growth sDaniards Fire on
Wounded and Litter Carriers-
CubanS.

Savannah, Ga, July T.-SIx wounded
soldiers from Santiago arrived here this
morning. They are en- route TO their
homes. The men were all wounded in the
battle Of July / They are all from New
York City. ]. ID. Hoekster, of Troop c,
First United States Cavalry. a very in
telligent trooper, told a graphic story of
the battle. He was wounded while lying
on his face in the trenches and is now
on a two months furlough.
when we arrived in Cuba" he said,
we found that every vestige OF road
had been destroyed. We had to make our
own roads and work our own way
through the country. And, first of all.
you may say that our army needs ma
chetes badly. They help a soldier to Gu;
his way through the underground. The
Cubans and Spaniards use these short,
sharp knives 10 perfection. Our men lack
jhem and suffer.
I'VE fought on foot and went at it
with carbines We managed to do good
work Our men fired more accurately than
the Spaaiards. Their Mauser rifles shoot
twice as fast as our -Jorgensen
idly. We worked slower and more effect
lively. Our bullets told. The Spanish
trenches were filled with dead. Often the
enemy left their trenches exposed on the
flank and We wheeled eating guns to the
end and moved them down. They could
not stand that
'They had US at a disadvantage the
hrfy fvf,,
effective. They would rise as one man.
shoot altogether. and then fall down and
crawl on But we got used 10 this. We
counted their steps as we lay on the
ground. and when they would rise we
would fire before they could shoot. We
soon headed them of. We could drop and
dodge as well as they, for we had prac-
ticed all this. The Spanish fight well in
trenches and in trees.
I'VE did not mind the wire fences
much. The barb wire was strung from
green posts. Our Cuban scouts would
run Out under protection Of our fire and
with machetes cut down the posts. They
were small and thin posts. This would
dispose or The wire fences and We walked
right over them. We advanced all The
time Our army never gave up a posi-
lion i once occupied. Once an order
came Tor the Seventh Infantry TO retreat
from a hot place but the order was never
obeyed.
As scouts and guards and spies. the
Cubans are all right. In battle we always
sent them out OF the way because il was
hard 10 tell Them from the Spaniards.
Many OF Them have Spanish uniforms.
which they had captured. but some OF
them were naked
Hoekster was asked II il was true that
The Spaniards. when taken prisoners
were turned over 10 the Cubans, as has
been alleged, but denied by Gen. Shafter.
He exclaimed:
THAT Is what We did After the Span
ish fired upon our Red Cross flags and
picked off the wounded and the litter
carriers, Il made our boys mad We
didn't show them mercy after this. We
turned the prisoners over TO the Cubans
and they seldom failed to cut their heads
on The first thing a Spanish prisoner
did was 10 beg not 10 be surrendered ro
the Cubans. They knew what 10 expec,
when the Cuban guards got them The
Spanish had way of sitting in trees
and shooting al Us on the ground They
used smOkeless powder and we could moi
tell where the shots which killed our
men were coming from
ne colored troopers in the United
states cavalry fought like demons at Si-
bony and at FL Caney. ! was right along
side The Rough Riders. They made splen.
did soldiers. Our troop captains behaved
SplenClGIN. There We're none Of our men
10 show the white feather Old Gen
wheeler Is a hero. The men are devoted
10 him and all viii follow him anywhere -
Hoekster was shot in the neck while
lying in the trenches He said il felt
Nike some one had knocked him in the
back Of the head with All axe. He reached
for his first aid bandage' which every
man carried in his knapsack a comradt
bandaged him up and he returned to the
hiring lines. Pretty soon he commenced
10 bleed 50 badly that an officer took
away his gun and cartridge belt and sent
him 10 the rear. it was quite usual tC
see wounded soldier go back to the
trenches to work.
Now and then poor fellow would be
shot through the inteseines. An abdom-
inal wound from a Mauser rife is gener-
ally fatal II has rotary motion which
tears up the intesTines. The surgeon
would examine q man and when con
WINGED that he was past aid would inject
little morphine inte the soldier Then
the poor fellow would make a pillow of
his hat and go TO sleep forever
They were generally buried in the
held, two in grave just like they had
lived two in a tent. A mans clothes
were marked and numbered. And his
name and number are in his hat He
could easily be identified"
ANTDTrAN- urccrr re1-o