The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-15
BIG EXPEDITION LANDED.
FaHita and Florida Had Hot Time
But Got There.

Key West, July 15.-Those champion
flibusterers, the Florida and the Fanita
under convoy of the little auxiliary gun.
boat Peoria, have landed the largest and
probably the last expedition sent to the
aid of the Cuban insurgents. 1t was a
task beset with peril and difficulty.
Captain Jose Manuel Nunez. brother of
General Emuilo Nunez, was killed; Win
throp Chanler of New York was shot
through the right elbow and five Cubans
suffered trifing injuries How many
Spanish lives answered for this will never
pc known, but there were enough to more
than balance the score.
The debarkation was effec ted on July
at Palo Alto, on the southern coast of
Cuba Fighting occurred before then,
put the contamination of the job was
without mishap. To the Peoria, one of
the newest of the acquisitions to the m os
quito fleet and until lately pilot boat at
Philadelphia, goes the full glory of the
achievement.
The Florida and the Fanita left Key
West on Saturday, June rs under convoy
OF the Peoria, commanded by Lieut.. 7.
W. Ryan. On board the steamers were
900 Cubans under General Emilio Nunez,
nifty troopers of the tenth q. S. cavalry
under Lieuts. johnson and Ahearn and
IS rough riders under Winthrop Ghanler,
brother of Col. william Astvr Chanler.
The cargoes were enormous. There were
the horses of the cavalry and 1869 sacks of
oats and 21O bales of hay to feed Them
Topping the list of arms were two dyna-
mite guns with 30 thirty pound projeotiles
to lit them and two full batteries Of light
field pieces, ten three inch rifles of regular
ordnance pattern with harnesses that go
with them and 1900 cartridges. In the
matter of infantry rifles there were 1000
Springfelds with 954, 900 cartridges and
200 Mausers with 1000 shells Fifty of the
Cubans aboard were armed with Mausers
and the others had Springfields. For the
insurgent officers were provided 200 army
Colts and 81, 600 cartridges Two hun
dred hooks of United States cavalry and
Infantry tactics translated into Spanish
were taken along. In the expedition were
also 1875 saddles, $50 saddle cloths and
$50 brides. For the Cuban soldiers there
were taken 76 uniforms, $3.50 pairs of
shoes, 1878 blankets, 400 shirts $50 hats
and $50 hammocks.
There were the comnissary stores
! carried calculated by pounds: Bacon,
1875; corn meal, 81, $50; roasted coffee,
1o,2 200; raw coffee, $3.50; sugar, 2,4s5;
mess pork and beef, 5000; corned beef,
"a 900; beans, Is, 900; hard tack, 1850;
oans of corn, 1850.
The expectation was that the landing
would be effected at San Juan Point on
q the south coast of Cuba, midway between
, Cienfuegos and Trinidad. This place was
: reached Wednesday evening, June 20. A
scouting party put off in a small boat
and pulled towards shore, but had made
! only half the distance when there came a
lively fire from what had been taken to
! be an abandoned blockhouse near the
point The men were called back and the
three ships moved eastward. About four
O'Clock the next afternoon they arrived at
i Las Tunas, forty miles away. Four miles
west of the town at the mouth of the
Iallabacoa river, stood a large fort built
I of railroad iron and surrounded by earth
works. The Peoria ran boldly in and
!, fired several shots from her three Founders
but brought no response and no signs of
+ life. Here was thought to be the desired
opportunity and another scouting party
was organized. This was made up of
1fteon volunteers under Winthrop
, Chanler and as many Cubans under
Captain Nunez. The Peoria took a
position within short range of the fort to
protect landing or cover retreat and
the small boats headed for shore. They
reached it 800 yards east of the fort, the
boets were beached and their occupants
cautiously scrambled toward the brush.
But at almost the very moment they set
foot on the sand, the fort and the en-
trenchments around it, burst into flame
and shot and she'll screamed about the
little band of invaders.
Captain Nunez was stepping from his
boat when shot struck him between the
eyes and he went down dead. Chanler
fell with broken arm. The others safe
ly gained the thicket and replied with q
sharp fire directed at the entrenchments
Meanwhile the Peoria set all her guns
at WORK and rained shells upon the fort
until the enemy's fire ceased. The
moment the gunboats slackened fire, how
ever, the Spanish fire was renewed with
fury, and it became evident that their
FORCES were too large to allow landing
There. A retreat was ordered and the
party on shore rushed for the boats, but
Volley after volley came from the shore
and they were compelled to throw them
serves into the water and paddle along
side the boats with only their head ex-
posed until the ships were reached. The
Spanlards had the range, however, and
i've Cubans were wounded though not
seriously. Returning to the Peoria, the
men reported that vicious fire had come
from grove of cocoanut palms to the
eastward of the forts. The Peoria opened
her guns on the place indicated and must
have killed many Spaniards for her shells
dropped into the smoke and flash of the
adVersaries fire, sileneed it at once and
forced them to send up rockets for help.
A number Of volleys were sent at the
Peoria with view to disabling her gun
ners but they were badly directed and fell
against her side and into the water.
When the small boats reached the ship it
was dark. Then the discovery was made
that besides Captain Nunez, whose body
was left on the beach, there was missing
Chanler. Drs. Lund and Abbott, Lieut..
Agramonte and two Cubans. 1t was re-
ported that Chanler had been mortally
wounded and was kept afioat in the
bushes along the shore. Rescue parties
were Immediately organized, composed of
volunteers and no less than four were
sent ashore during the night. Toward
morning Lieut.. Ahearn, in charge of one
of these found Chanler and his COM
panions. CHAMBERS wound proved to be
in the right elbow. After sunrise Agra
monte and his Cubans were discovered
and brought off. The next day the gun
boat Helena under Captain Swinburn,
arrived and on Friday morning she and
the Peoria steamed in towards Las Tunas
which the Spaniards had been vigorously
terrifying.
Iunas is connected by rail with Sancti
Spiritus, town of considerable size and
achievements and artillery had been
4 lxr Rod