Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-07-08

tice. They never knew before what u
was 90 De- fred at. but they went along.
not looking to right OF left as their
comrades foil dead at their feet"
Two officers and eleven enlisted mon
died that day. hut their comrades
marched on without the flicker uf an
CyCllph. and 10 d. only now, when they
tnlk N the men who died. that they
show % was not from lack Uf feeling
that they seemed so unm.udful when
the hill " San Juan was taken % was
the men NJ tho Twenty fnurth who uc-
cuplod the trenches from 4 o'clock ON
July iat until b o'clock ON Tho uIEht Of
July End. when they were relieved fur "a
short time. only 90 resume their places
ON the firing line again whom the nt-
tack was made that night The men
aiill talk ~ the fearful hnnt OF those
Northern States OF from Tennessee and
Kentucky they were no moro ntted TO
endure the heat than any other North-
ornor.
The other day sergeant 10 this rc.
marknhlo regiment o. man white
enough Co pass without suspicion even
In the rlgidiy guarded white" cars uf
the South, showed mo the certificate
sent him Tor distinguished service iu
the Cuban campaign. This man. VIII
liam Thornton. then corporal OF Come
puuy %, was one NJ ten who volunteered
tu silence O. spanish battery after the
hlll ~ San Juan had been taken. The
captain ~ Company % called for voluu-
tuurH Tor this difficult and dangerous
service. and Thornton. with biz white
face and only the suspicion Of "a kIuk in
hlH hair. was one Of the ten who stood
out 90 do u. 10 serve his country with
his lie. The sharpshootors were boo an
exposed position. and at tho first nr1
three " the ton volunteers ana their
officer foll. Hut the battery wuH Hi-
fenced, and Thornton and the others
have the cuEruHHpd bits of parchment.
signed by distinguished names.
Would you like 90 see the autograph
~ the President and Secretary AlFUr7'
Sergeant Thornton asked. his English
uH good nH mine.
Then h. showed the record without
oHtcntutluu, not In the spirit ~ bragg
rurt. And he told mo that besides tho
parchment the distinguished HorNlrc'
meant nn advance uf 81 month Tor
him me- long nH he should remain in the
hlrh wage Tor courage OF the san Juan
kind.
have heard It said that tho bravery
displayed by these "mcn and hruthHrs'
nt san Juan hlll was mere brute cuur-
age and that the lower the man IN the
mental scale the moro impcryloua he
b. 20 danger. II H. said that the
sEvENTY-FfRsT NEW YORK.
wavcrng and quavcring upon that hin.
was afraid because II was composed uf
men of brains, kcenly alive 90 the dam
ger with hlrh-strunH nerves, fearful "
pain. Hut later the men % the Twenty
fourth proved 90 have u higher quality
than physical prowpHs. There ION 90
them q task Infinitely harder than san
Juan hili. and they took Il up as man
fully nH the service ~ Hturminr the
Qualifications of the spnnlnrds. The orr
der that tnCkcd mems nerves and which
proved the moral hher Of the Twenty
fourth was the command 90 march 10
the ycllow-fcyer hospital az Slboney.
there 90 serve as nurHns. The Twenty
fourth Infantry was the only regiment
detailed 90 do this nursing servlco The
the agony they were called upon 20 en-
durc has not been written. IL viii not
be. The horror NJ II lives stu In the
hearts of the men who performed that
HiCkpnlng service ana who might tell
the tale n they chose The black men
Of the Twcnty-f1ufth pollCed the camp,
and they tried 10 make II sanitary.
They waited on the thousands ~ sol
dlcra who were sick and among the
weeping, moaning invnlids their gentle
hands tended there WIS none 20 say
that the dusky fellows were not the
equals OF any white man that ever
walked. Sometimes those black faces
seemed 60 the men who were sick and
dying in that fearful place OF pestllonCy
90 be- the faces uf angels. The Twenty
fourth saw more men die at SibOnry
than fyll ON the him of san Juan. and
death IN the fever camp was not q whit
less terrible than tho death by the
Mauscr bullet There were times when
their
SOULS WERE SICK
within them Tor the horror of n all f0r
these troops. be IL remembered had