Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-04-20

| prevailing excitement, but said after-
ward that he had it on his lips to re-
call the words. However, he did not,
and Ord kept on at the head OF all.
When the handful reached the trench,
Ord saw wounded Spaniard. and with
gestures told his men to take good care
Of the luckless foeman. Evidently the
Spaniard misunderstood the gesture.
and the words were also unintelligible
to him. He drew revolver and shot
Ord dead. Ord's companions shot the
Spaniard, natural act of revenge I'M
der the circumstances.
Lieutenant Miley received praise ont
side of the report of his immediate COM
mander, General Shafter, a fact which
makes the mention all the more en-
phatic General Kent, who led the in
fantry at San Juan hill, says that he
often saw Miley delivering orders under
fire with great unconcern. Miloy was
the bearer Of truce dispatches and ac-
companied Shafter when he talked with
the Spanish generals. He it was who
received the honor OF hoisting the
American flag over the governors pal
ace on July II, and found rival at the
last moment in the shape of neddle-
some newspaper correspondent, who
tried to rob the army Of honor won at
the cannon's mouth.
Miley was one Of the three American
commissioners who negotiated the sur
render Of Santiago, the others being
General Wheeler and General Lawton.
There is an army story told to illus
trate the remarkable influence at head
| quarters Of this comparatively young
aid-de-camp When the Spaniards sur
rendered. there was Spanish gunboat
IN the harbor. which the enemy pro-
posed to blow up pursuant to Cervera's s
orders. The American naval officers
claimed the vessel as their prize. and
during warm discussion among Off
GERS Of both branches of the service
| General McKibben, the military gov
ernor of Santiago, turned her over to
the navy. When Miley heard of that.
so the story goes, he declared that Nc
Kibben should be removed, and he was
almost instantly replaced by Colonel
Wood. Miley is now lieutenant colo
pines. Shafter says that Miley was so
clever as a regimental officer that while
he himself was yet colonel he marked
him for his future aid-de-camp.
The demand for the surrender Of San
tiago ON July was borne through the
lines by Colonel J. III. Dorst, adjutant
general Of Wheeler's cavalry division.
Dorst is the hero Of the Gussie expe-
dition Of the early days Of the war
and is the type of soldier who never
Graves distinction, but simply does the
duty which comes to him with marked
firmness and execution. Officers of the
division say that he was all along the
line during the attack at San Juan,
making up to some extent for the un-
fortunate absence Of General Wheeler.
who was engaged elsewhere.
Another gallant aid of the cavalry
division was Captain r. L. Howe of
General Summers staff. Sumner COM
manded the division all the morning of
July 1, and Howe carried orders all
over the field under fire, one of the
very, very few who kept in saddle
through the hail of bullets. He is tall,
athletic and very intelligent Texan,
| with native traits to make him splen-
did soldier. 1t is no reflection upon the
courage of the aids to state that but
few of them rode up San Juan hill
Many of them were without mounts,
and some were compelled to dismount
back ON the route in order to get
through distractions to carry orders
where horse could not 60 The gen.
eral officers who had horses left them
in the shelter afforded by the river
basin, ana even Colonel Roosevelt con-
tradicts the early statements Of his over
jealous admirers by declaring that he
dismounted at the first wire fence in
the creek bottom and didn't see his
horse again that day.
Lieutenant Z. F. Koehler Of Wikoff' s
staff, the quartermaster of the brigade,
was on horseback all day. He rode a
common government horse, which be-
haved so well under fire that he put in
bid TO buy him for his regular saddle
horse Koehler worked his way from
the ranks to commission and is one
of three brothers who met the Spaniards
in battle. The commissary of Wikoff' s
brigade, Lieutenant Paul b. Malone,
also carried orders that day under fire.
He was close to Wikoff and Worth
when these two officers fell within a
few minutes Of each other at the ford
of the San Juan known as "Hell' Cross
ing"
1t was staff officer of Wikoff's bri-
gade who proved "mascot" for Raj
ferty and F company of the Seventy
first. Lieutenant Charles Tayman was
one Of the brigade staff that day, and
as three of the commanding officers fell
one after another Tayman was COM
PEELED to race the field over again and
again to bear the tidings to the next in
rank. He waded the creek and climbed
the hill at least three times, and orce
was stricken down with something like
sunstroke. A boy in one Of the regi-
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