Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1899-07-08

wikoff's column struck a zone Of pitt
less fire, and there the third commander
of the brigade, gray haired Liscum OF
the Twenty fourth, went down. Stair
Officer Tayman of the Twenty fourth
told me that his eyes were riveted on
the noble leader, whose form oould be
seen cutting it's way through the tall
grass with giant strides. Like fash of
Lightning he was seen, then disappeared.
In the van of the column the Thir-
teenth regiment, led by Colonel Worth
as far as "Hell's Crossing, climbed up
the bank and went through the wire
fence, where gaps had already been
made Major Ellis was at its head, but
was soon shot down. There was an open
field stretching away mp to the block
house. This regiment had lost heavily
at the crossing, particularly by Spanish
shrapnel, but moved resistlessly on un-
til CALLING volley fire compelled it to
seek shelter under bank some hundred
yards from the fort.
The Ninth regiment, or TIC !ctt OF
the Thirteenth, passed the ordeal at the
crossing with but little loss. In CLIMB
ing the bank il was struck by a heavy
Mauser fire from San Juan heights and
from the trees, left, right and in front.
Pressing ON in line with the ThirtsC nth,
the regiment halted at the bank and de-
livered its fire upon the Spaniards in
the trenches ut the blockhouse.
When the Twenty. fourth regiment OF
blacks appeared in view above the crest
of the river bank, the Spauiards ap-
parently turned all their fire upon them,
hoping, as they said afterwaid, to de-
moralize them and precipitate panic.
The blacks didn't scare, however.
Just how long these men halted ut the
bank is uncertain, for there was no ces
sation Of fighting, and lapse of time WAS
not noted. 1t was Krag. Jorgensen
against Mauser in the attempt to subdue
the Spanish fire for charge. This stage
of the infantry fight was about coinci-
dental with the capture of kettle"
hill by the cavalry, which has already
been described, and took place probably
between 1890 and o'clock. Mean
while Grimes battery, no longer ham!
pered by the balloon, was vigorously
Smelling the blockbouse and trenches, as
was also Parkhurst's battery, Second
artillery, which had taken position 70
the left and front of Grimes, near FL
Poso. The success Of the cavalry in
clearing "Kettle" hill, really an ad-
vanced position of the Spanish line had
allowed the Hotcbkiss guns and Parker's
Gatlings to cross San Juan river ut the
ford Of the main road and get to high
ground on the southern slope Of the hill.
Parker 3 advent upon the scene marked
q crisis in the attack. He had three
guns with him and opened them all
upon the blockbouse which Captain
Boughton Of the Third cavalry pointed
out to him. Grimes and Parkhurst, be it
remembered, were pouring in their
shells, but the Spanish fire did not abate.
Starting with q low rate of speed,
Parker gradually turned his guns up to
their highest capacity, and in the space
sweeping gradually along the Spanish
trenches, sifted 20, 600 bullets into the
crowded works. Before the enemy real
lied what the horrid hail meant tho
ominous sound Of the machine guns had
already terrified them. and they began
to leave their pits, preferring possible
death outside to certain slaughter with
in. Then silence fell upon the block
house, upon its loopholed chambers,
upon its batteries, upon its trenches fill
ed with men.
But oil this time neither the cavalry
nor the infantry had stood idle waiting
for the artillery to do their work. The
cavalrymen, who had not been ordered
by Sumner to <smain on "Kettle" hill,
formed lines of troops and battalions
and plunged down the slope. across the