davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
CHARGE ON THE RANCH HOUSE.

| So | left my men where they were and
started off at a trot toward where the
, firing was, with a couple of orderlies 10
send back for the men in case that proved
advisable. Like most tyros, | was wear
ing my sword, which in thick jungle now
and then got between my legs-from that
day on IT always went corded in the bag
gage ! struck the trail. and began 10
pass occasional dead men. Pretty soon l
reached Wood and found. much TO my
pleasure, that / had done the right thing.
for as | came up word was brought to
him that Brodie had been shot. and he
at once sent ME to take charge of the
left wing. Ii was more open country
here. and at least l was able to get
glimpse Of my own men and exercise
some control over them. There was
much firing going on. but for the life OF
me l could not see any Spaniards, ana
neither could any one else. Finally We
made up our minds that they were shoot
ing at us from a set of red-tied ranch
buildings a good way in front and these
| assaulted. finally charging them. Be
fore We came anywhere near. the Span
iards. who, as it proved, really were IN
side and around them. abandoned them'
/ leaving a few dead men.
By the time / had taken possession of
these buildings all firing had ceased every
where. had not the falntest idea what
had happened: whether the fight was
over, or whether this was merely lull III
the fight, or where the Spaniards were, OF
whether we might be attacked again. OF
whether we ought ourselves 10 attack
somebody somewhere else. / got my men
| in order and sent out small parties TO eN-
plore the ground in front, who returned
without finding any foe. (By this tihie'
as a matter Of fact, the Spaniards were
in full retreat. Meanwhile | was eXtehu'
ing my line so as to get into touch WIN
our people in the right. Word was broush'
to me that Wood had been shot-whicn
fortunately proved not TO be rue-ahu
as, If this were so. it meant that / mus.
take charge OF the regiment, / mo'eu
over personally to inquire. Soon learhe"
that he was all right. that the Span'afus
had retreated along the main ROAD anu
that Colonel Wood and two or three other
officers were a short distance away. be-
fore 1 reached them l encountered cap
tain of the 9th Cavalry, very gum because
his troopers had not been up In time "
take part in the fight, and he congratu'aV
ed me-with visible effort!-upon my shar0
in our first victory. / thanked him COZ,
daily. not coniding in him that TIL tha'
moment | myself knew exceedingly niue
about the victory, and proceeded TO where
Generals Wheeler, Lawton and Chanee'
who had just come up. in company VIII"
Wood, were seated on bank. They eA-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
GETTING INTO THE FIGHT.

L General Young had actively superin-
tended getting his two regular regiments.
or at least a squadron of each, off the
transports. ard late that night he sent
us word that he had received permission
to move at dawn and strike the Spanish
advance position. He directed us To move
along ridge trail with our two squad
rons zone squadron having been left at
Tampa, while with the two squadrons
Of regulars one Of the list and one Of the
10th. under his personal supervision. he
marched up the valley trail. According
~. Wood took us along the hill trail early
next morning till we struck the Span
iards and began our fight just as the reg
ulars began the fight in the valley trail
II was a mountainous country, covered
with thick jungle, "A most confusing coun-
try and | had an awful time trying to
get into the fight and trying 10 do what
was right when in il. and all the While
| was thinking that | was the only man
who did not know what | was about, and
that all the others did. whereas. as
found out later. pretty much everybody
else was as much in the dark as ! was.
There was no surprise: we struck the
Spaniards exactly where We had expect
ed. then Wood halted us and put us into
the fight deliberately and In order. lie
ordered us to deploy alternately by troops
TO the right ard left of the trail, giving
our senior major, Brodie, West Pointer
and as good a soldier a. ever wore n
uniform, the left wing. while | took the
right wing | was told II possible 10
connect with the regulars. who were on
the right In theory this was excel
lent but as the jungle was very dense
the first troop that deployed to the r'ght
vanished forthwith. and | never saw II
again until the fight was over-haFinS
a frightful feeling meanwhile that /
might be court-martialled for losing 1t.
The next troop deployed TO the left under
Brode Then the third came along. and
| started to deploy 1t 10 the right as De-
fore.
BY the time the first platoon had got
into the jungle | realized that 1t likewise
would disappear unless | kept hold o. IT.
managed to keep possession OF the Last
platoon. One learns fast I'm a fight. and
| marched this platoon and my next two
troops in column through the jungle with
out any attempt to deploy until we got
on the firing line. This sounds simple.
But II was not. ] did not know when |
had got on the firing line! | could hear
a good deal of firing, some over to my
right at a good distance, and the rest
to the left and ahead. | pushed on, eN-
pecting to strike the enemy somewhere
between
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28

nothing but jungle all around, and If
advanced ] was afraid l might get out
of touch with everybody and not be going
in the right direction. Moreover, as far
as | could see, there was now nobody IN
front who was shooting at us, although
some of the men on my left insisted that
our own men had fired into us-an allega-
ton which | soon found was almost al
ways made I'm such a fight. and which in
this case was not true. At this moment
some of the regulars appeared across the
ravine or our right. The first thing they
did was TO fire a volley at us, but one Of
our first sergeants went up tree and
waved a guidon at them and they stopped.
Firing was still going on to our left, how
ever, and I was never more puzzled 10
know what to do. ! did not wish 10 take
my men out of their position without
orders for fear that l might thereby be
leaving a gap If there was Spanish
force which meditated an offensive re-
turn on the other hand, IL did not seem
TO me that had been doing enough fight
ing to justify my existence, and there
was obviously fighting going on to the
left. / remember that | kept thinking
of the refrain of the fox hunting song.
Here's to every friend who struggled
10 the end; in the hunting field / had
always acted on this theory, and, no
matter how discouraging appearances
might be, had never stopped trying 70 get
IN at the death until the hunt was actual
ly over; and now that there was work.
and not play, on hand, 1 intended 10
struggle as hard as l knew how not 10
be left out OF any fighting into which
could. with any possible propriety, get.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
GETTING FOOD.

At San Antonio we entrained for
Tampa. IN various sociological books
by authors of Continental Europe there
are jeremiads as to the way In which
service in the great European armies
with their minute and machine-like ell
cheney and regularity. tends to dwarf the
capacity for individual initiative among
the officers and men. There Is no such
danger for any officer or man Of vol
unteer organization in America. when
our country with playful light hearted
ness. has pranced INTO war without
making any preparation for IT, / know
no larger or finer field for the display
of al advanced individualism than that
which opened before US as we went from
San Antonio 10 Tampa, camped there and
embarked on transport for Cuba. No
body ever had any definite information
to give us. and whatever information
we unearthed on our own account WAS
usually wrong. Each of Us had TO show
an alert and not over-scrupulous self
reliance In order TO obtain food for his
men, provender for his horses or trans
pCrtation Of any kind for any object
one lesson early impressed on me was
that If / wanted anything 10 eat IL was
wise 10 carry II with me; and II any new
war should arise / would earnestly ad-
wise the men of every volunteer organi-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28

that he had learned only per cent OF his
profession, that there remained 80 per
cent TO accomplish before he would be a
good soldier, why, he had proiited i'm
mensely.
To start with. per cent handicap was
a very great advantage; and If the man
was really a good man. he could not be
overtaken But If the man thought thai
he had learned all about the profession o!
a soldier because he had been in the ma
tional guard or in the regular army under
the conditions l have described, then he
was actually of less use than if he had
never had any military experience at all.
Such man was apt TO think that nicely
Of alignment, precision III wheeling and
correctness in the manual of arms were
the ends of training and the guarantees
of good soldiership. and that from guard
mounting to sentry duty everything in
war was 10 be done in accordance with
what he had learned in peace. As a mat
ter Of fact. most of what he had learned
was never used at all, and some of II had
To be unlearned. The one thing, for in
stance, that a sentry ought never TO do III
an actual campaign is TO walk up and
down a line where he will be conspicuous.
His business is to lie down somewhere of
a ridge crest where he can see any one
approaching, but where a man approach
ing cannot see him. As for the ceremc-
MES, during the really hard part of cam
paign only the barest essentials are Kept.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28

officer. and-to my great regret, etc, etc.
could not give way as they desired. As
soon as the transport was fast We put our
men aboard at the double Half OF the
regular regiment got on and the other
half and the other volunteer regiment
went somewhere else.
We were kept several days on the
transport. which was damned with men
SO that IL was hard TO move about on
the deck Then the fleet got under way
ana we steamed slowly down to Santiago.
Here we discmbarked. higgledy-piggledy'
Just as We had embarked. Different parts
OF different outfits were jumbled together
and il was no light labor afterward TO
assemble the various batteries. For in
stance. one transport had guns, and an
other the locks for the guns; the two not
getting together for several days after
one OF them had been landed. Soldiers
went here. provisions there; and who got
ashore first largely depended upoon indl-
ylduaI activity Fortunately FOR US, my
former naval aid when / had been As
sstaHt Secretary OF the Navy. Lieutenant
Commander Sharp. a first class fellow
was there in command Of a little ship to
which | had succeeded in getting him
appointed before | left the Navy Depart
ment. lie gave Us black pilot, who took
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28

All kinds Of other organizations. IN
fantry and cavalry. regular and volun-
teer. were arriving al the quay and wan
dering around It. and there was no place
where we could get any specific iuforma-
ton as To what transport We were Ia
have. Finally Wood WAS told To get
any ship you can get which is not al
ready assigned lie borrowed without
leave a small motor boat and com
Wandered the transport Yucatan. When
asked by the captain what his authority
was he reported that he was acting by
orders OF General Shafter." and directed
the ship to be brought TO the dock. lie
had already sent me word 10 be ready
as soon as the ship touched the pier Ia
put the regiment aboard her. | found
that she had already been assigned 10 q
regular regiment. and 10 another yolun-
teer regiment. and as II was evident that
not more than half Of the men assigned
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
UNDER FIRE.

Soon we came TO the brink of deep
valley. There was n good deal OF crack
Ing of rifles way off in front of us, but
as they used smokeless powder we had
no idea as to exactly where they We're,
or who they were shooting at. Then II
dawned on us that we were the target.
The bullets began to come overhead
making a sound like the ripping of silk
dress, with sometimes kind of pop; a
few OF my men fell, and I deployed the
rest, making them lie down and get be-
hind trees Richard Harding Davis was
with US, and as we scanned the land
scape with our glasses ii was he who
first pointed out to US some Spaniards
In a trench some three-quarters OF mile
off. II was difficult to make them out.
There were not many of them. However,
we finally did make them out and we
could see their conical hats. for the
trench was a poor one. We advanced
firing at them, and drove them on.
What to do then | had not an Idea.
The country In front fell away into very
difficult jungle filed valley. There was
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
EXP resident Is Inter.
estingly Reminiscent
on the Little Dis
pute with Spain.
BY Theodore Roosevelt.

"HE regiment assembled at san An
tonic. When | reached there tire
l. men, rifles and horses, which were
the essentials. were coming in fast, and
the saddles. blankets and the like We're
also accommodating. Thanks TO Woods
exertions. when we reached Tampa We
were rather better equipped than most Of
the regular regiments. We adhered strict
ly to field equipment, allowing no lux
uries or anything else unnecessary. and
so we were able TO move OFF the led
when ordered, with our own transp0rta-
ton. leaving nothing behind.
/ suppose every man tends to brag
about his regiment, but t does seem TO
me that there never was a regiment bet
ter worth Dragging about than ours.
Wood was an exceptional commander, Of
great power, with remarkable gift for
organization. The rank and file were as
fine natural fighting men as ever carried
rife or rode a horse in any country or
any age. We had number of first class
young fellows from the East, most of
them from colleges like Harvard, Yale
and Princeton but the great majority of
the men were Southwesterners, from the
then Territories Of Oklahoma. Indian
Territory, Arizona and New Mexico They
were accustomed TO the use of firearms.
accustomed to taking care Of themselves
in the open. They were intelligent and
self-reliant; they possessed hardihood and
endurance and physical prowess, and,
above all they had the fighting edge. the
cool and resOlute fighting temper. They
went into the war with full knowledge.
having deliberately counted the cost In
the great majority of cases each man
was chiefly anxious to ind out what he
should do to make the regiment a success.
They bought. first and last, about eight
hundred copies of cavalry drill regula-
tons and studied them industriously. Such
men were practically soldiers to start
with. in all the essentials. 1t is small
wonder that with them as material to
work upon the regiment was raised,
armed, equipped. drilled. sent on trains
TO Tampa. embarked. disembarked and
put through two victorious. offensive-not
defensive-fights in which a third Of the
officers and one-ffth Of the men were
killed or wounded, all within sixty days.
1t is a good record. and it speaks we'll for
the men of the regiment. and it speaks
well for Wood
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
OBJECT OF MILITARY TRAINING.

] had served three years i'm the New
York National Guard, finally becoming a
captain This experience was invaluable
TO me- 1t enabled me at once to train
the men in the simple drill without which
they would have been mob. for, al
though the drill requirements are simple,
they are also absolutely Indispensable.
But IL / had believed that my experience
in the national guard had taught me all
that there was 10 teach about soldier s
career, il would have been better for me
not to have beer in il at all. There were
I'm the regiment a number Of men who
had served i'm the national guard, and "a
number OF others who had served in the
regular army Some OF these latter had
served in the field In the West under
campaign conditions, and were accus-
toned TO long marches. privation, risk
and unexpected emergencies. These men
were of the utmost benefit to the regi-
ment. They already knew their profess
sion, and could teach and help the others
But IL the man had merely served in
national guard regiment, or in the regu-
lar army at some post In a civilized coun-
try. where he learned nothing except
What could be picked up on the parade
ground. In the barracks and IN practice
marches OF a few miles along good roads,
then it depended purely upon his own
good sense whether he had been helped or
hurt by the experience. Ii he realized
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
BOOK FIGHTING AND REALITY.

Almost all Of the junior regular officers
and many of the senior regular Ofhcers'
were fine men. But, through no fault OF
their own, many of the senior officers had
been forced to lead lives that fairly para
lived their efficiency when the strain OF
modern war came on them. The routine
elderly regular officer who knew nothing
whatever OF modern war was in most re-
spects nearly as worthless as a raw re-
cruit The positions and commands pre-
scribed in the textbooks were made into
fetiches by some Of these men, ana
treated as IL they were the ends, instead
Of the not always important means by
which the ends were to be achieved. In
the Cuban lighting, for instance. ii would
have been folly for me to have taken my
place in the rear of the regiment, the
canon!cal textbook position. My business
was TO be where l could keep most com
mand over the regiment. and in a rough
and-tumble, scrambling fight in thick
jungle this had to depend upon the course
Of events, and usually meant that'l had
TO be at the front. | saw in that hghtnS
more than one elderly regmental com
mander who unwittingly rendered the
only service he could render to his regi-
ment by taking up his proper posluoh
several hundred yards I'm the rear wheh
the fighting began; for then the regiment
disappeared in the jungle. and for It's
good fortune the commanding officer
never saw it again until long after tho
fight was over.
After one Cuban fight lieutenant colo
mel of the regulars, in command OF reei-
ment. who had met with just such an eN-
perience and had rejoined US at the front
several hours after the close of the iSht-
ing, asked me what my men were DONG
when the fight began. ] answered that
they were following In trace in column
of twos, and that the instant the shooting
began / deployed them as skirmishers on
both sides of the trail He answered tri-
umphantly, you can't deploy men as
skirmishers from column formation; 10
which | responded, We'll, l did. ana
what is more, if any captain had mace
any difficulty about 1t, | would have sent
him TO the rear" Ny critic was quite
correct from the parade ground stand
point The prescribed orders at that time
were TO deploy the column first into a line
of SQUADS at correct intervals, and then
to give an order which if my memory
serves correctly, ran: las sKirmishers'
by the right and left tanks, at SIX yards
take intervals. march The order L
really gave ran more like this: Scatter
out to the right there, quick, you! Scat
ter to the left Look alive! Look alive"
And they looked alive, and they scattered,
and each took advantage Of cover, and
forward went the line.
Now ] do not wish what ! have said
TO be misunderstood. If ever we have
great war. the bulk of our soldiers will
not be men who have had any opportu-
nifty to train soul and mind and body so
as TO meet the iron needs Of an actual
campaign. Long continued and faithful
drill will alone put these men in shape
10 begin to do their duty, and failure to
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28
THE VALUE OF DRILLING.

Wood was so busy getting the regiment
ready that when | reached San Antonio
he turned most OF the drilling Of it over
10 me. This was piece of great good
fortune for me, and I drilled the men in
dustriously, mounted and unmounted.
had plenty TO learn. and the men and
the officers even more. but we went at
our work with the heartiest good will.
We speedily made IT evident that there
was no room and no mercy for any man
who shirked any duty, and we accom-
plished good results The fact is that the
essentials of drill and work for a cavalry
or an infantry regiment are easy to learn,
which of course is not true for the ar
tillery or the engineers or for the navy.
The reason why II takes so long to turn
the average civilized man into a good in
fantryman or cavalryman is because 1t
takes a long while 10 teach the average
unframed man how to shoot, TO ride. TO
march. TO take care of himself i'm the
open. to be alert, resourceful cool, daring
and resolute. TO obey quickly. as well as
to be willing. and TO fit himself, TO act
on his own responsibility. If he already
possesses these qualities. there is very
little difficulty in making him soldier;
all the drill that is necessary to enable
him to march and to fight is Of simple
character. Parade ground and barrack
square manauvres are Of no earthly con-
sequence in real war. When men can
readily change from line to column and
column to line. can form front in any
direction, and assemble and scatter, and
can do these things with speed and pre-
cision, they have a fairly good grasp of
the essentials. When our regiment
reached Tampa it could already be
handled creditably at fast gaits, and both
in mass and extended formations, mount
cd and dismounted
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28

General Young was retired and General
Chaffee was to take his place, the former
sent to the latter his three stars to wear
on his first official presentation. with
a note that they were from Private
Young 20 Private Chaftee." The two fine
old fellows had served in the ranks, one
In the cavalry, one in the infantry in
their golden youth in the days Of the
great war nearly half century before
Each had grown gray in lifetime Of
honorable service under the flag, and
each closed his active career in command
Of the army. General Young was one Of
the few men who had given and taken
wounds with the sabre. He was an Old
friend Of mine, and when in Washington
before starting for the front, he told me
that If we got in his brigade he would
put us into the lighting all right. He
kept his word.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-28

recognize this on the part of the average
man will mean laZiness and folly ana
not the possession of efficiency. More
over. if men have been trained To be
lieve, for instance. that they can ar
bitrate questions Of vital interest and ma
tional honor if they have been brought
up with fabbiness Of moral fibre as well
as habbiness OF physique, then there will
be need of long and laborious and faith
full work TO give the needed tone to
mind and body. But if the men have in
them the right stun it is not so very
difHcult
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1913-11-10
STATEMENT BY HIERTA
Dictator Tells Diplomats
That Recent Flee
tiOn Was Void.
DEFENCE or HIS REGIME
viii Continue to "Pacify" the
Country Until Successor
Is Elected.

Definite action by the United states
Government in the Mexican situation is
expected within two days.
The outlook is that moral support will
hn given To the Carranza rebellion by
the lifting Of the embargo on arms and
ammunition along tn" border.
Huerta is said To have issued a state
ment to the diplomatic corps AZ MeXic"
city To the effect that the recent election
was void because sufficient precincts
had not voted.
This news received AT Washington. is
strengthened 10y Mexico city adVices IN
The StN that Huerta would make fun
statement of all his acts as provisional
President, which is regarded as an an
swer to the American demand for his
self -effacement.
Ma jor Cassius f.. Gillette. the ex-
army officer, has issued another polemic
against Preside Wilson's Mexican pol
icv. which he SAYS enables the save
ages of the tarranIa movement In con.
tinue their destruction Of Mexico.