South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-06-09
BY GEN. FREDERICK FUNSTON.
Brigadier General. United States Army.
CHAPTER XI.

Later that same afternoon Col.
MenOcaI informed me that he would
soon lead an infantry charge, where
upon, we opened a terrific and sus-
tanned bombardment. Suddenly 1 saw
two lines of men emerge from the
brush, and yelling like made, charge
for the Spanish trenches. The next
moment was certainly the most intense
in the lives of US serving the guns. A
slight mistake might lend a shell
among our own people. L kept re-
peating, Keep COOL Keep COOL" /
simply shook with excitement.
Our shells, plunging at the rate of
three a minute from each gun into
the trenches, were demOralizlng the
defenders TO such an extent that they
could do but little firing, but from a
trench on its right the attacking regi-l
ment was brought under a hot flank
fire at seven hundred yards range. and
suffered severely. A number of the
officers having been shot down, and IL
seeming impossible TO get through the
acknowledgements, some confusion arose.
The men began to bunch up and lie
down
1t looked as if the gallant attack
must fail and that il was only q
question of drawing out those who
could be saved from the wreck, when
Menocal and two other officers OF the
staff mounted their horses and at a
IL coming within thirty or forty yards
of the trenches before their horses all
went down killed and Menocal had his
leg shattered
But the other two officers, with Col.
Garcia and those Of the regiment, rose
To their feet and with cries or al
machete", rushed into the barb wire.
The men followed their lead, and with
their macheteS began to hack franu-
cally at the wires, and in few mo
ments had cut their way through. we
had continued our artillery hre unul
this time, but now were glad 10 cease.
The Spaniards took advantage OF the
opportunitv to escape while the
Cubans were getting through the en-
tanglements and under cover or the
ruins OF the building reached the
town, and were distributed among the
other defences. They had left behind
a very considerable number of killed
and wounded.
More or less desultory firing now
followed the Cubans having loop
holed number of the houses to IA
cilitate their operations against those
of the Spanish works that had not yet
been taken. The whole force OF inSur-
gents with the exception of those men
stationed to escape on the north, were
now in the town i'm the shelter OF the
houses. The work left was the cap
tire. from the interior of the town
instead of from its outside, OF the
stone barracks and telegraph Fort.
The strongest work was the Quartet
de la Infanteria- It's masonry walls
were three feet thick. lOOp-hOled, and
defended by two hundred men. Inc
main street of the town could not De
crossed By us, being swept oy the IRE
OF this work at one end and py lhaI
Of TeIeCraph Fort at the other.
We found a warehouse IN Whlch we
dragged the dynamite gun and a Il
FOUNDER, and making loop holes open
ed fire. The HOtchkiss shell glanced
off the stone wall. That from the uy-
Mantle gun made a terrific explosion
LUt the result was about the same as
would be caused by throwing an ese
AGAINST a house. There was a me
spatter and nothing else. Not stone
was displaced by either shot But
the moral effect Of the explosions OF
the nitro-gelatiue bombs was IN Tune
10 do the work.
Very early in the morning soldier
had escaped from the quarter anu
brought TO Col. MenOcal the intorma-
tion that ne was an emissary from MS
comrades. who had come 10 the con-
Clusion that they had reached the
limit of human endurance. They
were i'm sore straits from hunger.
thirst and fatigue. and their nerve had
been completely shattered by the eN-
plosions OF the nitrO-gelaune bombs.
The commander and the other oincers
would fight 20 the end, but IL ne would
take possession at daybreak they
would throw down their arms. They
knew the situation was absolutely
hopeless and did not propose 10 be
sacrificed &c save the honor OF their
officers.
The sun had not yet risen when
n few officers. including Janney and
myself, LETT the warehouse and walked
into the open. We felt "A bit ticklish