The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 16, 1898, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1898. SPANIARDS DEFEATED WITH HEAVY LOSSES _— GALLANT DASH OF MARINES Aided by Cubans They Drive the Enemy From Its Position. Tables Turned on Castilian Regu-| lars and Guerrillas, More Than Fifty of Them Being Slain. § 2 ON BOARD THE o PATCH BOAT SOMMERS N. SMITH, OFF 2 GUANTANAMO, Tuesday, June 14, via Mole Hayti, Wednesday, June 15.— In a bold dash against the Spanish guerillas and regulars who have harrassed them 0 since last Friday the American forces en- o camped on Crest Heights gained a notable victory this morning, having a band of They drove the Span- iards from their position, four miles from © Camp McCalla, killed nearly half a hun- dred of the enemy and took eighteen pris- g St. Nicholas, (] (4] © © © ¢ Cubans as allies. [+ (] [¥) e ONErS G On our side the o Cubans killed. Four other insurgents were wounded, as were two American marines. Twenty-three marines were overcome by hem durlng the engagement. o ] vantages have been | American forces in the last twelve r the first time since hey were free from ht. This gave opportunity to continuous three days and also put the men in good condition for a movement LU" During this lull in activity the | Americans ;gre.xl y strengthened throwing up addi- itions and improv- e welcome almost their position hose already had. of Cubans with three platoons of marines commanded by Lieuten- Hall and McLemore, 1t to establish strong out- ants Moses, mile inland from the in camp. This plan was carried out successfully and re- :-1‘u-‘1 in giving the overworked attalion much needed rest. \\ ¢ that the men were so much refreshed the commanding offi- cers decided to carry out at once ]‘MH\ which had been formulated for aittack on the Spaniards. The ny was encamped a ]'/u]fl! four miles inland, where were the only wells within many mi If the United States force could drive them from that posi- | tion it would be necessary for the Spaniards to retreat almost to the city of Guantanamo in order to get a supply of water. Half the marine battalion, with of Cubans, began the ince against the enemy short- ly before noon. Captain Elliott Lieutenants Nevill and Ma- hony while the Cubans were under Colonels Laborde and Tomas. Our skirmish line discov- ered the enemy in the un- derbrush half a mile from Fort McCalla. Orders to at- tack were given immediate- ly, and the Americans and Cubans rushed in splendid form. They charged against the enemy with great boldness. The action was sharp and spirited. For a time the onslaught of the | A force | | hen it was found this morn- | commanded the marines, | HERALD-CALL DIS- only losses were two 0049‘033000000009000000000000090 marines was strongly resisted, but the enemy was finally forced to | retreat. { Our men pressed on after the | fleeing Spaniards, and did not give up the pursuit until they had put the enemy completely to rout and captured and made useless | |its only water supply. In the vicinity of the block- |house, about which the en- |emy made a final stand, the bodies of forty Spaniards |killed in the engagement were found. In preceding |engagements the Spaniards had managed to take their| dead with them, but to-day | their defeat was so com-| | plete that those who lived escaped only with the great- est difficulty. Their dead| doubtless were left on other parts of the battliefield also, so the total Spanish |loss is believed to have | been much heavier. All the American marines who were overcome by heat were | found by their comrades, brought | back to camp and have entirely | recovered. Lieutenant Francis | Batista, one corporal and sixteen | the Americans, and have heeil | placed on board warships in the harbor. From the prisoners it has been {learned that the Spanish forces | consisted of six companies of Iregulars and two companies of guerrillas. They were armed with Mauser and new Reming- tons. The prisoners say 600 | Spanish guerrillas are arranging to make an attack on Camp Mec- Calla with machetes. Our men say they are eager to have them try. At sunset Lieutenant Colonel Huntington asked for reinforce- ments from Captain McCalla, ap- prehending a vigorous night at- tack. Four armed companies were sent ashore and the Marble- head and Dolphin took positions where they could best defend the camp. No attack has been made up to 11 o'clock to-night, the hour at which I left the scene to send this dispatch. The Solace, which came here | | sent | tween THE VESUVIUS IN ACTION. On Tuesday Night the Dynamite Cruiser Vesuvius Ran in Toward the Mouth of the Harbor of Santiago, Under Convoy of the Cruiser New Orleans, and When a Mile Distant Fired Three Shells Filled With Dynamite at the Fortifications on the West Side of the Entrance. on Monday, returned to rejoi the fleet off Santiago the same | evening. Captain McCalla is anxious to care for the wounded here,’and requested the Herald- | Call boat to go to Admiral Samp- son and ask to have the Solace back here.. The Smith left immediately on the errand. An American vessel, the Glou- cester, came here from the fleet this evening and proceeded to Mole St. Nicholas with dis- patches for the Navy Department from Admiral Sampson. Orders have come from Washington to hurry the work of splicing cables, and direct communication be- the American fleet and | Washington is expected to-mor- row. Three hundred Cubans are ex- pected within a few hours to re- enforce the American marines. They will be brought across the | bay in boats from the Marble- head. All the Americans wotinded in the engagement at Crest Heights are doing ex- tremely well, while the health of the marines is excellent. I am able to report also the conduct of the Cubans as- fine. Later particulars of the previous | fighting about Camp McCalla indicate | the marines were taken by surprise when the Spaniards attacked the camp at midnight Friday. One of the di- visions most exposed to the enemy's fire was Company D, Captain Slicer's command. These men were doing picket duty Three were killed. All but sixteen members of Company D were on outpost duty. When the fir- ing became heavy Lieutenant Hunting- ton sent forward his entire force of 450 marines. Harrington’s battery of ar- tillery took the advanced position on the minor crest of the ridge. Present- ly the firing slackened and continued | an hour only in a desultory manner. The report then came that Captain Slicer's skirmishers had engaged the | enemy and had established strong out- | posts across the peninsula. At 11 o'clock | Saturday night the firing of the enemy | increased at the outskirts of the camp. It seemed as if several pickets must have been cut off or killed. An order then rang over the crest to fall Darkness was intense without and the armed men formed into companies and took a more exposed position than as- signed them originally in the plans for defending the camp. As it was expected that the Spanish would attempt to take the American | position by storm word was passed to the outer pickets to fall back. The Spaniards advanced steadily, firing as they came, but their aim generally was too high. It is doubtful if new troops ever had such trying experiences as those of the American marines. For hours they crept over the rough ground, beating their way through an almost endless lot of cactus plants. . They were at a great disadvantage at night, and also because the attacking guerrillas in. | | fighting took place. The enemy crept close upon the Americans before mid- | night of the first day and poured a tre- mendous fire into the camp. This fire was returned with full re by the Americans, and the air about the main position was filled_ with singing lead. Our men became steadier in their fire as the fighting continued and did much execution before the engagement end- ed. It was more difficult for the Amer- icans to re the Spanish attack be- h cause the enemy approached from the | right center and left simultaneously. | Our men were free from fire only on the side of the camp facing the bay. — . |HOW THE MARINES CAPTURED THE CAMP TUnder the Bold Attack and Steady Fire the Spaniards Suffer a Deadly Rout. UNITED STATES CAMP, East side of Guantanamo Bz Tuesday, June 14, 8 p. m. (by the iated Press DI patch Boat Wanda, a Kingston, Ja- | maica, Wedn ay, June 15, 2:30 p. m.).—The United States marines un- der Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. | Huntington made their first aggressive movement alnst the Spanish guerril- las to-day and completely routed the enemy. The force of marines was un- der Captain Elliott, and the co-operat- ing Cubans were under Colonel La- | borda. The combined forces razed a | Spanish camp about five miles from | the American position, destroying the only well in the vicinity and killing more than forty Spaniards. One Amer- ican marine was slightly wounded. Two of the Cubans were killed and four wounded, It is impossible to ber of Spaniards engaged, owing to the guerrilla methods of fighting, but it is believed there were at least 400. The marines behaved splendidly, their marksmanship being excellent, even under the severe fire of the enemy. The captured camp lies about five | miles southeast of the rifle pits of the | marines, and was an important base for the enemy, as it contained the only well within six or seven miles. Lieu- | tenant Colonel Huntington decided on | the attack early in the day, and about 8 o'clock the force started across the | mountain. The march up and down the steep hillsides under the glaring tropical sun was a severe teést of en- durance for the marines, and before the battle ground was reached twenty- two men had received medical atten- | tion. All were able, however, to reach the position before the fighting ceased. The marines were compelled to march | in single file, following the mountain trail. Meanwhile the Cubans darted backward and forward, to right and left, on the scout. | It was noon when, from a hilltop, the Americans caught sight of the Span- | ish camp on a ridge below them. It consisted of one large house, the offi- cers’ squarters, surrounded by numer- ous “shacks” and houses, all clustering about the precious well. The Americans began a cautious ad- vance and were within 200 yards of the enemy before the crack of a rifle from | the Spanish lines announced that the Spaniards had discovered them. The troops quickly moved into line of bat- tle, with the Cubans on the left flank. The enemy’s bullets were whistling vi- | ciously over the Americans, but the marines settled down to their work as unconcernedly as though at target practice. Very few Spaniards were in sight. They were lying behind the huts and the brush, but the puffs of smoke re- vealed their positions and enabled the Americans to do offective work. For n I familiar with the ground on which the | a terrific fire. | dislodge the enemy, The Spanish shots were generally wild and - spasmodic, while the Americans fired away, aiming care- fully and shooting to kill. For the most part the American firing was done individually, but at wmes the officers would direct firing by squads, always with telling effect. It was beginning to look as though a bayonet down the slope would be nec when suddenly the n to break for a thicket a ds farther on. Little groups could be 'n fleeing from the mp, separating, darting through the brush and zigzagging to escape the shots. It was then the American fire came most deadly. Man was seen to fall in a vain rush for shel- ter, and the fire from the Spanish be- latter bej hundred be- | came scattered and aimost ceased. Two Cubans lay dead and four wounded, and Private Walker of Com- pany D had to limp to the rear with a slight wound in his ankle. The easy victory put the command in The little black Cuban their ° machetes and howled curses at the Spaniar in a savage fashion. Their firing had been wild throughout, but they all display the utmost contempt for the Spanish bullets, appa::ntly being absolutely without fear. As the enemy began breaking camp the Dolphin, which lay out at sea, was signaled and began pitching shells toward the thicket for which the Span- iards were making. Meanwhile Lieutenant Magill was seen coming with forty men as re-en- forcemen and Captain Mahoney was on the w with a hundred more, but before either could reach the scene the trouble was over. As the Spanish retreated the Ameri- | forward, firing as the time the camp had all gone cans moved slowly they went, and by was reached the enemy | away, taking their wounded and prob- stimate the num- | | lost in burning the buildings and filling | ably many of {1eir dead. were found scattered through the brush, but the Americans were unable to examine the spot where their firing had been most deadly. No time was the well with earth and stones. The Dolphin landed water and am- munition, as an attack was expected on the return march, but none made. Evidently the Spaniards were too thoroughly beaten to attempt further fighting. The marines did not reach the American camp until after nightfall, and as they had been without | food since the early morning they were thoroughly exhausted. Colonel Huntington believes the de- struction of their camp and well will after man | Forty bodies | was | DYNAMITE HURL Nicholas, Hayti, June on the headland on 0000000000000 000O | This was the first test of a dyna- '‘Does Terrible Execution Bombardment of a San- tiago Battery. ON BOARD HERALD-CALL DISPATCH BOAT OFF SANTIAGO, June 14, via Mole St. come the work of destruction by the United States dynamite cruiser Vesuvius shortly before 12 o’clock last night. from Admiral Sampson, the Vesuvius let fly three dynamite shells at the forts standing the entrance of Santiago harbor, and each projectile did frightful execution. ED AT SPANIARDS Vesuvius Proves ltself a Dread Engine of De- struction). in the 15.—Historical will be- Under orders the western side of [oJoJoJoXoJoYoJOJoJOJOXOJOROXOJOJOXC | [des(ructi\'e work its defenders seriously cripple the bushwhacking | mite cruiser in actual warfare, | predicted. operations of the enemy. GREAT BRITAIN REFUSES land naval officers are hlghlv | \grat:fied with the results. In ac~ |" All doubt as to these points was dispelled within a few min- TO CANCEL CHARTERS | | quiring dynamite cruisers the | utes last night. Admiral Samp- War Department Fails to Lease Northern Pacific Steamship Company’s Vessels. TACOMA, June 15.—It is evident that the lease by the Government of the Northern Pacific Steamship Com- pany’s vessels is off, at least so far as the steamship Victoria is concerned. The Victoria to-day commenced again taking on cargo for the Orient and will sail for Hongkong on Saturday. Offi- clals of the steamship company will give out no Information, but it is ru-| mored that the deal is off owing to a refusal on the part of the British Gov- ernment to cancel the charter which the vessels now hold. Princeton Honors Dewey. PRINCETON, N. J., June 15.—At the commencement exercises of Princeton University Admiral Dewey was hon- were trained bushwhackers and were | twenty minutes both sides maintained | ored with a degree of LL.D. United States Government estab- |lished a precedent, and naval ex- ‘perts in all parts of the world have | | been keenly interested in it. For- | | eign governments watched close- |1y the tests of the Vesuvius when the vessel first went into the water, and no vessel in either the has been the object of such \studied attention since the pres- ent war began. Naval experts have been eager to know how a dynamite cruiser would behave in actual warfare and whether it | would prove capable of doing the American or the Spanish navy | wcon has been apprehensive about wthe strength of the fort situated on the point high above the sea to the west of the entrance of | Santiago harbor. This fort, the | American admiral thought, was one of two not entirely disabled by the bombardment on June 6. To settle that point and also give | the dynamite cruiser a fair oppor= tunity to prove its usefulness Ad- miral Sampson issued orders for the Vesuvius to shell the fort. It was 11 o’clock when the Vesuvius stole up close to the entrance of the harbor