The Engagement at Las Marias
Difficulties encountered in locating the retreating enemy—Final determination upon pursuit—Lieutenant-Colonel Burke sets forth—Discovery of Spanish troops near Las Marias—A one-sided encounter—Unwelcome notification of truce—The rest of the brigade comes up—Feeding the prisoners—Our disappointment.
Aug. 22, 1898.
GENERAL J.C. GILMORE, Headquarters of the Army, Ponce, P.R.
Sir,—… Detachments from the cavalry troop went out (from Mayaguez) in the afternoon of the 11th on both roads leading to Lares; but the left hand or westerly of these roads was followed only a short distance, information, thought to be reliable, having been received to the effect that the bulk of the enemy's force had taken the more easterly road, on which the town of Maricao is situated. This part of the force was reported as making fair headway, having only a pack-train as transportation. Reports also came to brigade headquarters that Spanish troops in large numbers, coming from different places,—including Aguadilla and Pepino,—were concentrating to attack my command. While not impressed with the accuracy of these reports, I had the outposts strengthened, and placed a field officer in charge of them. A party from the outposts, sent to reconnoitre the Las Marias road, brought word on the afternoon of the 12th that the rear-guard of the Spanish was still within five miles of Mayaguez, and proceeding slowly.
[Illustration: The Rosario River, near Hormigueros.]
I immediately determined to pursue and, if possible, to capture or destroy this force, and at first resolved to move out with the entire command. On reflection, however, I realized that there were objections to such a course. The city and surrounding country were in an unsettled and excited state, the latter swarming with guerillas, deserters, and bushwackers. I had no accurate knowledge of the spirit, strength, and location of the enemy's forces, supposed to be within easy reach of Mayaguez. Then, too, the rest of my command, already worn down by the exhausting marches and operations beginning on the 9th, had been seriously broken in upon by heavy outpost duty and drenching rains, which latter had made their camp a veritable mud-hole. Furthermore, the road to Lares, except for the first eight miles out, was said to be all but impassable for wheeled vehicles; and this reminded me that the major-general commanding had intimated that I might have to go to Lares by way of Aguadilla. I therefore concluded to despatch a reconnoissance in force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, Eleventh Infantry, to harass the enemy and to retard its progress in every way. The detachment was made up of six companies of infantry and one platoon each of cavalry and artillery, and started at ten o'clock A.M. on August 12. It was given ample transportation for its three days' rations and the infantrymen's packs. It was therefore as mobile as it could be made without a pack-train. Hindered by excessive heat, followed by heavy showers, it marched only to a point where the two roads, above mentioned, are joined by a cross-road,—or about nine miles. I did not hear from Colonel Burke during the night, as I had hoped to; and the remainder of my command had its wagons packed, and was preparing to pull out on the morning of the 13th, when a courier came to me from him with a report of the difficulties that had retarded his progress, and of the presence of a Spanish force near Las Marias, variously estimated at from 1,200 to 2,500. This force, the colonel said, had taken up a defensive position; and he was moving toward it…
Respectfully submitted,
THEODORE SCHWAN,Brigadier-General Commanding.
[Illustration: A Street in San German.]
MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO, Aug. 16.
My dear Gilmore,—Availing myself of the first breathing-spell I have had for some time, I wish in this informal way and in advance of my regular report to say a few words to the general and yourself regarding our last Saturday's work (August 13).
As soon as the result of the Hormigueros fight became known in Mayaguez—about nine o'clock on the 10th—Colonel Soto, the commander, "pulled up stakes." That the Spanish troops left in the greatest hurry the condition of their barracks abundantly evidenced. Our advance-guard found the city entirely clear of the Spanish, and I ordered my cavalry to keep in touch with them. The cavalry took the right-hand road of the two roads leading to Lares, over which some of the Spanish troops had actually gone; and in the evening the troop commander reported that they were between seven and ten miles off, and still retreating. My command was thoroughly tired. No one without witnessing it can conceive the distress an infantry soldier suffers while marching in this hot climate, in a deep column, weighted down as he is even without his pack; and some rest seemed actually imperative. But the next morning I found that the main body of the Spanish had taken the westerly (or left hand) road to Lares, and early on Friday—there being many other things to engage the attention of myself and troops—I started Burke out in pursuit, with about 700 men, all told. I overtook him Saturday morning about three and one-half miles north of Las Marias. His infantry had pulled his guns over roads that were almost perpendicular. His troops were exchanging shots at long range across a deep valley with the retreating Spaniards, most of whom had forded (losing a lot of men, who were drowned) a deep and rapid river known in that country as the Rio Prieto. Our fire had already demoralized the thoroughly disheartened and half-famished Spanish soldiers; and their rear-guard, at least, was also disorganized and hiding in the hills.
[Illustration: Tobacco Plantation (cutting leaves), Mayaguez.]
A company of infantry I had sent out brought in, about ten o'clock in the evening, forty odd prisoners, a number of pack-animals, etc. Our men were thoroughly worn out by the day's work. Early the next morning I had four companies of infantry, the cavalry, and two guns ready to resume the pursuit. And there cannot be the shadow of a doubt that, had I had five more hours, I should have taken Lares; for that the flying Spaniards had prepared to abandon it at once I have the most reliable information. But at this particular juncture the notice that hostilities would be suspended came to me. No troops ever "suspended" with worse grace. We had given the Spanish no peace, and had taken all the starch out of them. The colonel and lieutenant-colonel had surrendered. Their troops were utterly demoralized and disintegrated. It seemed a pity to deprive us of the full fruits of a victory for which we had labored so hard; but of course we had to bow to the inevitable. Please let the general read this.
Faithfully your friend,
The part of our command left under Colonel DeRussy set out on the morning of the 13th to join the rest of the column, whose movements you have already followed in the preceding documents. The last detachment found it no less difficult to make headway than had the first; and on the morning of the 14th the entire brigade was so broken up and strung out that its head and tail were a good nine miles apart. So much trouble had been experienced in getting the artillery up the incredibly steep mountain-sides that no one had been able to give assistance or even thought to the hopelessly embarrassed wagon-train, and consequently we were practically without food for over twenty-four hours. When at last something to eat did come plodding along, we were obliged to put up with half-rations in order that our little collection of recently acquired prisoners might be fed. At a conservative estimate, those prisoners must have been the hungriest lot of men that ever laid down their arms. There were less than sixty of them, and they drew rations for about 1,200. However, they were fed; and we had the consolation of realizing that victory, like some other things of less familiar acquaintance, is its own reward. By noon on the 14th, everything was once more in order; and I have not yet ceased to wonder how those in authority managed to erase so quickly the chaos of the night before.
[Illustration: The Plaza Principal in Mayaguez, looking toward the Church.]
The engagement at Las Marias, while not particularly momentous in itself, was note-worthy as being the last between our forces and those of Spain during the recent war. I do not believe that the knowledge of this fact—even had we possessed it at the time—would have materially consoled us for the disappointment we felt in being obliged to stop shooting just when we had learned to do it so beautifully; but, still, it is something to have been in at the finish.
The Territory Won
General Schwan returns to Mayaguez—Business and pleasure—A custom we abolished—Extent of the district captured by our brigade—Aguadllla—Facilities for transportation—Labor and the laborer—The cost of living—Rents and real estate—Skilled workmen—A word about investments.
On August 16, in obedience to orders from Army Headquarters, General Schwan left the bulk of his troops in the positions they had respectively occupied at the time of the receipt of the truce, and, accompanied by the artillery, returned to Mayaguez. The people of this city had not yet recovered from the ferment into which they had been thrown by our advent, and went about in a state of tremulous titillation, expecting I know not what. At any rate, it did not seem to arrive; and after a day or two had passed without any sign of fell intent upon our part the merchants allowed themselves to be coaxed back into their places of business. The cafés were once more thronged. Semi-weekly concerts were given in the Plaza Principal by the band of the Eleventh Infantry and the Banda del Bomberos, in alternation. Balls, dinner-parties, and flirtations resumed their interrupted course, gathering new zest and brilliancy from the foreign element within the gates. All the Americans began to study Spanish, and all the Puerto Ricans to study English, without particularly gratifying results on either side. Cocking-mains, local games of chance, and more hectic immoralities were set forth for the delectation of the private soldiers; while I have personal knowledge of at least one quasi-clandestine bullfight, that may be best described as a furtive fizzle.
Strict measures were taken by the brigade commander to prevent anything resembling disorderly conduct among his men, and though these laurel-crowned heroes, under the influence of a wonderfully cheap rum, were seized at odd moments with an evident desire to start the war all over again, there was not much difficulty encountered in maintaining a degree of decorum that was highly satisfactory.
The sanitation of the municipality was rigorously inquired into, and regulated; but it is only justice to the residents of Mayaguez to say that little reform was necessary in this regard, as the current statistics of mortality and disease amply proved. Of the few changes made, however, one may be specifically mentioned.
[Illustration: A Ruined Church along our Line of March.]
[Illustration: A Puerto Rican Laundry.]
It was the custom whenever a peasant died to carry the corpse to the cemetery in a coffin hired at transient rates, and then, having dumped the deceased into a shallow grave, to return what is facetiously known as the "wooden overcoat" to its original owner, for further service. This was bad enough, considering the danger of infection thus engendered; but much worse remains behind. It seems that the plot of ground reserved for dead paupers was very circumscribed. So it had become necessary to bury four or five bodies in the same hole, the last one in being perhaps no more than six inches from the light of day. And, as if this state of affairs were not already sufficiently horrible, we found that the congestion was sometimes still further relieved by a wholesale emptying of graves, the bones thus removed being thrown into some adjacent corner above ground, where they lay undisturbed in the hot sunshine and smelt to heaven. This ghastly practice was summarily stopped.
* * * * *
If you will take a map of Puerto Rico and cut off the western section by drawing a line from Guanica through Lares to Camuy, you will see at once the extent of the territory brought under American control by General Schwan. The principal towns of this section, in addition to those already described, are Aguadilla, Maricao, Añasco, Cabo Rojo, Lares, and Las Marias; but none of these places are important enough to call for detailed notice, with the possible exception of the first-named. This city, Aguadilla, while it has a population of only 5,500, is notable as being the most picturesque town on the entire island. It is the capital and port of the surrounding district; and, though the climate is hot, it is remarkably healthful. The site is a stretch of shore facing Mona Channel, between Cape Borinquen and the Rio Culebrinas. Directly behind rises the steep green-crested Jaicoa Mountain, its slopes covered with orange, lemon, and palm trees in bewildering profusion; while half-way to the summit there gushes forth a fairylike, crystal stream, which flows directly through the town before emptying into the bay. An antique church and a little fort of 11 guns, called Conception, add to the scenic beauty of the picture, when viewed from the sea. Tourists will probably spoil this lovely town before the end of another decade, but at present it is a quivering page of romance.
[Illustration: On the Road to Lares.]
[Illustration: The Best Outfit in our Wagon Train.]
Of the facilities for transportation in this part of Puerto Rico, it may be said that they are either extremely good or extremely bad. The former condition prevails generally in the valleys, and the latter among the hills toward the interior. There are several interrupted lines of railroad, and burros are used to a considerable extent by the inland planters; but far the greater part of communication and carriage is accomplished by way of the sea.
Labor here, as elsewhere in the tropics, is to be had very cheaply, but is uncertain, sluggish, and dishonest. A man for plantation work can be hired for almost nothing a day, but he will not earn even that unless he is driven at the point of a machete. The local peon desires to toil no longer than is necessary to obtain the bare wherewithal to fill his belly. Then he dreams away the remainder of the day, smoking the eternal cigarette; perhaps rousing himself sufficiently to pick the strings of a guitar in the cool of the evening—and this, at least, the beggar does well. He is not at all ambitious to improve his condition, and he will never be any better than he is to-day. Probably he will be much worse. He will cut throats and burn haciendas all the gay year round if he is not allowed to gang his ain gait. We are going to reform him, of course; but—the day will come when we shall be ashamed to look Spain in the face. In Cuba this man's brothers were known as "patriots"; which meant that they were soldiers when there was any work to be done, and laborers when fighting was on hand. In my opinion, they are vicious beasts.
The cost of living naturally hinges upon the price of labor; and so one may eat and drink in Puerto Rico for a trifle more than a song. Fruit and vegetables are cheap and plentiful, though flour is so costly as to be almost a luxury; while the meats are neither low in price nor good in quality. Excellent fowls are to be had for very little money. Milk is dear and dangerous; butter is only known as it appears in cans from Denmark; and all the other dairy products are of the meanest description. Still, one can live with pleasure and comfort upon the many peculiarly native articles of subsistence in common use.
[Illustration: "Promenade of the Fleas" in Yauco.]
[Illustration: When only One Man gets a Letter.]
Rents are low, but satisfactory houses are seldom to be had when they are wanted.
There is always room in the hotels of the larger towns; and, until one can build for himself, a hotel offers a very pleasant substitute—at a slightly increased expense. Land, for building purposes, or in an unimproved state, can be leased for a sum that is almost nominal, except in a few highly favored localities. Purchasers of land are more than likely to find themselves immediately embroiled in a lawsuit over the title. If no flaw exists in your title, then it does exist in one that was drawn up a hundred years ago; and in either case the result is the same—you lose.
Skilled workmen in any branch of industry will not find a good field for their abilities in Puerto Rico, at least not for a few years to come. If there were any demand for their services,—which there isn't,—they would not be able to command anything approaching the standard of wages usual in the United States.
To the investor, dairy farms, ice-plants, transportation schemes, and bar-rooms offer tempting possibilities,—I reserve agriculture for separate consideration,—but it cannot be too forcibly emphasized that plenty of money, good-health, patience, and a smattering of the Spanish language are absolutely indispensable requisites to the foreigner trying to do business on this island.
[Illustration: The "Weary Travellers' Spring," near Añasco.]
[Illustration: A Crude Sugar Mill near Las Marias.]
The End of the Campaign
Arrival of the mail-steamer—The soldier-boy and his letters—The greater part of the brigade is quartered in Mayaguez—Agriculture in Puerto Rico—Material result of our campaign—A farewell order—General Schwan departs for the United States.
On the 19th of August a steamer came into the harbor, bringing us a mail, the first we had received since the beginning of July. If the people who wrote those letters could have seen the happiness they wrought upon their distant boys, I am sure they would have been surprised and touched. Again and again we read the simple news of home,—the cat was dead, or little sister had the mumps, or father had built a new fence around the back pasture,—and wars and kings and presidents faded into forgetfulness before the heart to heart talks that had come from over-seas.
I don't suppose there is anybody that knows the value of a letter better than a soldier does. A few blotted lines from his mother or sister or sweetheart are meat and drink and fine raiment for his soul. He feels brave again and good again and—homesick again. He makes life a burden for the whole camp until he has borrowed or stolen a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil wherewith to make reply. He sits down in some convenient spot, with emotion fairly oozing from every pore, and for a solid hour he wrestles with his tools and vocabulary. The result probably does not altogether please him. He feels that he has said too much about his lack of socks, the toughness of his fare, the flatness of his purse. All the love and tenderness he meant to set down have somehow refused to leave him, even in description. But he knows he will be massacred if he goes howling for more paper; and so he sends off what he has written, counting the weary days until his answer comes. The man who first invented writing was, without doubt, the greatest man that ever lived.
[Illustration: A very Popular Spot.]
[Illustration: Two Knights and a Pawn.]
On August 25 it was decided to bring all but four companies of the brigade into quarters at Mayaguez, chiefly because a great deal of sickness had begun to spring up in the outlying camps. This was accordingly done.
* * * * *
Scientific agriculture and prosperity have long been regarded as almost synonymous terms in Puerto Rico.
The provincial government established and maintained an experimental station at Rio Piedras, for the purpose of promoting a technical knowledge of the native soil-products; and the results of this step have proved invaluable. The recent director of the station, Señor Fernando Lopez Tuero, wrote, while in office, several monographs on tropical agriculture; which I have been at some pains to translate in my search for absolutely reliable information relating to that subject. Señor Tuero is considered, to be a high and conservative authority by those of his compatriots who are best able to judge; and I feel confident that the following estimates are nearly, if not entirely, correct:—
The chief agricultural products of the island are cotton, rice, cacao, corn, cocoanuts, pepper, bananas, tobacco, vegetable dyes, coffee, sugar, pineapples, and vanilla. Of all these I shall only pause to deal here with the last four.
Coffee and sugar are regarded by the Puerto Ricans as their most valuable crops. The first takes six years to come into full bearing, and during this time will cost an expense of about 162 pesos an acre, with a return in the last year of 86 pesos an acre,—a net deficit for the full period of 76 pesos. Afterward the expense should be about 66 pesos an acre, and the return 90 pesos. Sugar requires a heavy investment at the start. A plantation of 250 acres, together with the necessary buildings and machinery, will call for about 52,500 pesos. The total cost of a crop, from beginning to end, should be 152 pesos an acre, and the return about 170.
A pineapple plantation, for the investor of limited means, ought to prove profitable and encouraging. The first year of cultivation will produce a crop, at a final cost of 40 pesos an acre, including the land-rent. The return is put down at 200 pesos, leaving a gorgeous net profit of 160 pesos. It would seem perhaps that under such circumstances it is odd that there is not a more general raising of this fruit by the local planters; but the reason for an apparent neglect of a golden opportunity lies in the difficulties heretofore encountered in finding swift and adequate transportation from field to market. With this handicap removed there is little doubt that pineapple-growing will become a tempting industry.
The vanilla bean, however, is king-pin of the list in the claim of profit to be derived from its culture. It is said that the yearly cost of raising the crop will be 94 pesos an acre, chiefly for manure and irrigation. And the annual return for every acre is figured at 652 pesos,—a net profit that is fairly dazzling.
While all these details—which I have digressed so many times to give—do not properly form a part of the story of our campaign, yet it is by no means unusual for one who has put his hand into a grab-bag to look carefully and well at the prize withdrawn. And that is what I have been doing.
The material result of General Schwan's campaign may be briefly summarized thus: He marched his command ninety-two miles in eight days; fought two successful engagements; expelled the Spanish forces from the entire western part of Puerto Rico; captured and occupied nine towns; and took 362 prisoners, including Colonel Villeneuve, a lieutenant-colonel, and four other regular officers. In addition he seized 450 stands of arms, 145,000 rounds of ammunition, and ten thousand dollars in silver coin. His loss was 1 killed and 16 wounded against a total of 20 killed and 50 wounded on the side of the enemy.
On August 27 the general issued a farewell order to his brigade, from whichI briefly quote:—
"On relinquishing his command to return to the United States, the brigadier-general commanding desires to congratulate, and to return his heartfelt thanks to, the officers and soldiers of the regular brigade for their achievements and excellent conduct during the last eighteen days…. Our troops have continued to hold their advanced positions and outposts until now, when, peace being assured, all but a small fraction have been brought to comparatively comfortable barracks near this city. The hardships endured on the march and at these outposts have been great…. But these hardships have been cheerfully borne by officers and men. Not a murmur has been heard, despite the fact that nearly one-fourth of the strength of most organizations is on sick-report, their ailments being directly caused by the exposure incident to this campaign.
"Less than three weeks have been occupied by the campaign, yet a bond of sympathy between officers and soldiers has been established that years of peace could not have engendered."
On the following morning, accompanied by Lieutenant G.T. Summerlin, his aide-de-camp, General Schwan left Mayaguez for Ponce, where he boarded the transport "Chester," and returned to the United States.
The campaign of the Independent Regular Brigade was thus brought to an official end.
Theodore Schwan was born in Germany, July 9, 1841. He received his earlier education in the preparatory schools of his native land, but came to the United States when he was about sixteen years old. He enlisted as a private in the Tenth Infantry on June 12, 1857; and served successfully as corporal, sergeant, first sergeant, and quartermaster-sergeant until October 31, 1863, when he received his commission. He was made a first lieutenant, Tenth Infantry, April 9, 1864; regimental quartermaster in December, 1864; a captain, March 14, 1866; a major, Eleventh Infantry, and assistant adjutant-general, July 6, 1886; a lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general, February 19, 1897; a colonel and assistant adjutant-general, May 18, 1898. Two weeks before his last promotion in the regular army he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and in accordance with the Act of Congress, approved March 2, 1899, he will retain that rank until July 1, 1901. He was brevetted several times during the War of the Rebellion, and his whole military career, covering a period of forty-two years, is absolutely devoid of blemish.
The following officers received distinguished mention in General Schwan's reports, for service rendered under fire during the campaign in western Puerto Rico:—
Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, Eleventh Infantry.[A] Major Gilbreath, Eleventh Infantry.Captain P.M.B. Travis, Eleventh Infantry.Captain R.W. Hoyt, Eleventh Infantry.Captain A.L. Myer, Eleventh Infantry.Captain Penrose, Eleventh Infantry.Captain Macomb, Fifth Cavalry.Acting Assistant Surgeon Savage.Lieutenant Odon Gurvoits, Eleventh Infantry.Lieutenant T.F. Maginnis, Eleventh Infantry.Lieutenant Alexander, Eleventh Infantry.Lieutenant Wells, Eleventh Infantry.Lieutenant W.S. Valentine, Fifth Cavalry.Lieutenant Rogers F. Gardner, Third Artillery.
[Footnote A: Died of apoplexy on August 22, 1898, while in camp near LasMarias.]
In addition to those named above, special and valuable efficiency was displayed by Major E.A. Root, engineer; Major H.H. Benham, ordnance; Major Egan, brigade-surgeon; Captain Buchanan, Collector-of-the-Port at Mayaguez; Captain Davison, brigade-quartermaster; Captain Hutcheson, assistant adjutant-general; and Captain Elkins,[A] Lieutenant Byron, and Lieutenant Summerlin, aides-de-camp.
[Footnote A: Wounded at battle of Hormigueros.]
In connection with the present writer's expressed opinion regarding the relative practical value of regulars and volunteers in modern warfare, the following excerpt from the ChicagoRecordof November 3, 1898, is worth reading.
Captain Avid Wester, the Swedish officer who accompanied the American army in Cuba, in order to study the war, has just returned to Sweden. During his stay in Gothenburg he was interviewed, and he seems now to have a more sympathetic view of the Americans—the volunteers excepted—than former reports indicated. Captain Wester greatly praised the treatment he had received from all the American officers, and the bravery of the Americans in the regular army. "Of the 18,000 men under the command of General Shafter," he says, "only 4,000 were volunteers or militiamen; the rest consisted of regulars, which had had an average service of six years on the borders of the Indian territory. They were very good and well-disciplined soldiers, who went into battle with complete disregard of death. The militia regiments, however, could not be got within range of the Spanish bullets, and all the stories about the heroism of volunteers are untrue. The only volunteers who distinguished themselves were the 'rough riders,' who, in spite of their name, fought on foot, but these men were not a militia regiment. The troop consisted of cowboys and adventurers, who cared neither for life nor death, but rushed blindly into battle. Brave fellows withal." After praising the bravery of the Spaniards and the accuracy of their fire, Captain Wester expresses the belief that with modern rifles in use it is of the greatest importance to have well-trained soldiers, who in the heat of battle retain their coolness and listen to their officers' directions and commands,—in a word, soldiers who retain good firing discipline. This, he says, cannot be expected of men with short time of training, on whom the din of battle often has so paralyzing an effect that the soldier can neither hear nor see.
The question concerning the quality of the beef served as a ration to our troops during the recent war—in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and aboard the transports—has already been pretty thoroughly answered, one way or the other. Yet, though the topic is worn nearly threadbare and admittedly has nothing in particular to do with General Schwan's campaign, I venture to make, in this place, a personal contribution to the discussion in the form of an extract from a letter, written by me from Mayaguez on September 15, 1898.
Our rations [on the transport "Comanche"] consisted of hard tack, coffee, canned baked-beans, canned tomatoes, and canned "roast beef." Before we arrived at Key West the baked-beans had all been eaten and the water in the tanks had gone rotten—we carried no condenser—so that we were reduced to the rather monotonous diet of tomatoes for breakfast, tomatoes and canned roast beef for dinner, and tomatoes again for supper; with a full allowance of coffee and hard tack at all three meals.
Anybody will be able to understand that we were pretty hungry at the end of the second day. We were thirsty too—I paid as much as fifty cents for a glass of ice-water from the cabin—but I will skip the mass of details. We had seen the piles of neat cans, labelled "roast beef," stacked up on the dock at Port Tampa, and we were impatient for the first mess-call that made us acquainted with the contents of those cans. I regret that I cannot adequately describe to you the appearance of the stuff. I will simply say that it looked filthy, was covered with a sort of slime, and emitted a nauseous odor. It was very hard to even gaze at it and remain unmoved, but we did more than that—we tried to eat it. I managed to swallow three mouthfuls and immediately became wretchedly sick. The example seemed to be popular.
On the succeeding day we were each given an unopened can of the meat, which was supposed to last us for twenty-four hours. Most of the men threw their portions overboard at once; a few packed away the "corpse"—as we already called it—for purposes of trade with the unsophisticated Cubans; and I kept my can as a souvenir. I did not, however, keep it long; for, chancing to drop it upon the deck, the contents exploded with a distinct report, startling me not a little and covering my person with the débris. At the time I thought this experience was going to be altogether unique, but I discovered afterward that the same thing happened in a great many other instances.
Having abandoned the beef, we were forced to subsist on hard tack and tomatoes for the rest of the voyage, and hailed with joy our anchorage at Daiquiri. But we were too previous. During our ten days' stay in Cuba we found the "corpse" still waiting for us in the mess, and we carried the ghastly burden along when we finally steamed away for Puerto Rico.
We landed at Guanica on the 25th of July, which meant that we had been half-starved for twenty-two days. We had forgotten the "Maine" and would have greeted Weyler himself with a glad sweet smile, had he come bearing in his hands food fit for a human being. Once more disembarked, we lost sight of the canned roast beef for good—save at extremely rare intervals while on the march. We found no difficulty in eating the beef obtained from Puerto Rican steers, although it was tough and bloodless; and we received salt pork often enough to furnish variety.
After the cessation of hostilities we began to get American beef instead of the native article, and, while it was by no means so impossible a food as its canned cousin, it certainly could not be called delicious. It smelled badly before it was cooked, was rigid and stringy when served, and had a rank taste, like—well like nothing else on earth. Our sick-list doubled at this time.
A list of the killed and wounded on the American side, at the battle nearHormigueros, Puerto Rico, on the 10th of August, 1898.
Killed.
Fred Fenneberg, private in Company "D," Eleventh Infantry.
Wounded.
Lieutenant J.C. Byron, Eighth United States Cavalry, R.D.C.
John Bruning, corporal in Light Battery "D," Fifth Artillery.
George Curtis, private in Light Battery "D," Fifth Artillery.
Samuel G. Frye, private in Light Battery "D," Fifth Artillery.
Willard H. Wheeler, sergeant in Company "A," Eleventh Infantry.
Joseph P. Ryan, corporal in Company "A," Eleventh Infantry.
Arthur Sparks, private in Company "C," Eleventh Infantry.
John L. Johnson, corporal in Company "D," Eleventh Infantry.
J.A. Sanders, private in Company "D," Eleventh Infantry.
Harry E. Arrick, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry.
Henry Gerrick, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry.
Paul F. Mitzkie, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry.
William Rossiter, private in Company "G," Eleventh Infantry.
Lemuel P. Cobb, private in Company "I," Eleventh Infantry.
D.J. Graves, private in Company "M," Eleventh Infantry.
Amos Wilkie, corporal in Company "M," Eleventh Infantry.
Injured.
Frank Muller, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry.
Augustus H. Ryan, private in Company "F," Eleventh Infantry.