Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain Part 6

Early in June our blockading ships made efforts to destroy the forts at the harbor of Santiago, but did not succeed, though the sh.e.l.ls from our ships did a good deal of harm. It was on account of these attacks that Lieutenant Hobson and his crew were removed from their cells in Morro Castle and taken to another prison, as I have told you. The English Consul at Santiago, a wise and good man, told the Spanish general that Lieutenant Hobson and his men could not, in honor, be kept where they might be killed by sh.e.l.ls from their own ships. So the prisoners were removed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lieutenant Victor Blue.]

The forts at Santiago received a terrible punishment, if they were not destroyed, and one of Admiral Cervera's ships, the Maria Teresa, was considerably damaged by sh.e.l.ls that went over the forts into the harbor. There were several other warships in the harbor besides those that came with Admiral Cervera. The Reina Mercedes was nearly destroyed by the sh.e.l.ls from our ships. Our old friend, the Oregon, sent a big sh.e.l.l over the hills that swept nearly everything off her decks. Other shots riddled her hull and sank her.

The Santiago fortifications were bombarded a number of times and some splendid shots were made. There was a battery to the west of the harbor that fired more accurately than the others, and so the Texas got the range and dropped a sh.e.l.l into the powder magazine one day.

Everything about that battery seemed to be in the air at once when that sh.e.l.l exploded. Nothing was left of it but a pile of ruins and a big hole in the ground.

There is a ship in the United States navy that is unlike any other in the world. She has three long guns which are built into the ship and do not turn to one side or the other. The whole ship has to be pointed at the object which the gunners wish to hit. She does not fire sh.e.l.ls loaded with powder, as other warships do, but uses a long sh.e.l.l filled with gun-cotton, or dynamite, both of which are deadly explosives.

When one of these sh.e.l.ls strikes anything the effect is terrible. The Vesuvius, for that is the name of this ship, fired several of these sh.e.l.ls over the fortifications at Santiago, in the direction where the Spanish fleet was lying. She did not hit any of them, but she tore great holes in the sand and rocks near by. It is said that the Spaniards called the Vesuvius "The Hurler of Earthquakes" because of the damage her sh.e.l.ls did. The guns of the Vesuvius are really firing tubes. No powder is used in them, compressed air being the power that expels the sh.e.l.ls. Very little noise is made, and there is no smoke.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Forward Deck and Guns of the Vesuvius.]

If one small sh.e.l.l should strike the Vesuvius it would send men and boat to the bottom at once, because she has so much deadly gun-cotton on board. Her crew is almost afraid to move.

"Why, I'm afraid to even snore in my sleep," said one of them, "for fear I'll discharge the gun-cotton; and as for kicking in my sleep--why, I'm as quiet as a drugged snake."

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Jacky.]

"We slide along," said another; "we're afraid to walk at first. I went on tiptoe for the first three days."

"Well, I went on my hands and knees the day it was so rough," said a third. "A fellow has to learn to walk on any part of his anatomy in this ship when the sea is rough."

The Vesuvius has been described as a ship which fights and then runs away. That is, she fires three sh.e.l.ls and then takes herself out of the range of an enemy's fire.

I think this is a good place to tell you about a few more of the odd ships that belong to Uncle Sam's navy, for no nation beside ours has anything like them.

The Katahdin is an armored ram which relies upon her sharp prow to disable an adversary. Her armament is only four six-pounder rapid-fire guns.

Then there is a fleet of vessels whose duty it is to repair the damages that ships receive in battle, supply fuel and water to fighting ships, and to care for the wounded. All of these are novel additions to the navy, but are practical auxiliaries in modern naval operations.

The Vulcan is one of the repair ships. It is, in fact, a navigable machine shop, fitted with steam tools for executing any work in metal.

It carries duplicates of nearly every article belonging to a modern warship; and when you understand that some of these contain nearly seventy sets of engines, you can easily see the advantage of having a repair ship attached to a fleet.

Then there are the refrigerating ships, or "pantries," as the sailors call them. Their mission is to a.s.sist in feeding the navy. They are most valuable additions to a fleet, for they supply fresh meat and vegetables to improve "Jack's" diet of "salt horse."

Next come the ships that supply fresh water to the crews of our warships. These are fitted up with distilling apparatus, which converts salt water into fresh. The Iris, as one of these is named, belongs to the "sweet water squadron." The water consumption of a vessel is enormous. A battleship will use seven thousand gallons every day, which gives you an idea of the work such vessels as the Iris have to perform.

Now we come to such ships as the Solace and the Relief. These are hospital ships, and are provided with every appliance and convenience to be found in a modern hospital, including X-ray outfits to aid in locating bullets, a microscopic department, and a carbonator for supplying mineral waters. The hull of the Solace is painted white, with a wide stripe of green along the sides, and, as befits her mission, carries no guns or weapons of any kind. Hospital ships fly the "Red Cross" flag from their mastheads.

[Ill.u.s.tration: (Ships at sea)]

Our ships could guard Santiago and fire at the forts, but our naval officers had good reasons for thinking that they could not take the city unless our soldiers were on sh.o.r.e to help in different ways. Our ships could not go safely into the harbor till the "mines" under the water had been removed; the "mines" could not be removed till the forts on the cliffs had been taken. So now the time had come for our soldiers to go to Cuba.

CHAPTER VII.

OUR ARMY GOES TO CUBA.

Our soldiers--thousands of "Regulars" and thousands and thousands of "Volunteers"--were waiting in camps in the eastern and southern parts of the United States, in order to be ready to start for Cuba at short notice. Thousands of them were never ordered to go, but stayed in camp during all the war. Still, they were ready to go if needed.

About the middle of June more than 16,000 soldiers, under General Shafter, sailed from Tampa, on the west coast of Florida, for the southeastern sh.o.r.e of Cuba. It was hard work to ship so many men, and 2,000 horses and mules, and food, and all the things needed for war.

It took one week to load the ships. How many ships were needed for this big "excursion party"? Thirty-four. Do you think our soldiers had a pleasant voyage? They had not. They were crowded together, the weather was very hot, some of the vessels were old and slow, and it was six days before our Army drew near our Navy at Santiago, and waited till plans were made for further movements.

Perhaps you are wondering where the Cubans were all this time, and what they were doing. As our country was trying to help them, did not the Cubans now come forward to join our forces? Yes. Several times brave Americans had made their way in secret to distant parts of Cuba, had met the Cuban generals, had talked with them, and brought back messages. And now Admiral Sampson came out in a small boat to meet our soldiers, and he took General Shafter on sh.o.r.e, a few miles west of Santiago, to hold an important council with a number of Cuban generals. The Cuban generals, chief of whom were General Garcia and General Rabi, told our officers a good deal about the country, the roads, etc., and planned to unite the Cuban troops with ours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Volunteer.]

When General Shafter returned, he ordered the soldiers to sail on fifteen miles beyond Santiago, to a point called Daiquiri. This was their landing-place. It was harder to land in Cuba than it had been to leave Florida. Admiral Sampson sent some of his ships to fire upon the sh.o.r.e and drive away the Spaniards, and he also sent small boats to take our soldiers from the ships to the land. There were not boats enough, so the landing was slow work. There was great trouble in getting the horses and mules to swim ash.o.r.e. But it takes less time to unpack than to pack, and after four days our Army was on sh.o.r.e.

Our men were in a rough part of the country. Steep hills were everywhere, the valleys were narrow, the roads were more like ditches.

Thick underbrush, p.r.i.c.kly bushes and tall gra.s.ses grew in many places.

A number of men were set to work making roads, so that the wagons with the army supplies could push on. It was the wet season, and rain fell every day. Sometimes the streams would rise quickly and flood the new roads. When the rain was not falling the air was hot, and a steam seemed to rise from the ground. It seemed as if our men had no chance at all.

Spanish soldiers had been sent out from Santiago, and were now busy building log forts on hills a few miles from our camps, and piling up stones and branches of trees to make mounds, and putting up fences of barbed wire. In such places of shelter the Spaniards waited for our troops to march forward.

You must understand that the city that our troops wanted to reach was Santiago, but between them and it lay this rough country, where marching would be so hard, and where the Spaniards had forts on some of the hilltops.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Landing Troops at Daiquiri.]

CHAPTER VIII.

THE BATTLE OF LAS GUASIMAS.

A Number of our officers thought it would be best not to go forward till some roads had been made, so that the army wagons could be sent on; but General Shafter thought it would be best to march on at once.

He feared that after a week or ten days in that climate many of our men might have fever and be unfit for service. So, even before all the men had landed, General Shafter ordered the first ones to go forward and drive the Spaniards from a place near Siboney. Thus, some of our troops began their march just after landing from the boats. About two hundred Cuban soldiers went with them, to lead the way and watch for the hiding places of the Spaniards.

The troops reached the place in the evening, but found that the Spaniards had left it and gone about three miles further westward to a stronger fort. Our men rested all night, and before daylight the next morning--Friday, June 24th--they marched on to hunt the enemy.

Now I must tell you something about these soldiers who were going to fight their first battle in Cuba. There were nearly a thousand men; some were "Regulars," others were "Volunteers." They belonged to the Cavalry division of the Army--the soldiers who go on horses. But for this first work in Cuba they had to go on foot, without their horses.

The "Volunteers" numbered about five hundred. They belonged to a regiment called the "Rough Riders," and a strange regiment it was.

Most of these men were from the prairies and cattle-ranches in the West; some were "cowboys," some were Indians. The others in the regiment were young men from the East--business men, college men, sons of rich men; all were brave, hardy fellows, fond of out-door life, fond of excitement, not afraid of work. These young men had been trained for the war by a man who was now one of their officers, Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt. He had given up a high position in order to serve his country in this way. People in the United States laughed when this company of "Rough Riders" was formed, and said that the "cowboys" and Indians would not obey orders, and that the others would not stand the hardships of war. But the people in the United States did not laugh after the battle of Las Guasimas.

That June morning it was thought best to separate and march by two roads, meeting near the Spanish fort. The way of the "Rough Riders"

led them up steep hills. Thick bushes grew all around, so that the men could hardly see how to go; the sun rose, and the heat was so awful that some of the men dropped down, faint and sick. Suddenly, from among the trees and bushes came bullets, and the men began to fall, wounded and dead. The Spaniards could not be seen at all, and they were using smokeless powder that left no trace in the air. But our men heard the whizz of the bullets, and felt their sting. The "Rough Riders," as they pressed on quickly toward the fort, fired again and again into the bushes. At last they met their comrades, who had come by the other road and who had also had a hard fight, and all now toiled up the hill, firing as they went. The Spaniards had to retreat, and could now be seen by our men. The top of the hill was reached at last, the fort was taken, and the Spaniards fled toward Santiago.

This hard fight, which lasted less than two hours, is called the Battle of Las Guasimas, from the name of the poisonous kind of trees in the thicket where the "Rough Riders" were shot down.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Last Stand of the Spaniards at Las Guasimas.]

It would require volumes to tell the bravery and heroism of the men who fought the Spaniards at Las Guasimas. Every one entered into it with enthusiasm. All stood their ground while the Spanish bullets were singing around them, and then, when they were allowed to do so, poured volley after volley into the brush in the direction from which the shots came. Colonel Wood walked along his lines as coolly as though on parade. Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt led his men through the brush when the air seemed full of bullets. Captain Cap.r.o.n, the fifth from father to son in the United States army, fell early in the fight, but before he was. .h.i.t by a Spanish bullet he used his revolver whenever he saw a Spanish head.