Of the wounded, in their anguish,
some are perfectly quiet; others are heard praying; some are calling
for their mothers, while others are giving out patriotic utterances,
urging their comrades on to victory, or bidding them farewell as they
pass on to the front. July 1, in passing a wounded comrade, he told me
that he could whip the cowardly Spaniard who shot him, in a fair fist
fight.
During the first day's battle many interesting sights were witnessed.
The new calibre 30 Gatling guns were in action. These cruel machines
were peppering away several hundred shots each per minute and sweeping
their front from right to left, cutting down shrubbery and Spaniards
like grain before the reaper. I observed the excellent service of the
Hotchkiss Mountain gun; they certainly do their work to perfection and
well did the Dons know it. Many shots fired into the "blind ditches
and blockhouses" of the enemy caused them to scatter like rats. These
guns use a percussion shell nearly two inches, and can be packed on
mules. They were designed for light service with cavalry on the
frontier. Four of these little beauties were manned by men of the
Tenth Cavalry. The Spanish made it so hot for the boys that they would
have to roll the gun under cover to load, and then steal it back to
fire.
Pages:
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379