THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 330 sent the captain kept command of the united force. Shortly beforemidday the troopsadvancing throughdensebush came to the top ofaridge from which the Spanish campwassightedalittle more than half a mile in front. Forsome time the officers had noticed frequent calls like those of a wood pigeon. They werereally the signals of the Spanish scouts falling back quietlyon a preparedposition in front of the camp. There they suddenly opened a heavyfire from a line of trenchesconcealedin thedeep bush. Not a man was to be seen, but the Mauser bullets came tipping through the tangle of fern, palm and cactus. The attacking forcereplied— the Cubans wildly, the marines with steady volleys. A signaller on the ridge opened communication with the gunboat Dolphin, which had been steaming along the shore inside the bay, and indicated to her the position of the Spanish camp,which she proceeded to shell very effectually. Afterstanding the cross fire for some time the Spaniards began to give way. Their retreat was curiously enough covered— all unintentionally — by the guns of the Dolphin. Captain Elliot tried to signal to her that the Spaniards weregoing and he wanted to push on and cut them off,but it was some time beforehe succeededinstopping her fire, and until he did so he couldnot advance on to the ground swept by her quick-firers. When at last he rushedup to the camp he surprised part of the Spanish rearguard, taking prisoners a lieutenant and eighteen men. From these it waslearned that the force which had so persistently harassed the camp consisted of six companies of Spanish regularsand twocompaniesofvolunteerguerillas.

the camp. When they were"spotted"it wasseen that they had adopted the tactics of Malcolm's army when it came to Birnam wood on the marchagainstMacbeth :— " Let every soldier hew him downabough, Andbear 't beforehim:thereby shall weshadow The numbers of our host."

The Spaniardshad cut fronds of fern andlarge palm leaves, and fastened them in their caps, belts andbandoliers. Thus they were unseen as they worked through the bush, and could even stealthily and quietly cross openings in it unobserved. It was the Cuban guides who first calledthe attention of the Americans tothis ruse of forest warfare, andit was curious that often a Cuban scout with his unaided sight was able to point out the enemy's skirmishers where the officers with their field glasses had failed to distinguish them. What were the enemy's losses no one could say. All the fire from the camp was at random into the bush, and the Spaniards seemedto bevery little impressedby it.

Some field pieces and a fresh party of marines were landed in the evening. The crest of the hill had been entrenched during the day, a reinforcementof sixty Cubans had comein who, it was hoped, would be useful as bush fighters, and the camp wasin a better position. As soon asnight fell,the Spaniards again closedin upon the front, and the flicker and crackle of their rifles went on all night. The losses of the marines were their sergeant-major killedand five men wounded. Everyone was exhausted with want of sleep. Happily, however, for the little garrison, the Spanish fire almost ceasedduring the Monday;further Cuban reinforcements to the number of about 300 were ferried across the bay by the boats of the warships,and the night that followedwasperfectlyquiet. Allexceptthe men on outpost duty slept the deep sleep of wearied men. The Cuban scouts had by this timefound the position of the Spanish campin the bush, and on Tuesday morning it was determined to attack it. It was about four miles away at a point where there were the only wells ofgood waterto be found for milesin thebush. Inthe forenoona little columnnearly 600 strong marched out from the American camp. It consistedofhalf abattalion ofmarinesunder Captain Elliot and Lieutenants Neville and Mahoney, andacompany of CubansunderColonels Laborde and Tomas. Ranks have a tendency to run high in Cuban armies, however small the force. Nevertheless, though the two colonels were pre-They hadlost forty killedin the action;these werefound on the ground. Theyhadcarried off some woundedwith them in their retreat. The loss of the victors was only six— namely, one of the marines seriously wounded,and two Cubans killed and three wounded. The camp was burned, the wellsfilled with stones and rubbish, and the column returned to camp. After this the attacks of the Spaniards ceased.

Such was the first fight onCuban soil. It was a series of mere skirmishes,only important because it was the first actual experienceot what the Spaniards could do on land. It increased the growing feeling that the struggle for Cuba would be long and costly, and made men pay littleattentionto Admiral Sampson's prediction that, within twenty-four hours of the landing of even 10,000 men, Santiago could be easily captured.