THE CAPTURE OF PONCE. 411 nouseful object couldbe obtained by a hopeless resistance.

the command of General Brooke, appeared off Arroyo, a little more than forty miles to the eastward of Ponce. The troops were disembarked withoutmeetingwith the leastresistance.

General Miles's object in landing this force so far to the eastward was to have them in a position to act against the flank and threaten the line of communicationsof the Spanish troops at Aibonito, when he himself advanced against their front.

Colonel San Martin took a middle course. He did not surrender, but he evacuated the port, withdrawing to the hills, after having destroyed the telegraph instruments belonging to the cable from Kingston, Jamaica, which comes ashore at Port Ponce,and setting fire to the rolling stock in the railway station. As soon ashe was gone,the Americans landed and succeeded in saving most of the railway rolling stock from destruction, an important gain now that Garretson held the other end of the line at Yauco. General Miles arrived by sea from Guanica on the followingmorning, and, landing with General Wilson, proceeded to Ponce city, escorted by the American vanguard. The generals were received by the mayor, Senor Colon, accompanied by the foreign consuls. Flags were flying from the houses, and the American troops were heartily cheered by the people as they marched in. General Miles published a proclamation announcing that he had come to bring freedom to the island, and that he was making war only against the Spanish garrison.

For the next few daysthere wasno movement of importance. The Americans pushed their advanced posts a few miles inland,moving very cautiouslyandreconnoitring thecountry in their front. The outpost work and the reconnaissances were not very well done,and there were many complaints that the volunteers raised false alarms,reporting strong bodies of the enemy to be at hand, whenall that had been seen were a few Spanish cavalry patrols. Doubt was thrown on the information available at headquarters, and many beganto suspect that the strength of the Spanish force at Aibonito had been exaggerated, and that time was being lost through over-caution.

On the 5th General Brooke with Hains' brigade advanced to Guayama. Before entering the town he had a sharp skirmish with a small force of about 400 Spaniards. Three of the Ohio Volunteers were wounded. The Spaniards,outnumbered and without artillery, made a very brief stand and retired towards Cayey.

The capture of Ponce gave the expedition a secure base, in the midst of a rich district abounding in supplies of all kinds, and at the starting-point of the excellentmilitary road constructed by the Spaniards across the island to San Juan.

The railway to Yauco was got into working order, and on July 31st Wilson's vanguard pushed on to the town of Juan Diaz, eight miles fromPonce, where they were welcomedby the mayor and the townspeople. The Spaniards were reported to be concentrating at Aibonito, where the military road crosses a bold ridge of the mountains. The cableinstrumentshad been replaced, and on this day General Miles was able to telegraph to Washington:— " Volunteers are surrendering themselves witharms and ammunition. Four-fifths of the people are overjoyed at the arrival of our army ; 2,000 from one place have volunteered to serve with it. They are bringing in transport, cattle, and other needed supplies. The custom house has already yielded 14,000 dollars. As soon as all the troops are disembarked, they will be inreadiness to move."

On August 2nd another landing took place. Escorted by the cruisers St. Louis and Cincinnati,the transportsconveying Hains' brigade ot infantry and the artillery and cavalry that had been embarkedat HamptonRoads,all under The position of the American forces on August 8th was this. Three columns and a reserve brigadehadbeen organised. Garretson's brigade, now transferred to the command of Colonel Henry, was to move on the left, by Adjuntas, across the island to Arecibo, on the north coast, west of San Juan. Most of the way theroad was a mere track over the hills,and it was decided that the greater part of his artillery and heavy baggage should be conveyed by sea to Arecibo. Thence a railway and a goodroad ran to SanJuan. In thecentre Wilson's brigade, accompanied by General Miles and the headquarters, was to advance by the great military road direct on Coamo and then on Aibonito. His vanguard held Juan Diaz. On the right General Brooke, with Hains' brigade, was to advance from Guayama on Cayey, where there was a Spanish garrison. At Cayey he would be on the line of the great military road to San Juan,and wouldbe able to operate against the left flank and rear of the Aibonito position.