THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 412 all in the Pennsylvania regiment. The regiments engaged in the long-range fight to the south of the town had no casualties. The Spanish loss was eleven killed and thirty-five wounded.

Schwan's brigade was in reserve at Yauco. It received orders to move on Mayaguez and to takepossessionof the south-west of the island.

On Tuesday,August 9th, the advance began, and there was an engagement at Coamo. A correspondent, Mr. Millar, had some days before ridden from Juan Diaz towards Coamo, escorted by some Puerto Ricans. They met a patrol of four Spanish troopers,and the Puerto Ricans fled at full speed, leaving Millar in the hands of the enemy. They told him he must go to Coamo, and he was brought to the quartersof the Spanish officers who commanded the 300 cavalrymen,so far as he could ascertain the wholegarrison of the town. To his surprise, instead of treating him as a prisoner, they chatted with him in a friendly way, told him they thought the war was practically over, expressed a wish to avoid useless strife, and said they would surrender the town on certain terms. Millar was set free and rode back to headquarters, where he told General Miles that Coamo had surrendered to him. The general, who apparently wanted a fight of some kind, told him he could not recognise irregular negotiations of this kind,and that he would take no notice of them, but continuehis advance on the day already decided. So, on the 9th, there was a little battle at Coamo. Captain Anderson's batteryof the 4th Artillery shelleda blockhouse on the road south of the town. The weak fort was promptly abandoned by its small garrison. The New York Cavalry on the extreme right, the 3rd Wisconsin next to them, and the 2nd Wisconsin on the left, on both sides of the military road, then advanced upon the town in attack formation, the artillery throwing some shells into it. Meanwhilethe 16thPennsylvania, whichhad startedin the dark to work round to the north of the town by hillpaths, wasmoving towardsthepoint wherethe military road leaves the rear of the place. Colonel Hulings, who commanded the Pennsylvanians, had been ordered to cut off the Spanish retreat. Millar's information proved to be incorrect. The town washeld by three companies of the Patria regiment. They exchanged some shots with the American advance from the south, but then, becoming aware of the turning movement,evacuated the town. As they left it on the north side, they had a sharp skirmish with Hulings's column, but they, most of them, made good their retreat,leaving,however,nearly a hundred prisoners in the hands of the Americans. The Americanslost onemankilled and six wounded, The NewYork Cavalrygalloped into the town as soonasit wasevacuated. Then camethePennsylvania Volunteers from the north side and a little later the Wisconsin men. The townspeople gave them a hearty welcome. A party of Spaniards— doctors and ambulancemenunder the Red Cross— remained in Coamo and took charge not only of their own wounded,but of the wounded Americans. The prisoners were marched down to Ponce. The Spaniards, in their retreat from Coamo, blew up and more or less damaged several bridges on the military road to the north of the town. Miles pushed out an outpost line in this direction, set his engineers to work to repair the bridges, and gave his troops a rest while he reconnoitred Aibonito. The New York volunteer cavalry rode to within three miles of the Spanish position, and retreated only when the enemy's artillery opened on them.

The left column occupied Adjuntas without meeting with any resistance, and pushed on to Utado, fifteen miles to the north of the place. Its advance was delayed by the necessity of repairing, or rather making, the road. Some hundreds of Puerto Ricans were employed in this work.

On the 10th the most serious action of the campaign was fought by General Schwan's brigade at Hormigueros,on the Rosario River, nearMayaguez. Colonel Soto, the commandant of Mayaguez,had taken up a position north of the river,with the Alfonso XIII.battalion and two guns. Sclawan attacked them, the nth U.S.Infantry- leading the way,covered by the fire of two batteries. But the Spaniards did not make any determined stand ;the strength of the Americansin bothguns and men seemed to end very quickly any ideaof resistance. They retreated towards Lares, losing no prisoners, carrying off their guns, and admitting a lossot only three killed and nine wounded. The American loss was two killed and fourteen wounded in the nth Infantry,and Lieutenant Byron, Schwan's aide-de-camp,wounded in the foot. The result of the fight was the occupation of Mayaguez.

The navy had landed a party of forty men at Cape San Juan, thenorth-eastpoint of theisland. They held the lighthouse buildings, on which