Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1898 — Before Santiago. [ARTICLE]

Before Santiago.

A lieutenant, who was among the wounded before Santiago, thus describes the sensation of being a target for a rapid-fire gun: “We were going forward under a scattering fire from the front, and all at once, off at the right, a rapid-firing gun opened on us. There was no smoke, so we couldn’t locate the battery exactly, but we could see the bullets playing over the long grass like spray from a hose. They didn’t have the range at first, and thjt shower of bullets went swinging bamt and forth, clipping off the tops of tpe grass and coming nearer us with ev<ry sweep. You can’t imagine the sensations it gave us to watch that deafcspray, driven by some invisible, relentless force, creeping on and on. reaching oat, and feeling for us. There was something unnatural about it, and we watched as though we were fascinated by IL I didn’t feel as if men had anything to do with it It was an impersonaL deadly enemy that I couldn’t fight and couldn’t escape. There wasn’t a living enemy within sight. At last, with one big sweep the shower reached te Men all around me dropped, and then I felt a sting in my side, and down I went. I believe we were all thankful when that gun found us. It relieved the tension—but it ended my fighting.”