Young's Fight at Las Guasimas 97 



crowding in too closely, and called out, "Keep 

 your interval, sir; keep your interval, and go 

 forward !" 



A perfect hail of bullets was sweeping over us as 

 we advanced. Once I got a glimpse of some Span- 

 iards, apparently retreating, far in the front, and 

 to our right, and we fired a couple of rounds after 

 them. Then I became convinced, after much anxi- 

 ous study, that we were being fired at from some 

 large red-tiled buildings, part of a ranch on our 

 front. Smokeless powder, and the thick cover in 

 our front, continued to puzzle us, and I more than 

 once consulted anxiously the officers as to the exact 

 whereabout of our opponents. I took a rifle from 

 a wounded man and began to try shots with it my- 

 self. It was very hot and the men were getting ex- 

 hausted, though at this particular time we were not 

 suffering heavily from bullets, the Spanish fire go- 

 ing high. As we advanced, the cover became a 

 little thicker and I lost touch of the main body under 

 Wood ; so I halted and we fired industriously at the 

 ranch buildings ahead of us, some five hundred 

 yards off. Then we heard cheering on the right, 

 and I supposed that this meant a charge on the part 

 of Wood's men, so I sprang up and ordered the men 

 to rush the buildings ahead of us. They came for- 

 ward with a will. There was a moment's heavy 

 firing from the Spaniards, which all went over our 

 VOL. XL E 



