The Cavalry at Santiago 121 



from the minute steel-coated bullet, with its very 

 high velocity, were certainly "nothing like as seri- 

 ous as those made by the old large-calibre, low- 

 power rifle. If a man was shot through the heart, 

 spine, or brain he was, of course, killed instantly; 

 but very few of the wounded died even under the 

 appalling conditions which prevailed, owing to the 

 lack of attendance and supplies in the field-hospitals 

 with the army. 



While we were lying in reserve we were suffering 

 nearly as much as afterward when we charged. I 

 think that the bulk of the Spanish fire was prac- 

 tically unaimed, or at least not aimed at any par- 

 ticular man, and only occasionally at a particular 

 body of men ; but they swept the whole field of bat- 

 tle up to the edge of the river, and man after man 

 in our ranks fell dead or wounded, although I had 

 the troopers scattered out far apart, taking advan- 

 tage of every scrap of cover. 



Devereux was dangerously shot while he lay with 

 his men on the edge of the river. A young West 

 Point cadet, Ernest Haskell, who had taken his holi- 

 day with us as an acting second lieutenant, was shot 

 through the stomach. He had shown great cool- 

 ness and gallantry, which he displayed to an even 

 more marked degree after being wounded, shaking 

 my hand and saying, "All right, Colonel, I'm go- 

 ing to get well. Don't bother about me, and don't 



VOL. XL P 



