146 The Rough Riders 



and I cordially agreed with them that it would be 

 far worse than a blunder to abandon our position. 



To attack the Spaniards by rushing across open 

 ground, or through wire entanglements and low, al- 

 most impassable jungle, without the help of artil- 

 lery, and to force unbroken infantry, fighting behind 

 earthworks and armed with the best repeating weap- 

 ons, supported by cannon, was one thing; to repel 

 such an attack ourselves, or to fight our foes on 

 anything like even terms in the open, was quite an- 

 other thing. No possible number of Spaniards com- 

 ing at us from in front could have driven us from 

 our position, and there was not a man on the crest 

 who did not eagerly and devoutly hope that our 

 opponents would make the attempt, for it would 

 surely have been followed, not merely by a repulse, 

 but by our immediately taking the city. There was 

 not an officer or a man on the firing-line, so far as 

 I saw them, who did not feel this way. 



As night fell, some of my men went back to the 

 buildings in our rear and foraged through them, for 

 we had now been fourteen hours charging and fight- 

 ing without food. They came across what was evi- 

 dently the Spanish officers' mess, where their din- 

 ner was still cooking, and they brought it to the 

 front in high glee. It was evident that the Spanish 

 officers were living well, however the Spanish rank 

 and file were faring. There were three big iron 



