IN THE TRENCHES 



\\ T HEN the shrapnel burst among us on the hill- 

 V V side we made up our minds that we had 

 better settle down to solid siege work. All of the 

 men who were not in the trenches I took off to the 

 right, back of the Catling guns, where there was 

 a valley, and dispersed them by troops in sheltered 

 parts. It took us an hour or two's experimenting 

 to find out exactly what spots were free from dan- 

 ger, because some of the Spanish sharp-shooters 

 were in trees in our front, where we could not pos- 

 sibly place them from the trenches ; and these were 

 able to reach little hollows and depressions where 

 the men were entirely safe from the Spanish artil- 

 lery and from their trench-fire. Moreover, in one 

 hollow, which we thought safe, the Spaniards suc- 

 ceeded in dropping a shell, a fragment of which 

 went through the head of one of my men, who, as- 

 tonishing to say, lived, although unconscious, for 

 two hours afterward. Finally, I got all eight troops 

 settled, and the men promptly proceeded to make 

 themselves as much at home as possible. For the 



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