SMOKE FROM OUR CAMP FIRE. 



G. O. S. 



When the Chairman introduced Col. 

 James M. Bell, he asked him to tell us of 

 his part in the pursuit and capture of Chief 

 Joseph and his band of Nez Perces, whom 

 General Gibbon had a few days before 

 fought and defeated in the famous battle of 

 the Big Hole. Colonel Bell told this story 

 so modestly and so gracefully that he won 

 the hearts of all his hearers, but as he has 

 promised to write that narrative for Rec- 

 reation, I need not recount it here. 



When he finished the story of the Can- 

 yon creek fight he said, 



" I do not suppose it is necessary for me 

 to say anything here, of my humble part in 

 the Santiago campaign." 



Then there was a shout from everyone at 

 the table: 



" Go on," " Tell us about it," " You bet 

 we want to hear it," etc. 



The Colonel blushed and proceeded. 



He said his part in that tragic affair was a 

 small and unimportant one. He had but 4 

 companies of his regiment at the fight at Las 

 Guasimas; that they were fortunate in being 

 among the first troops landed when the 30 

 transports reached the harbor of Baiquiri; 

 that owing to lack of proper facilities the 

 process of landing these men in the small 

 boats was a slow, tedious, and laborious one, 

 but that finally they landed on the old rotten 

 dock. He said General Young gave him a 

 position on the road leading to Siboney, pre- 

 ceded by the First Volunteer Cavalry, and 

 followed by a Squadron of the 10th Regular 

 Cavalry. They marched until 8 o'clock that 

 night, through the narrow and difficult trail, 

 hoping to be able to reach Siboney. The 

 heat was intense and the trail strewn with 

 men overcome by it, obliging him to halt 

 his command on the trail for the night. 



During the 16 days that the troops were 

 shut up in the hot decks of the transports 

 they had subsisted on the travel ration, con- 

 sisting of cold canned beans, corned beef, 

 and hard bread. 



This ration is intended only for temporary 

 use, when troops are traveling by rail, or 

 otherwise, for a few days at a time. No 

 facilities were furnished on board for cook- 

 ing rations, not even for making a good cup 

 of coffee, and consequently the troops were 

 much debilitated for want of proper food 

 and healthful exercise. 



After sleeping in the brush exposed to an 

 all night rain, the line of march was again 

 taken up at 4 a.m. on the 24th, and the col- 

 umn reached Siboney about 5 a.m. Two 

 trails go out from Siboney in the direction 

 of Santiago, the one to the left leading over 

 and along the crest of a ridge, the one to the 



right up through a narrow valley densely 

 covered with timber and underbrush, so 

 thickly interlaced with tropical vines that it 

 was impossible in most places to penetrate it. 

 These trails form a junction about 5 miles 

 out and about midway between Siboney and 

 Santiago. The 2 squadrons of the 1st volun- 

 teer Cavalry (Rough Riders), about 500 

 men, took the left hand trail over the ridge. 

 The 1st Squadron 1st Regular Cavalry (225 

 men) followed by the 1st Squadron 10th 

 Regular Cavalry (colored, 230 men) fol- 

 lowed the right hand trail. 



These trails were so narrow and difficult 

 that in many places troops could only march 

 in single file. Both commands were dis- 



COLOXEL JAMES M. BELL. U. S. A. 



mounted, all the horses having been left in 

 Florida, and the men were armed only with 

 carbines. Advance guards and flankers 

 were thrown out and the command advanced 

 slowly, owing to the difficulty of penetrat- 

 ing the jungles on either flank. Having ad- 

 vanced about 4 miles, a group of mounted 

 Spaniards was discovered on a high point 

 about a mile distant. A careful reconnois- 

 sance was made in front of the Regular 

 Cavalry resulting in the conclusion by Gen- 

 eral Young, who was in command, that we 

 were close to the Spanish lines: but owing 

 to the dense jungle their exact location 

 could not be discovered. 



93 



