ention that kindly and skilful surgeons could give him. His first
words to me were that he was afraid he could not write much of a story, as
he was pretty well dazed, but if I would write for him he would dictate
the best he could. I sat down among the wounded, and Creelman told me his
story of the fight. Here it is:

"'The extraordinary thing in this fight of all the fights I have seen, is
the enormous amount of ammunition fired. There was a continuous roar of
musketry from four o'clock in the morning until four in the afternoon.

[Illustration: VICE-PRESIDENT HOBART.]

"'Chaffee's brigade began the fight by moving along the extreme right,
with Ludlow down in the low country to the left of Caney. General
Chaffee's brigade consisted of the Seventeenth, Seventh, and Twelfth
Infantry, and was without artillery. It occupied the extreme right.

"'The formation was like two sides of an equilateral triangle, Ludlow to
the south, and Chaffee to the east.

"'Ludlow began firing through the brush, and we could see through the
palm-trees and tangle of bushes the brown and blue figures of our soldiers
in a line a mile long, stealing from tree to tree, bush to bush, firing as
they went.

"'Up here on the heights General Chaffee, facing Caney, moved his troops
very early in the morning, and the battle opened by Ludlow's artillery
firing on the fort and knocking several holes in it.

"'The artillery kept up a steady fire on the fort and town, and finally
demolished the fort. Several times the Spaniards were driven from it, but
each time they returned before our infantry could approach it.

"'Our artillery had but four small guns, and, though they fired with great
accuracy, it was ten hours before they finally reduced the stone fort on
the hill and enabled our infantry to take possession.

"'The Twelfth Infantry constituted the left of our attack, the Seventeenth
held the right, while the Seventh, made up largely of recruits, occupied
the centre.

"'The Spanish fired from loopholes in the stone houses of the town, and,
furthermore, were massed in trenches on the east side of the fort. They
fought like devils.

"'From all the ridges round about the stream of fire was kept up on
Chaffee's men, who were kept wondering how they were being wounded. For a
time they thought General Ludlow's men were on the opposite side of the
fort and were firing over it.

"'The fact was the fire came from heavy breastworks on the northwest