with General Toral, General Miles
generously left the honor of receiving the surrender of the Spanish
forces to General Shafter. From the moment of his arrival on the
island, General Miles had control of all military affairs. No greater
discretion was ever given to an officer, but he used it wisely, and
then allowed the honors to pass to another.

[Illustration: General Nelson A. Miles.]

Some of our naval officers went into the harbor and exploded all the
"mines," and the harbor was once more safe and open to all vessels.
The war was not really at an end, but it was known that Spain could
not hold out much longer.

One of the devoted Red Cross workers tells this story: "One of the
most dramatic incidents of the war was the entrance of the Red Cross
into Santiago, a few days later. Recognizing the great services
rendered, the army officers experienced almost a change of heart, and
the relief ship State of Texas was put ahead of anything, even
Shafter, Sampson and Schley following respectfully in the rear. There
were the two armies, the conquerors and the conquered, the wrecked
ships of Spain, the starving Cubans, the silence of the grave hung
over all; the memory of horrors gone before--of battle, murder and
tragedy; and now was coming the first gleaming hope to a perishing
people. Said Miss Barton:

[Illustration: General Jose Toral.]

"'Can somebody sing the Doxology?'

"'Praise God from whom all blessings flow' rang out in quavering
chorus from the dozen men and women on the deck of the State of
Texas, taken up and repeated here and there on battleships and shore,
till the green hills that mirror Santiago re-echoed the song of
thanksgiving, while gallant soldiers were not ashamed of tears, and
the dying waved their feeble hands."

One of the problems of the war was how to dispose of the Spanish
prisoners. It would cost a big sum to feed them and to guard them, and
so it was decided to send them back to Spain. Ships were provided and
this was done. The Spaniards who were sick and wounded received the
same care and consideration that was given to the Americans who were
in the same conditions. The humorous side of the affair was that, the
contract to convey the troops to Spain was given to a Spanish
Steamship Company.

I have spoken before of the other large island belonging to Spain--the
island of Porto Rico. Late in July General Miles took a large body of
troops there to take possession. These troops had mu