s made for about fifteen minutes, when, the
fury of the downpour having somewhat abated, we once more began to move
ahead. The cavalry had gone off on a side road for some purpose not known
to me, and the infantry was deployed in long lines to the right and left,
while the artillery brought up the rear at an interval of about a hundred
yards. At half-past three the skirmishers came to the Rio Rosario, but,
being unable to ford it, were called back to the road and started across
the iron bridge, already described by General Schwan. It was at this moment
that the Spanish forces opened fire, concealed in a dense undergrowth about
500 yards in our front.

All jammed together as we were, it would seem that we might have been
absolutely slaughtered by the leaden hail which was poured in upon us; and
the only explanation of our marvellous immunity probably lies in the fact
that the enemy were surprisingly bad shots. Bullets whistled by our heads,
or kicked up the dirt at our feet; but, though the pop of rifles made up a
continuous sound like the opening of a hundred thousand beer-bottles, not a
vestige of smoke rose in the clear air, not a patch of hostile uniform was
to be seen.

For some reason our infantry did not at once reply to the Spanish
fusillade; and during this brief interval two men and two horses were
wounded in the platoon of artillery which stood idly just behind the
foot-soldiers,--too close, in fact, to be of any service, and in the way
of everybody. Then the two Gatling guns under Lieutenant Maginnis went off
into the field at our right, where they began to speak for themselves; and
Gatling guns in action have a mighty cheerful effect upon your nerves,
if they happen to be on your side of the fracas. Next, an order from the
general sent the artillery galloping to the rear for about an eighth of a
mile, where, after a short detour to the left and a mad race across swampy,
ditch-dug fields, it took up a temporary position on a convenient knoll.
The main body of our command had meanwhile arrived, and got into the row
without ceremony, the firing now being heavy on both sides. My memory
serves me with no clear impression of the sequence of events after this
period.

[Illustration: Mouth of the Mayaguez River.]

During the first hour of our fighting all the powder used by us was as
smokeless as that of the foe, and again and again the remark was passed
that this did not seem like the real business of war. In ot