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A
eelman’s Courage on the
Firing Line.
By Captain Fritz Duquesne.
is no better known name P®oks, finding time to gather such a
country than that of treasure.
Ask James Creelman to tell of some
or his hair-breadth escapes.
- I reelman, and none more
- in re\\ >paper and literarj'
--i west of the meridian
!i, ard north and south of
- hr kn^wn? Ask, and no
cive y>^u the same an-
• \«w Y''^rker of the last
V '^'.vs James Creelman as
A 'paprrman who was a
' it'itffs: the rxpo'cr of
. 'a'av railrond fraud; the
!es causpd the United
:m its immigration laws,;
••'1 stopped the pjarhape
n pi '.Intinc: thr New York
pradi.ally became the
•^r in the columns of
•'wrifinR; for. Xnt only
.M’e dtimpinff stopped, but
' fre punished.
> - cr knows Tames Crecl-
r -’..m wlio followed the
I-’ It.ily he is known as
“1 to interview the Pope. In
!!io\v him as the corres-
!a’f a d^’en newspapers.
' * vTsicnr James Creelman is
11':.in who established a
f r the E'-iropean New York
R ;''ia lie is known as the
■' • areat T'-'l'toy, with whom
' ' In ^Texico he is the
' d V'ioprapher of Pres-
In Cuba he is known as th'*
'’ j.ced the re?pon«;ibilitiPS of
of the natives right at
' ’••!''r's door. Americans re-
• t James Creelman led the
soldiers at El Caney dnr-
."^v-iniih-American war. The
■mert knows him as a
" , ',nt of the republic. Most
.;.'!’s people remember h.im
ne-i'in war correspondent
; ; k of his life, exposed
'5 of the Japar.ese soldiers
' war against the Chinese.
■ ■ was old enough to read.
" • ^t a sensation the Creel-
■- . ;-cd at the time, and
' ^ ' • ■rif.ed protest rose in
. w •■; !•! against the cruelties
•'? wl'o mas:=acrcd every
•" ar.j child in Fort Ar-
‘'c t-)\vn had surrendered to
ago James Creelman
c'!i"^rsliip of a lending
f ’c-' Mie a Commissioner of
ni Xp\v York, and to get
•' t ' finish his biography of
■ of Mexico, which will
' • ry Mexico's dcvclop-
t 'lC giu'ding brain of the
■ ’•"an 5‘artcd his life vrith-
. ' n to speak of, but that
^ iS _no obitacle to him. It
■e an outlet to his volcanic
='cal energy. Hc.edi^J-
tn’.’gh^ himself a couple
:'nd the most difficult
"11, that of writing for,
^ liting a newspaper, and
e was twenty-seven. He is
•' ■T';"! middle age, and the
• t Iv a few of the things he
"1. a selection of inci-
• ' ir husv life of America’s
* > journalist.
'I 'lman, despite his vast ac-
'Cry conservative in his
, flTfl it is only a favored
"c on intimate terms enough
etiter his home. Home it
re ; it is a repository of one
' • collections of antiques, art,
•ir? that have been gotten
• t'.r United States. From the
' ■.e attic, in every corner and
'f wall space are crowded
'"I treasures, every one of
=> hist'iry, and most of which
■ f'le possession of their pres-
*' ''.rough some strange hap-
• 'ine weird adventure. Mar-
’ : r -5 from Pompeii, jewels
: ^'nistoric graves of Mexico,
' -r' from the royal palace
’•’liforms and w’eapons from
• ' of Ping Yang, swords,
masterpieces, ancient and
‘ ” >r, ancient bronze cannon,
'■ :' tographs from the world’s
r::gs fr-im Persian treasure
• from European palaces,
^ fr-'in everywhere, and each
i witii its enchanting his-
•■’n hardly imagine a man
'•d such an active life, roam-
rH with warring armies, edit-
p' r«, fighting for the coimtry
'■ -^tir treaties, and writing
“Look here, now,” he’ll answer, “I’ve
past that age; I am interested in the
more serious things of life. I am in
terested in writing my life of President
Diaz for D. Appleton & Co., and the
problem of educating the mighty army
of New York children.”
One glance around the study, with
its well-worn, almost worn out, vol
umes, from the Enclycopedia Piritsnnia
to the la^t ma.stcrpiccc of R'.'stanJ, tells
one it is a hopelcfs task to draw the
the fort. We also found that we were a
mile in advance of our own lines, but
we felt pretty sure that there was no
danger of a sortie to capture us, -be
cause the enemy Avas not likely to leave
the works to capturfe three men while
waiting for a whole division.
Gradually the sound of infantry
firing broke on the air in our rear
and spread all over the country.
Away to the left we could sec the
artillery of our center flashing, and
part of a brigade fighting its w^ay
through the trees'and bushes. Slowly
the lines of Chaffee’s brigade moved
from ridge to ridge behind us, swing
ing further and further to the right,
and keeping up a continuous fire as
they approached the Spanish lines. In
front of the fort, which bore the
Spanish flag, there was a trench, from
In spite of the fact that the sun was
not yet up the air was intensely hot.
I had to w'alk to El Paso, where the
base of the center of the army was
fixed, and then I followed a narrow
trail through the ehaperell for about
five miles to the right in company with
a Cuban scout. I had to wade across
streams and tear my way tiirough thick ,whicii the Spaniaids kept up a steady
bush until my hands and lace bled froni|Cire, and some of the fire was directi**i
the scratches. I reached a hilltop ini toward us, so that we had to i*e on
time to see the first shot of the fight our faces to make as smaM a target
tired from a great distance to our rear as possible. In front of the trench
at the stone fort on the hill guarding
h'l Caney. On this hill flew the only
Spanish flag anywhere in sijil.t, and the
they had been attacking. When Cap*
tain* Walsh had placed jiis men on
the hilltop, I lay dow^n in the firing
line with the men. I was the only
non-combatant in the line and when
our men w'ere wounded I assisted in
bandaging them. The heat of the
sun was almost unbearable. The
Spaniards fought like heroes. Both
sides were usii g smokeless pow^der,
and that made'the game additionally
dangerous and mysterious. Captain
Walsh was finally convinced that he
had silenced the trench and the fort,
for he could see no movement in
either, but still the “pingl pingl” of
bullets continued. Captain Walsh loid
me that he feared that a part of
another American brigade had moved
up to the other side of the hill on
which the fort stood, and that our
men w'ere being killed by American
bullets. I tried to persuade the cap
tain to make a charge up the hill
and try to take the fort and the flag.
Having twice crept dov»n the hillside
i had got a close view of the slope
ascending to the fort, and had seen a
sort of wrinkle up which our troops
might steal until they w'ere close
enough to make a short rush. The
captain agreed with me that it was
a very reasonable plan, but pointeil
there was a barbed wire fence about . empty ammunition belts
five feet high, v/hich extended at a! of his men and shook his head,
distance of about thirty feet all round I moved off to the right, where
the number of Spaniards alive on
the hill. Then I suggested a charge
and’olTered to show the troops, if he
sent them, a safe way up the hill.
The general sent infarttry to investi
gate and in a few’ minutes Company
F of the Twelfth w'as making a
reconnaisance. I descended to a little
mango grove at the foot of the hill
from which the rush was to be made.
Just as I goi there Company F started
up the wrong side of the hill—that is.
the side towards the village, and not
the side we had been firing upon.
Almost immediately the soldiers can)e
shrieking down the hill, some of them
wounded. They had encountered the
main fire of the enemy from the
breastworks in front of Chaffee’s posi
tion. I talked to Captain Clark, who
rommandod the company, and told
him of my plan, but he was not very
enthusiastic about it. I sat dow’ii
under a mango tree with the soldiers
.Tud jotted d'V.vn some notes of my story.
We were at that time in the very
vortex of the cross fire. The bark
was chijjped from the trees by the
storm of bullrts. The sound was like
the cry of wild animals in agony.
At this juncture Captain Haskell,
acting adjutant of the battalion to
wdiich Company F belonged, came
dov.’n to where I was—a fine old
white-bearded, clear-eyed veteran. I
told him that I thought the fort could
'J-
%
V
i
I
m
%
grea»t war correspoindent out nf his
studious preoccupation to the dangers
of the many bloody battlefields on which
he has been the eye witness of civilisa
tion, if he has not taken an active part,
as he did at El Canev, of which lie
was the hero.
What made Creelman face death tirnes
out of number? His duty to his paper
did not call for that. True, the ambi
tion of the correspondent is to get a
beat, but he is hardly likely to get
anything else but a bullet when leading
an attack, as Creelman did at El Canej',
armed with a formidable lead pencil.
Was it duty that made him assume the
responsibilities of a United States offi
cer, and rush the Spanish fort, or was
it the lure of peril?
Creelman refuses to talk adventure, so
to get this story it was necessary to
explore the pigeonholes of a London
newspaper office, where this fragment
of his adventurous life is stored; I
chose to be with the right wing of
our army before Santiago, because I
was assured by General Shafter, the
commanding general, that the center and
left wings would not be seriously en
gaged until another day. The right
wing. Lawton's division, containing
Chaffee’s brigade, was to occupy the
extreme right of our whole line, and
was to attack the foot of El Caney
at daybreak. I had already been out
side our lines scouting and examining
the Spanish entrenchments. For days I
never knew what it was to have dry
clothes on, so great was my desire to
understand clearly the nature of the ac
tion that was about to occur. I knew
from the isolated locality of El Caney
that the right wing would be practically
independent of the rest of the army, and
a very desperate engagement might be
expected there. From a newspaper
point of - view, the scene at El Caney,
with our infantry closing on the stone
fort, entrenchments and blockhouses,
was likely to be the supreme spectacle
of the battle of Santiago.
I had no horse and had to go on
foot. At three o’clock on the morning
of the battle, before it was daylight, I
left headquarters alone for the front.
first shot of the battle was fired at that
mark. The thought came into my mind
that perhaps before the day was done
I might have that flag in my posses
sion. I could not hear anyth.ing of our
infantry, which was advancing slowly,
but had not yet come into range; neither
could I see our lines because of the hills
and tlie thick bush. But I knew that if
I wanted to write something intensely
human and full of the finest elements
of fighting interest. I mus*- manage
without guidance to get a placc where
I could see our infantry close in upon
the fort and its neighboring intrench-
ments. Presently I cam^' acioss two
other correspondents, who had not
been under fire before, and who agreed
to follow my lead, although expressing
doubts as to my prudence. Of course,
1 was not prudent;- perhaps T was not |position, ^he
Cutting the Barbed Entaiirjienu nt at i::l Luncy.
tht fort, intended to arrest any''inti Seventeenth regim ntn. My pur-
charge. ipose wa; to let him ki.ow what had
jihe Spani?rdb began to hre from he*-- gou'^ on and if possible to as
certain .whether our troops had been
undei fire from their comrades on the
the loonholes ol the for* and che
breastworks to the ngnt kept af. a
heavy rain of bullets irom ''lauser '"'^ber side ot the hill. When
and Remiiigtoi. /epeateri. Our ime.-5 jGener al Chafiee I found tne
moved on closer '•nd too’’ up a fixeo.^w regiments »ng on their fate.-^
'X'wclfth inianti*^' regi- *hard r wor)* ’v’th their rifles, while
'liy'tht .Spaniard'’ xvere keeping up a ter
rific i'lre. Scores of wounded lay on
ment moving rtg,ainst he torts
wise; but when you come down- to the
plain facts, no thoroughly prudent man
ever undertook to be a war correspond
ent in the field.
My sole idea was to get close to the
fort before our troops arrived, for a ^
man can see little with his own eyes Tif [works thrown up before the village
he is in the rear. At last we got on a ' After several nours oi hrini^ , left
hill in front of the fort within veryjthe hill and found Company C of the -■■■-• , .... ' r i
f ■ , c • , -a U. ir,i • • 1 bullet clipped a button from hia
close range of the Spanish riflemen. |Twelfth regimeni in a roadway pour- lie smiled in a half-startled.
There was only a tiny valley betwxen ling a deadly firt against the trench half-amused way. I so ex
hausted by his time that I could
hardly stand up. And when I sat dcwn
in ^he shadow of a ♦.*ee General
Chafjee joined me a few iiioments.
^ told him how '■los*' T har- oeen to
sepai-ftte companies operating inae-j^|,g j^^re and there was
pendently and the Seventeentn regi-, r,n ^ ;caa The r.nly man standing
ment, under the peisonal direction ot was Geneiai Chaffee, v*ho raged up
General Chaffee, Ij'ing on a ridge im- U^nd oown behind his men, sv^ earing
.• 4 , • r • r *1 and Tr'^’insT on the figiit. I never saw
mecnateh’ in front of the main breast- ^ ^ ^
j , / , r ,,, a finer soldier, and never a more \\ar-
like face. His eyes seemed to flash
fire as he >tormed up and down the
line. While I was talking co him a
us and the encmy--sb;‘dti?_e were ive, jin front of the fort I induced Captain
indeed, that we could. s€*e\Uiem at work]Walsh, -who commanded, to bring his
without bui glassc^ tim« vrt j company up the hill where 1 had been
found that we wer.e di.r?ctlj. m line, of j s tanding which commandeo tne trench
fire bet\\xcn our battery in the r-€^i~ and ^ General Chaffee was with the Seventh 1 the fort and its* trench, ,nd gave him,
as nearly as I could, an estimate of
he taken without the loss of i life
by a charge on the wrinkled sid^ of
the hill, ffe promptlj'- accepted my
offer to lead the way and ordered
Company F and part of another com
pany to follow me. I stepped through
the line of buslir?, followed by Cap
tain Haskell and the troops, and
started up the hill. The troops came
on slowly, and vvhrn I found myself
actually out on the clear, fscarped
slofie leading up to the trench, where
even a mouse couhl not hide itself,
I walked fast. I could see the lines
of soldiers on all .sides watching the
a.scent. Gradually I got away from
onr line, sn that bj’ the time I was
within twenty fert of the barbed wire
fence I was at lea^t two hundred feet
aliead of Captain Ha-'kell and his men.
1 wa.s absidutely alone. 1 stopped
for a moment and examined the fort
and trend), only a few feet from me,
and wluls't I stood fiiere T could hear
my heart beating like a hammer on
an anvil.
For l:>e first time I reali;:ed my danger,
any in = trint niight see my death. With a
supreme effort I flung off my fear. I
turned around and. making a ^cissorslike
motion of my fingers, indicated to Cap
tain _IIaskell that I wanted m.en with
wire cutters. He hurried forward two
gallant fellows who, wdthout a word,
obeyed my signals and cut the fence
dov.-n. It took but a few seconds to
do this, and I stepped through the
fence and walked up to the trench,
standing on the edge and looking
into it. Th,e trench was filled with
dead and dying men. Those wdio
were unhurt were crouching dow'n
waiting for the end. I ni'ide a-signal
to one of the privates who had cut
the wire fence to advance and covei
the men in the trench with his rifle,
and when he had done it I ordered
the Spaniards, who had not even
looked at me, to stand up and sur
render, They leaped up at once and
dorpped their rifles. I must say it took
a little of the glory o^t of my work
W’hen T eaw how pleased they loolce3
to gtt throngh v.'itlr t’:e m.^ctcr so
easily. Tiien I jr.rnpetJ across the
trench ard ran aroniul to the entrance
of tlie fc>rt which '.vns at the s.ide.
I wantf^d to get th^ jbg. , j wa^^tec!
it for my conntr}’-, anJ ’ I w?.nicd it
for my newsoaper.
Although t could not tell wh.nl
danger Ir.rkcd in t-;? fort it v. as too
late to think of tr.rning back, bccau'f
a volley could have ended me at thal
inonitnt. As I entered the fort the
srrne 1 beheld v.-a' loo horrible for
words to express. Our fire had killed
most of its defenders. 1 found neat
the door the officer in conunand, sur
rounded by all of the gari'ison thal
was left ali-1-e.i A wail of terror w;nl
up from the wouiuicd men, \^■ri^hi"5
in tl’.o'i' blood on the lloor, as thnv
saw me. Tust iusld; tVr (U'or ?too(l
a 5'’oung f^panish rdtirer. surrourdcd
by his men. Ili.s face v.as bloodies?
and his lips were drawn a-,v:iy fr.>m
his teeth in gha-tly w'ly. Beside
him was a soldier hc>ldirg a r?-'iT'‘od,
to which was fa«te!’.*d a white hand
kerchief—a mute appeal for 'ife.
The oli'icer threw liis h:ind: np.
lie could speak Frrnrh. Wnnld he
surrender? Yes, yt'^ • ])o v.ith
him wdiat wr pleased. I'id he r’ldcr*
stand that- if his rren tired another
shot lii.^ s.Tfrty con’d uc't l e a'^sured?
Yes, yes, yes: and every Spaniard
dropped his weapon.
I looked above the roofles; walls
for the flag. It was t-'one. A lump
came in my throat. 'I'hr prize 5iad
disappeared. "A shell carri(-d tiie flaj»
away,” said the Spanish of'ficer. “U
is lying outside.” Pa'^hing through
the door anfl running around to the
side facing l-'l C.aney, ! saw the red
ajid yelloM' flag lying in thf du«t. a
frayment of the staff still altr.cl cd to
it. I picked it up and w: g -rd it at
the intrenched village. wi'^or n.an
would have refrained from that chal
lenge, but I was not wise that day.
Instantly the Spanish intrenchmentS
on the village slopes replied with
volleys, and I ran, in a cloud of dust,
to the other side of the fort, where
out soldiers seized the captured flag,
waved it and cheered like madmen.
l’'roni every hillside came the sound
of shouting troops as the torn symbol
of victory was tossed from hand to
hand.
.Mthough bullets were beating
around the door of the fort. Captain
ITaskell, who with Captain Clark had
kept the rifles of Company F busily
employed, agreed io enter and assure
the prisoners of their rafety.
We -went in, and v.liilf’ -\vc stood
talking to the Spanish oli-.'cr. T felt
a stinging pain in tlie M.j per v '
the Irft arm, as thoM';’; a Mc-.v hnfl
been struck with a '■! -:t H '’'Iv;
sensation was no ir,'>re I'.n.l no
than that whirh mii.’h.t lave c-orn-’.
from a rough punch h\> s-niM* too hi
larious friend. It wliirlr-'l ir:e h.a’f
around but iid not kno'k ni'; dov.n.
'i'he next moment tl.err- a-, n- a nurrh-
nrs*: in the arm, a dartinr: pain in the
hand an*l a sharp srn'.'ition in the
back, '.riir arm liting loo'C ns tlio-igh
it did not belong to lue. A Mauser
builrt, entering c>ne of tl’e loophole^,
had sma«Iied the arm and torn a hole
in my back.
It is not necessary to d^*':cribe how
I staggered to a hammock in a coni-
partment of the fort and lay there,
hearing my own blood drip; how
Major John A. Logan and five of bin
gallant men passed me out of the
fort' throngh a hole made by our
artillery, and how I was ( irried dr>wn
the hill and laid on the I'adside
among the wounded, wit’’ the capfnrcd
Spanish colors thrown over nir-. After
all, it wa5 a mere p.M‘■•(it:.-il incident
in a well-fought battV, am! hnndrcdft
of other men had .‘^uflVrod rnore.
Our troops were still fighting th^'if
way into the village,^ anfl we cfMih^.
hear the sa\age rip-rif> of the rifles
in the distance and hear ths calling
of bugles.
Then an American flag was carried
past us on its way to the fort, and
brave Captain Ha'kell, with buVlet
holes in his neck and log. lifted him
self painfully on one eli>ow'_ to gref't
it. A wounded ne.gro ‘oldier ra'iserl
his bloody hand to his head in .salute.
Bullets rang above the heads of the
.surgeons as they bent over the vic
tims.
The heat v.-as terrific. Things sv-am
in the air. Tliere w^as a strange yellow
glare over ever3'thing. V-.iices of
thunder seemed to c'-in'’ froi-i the.
blurred figures movT’^?; to and fro.
A horse twenty feet hi(!i stamped th'j
earth with hi? feet anfl madr the dis
tant rnountains rock. IJltic ii y hl.-ti;
kept dropping dov.m fror.i \vh^ re
and the- world v.’as whirling
do'w.’n. Some one v.as being killed.
Who was being killed? Why was the
general standing on one leg and hav
ing ?11 his buttons s'lr.t off.’ Copy I
Copy! In one hour the paper goes to
press! ,
•A hand touched rnv fev'-red head.
1 opened my eyes. Mir. Her.rst v.as
on his kn?t-3 at my side, a T.uger in
his belt and a pencil and note book in
his hands. As the biili''t'5 his'^ed
around us I dictated to him tlie story
h gr
I thought it was my hiht .is'ignn.ent
my duty to my paper cailcd for a
beat. iBetween my sv/ooning fi’s I
jerked out the sentences till t'iie copy
w'as complete. A few direction^, a
shake of the hand, a; d a- my sense-;
again commenced to swim T ^avv-
Hearst gsilloj) off to tne coz7.t in a
race tc- win a beat.
In a sort of haze I sa-.v an rxbu-
lancc attendant stoop over me. “Loc-
tor,” he said, ‘'I gn«-ss tids war cor
respondent’s all in; n'*’s about bled to
death, judging from look'^.” "Carry
him out of danger and I'll attend to
him as .soon as I get through :vith
this poor devil,” answered the doctor.
Thanks to a good consMtution 1 am
still capable of covering an assign
ment.
Copyright, loio, hy MctrcpolUan
- Syndicate,
released for publication FEB. 4. igix.