enemy through glasses as if
they were enjoying the scene, and now and then you'd see a Captain or
a Lieutenant pick up a gun from a wounded or dead man and blaze
away himself at some good shot that he had caught sight of from his
advantage point. Those sights kind of bring men together and make
them think more of each other. And when a white man strayed from his
regiment and falls wounded it rather affects him to have a Negro, shot
himself a couple of times, take his carbine and make a splint of it
to keep a torn limb together for the white soldier, and then, after
lifting him to one side, pick up the wounded man's rifle and go back
to the fight with as much vigor as ever. Yes, sir, we boys have
learned something down there, even if some of us were pretty badly
torn for it."

Another witness testifies: "Trooper Lewis Bowman, another of the brave
Tenth Cavalry, had two ribs broken by a Spanish shell while before San
Juan. He told of the battle as follows:"

"'The Rough Riders had gone off in great glee, bantering up and
good-naturedly boasting that they were going ahead to lick the
Spaniards without any trouble, and advising us to remain where we were
until they returned, and they would bring back some Spanish heads as
trophies. When we heard firing in the distance, our Captain remarked
that some one ahead was doing good work. The firing became so heavy
and regular that our officers, without orders, decided to move forward
and reconnoitre When we got where we could see what was going on we
found that the Rough Riders had marched down a sort of canon between
the mountains. The Spaniards had men posted at the entrance, and as
soon as the Rough Riders had gone in had about closed up the rear
and were firing upon the Rough Riders from both the front and rear.
Immediately the Spaniards in the rear received a volley from our men
of the Tenth Cavalry (colored) without command. The Spaniards were
afraid we were going to flank them, and rushed out of ambush, in front
of the Rough Riders, throwing up their hands and shouting, 'Don't
shoot; we are Cubans.'"

"The Rough Riders thus let them escape, and gave them a chance to take
a better position ahead. During all this time the men were in all the
tall grass and could not see even each other and I feared the Rough
Riders in the rear shot many of their men in the front, mistaking them
for Spanish soldiers. By this time the Tenth Cavalry had fully taken
in the situation, and, ado