nt-Colonel Roosevelt was ordered to take three troops to the
right. Here the jungle was heavy, and no sooner had the Rough Riders
advanced than the Spaniards opened fire upon them. In speaking of the
opening of this fight, Mr. Roosevelt himself writes:--

"The effect of the smokeless powder (used by the enemy) was remarkable.
The air seemed full of the rustling sound of the Mauser bullets, for the
Spaniards knew the trails by which we were advancing, and opened heavily
on our position. But they themselves were entirely invisible. The jungle
covered everything, and not the faintest trace of smoke was to be seen
in any direction, to indicate from whence the bullets came."

It was certainly a trying time--to stand up and be shot at without being
able to return the compliment. Roosevelt and all the other leaders knew
that this would not do, and at a great risk they continued to advance,
until some Spaniards were at last discovered across a valley to the
right of where the troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt were
located.

"There they are!" was the cry. "Forward and at 'em, boys! Down with the
Dons!" Without delay some sharpshooters fired on the Spaniards, and then
the regular troops opened up, and at last the Spaniards ran from cover.

Bullets were now flying in all directions, and both sides were making
their shots tell. The Americans had but scant protection, and it was not
long before a number of them fell. Some bullets came close to Theodore
Roosevelt, and one hit a palm tree near where he was standing, filling
his left eye and ear with the dust and splinters. Had that Mauser bullet
come a few inches closer, the man who was destined to become the future
President of our country might have been killed on the spot.

In the midst of the skirmish--for the conflict proved to be nothing
more--there was a report that Colonel Wood was dead, and Theodore
Roosevelt took it upon himself to restore the fighting line of Rough
Riders to order. But happily the report proved false; and a little while
after this the skirmish came to an end, and both Spaniards and Americans
betook themselves to positions of greater safety. In this skirmish,
brief as it was, the Rough Riders lost eight men killed and nearly forty
wounded.

CHAPTER XV

ALONG THE JUNGLE TRAIL--FORDING THE RIVER--OPENING OF THE BATTLE OF SAN
JUAN HILL--BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS--PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THEODORE
ROOSEVELT DURING THE BATTLE

Taken as a