p San Juan Hill
together. Roosevelt was on horseback as before, but at a barbed-wire
fence he leaped to the ground, swung his hat in the air, and joined his
men on foot.

The fight was now at its fiercest, and men were being mowed down in all
directions. But the fever of battle was in the veins of all the American
soldiers, and nothing could stop them. Up the hill they went, loading
and firing at random, and making as many shots as possible tell. The
Spaniards were in retreat, and soon Old Glory was planted in several
places. Some of the leading officers had been shot, and Theodore
Roosevelt found himself at one time in command of five regiments, and
doing his best to keep them in military order. Strange as it may seem,
with bullets flying all around him, he remained unharmed, saving for
some slight scratches which, he tells us, "were of no consequence."

With the top of the hill gained, the American soldiers could get a
distant glimpse of Santiago, several miles away, and some wanted to move
still farther forward. But the Spaniards had strong intrenchments to
fall back upon, and it was deemed best to "let well enough alone."
Accordingly the American line was made as strong as possible, and by
nightfall the battle was at an end, and the Rough Riders were told to
hold the hill and intrench, and they did so. In the blockhouse they
found some food belonging to some Spanish officers, and upon this they
feasted after their well-earned victory.

CHAPTER XVI

RESULTS OF THE FIGHT--LIFE IN THE TRENCHES--THE SPANISH FLEET IN
SANTIAGO HARBOR--ANOTHER GREAT NAVAL VICTORY--THE ROUGH RIDERS AND THE
SPANISH GUERILLAS

The fight had been a hard and heavy one. The Rough Riders had gone into
the engagement just 490 strong, and of that number 89 were killed or
wounded. The total loss to the Americans was 1071 killed and wounded.
The loss to the Spanish was also heavy, but the exact figures will
probably never be known.

Utterly tired out with their marching and fighting, the Rough Riders
intrenched as best they could, cared for their wounded and dead, and
then dropped down to get a well-earned rest. The night was misty and
cold, and many who had been bathed in perspiration suffered accordingly.
Theodore Roosevelt had a blanket taken from the Spanish, and in this he
rolled himself, and slept with others of his command.

At three o'clock in the morning came an unexpected alarm. The Spanish
skirmishers were out in force, tr