trayed
her, while all other people of earth are pressing onward toward light
and liberty.

The struggle in Cuba had been going on for years, and in that colony
of less than two millions of inhabitants, many of whom were Spaniards,
there was now an army four times as large as the standing army of the
United States. Against this army and against the Government of Spain a
revolt had been carried on previous to the present outbreak for a
period of ten years, and which had been settled by concessions on the
part of the home government. The present revolt was of two years'
standing when our government decided to interfere. The Cubans had
maintained disorder, if they had not carried on war; and they had
declined to be pacified. In their army they experienced no color
difficulties. Gomez, Maceo and Quintin Banderas were generals honored
and loved, Maceo especially coming to be the hero and idol of the
insurgents of all classes. And it can truthfully be said that no man
in either the Cuban or Spanish army, in all the Cuban struggle
previous to our intervention, has earned a loftier fame as patriot,
soldier and man of noble mould than ANTONIO MACEO.

Cuba, by far the most advanced of all the West Indian colonies; Cuba,
essentially Spanish, was destined to be the battle ground between our
troops and the veterans of Spain. The question to be settled was that
of Spain's sovereignty. Spain's right to rule over the colonies of
Cuba and Porto Rico was disputed by the United States, and this
question, and this alone, is to be settled by force of arms. Further
than this, the issue does not go. The dictum of America is: Spain
shall not rule. The questions of Annexation, Expansion and Imperialism
were not before us as we launched our forces to drive Spain out of the
West Indies. The Cuban flag was closely associated with our own
standard popularly, and "Cuba Libre" was a wide-spread sentiment in
June, 1898. "We are ready to help the Cubans gain their liberty" was
the honest expression of thousands who felt they were going forward in
a war for others.

CHAPTER V.

PASSAGE, LANDING, AND FIRST BATTLE IN CUBA.

The Tenth Cavalry at Guasimas--The "Rescue of the Rough
Riders"--Was There an Ambush?--Notes.

"The passage to Santiago was generally smooth and uneventful," says
General Shafter in his official report. But when the fact is called to
mind that the men had been on board a week before sailing, and were a
week mo