General Lawton threw a strong detachment for the night about six miles west, on the road to Santiago, and another detachment was posted to the north of the town among the hills.  The rest of the troops were quartered in the town, some of them being housed in the buildings of the iron company.

Some of the troops were quartered in deserted houses, while others preferred the shelter of their tents in the adjoining fields.

The morning’s fire, it was seen, had destroyed the roundhouse, the repair shops and several small dwellings.  The town was deserted when the troops landed, but women and children soon appeared from the surrounding thickets and returned to their homes.

Part of the sun-bronzed troops quickly searched the buildings and beat up the thickets in search of lurking foes and then at nightfall marched into the unknown country beyond, with long, swinging strides and the alert bearing of the old frontier army men, ready to fight the Spaniards Sioux-fashion or in the open, wherever they could be found.

The landing was accomplished without loss of life, the only accident being the wounding of an insurgent on the hills by a shell from one of the warships.

Victory is dearly bought.

On Friday morning, June 24, four troops of the First cavalry, four troops of the Tenth cavalry and eight troops of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders—­less than 1,000 men in all—­dismounted and attacked 2,000 Spanish soldiers in the thickets within five miles of Santiago de Cuba.  A bloody conflict ensued, and the Americans lost sixteen men, including Captain Allyn M. Capron and Hamilton Fish, Jr., of the Rough Riders.

Practically two battles were fought at the same time, one by the Rough Riders under the immediate command of Colonel Wood, on the top of the plateau, and the other on the hillsides, several miles away, by the regulars, with whom was General Young.

The expedition started from Juragua—­marked on some Cuban maps as Altares—­a small town on the coast nine miles east of Morro Castle, which was the first place occupied by the troops after their landing at Baiquiri.

Information was brought to the American army headquarters by Cubans that forces of Spanish soldiers had assembled at the place where the battle occurred to block the march on Santiago.

General Young went there to dislodge them, the understanding being that the Cubaas under General Castillo would co-operate with him, but the latter failed to appear until the fight was nearly finished.  Then they asked permission to chase the fleeing Spaniards, but as the victory was already won General Young refused to allow them to take part in the fight.

General Young’s plans contemplated the movement of half of his command along the trail at the base of the range of hills leading back from the coast, so that he could attack the Spaniards on the flank while the Rough Riders went off to follow the trail leading over the hill to attack them in front.  This plan was carried out completely.  The troops left Juragua at daybreak.  The route of General Young and the regulars was comparatively level and easy of travel.  Three Hotch-kiss guns were taken with this command.