The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

112 THE ROUGH RIDERS
squadron. After the Spaniards had been driven from their
position on the right, the firing slackened somewhat until the
enemy's outposts were located near the advance guard, when
a brisk skirmish ensued, with the result that the enemy disap-
peared through the jungle to their main line in the rear.
DEATH OF FISH AND CAPRON
"Here," says Mr. Roosevelt, "at the very outset of our
active service, we suffered the loss of two as gallant men as
ever wore uniforms. Sergeant Hamilton Fish, at the extreme
front, while holding the point to its work and firing back
where the Spanish advance guard lay, was shot and instantly
killed; three of the men with him were likewise hit. Captain
Capron, leading the advance guard in person, and displaying
equal courage and coolness in the way that he handled them,
was also struck, and died a few minutes afterwards. While I
had led the troop back to the trail, I ran ahead of them, pass-
ing the dead and wounded men of L Troop.
A HAIL OF BULLETS
"When I came to the front I found the men spread out in
a very thin skirmish line, advancing through comparatively
open ground, each man taking advantage of what cover he
could, while Wood strode about leading his horse, Brodie
being close at hand. How Wood escaped being hit I do not
see, and still less how his horse escaped. I had left mine at
the beginning of the action, and was only regretting that I had
not left my sword with it, as it kept getting between my legs
as I was making my way through the jungle. Very soon after
I reached the front, Brodie was hit, the bullet shattering one
arm and whirling him round as he stood. Thereupon Wood
directed me to take charge of the left wing in Brodie's place