It  must  be  annoying  to  a  Cuban  to  remember  that
after  he  had  for  three  years  fought  the  Spaniard,
the  Yankee  in  eight  weeks  received  his  surrender
and  began  to  ship  him  home.  The  way  Casanova
describes  the  fight  at  El  Caney  is  as  follows:

"The  Americans  thought  they  could  capture
El  Caney  in  one  day,  but  the  brave  General  Toral
fought  so  good  that  it  was  six  days  before  the
Americans  could  make  the  Spaniards  surrender."
The  statement  is  correct  except  as  regards  the
length  of  time  during  which  the  fight  lasted.  The
Americans  did  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  they
could  eat  up  El  Caney  in  an  hour  and  then  march
through  it  to  San  Juan.  Owing  to  the  splendid
courage  of  Toral  and  his  few  troops  our  soldiers,
under  two  of  our  best  generals,  were  held  in  check
from  seven  in  the  morning  until  two  in  the  after-
noon. But  the  difference  between  seven  hours
of  one  day  and  six  days  is  considerable.  Still,  at
present  at  San  Juan  that  is  the  sort  of  information
upon  which  the  patriotic  and  puzzled  American
tourist  is  fed.
The  Passing  of  San  Juan  Hill

Young  Casanova,  the  only  other  authority  in
Santiago,  is  not  so  sure  of  his  facts  as  is  his  father,
and  is  willing  to  learn.  He  went  with  me  to  hold
my  pony  while  I  took  the  photographs  that  ac-
company this  article,  and  I  listened  with  great  in-
terest to  his  accounts  of  the  battle.  Finally  he
made  a  statement  that  was  correct.  "How  did
you  happen  to  get  that  right  ?"  I  asked.
"Yesterday,"  he  said,  "I  guided  Colonel  Hayes
here,  and  while  I  guided  him  he  explained  it  to
me.".
