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THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
171
CHAPTER XVIII
Last Days in Cuba—The Departure for Home—Arrival at Montauk—Caring for the Sick and Wounded—Presentation to Theodore Roosevelt by his Men—Mustering-out of the Rough Riders
Four days after the surrender of Santiago the Rough Riders found themselves in the hills four or five miles back from the intrenchments they had occupied during the last fight. Other commands were scattered in various directions, for to let them go into the wretched city would have been out of the question. Santiago was dirty in the extreme; the fever was there, and hundreds were on the verge of starvation.
It was a trying time for everybody, and equally so for Theodore Roosevelt, who did all in his power, as before, to make his men comfortable. When it did not rain, the sun came out fiercely, causing a rapid evaporation that was thoroughly exhausting to the soldiers. The locality was not a healthy
