Page:From Yauco to Las Marias.djvu/23



Place of meeting — Forces comprised by the command — Why we were not like the Volunteers — Characteristics of the professional soldier — Sketches of the more important officers — What we were ordered to do.

AUCO, the place selected by General Miles as a rendezvous for the troops of the Independent Regular Brigade, is a town of about 15,000 inhabitants, and some six miles distant from Guanica. It is connected both by rail and wagon-road with Ponce, the largest city on the island, and is noted for its Spanish proclivities, fine climate, excellent running water, and setting of mountains — luxuriantly green throughout the year.