"The President directs that all military operations against the enemy be suspended. Peace negotiations are nearing completion, a protocol having just been signed by representatives of the two countries. You will inform the commander of the Spanish forces in Porto Rico of these instructions. Further orders will follow. Acknowledge receipt. "By order Secretary of War. "H. C. Corbin, Adjutant-General." These orders, coming as they did, undoubtedly prevented the sacrifice of many valuable lives before San Juan. But they were anything but popular among the American troops, for they reached the various divisions just as each was about to strike a decisive blow. The Spaniards, however, it is said, received the news with loud manifestations of delight. In General Brook's division, a battery had just been advanced to position and the order to fire was about to be given, when a courier, his steed panting and covered with foam, dashed upon the field and informed the general that an armistice had been concluded. General Brooke's sole reply was: "Lieutenant, you arrived five minutes too soon. You should have been more considerate of your horse." While our army did not have a chance to show all that it was capable of accomplishing, it was proven conclusively that the Yankees are good and brave fighters. The sight of an army springing up out of nothing, the spectacle of the monumental work of military organization being pushed on to success in spite of mistakes, arrested the attention of all European nations. One thing is certain--a noble victory has been nobly won; and won, happily at a cost, which, deplorable though it actually was, was relatively small, as must be acknowledged by every student of the warfare of the past. CHAPTER X. HOW THE PORTO RICANS RECEIVED US. Whatever may have been the attitude and feelings of the Spanish officials and Spanish troops, there can be no doubt that the Porto Ricans themselves welcomed most enthusiastically the advent of the Americans and the dawn of a new era. The joy manifested at the sight of invaders in a conquered country was most extraordinary, and we can affirm with truth that it has no parallel in history. It was most fortunate that little or no fighting took place, as thus many valuable lives were saved. There was no question whatever as to the result. The number and location of the Spanish troops on the island just before the armistice was declared were as follows: