Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 29, Number 4, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 23 July 1898 — Page 6

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(ALL WANTED TO GO.

DISAPPOINTMENT OF OUR SOLDIERS I LEFT AT CAMP ALGER.

Washington Heat and Dost a Fit Intro-

Itions

dnction to the Terrors of Caba-—Ambi-Tonne Men Who Are Anxloaa to See the World.

I [Special Correspondence.] Washington, July 18.—For three weeks before the second brigade left Camp Alger for Cuba the soldiers composing it were taken out over the road between the camp and the Potomac on 16 mile practice marches. They usually started at 6 in the morning, passed the greater part of the day in sham fights, organizing and repelling attacks upon the commissary wagons, etc., and after an all day outing arrived at the river hot, dusty and completely used up. All our old soldiers know what a Virginia road is in summer, and in winter, too, for that matter. When it isn't afoot deep in mud or slippery red clay, it is half afoot deep in dust and not a comfortable trail to travel over. So it was not strange that when our boys reached the Potomac they availad themselves of the first chance to have a swim. One poor fellow was drowned, having been seized by cramps and sunk before help could reach him. It was on account of this accident perhaps that orders were given that the soldiers should not go swimming in the Potomac, but in the placid old canal which winds its way along the banks of the historic river.

As I was going out to Glen Echo one afternoon I was surprised to see our car invaded by a bunc% of soldier boys evidently somewhat afraid of being seen, for they huddled in a corner and kept furtive watch out for an enemy. It was not long before their fears were proved to be well grounded, for just as the little colony of dog tents in which the regiment was to be housed that night hove in sight a determined looking sentry appeared, armed with a rifle, and proceeded to yank them off the car and march them to the guard tent. The tents were pitched right out in the sun in an open field, merely canvas shelters

WHKRE CAMP ALGER BOYS SWIM.

half as high as a man, and did not look as inviting as the cool waters of the canal at the foot of the hill, where a "whole troop of stalwart forms could be seen disporting in the muddy water. Slow moving canal boats passed them now and thon, hauled by mules and manned by masouline looking women, but the boys "didn't do a thing" to the crazy craft, they were so delighted with the change from hot dusty roads to oool •waters.

But they aren't always on their good behavior, truth compels one to say, and tho demoralizing effect of evil companionship may even thus early be traced in otherwise good young men who are overborne and led away by the wickeder ones. They left a reminder of their presence here by running guard—a small troop of them—and wrecking the dining room of the Cabin John hotel and committing other depredations "Which landed most of them under arrest.

Most of them are good looking boys enough, rather young and undersized, it seemed to mo, but evidently tough and wiry. Not one in a dozen knew what he had enlisted for, and the answer generally given to my question •was, Well, I just wanted to travel a bit and see the world and thought it a good chanoe." "But, say," said a rawboned country lad from Ohio, "I didn't enlist to sit around any old Virginia plantation and broil in the sun and eat clay. I want to go to Cuba, and so do all the others. This loafing round, drilling with tho thermometer at 100 in the sbadoand standing guard night after night, without any enemy within a thousand miles, isn't what it's cracked up to be. How does it look down there in Cuba, anyway? Is it any hotter than it is up here, and what's the scenery like?"

I told him that, so far as my oxperitneo went, having been down that way several summers and winters, the boat in general was not so oppressive as tip hero, and that no matter how hot tho day was there was usually a cool breeze at night, but what ho had to fear now were the summer rains, which, though not always heavy and torrential, were pretty persistent and should be avoided as much as possible, as they induced fevers and summer troubles. That is a matter, though, which lies within the scopo of the officers' duties more than within the men's, for the latter have to go where they are sent and do as they are told, and if shelter tents are not provided and the men are vet continually, why, a large proportion of them will soon be sent off to the hospitals. I believe that the hills of Cuba will be found as healthful spots as those of Virginia or Maryland, but tho trouble is that our soldiers cannot coufine their operations to those hills alone, but must invest and oceopv such pestilential spots as Santiago and Havana. Manauiillo and Cienfnegos.

It is this feeling that tempers one's rejoicing over such magnificent victories as the capture of the Santiago intrwBchments and the destruction of Cervera's fleet that, take every care we will to avoid it, loss from sickness will be junavoidable and great. Still sickness and deatii are the inevitable eoucomitants of war Mid particularly of war in! a tropical country in the height of tha sickly season, have found, however •.

Siili jjjgs

that yellow fever is more of a bugaboo than a dread reality—in fact, like every other trouble in this world, more portentous at a distance than close at hand.

As to scenery, I assured the Ohio boy that if he had never seen a tropical forest or green and golden fields of sugar cane or cocoa palms above white sand beaches he would experience a revelation. It was well worth the discomforts of a trip to Cuba, even under such discouraging circumstances, to see all these and to view a country so radically different from our northern regions. "Well," he said, "I'll take all the chances of yellow jack and Spanish bullets if they'll only send us away from this. What we enlisted for was to fight, and if there's any 'front' we want to get there."

Since our little conversation that boy has gone with his regiment to the front —at least, has been sent to Santiago— and by this time may be verifying the correctness of my descriptions. And the feeling he had was genuine, as shown by the alacrity with which all the men ordered off responded and struck their tents and the ill concealed jealousy of those who were left behind. The famous Sixth Massachusetts received orders tb break camp at noon, and at 3 that afternoon was on the way to the cars which were to take them to Charleston. Almost equally alert were the boys of the Eighth Ohio and Sixth Illinois, and where at noon a great white city of tents had stood with its population of 4,000 men at night that canvas city had been taken away and transported to the railroad.

There were teats perhaps and groans of disgust, but they were not so much from those who were going as from those who were left behind. "Dang it all, "growled a Pennsylvania trooper, as he watched the boys of the Sixth march by and heard the music of their band grow faint and fainter in the distance, "Dang it all, it'll be just our blamed luck to have to stay in this place all summer while those fellows are down there enjoying themselves!" But perhaps he had not read of or had forgotten the death dealing Mauser bullets, the spiny chaparral, the suffocating heat and the terrible storma

And so they go. regiment after regiment being drawn from the camps where for the past two months they have been drilled into seasoned soldiers. We have not begun to put forth our strength yet nevertheless, for there are still more than 100,000 left as yet uncalled from their camps. They will all be needed, though, when Havana is invested, and when we begin the great task of sweeping the island of Cuba from Cape Maysi to Cape San Antonio —from eastern to western end—clear of the last Spaniard bearing arms.

While the whole country is vibrant with the war news sent out from this oity, while all dispatches from Playa del Este and Haiti have first to pass through the hands of our war department officials, and all correspondents wait upon the least sign from the secretary of the navy and of war, yet the nation's capital is not so much shaken by events as one might imagine it would ba

Now and then a brigade or a regiment marches through our streets, now and again a troop of artillery rumbles along with guns and caissons, and gallant riders with plumed helmets, but such sights are so common that they attract little attention. The boys over at Camp Alger are improving all their leisure seeing the capital, and we meet them everywhere, in squads and couples, puffing and perspiring in their hot woolen shirts and blouses. Thoy say that after their experience of that camp, with the thermometer climbing up to 99 in the shade, the thought of a tropical campaign has no terrors for them.

I received a letter from a consular correspondent in the West Indies today, which, as giving an outlook from the point of view of an old campaigner, I think will bear quoting. "It seems to me," he says, "from this faroff, quiet part of the world that Mr. McKinley is displaying rare courage, tact and ability. You and I both know what utter folly it is to talk of conquering Cuba with 10,000 or even 80,000 troops. Our losses thus far have been comparatively nothing, our gains great. But we must bewarexof overconfidence and foolish haste, or we shall have another such lesson as we had at Bull Run and in the first year of the civil war. 'Festina lente' is a good motto against an enemy to whom every day of the war's prolongation makes the inevitable end but the more certain. The Spanish character is too impulsive to endure. Any victory would give Spain an instant of wild enthusiasm, any defeat plunge her into despair. Despair may make a des-

ARTILLERY STARTIXO FOR CUBA.

perate hard fighter, but it wins no battles against serene confidence and cool courage backed by such a country and such a people as ours. The feeling here is pro-American among the merchants, but the government and masses are proSpanish. "There is a great fear of what England will do out here. She is heavily fortifying St Lucia, you know, and will transfer die military center there from Barbados, while Franco Is trying to strengthen Martinique, and there are all serfs of rumors of what is to be done."

It is a notable fact that in all the gossip, national and international, the brilliant future of the United States is universally conceded. F. A. Obkb.

SCENES AT SANTIAGO.

Interesting Incidents of the Engagements. "Bravery of Oar Troops, tSpeclal Correspondence.]

Baiqutri, Cuba, July 4.—I saw our troops when they landed at Baiquiri from the transport vessels and observing their fearless demeanor and confident manner said to myself, "These men are determined to win or die." The scarred veterans of many fights displayed no more unconcern and self confidence than the fresh recruits who were so soon to get their first experience of real warfare. When the test of the ordeal of battle came, it proved the truth of my conjecture, and the volunteers, equally with the regulars, comported themselves with all the courage and steadiness of soldiers who had repeatedly faced an enemy.

In the two days' battle, which left our troops in possession of the outposts and approaches to Santiago, with a clear space of three-quarters of a mile between them and the interior defenses of the city, the fighting tpok place in a hilly section of country, which made it impossible for a single observer to see much of the extensive line of attack. But where the sight failed hearing came to my aid, and the sharp crack of rifles and the booming of artillery conveyed very emphatic intimations of the fact that a battle was raging and that death was reaping a richft

TEB XJTJfl SATURDAY EVENING MAIL, JULY 23, 1898.

harvest

on^ these

green hillsides.' 4",, Right in front of me General Lawton and General Wheeler were advancing on El Caney with their troops. I saw the men struggling up the hill in the face of a galling fire. Many men dropped, but they kept steadily forward and upward until the height was gained and what was left of the Spaniards put to flight. I saw likewise Colonel Roosevelt and his rough riders in the forefront of the fight, forcing their way through alternate lines of barbed wiie, cactus and thorny undergrowth until they had gained the crest of an eminence with thinned ranks but undiminished ardor. And not only these, but other recent additions to the army of the United States ateo fought with the utmost resolution ana daring.

Possibly it is unjust to discriminate where all conducted themselves with signal bravery, but surely heroism displayed by raw recruits under circumstances of the most imminent peril is entitled to special commendation. Brave men have faltered and lost heart when facing fire for the first time. What shall we call that phase of oourage which imbuing men confronting death dealing missiles for the first time enables them to comport themselves with all the steadiness andftralor of trained troops inured to the severest experiences of war?

The Cuban auxiliaries under General Garcia oocupied the extreme right of the line of attack. They had not muoh fighting to do, nor was a position of any importance assigned to them, a fact which I regard as fortunate. Since the landing of our troops the most notable service they have performed has been to deplete the commissary stores and pick up any loose articles they found lying around. They know nothing of marksmanship, and however well armed will not fight well in the open. I imagine

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MILITARY OBSERVATORY AT SANTIAGO.

that the principal use to which they can be put is to act as spies, pickets and advance guards for the army of invasion.

A notable circumstance, and one that is unique in military annals, occurred during a lull in the fighting. The Twenty-first infantry was far in advance and suffering heavily from the Spanish fire. When the firing had slackened, one of the gallant fellows started the "Star Spangled Banner," and soon the entire regiment, even the wounded, took- up the refrain and sang it with a fervor and enthusiasm that only men could feel in such a supreme moment. I doubt if ever a national hymn was sung under such circumstances during the entire history of the human race.

So far the spectacular and inspiring incidents of war appealed to my fancy. If I saw men drop in the ranks, it was in the front of the onward rush to victory, and my mind had no time to think of gaping wbnnds and young lives crushed out. Shortly 1 had very pertinent reminders of the horrible and dramatic features of war. Wounded soldiers,, and occasionally an officer, were borne past my place of observation on rude extemporized stretchers or in the arms of comrades. Occasionally there was a surgeon to attend the severest cases that could not be safely removed to the temporary hospital, some four or five miles distant. The others were tenderly carried or, when not so severely wounded, helped over the intervening hills and hollows, through chaparral and cactus.

It would take a volume to contain the instances of individual coolness and courage displayed at the battle of Santiago. I cannot, however, forbear to mention the daring act of Assistant Surgeon Church, a young Washington physician, who dressed a fallen man's woend ia advance of the. line amid a hail of Manser ballets.

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Gkobok Exsxax.

i§

First Elephant In America. It is not generally known that a former citizen of Owensboro brought across the ocean the first elephant that was ever in America. The name of the gentleman was Moses Smith, who atone time owned a vast body of land from the mouth of Panther creek up the river, embracing nearly all the present farms in the neighborhood of Sorgho. Mr. Smith was at Paris with his brother and had "more money than he knew what to do with." He told his brother that he in tended taking something to America that the people had never seen. "You had better buy an elephant," said the jocular brother, and that was what Moses did.

He picked out the biggest animal he could find and paid an enormous price for it. He brought it to New York, where it was a nine days' wonder, but the owner soon found that he had something worse than the proverbial white elephant on his hands. He tried to sell it, but could find no buyer and at last undertook to give it away, in which he was equally unsuccessful. Finally he found a man who agreed to pay him $100 for it, and this individual put it on exhibition. He was so successful that be went into the show business and made a fortune out of Mr. Smith's folly. Colonel Frank McKernan of Adairville is a grandson of Mr. Smith, who lived to a great age a£ his home in this county.—Owensboro (Ky.) Inquirer.

Satan at Camp Meeting.

We will call him Bishof? Simmotfa During the afternoon the younger min isters had listened to him with veneration and respect, and when their turn came they found him a dignified and careful listener.

The afternoon was delightful and the camp meeting service was along one. The good bishop was a keen lover of the weed, and after the meeting had olosed he strolled off for a smoke. At a little distance he found an abrupt ledge entirely out of the view of the camp grounds, and going down around to the foot of this he lit his cigar and prepared for a quiet half hour.

As it chanced, soon after one of the younger ministers took a walk from the grounds, and finally came to the top of the same ledge, and, looking down, saw the bishop.

For the space of a moment or two he stood with agleam in his eye, and then, stooping down, ha said in a sort of triumphant tone: "Ah, Father Simmons, I've caught you burning incense to the devil."

The bishop took out his cigar and turned about till he had swung the speaker fully into view, and then added slowly in a deep voice: %i"But I didn't knowhe'was so near." —Current Literature.

An Example of O'Connell's Wit. Daniel O'Connell, though brilliant and witty, was daringly vulgar when he set out to attack an opponent. At a Dublin election he started to assail Recorder Shaw, who was a very dignified and handsome man, by declaring him a fellow whose visage would frighten a horse from his oats. The lord mayor, who presided, remarked on these amenities and said it might be supposed such acritio, like Hamlet's father, was endowed with Hyperion curls and the front of Jove himself, instead of a wrinkled brow and a scratch wig. As for himself, he would not be unwilling to compete with tho demagogue before a jury of ladies if they could only see him as nature made him without the aid of the barber. O'Connell strode to the front of the platform, snatched off his wig and pointing to his naked head covered with a stubble of gray hair, cried, "Ladies, I demand your instant judgment!" Of course he had the laugh and the best of the. encounter. —San Francisco Wave.

The antimonopolistic sentiment in this country is not a modern idea. In 177? Massachusetts passed an act entitled "to prevent monopoly and oppression.

In th'j Hawaiian Islands there are twice as many men as women.

The man who is

blown up by a bidden mine of explosives

/jr may have seen things W/j that should have aroused his suspi«e£i cions, but heedlessly pat them aside as of •.aV, no moment. It is the

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A Woman's Burden.

This is a story of a woman addressed id women, It lis a plain statement of facts too strong in themselves to require embellishment, too true to be doubted\ too instructive to be passed over by any woman who appreciates the value of good health.. *V The Women of to-day are not as strong as their grandmothers. V)

They are bearing a burden' in silence that grows heavier day by day that is sapping their vitality, clouding their happiness, weighing them down with the woe of ill health.

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Suffering as thousands of her sisters have suffered, she almost despaired of life and yet she was cured.

To-day she is well I She wants others to profit by her experience to grow well to enjoy health to be as happy as she is. "For five years I suffered with ovarian trouble,'* is Mrs. Clark's own version of the story. "I was not free one single day from headache and intense twitching pains in my neck and shoulders. "For months at a time I would be confined to my bed* "At times black spots would appear before my eyes and I would become blind. My nerves were in such a state that a step on the floor unsettled me.

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