The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-02

The smallest soldier in the Cuban army
is Ramon Fonseca, son of the fighting
Colonel Fonseca, whose guerrilas worry
the SDaniards about the city of Puerto
Principe. He is IL years old, and four
feet in height. and weighs about 50
pounds. He has been to school for
part of the time. but he knows more
about skirmish lines than he does about
arithmetic. He is as familiar with the
Whlrr OF Mauser bullets as an American
boy is with the chirp of the cricket, and
he can look into the flash of a Spanish
volley without winking.
Little Ramon's father, says the New
YORK journal, forbade him to go to the
front, so he lived on a farm lust outside
! Of Puerto Principe with an uncle who is
supposed TO be loyal to the Spaniards.
| One afternoon few months ago
Spanish column passed by the Fanseca
estate, and hungry soldier slipped from
the ranks 20 forage on his own account.
The soldier spied fine pullet, and laid
down his Mauser rifle in the tall grass so
as to give chase with greater swiftness.
Little Ramon, who was hid in the house
near, saw the act, and made his plan
with the promptnesS of a veteran. He
stole from the shed and hid the rifle I'M
der some old straw in one of the stores,
and then got out of the way as fast as
his stocky little legs would carry him.
The soldier danced and swore, and called
on the saints until the rear guard was
nearly out of sight; then he remembered
that Cuba was not a safe place for
soldiers straying from the columns. so he
captured a pig to make peace with the
sergeant and hurried after the column.
Ramon said nothing to his parent, but
after supper, when it was dark, he
started out to find his fathers troop in
the forests that cover the foothills of
the Sierra Najazes.
1t was a long tramp through the hot
test part of the Cana guey. laid waste by
fire and sword. terribly still, and safe
nniV for the numbers a nartX When
he struck from the main road to the
woods the darkness became so intense
that he lost his way: Boughs of trees
brambles stripped him and tore his flesh,
but he struggled on manfully, still lug
ging the ten-pound rife.
The moon rose and, tired out, he sank
under tree, where he spent the rest of
the night. At dawn he got up stiff and
hungry, but limped along pluekily, still
tinueG his search through the woods
At noon he heard the stamping of I'M
shod horses, ho9fssand saw mounted
men approaching an opening in the forest
He didn't know whether they were in
surgents or the Spanish guerillas, so he
MD in thicket of wild pineapples. and
as they came by he gave them the Cuban
challenge: "Halto. quien var Then he
saw the red and blue cockade, and knew
that he was among friends. It was a
party of scouts of Colonel Fonseca's
that morning. Little Ramon was taken |
on a horse before one of them, and |
brought back TO camp, rife and all, where |
he at once became a hero. After his !
pluckiness Colonel Fonseca had not the !
heart to send him home, so he gave him |
a horse. a machete and a pouch of am |
munition and enrolled him as a regular |
soldier of the troop.
At the battle Of Saratoga, where the |
insurgents, under Gomez. for three days |
stormed the Spanish camp, little Ramon |
Fonseca rode each day under heavy gun |
fire in thu foremost line of the attacking /
party. He rode amid the smoke and shot |
as carelessIy as the soldiers. Men were |
wounded and fell dead about him, but to |
him 1t was pastime to be real soldier. |
He has been in other skirmishes since, |
and his comrades, although they do not |
let him do guard duty, say that he is /
about as good fighting man as any of
them. "ff
He is a bright-eyed, cheerful little fell
low, and, although he is not up to the
weight of his rifie.-he carries it still. and
shows it with great pride. General Gomez
has promised to make him an officer
when the war is over.
The boy patriots in the American army
have always been a feature, chiefly as
drummer boys, and at times they have /
themselves for bravery in
the thick of the fight More than one
of the civil war is today drawing
a pension for services when mere lad in
his teens.