Evening star., 1898-09-10
Relating Many Incidents Of the Cuban
Campaign.
ENLISTED ON FIELD OF BATTLE
Horses Were Cheap After the Sur
render of Santiago.
RESULTS OF TROPICAL RAINS


no started out with Company as assist
ant cock for the officers mess. Upon ar
ri-jng at Santiago he concluded to enter
the service. Private Hall is a strapping big
fellow about thirty years of age. Capt
Graham says that ne has proved one of the
best men in Company f, and rendered valu-
able service. The date of Private Halls
enlistment is July 10, just five days after
his arrival in Cuba.
During the encampment on San Juan
Heights orders Were issued from division
headquarters that no one should be allowed
to go in bathing except between the hours
of . and . o'clock pm. The result was
that the streams in that vicinity were filed
with men during this time.
On several occasions the bathers had an
exhibition of the rapid way in which
streams in tropical countries increased from
d very shallow body of water to perfect
torrent. 1t was during the first part of Au-
gust that many members of the 1St Regl-
ment of the District of Columbia witnessed
these rapid changes in the character of the
stream.
They We're in bathing on occasion,
when warning note was sounded by one
of the men, who was at the fartheSt point
upstream, and could d deuge of water
rushing toward the main body OF the bath
erS. ordinarily, one had to lie down in the
stream in order to have the water cover his
body, but sooner had this cry of warn
ing been uttered than the water arose as If
the Eeandcring stream had been suddenly
turned into great river. Ihe men ian
their clothes placed on a bank ten or twelve
feet above the water; but so ra pidly did the
stream turn into rushing torrent that
they barely saved their clothing from being
carried away and many of the men mar
rowly esca ped drowning. The regular cor
ral whera large number of horses were
kept, was also on high ground near the bed
of the stream and the horses were only
removed in time to save them
A Rushing Torrent.
The stream now came on as rolling tor
rent, bringing with it immense pieces of
fallen trees. which in their rapid rush
crushed all the smaller growth before them.
The men had hardly recovered from their
surprise at seeing this little stream turn
into great river. when it went down as
suddenly as it came up, and again it was
the small body of water they had known
few hours previously.
These transformations were witnessed by
the District regiment on three occasions
while they were encamoed on San Juan
Heights. Once the river rose sixteen feet
in half an hour.
On cne of these occasions no rain fell IN
the vicinity of the bathers. but heavy clouds
were noticed over the neighboring noun
tains where a deluge of water took place.
On one occasion it was noticed that ten
minutes from the time flood of rain ap-
peared the mountain top the little
stream became a torrent.
After the surrender of Santiago horses be
came cheaper than they have ever been
made in the United States by the intro
duction of cable and electric railroads The
Spanish officers, preparing to return to their
homes, had use for their mounts. and
sold them for anything they could get.
Many valuable horses were sacrificed for
song. Those who did not succeed in selling
their animals left them to wander at large
until picked up by Cubans. ever on the
alert for such prizes.
On ore occasion an officer asked one of
the American soldiers. young boy, to do
him some favor. and when he had been
accommodated, presented the young man
with a fine donkey, as a tip.
Preston Kings Capture.
Hospital Steward Preston King of the
District regiment wears leather belt
which may yet get into the possession of
Mrs. Fish, the mother of Hamilton Fish,
who was killed during the charge of the
Rough Riders at the battle of La Quasina.
King was visiting the little graveyard near
La Quasina, where SO many of the brave
men of the American army We're buried.
and he noticed a leather belt lying over
the grave of Hamilton Fish. 1t belonged
to no one, and he put it on. After return
ing here Mr.. King visited the general hos
pital and met the trained nurse who had
been sent there at the expense of Mrs.
Fish. This nurse has informed Mrs Fish
of the relic which was found on her sons
grave. Mrs. Fish is making a collection of
everything that belonged to her son or in
any way was connected with him while
he was a member of the Rough Riders.
Company A has mascot which is the
pet of every one in the District regiment
This mascot is a small dog which was
taken with the regiment from Washington
ard went through all of the campaign in
Cuba. Somehow or other, the deadly char
acter of the Cuban climate did not affect
Mr. Dog. and while the men were
starving in the trenches before Santiago
the dog did not cease to grow fat. Since
arriving here the dog has been provided
with d small blanket, which is labeled
Go. A, 1st ID. c. Vols The dog appeared
with the regiment when it marched down
Pennsylvania avenue.
First Sergeant Lamb of Company f
brought Cuban parrot with him. He Sc
cured this bird in Santiago The parrot
is very talkative, and, it is said, uses very
improper language at times, but as it
speaks only Spanish it is not likely to
shock the sensibilities of people who hear
1t chatter in Washington.
Guarding the Roads.
While in Cuba Company X, in command
of Captain Young was called upon TO do a
great deal of duty in guarding the roads
leading into Santiago They had much
difficulty in carrying out their orders
AT one time people were permitted
to come and go very freely. but the
order was changed that every
body wishing to go into the city found it
necessary to have pass.
One poor fellow, who had been the VIC
tim of Yankee joker. presented what he
supposed to be pass. 1t was written in
English and read:
DO not allow this jackass to pass" 1t
was signed Provost Guard"
The guards noticed that one man went
into the Spanish camp on several occa-
SONS before the pass system was put into
effect, on the statement that he was
Spanish soldier and there was no inten-
ton of preventing Spanish prisoners re-
turning to their camps when they became
st parated from them. The same fellow
would come out and represent himself as
a Cuban. He played this double role for
some time, when it was discovered that
he was a trader. When he again presented
him self to go out of the Spanish camp he
was told that he had gone in as Span
ish soldier and that he would have to stay
there as a Spanish soldier.
Cuban merchants We're very energetic In
pushing their trade among the Spanish
prisoners, and used all sorts of ingenious
methods in order to pass the lines where
the guard stood watch. 1t was a common
occurrence for one man to come out of
the Spanish camp showing every evidence
of IiStre be chn