The evening times., 1898-08-24
LETTER FROM A SOLDIER BOZ.
A District Volunteer Relates Hi


A District volunteer Relates His
Expcr1tneces Before Santiago.
The following Is letter written by
Private Benjamin 8. Favorite. OF Com
many L. First Regiment. d. c. ". WHO
| has been with Skaters army. to his
mother: sa'ssrs - -
Before Santiago de Cuba. Aug 6.
My Dear Mother: Your letter received
yesterday, also one from Grace. Re
ceiyed Times dated July q and Is.
The boat that we came over on was the
"bummest" thing / ever run across. She
broke down three or four times and we
had to lay over for repairs to the pumps
that supplied us with drinking water
and was often very thirsty, but we
landed at Siboney all right on the 10th.
will always remember that birthday.
We had to land In small boats and 1t
was pretty hard work, as 1t Is right on
the sea, no harbor of any kind.
They were just bringing the wounded
back from the front to the hospital and
you could see the poor fellows all band
aged up and their faces drawn and
white from pain. Most Of them SEEM
ed wounded below the hips. but 1 did
see three or four with their heads tied
up.
When we had all gotten of the boat
and pitched camp for the night; got up
the next morning at $3.50 and left under
light marching order, that is. with moth
ing but our guns. belts. bayonets, 100
rounds OF ammunition, haversacks and
three days rations, leaving our tents
and everything else behind Nobody
knew where We were going except the
officers, and they would not tell for
something pretty. Well, any way. we
To rIal ~, Gr;v, lgva tv, nf Gora-
tiago and within 100 yards Of the Span
ish firing line. We arrived there about
IL a. m. and the flag of truce went up
between and 3 p m. heard the bull
lets whistle and the cannons roar little
anyhow. II l was not In "a battle. For
the first hour or SO I ducked my head
when the bullets came too close. but !
got over that. That night We had to
go out and dig trenches about $50 yards
from the Spanish outposts. We had no
more than arrived there when some of
the Illinois outposts fired on us, as we
did not hear their challenge. We thought
they were Spaniards, and as some of our
men were In the trenches behind us
that put us between two fires and We
did not know what to do. The first thing
l remember was the captain giving the
order to lie down and then fall back
to the trenches, and then it commenced
f.
to the trench we found out from Capt.
King. who was in command of the
trench, that they were the Illinois out
posts so we all marched back again
and commenced to dig. WeAdug for two
or three hours in the rain. with the mud
up to our knees and 1t was so dark that
we could not see the fellows in front of
US, and had to call out every once in
while to keep from hitting them with
,fx,lr et,a al bat mi
tom dollar that l will never forget the
1lth of July. 1898, with its rain. mud and
chills. 1t was as cold as the dickens,
Half of us did not have our rubber
blankets. l didn't for one, but you will
never catch me without II again.
After we were through with the trench
we started back for the camp. 1t took
about an hour. as we lost ourselves and
we didn't know when we got there. Ev-
erything at the camp was soaked, as We
did not have our tents, all We had were
little huts made of bushes. grass and
weeds and they would not keep the wa
ter out so We just laid down on the wet
ground and went to sleep and slept well,
too-at least l did-as we had had very
little sleep since We left the boat, and
you know how 1 like to sleep.
Well, we laid round all the next day
and did not do a thing-not even eat, as
We hdd notning 10 eat
The following day, July 13. the Second
Battalion had to go back and get the
tents. Every man had to carry his own
roll and another one beside. You can ap-
preciate how j must have enjoyed carry
ing double through two feet of mud and
fording streams up to my neck All The
streams were terribly swollen after the
heavy rains of the two preceding nights.
1t is only about ten miles from where We
first camped to the firing line. Every
thing went all right. though.
Sunday, July II, was a great day /
would not have missed-it for anything.
1t certainly was grand TO see the entire
army drawn up in line all round Santa
go and at exactly u o'clock they pre-
sented arms and the light battery fired
a salute of twenty-one guns, while the
bands were playing "@The Star Spangled
Banner" Hail Columbia, Yankee Doo-
die" Dixie" John Browns Body"
stars and Stripes Forever" and several
other patriotic pieces that have forgot
ten. 1 tell you 1t was the finest thing
that ever happened.
We stayed on the firing line two or
three days after that, then we moved
back about two miles on a hill where
we are now situated. We had been here
on this hill about week when we got
our large tents off the transports, and It
was Just like getting into a house. We
have been living high ever since we got
on this hill-fresh beef, fresh bread,
coffee with sugar, and SOW belly-all
very fine after the canned corned beef
This is about all I can think of just
now to tell you of our happenings.
l have been very well. and would have
written sooner, but my writing mater
ials have been exhausted for some time
had to borrow this. There is a rumor
that We will leave here in four or five
days for the States. / hope II is so as
/ do not think this place Is any too
healthy.
You ask me what need. Five pounds
of tobacco and a pile of cigarette paper
will be acceptable. We have not been
paid for two months and of course I
have not any left from my first pay
day. 1 think we will get paid before
long. and then how l will smoke and
drink ice cream soda in Santiago. Would
write you more but have not the paper.
Your loving son. BEN.
P. S. Just received Sunday Times. 1t
was quite treat.
A MILF, QIyICKI,Y DECIDED