Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-09-02
Former Bismarck Bow.

Oregonian will be of general interest
in this city:.
Judson w. Watson Of Company A.
First United States infantry, wrote a
very interesting letter to his mother,
Mrs. w. b. Watson, in Portland, he
being at the time with his company at
San Luis, Cuba. The letter is dated
August !, and extracts from it are as
follows:
Your letters written since our de-
parture for Cuba were received all in
a bunch, this being the first mail re-
ceived by this regiment since leaving
Tampa. The reason for this is that
there has been no way to transportit
through the country. Every mule,
horse or other animal available has
been used to carry food to the front.
No n who has not been here can ap-
preciate the difficulties the army has
had to surmount in order to keep the
boys in rations. A large number OF
the mules We're lost in coming over and
in landing. So nothing but actual
necessities were carried to the front.
The men, all through the campaign,
were or about one-third rations, and
this continued up to about July IS.
Our regiment was sent on that date to
this place, thirty-five miles into the
interior, to guard an arsenal formerly
occupied by the Spanish, and to pro-
tect the Spanish soldiers from being
robbed by the many Cuban bands
roaming over the country. It has
been simply impossible to get q letter
out. This zones from appointing
people with a pull to important staff
jobs, who know nothing about trans
porting supplies in the field. In other
armies, such places are filed by men
trained to the business. If they want
a good army in the United States they
will have to leave politics out. The
raw material is the best in the world.
There is a railroad into this place,
and the engineers will have it ready
for service in a few days. This is a
region where you can raise almost
anythingg--two or three crops a year.
All kindso + tropicalfruits and tobacco
grow here, but onerc is little cultiva-
ton here now. The war lies stopped
all work, and all plaatations have
grown up with tropical vegetation
and arc regular junslcs. Once in d
while you run across d small patch,
but nothing much. Ten years of
American enterprise would make this
a wonderful country. All l~aborwould
have to be performed by blacks; no
white man could do hard labor here.
It would kill him in a month. From
10 o. m. to 3 p. m. no one should be
out in the sun.
This is the healthiest part of the
island, but fever. is prevalent, and
every one is very liable to get it. We
have lost two men in the company
from it. This is not yellow-jack, but
intermittent fever. With good care, a
man would pull through, but as many
of the men have had to lie out in the
rain and mud with but little medical
attendance, it is a wonder any get
we'll. The hospital corps is simply
inadequate. They cannot attend to
all cases properly. Half the time
they have no medicine. This has been
a hard campaign. A good many Of
the boys will never see home again.
This regiment has done moremarch-
ing and scouting through the country
than any other here. We have been
continuously on the move, with the
exception Of a few days we we're in the
trenches about Santiago. The day we
landed we went way out in front on
outpost. This was the program for
the next five days, marching all over
the country in the sun, mud and rain.
II rains hard every day for about one
or two hours, and the ground is wet
all the time. At night, fall down, roll
EFrT+E ftaLFFs.S OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. SEtE-TE-
up in your blanket and go to sleep.
No tents. This was the procedure
until the surrender. AT the time of
the rough riders.ight we wer away off
to the right in1the jungle, and it was
all over when we got up. There are
few roads, and the jungles are SO
thick we hayesto 60 in single file. The
Spanish could have killed hall, the
command in some places We were ia,
but they didn't know it. At the battle
OF El Caneyy, we were on the right,
protecting Captain Capron's battery,
so we did not get in the final assault
on the trenches. We were at the same
work on July 2 1.-THE battle OF San
Juan. We were under fire at both
places, but received small damage.
After that We went on picket on the
extreme e.aHr LEFT. Fromstthere We went Up