The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-10-11
A CLOSE SHAVE.
CorporaI's Experience With rlauseI
Bullets and Disease at Santiago.

Alfred Butcher. a corporal In COM
pany II. Second United States Infantry.
who enlisted in Helena. Montana, was
i'm the fight before Santiago. was taken
sick, and brought to New York on the
hospital ship Relief. He thus describes
the narrow escape he had on the battles
field from bullets. and, after the battle,
from an acute attack OF a tropical dis
ease:
Well, people can howl for war all they
please. but after they have seen IL
don't think they are so anxious about III.
II is horrible TO see men falling all
around you, torn i'm all sorts OF shapes
by bullees and shell and shrapnel. /
wish you could see us go up that hill at
San Juan. Say. but We went up that hill
like a lot of devils turned loose. You
lose all feeling; you fear nothing; all
you think about Is getting shot at the
Spaniards. The only time i was AFRAID
was on the morning OF the fight, when
we were marching up to take our place
on the left of the fighting-line, where
men We're feeling right ana left,
and you couldn't see where the mr.
ing was coming from. My bunkie. my
tent-mate, was shot i'm the shoulder
when we were a mile from where the
fighting was going on. Then, as we
were marching on, the man in front OF
me was shot through the fleshy part OF
the eyebrow by piece Of shell. When
we were a quarter of mile from our
place in line one OF our men had a pail
go through his haversack and just Craze
his leg. He kept right on with us.
Going up the hill on that charge OF
San Juan felt something hit me in the
left breast and thought was gone up.
sure. / tore open my blue shirt, but
saw no hole and no blood, and then
started on again, when Ifelt something
hit me on the right side ] looked down
and there We're three of the thimbles OF
my belt just cut off as clean as IL II had
been done with knife. After we took
the hill / examined my breast again and
found that the ball had passed through
my shirt-pocket, where / had extra am
munition. 1t dented four of the car
tridges SO that they could not be used
at all. So 1 think that God was watch
ing over me pretty closely, and ]
thanked Him for it. too.
III seemed strange To me, after the bat
tie was over the first day, how man
could go into battle and not fear death
or even think about il. All you think
about is whipping the enemy and get
ting their position. on the I'd we in
trenched ourselves in a sunken road on
the hill we had taken, and didn't do a
thing but hold IL and take more ground
from them, TOO. II ney Hldut a. nlBHt at
tack on us that night, but we drove
them off in no time. on the same night
about 12 o'clock / was taken with
cramps in my bowels. / thought ii was
because we had had nothing to eat since
the night Of the 30th. In the morning
] was worse, but about 10 O'Clock got
a little better but could not stand up
At p. IN. / was taken again with
cramps and kept getting worse. The
captain had me carried down to the
hospital. When / reached there my
stomach was all bloated. The doctor
said had appendicitis. They were go-
ing to operate on me, when a man was
brought in whose leg had to be taken
off, so they left me until later. They
kept putting it off, and on the 14th they
sent me down TO Siboney to go on board
of the hospital ship. as / was begin.
ming to get better. Well, il was a drive
of II miles from the hospital to the shiT
and awful rough, and 1t shook me up SC
that / got worse When i got aboard
of the ship the doctor shook his head
but did not say anything. Yesterday
evening he said i would come out al
right.-Leslie's Weekly.