The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-13

away from the shiny pier, the brass bands
stationed on the poop. decks of the other
transports started a repertoire of national
airs, and the dense army on the docks sent
up a cheer that could be heard almost to
the lighthouse, near where the mysterious
gunboats to do convoy duty were rendez-
voused. 1t was a formidable line of ships
to pull away and yet, as one officer showed,
the ball from a Spanish six-pounder could
send any one of the vessels to the bottom.
Moving slowly down the canal, and swing
ing clear into the bay, the transports
formed in line and plowed the calm water
out towards the horizon line where the
faint streak of white showed the pillows.
1t was goodbye, every one thought, and
every one did the best within himself to
add to the lusty farewell shouted across
the water. At the pier garden little groups
Of wives, those of the officers, waved hand
kerchiefs till the boats were specks in the
distance, and then took those same pieces
of linen to store away tears, by this time
trickling down fair faces and wrinkled
faces. The volunteers hurried back to
their camps to prepare for their own en-
barkation.
General Shafter and his staff, together
with a battalion of correspondents, who had
been sitting up all night in the Tampa Bay
Hotel corridor, went out to the port before
daybreak expecting to take the Olivette
and follow the troop ships. But there came
a sudden hitch. Orders to stop loading
were rushed out from the city. A dispatch
boat was chased with all possible speed to
the entrance of the bay, forty miles away,
to bring back the transports already there.
No one in high official position presumed to
say why all this new stir. On the transports
under way a report that Spanish gunboats
had been seen outside spread from stem to
stern. What else could mean retreat at
the eleventh hour? And, as if to further
confirm this, unreasonable as the story
seemed afterwards, the gunboat Machias
and a torpedo boat scudded seaward, to
meet the enemy, thought the soldiers who
had heard the report. Later in the day
cannonading was heard far out, and this
helped the excitement along. Half the men
on the dock would not believe the little ma
val cadet, who, with upturn of his dainty
nose, not yet we'll trained to sniff battle,
started the word that it was merely sa-
luting.''
To-day there is little less known in camp
about this new turn of events than there
was yesterday. Peace has been declared, is
the strongest rumor out, while the most
credible one is that the government has not
enough ships to take over all the troops,
and will wait for more before risking the
expedition in the storming of Santiago.
In all announcements made here of the
expedition, official and otherwise, the One
-ffty-seventh Indiana figures
in it. Most of the time the men in other
regiments refer to this regiment as the
First Indiana, and it frequently appears
thus in the local prints. 1t is brigaded, as
stated previously in these dispatches, with
the Third Pennsylvania and First Ohio, and
is in the provisional division attached to the
Fifth Army Corps. The brigade is i'll COM
mand of General Hall, who, as colonel, was
in command at Fort Sheridan before the
present war; He is well liked by the Off
GERS of the volunteer regiments under him.
His headquarters are two hundred feet in
the rear of Col. Studebaker'S tent. 1t is not
known definitely what transport is to be
assigned the Indiana regiment when the
time to sail finally comes. From the fact
that the horses are on board the Allegheny
it is taken for granted this ship will be the
one, but as against this is the fact that the
horses Of the Ohio regiment are also on the
same transport. and there will not be suffi-
cient accommodation for both regiments on
the same DOdl.
The Indianians are much better equipped
than they were when at Camp Thomas.
New Springfield rifles have been furnished
to a large percentage of the men, giving
every soldier in the regiment a shooting
piece and besides distributing rounds to
each man, the regimental quota for cam
paign has been furnished and is carefully
guarded The regiment has received its full
number of shelter tents, those that are car
ried by the men on top of their knapsacks
and when the Hoosiers leave this camp they
will leave a deserted city of canvas, with
the tents obtained at indianapolis, except
six for each company, still standing under
the lofty pines Barring the dirt about the
camp, caused by the SCOT and debris of
burnt palms, the conditions here are not
such as to make the men eager for other
grounds The SCOT has so mingled with the
white sand that the ground once white is
now black, and the sootiness clings to ev-
erything from canvas tents to underwear.
The men have learned TO close their eyes
and swallow the water furnished them like
GOOD fellows. 1t has been a week since they
have seen the clear fresh fluid. What they
drink is very brown. and a glance would
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