The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-09-06
MANOOES IN CUBA.
--H~-~
Why Our Soldiers in the Island Were
Forbidden TO Eat the Fruit.

In the long list OF suggestions from
the medical department.. all OF which
were disregarded, the ripe mango was
recommended as a desirable article OF
diet. But somebody at headquarters is
suedan edict against 1t. and the soldiers
were called up by the company com
manders and told that If they ate the
fruit they would be punished This is
the way the company commanders ad :
dressed their men.
Nov. see that some OF YOU have
been eating those mangoes In spite OF
our. advice to the contrary. Do you
know what the Cubans call this fruit ?
They call IL Gen. Mango. because they
say that the mango has killed more
Spanish soldiers than All or their gem
erals put together. III you eat IL Gen.
Mango VIII kill you. Just as IL has
killed the Spaniards. l am told on good
authority that II you eat mango
every day, and then get yellow fever,
you Will swell up frightfully and sure
~ die. Now, give. you this positive
order, that not one OF you shall eat any
OF this fruit. and 1 shall punish severe
ly any man who disobeys the. order"
After such an order the obedient reg
ulars generally let the mangoes alone,
although they were abundant. tempt
ing and delicious. The volunteers ate
them more freely. without any bad re-
suit. 80 far as heard from. When the
Cuban officers and aides were asked
their opinion as TO the whoesomeness
of the fruit they generally said: 1T Is
perfectly wholesome II eaten ripe: oil
these bad things apply To the unripe
mango, which Is sometimes eaten by
the Spaniards." Most OF the army doc
tors seemed TO think the only way To
prevent the eating of the unripc mango
was to prohibit the fruit altogether.
There were many cases In which even
the most obedent regulars were i'm
PEELED by thirst and by hunger for bit
OF fruit to disobey the order: and as
the clear yellow mango is always ripe.
while the unripc fruit is green or
ereenish. IL did not take a very high
order OF intelligence to discriminate
between the fruit which was fit to eat
and that which WAS unfit.
1t is certainly hard to believe any I'M
of a mango when one looks at II. The
tree itself IL a most beautiful and at
tractive thing. Imagine a tree as large
as big Massachusetts, oak. covered
with rich and glossy foliage finer than
that OF the orange tree, and covered
also with golden fruit nesting bril-
iantly among the green leaves. On
such tree there must often he a hun
ured. every one OF which is as large as
! good-sized pear. In shape the mango |
8 not unlike short and thick cucum- |
Der. and IL has thin. tough skin. |
which. when matured, reveales n mass |
II the most delicious juicy pulp The |
'nly trouble about eating the mango is |
hat one needs an ablution afterward. |
some say that the ideal way is 10 get |
nto bathtub. take the mango eat II. |
nd then go on with the bath. But one |
s perfectly willing tn take the trouble |
o seek the ablution for the sake Of the |
ruit. And imagine the trees which bear
he fruit growing wild everywhere. |
nd also springing no in every garden
nd dooryard: the largest and finest
mes away up on wild noun
ain side. where apparently no one had
yer gathered the abounding fruit Nor
re they native fruit In Cuba: they
ave been introduced from India and
'mnly gone wild in the rich soil of the
Z the islaud.--Boston Evening Tran
cript.