The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-14
WHAT CUBA is LIKE.
Impressions of SibOney When the
Troops First Landed.

Charles .. Hands, in London Mail.
I have been trying to reconstruct for my
self the city of Siboney as it was in the
palmy days before the American conquest.
I fancy that under the rule Of the naughty
Spaniards it achieved prosperity and import
ance as a great sewerage center. The hills
around slope down in a sort of amphithea-
ter to the little cliff-surrounded cove. Hence
an abundant water supply. The hills are
rich in iron ore. and down by the shore
there is a narrow-gauge railway running
on the west to Santiago and on the east to
the first landing place, Baiquiri. The houses
are dotted about on the side of the little
foothill which rises behind the cliff, and
are arranged in such a manner that the
drainage of each one of them runs under
the flooring of every other. The houses give
unmistakable evidence of Siboney having
been largely concerned in the cow-keeping
and pig-raising industry, for the houses are
just single stored wooden cowsheds with
sliding wooden shutters for windows.
The Cuban headquarters house is a cow
shed painted in blue stripes-so fine that
some grandee must have lived in it, That is
the worst of the Cubans. They get the best
of everything in this war. AS our ships or
our troops have frightened the Spania rds
out of their houses, the Cubans have come
swarming down from the hills, and taken
possession of everything.
AT Baiquiri the Spanish cOmmandant had
to leave in such hurry after gunboats
began to throw crackers at him that he had
no time to finish a little store OF good, old
landed Spanish claret, which he kept in bot
tie in a sort of rabbit-hutch in his bedroom
Between the time the last shot was fired and
the first boatload of troops sprang ashore
not FIVE minutes elapsed. But five minutes
were more than enough for the Cubans to
crawl out of their holes in the ground and
collar everything that was worth annexing,
or was not worth annexing, and all that
our men found was sacked and looted VIII
lage.
trees There was not a ripe mango to be
seen nor even many unripe ones. Only the
cocoanuts had escaped, and that was be-
cause the Cubans had a surfeit of cocoanuts
while they were living in the woods.
There were dozen or of good horses
which the Spaniards had not had time to
fetch from the corral. These the Cubans
being busy going over the cottages and
huts overlooked. Roosevet's Rough Riders
found them. The Texas cowboys. had af-
fected to laugh at the nickname of Weary
Walkers" But it CALLED them terribly
They had not been ashore five minutes
when one of them lifted up his face and
..Wboop,r he yelled; ''hosses. There's
bosses around, by snakes and Shafter.
He and dozen others made wild rush
in the direction of the wind. and there sure
enough. they found the horses. with the
Spanish army brand on them. There was
wild ioy in the ranks of the Rough Riders
and they were arranging to mount dozen
picked men on the captured animals and
send them out scouting 10 find more when
a bare-legged, ragged Cuban came along
and claimed them.
According to the Rough Rider the Cuban
said: Americana no -caballero; Cubano
cabalIeroi''
Get out" said the Rider, 'or I'll knock
the stufIing outer yerv
The Cuban went of to General Castillo
and the general went TO General Shafter
and General Shafter sent instructions that
the horses were to be given up to the Gu
bans. IT was sorry sight for ali us foot
weary ones to see picturesque gang of
captured horses. We We're all going about
offering untold gold for three-legged mule,