The Breckenridge news., 1898-07-13
STIRRING
SIGHTS
Witnessed at the Landing OF
United States Troops
On Cuban Soil at the Pretty Village of
Baiquiri.
CUBAN PONIES AND SOLDIERS.
tFrom the New York sun.


hill Of a thousand feet that goes up
straight, almost like the side of a house.
Upon the pinnacle of this eminence is
the blockhouse on which the gunners Of
the New Orleans and other vessels tried
skill. Across little bay to the west is
another hill, uneven In contour and OF
saddle shape, and in the background
chaos OF peaks rises sheer and rugged,
their sides where not heavily wooded
showing a growth Of emerald green grass.
In the middle ground is valley through
which runs a mountain stream of crystal
clearness over pebbles and lodges.
Dotting the park-like Aoor OF the valley
may be seen the graceful cocoanut palm,
which produces nuts in abundance, to
the delight OF the soldiers, who have
never had cocoanuts before for the mere
effort of picking them up from the
ground. A hatchet or a machete is
needed to cleave the outer covering from
the nuts. Many of them are full of milk,
cool and refreshing. The soldiers drink
it freely without injury.
1t is not Uncle Sans soldiers who
catch the eye Of the correspondent in
this semi-tropical valley, singular as the
sight is, but the tatterdemaion patriots,
foot and horse. The horses are the
sorIiest nags ever seen in an army.
Compared with them Don Quixote's
Rosinante must have been a steed OF
blood and spirit. Most of these Cuban
horses are not much larger than a dom
key and scarcely heavier. Thin as
lath and wearyeyed, they excite compass
sion as, loaded down with soldier and
his equipment or almost buried under a
load of grass, thev plod on their way.
Such thing as getting a gallop out Of
them would Seem to be out OF the ques-
ton.
The foot soldiers are in many cases no
more impressive than the horses, but it
is plain that they are terribly in earnest.
They are seldom seen to smile, and they
turn out for some foray or march with
the seriousness of men who are willing
to lay down their lives for the cause.
Cuba Libre were the last words OF a
patriot soldier as he fell forward on his
face after being accidently shot the other
day by his commander, whom he recog-
nized even as he died. Few OF these
men, who never receive pay and are
fig hting for principle as heroically as
the American patriots of 1915, have
shoes. Some of them wear sort OF san
dal, tied by strings or thongs to the foot,
but many tramp barefooted over the
m 'untains. The negro or half-breed
predominates in the army of this part of
Santiago de Cuba. He seems content to
fight on an empty stomach and in rags
that hardly a scavenger would wear.
Often his breast is bare and he has but
one sleeve TO his shirt. Strings are more
common than buttons on his uniform of
white cotton and his hat is straw or felt,
according to his luck. 1t is usually turn
ed up at the side TO make surface for a
little Cuban flag.
The coming of the American army was
a godsend to these simple folk. One of
them, a wounded Sergeant, being asked
what he thought of the Decentralization
of l6 900 American soldiers said:
"Well, we were happy to be able to
hold the Spaniards in check in the
province, but think how happy we are
to know that Cuba will now surely be
free."
The spectacle of the Decentralization
and the landing OF stores at Baiquiri was
one which can never be forgotten by
those who witnessed it. All along the
coast hereabouts the waves, dashing on
rocky lodges, send up geysers Of spray
In the little bay at Baiquiri a surf rolls
up the beach even on calm days. The
water is blue, to which no comparison
could do justice. Contrasted with the
whiteness of the surf, it seems almost to
stain the air. In this bay OF tossing,
flashing water the transports ran in as
near shore and as thick as was safe, and
the soldiers running down the ladders
lowered for them crowded into ship
boats, which were towed to the barge
dock by launches belonging to the war
vesDels. Each soldier sat with gun up
right between his knees and with his
blanket roll around his shoulder. Arrived
at the dock, there was a scramble up
from the swaying boat to get on the soil
Of Cuba after eight days OF confinement
and bad air below decks on the trans
ports.
The joy OF the soldiers can be imagin.
ed. Sometimes the lighter Laura, with
a sea OF faces on her, brought up at the
dock For two days the sea was covered
with boats coming and going, the trans
ports swinging and rolling in the swells
AS fast as the troops landed they lined
up aud marched to the fats in the val
ley, where camp site was assigned TO
them. Only shelter tents were put up.
Dark OF Wednesday saw the valley lit
with camphres All the time, day and
night, the work of landing stores went
on, fiat car on the single-track railway
being used. Not even heavy rain inter
rupted II. The horses and mules were
| pushed down an inclined plank into the