Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-09-29
WANT TOCOME HOME
MEMBERS OF THIRD WISCONSIN
TIRED OF PORTO RICO.
LETTER FROM A PRIVATE
Many Sick in Hospitals at Ponce
Plenty Of Fruit to Be Had-High
Prices for Food Supplies-Return-
ing Illinois Volunteer Gives Some
"reminiscences of the Isle
Madison. Sept. u

Isaac Francomb has just received an
who is a private in Co. A, 3rd Wis
consin volunteers, now at Coamo,
Porto Rico Portions of the letter
are SubjOlned:
"Coamo, Porto Rico, sept. J0.-I am
well and feeling good, but am very
ly waiting and have been for two
weeks for orders to return to the
United States, but the orders do not
come. The End regiment has left the
island and its members were happy
to get away. When they left, they
took all of our ammunition and lett
only fifty rounds of cartridges. They
also carried away all of the guns from
our sick men so it looks as if we
would move soon. We have over 200
men OF our regiment in the hospital
now and if we stay here much longer
they will all be in. Two of our men
of Co. A died last week and were
buried here One of our boys died
at Charleston, so we have lost out
three altogether. 1t is still very hot
here in the day time but cool at night.
All of the sick have the fever. | be-
lieve it comes from sleeping on the
ground. The men in our tent and
myself went out in the woods and
cut some poles and got some vines
which we used in making hunks.
There are six in our tent and since
the mule drivers got their pay We
have been living pretty high. We
all borrow money from them and now
buy nice corn meal, oatmeal, sugar,
bread and such stuff and cook our
meals ourselves. The rest of the COM
pany call us the pot gang" Ex-
ceedingly high prices are charged for
things here. Rice is 40 cents pound,
corn meal the same and oatmeal so
cents. Eggs are 10 cents apiece and
milk 10 cents quart and mostly wa
ter at that. Our rations are better
now than they were. We get fresh
neat nearly every day. Altogether
, We are now securing fair living very
good. Our company is now the larg-
est in the regiment while we have
60 sound men fit for duty. Some Of
the other company's have only 80
men for duty. Every man in the reg
iment signed paper and sent to the
president last week, asking him to
have the regiment mustered out. The
18th Pennsylvania regiment did the
same thing. We don't know if he
/ 4
will. Oranges and bananas are now
ripe and we have all that we can eat
t the woods are full of them. There is
another kind of fruit here that is now
ripe; we call it prickly pear. These
are very large and weigh from two to
! four pounds apiece and make fine
| eating. They taste just like ice
! cream. Cherries and tomatoes are
also ripe. There are lots of cherries
! here, but not man tomatoes. All of
the boys are now busy getting relics
! to take home, but | think we will have
! to leave them behind us, for we have
no way to carry them. We are not
/ allowed to carry anything, but our
knapsacks and they are comparatively
small, so | think some of the BOYS
will be disappointed. | send you in
! this letter twO-cent piece to show
| you what kind of money they have
here. The coins here are 1, 2, 5, 10,
20 and 40 cent and 81 pieces, but no
20 or 80 cent pieces. l will have to
| close now for it is nearly supper time.
We are going to cook some bread
, fruit, rice and tomatoes and we will
! draw meat, bread and coffee, so
think we will last till morning.
! A private from the sixth Illinois
volunteer regiment passed through
Madison Sunday on his way to Ash
land. He was on Porto Rican soil
and can tell many interesting tales
The, very day after landing there they
found themselves in a skirmish, to-
gether with a Massachusetts regiment.
The Massachusetts regiment lay in a
banana field and could not be seen by
the Spaniards. Bullets were whizzing
by their ears at about the rate of 20
minute, but no one was killed on the
American side; while the Spaniards
lost about 40 men.
Often times they had to sleep in
the open during a heavy downpour of
rain. At the ovation given them on
their return to New York, some one
in the crowd cried, Whats the mat
ter with Illinois," The boys of the
regiment replied feebly, They're hun
CRY" In moment there were loaves
of bread and other good, solid things
for every one.
Private Robinson or Co. E, Of Be-
lott is in the city. He formerly worked
for the Hart-Parr Co. in the fifth ward
and previous to that attended the uni
versity. After he is mustered out he
expects to leave for the Dakotas for a
months visit will his parents.