The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-10-27
CAPT. JAS. X. VARDAMAN
Writes Of Scenes "a Santiago
and the Treatment OF
Our Soldiers.
Santiago de Cuba, Sept Z, 1898.

'rFN - ~
My dear Mr. EDITOR:
One month ago yesterday the 5th
Regiment, u. S. Volunteer Infantry
broke camp al Columbus, Miss, and
started for this sun-kissed land Of pes
thence, poverty and pusIlanlmlty. /
have seen more evidence OF human
suffering, more half-sbaryed, naked
children and poorly clothed men and
women since / have been in this
place than ] have seen In the last
t~hirty-hVe years before. II Is q sight
siCkcnlng 10 behold. IL is quite
n common thing TO see a poor,
e~maciated, ragged woman with
scarcely enough clothing on her per
son TO make a shadow, walking the
streets with a naked babe In her
arms, and two or three half-naked
children following behind, begging
for bread. They will eat with ayidity
h~alf.rOtten meat and bread which
they pick up IN the streets. While
the people, as a rule about Santiago
are worthless, contemplate things
without pride or dcceuey, yet they
still have some physical sensibilitics,
that Is to say-they are still capable
Of suffering from hunger and disease.
/ went into the city this morning
and / saw dozens of these characters
sitting In front Of their squalld dolby
huts, looking like the vital spark was
Just about to flicker out. The paid,
pinched faces and pleading eyes
which one sees when they come up TO
you, and extend the long, skinny,
canny hand and beg you for anything
that you win give them, makes an
impression which will never be eff
faced, II is hOrrible-worse than
being In a skeleton shop. l do not
know how to describe it except to
say-it is hell. And | want it I'M
derstoOd that l am not compliment
Ing hell when | make the comparison
either, / was told when | first land
ed here that / would get used to it
after awhile, but as I am not a Span
lard and a Cuban prosecutor, / am in
clincd To the opinion that my prog
nostlCating friend was mistaken. It
may be a weakness but / am so put
together that where l sec any sort of
an animal, human or otherwise, suf-
fering / cannot for the life of me
help plying them and making d lit
tie effort to .rbelp them out"
As stated heretofore, the people
/ mean the majority Of them-are
trlaIng, nasty and contemplate, still
the consciousness Of that fact does
not prevent natural, genuine, human
folks from suffering a little commits
Grafton when confronted by want,
woe and ~wretchedness. Our regi-
ment is doing fairly well. We have
a good lot Of men, earnest, brave
and true, and the officers, with the
exception modesty demands that II
make, are men Of the highest order Of
character, brave, cultivated, gencr-
Gus gentlemen from the colonel
down. And If 1t should become neces-
TO do service on the field of bat
tie the 9th Regiment U. S. Volun-
teer Infantry, will be heard from,
We are having a great deal Of sick.
ness now, The yellow fever has at
last made Its appearance and some
dozen or more Of the boys have had a
tilt with it, But as yet none
Of them have died from the disease
Today was our first death from
natural causes. Sergeant VIM, D.
Mcleod, OF my company, was the
irst to go. He was an excellent
man, universally beloved by every
member Of the regiment who had the
Of an acquaintance with
You win remember him as the
gentleman who wrote one or two let
.ers TO The Commonwealth. He died ,
II acute dysentery, We buried HIM
With military honors on thohtn about
me mile southwest Of Santiago, and S
.Onight while his body rests in this {
ar away land his immortal spirit isl