The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-15
OUR NEGRO SOLDIERS.
Their characteristics and Their
Views of Fighting.

New York Commercial Advertiser.
The negro soldier is one of the conspicu-
GUS characters in camp. There are between
three thousand and four thousand colored
troops here now; one sees them every
where, riding and walking, on duty and off
duty, lounging about the station or playing
poker or craps in their camps one hears
them talked about on all sides. There is
every chance in Camp Wikoff to learn the
character of the black soldier and see to
what extent military training has modified
the negro character.
One of the Rough Riders remarked the
other day: by gad those niggars fought
like fends." There is a vein of brutality,
not to say savagery, beneath the polite and
good-natured ways of the black soldier, and
1t crops out once in awhile. The reporter
was accosted a day or two ago by a negro
trooper, who drew from his pocket a small
SllYef-plated mirror and shell comb and
said: Say, mister, I'm a little hard up, an
I'd like to dispose of dis yere. L got EN-
frum Spaniard. Could you let me have
sumpin fob dem, sab? De Spaniard what
done finished him fob it. Yo see it were
at Caney, san; around de house what dey
MADE kinder font Outen. De Spaniards
was a-laying all round. wounded but cherry
onct in awhile dey shoot off dey guns at de
American officers. l were a-standin' beside
my capn, a-talkin' to him He had jes
took out his spy-glasses fer to look away off
IN de distance an his head We're raised
bit dis er way. A Spanard what were
wounded in de CUTS crawled out'n de cellar
or dat house and when he done see de cap'n
he raised his gun and shoot De bullet take
around
an pyarced him in de breas wild NAH
bayonet.' dis er way. Den 1 drawed it out
again. What did he do? Why he done fell
In er heap, OATS what he done. took desc
yere tings frum him den. He shot nah
cap'n, he did. Why, we Jes murdered dem
Spaniards. When we come up to de
trenches dere de SpaniardS was a-laying
tick in dem. We jes' shot troo de head
ore right after de Odder jes like kicking dis
grou4 so. Dey was piled up in dose
trenches jes' laik herrin's In or box. dey
was we cut EN- down jes' laik you d NOW
fiel. We murdered 'em. Use got mo
relicts, sab, what I wouldn't sell TO no
money, but I'd laik to dispose of desc we're -
1t would be impossible to describe the
changes or tone and expression during the
monoloGue now when he negro made the
reporter play the part of a Spaniard and
again when he let him resume his own per-
SCnalitv
The black soldier has his own idea of how
hghting should be- done. He admires brav-
cry ana ne despises 'cOWardice," but he
has more respect for the discretion which
Riders is ell bravery" said one cavalry
man, but dey's too swift. It's all right to
show bravery, mebbe. and rush into de tick
Of de fight But de ting IS TO whip de bat
tie an come out safe yoself
In relation with other troops the negro
feels that he is on equality with them, and,
as far as military matters CO. just as good
DE Rough Riders is all right" said a
giant of a trooper, whose tow face was
pitted with the smallpox. Us lulus. dey
IS. We foht side by side lem at San
Juan Hill, and we'se jes' la brothers wild
The same cavalryman expressed his opin-
ION OF the foreign races he met IN Cuba in
the following way:
Dose Cubians is de mos misera bles' peo-
pie in dis world Dey's de scum of de
yarth dey is ] wouldn't gif no more for
Cuban den ! would fob a Pachee Indian
Dey's tieves and de dirtiest huming beings
any one efter see. But de SpaniardS-dey' S
f fI1e and sociable tes' lake Americans,
We seen EN- in Santiago. an deys about
the plSaSapteSt folks i ebbeF