Evening star., 1898-10-29
MISSED THEIR TOBACCO

'It has struck me Hight along that the
newspapers of rthe yellow variety have
been making a terrific hullabaloo over the
way things were run down in Cuba, Porto
Rico. and in the American camps with very
little reliable information upon which TO
base their charges" said an officer of the
oath Infantry tone of the negro egiments),
who was struck by three Maus,r bullets
badly wounded by one of them-and a
piece of shell in the fight at Sar Juan. Il
didn't see muchf to complain about under
the circumstances down in Cuoa, and l
had pretty fair chance to see what was
going on. The only genuine criticism. in
fact. that I have to make refers to the
scarcity of tobacco among the tr pops down
there. Tobacco was at a premi Am during
the greater portion of our stay in Cuba,
and the soldiers who were deprived of 1t
would very willingly have paid fer it at the
price of its weight in gold ! don't think
1t would be possible to everest innate the
value OF tobacco to troops undergoing a
i,aIu sa campaign: 1t is bread and meat and
dr1nk 10 a soldier enduring the hardships
or war 1t is at once a stimuls mt and a
toH,c' ana us value in altaying hunger is
Ven known to experienced commanders
siae Geeer a,, as ~ may seem, chewing tobacco
aiso aiiays th1rst. know this, because I've
tired 1t. Another point with reference TO
lhe cneWlng Of tobacco by soldiers in a
tIaihpalsn is that all of the old-timers swal-
~ ioW the Julce OF the weed. They allow that
i, 10 apt TO make fellows not used to hand
ling it in that way a bit sick at first hut
tney say that the stimulating effect of the
plant Is lost if the juice is expectorated.
never mad better illustration of the
Nalue OF tobacco to men who had long
Deen hankering for it than on the day of
the oan Juan fight The black soldiers of
my outht OF the oath had been entirely to-
oaccoiess almost from the time We landed
IN CuDa- and 1t was the hardest kind of a
deprivation upon men who had been used
or ior years 10 consuming the weed in all
It's forms. The men missed tobacco par
ticularly after meals After they got out
side of their coffee thew would get To-
gether and talk longingly of tobacco. and
1 could just see their teeth leaking for it.
put tnere wasn't a quarter of an ounce to
De had. don't hesitate to say that the
@ nen OF my company weren't quite the
same Without tobacco, and a number of
them frankly said that they'd rather be
without grub than to go tobaccoless.
On the morning of the San Juan scrap
came INTO the proud possession of q one
pound plug of chewing tobacco. I'm not
gong to incriminate myself by stating how
happened to get the plug but I got it
all the same. A short time before 1t came
our turn to go into the action, 1 produced
the plug and handed it to the big, black
top sergeant of nay company. You ought
to have seen his eyes stick out when he
caught sight of the plug
Just pass 1t down the line" told him.
and let each of the boys take a nibble off
it
The sergeant took bite off the plug
himself, and then handed it to the first
duty sergeant. The whole company was
'on to- the presence of the plug of tobacco
in the outfit by this time, and they set up
cheer. They just forgot all about the
impending fight, they were so tickled over
the sight of the tobacco. The plug went
down the line, every man taking off bite,
and then it started up the line and toward
me again. 1t certainly did dwindle in size,
that plug of tobacco, BY the time it got
into the hands of the top sergeant. it was
just the size of one good chew. which the
men had, by careful calculation saved for
me, the loot'nant Did l take it? Well
I guess yes, and swallowed every bit of the
juice. like all the rest of the men. And
can tell you it tasted good The men threw
their shoulders back Under the stimulus of
the tobacco and became perky ana sassy
ond tightly all through-ard ] suppose YOU
remember what the oath did in the San
Juan fight? l mad the chew in my mouth,
enjoying it hugely, when the last of the
three Mausers that plugged me got me in
the hips, paralyztng me from the waist
down for a couple of months Afterwards.
and, as / didn't become unconscious.
eT loved that chevy even after | was hitp