The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-23

them understand US. but they, are getting
know enough to say that they are Ameri-
cans. not Spaniards. Yesterday Afternoon
All four batteries made good showing;
had target about exc feet. put up on the
side Of mountain, and shot at 1t 5000
CAPTAIN cURTIs's TRIP.
Below is an abstract of letter from
Frank HeiskelI. of the battery:
II am still on board our transport: It
has been Just twelye days since iast $1,000 o,Sr
men on board besides myself. We have to
do the unloading. We have the place to
ourselves, and have pleasant time after
our work is DONE Everything is unloaded
into a barge as we cannot get WITHIN a naiI
by o'clock yesterday evening.
There is another transport coming in
wonder where she comes from? There are
five or six transports in here now The
gunboat Gloucester is near US. Up to .yester-
day we have had the protection OF the war
ship Cincinnati. A dispatch boat arrived
yesterday with word that Spanish war
ship was near the island but it was not
known just where. The Cincinnati started
out in pursuit, and has not been heard from
since.
do you remember the flag. that was
presented to us at Camp Mount? II is now
here. The place was captured the day we
arrived, and Captain Curtis took the nag
and had Ii hO1Sted over the town. IneTS
has been some fighting near us nearly every
day, and at night we can hear the out
posts exchanging shots. BY means OF
strong glass you can see the Spanish signal
station on top of mountain several miles
away. There are a great many Spanish
spies about town. The natives are low
class of Spanish. They are very dark and
much like the Mexican. American dollars
are worth So of their money. There is a
great deal of sugar cane grown, also tropical
fruits of all kinds and cocoanuts. There are
many goats and oxen, and the horses are
very small, about the size of the goat Wait
1--WE are expected to get in condition to
march as soon possible, then move on to
San Juan. Carpenters and, engineers are
ahead of us constructing bridges. About all
we can see of the island is the low lana
along the coast extending back se ,,dina
east and west far as you can see. JUST
before we left Camp Thomas two of the
boys received q large box three feet square
full of good things. AS we had to leave
camp so suddenly we did not nave time 20
unpack, and the box was sent along win
the rest of our baggage. Yesterday as we
were unloading we ran across IL, ana what
we did to it was enough. We had enough
for dinner supper and dinner tne next eT Uay
night after the cooks go to bed and COOK II:
Yesterday one of the boys stole loaf OF
coming along he stuck it inside of his shirt
Before he could get it out it had burned
great big blister.
$50 Aug. 81 am waiting for the launch
to take us to shore Last night relief was
sent out to take our place, so we got to go
out on dry land Night before last was
night of excitement. In the afternoon a
dispatch boat came in with the WORD tnat
Spanish torpedo boat was near the iS1anq;;
left in search of her. That evening apoul ~
o clock the boys in camp were awakened
from a sound sleep by the tramp of horses
and the firing of revolvers and men rushing
through camp crying Run for your lives
the Spaniards are on us.
HORSES CAUSE A SCARE.
1.-THE boys jumped up, and, seeing the
horses dashing past camp and having notn-
ing with which to defend themselves, started
on run for the cane field. Some of them
ran past an infantry outpost and were shot
at by the guards. 1t was not long before
the cause of the excitement was located.
1t was a stampede of horses at the picket
line. They broke away. and as they rushed
through camp the boys took them to be
Spanish cavalry, and, as but rev OF US nave
guns al and they are bnt p get out of the way
about the same time as this was going
on at camp launch ran out from shofS'
and as soon as it came within halnng as
lance of the Gloucester the officer in charge
told the captain something, and the men on
board were at once called out and the deck
cleared for action. The guns were loaded
and everything made ready Tor an engage.
ment She lay right next to US. SO we coula
the matter, but they did some signaling
from shore and then replaced the things
as they were.
at camp and had my dinner. ] stopped in
town long enough to see some or II ana ear
lot. Their money is only worth half as
much as ours. We can trade 10 cents OF
our money for 20 cents of the Spanish.
with me when l left the ship and sold IL 10
the natives. They gave me 20 cents Ior the l1
| was sorry l did not have a box OF nard
tack. / could have taken 1t II had known
what they would give gisen for it. I, small shelter
tents. They hold two, and are only three
feet high and five feet wide at the pottom1'
It rains half Of the time. There is large
tree full of cocoanuts just fifty feet from
me. They have no horses here, nothing de,,o DHe
ponies and oxen. Instead OF neckyoKS
they fasten the yoke to the horns, ana az
of the pulling is done by the horns ana
upper part of the head. Our camp is ABOUT
a mile from the seashore on an OLD plan lt;1I
ton. An old dilapdated sugar rennery sun
stands to mark our corner OF the camp
ground They say that the man Who owns
The ground is a Spanish officer. When the
commanding officer sees anything he thinks
vas fne for tne recep for it. hey
have taken pack ponies ana an OK Tram
NC "Cantsin Curtis just now started out on
horseback to investigate the road up INTO
the mountain. He took an Interpreter anu
an engineer with him. Ihere are Id al fo H1IS
The water is very good. Ihere is a sPIins
near us and two streams near by IN Wnicn
to water horses have not received th wen {ene
as ne is in a tent by himself. Tell Art l
would like to send him some cigars. .They
sell for a cent apiece. They are tough
looking but smoke all right.
II do not believe you would know Wait
or me now if you should see us. We Dota
look like tramps, dirty and with Two OF
three weeks beard on.
please write when you can and tell me
all about how you are getting along now
everybody is and what is going on IN .ne
world generally We have heard nothing
for two weeks. None of us have received
naner we saw was July % ISSUE"
THE HONsIER REGULARS.