Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-08-18
soldiers LETTERS
How ulab Boys We're Made Glad When Told
They Need No, Stamp Them.
MEETING OF STEAMERS IN MID OCEAN.
,.wsot the Destruction Of Ccrycn's riset
Received with fiursts Of Patriotic Cheer
ine-Died at aud Buried ut Sea.

ON board the RIO dc Janolro. Tues
day. July 20. iSgs,-The other evening
I atartcd to tell you something ot the
depaftufe Of d part of the Fourth rhil.
lpplne expedition from San Francisco.
Tnpa called US to quartern before ] had
said much. and the extremely uncom-
Portable condition Of affairs on board.
kent me from rcsumlng my work until
yesterday when az was about to be-
rin the a. 3. Maflpoea hove In FlEht.
on her way TO San Francisco from
Uonnltlu. We were told told ahc would
atom nnd take mail from ". and know.
Inc how anxious the wide awake read
era of tha "Dfaartt Nova" dre fo-
carly and reliable tidinga from Unclp's
hntH In blue. I mailed Tint which I had.
Thtrn was great rufh Tor paper ana
pencils when u was learned we would
have chance OF sending letters home
and To see our hundreds of boys scratch
and rcrihbic and erase ana write over.
In on kinds Of uncomfortable attitudes.
TO $40 them run here aud there bore
rowing paper. developer ard pencils.
while the two shlpf came nearer ana
nearer tor Their, and tho inpatient Of
ncrfn called fot them a. hurry M "
they wanted their letters O. 10. was
worth fully Nd much 40 good dinner
where one can eat all H. wants TO.
Did they want thcr letters to 80. did
they7 Wen
Many of the boys were never from
home before. fNw of them had seen the
ocean. had crossed over from Europe
Ia fact but the great majority had
never seen an 0cruu steamer, had never
been out % sight 0f land. and way
back IN Utah ana South Dakota were
wives. mothers and sweethCarts watch.
Ing and praying Tor the nrst line from
their darllngu. Nca, they wanted their
Letters 90 80. ~ a few moments they
began 10 pour Into IN cdfittra' uuartsLi
by the hundreds. nut there were NO
stamps ON hn1fl. ana OH what was 90
hf done. WHO'S sol a ftampf" Say
rat can't you spare u stamp, Just nnof'
And nnn fellow with square chin and
black eyes aud hair offered me twenty
i've aenia Tor postage stamp. TIL
officers soon made hearts glad by say.
INK u would not De- necessary 10 atnmr
the letters 10 the boys would Just Will
In one corner Soldiers letter" ANA
state their company. In n short time
several hundred letters with the al.
drrssel mostly pronNed with the word
Mise" were lowered down In the blai
with the SECOND mate, ana We al set.
Ai'N NNNN AW NlNANnH anu MAANN wv NNAH
lie boat ~ out 10 meet the MnripusH.
II was Il beautiful sight 10 see the twu
steamers meet In mld-occhn, and. cone
trary 20 expectation. the MhrlpoH
came over and crossed our storm with
her ilara ilyinE ana her decks crowded
with cheering passengers. Thoy had not
heard n the fall of Santiago and the
destruction % ccfyeri'a Acct, and when
they wcrt told, cheer after cheer rent
the ocean air. our maHtH were soon
crowded with hundreds nf troopers. who
climbed ~ hlrh aH they could got. and
the South Dakota hrnsa band got t1-
Fother on the after deck and played The
Star Hpnngiod Banner In a few min
nEaln turned her nose 10 the east,
while we steamed on 10 tho west, happy
for having Fut m word 10 the loved
ones 10 homo. ana glnd again In the
thought that Uncle Sam and tho great