Evening star., 1898-07-30
CUBAN AT TERMATH
Some "reminiscences of the Recent
Campaign.
MR.. PEPPERS PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Battles With Land Crabs Not the
Least Annoying.
SOME TRAGIC INCIDENTS

Written for The Evening Star.
Incidents of the campaign in Cuba are
more pleasant in retrospect than they were
in the happening. The experiences were
| unique and entertaining, but certain feat
| ures of the campaigning were not so much
appreciated at the time as they were when
the hardships were over. Much of ii was
common to all, even to the reinforcements
! including the Ohio regiments and the Dis
trict of Columbia troops. These plodded
their way to the front through mud and
ram, which gave them vivid idea of what
marching in the wet really meant. 1t was
an Ohio company whose members declared
they swan all the distance from Sboney
10 the outposts in front of Santiago. Camp
life is giving them all further experiences.
which will enable the later troops to swap
"reminiscences with the veterans who took
part in the first march overland.
Battles With Land Crabs.
One of the things about which every re-
turned soldier Will have story to tell will
De his battles with the land crabs These
craos are warriors. They fight sturdily,
and, unlike the Spaniards they do not de-
penc on intrenchments. They resisted the
American invasion fiercely, and they made
nightly attacks. The Cuban land crab is
NOis,'NOidpiy ldlSeE ths n mans hand
It's body is parti-colored, and the hues are
brilliant The soldiers who did not pretend
TO knowledge of natural history said
they had movable eyes and adjustab legs
Ihese legs Keep their bodies off the ground
ana give the land crabs a peculiar means
OF focomouon. They seem to travel edge.
wise, ana in getting over the ground when
II Is ary they make noise like the crack
ing OF bushes When the ground is wet
Whlch Is oftener the case, their movement
| is like that of a suction pump. In time
army r'-'
Everybody had his struggle with these
creatures sometimes the stiffness would
De broken by a howl of dismay and some-
Dody would shoot out of tent as if mad
Inc disturbed camp would half awaken
| near near the mutter, land crabs swear a
little and settle down TO sleep, only to be
disturbed in a few minutes by another vic.
um- One night when all was calm the
quiet was broken by sharp commands from
an am oheers th tent. Sergeant. get an AK and
thing was a land crab. When the officers
| terminate suggested that instead of an az
| the sergeant should get the dynamite gun
| there was a chorus of approval
Used to Them in Mexico.
On another occasion camp discipline was
threatened by an Arizona trooper. who had
| a shelter tent all to himself He had been
amusing his companions with a bottleful of
huge freflies and had been telling them
! stories Of life on the plains. Later. sounds
of hilarious greeting came from his tent
| Why, BIZ, old pard,- stay right here
nam seen you for long while How are
We, anyhow" There was no audible 70
sponse, but the supposition was that an
old comrade had turned up and was receiv-
ing western welcome. The troopers ex-
| uperant talk Kept growing louder and
more hilarious without bringing a renlv nm
| III nnaIly curiosity moved several of his
| comrades to take peep into the tent
| mar they saw caused a roar of merriment
Inc Arfzonfan was stretched at full length
his head propped upon his right elbow his
left hand holding the bottle of firefies
which lit up the interior of the tent so that
every object could be seen clearly. On the
ecse OF MS blanket was u land crab of un-
usual size, evidently uncertain whether IN
advance or retreat. The trooper's exnlana
| ton was brief: Like seem old friends
| he said. Used to camp with ;en IN Wax-
ico." "
do not recall any one whose nerves We're
PROOF against a visitation from these land
crabS Lying comfortably in a hammock
the hrst night passed in the field il was
| intensely amusing to watch the frantic
struggles of two companions who through
force of circumsg gances made their beds on
some twigs spread over the earth A
troop of land crabs came that way. After
lhe sieepers had been thoroughly aroused
ana mad awakened everybody within sey-
erai hundred feet by their clamor, they be-
gan laying about them vigorously with
sticks The crabs were beaten back, but
returned to the attack. Ultimately they
beat noisy and disorderIy retreat vet
| they had made their mark on two impress
slonable natures, and at regular intervals
during the remainder of the night ba Ties
were fought with imaginary troops of and
crabs, Retributlon for enjoying the mis-
fortunes of others came the next night
when, after weary days tramping / fell
asleep on the ground and was awakened
q m nhraa Of hale
the common enemy. 1t was an unpleasant
choice to make between enduring their
presence and climbing tree, which was a
favorite resort of the green lizards What
the choice was is not important but the
Cuban lizards, while sociable are far less
aggressive than the land crabs. 5
CorresRondents' Equipments
Keeping with the outposts of the army
during the first week of the advance on
Santiago from the seacoast called for some
qualities which were neither strictly Jour-
nalisuc nor military. Most of the war cor
| respondents left Tampa amply equipped as
! to baggage. If a month had been taken
to get the troops before the city and then
a regular siege mad been laid the civilians
whose professional duties required them to
be along would have been able to settle
down to it quite comfortably. They had
! provided themselves with horses saddles
and saddle bags, tents with flies, COTS ham
hioSNS, Camp StOOis, HOSQu1lC ne]S, mS0i-
cine chests, eating and cooking utensils
pistol and cartridge belts, sombreros nam
uafs of military tactics, War Department
| maps, copy paper, fountain pens, Ollen-
DORIS and Spanish Taught at a Glance"
stamped envelopes, blankets, soap pipes
rubber wash basins, shaving mugs, hand
| mirrors, cavalry boots, leggings, spurs fan
mel shirts. mackintoshes, cameras, visiting
cards. air pillows, rubber blankets, hunting
jackets, umbrellas and various articles OF
personal adorn1nent. The war correspond
ent in full regalia at Tampa and subss-
quently "a few of him. in Cuba was as
imposing as militia general at annual
muster. The first blow came when no trans
portation was obtained for the horses How
ever, all the rest Of the accouterments We're
loaded on the transports, unloaded at Dali
quiri and carefully guarded. Some of the
equipments afterward, when taken In home
opathic sections. did prove useful, but in
order to move with the army 1t was neces-
sary to discard baggage except the soldiers
roll woolen blanket and poncho or rubber
blanket-and canteen. The toothbrush was
saved by sticking 1t through the hat band
soldier fashion. Equipped in this manner
! in light marching order it was possible TO
keep up with the vanguard of the troops
though in the heat of the tropical sun there