The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-07-22

THE CUBAN
SOLDIERS
Cranes Description of the
Rank and File.
THEY ARE EMOTIoNLEss.
No Cheering When Skaters Forces
Landed at BaiQuiri.
ROUGH RIDERS A REVELATION.

Writing under the date Of June 81
hom Siboney. Cuba, Stephen Crane,
special correspondent of the New York
World, writes as follows about the On
ban soldiers:
The day is hot and lazy, endless Gu
ban infantry struggling past tie door of
our shack send the yellow dust, In
clouds. The Thirty-third Michigan is
landing in dribbles upon the beach.
-Four Red Cross nurses-the first Amer
lean women to set foot ON Cuban soil
since the beginning Of the war-came
ashore from the State of Texas few
minutes ago, and the soldiers, dishevel-
ed, dirty, bronzed. gazed at them with
all their eyes. They were revelation
In their cool white dresses. Life occa-
sionally moves slowly at the seat of
war. This makes two days of tranquilli-
ty. The Spaniards, when they fed from
the conflict with Roosevelt's men and
the First and Tenth regular cavalry,
took occasion to fee o considerable dis
tance; in fact, they went nearly into
Santiago de Cuba.
The attitude of the American soldier
toward the insurgent is interesting. So
also is tho attitude of the insurgent to-
ward the American soldier. One must
not suppose that there was any cheerins
enthusiasm at the landing of our army
at Baiquiri. The American soldiers
looked with silent curiosity upon the
ragged brown insurgents and the insur-
gents looked stolidly, almost indiffer-
emily, at the Americans
The Cuban soldier, indeed, has turn
ed into an absolutely emotionless char
acter save when he is maddened by bat
tle. He starves and he makes no COM
plaint. We feed him and he expresses
no JOY. When you come to think of it,
one follows the other naturally. If he
had retained the emotional ability to
make a fuss over nearly starving to
death. he would also have retained thu
emotional ability to faint with Joy at
sight of the festive canned beef, hard
tack and coffee. But he exists with the
indifference or ignorance
of the greater part Of the people in an
ordinary slum.
Everybody knows that the kind of
charity which loves to be
thanked is often grievously disappoint-
ed and wounded In tenement districts,
where people often accept gifts as if !
their own property had turned up after |
q short absence. The Cubans accept our
stores in something Of this way. If
there are any thanks, it is because Of
custom. Of course, i mean the rank and
file. The officers are hammered both /
good and bad, true and assembling,
like ordinary people. But there is no
specious intercourse between the Cubans
and the Americans Each hold largely
TO their own people and go their own
ways. The American does not regard
MS ally as good man for the fighting
line, and the Cuban is aware that his
Of the country makes his
woodcraft superior to that Of the Amer.
can. He regards himself also as con-
Of veteran aud there has not
ret been enough fighting to let him
rnow what immensely formidable per-
ons are your Uncle Samuels regulars.
The fighting of the rough riders, by
he way, surprised him greatly. He is
lot educated in that kind Of warfare.
The way our troops kept going, going,
lever giving back foot despite the
osses, hanging on as if every battle was
!. life or death struggle---this seemed
to the Cuban. The scene
4 the fight ON the cath is now far with
n our lines. The Spanish position was
erfect. They must have been badly rat.
led to have so easily given it up at the
tack Of less than 1000 men. Here
ow the vultures wheel slowly over the
yoods
Scovel and I swan two Jamaica
orses ashore from the Triton, found
ONE insurgents and took journey into
he hills. Colonel Cebrccos little force
re found cncamped under the palms in
hatched hut with saplipg uprights.
he ragged seminaked men lay about in
irty hammocks, but their rifles were
1873, and their belts were
al Of cartridges. The tall guinea grass
ad been trodden fiat by thoir bare feet.