The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-09-05


yesterday afternoon ut o'clock. and on
board was the body of Charles switzer.
a private in Company E of the Eighth
Ohio Volunteers, popularly known as
1.-THE Presidents own" Accompanying
the body OF the poor fellow were Ser
geant George Blake and Private George
A. wilkinson. The Eighth saw service
IN Cuba, ana although 1t arrived Just
too late to participate In the battles
around Santiago. 1T was given more
than its share Of the suffering that
crossed the path of every regiment that
set foot on Cuban soil. Private wTkin-
son talked freely Of his experiences
when interviewed yesterday afternoon
on the keystone State.
Sergeant Blake and myself have been
detailed to accompany poor -switzer's
body to his home at Brownsville. near
Matamoras. He died last Friday night
at East Liverpool, from complication
Of diseases and privatIon that culmin-
ated in typhoid fever from which he was
unable to rally in the debilItated condI-
tion in which we oil have been since
the return from Santiago. Soon after
our arrival at AEontank Point, the good
people Of East Liverpool took an inter-
est in US, and sent DR.. Hobbs, our for
mer surgeon. and Mr.. Cook, to do what
they could for US. The result was that
Mr.. Cook succeeded in getting leave of
absence for fourteen of our sick last
Tuesday. and on the following day DR..
Hobbs did the same for fourteen more,
and we were brought on to East Liver
pool where we have received the best
of attention"
Private wilkinson's sunken cheeks and
apparently weakened condition showed
that he had been succored from priva-
sion in the nick OF time.
"Poor switzers illness was brought on
by starvation" continued Wilkinson.
ave were seven days in making the
trip from Santiago to Montauk. and
were actually starving all. OF that time.
Young Eddy. the Marietta boy, died on
the trip because ne had little or no
nourishing food, If we had had good
food we would have been all right, even
without medicine. But all We had on
the trip was black coffee and the little
bread and butter that we succeeded in
begging from the sailors. We could
NOT eat the hard tack that was furnish
cd us; 1t was full OF worms and unfit
for hog to eat
Actually the boys OF our regiment
who we're able to get around on the ship
begged for the privilege of passing coal
down to the furnaces in order that they
would be included in the rat!ons dis
tributed TO the sailors.
The Muwhawk was cattle ship and
not ut to be used for the transportation
ofmen.
zone night we got soup, made of
canned tomatoes, beef and water. 1t
was just slop, for there wasn't pinch
Of salt on the ship, at least we could
get none.
when we arrived at Montauk, one Of
the officers proposed three cheers for
colone! Hard; he got Misses and cat
calls from the men. The same recep-
ton was accorded Lieutenant Colonel
Kooptz. Then somebody in the ranks
called for cheers for Major wIbrecht, of
our battalion, and they were given With
a will. Colonel Hard then called US "a
pack of towards"
"our regiment arrived OF Santiago
the 10th of July. several days before the
surrender. and we all expected to be in
a scrap before a day had passed. On
our way to the front we passed an am
bulance train, filled with the wounded.
To our sorrow. We were not taken to the
front but were placed on outpost duty,
two and oue-half miles from the firing
line.
when We landed. the Spanish pIckets
saw the white rolls on our backs. and
we learned later that the report became
current In Santiago that each man had
a small cannon on his back 1t was
said this frightened the spanIards more
than anything else and fastened the
surrender.
'If the surrender had not come when
Il did there would have been n battle
in which all OF our men would have
been engaged, and I am sure we could
not have taken the city without a loss
Of at least 5000 men. The .iefenscs
were made up of trenches and barbed
wire was everywhere.
"whcn cervera's fleet was destroyed.
the Spanish authorities in the city cir
cuiated the report that their admiral
had sunk and captured all OF the Amer
lean squadron, but they soon learned the
truth and were more cast down than
ever"
Private Wilkinson told Of the lack Of
system on the part of the commissary
department at Santiago, and said the
Eighth Was on half ratlons most Of the
time. The meat issued to the regiment
was very bad. being partly decomposed.
At Montauk Point. however. the sltua-
ton was improved, and in the Red Gro.
hospital especially the boys wI:u given
excellent treatment.
SERGEANT BLAKE.
Accompanying the remains Of Private
switzer to Brownsville besides Private