Arizona republican., 1898-08-24
THEY THINK US GIANTS.
Open -Mouthed Wonder in Porto Rico
 Over the Size of Our Men.

Ponce, Porto Rico, Aug 23-The people of this part of the island look upon Americans as a race of giants, and they seem to have a firm convic tion that not only are we a great na- tion and big people, but that every thing connected with us is made upon the same grand scale.
 There are good reasons for their having arrived at these conclusions. The first troops which landed at Port Ponce were the Third Wisconsin vol unteer infantry, and these were fol- lowed by the Second Wisconsin and Sixteenth Pennsylvania Probably nowhere in the whole army could one find similar number of men of equal stature. The Wisconsin men are par ticularly large, and each one of them would make just about two of the Porto Rfconians. These natives are a little people and lightly built. Many of the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania men stand two inches or more above six feet in height.
 It happens, also, that many of the members of General Wilson's staff are large men, and some of them, like Cap tain A. P. Gardner and Lieutenant Fred s. Titus, are noted as athletes.
 With these big men and officers to furnish them their first impressions, the coming of our horses and mules and wagons clinched the idea that we were gigantic without any loophole for argument The Porto Riconians have plenty of horses and mules. but every one of them seems to come of race which was stunted ages ago. That they are tough and serviceable every one agrees, but the horses and mules also are but little larger than good sized donkey. The horses are thin and agile, and the Spanish thoughtlessness, which is equivalent to cruelty, keeps them goaded along so that they never have time to pick up flesh.
 The mules which we brought are particularly fine specimens of our pa- tive product, and as hundreds after hundreds of them were landed. hftclied to army wagons and set to work the natives stared and stared at them fin wonder. They could be heard talking or the great size and strength of thc animals as one passed along the streets. but it was not until yesterday that any of them took means to show his aston1shment at the size of the men.
 Among the big handsome men of General Wilson's staff is Major Hoyle the ordnance officer He is tall. and although trim in figure, solid. He stepped into native shop yesterday to get some matches. After he had been waited on, and was about to ec out, the proprietor beckoned to him
 The gesture, Major Hoyle says, was such as a back-country storekeper ir America would use to indicate that he wanted you to step into a back room and try nip of moonshine whiskev Major Hoyle says he has accepted sucl invitations frequently, but upon this occasion 1t was his intention to refuse
 and he was brushing up the SpanisI
 m his mind to say so when the mans
 manner overcame his scruples and h.
 followed him in They went through
 a winding passage. and present., emerged into a back apartment. Here
 however. instead of finding bottle
 with whiskey clear as water, there
 Ttood some platform scales. and tn,
 Shopkeeper with anxious look, motion
 ed for Major Hoyle to step upon it Major Hoyle may have been disap
 nointed. but he did not betray it. anC being good natured, he got upon tn. scales The native manipulated th' weights until the scale balanced at 19l pounds. Then with wide open eye:
 he looked over the proportions of til,
 major, and exclaimed in wonder
 'Mucha! Muchai"