The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-03-13
Appearance of Spanish Soldiers

ton drill fiunsy canvas shoes with hem
pen soles, and a coarse, wide orinmed
straw hot and put Masuer in his hand.
and you have Spanish soicier such as
you find in Cuba A more unSoIdleriy ng-
ure could hardly be suspicion OF mill
tary calling would ever attach 70 him.
Surely these are not really soldiers,
is the incredulous exclamation OF Ameri-
can visitors in Havana on seeing for the
first time q squad OF Spanish infantry
men, ragged and unkempt with rusty, bat
tered arms and Announcements. struggling
through the streets without the slightest
semblance of military order, says the New
York Herald
And vet 1t is not fair to judge these
poor fellows merely by appearance While
they cut a deplOrable figure as coElpar-
ed with Englands Tommy Atkins. with
the smart. clean troops of cur own army
or National Guard. OF, for that matter,
with the soldiers Of any civilized nation,
vet they are not without certain qualit-
les that entitle them 10 respect
Two great virtues they undoubtedly pos
sess-an all pervading spirit of patriotism.
and an absolutely blind obedience 10 ord
ers. These poor ignorant peasant lads'
torn from their homes and brought by the
thousands to march and starve and die III
the pestilential wilderness of Cuba, have
but the faintest idea Of what the war Is
all about. But ask one OF them why ne
came TO Cuba, and you will see the
slouchy figure straighten up proudly and
the dull eyes brighten as he replies; For
! 10 patriai'
All the poor fellows knows is that the
| .sFatherIand'' has need of him, and for it
he will give his life If need be.
The Spanish recruit sees little OF Ha-
vana. for on his arrival he is drafted from
the troops ship to Moro Castle or Cas-
tillo del Principe, where he is furnished
with his Mauser and roughly instructed
IN It's manioulation. very few lessons
in the simplest rudiments or soldier
duty qualify him for active service, and ne
| goes. 10 the field without ever having hred
his rife and with just enough knoWl-
edge of drill TO enable him to comprehend
| the orders to advance, halt, or turn to
! the right or left.
Probably it will be his fate TO be at
tached TO a battalion engaged in active op-
erations. in which case he will march day
after day, in all weathers, broiled during
the day and chilled at night, rarely see
! ing the enemy, unsheltered, overWorkeo
| and underfed, until the inevitable break
down occurs and he can march no longer.
| Then If he still retains remnant OF
strength, he may be retailed TO the gar
rison of one of the thousands OF tiny
| blockhouses that are strung along the
| trocha or form the defences OF country
| towns.
There is no more pitiful sight than Is
| presented by the living skeletons VINO gar
rison these noisome little forts when they
are called on to turn out and stand by
the roadside at salute when szgne general
and his staff ride by. Men have been seen
| so weak that they could barely bring
their pieces TO the salute
Any other troops in the world who had
been subjected to the continued neglect
and abuse that has fallen to the lot OF
the Spanish soldier in Cuba would long
ago have broken out in open mutiny, but
these poor fellows plod along without a
! thought of resistance until death over
| takes them.
| The condition. of the cavalry in the field
is considerably better than that OF the IN
! fantry, and as a scouting force II is ca
pable of doing fairly good work Ihelr
horses are small and wiry. requiring lit
tie attention; but their clothing and equip
ments are in the last stages of dilapida-
| ton.
| II must not be supposed, however, that
all Spain's troops resemble the poor fell
| lows who are forced to bear the brunt OF
| the war. There are, in addition to the
regulars two crack corps of military po-
lice-the Guard a Civil and the Orden Puo-
leo. both composed of picked men, hand-
somely uniformed well armed, ana pre-
senting an appearance which would give
the seyerest military critic little TO caVh
| at.
The Guardia Civil is rarely seen In Ha-
vana, forming as it does the rural police
of the island, with guard houses IN al
the villages and minor towns. They wear
| a snowy, and. to our eyes, rather theatri-
cal. uniform Of blue tunic and trousers
faced and striped with scarlet, with a
wide-brimmed hat Of gray felt, the brim
caught I'D at one side and fastened 10
the crown with a circular badge or scar
amelia. formed of the Spanish colors oil
crimson and gold.
The Guardia Civil Cavalry, numerous
and splendidly mounted body, is equipped
like the infantry, except that they carry
| a sabre and carbine instead OF the shor'
sword and the Remington rife. The dis
cipline of this force leaves nothing &c
ne desired. During the late riots in Ha'
vana excellent work was done by the
souadrons of Guardia Civil Cavalry
The companion body, the Orden Punhco
consists of picked men from the best nome
regiments in the Spanish army. While
] their
Of a civil character. they are 10 all in
hody. carefully drilled and capable OF
naueuverfng with the crack troops Of
the service They wear a uniform some
what similar to the Guardia Civil, but
with a iaunty French kept instead of tbs
felt hat -.
On ordinary duty they are equipped witt
a heavy revolver. worn in front, on the
right side. and q short, straight, two
| edged sword In times OF public disturb
ance they carry the regulation Reming
ton rife instead Of the revolver The
mounted section OF the Orden Publico Il
a splendid body Of cavalry. The men OF
the CORPS are. as a rule, 1.-THE little fel
lows. spIendidly set up, OF most digniaee
bearing and OF unfsiling courtesy in theil
relations to the public
With the exception Of the Orden Pub
leo and a very few regulars. the only
troops the visitor in Havana IS likely q
see ars the volunteers, the famous militia
~ organization which may be called the
Pretorian Guard OF Havana. and which
IN It's day has ruled the city and cas-
down and set up Captains General Tht
volunteers number about twenty thous
ard men the privates for the most par
being clerks. qoTters. walters and sales
men and the officers merchants, lawyers
OF propriators OF shops or other establish
msnts.
The volunteers perform TO military ser
vice beyond furnishing every morning Z
detail Of about Two hundred men 20 Dr.
guard duty az the palace. the hank. th'
city prison. the Castillo De Ia Punta and
few other points n the CITY. They hav'
no srrories Fjch as our citizen EoldIsri
have. and but few opportunities for d-1ii
hence their appearance On parade inspires
! anything but admiration