The Dickinson press., 1898-07-02

e1odCAo1y duU NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IL SO VIGIL
known, they practically carried their
lives in their hands almost all the time.
They r Injured to hardship and dan
ger, and all of them can we'll be olassed
as expert with either the rifle, the pis-
tol O (almost equally dangerously the
lasso, for each and every one of them was
a master at the cowboys art of 'srop-
ing"
They were of oil shades of complex
ion, from the blue eyed, fair haired
blond to the dark skinned half breed.
There were white men, most Of them
ranging in age from IS to 60 years of
age, but all tall, straight, stalwart, ac-
tive men, whose bronzed complexion
and 1.-the, supple steps betrayed a life
Of activity in the free, open air. Then
there were young men, none Of them,
however, under IS years, and these
were stout, strong and athletic in build,
and, to all appearance, giants in
strength.
Nearly all Of them wore the Mexican
sombrero, with the gaudy silver trim
mings and leather bands, while sar-
fridge belts strapped around their waists
was all that went to make up anything
like uniform among these rough men.
Although without discipline, yet there
was n controlling spirit among them,
and his word was as law among these
wild men. Some of them had been COW
punohers others had been traders among
the savage tribes In Arizona and Mex
leo; some were miners, others ranchers,
p~rospectors, mountaineers, but all Of
them thoroughly understood the art Of
packing goods upon the "burros," or
mules, used as freight transports entire
~ in the mountainous districts whence
they came. It was this very qualifca-
ton (Which all possessed) that caused
the government to enlist their services.
In Cuba much of the inland traffic,
especially in the mountains, is done by
means Of mules, which carry. all the
freight into the interior. In an attack
upon the island Of Cuba by the land
forces Of the United States the services
OF these men will be indispensable, and
1t was for this purpose that their serv-
ices were engaged. Then again every
one Of these men is a born fighter, and
nothing would meet their ideas of fun
more than a scrimmage with the Span
iards. One Of the men, speaking to a
comrade, said recently when the SUBJ
ject Of fighting was preached "You bet
the boys N all scrappers. Those Span
iards are easy. They amt like Apaches,
and I guess we can get away with about
ten times u number. Why, them
greasers would be scared to death to
have a dozen Apaches jump up out Of
the ground as has happened to us time
and again. ~ ~
One Of the ''Terrors'' told the report
er that the men came from various
places in Arizona, from the vicinity Of
Becbee, Tombstone, Tucson and BEN
son. They had all r~endezvoused in BEN
son, and under the leadership Of Mr..
johnson had boarded the train and were
on their way to Tampa, whence they
expected to go to Cuba, where their
services Al packers would be required.
They were to receive from $40 to 500
per month for their services, according
to their experiences as packers Rough
Is the men appeared to be, he said that
they were nearly all Of them in good
circumstances financially and did not
need to 60, but they were accustomed
to a life Of peril and excitement, and
the present opportunity to satiate thei,
appetite for such scenes was one not to
be allowed to slip by. Some Of them,
he said, had come down out of the noun
tains to join Teddy's rough riders, but
they found them too .'s'dudifed" for
them and they refused to enlist. When,
however,th call for their services
came and they found that they could
all go together, they volunteered at
once, for they were all ,congenial and
could enjoy themselves together
Orleans Picayune. !, as