The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-08-11
a AERO'S lEATH.

~
mis- cruel war Is over can 80; Tor my
mar. l lntend to stay"
Captain w. o. o'Neill. Of troop A.
vtr,t volunteer cayalsy, leaned back
against roll Of blankets beneath a
s,retched square Of canvas after the
ssht at Guasimas, and, blowing tnln
steam Of cigarette smoke from ms ilps,
made the declaration. From Whers hs
~"cIined he could see wide stretch OF
.aaI cround covered with waist-high
Sysss blown into far-reaching ripples BY
ARE breeze; border OF dark green
nn,aniEua. from which arose broad and
inSiv mango trees; gracefully dropping
rrawns OF palms; cedrelaS, with trunks
i've POLISHED bronze. and here ana
,no-e the Teii.naFnea ARmboyanta,
ScarInR their masses OF blossoms OF
Gamlng SCARLET. Beyond were the hillS,
rssetinR the intense blue OF cloudlese
wy and within hearing, when the trst
s"yTeant ceased pounding Gomez with
sn M handle in his tin cup, was the
~ plash and ripple OF brook
.Ioar as one OF his own Arizona
S.rsams. Like many another man, Cap
80 O'Nelll was well pleased with
Snbo The possibilities of the fertile
III and the hidden wealth Of the tnour-
ANS oppealed TO the practical SIDE OF
Sis nature as the picturesque beauty
n the Landscape did to his Well-deVel-
oped artistic sense.
"I'm going to stay" he repeated.
cuban ground holds the dust Of many
bgb-souled and brave men, patriots
nrd warriors, who, counting honor ana
freedom above all things earthly, Light
Ga-atanntvF 16Rf all n1nA
;bat their country might be redeemed
from tyranny and oppression, but Il
holds the dust OF none drawer, kinder,
more generous than Captain o'Nelll.
ike 20 think Of him now a. ] saw
linn then--a picture Of robust manhood
md perfect rest. He had thrown on
he blouse for greater comfort, and his
biue flannel shirt was unbuttoned at
IL throat; his hands were clasped be-
biod his head and the brown cigarette
between his lips was burning evenly
and we'll. He was at peace with all
ne world and was inclined to be char
table even toward the Spaniards con-
corning whom one OF his brother officers
had spoken unkindly:
'sThev can't help being spaniards
any more than a skunk can help being
a skunk" he said. God made them
that way. Did you ever get close to a
skunk and watch him-when nothing
has occurred to irritats him-going to
Fet bis evening drink, for instance, glld-
lnE over rocks and logs with a beautl-
ful, easy, undulating movement and
dipping his sharp little black nose
dRintIly in the water? There's the true
poetry Of motion for you. Their pelts
N worth something, too, and so IS
ihe,r fat Skunks have their good
points, and so have Spaniards, They
made It interesting for US yesterday. :"
Then, otter pause. "rd hate to have
10 die IN Cuba for fear Of being rein
earnated as a spaniard"
There was some desultory talk, and
then O'Neill began, half in Jest, half IN
earnest, to tell OF the enterprise he was
going to start in Cuba-after the war.
I'm lucky" he said. II can make
money anywhere, Any one could make
money here. tell you, boys. we are
going to have a new set OF mllllonaires
Cuban milllOnalres-and am going
10 be one Of them. The KlondIke fell
lows won't be in It"
But II he had made millions he would
have given them away. He was abso-
Iutely unselhsh, caring for everybody
but himself. He looked after the WELL
being OF his troops with almost father
~ solicitude; there was no comfort he
could obtain for them that they did not
have and he had the rare faculty Of
treating them as equals without losing
their respect IN the smallest degree.
When occasion demanded he could rate
them In 4 good-humored, hectorlng sort
OF way that was very efilcaclous, but
he had dread OF even seeming to take
advantage Of his rank, and 1t was all
ways as one comFsde to another. II
rather vexed him to have them present
arms or rise to salute him as he pass
cd. They're just as good as am" he
would say. This was not true, but he
was modest enough to believe It was.
When he jumped from the dock at Bal
nuirl among grinding, tossing boats, to
save the two drowning troopers OF the
Ninth, II was In obedience to a per-
feetiy natural impulse. And he could
not understand why any one should
make a fuss about 1t,
ONelll and / were ''bunkles," Our
hammocks were hung together at San
Antonio; we had a stateroom together
on board the transport when we sailed
from Tampa. and after the landing /
Shared his blankets in the field. / have
wakened In the night more than once
10 find him spreading the whole OF the
Scauty cover over me. When we ar
rived at Siboney on the night of the
9th. after the fatiEulng afternoon
march. and camped down on the hard
coral road, o'Nelll was the most cheer
ful man in the regiment. He was not
going to bother about supper, because
the man who usually cooked his ration
Tor him was dead beat; but a sergeant
who adored him brought him some cot.
Zee, which ne insisted I should share.
honestly didn't want the coffee or
anything else but Just 70 rest, for ! was
utterly exhausted, and ] think there
were few men In the regiment who were
not. Ten OF twelve dropped out BIZ the
%ayslde and came staggering In at I'm
tervals through the night. Then st be-
gan 10 rain, and O'Selll emust needs
arag out canvas wagon cover-"'o
Keep the bedding from getting wet"
ne said. Don't imagine it's on your
account. you irritable brute, and sop
sWeaTing or I'll put you under arrest"
Lhen he crAwied In beside me. and
thrust something deliclously sof. un-
der my head-a real pillow! i've got
another one here" ne said, Knuwtng
MN, had ms suspicious. and, Eruping
through the darkness, found thar his
mead was resting on a cariteen careful
" adjusted In colled cartridge DeIt.
AS a popular man he had, OF course.
70 nave a nickname. The AriEohahs
called him Buckle" on account of his
having In his unregeherate days
'bucked the tiger" In n very royal and