The evening times., 1898-09-06
FACED MANY DANGERS
Experiences of the District
Boys in Cuba.
HARDSHIPS AND PRIVATI0N
First Sergeant Roy l.. Qunckenbush,
of Company of the Washington
Regiment. Tells of Weary Marches
and Staryation-The Refugees Fed
While sour Boys" Went Hungry.

Company B, Capt. King, of the District
Regiment has returned to Washington.
His return at this date was caused by
the fact that Mrs. Quackenbush is i'll in
Garfield Hospital and he felt that he
could not wait to come home with his
company.
In speaking of the campaign TO re-
porter for The Times, he said:
TOO much praise cannot be given to
the District boys for the manner in which
they endured the hardships and priva-
tions of the campaign. Half starved; SICK
with malaria and dengue fever and dys-
entery, with a considerable sprinkiing OF
typhoid, the boys kept up braveiy, ana
did their duty manfuIly. Nhiie in Tampa
we Jared exceedingly vel and when the
order came to move, nearly every man
was eager and anxious lest We should not
get of.
The Catania, our transport was an
old hulk There was no ventilation; 1T
tie deck-room, and the sanitry arrange
ments were simply awful. However, on
tbe l0h of july we landed in small
boats through the surf. and marched TO
La Ouasima camping there till CLOCK,
near the graves of Capt. Saproh ana
Sergt. Hamilton Fish, of the Rough Rid
ers. Al 3 O'Clock we ate hurried break
fast of bareback and coffee ana, ieaNlhS
all our tents and equipage, pushed rapid
IN TO the firing line. making forced
march each man carrying only his rife,
canteen and 100 rounds of bail cartridges.
AT 10 o'clock we began TO hear shells
screeching over our heads and soon the
Mauser bullets began TO sing, though far
enough away to make our position per-
fectly safe.
I'VE were assigned to Gen. Lawtons
division and moved right into the trench
es vacated by the Twenty-hfth Regular
Infantry tcolored). Here We stayed Tor
thirtv-eight hours, with nothing TO eat
and the rain falling that night in tor
rents With no protection or shelter, ana
with two feet OF water in the trenches,
all we could do was grit our teeth ana
think of the fiendish cruelty Of the span
iards and the utter worthlessness OF the
Cubans.
still / did not hear single complaint
The men were there TO fight and expected
to endure hardship, but there was some
little complaint after the surrender Wheh
we learned tuat while we were starving
in the trenches 10000 Cuban and span
ish refugees were being fed on soldier
rations al FL Caney. The question which
naturally arose was:
How is il they can't haul grub TO Us
Spaniards?
..After the surrender We were MAJ ched
TO San Juan heights and Camped theIe.
Then Col Harries sent after our tents
and eqUipase, and then IL was that the
fever began. orders We're issued Tor the
men 10 make hunks out OF their nam
mocks and sleep off the ground and also
that every man in the regiment must
bathe every day in the San Juan River
Had company commanders all enforced
these orders the percentage OF sickness
in the regiment would have been muSh
less. but some officers hesitated about en-
forcing orders where they saw that the
men were disinclined TO obey.
The food was eNecrGble- canned loasi
beef unfit to feed to a good dog: hard
tack. pork and coffee, with onions, pota-
toes or tomatoes about once in ten days
COMPRISED our ration. Col. Harries raised
Cain time and again TO get more Tor ms
men but could not and then the gTumb-
ling started When the refrigerator ship
came down with fresh beef, we ate that
for a week but il caused so much dysen-
terry that. on the recommendation OF
Major Pylcs. the regimeHtal surgeon, the
colonel refused to allow more OF IL to be
issues. This too, caused a concerted
kick among those who did not understand
the situation. Finally. when the colohe
refused to come home in the Catanla be
cause she was absolutely unsafe, the
men all felt that they had been hardl!
treated.
THE Ninnewaska. upon which the FRS
Battalion came home, was the best ant
most comfortable transport ship the Gov
ernmcnt owned; but, Of course, the foo'
was the field ration, and our stomach
were in such condition that We could no
eat it,
The steward OF the ship was selling
cheese sandwiches for . cents each 10 tn
men and the colonel had him put in irons
AT Camp Wikoff we lived better; ha'
a better camp and better water and wer'
ii not for the fact that the boys all go
very homesick / am sure they would b'
much better off there than in Washington
for a few weeks. In regard to floors II
tents, why that is all nonsense We neve
had them IN Camps Alger, Thomas, Tam
pa or Cuba. and any one Of the places
mentioned is more unhealthy than Mon
tauk. AS to the cots, why the tent
would not hold enough for the regiment
These things are incontrovertible facts
and all of the complaints made by un
thinking boys or chronic GROWERS canno
change them. Up to the time we reache'
Wikoff there was no unrest and discon
tent in the regiment and when we landet
we were in better condition PHYSICAL!
than any of the other volunteer regiment
that returned from Cuba. The boys are
Of course, run down from fever and eX
posure. but just now their disease IS nos
talgia rather than anything else. though
many Of them are really very sick. Col
Harries' estimate that 600 able-bodied mel
can march up the Avenue on Friday is, il
nv Judgment about correct