Sistersville oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1896-1901, 1898-09-14
HOW THEY JARED.

Meadeville Morning Star:

Meadeville Morning Star:
Bert Arick, of this city, is four
teen years old and probably the
youngest soldier in tie volunteer
service of the United States. He
enlisted at Akron, Ohio, in the
Eighth Ohio, The Presidents
Own" and has just returned on the
Mohawk from Santiago. Below we
give extracts from a letter to his
father, Mr.. J. F. Arick, 1902 Mar
ket street, which will give al idea
how some of our brave boys have
Jared in camp and on shipboard.
Long Island, August 26.-Dear
Papa andMamma. You don't have
to tell me not to enlist, nor any one
else in the Eighth Ohio. We all
think too much of our lives to run
the risk OF getting starved. All we
had to eat coming from Cuba was
about half a cup OF coffee and some
hard tack, which was lousy with
the barn weevils that got into the
wheat and little white worms with
yellow heads. When you would
open a box the cockroaches would
run in every direction and one
could not eat more than two or
three of the hard tack if they knew
they would die the next minute.
That was our breakfast each day;
For dinner We got quart of beans
that were bitter as slop, to divide
among eight or ten men and some
tomatoes without any salt in them;
also some bareback and coffee; Tor
supper, we had a cup of soup
made out of canned meat and
tomatoes; it had no salt in so 1t
tasted like poor slop. We
mig hit have had fresh meat, pota-
toes and salt but the man who
runs that part forgot the salt and
1 expect sold the other things.
We never bad all we wanted to eat
in Cuba, unless we paid about fifty
prices tor it. The first three days
we were in CuDa we bought all we
had to eat from other regiments.
There was fellow who had half
ola "sow belly" Soldier for salt
pork and he sold it just as fast as
he could cut it at IS cents a slice.
The slices were 6 or 7 inches long.
I wasn't sick a day while we were
in Cuba, bur I was so weak yester-
day that I couldn't stand up more
than IS or 20 minutes at time
and every bone ached. My eyes
hurt so I could hardly see. Our
colonel went on shore yesterday
and brought some bread and milk
and we each got over a quart OF
milk and quite large piece Of
bread Tor breakfast with some
sweet coffee. 1 feet all right now.
I guess all that was the matter
with me was that ! was starving.
We left about twenty-five dead in
Cuba and one dead on board the
ship and was thrown overheard.
Another died night before last and
his body was sent ashore. We
have been on board about ten days
and were six days coming; we will
probably land today.
headed nv letter Long Island,
but we are still on the Mohawk.
The reason had not written sooner
was the first day we landed in Cuba
we marched eight miles in rain like
YOU never see in America. Our
blankets and everything else got
soaked. We had to pitch our tents
in the mud. 1t stopped raining he.
fore we got Our tents pitched, but
began again in the night, and in a
short time the water was seven or
eight inches deep in our tents:
writing paper and all were soon
spoiled. The water came through
our tents as though there were
noue. You could not buy paper.
Some of the boys wrote on the in
side of paper they tore off Of toma.
to cans, but I did not do that, think
ing we would be home sooner. The
last letter l wrote you was on board
the St. Paul. I guess you got that.
stole bottle of ink and pen in
a Spanish store IN Santiago, SO l
don't have to write with a pencil.
From your son,
BERT ARIcK,