The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-24
THEY THINK US GIANTS.
Open-MOuthed Wonder in Porto Rico
Over the Size OF Our Men ana
Mules.
From the New york Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Ponce, Porto Rico-The people of this
part of the island look upon Americans as
race of giants, and they seem to have a
firm conviction that not only are we a
great nation and a big people, but that
everything connected with us 10 made
upon the same grand scale
There are good reasons for their having
arrived at these conclusions. The first
troops which landed at Port Ponce were
the Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.
and these were followed by the Second
Wisconsin and Sixteenth Pennsylvania.
Probably nowhere in the whole army
could one find a similar number of men of
equal stature. The Wisconsin men are
particularly large, and each one OF them
would make just about two of the Porto
Riconians These natives are a little peo-
pie and lightly built. Many of the Wis
conSin and Pennsylvania men stand Two
inches or more above six feet in hight
1t happens, also, that many of the mem
bers of Gen. Wilson's STAFF are large men,
and some Of them, like Capt A. T.. Gard
ner and Lieut.. Fred S. Titus, are noted as
athletes.
With these big men and officers to fur
nish them their first Impressions, the com
ing of our horses and mules and wagons
clnched the idea that we were gigantic
without any loophole for argument The
Porto Riconians have plenty of horses
and mules, but every one of them seems
to come Of a race which was stunted ages
ago. That they are tough and service
able every one agrees. but the horses and
mules also are but little
larger than good-sized don
key. The horses are thin and
agile, and the Spanish thoughtlessness
which is equivalent TO cruelty Keeps them
goaded along so that they never have time
10 pick up flesh
The mules which we brought are partic-
ularly fine specimens of our native pro-
duct, and az hundreds after hundreds Of
them were landed, hitched to army wag-
ons and set to work, the natives stared
and stared at them In wonder They could
be heard talking of the great size and
strength Of the animals as one passed
along the street. but IL was not until
yesterday that any Of them took means
to show his establishment at the size OF
the men.
Among the big and handsome men of
Gen. Wilson'S staff IS Mai. Hoyle, the ord
nance officer. He is tall, and although
native shop yesterday to get some
matches. After he had been waited on
and was about TO go out, the proprietor
beckoned TO him. The gesture Mai Hoyle
SAYS was such as a back-country store
keeper I'm America would use TO indicate
that he wanted you to step into back
room and try Nip Of moonshine whisky.
Maj. Hoyle says he has accepted such in
vitations frequently, but upon this occa-
sion IL was his intention 20 refuse, and
he was brushing up the Spanish In his
mind to say so when the mans manner
overcame his scruples and he followed him
In. They went through a winding pas
sage, and presently emerged into a back
apartment. Here, however, instead OF
finding a bottle with whisky clear as wa
ter. such as the moonshiner makes, there
stood some platform scales, and the shop
keeper, with anxious look, motioned for
Maj Hoyle 20 step upon t. Mai. Hoyle
may have been disappointed. but he did
not betray it. and being good natured,
he got upon the scales The native manip-
ulated the weights until the scale balanced
at 1876 pounds. Then with wide open eyes
he looked over the fine proportions OF the
major, and exclaimed In wonder "Muchal
Muchaw