New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-07
WELCOMED IN SANTIAGO.
CURIOUS SCENES AS THE AMERICANS
ENTERED THE CITY.
FRATERNIzING WITH SPANISH soLDIERS-RE
WILSON OF FEELING TOWARD
AMERICANS

AMERICANS.
IRON A STAFF CONFECTIONERY OF THE rRIBUNE.]
Santiago de Cuba July 17.-Going about this
city today che can with difficulty bring him
self to realize that conquerng army has just
taken possession Of 1t after a series OF bloody
battles War Is supposed TO engender all the
worst feelings Of mankind; If victory is sweet.
defeat is proportiondtey bitter. Yet to-day
Santiago is in a millennium OF good feeling ana
happiness. Every one greets his ncighbor Win
a glad air: wearers Of American uniforms arc
treated with a cordiality as II they had rescued
the city from a Cuban army, instead OF having
captured It themselves. There is an era of
peace and good-fe!lowship and 1t IS hard to tell
whether there is more rejoicing among the vie
tors or the vanquished.
on the trench-surmounted hills north. east and
southeast OF Santiago the soldiers whose
task has been brought to glorious close In
their qualification at achieving success after so
much labor and hardship and danger their JOY
may be appreciated Yet they bear themselves
with a restraint that Is almost singular. Or
course to-day's ceremonies are merely the seal
ing Of n compact agreed on and published TWO
days ago so the keen edge OF rejoicing has
been taken off. But II Is impossible not to ad-
miro the composure with which the American
soldiers have borne their victory even in its
first flush. Their emotion displayed almost
not at all When they knew that the stars and
Stripes we're going up over tho GOvernor-Gen-
erals palace they cheercd. and Justify. but In
that seven miles Of men there were far less noise
and excitement than In ten minutes OF foot
ball game In n minor college league. Their de-
neanor WAS that OF earnest men who had come
out Of far too serious an undertaking to give
way to ordinary forms of jubilation.
CITIZENS DISLIKE OF SPANISH RULE.
That most Of the inhabitants OF Santiago
should be supremely happy Is easy to under
stand Many arc sympAthizers with the Cuban
cause even II their zeal did not burn sufficiently
strong 10 send them into the insurgent army.
All have had to do with Spanish of'lc'alism. ana
know what II means. Doubtless good many
know little OF what the whole business has been
about and have cared less. except in so FAR az
their own personal affairs have been aHected
The siege was. OF course great hardship TO all
Communication with the outside world had been
III, of for two months Actual starvation had
stared them in the face. Then came the notice
Of bornbardment and the flight Of women and
children and other lor-comba ants with the
distressing experiences OF hunger. heat and
physical WEAKNESS The surrender Of tho city
with the consequent privilege Of returning TO
lions again. blessing which the common
people appreciated To the utmost.
But the strangest feature was the satisfac-
tion DISPLAYED by the Spanish soldiers at the end
Of the siege disastrous ne II was 20 their hopes
In the thousands there no scOwl FOR Amer
lean soldiers Whenever n group ~ men from
the two armies could muster an American who
knew a little spanish or n Spaniard who could
patter some words II the other language. there
was charming love feast. Each made II as
ineligible as possible that the other side fought
we'll and that all were brothers In arms now.
CORDIAL TO AMERICANS.
The most generous hospitality was offered TO
Americans I'm the streets OF Santiago to-day.
Whenever there was an excuse for getting nc
ouaintcd in the Governor Generals palace. In a
club or shop. Invitations to share bottle or
wine and to smoke some cigars were forthcom-
ing Spanish officers were especially cordial
They compared notes with Americans on the
various phases Of the lighting They told their
admiration Of soldiers who. practically unsup-
ported by artillery. would storm trenches up
steep hills In the face OF such magazine rifles AS
the Mauser. They said they did not believe
there was an army In Europe that would have
made such charges.
And the American parksmanshp-that called
clarcd It marvellous Every time one OF their
men showed n few inches OF himself above an
embankment. pop would come several Krag-
Jorgenscn bullets. \ hat held up on stick
was certain to be riddled although the range
was JO1 600. 500 yards or more. The fine
physique Of the Americans vas also the subject
OF much talk 1t was markedly superior TO the
Spanish. At the time the besieged army
u,ac IN far hot might
expected. As far as clothing was concerned 1t
presented a finer Appearance than the opposing
forces. The Spanards did not have to sleep in
the mud and to march long miles In the rain
Besides their garb much more rational
than the other II Of light cloth with
small blue white stripe. but very stout. 1t
could easily be kept clean Trousers and coats
were both made OF this. The conquerng army
looked as II 1t had been through a hard cam
paign The blue shirts were still presentable
but the woollen trousers were often torn and
stained. Hats had become limp and dirty. and
shoes were in many cases In need Of the services
OF a cobbler.
SPANISH SOLDIERS WELL FED
To Judge by their appearance. the Spanish
sodlers had not suffered greatly from lack OF
food. even II the inhabitants Of tho place had
been brought to actual want. They looked well
nourshed with good compilations ana clear
eyes. Rice had been their staple FOR some Tine
the last freight steamer 10 get into Santiago
Harbor having brought large supplies OF 1t.
TO the soldiers from Spain. the surrender OF
the city meant an end 10 sighting ard TO dan
ger of starvation. and return to their families
In the fatherland After all, the war not
one to arouse their supreme ardo, Outside OF
an effort on the part OF certain priests 10 make
# out as an attack the Roman Catholic
Church the soldiers had no very clear Idea Of
what the whole business was about. They had
been taught that American aggression was TO
blame: that the invaders would conduct war
fare with all the cruelty and more that had