Sistersville oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1896-1901, 1898-08-31

His carriage denoted the training
of West Point, his bronzed com
plexion the sun of Cuba and hi:
uniform the cavalry. There were
other soldiers at the Union station
! this morning, but Lieutenant M
/ F. Davis, of the First cavalry was
| the center of attraction. Fresh
from Santiago via New Work he /:
taking to his home in Portland
Oregon, a rare collection of Incl
dent and story which his two months
will not exhaust. Ofparticular in
terest to Pittsbargers, however, is
his version of the Shafter-Scovel
affair, which bears. in the language
of diplomatic circles, semi-oficial
authority. The officer says:
'Scovel was very popular with
both officers and men. He is pleas
ant in manner and accommodating
in disposition and his one flaw is
his hotheadnesS He made him
self especially agreeable by rushing
our mail to us and overcame delays
in it's delivery by looking after it
himself. Goodness knows when
we would have gotten it II it
hadn'. been for him. But that is
neither here nor there. When the
American flag was raised over the
governors office after the surrender
General Shafter issued orders that
no one but the three commissioners
who arranged the terms should be
present. At Gen. Wheeler's re-
quest, however, point was
stretched and his SON, Joseph, Jr,
an aide on his staff, was given per
mission to go ap on the roof with
the trio When the party entered
the palece on their way up Scovel
followed young Joe Wheeler, but
was stopped by the orderly guard,
who said, You Can't go in, Mr..
Scovel.'
"'Oh, 1 don't know replied the
correspondent. But I do, said the
orderly, and / will have you put
out if you try to pass me. Scovel
kicked hard, but it didn't go and
he went to Skaters tent. Scovel
made his protest and both he and
the commander very promptly lost
their heads. The next thing the
officers knew the newspaper man
had given the general resounding
slap in the face. That was all there
was to it, but 1 can hardly figure
out how Scovel ever got away alive.
I know dozens of officers who
would have cut him down with
their swords without a moments
hesitation and have been thanked
for it afterwards by their comrades.
The general feeling is that the men
who stood by showed remarkable
sefl.control.
There Is only one thing" con-
tinued Lieutenant Davis, that
might we'll have been different in
the campaign. The country around
Santiago is so rough and so densely
overgrown with underbrush that 1t
was impossible TO make reconnOis-
sance before the advance began.
Scouts were sent out along the
trail but naturally developed little
of value to us. If scouts could
have been sent out as under ordl-
nary circumstances our losses would
have been materially decreased.
The hardships Our men endured
are making Camp Mikoff at Mon
tauk almost as bad as Siboney. It's
a fact that the men are dying there
now almost as fast as they did in
Cuba. Its location is poor, I think.
It's twenty miles from anywhere
and transportation facilities are in
wretched shape. The Red Cross
is doing a most noble work in tax
ing care of the boys. The thing
above all others the soldiers and
more especially the volunteers
need now is delicacies. The regu'
lar rations are all right for well
n. h,.t than naad cnn1efhif1o more