The times., 1898-08-10

hominy, corn-meal or fish. The articles
in the list, however, are staples, and are
supposed to furnish diet sufficiently va
ried to keep him in good health. The
price varies according to the time and
place where they are purchased 1t has
been calculated, however. that the aver
age ration furnished, delivered In Cuba.
costs about 20 1-2c, and food in this coun-
try from Ice to 19c, according to the loca-
tion of the camp. To provide for an army
such as that of Gen. Skaters for two
| months would require 100000 rations, al
lowing for three meals daily. The troops
would be served 25, 600 daily. According to
the usual proportions 1t would require to
supply these rations 800 pounds of pork.
5000 of bacon, 14,000 of beef, q, 500 of flour,
10000 of hard-tack 1900 OF beans. 900
of rice, $1,000 of potatoes, 4,00O of onions,
1900 of coffee, 5000 of sugar, 1900 of vine
gar, 500 of soap, 500 of salt, and 50 of
pepper In other words. an army con-
sumes in one day enough to stock fair
sized grocery and meat market.
If the army continues. in force around
Santiago for sixty days II will have con-
sumed 45 tons of pork, 90 tons of bacon.
420 tons of beef, 675 of -four 600 of hard
tack. 4S0 of potatoes, 4S of coffee sup
posing the regular rations TO be given
out Large as are these figures, the
actual expense is not as large as might
be imagined for food merely. In round
numbers 1t amounts to S2S5, 600. or about
$4 $50 per day. To this must be added
forage for the animals, and a dozen
other items. which may zcome under the
head of subsistence, but for which the
commissary department does not provide
which would undoubtedly swell the total
amount to 1925, 600 at least. The develop
ment of the vegetable packing industry
has been of great benefit 10 the commits
sary department, which has been able
to buy tomatoes and other canned veget-
ables at such low price as to place
these articles within the reach of ALL
While wagons are used to furnish sup
plies to the camps of mobilization in this
country, the roads In eastern Cuba are
so poor that, as already stated, the army
conducting operations before Santiago
was obliged to depend largely upon pro-
visions packed over the hills on the backs
of mules. Only a person acquainted with
the capacity of the average mule can
realize what one of these little animals
can carry along paths which seem i'm
passable. They would carry a load aver
aging 400 pounds with ease. And 1t Is
an actual fact a train of $50 mules could
transport enough supplies to feed Shaf-
ter's entire army for one day. The mules
used in the Cuban campaign for draft
purposes were transported from Florida,
where they were broken in 10 carry what
is termed by the Spanish. an "aparejos.
a kind of package made of leather, car
ried over the back in such menner as
TO almost entirely conceal the body of
the animal. 1t will hold anything from
a barrel of sugar TO two or three sacks
of corn meal. In trains of twenty or
twenty-five, guarded by soldiers, and
three or four mule drivers, the animals
would leave the sea. shore, climb the
steep hills, and move along at an aver
age of about three or four miles an hour,
following the leader without single
hitch. The fondness of mules for horses
has been put TO a practical use in the
system of pack trains. as they are called
The leader in each case is a mare. usual
ly gray or white, which is led or driven
by one of the attendants. While in
Florida, the mules intended TO follow 1t
were paced In the same Enclosure with
the mare and became accustomed TO fol-
lowing her In this way no difficulty
was experienced in driving them from
the coast TO the hills above Santiago.
and had ii not been for the mule trains,
II is a question If some of the American
troops had not given out from sheer
starvation.