, 1899-02-16

ers of the Seventh Army corps. Our
camp is nearest the city and in fact
within the city limits, but near a little
station on a suburban railroad called
Punta Grande (big BRIDGE, so called
for a little bridge about a third the size
of the one near the penitentiary in Lar
annie. We are west of the city near a
small river on very high ground on the
edge of a Spanish earth or rather stone-
work, for it is blasted out of the solid
limestone and surrounded by earth
works and rifle pts, these last being
cut in rock. We are about 70 feet above
the sea, which is a mile and a half or
sick looking out across it and dreaming
of wife and babies.
The whole Seventh army corps, I'M
der General Lee, is camped here. num-
bering about Is, 200. The two divisions
are commanded by General Keifer of
Ohio and | don't know who the other
uINloiOH tulillIidiutl 10, u " 1
Brigadier Generals Hasbrouck, Willis
ton and Douglas that l have met so far.
Our nearest neighbors are on one side
two batteries of light artillery under
Captain Grimes. West of us, within a
few yards. is the Third Nebraska, Bry-
ans old regiment. Then the First Loui-
| r;,pn Tho trct Tayn- fhn Epnrtb
Ninth and one other Illinois, a Virginia
regiment, a Maine battalion of artil-
lery, two Indiana regiments, Williards
Young's regiment Of engineers, the
First North Carolina and l don't know
how many more.
The country looking inland is beau
tiful, but go where o will there is
waited to your nose most offensive
oders. The houses are all built of
stone. They have large windows, gen.
orally with inside folding shutters and
| havn't seen a pane of glass in Cuba
yet. All windows are barred with iron,
like penitentiarles in Gods country.
In the city you will travel through a
whole street, which by the way. is
narrow as the alleys in Laramie, with
sidewalks eighteen inches to two feet
wide and the whole street will be wall
ed in, with occasional doors. Through
these you will look into something like
the inside of an Indian tepee for filth.
The DON seem 10 open on an inner
court. There are no yards, the whole
square is a sort of continuous house.
At the fashionable hotel where you pay
So per day, viz, the Inglaterra, the cess
pool is under the kitchen and dug in
1.-THE solid rock. The odors mix in with
your soup. l tell you it is fine. l
haven't done any travelling about yet
and am o going to. There are three
or four cases of yellow fever in the
corps hospital, they say, and one died
the day we arrived. These cases are,
however, the result of visiting forbid
den places. The one who died belong
ed to the engineers and the disease was
taken Wllle at Work III CdDdndS IOTI-
ress. This fortress is the heal Spanish
prison, more than Moro. 1t joins Moro
and you can't go through now without
special permission from General Lud-
low. In the moat is a place where they
say over 10000 Cubans have beer shot
and is one mass of purifying gore and
the wall is badly cut by bullets. I will
try and tell you something about it il
| aver go there. They say they have
lots of Cubans working there cleaning
it up. The engineer officers have a force
of Cubans cleaning up our camps also.
They do all the work of that sort and
get So q week, and are changed about
more or less, This is to help the pow
erty stricken. | haven't seen much yet,
but later on / will write you again.
With kind regards. yours,
VARNUM.