The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1899-02-15
CURIOUS THINGS IN CUBA.
LIEUTENANT w. o. THORNTON
WRITES FROM NUEVITAS.
No Wells There, aud Soldiers Buy Wa.
ter. Half DecOmpOsed Bodies Dug
JPN Spanish Cemetery to Make
Room for New COrpses.
Room for New COrpses.


The following extracts from letter
just received by Mr.. r. l.. Melton from
Lieutenant w. o. Thornton, one of the
Dawson volunteers now in Cuba with
the Third Georgia regiment, will be read
with much Interest:
NUEvITAs, Cuba, Jan. Rive are
now camped on a high hill overlooking
the city and bay of NueVitas. The cli-
mate is about like our may climate
just such days as you would select for a
picnic, with the addition of delightful
sea breeze, which makes il very pleasant
TOR us in the shade. OF course it is hot
in the middle OF the day If you stir
around much, but We usually spend this
time reading or sleeping.
The view from our camp is beautiful.
You can bee the entire city and tire
larger portion OF the bay, which is one
of the prettiest: suppose, in the world.
If the United States would spend few
thousand dollars here in improving the
harbOr so that large ships could come
up to the dock to unload, and in digging
artesian wells, this town would soon be-
enc of the most prosperous cities in the
world Nature has certainly done a
great deal for it, and if the Spaniards
had only done as much for themselves
there is no way of estimating what
would have been the result.
We have NO sickness to- amount to
anything; in fact, less than we have had
since we have been organized, and [ see
no reason why we should have if the
proper precautions are used. The onlv
trouble we have is about the water
They have no wells here and depend en-
tirely on rain water, which they have
arranged TO catch in cisterns. We paw
10 cents per barrel for it and haul it to
our camp.
have just returned from a trip to
the city. If you can imagine a town of
about 5000 Inhabitants packed into
small tum ble-down brick houses an
parently sufficient to accommodate
about 900 people-nearly all of whom
are ragged and dirty and jabbering like
so many monkeys electric lights
city hall with large town clock, railroads,
steamboats,, etc, you have Nuevitas.
1t is a combination of medieval and
modern times. The town is | Gated ON
one side of large hill running down to
the very edge of the bay.
Thousands of pelicans and seafowls o.
every kind are flying about you and
lighting almost under your feet, until it
seems almost impossible sometimes to
get along; but you manage to kick them
out of the way and proceed. Fifty
American boys could in short time do
the town immense service by Kidding it
of these seafoWls. | stood on the dock
today and saw at least a hundred large
tlsh jump out of the water within fiftv
yards of where | was standing. There
were several boys FISHING, but the larger
fish would break their lines as EASILY as
you would wrapping cord. They
caught several weighing from fifteen to
twenty pounds. Isho, two large pelio
cans with my pistol and missed several
others-all within a stones throw of
the business part OF the town.
The old Spanish cemetery here con-
tains about one acre of ground and is
enclosed with large brick wall. This
has been the entire burial ground for
This town since it's foundation. and is
even now in use, but is soon TO be abap-
dOned on account of American ideas.
AS soon as 4 body has been under
ground long enough for the flesh to be.
come decomposed the skeleton is res