Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1899-01-26
LIFE IN CUBA.
Cienfuegos a Dirty Town How
tie County aud People Inn
press an American.
ou1e nee hlchmond faIlaiauIn-

/ 1OrrtSpOu1enCe R1cnEoad talEa<14H-
CAMP BAUMGARTNER.
CIENFUEGoS, CUBA, Jan. Ii, 1899.
We left Charleston on the morning
of December 30. The trip was not
very interesting until January l. when
we passed San Salvador, Crooked
On the morning of the md we rounded
the southwestern end of Cuba
About noon we passsd Santiago har-
Dor and MORO Castle. We had good
view of the sunken Spanish ship Mer-
cedes. We also saw the Oqueudo.
Viscaya and Cristobei Colon during
the afternoon.
We arrived in Cieufuegos harbor on
the afternoon of the Sd. Oar trans
port was the Minnewaska. She is con
sidered one of the best IN the service.
She is i56 feet long and 81 feet across.
There were on board l 800 men. go
mules and horses. 60, 600 pounds of
hay. 60, 200 pounds of osts, 80 car
loads of wood. loo, 900 fset of lumber,
thirty days rations for the men besides
:entage and the wagons belonging to
the regiment.
Cienfugos is town of about - 600
Ii is very dirty. They do not know
what a sewer Is, throwing all their
slop and refuse into the street. There
were still about 80. 900 Spanish soldiers
here when we arrived. but they are
being sent home as fast as they can
get transportation. They are a very
small people and are very much i'm
pressed with the size of our men
They are very friendly with us The
Cubans for the most part seem to be a
very lazy and shiftiess race. One of
the queer sights TO Us is the small
children running around clothed only
In natures garb
would not advise any one to come
down here expecting to make money,
unless they have little capital.
A good American restaurant would
pay. A good meal costs about So A
chicken costs from 81 90 to So Eggs
are eight cents piece, butter 15c per
pound, cheese 70c per pound,
small can of peaches 45c. coffee
aud bread are the only cheap articles.
One of the boys wanted to get some
toilet soap yesterday and they only
wanted Zoe per cake.
Our camp IS located three and half
miles from town. The Cienfu9Cs and
Santa Clara railroad runs alongside of
us. One of the three principal trochas
runs along the east side of the camp.
About the only trees here are the
cocoanut and palm.
Some parts of the island are heavily
wooded with mahogany, rosewood,
COCO bola and ebony
Our water is hauled here in large
tank, on a fiat car, from spring
about twenty miles inland.
Some pc ople may call this pienick
ing army. but | don't see any picnic
in eating spoiled corned beef, and
beans and wormy bareback as we have
on this trip. They have opened a
brigade store, but we can't buy
anything if we want to; we are broke.
We expect to be paid eff pretty soon,
as the troops st Havana and Santiago
have been paid.
The second battalion which includes
B. expects to go to Santa
Clara in . short time. as ne have re-
ceived orders to that effect. 1t il very
hot during the day. but the nights are
very cool. The worst things we have
to contend with are poison vines and
weeds ard insects. There is sort of
flea which literally chews a fellow all
to pieces. There are quite few cent?
pedes and tarantulas. One of our
is to catch about half
dozen tarantulas and put them tog ether
and have battle royal
EDWARD LINDER.
Company b, Oh Oulo V. |.