The Anaconda standard., 1899-03-14

| little headway against the sickness
Suddenly they raised hue and cry
against the mangces, They attributed
| everything-yellow jack. dengue fever
malaria, dyeentery and the whole list
OF complaints-tO mango eating.
My friend of the regulars laughed
He had located two hitherto undisturb-
ed mango trees that were full of ripe
fruit Armed with sunny sacks, we
! slipped out of camp and stripped the
| trees. On our way back we encountered
volunteer surgeon. one Of those who
had started the aNti-mango campaign.
Men, said h. rycng our loads,
what have you got III those sacks?'
'Mangoes.' said the regular.
The surgeon Looked panied. He gave
! us long lecture and warned us that
if we ate thereof "" would surely die.
| Then. seeing that hn had not made any
serious impression an us, he asked:
Do you know where there are any
more of those to ht found"
My companion srnned.
Why, captain he said, you
wouldn't eat them if y1u had EN-
Certainly not aid the surgeon,
but I'd like some fer my horse
Do you mean hat fine bay that I
| saw you riding, eir?' said the regular.
Why, just think. cartain, dear. That
animal must be worth all of $40, Mexi-
can. 1t would he lTonigacy to slay
him, sir.
with that We saluted, shouldered
our sacks and marched on.
If we were in Santiago. argued
| the regular, and eating half-ripe or
over-ripe, stale manages, we might cas-
lily Kill ourselves Iut a few fresh, ripe
mangoes, picked from the trees and eat
en- before sunup and after sundown, are
just the medicine that bacon ting
soldier needs
And throughout the campaign I ate
them by that prescription and felt 10
ill-effects.
"One day, on my way back to camp
after a bath in the river. 1 came across
regular l knew. He was threshing
around in the branches of kind of
wild cherry tree. We had all noticed
the wild cherries, but our doctors had
pronounced them poisonous. The reg
ular evidently intended to poison
whole regiment, for he had one gunny
sack filled with the big, green cherries
and was rapidly filing another. In
answer to my questions he said:
These are what the Cubans call
marimosinas or sompthing that sounds
like that. They should be eaten raw
before breakfast, like an orange, and
they'll save you from taking calomel
and filling your bones with mercury.
iiiSs oiO 81 SouI tIidt llidIlS VI lhCHt
will pucker your month and skin your
tongue, and they'll rut the bacon fat in
your insides Boil them down to paste
with water and sugar and you will have
the finest of apple butter to spread on
your hardtack'
L took no more physic and had wild
cherry butter during the balance Of the
campaign.
"One day was on the water detail.
a ty4rT liz IL !,
back. My bunkie and I got separated
from the rest of the detail. Just as we
We're starting back. lOaded down with
~ full canteens apiece, my chum in the
regulars came along. He told us to
empty the canteens and he'd show us
a trick. He had machete and went
into the thicket and cut down a big
bamboo. He cut Off d section about six
feet long, plugged one end. filled it with
water and then plugged the other end
MY bunkie and l took opposite ends
and shouldered it. The bamboo car
rIed more water than the canteens and
was light and easy to carry. The regu-
lars carried the empty canteens into
camp for us. A little later one of our
men stole a pack mule that was astray
and 1t was detailed as water carrier
When we moved from San Juan hill
around the San Juan ridge to Misery
hill the truce gave us an opportunity
to try and make ourselves comfortable
My bunkie and | put up our shelter
tent, tioored it with planks and spread
our blankets on Them. We We're felic-
tatng ourselves on the fine lob we'd
made of it, when along came my friend
of the regulars. We showed him round
the premises and then waited for COM
pliments.
Yes he said its a fine Job, and
the planks will come handy to make
your coffins. for / won't see you buried
in canvas If they'll give me time to
knock together boxes for you. The man
who wants to live in this climate must
sleep two or three feet off the ground
and the ground under his bed must be
shaved of grass and the sun must
shine under it every day
Then he stopped talking and took
hold. He showed how to make ham,
mocks of our shelter halves. There
was no rope. He went into the thcket
and cut young saplings. He stripped
the bark in long narrow slips and
twisted the slips into ropes. When
these had hung in the sun and dried.
they'd hold ton. Then he swung
our hammocks and we swung our pom
chos over them to keep off the night
deWs: there was but one night rain
during the campaign.
speaking of the rains reminds me
OF ahptner incident. l was out with q
regular after dry wood for fires and had
found dismantled sugar mill There
was no roof to the mill and neither
OF us had a poncho While we were
busy gathering the wood the after
noon shower came up. There was no
shelter at hand, so l made up my
mind to endure a soaking. Now, the
rain in Cuba usually comes straight
down with no slant, Among the debris
of the sugar mill there was a couple |
of square planks about two feet each
way in size. The regular told me to |
stand at attention and then balanced
one of these square boards on my head. |
Then he followed suit with the ether
board. The rain lasted half an hour |
and there We stood throughout it, fac
ing each and Ginning as comfortably |
as you please. When the sun blaZed !
out again there wasn't a wet garment |
on me, and at my feet there was a
square foot of earth that was powderv |
dry.
ut was a short camnaipn hut II