The times., 1899-09-24

der. Almost every kind of powder used by
the army and navy Of this country is shown
here. The collection was made under III :
direction of lieutenant Poundstone OF the
navy, and is complete in every detail
One of the most striking pieces in the
collection is the large bronze stern orna-
ment taken from the Cristobal Colon,
which was hammered to pieces and driven
ashore in the battle of Santiago. The or
nament was originally twenty-five feet in
width and consisted of a large reproduc-
ton of the coat of arms of Spain, from
which on each side extended heavy spiral
designs. The spirals were removed, leav-
ing only the coat of arms, the part now on
exhibition. 1t is about six feet in height
and is made Of the characteristic shield
surmounted by the crown.
An object of considerable local interest
is an antiquated cannon of the pattern OF
1894, captured in the trenches Of San Juan
Hill by some of the District of Columbia
volunteers. II is an old brass affair and is
decorated with the designs commonly used
al that period.
An ancient battle-ax, one OF the four
trophies taken from the Spanish arsenal
I in Santiago after the fall of the city, oc-
! cupies a prominent place in one of the
cases. Two small curios-a short piece
Of bsrbed wire from the Spanish barri-
cades in front of Santiago and pair OF
/ wire-cutters similar TO the ones given each
American soldier when he landed upon
/ Cuban soil-Tecall a system OF barn lcading
i which was never tried before the outbreak
OF the revolution in Cuba. There is no
doubt but that the barbed-wire fences
built in front of the trenches by the Span
/ iards would have proven serious obstacles
I in the advance of the Americans upon the
4 Spanish lines had not the general in CON-
mand OF the American forces possessed
sufficient foresight to equip his men with
( the wire-eutters. This is only an example
Of the ability Of the Americans to meet
and adapt themselves to new conditions
and emergencies.
The CoIors of Spain.
There is also in the collection a flag
which fioated from one of the Spanish
/ trenches on July /, 1898. 1t was presented
to the late Lieutenant Ord. Among the
relics from the battleship Maine are Two
powder cans recovered from the wreck
There is also shown for the first time in
! this city lot OF the smokeless powder
such as is used by the Spaniards Lieu
tenant Poundstone also donated this TO the
Museum authorities In another case IN
| the rotunda is shown a lot of clothing and
! camp eouipage such as was issued TO the
Z
teen and hat and number Of other arti-
eles comprise the rest of this collection.
| In a shelf in the same case is shown col
/ lection of buttons and hats of the Ameri-
can soldier Another case is also devoted
! to the equipments of the volunteers.
In the south centre hall have been placed
all the relics of the Porto Rican campaign
Grouped under this head are all OF the
| articles which were collected by the troops
that were engaged in Porto Rico, includ-
ing a number of peculiar musical instru-
ments of native manufacture. The instru-
ments are made of q white wood and are
said 10 be very mellow in tone They a!
Of almost every conceivable shape and size
| Beside these in the same case are some
uniforms OF the Spanish officers and pri-
vates. The rank of an officer OF the Span
ish. army is distinguished almost as much
/ by the facing OF his cuffs as the straps on
his shoulders The cap ornaments OF both
the officers and men are given great deal
Of space in this case. There are two other
cases which contain Spanish relics of the
war.