The times., 1899-10-22

American Soldiers in Cuba In this
there are two or three picturesque anec-
dCtcs, showing the rough-and ready char
aCtcr Of the American private soldier, and
his inclination TO make himself useful
wherever he may happen to be. Here are
two Of them:
made friends with two artilerymen Of duty
IN tla first Sunday II the carnival We were
seat d gu bench un the Prado promenade watch
il- jHe show. Suddenly one Of the soldiers leap
ea from The bench, spraug out into the street and
rescued child from under an unconirolabie
haI-as feet. Five miua.tes later he dashed away
again. Au Old man had fallen in dizzy spell
and had fractured his skull. The soldier carried
the man ont Of the crowd in his arms and saw
that DE received medical attention He was
gone half an hour. Later IN the day met nm
nearly exhausted and moppinE his brow
You see. it was this way he explained
Just after you lett MS, little hoy was run over
lie WAS unconscious. ] picked him up and learn
ed that his home was only a block away down
side street. / carried him home. and when his
mother saw the boy she tainted The boys faith
motions told the father 10 loosen his wifes dress
al the neck and dash some water in her face lie
went almost into mysteries. He paid no attention
10 the hoy. but knelt beside his wife, began TO
carczs her, pray over her, and lament things
generally You would have thought she dead
OF dying. Again ] told him To loosen her dress,
and showed him what ] wanted. I called for
water tie Just kept on believing. ] told him to
pose / did2 I just took him by the collar and
the trousers and pitched him clear into the
middle of the street, and shut the door and locked
lt. ] loCsCHed the wuman'S dress myself. got some
water, and brought her around In ten minutes
she was caring for the boy. ! don't think he'll
live. When J came out ] saw that whclp Of
father and ] simply chased him out OF sight. /
should ike 90 nave given him a thrashing. !
have been having lively time considering that
/ ana of duty.
That man was simply an ordinary American sol
f4 .Fr zF.. Frs
WEs uCCss any for some Cue 10 jump In and 10
them His companion told me OF an episode IN
which he had figured only the day before The sol
aIgIs rad orders to prevent cruelty 10 animals, ana
especially To the little mules that draw the inn
mcnss drays about rha streets Of Havana. The sight
If one rs these little animals struggling with
least two hCTses 10 pull Is about the most irTtat-
ing sight in Havana. barring the cruel way the
uZ-tCamS are yokcd. This soldier saw the driver
Of one of these carts gC3ding a little mule that
could scarcely stand up, into trying to pull eight
large casks of m0asses through the streets. The
soldier stopped the driver and told him 10 take
of part of his load. The driver pretended not TO
understand The soldier made motions that could
not be misunderstood. The driver refused TO
obey and declined 10 get of his cart. The eN-
aperated soldier pulled him from his seat The
driver climbed back. and again he was pulled
down Again ne climbed back, and was pulled
down, and then he came at the soldier In a fu-
ri0us rage and struck at him. That was enough;
the butt Of a musset whisked through the air
ana tHe driver laN PROSTATE on the ground WIN
a CASH In his head The soldier was at his side
in an instant and 10 his relief found that the
driver was not hurt badly. The man was cowed
completely and stood by moekly as the soldier
climbed into Ghe cart and began rolling the
casks out. One OF them was spliHered in the
fab and most Of the molassCs lost The sol
der went on until an the casks were on the
ground but two, and then be told the driver to
90 on. HC made that come back and take
two hcGgheads each time until the load was all
caIted away, and then he reported TO his superior
officer and received c0mmendation-
A peculiar case of what might he called
unconscious moral suasion happened IN
Cienfuegos and il has a funny side. This
is the story:
Il was down in Cieniuegos that an Ohio regi-
mont was under probably the severest stress Of
any that occupied a Cuban city before the Span
iaICs went home. tienuegos was the last place
evacuated by Spanish troops. There were $1,000
OF them IN thar town when the Ohio men arrived.
The Cuban troops moved in also and Spaniards,
Cuians and the United States forces each es-
tabliShed a patrol in the streets, and the lines
Tapped over. Every Spanish soldier had MS
fridge belt filed ana he carried a Asuser.
The Ohio men had about a dozen cartridges 10
. man. and they had SprlugheIds. For the first
twents-four hours our soldiers were IN desperate
frame Of mind. Their officers could not per
suaGc them that there would be no conflict They
made up their minds that il 4 fight came they
would sell their lives dearly.
Finally the tension became too severe for one
had secured a quantity Of liquid that not
good for him. His steps did not show what
he had swallowed, and he went on his pa
troll with a determination 10 whip the entire
Spanish army II necessary. He simply
spelling for a fight The Spanish soldiers did
not commit any overt act in his presence, and
he was al a loss how 10 teach them a lesson.
Finally he decided thar il had TO be done,
and that the credit and reputation of the
American army a fighting force rested upon
MIN. lie staggered around, and put on airs.
The Spaniards refused 10 he insuited, and when
he could endure the situation longer, his
eye lighted a glass iusulator at the top
Of q telephone pole He raised has rifle 10
his shoulder The SpaniaTds frightened thsir
grips on their weapons. lie pointed his gun
AZ the insui4TJr and fired. There was a COM
motion on the street. but the insulator was
broken to bits. The Ohio tossed his head
10 one side. raised his gun and fred again.
Another ins1later went TO bits The volun-
tecr Was in high feather, and brought down
a third insuator He had done his duty and
he went on about his patrol, relieved and
proud that he had shown the Spaniards what
q lnited States soldier could do.
The effect upon the Spanish soldiers was cleo
trio. After they were sure that there was no
danger Of being shot, they dashed 10 the foot
Of the pole, picked up the pieces OF broken glass,
and kept them as memeutos. They even took
the pieces 10 Spain with them as souvenirs Of the
marvellous shooting Of the American soldier The
news spread rapidly, and although II is not over
creGitable ia all its aspects 10 our troops that
tleniuegos. Oar troops were without food. The
Spanish soldiers, respecting men who could shoot
ike that drunken soldier, generously offered part
OF their food 70 ouT lads, and soon they were
fast friends, and So remained until the transports
sailed away 20 Spain with the last Of their forces
ever 70 serve on Cuban soil.
Then follows an account of the various
industries Of Cuba and in the pages deal
ing with the tobacco business there is re-
corded curious custom which prevails In
the Havana cigar factories. The cigar
makers hire readers TO read aloud to their
woTkmen during about three hours of the
day, in two sessions OF an hour an a half
each. A part of this time is given to news
paper reading and the rest to pure htera-
ture generally OF a high order. Th4 read
er is selected by competitive examination,
and each workman pays a small sum to-
ward his support Now and then there
has been an attempt to stop the readings,
but this always brings on a strike.
Mr. Matthews book is sketchy and un-
conventional in style and makes no pre-
tense 10 being comprehensive, but it con-
tains a great deal OF interesting material,
most of which is practically new to the
public. (New York: Harper & Bros $2.5O)
The Brontc FamiIy.
Charlotte Bronte at Home. is the latest
book Of literary "reminiscences by Marion
Harlaud. It is written with that peculiar
combination Of anecdote. chronicle, char
acter-study and description which makes
a book Of this sort fascinating, and il can
not fail TO interest those who have de-
lighted in Jane Eyre" and Shirley" or
who are interested in the literary life OF
the last half-century. This strange, shy,
brilliant woman genius is one OF the
unique figures OF the history Of English