The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-11-30
A Cuban Beggar Girl
BY John r. Mcmahon.

get, ana came regularly every uay
to dur camp with n two-quart tomato
can in one lAnd and little bag slung
over her shoulder. wherewith to collect
the remnants of the soldiers mess. Her
eyer were brown. her cheeks just
plump enough. her bare little legs and
arms we'll proportioned; her face al
ways bore an expression of cheerful
seriousness. I guess she was about
eight years old.
At first when Good-by came to camp
she was quite shy, and stood silently
near the refuse barrels with her imple-
ments of collection, when some of the
kindcr-hearted men would scrape out
the leavings on their plate II to the to-
mato-can and throw pieces of bread and
hardtack into the little girls bag. Aft
erwards she acquired confidence, and
seven DAYS week visited our tents at
noon mess call, starting at the head of
the company street. Some days there
would be such n surplus of rations that
she would fill her can and bag before
she got halfway down the line, and
then she would trot away, and, / sup
pose, notify her little companions, at
the child-beggars' rendezvous under n
big tree outside of camp, that company
ID had fine lot OF dinner left.
Anita was Good-by's right name, but
everybody called her by the other, be-
cause that was all the English she knew
at first, and because of the way she had
of walking into your tent and smilingly
little hand. She meant: "IIow do you
do?"
"Senorita Good-by," said TO her one
day, what terrible eater you are for
small body! Here you've got two
quarts of ola podrida in your can
soup, meat, potatoes, and I know not
what else-besides that large bagful
of bread that you stngger under. Do
you eat 1t all? Surely you can't weigh
more than three times as much as your
booty"
"Oh, Serjcnto." cried the little crea-
ture, in distress, do not think it! I
only eat my share. There are five
Others"
"You have family, them"
swell, 1t Is my aunt's family" said
Good-by, olapsing her hands. mo hay
nj padre nj madre"-I have no father
or mother.
II seemed that she was an orphan
from earliest remembrance. Her aunt
was Cuban soldiers widow, with four
young children. Good-by was the chief
support Of the house.
Now, among my tent-mates was a
blonde-haired giant, rather reckless,
but warm-hearted, whose name was
George Boutelle. Before he enlisted in
the volunteer army to fight Spain (but
never got o chance. for the extent OF our
service was garrison duty in Cuba) his
business was that of railroad engineer
A bright, WHOLE -souled fellow, but q
little reckless, hs said; trife too fond
Of conviviality. He had been promoted
once TO sergeantcy, but glass too
much at the wrong time caused his re.
duction to the ranks. He was always
jolly. performsA \ the most disagreeahle
duty with joke, and was the best.
liked man in our company.
The midget Good-by and the giant
Boutelle developed strong friendship
for each other. Good-by, as she frankly
told me, infinitely admired the hand.
some six-foot private-that flower OF
the splendid race of Americanos. "How
easy" she said. refectively, to me one
day, 'it would be for Senor Chorge to
crush me with one hand! What big
man! | am sure there is no one in the
world could resist his strength. Holy
Mother! he is SO good-looking, too
Routelle, on his side, grew very fond OF
his small ndmirer, with whom, how.
ever, he could converse only frag'
mentarily. Sometimes l would act ms
interpreter for the two.
One day some cases of yellow fever
broke out in the lowest quarter of the
town, and in consequence all Cubans
were quarantined from our camp. This
meant that the little beggar-childrer
also couldn't enter camp any more. VIZ
were likewise ordered not to enter
Guanajay, and the. officers drilled us
pretty severely, both to keep us occu
pied and In the best condition to resist
the dreaded fever. There was no epi
demic, however, and ut the end Of q
fortnight the quarantine was removed
except that for some reason no little ma
tive food-collectors were to be allowed
in camp. Thus we saw no more of Good
by in our tents. nor had seen her at al
in The last two weeks.
Boutelle and went to town together
few days after the lifting of the quar-
antine. We visited several stores
bought some things in the way of Span
ish relics, and finally brought up at {
restaurant. The bare-armed waiter
was setting the second course of lettuc,
and fried fish before us, when Boutell,
spied Good-by with her tin can and lit
tie bag standing among the brigade o.
beggar-children outside the lattice
work in front Of the restaurant. Sh,
had just arrived, and would have rur
away when she saw us, but my com