The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-09-21
FEVER-STRICkEN
AT A POKER TABLE
Story Of Santiago Just After It Had
Been Captued'
The DEATH-RATE WAS HIGH
1t Averaged Something over $50 Fer
sons a Day. Many American
Soldiers Being Among the
Unfurtuuatcs
THE DEATH-RATE WAS HIGH.

ssThev have had pretty H'"if "'"' "'
the fever at Santiago this year III admit
sid the ex.ca9tain Of immunes' but IL
wasn't circumstance 10 the game we
were un against there last year. MY fes'-
ment was the FIRST which landed in inc
provincc after the surrender. we lo'
mere ON August "A. and they put us q
noticing Tie town right away although
we were ass raw and undiscipl'ned as a
psr,y Of Kickapoo bucks Inat was
lob which soldiers who had been under
amy discipline for twenty years wou'a
have found difficult The regulars were
mostly in the hospital however. and we
had to do 81. You can imagine what N.n'
of a cline wc hai with our commune
they never called MS anything else. one
nj tho correspondents having learned lle
,..'...ty az some OF our men for that VIE
famous native run and me sever" ".i-
rsrenf varieties Of blazos they used 10
r.iso after falling under It's influence dun-
b.a us .Uo1l's Communes.' and tAe name
stuck Moreover 70 was applied TO an OF
the other so.calci immunes regiments as
fast as they landed
AWFUL DEATH RATE.
",ybeu we struck Santiago the deaih
,,,e averaged something ike 80 day.
M, counting the United States soldier
wbo had taken part en- the campaign.
rhere were So many deaths every day
mar me cemetery force. which had been
vastly increased. wasn't large enough 10
bury them. and General Wood had 10 o"ih
the bodies lie didn't burn any A'heIl-
cans: only pauper Cuhans ana spanish
soldiers The term pauper taoans "'-
mit,k8 Of pretty general application Tor
at mat lime they were an I'm pretty bad
state They were dying of yellow fever
fypbold fever. and AN kinds OF stomach
trstible The Americans were petering
out pretty fast. too.
"Iu toll YOU the story OF the way james
the manager of the English Gable COM
many passed out and was put away 70
give Won some ldea OF the way we had
como to look al things. IL makes me
shiver 10 think about Il now that ats all
over and 1 can think calmly. Luckily /
didn't think normally I'm those days. None
of Us did, We were al I'm sort or
state of INVESTIGATION and couldn't see
things in their true light James was
biz fellow who had been all over the
world He was FUN of good stories, ana
evervbody around town liked him. one
NIGHT late fin August be was sitting in a
game OF 50-cent limit iu the Ango-Ameri-
can Club The boys who messed az the
club had a table at the end OF the sitting
room and there was Is game OF SIX OF
seven hands going on every nigh
HENRY CLAYS."
"Jamcs sat al one end of The table. blow
ing big clouds of blue smoke ceilingWard
from "A long, wiry. black, rank cheroot
which after the fashion Of most Cuban
cheroots. good bad and Indifferent was
called q Henry Clay Mason, the Eng
lsh consul who had been with Rams1en
for twenty years and who had taken Rams
denis place when the poor fellow went
over 10 Kingston To die from the effects
Of a fever he caught while helping the
unfortunate people in the town during
the pllgrimaee to Caney. caused by Shat
tcr's threat 90 shell T0ral into surrender
ing. was hanging over james chair watch
ing things closely Mason was trying
to get the hang Of the game. which was
entirely new to him. James had picked
the game up in his travels and played h
We'll. lie had been with the invading
army before 30 left Tampa and after 10
landed on Cuban soil and had had plenty
or practice. a big blonde staff captain
from the palace who quilt handsome In
come in New York o. see the srrapnine
and had secured "a comfortable staff billet
sat opposite James 40 the other end of the
table. The other players were another
couple Of captains OF immunes and mys H.
The representatives Of a bunch of New
York Phlanthroplsts who had raised
fund 90 establish in Santiago a plant of
crowded hospitals and the Spanish agent
Of an AmcI lean line Of ships
I'VE were an smoking Henry Clays.'
and betw cen deals imbibng viilainous
Bacordi rum in open ard fragrant viola
tion % tho orders from the palace. There
was nothing else 10 drink The clubs
stock Of brandy had long since given out
under the abnormal consumption since
the surrender
COX'S CONCERT.
There was a concert going on IN the
other end of the room IN which Cox. who
was in town looking after the interests of
an American mining syndicate which had
big Investments and valuable property at
Daiquiri was the central figure. Cox was
a. the piano ~ ancient wrench make sing
Ing Kipling's songs. negro melodies, i'm
pioylsed odes 60 Anglo-SaNon unity, and
playing his own accomplishments His
audience, which was made up OF about
the same variety OF elements as ours was
Joining 81 the choruscs Cox was "a spell
binder when he sat down TO that plano.
way Of putting character into his songs
Chevalier himself was not superior 10 him
when 70 came TO singing cOster songs.
lic did % A. well as he had looked after
the interests of his company during the
three years in which the Cubans and
Spaniards had been engaged I'm the cheer
ful occupation Of cutting each others
Threats. which is saying a good deal for
ne 49, master ~ the diplomatic game.
Cox was In Santiago province all through
the insurrection. Sometimes he was 10
town h9bnobbing with the spaniards. but
quite as often I'M the Cuban camps I'm the
hills. His skin was impervious to the
fevers which struck other people down
The Americans had hardly got settled be-
fore he was as popular with them as he
had been with the Spanish and Cuban OIL
GERS whom Doc used by turns 10 entertain
o. the mining company's beautiful place
on one Of the picturesque hills overlook
ing the bay about three miles south OF
Santiago on the old Moro trail Cox
his situations Well and there
were no embarrassing denoueme nts. The |
Spaniards never dropped IN on him while |
Inc Cuhans were drinking his compauy's 1
good Burgundy and smoking mis- com !
pany's Henry Ciays and the Cubans. not |
10 be oufdonc I'm politcness had business |
lsewhere when ne was entertaining The !
spaniards This an cost money but the !
game was worth the candle. Cuban min |
ng property Is valuable You don't have |
- sink deep shafts and dig tunnels 10 get |
he metal. The ore crops Wight ont OF the /
mountain side ln veins which "a man who /
knows little about geology can follow /
md all you have 20 do is build "a narrow 1
sauge railroad I'm from the sea 90 the place 1
where you want 20 begin work. pile the