The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1899-03-17
Letter From a Dubois County Soldier.

Mr.. Lane, of Columbia town
ship, has received the following let
ter from his son, of Co. r., 9th Ills. :;
HAVANA, CUBA, March lst, 1899 !.
Dear Father and Mother:
Having returned from a ten days
march ! now write home. | am
well at present with the exception of
being little sore, naturally the ef-
fectS of the march. We started
Sunday, the 10Th, about Z o'clock ),
marched a distance of about twenty
miles, reaching our destination by
good dusk; we then pitched camp,
and inside of two hours enjoyed a
hearty supper of bread, Oatmeal,
bacon and coffee. Soon after sup
per we retired to our places of rest.
Oar place for rest and shelter when
marching is simply little tent,
which is called a soldiers dog tent.
The tent is Just large enough for
two soldiers to sleep in, providing
they are not seven footers. IT they
are some less, and wish to sleep
stretched out, they may expect to
get either cuils or soles moistened
by the dew-fall. | was on guard
the first night until midnight. Had
the will TO retire before had the
opportunity. We broke camp next
morning about sunrise, and soon
were on our days Journey. March.
ed about the same distance as the
first day, and camped the second
night five or six miles from the city
of Guines. Our camp the second
night was on top Of mountain
overlooking the city and the sur
rounding country. 1t was lovely
scene to stand on topof that mount
ain and look out. The valley is
Just as far as one can see east, west
and south. Standing there looking
over the valley, one can see groves
of palms and cocoanuts, orange and
banana orchards, flowers in full
bloom; in fact all to make beautl-
full landscape. Now and then you
can see LITTLE house, but very sell
dom a nice one, the best having beer
destroyed during the conflict. The
country houses and villages are al
so curiosities, their houses beinl
covered with palm leaves, making
them resemble a haystack. Th'
mountain we camped on the seconC
night had large cave in it, and
went back under the ground nearly
a quarter of mile. There were
large rooms in there; large enough
to hold regiment of men; then
would have to lay down and crawl
through narrow space to get intc
another room. The rocks on the in
side resemble the description of a
volcanic origin, little rocks of all de
scriptions, from the size and length
of nail 10 the size and length OF
my arm, projecting and hanging
down like icicles. About forty OF
us had our pictures taken in there =
had to be done by a flash-light ]
will send you one if they are cleal
enough to be recognized.
The third day we marched about
one mile beyond Guines, pitched
camp and stayed there three days.
My company was on provost guard
in the city while there. The other
regiments, and the remaining com
panies of the 9th, took daily march
es out in the country and back.
On Feb. 24th | had the pleasure
of seeing the great Cuban General
Gomez. He came to the city on the
oath, and his people met him with
great cheering and applause. lie
went from there to Havana. Since
the Cuban soldiers are marching in,
the supposition is they are going to
Jay down their arms, and from their
appearance it looks as if they need
ed to. From their looks peace
would be great factor to their we'll
fare. While on march company
III, ,f the 9th, had a sad occurrence.
Their frs; Lieutenant, Alonzo Nc
Knight, got killed by steam car.
Strange, but accidents will happen.
Well, mother, think that two more
months will turn me out of Cuba,
and four, think, will make me free
again, though at present | am well
satisfied and greatly value my ex-
perieLce. wish you could see this
beautiful country. lam very much
struck on this place. So far it has
proved the healthiest place the Sew
enth Army Corps has been encamp-
ed. OF course there are some cases
of yellow fever and small pox, but
it is all amongst the natives, and is
due to their filth. To my judg-
ment this is a mans paradise.
Your Son,
A. j. LANE.
Co. +, 8 h Reg't Ills. Vol
Two men have escaped death al
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