West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1899-01-12
An Entertaining Letter From One Of
PrcStOn'S Brave Boys In Blue,
Row in CuOa With An
Engineer Corps.
Charley Aouser, OF Newsurx. Our
Special Army Correspondent.
Writes About His Trip TO
Havana and Matanxas.
HOSPITAL Sp REGIMENT OF
ENGINKHRs, MArANzAs. CUM.

/ the widest aud muddieSt, the girls the
! prattiest and fewesL the SKY the biucst
aud cotton grows, aud the place where
n gsers form half the population. But
we left. We once had a good home,
aS the bo7s say, but we left IL. On
| lhnrsday, the 18th inst, we left Ma
con, Ga on n special tram, consisting
of fourteen Pullman tourists slceporn.
Our goods were loaded aud we wore
supposed to have left week previous.
but were delayed for some reason un.
| known To us.
On leaving we loaded ourself with
an ample supply OF fruits Battle
Axe" and old Virginia Cheroots" and
between bites, elbows aud smokes, wa
waived and winked our compliments
at tho tender seX-white and black.
AT Wayoross, Ca n city of some five
thousand people, we were side-traclSed
FOR three hours and were allowed Oft
TO view the place. There were SO
many cattle on the tracks in the rail
road yards that some of tho boys made
tho remark that the soil down there
was too poor TO grow grass and that
the cattle came on the tracks hunting
hard'tacks, railroad spikes and oyster
cans.
All day Friday we rode through the
forests and SwamPs of southern Goor-
gia ind northern Florida, u very thinly
populated domain. We rode through
Swanee county and crossed the famous
Swanee river, landing in Tampa late
at night and sound asleep. We uu-
unloaded early Saturday merniag at
Port Tampa, where'wo held tho fort
till Tuesday. During the whilo the
boys spent tho time in various ways,
some sleeping, some bathing. ssme
reimbursed their pocke;boolss by tho
use Of cards aud dice. some enjoying
pleasant times at the expense OF their
new but conRenial and hospitable
friends, while others got "boozy" and
joined tho standing army in the guard
house.
Tuesday about noon we ploughed
out of the port aboard tho "Floridu'
for IIaYana, at which place we arrived
the next morning. AS we entered the
harbor wa viewed the city on the ono
side and MORO Castle and tho Spanish
fortifications on the other. To look
out over the city, knowing its past
history and conjecturing it's future,
is enough TO facinato the heart and
thrill the mind Of any school boy. We
passed near the wreck Of tho Maine.
and l,ko many others, It was sight
we had nover expected TO SOS. On
pulling ia at the pier we were greeted
by Old Vir9iniu's faithful Fourth,
which had just arrived that day on the
Chester" Later la the evening the
Missouri" entered the harbor with an
Iowa regiment on board. MORO Cas-
tie here exhibits quite different
aspect from Old MORO at the entrance
OF Santiago harbor The former is not
defaced by time and erosion as is the
latter, and last October as wo passed
the sunken Merrimac. on board the
steam ship Berlin, we were chesrod by
the boys in blue, saw their white hats
waYG as they lined up along the walls
Of her crest. while the stars and stripes
were floating aigh i'm the air. Last
Wednesday, as we passed Hayana's
fortress, neither "Old Glory" nor New
Glory could be seen. Puny men with
poor, pale and sun burnt features.
lined up along her walls; not voice
could be seard, no hand or hat waved,
nothing but flag OF faded red and
yellow above their heads; flag which
does not enable them TO show "a mite
Of gratitude, nor display that patri-
otic spirit known only by the American
citizen. We unloaded some supplies
and early Thursday morning the
Florida was on her way 20 Matanzas,
passing the sand bank fOrtihcutions
and lowering her anchor Ia tho bay
about noon, being the first American
troops 10 land here. The unloading Of
our goods began at once but the troops
were not hHded until yriday morning,
when they we're marched 70 tnou
camping ground. which is within n
stones throw Of tho Spanish n.1 apd
the butcher pen, where IL is cluipisd
that untold numbers Of Cubnn mon
women and cnildron ha.u been un.
mercifuliy slaughtered and their
bodies lowered into the bay. The
black and moss grown walls have
melancholy appearance and only 70 to-
impress us anew OF the tales Of horror
and inhuman brutality accredited %
u. Tbs couHtry as far as tho eye can
see Is desolate and covered with tho
cactus, worthless bushes and wild
grass among which can bo seen many
evacuated thutched cottages
One Of the 5oys said to-day, There
on tho hill is the house OF a planter,
but soc nothing be has planted
Many Of the natives go thinly clad
but so far We haYe seen no one en-
tireiy naked, as were many of the
children in Porto Rico.
The old city is said tc have bad some
slxty thousand inhab.tants, but u