The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-04-21
THE CHARM OF TOBACCO.
Soldiers i'm Bad shape When They
Are Deprived of Ii.

New Orleans Times-Democrat.
DO you know it's a mighty risky thing
10 deprive soldiers of their tobacco?" said
a man who was in the volunteer ranks dur
ing the Santiago campaign. ANY other
Kind or physical iscOmfort-hunger, thirst,
cold, wounds-is more than apt to make
man fighting mad H. wants TO take it out
OF somebody and, as the enemy is pri
marily responsible for his sufferings, he
will sail into the fray with all the ferocty
or fellow who has bitter personal griev
ance to redress. You will understand, of
course. that / don't advocate this treat
ment for putting mettle into troops; what
L say is that it doesn't necessarily rob
them of IT. but the loss of their tobacco will
sap their lighting spirit every time. 1t
does it by turning them into the worst
kind of pessimists. That was strikingly
trenches before Santiago. There was a to-
bacco famine from the first. but it wasn't
until after the two big general engage
ments, when we settled down TO see things
out, that it's effects began to make them
selves felt. At that time our boys were
suffering from about as many different
Kinds of discomfort as could be gathered
together in one heap. They were half
starved, terribly exhausted, wet, cold and
dirty. They were without shelter or Il
place where they could lie down, except in
light fire for fear of attracting the sharp
shooters. and you would naturally suppose
that all these things would have furnished
abundant material for grumbling. But they
didn't. They were scarcely mentioned. The
only subject that was generally discussed
was the chance of getting a smoke, and.
when that chance was finally recognized as
zero plus nothing. the whole company set
tied down TO deep gloom. Up TO that time
our men had been perfectly confident of
taking Santiago and licking the Spaniards
out OF their boots; butthe longer they re-
manned without tobacco the more doubtful
they became. They had all sorts of sinister
forebodings-we would get the fever; the
enemy would shell us with big naval guns
from the fleet: overwhelming reinforce
mentS would be rushed across from Ha-
vana, and the Lord knows what else. At
the end of twenty-four hours there was
only one man in our detachment who still
believed We had ghost of a chance. He
was q chap who had stolen three big, black
general. The company remained in that
frame of mind only growing steadily more
and more hopeless, until the evening of the
fourth day, when commiSsary wagon
threw off a box of tobacco by mistake,
thinking il embalmed beef. Our men
bounced on il like tigers, and in five min
utes everybody was smoking and confidence
man next TO me in the trench. who was
writing his will when the tobacco arrived
tore off the top line. i. John Brown. being
of sound mind, etc, and wrote a letter to
his sweetheart instead. The troopers were
If anything. hungrier. colder and wearier
than they had been az first, but I never
saw such suuuen revival of martial spirit
in my life. If anybody had mentioned
naval guns or Havana reinforcements he
say il is a risky thing 10 deprive a soldier
of his 'baccy.' The mysterious pessimism
that ensues will reduce his fighting eff
cheney IS per cent"