The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-02-04
BEAUTIFUL QUEEN OF THE ANTILLES

etc. and he took charge Of me. as 4;
were and IroIn then till almost I'D to
h time the ship sailed he shove me
many favors which / hope long 10 re-
member.
We first went to the new public gchool
building. now being constructed. hen
to the civil hospital. to the steamship
office. and to Mr.. Anderson's Office.
everything in Santiago seemed inter-
esting. The new public school building
is being built almost entirely of iron
and stone. and will he an unusually tine
structure when completed. The civil
hospital covers several acres. apparent
Nv. and is beautifully located. From IL
a fine view Of FL Caney. San Juan hill,
the grand mountain scenery which SUR
rounds the city. the bay. etc. is had
MIR. Anderson being a representa- i've
Of Messrs. James 3. Glow & Co., Of New
York. Chicago and Havana, dealers in
various kinds Of machinery, and having
been here for some time. was well post
ed as to the city and appeared to know
nearly all the people we met On oui
rounds. After dinner he and Mrs. An
derson, who is as pleasant and good
looking as her husband, came 1r0unaI
In a carriage for me and away we went.
for a Juan hill, which is some two
miles out from the city. We first drov"
TO the tree where the peace treaty was
signed. This is some distance before the
hill is reached. Then we drove to tlie
top Of the hill, alighted and viewed the
surrounding country. Mr.. Anderson
pointed out the San Juan river, the
way the army crossed over from the
landing point to where the fighting be-
gan, how the gallant charge up the Mill
a made, etc. I do not see how the
men ever got up that hill with the
trenches on TON Of II full of CnaniSo cnI
diers and it literally covered with guns.
Ell Caney was plainly in view. l have
sever@l shells Mr.. and Mrs. Anderson
found and got from some WnoI
were at work there.
From San Juan hill the city and har-
Dor are partially in view, and the whole
Of the fighting ground. FL Caney isl
plainly seen across the broad valley at
the foot of the mountain. The gapl
through which the army passed fcmI
Seville n Siboney, which is some six
miles away, is plainly seen. After theI
Spaniards had fallen back on the ciiyl
and the Americans had closed in onl
them the various points where the GIf-l
ferent commanders, batteries, etc i
were stationed were plainly in view, forl
all around San Juan hill back of Ihel
city Is a broad valley with a high mour-I
tain background. The hill itself is not
large. but of considerable elevation and
seems to have been the centre Of thel
great battle. The Spanish trenches cnI
it are narrow, while the Americana
trenches which they made after drivingi
the Spaniards off, are wide. l walked
in both. looking for bullets, etc. Mrs
Anderson handed me a picture, picked
up on the ground, of a Spanish %officerI
or soldier, and I pulled some leaves FROM
a tree and / have them now put away
in my scrap book.
TIL -,-ol4-1l -
large tract of land surrounding and in-l
Guiding the hill. n will make d nal
tional park of it. A force of men wereI
at work cleaning off the ground andt
putting it in better order. y monument
stands on about the center of the hill
with he following inscription:
In Memory
Of the Officers and Men of the
United States Army
who were killed in the
assault n capture of this ridge
July LIST, 1898,
and the !
Siege of Santiago,
July lst to July 10th, 1898.
Wal between Spain and the
United States.
This monuments some eighteen feet
high.
With a last, lingering look at the
INAONN A-Ns
much hopes of eve seeing where Cen
erals Wheeler, LaWton, Bates, Sumner,
Kent. Chaffee and other commanders
took their last stand before the surre1-i
der of the Spanish army and the whole
Of Santiago province. and which ended
the war. again, Mr.. and Mrs. Anderson
and myself returned to the city andI
found my way to the ship.
I shall not. I hope, as long as 1 live,
forget the appearance of the pretty city
of Santiago, Cuba. with it's fine harbor,
it's narrow and crooked streets, many
of which have been much improved IN
der American CONTROL; It's grand sir
rounding mountain scenery, it's historic
battle fields, it's pretty esplanade, It's
old Moro castle. it's fine climate, ETC.,
There are many Americans here. Be-
side Mr.. and Mrs. Anderson / met Mr..
Latta, who is experimenting the build
ing of the public building, Mr.. Low
ery. and others. Mr.. H. j. Cooper is
postmaster. and Mr.. Forest Lake L. in
the ice business here. The population
I is some SO. 900. I am told. There is no
| published guide to the city and a stran-
| ger must get his information as best he
can.
American goods and machinery are III
great abundance and variety mere. The
Seguranca brought a nat car. a horse.
two pigs. some chickens and dozens or
other kinds Of things for this and othet
places on the way. / will stop, but the
half is not told.
Hoping the Messenger and all con
uscted with it are we'll.