Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-04-24
SECOND LETTER

SECOND LETTER
The shortage in ships is felt no
where more keenly than in the coun-
tries to the south of the states. Ev-
eryone arrives at Colon, but no one
seems able to leave there. People
from all parts of the world on every
conceivable errand were awaiting
chance to go on from Colon to Chile,
Colombia, Australia, Spain, France,
Denmark. Some had waited three
weeks, some four, or even more. we
were detained for eighteen days before
we could get any sailing whatever, al
though, in our Impotence to go on,
we tried to secure passage even on
the cattle boats that make weekly
visits to the zone, bringing Colombian
cattle to feed the Americans. These
boats carry passengers on their return
trips to Colombia, but, undesirable as
they are-small and decidedly smelly
all their deck space is engaged Tor
cots several weeks ahead.
A Spanish boat from Barcelona, al
ready overloaded, finally took us on,
together with some Sc other passen-
gers for Colombia. There were not
cabins, or even berths, for all of us
many people being forced to sleep on
deck and in the dining room. How
ever, as we passed but two nights on
this steamer, it did not matter so
much.
Colon has changed so in the eleven
wears since we first saw it that 1T is
scarcely recognizable. Cristobal, the
American city of wire screening that
hides under the bending cocoanut
palms, has practically encircled Colon
on three sides, leaving the older town
only a small portion of the sea shore.
| was amazed to find so many Ameri-
cans thronging Cristobal's streets, and
yet the negro race is everywhere. By
the way, for the first time IN our
lives we found all the stewards OF the
American boats, except the head stew
ard and the deck stewards, to be
negroes.
!, A New Zealand soldier, on his way
home from the war, said to us in
I
of the United States. | always have
wished to visit your country, and am
glad of having this opportunity. Is
: this a fair sample Of the whole? Are
half of you in the states negroes"'
He was surprised to hear US reply.
There is not an American negro on
the whole Zone These negroes are
Britishers, the same as yourself. They
come from Jamaica, the Bermudas, the
Barbados, and you from New Zea-
land. They are your fellow-citizens,
not ours"
In Colon city these negroes main
tain SIX ffourishing Protestant
churches of their own.
These returning New Zealand sol
diers were among the most interesting
sights that / saw in CIR stobal. They
had been on board three weeks, com
ing from France. and had still many
trying weeks ahead of them before
they could reach home. Four thou
sand five hundred, from the first thou
sands that rushed to England's aid
passed through the canal while we
Iwere in the Zone, and thew were given
a full days shore leave. Naturally
this was eagerly seized by them, and
! yet they were about the most uncom
fortable-looking men that / have ever
seen. They wore the loose British
uniform, made of heavy wool, and
underneath the suit, they had heavy
wooden shirts, with who can say how
many thicknesses of wool beneath
the shirts? The poor soldiers were in
misery, for Cristobal has the heat OF
very damp August day.
To me, their faces were the most
striking that / have ever seen. Over
half the men wore three or four bands
, on their sleeve, which told us that
, they had been in the war three or four
years. Here and there one wore. in
addition, the red band above, which
we were told, showed that he had en-
tered n 1914. Scores Of the men wore
decorations for special bravery, anC
most Of the sleeves had from three te
six bars showing the number o.
wounds that the Wearer had received
: We realized that we were looking up
on somewhat is left-of the noble
New Zealand veterans who made sucl
a record in the first year of the war
/. One young officer displayed eigh
: wound bars on his sleeve. He, like
3 the others, walked with loose. de
1 jected air that seemed to say Il have
: no interest left in life. l shall neveI
q desire to see or to hear anything
2 again. Young faces, yet scanned will
y deep wrinkles. eyes intense, yet un
!, seeing, mouths firmly set, unsmiling
chins half sunk in the neck-tragi'
faces, that haunt one, that it hur
4 even to look at. l wanted to cry out
"Oh, what have the years done t.
Y these youths? They seem to have los
everything that makes life livable
q There is no joy or spontaneity left il
: them. They are deadened, bruised
8 tragic" The horror Of war has neve
a x>oora ;x,oY,roccod mo fhon whno T ora "a,