Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, January 21, 1899, Image 1
i. m. grist & sons, Publishers. I % ^amilg Jleicsgager: j[or the promotion of the political, Social, Agricultural, and (Eommeitcial Interests of the ?outh. {TER*|fN'ScoApJ,EAre^c?Sm?NCI!'
established 18557 TORKVILLE, S. "C., SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1899. NO. 6.
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BY GUY !
Author of "ABId For For
Marriage of
Copyright, 1898, by D. Appleton and Cot
Synopsis of Previous Installments.
In order that new readers of The Enquirer
may begin with the following installment
oi this story, and understand it
just the same as though they had read it
all from the beginning, we here give a
synopsis of that portion of it which has
already been published:
Dr. De Norinauville, an English physisician
at Hongkong, hears of a woman
called the Beautiful White DeviJ^ making
her home on an island in tne racinc oi
which she is the sovereign and leading a
Biratical life in a white yacht on the ocean,
r. De Normanville receives a call from a
stranger who engages his professional services
to go to an unknown place to treat
an epidemic of smallpox. Alter an eventful
voyage he finds himself on board the
Lone Star, the yacht of the Beautiful
White Devil. He is taken to her island
home, where he fights the plague successfully.
CHAPTER VI.
A TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY.
Sixty-four days exactly after my tak
ing charge of the health of the settlement
the last patient was discharged
from the hospital, cured. Out of 195
cases treated 138 had recovered. The
rest lay in the little graveyard on the
hillside to the eastward pf the town. It
had been a weary, harassing time from
beginning to end, and the strain and responsibility
had had a more severe effect
upon me than I should have anticipated.
Alie alone, of all the workers, seemed
untouched. Her indomitable will would
not permit Her body to know such a
thing as fatigue, and for this reason the
last day of on* work found her powers
as keen and her energy as unabated as
they had been on the first.
On the afternoon of the day following
the discharge of my last patient she
came into the surgery, and seating herself
in my armchair looked about her
with that interest my medical affairs
always seemed to inspire in her.
"Dr. De Normanville," she began,
clasping her little white bands together
on the arm of the chair, "I have been
watching you lately, and I have come
to the conclusion that you are thoroughly
tired out. There is but one cure for
that?rest and complete cnange 01 air
and scene."
"And pray what makes yon suppose
I am worn out?" I asked, wiping a pair
of forceps that I had been using on a
native boy five minutes before and putting
them back into their case.
"The color of your face for one
thing,"she answered, "and the way
you move about for another. Your appetite,
I have al60 noticed, has been
gradually falling off of late. No, it
won't do. My friend, you have been so
good to us that we should be worse than
ungrateful if we allowed you to get ill.
So, without consulting you, I have arranged
a little holiday for yon."
"That is very kind of you," I said.
"And pray what is it to be?"
"I will tell you. You are an enthusiastic
botanist and entomologist, are
you not? Very well, then. This island
abounds with unclassified flora and
fauna. I will have an expedition fitted
out today, and tomorrow morning we
will leave the settlement and plunge
into the interior. I expect a week's absence
from worry will work a wonder
ful change in yon. At any rate, we'll
try it. What have you to say to my
proposition?"
"I should like it above all things," I
answered eagerly. And, indeed, apart
from the scientific chances it wonld
afford me, a trip anywhere in her company
could not be anything else than
delightful.
Having gained her point, she rose to
go.
"I may consider it settled, I suppose?"
she said. "At daybreak tomorrow
morning we are to mount our ponies
in the square down yonder and set
off. You need not bother about rifles or
any impedimenta of that kind. I will
6ee that you are well provided."
So saying, she withdrew, and I saw
no more of her that day. Therestofthe
afternoon I spent in preparing my specimen
boxes for the trip, and when I
sought my couch at night it was to
dream of birds aud beetles of the most
glorious coloring, size and variety.
True to our arrangement, daybreak
next morning found me, booted and
spurred, striding toward the village
square. Early as 1 was at the rendezvous,
Alie was there before me, mounted
on a neat bay pony, and evidently
awaiting my coming. She wished me
"good morning" and then pointed to
the group of pack horses standing at a
little distance in charge of half u dozen
men.
"We shall not want for provisions
during our travels," she said, with a
happy laugh, and as she did so she sign
ed to one or Her attendants to lead up
a pony 6he had reserved for my use.
"The cook and his staff, "she continued,
"have gone on ahead of us to prepare
our breakfast, so now if you are
ready we'll start."
The order to march was thereupon
given, and we immediately set off up
the mountain track.
When the first half dozen miles were
overcome, the aspect of the country began
to change. It became more open,
and we continually emerged from timber
on to highly grassed plains, where
pig and deer of many kinds were to be
seen feeding placidly. Toward 8 o'clock
the trend of the country lay upward and
continued so until we had mounted to a
considerable elevation, when an extensive
panorama was unfolded before us.
The island must indeed have been a
large one if it could be judged by the
extensive views we had presented to us
of it. Only on the settlement side could
I see the sea, while on the other the
forest rolled away as far as the eye could
reach.
A little before sundown Alie inform
L WWTS ?sm.
BOOTHBY-.
tune," "Dr. IVlhola," "The
Esther," Etc.
upany.
I ecT me that we were close upon our desI
Mnotinn And cnrolv ennnch. iust as
the orb of day disappeared behind the
tree tops, we saw before us, ou a small
plateau, four or fire large aud exceedingly
comfortable huts, which the men
who had preceded us that morning had
erected for our accommodation. They
faced toward the east, and the view
from the little terrace on which they
stood was beautiful in the extreme.
Across it and for a short distance be
"How beautiful it all is!" said Alie,
looking up at the winking stars.
low the land was open; then the undergrowth
began again, gradually rising
from small bushes to great trees, and
afterward continuing in one unbroken
sea of green away to where the faint
ontline of a mountain range peered up
upon the southeastern horizon. It was
a picture to see and remember forever.
Having dismounted from our ponies
we prepared to make ourselves comfortable.
The distribution of huts was as
follows: Alie took that to the right, I
had a large one on the left, while that
in the center was set apart for our dining
room and sitting room (if we wanted
to be indoors, which was unlikely);
the fourth was destined for the accommodation
of the cook and from it already
resounded the clatter of pots and
pans.
Full of curiosity to see in what sort
of comfort Alie traveled, I entered my
own but and was amazed at the completeness
of the arrangements A com
fortable bedplace, with mosquito curtains,
occupied one side, a square of
matting covered the door, a portable
wash hand stand stood near the bed,
while against the opposite wall, neatly
arranged in a ruck, were my guns and
specimen cases. By the time I had
washed off the stains of .travel and exchanged
my riding costume for a lounge
suit the uative pong naa summoned us
to diuuer, aud Alio and I, meeting on
the terrace, entered tbe center but together.
If I bad been surprised at the completeness
of the arrangements of my
own but bow much more astonished
was I now. Indeed bad it not been for
tbe walls, which were covered with
some peculiar sort of tapestry, and the
different ceiling. I should hardly have
known that we were not "in the bungalow
at tbe settlement. Tbe white cloth,
tbe glittering glass and silver, the costly
ornaments and tbe profusion- of dishes
were tbe same, and when tbe same impassive
servant entered to wait upon us,
clad in bis usual white livery, my astonishment
was complete. Alie was in
exceptionally good spirits, and for this
reason tbe meal proceeded in a most delightful
fashion.
When it was over, we drew our chairs
outside into tbe gathering gloom and
sat watching tbe fireflies dashing in and
out amid tbe tangle of dark forest
across tbe plateau. It was indeed a
night to be remembered. Overhead tbe
tropic stars shone in all their beauty;
around us were tbe unfathomable depths
of tbe forest; from tbe right sounded
the inkling music of a stream; while
dow and again oat of tbe darkness
would come the deep note of some forest
animal or tbe melancholy boot of an
owl or other night bird.
"How beautiful it all is!" said Alie,
looking up ut the winking stars. Then
as if to herself, "If only we could always
be as peaceable as this, how much
happier we shouid be!"
"Do you really think we should?" I
answered. "Don't you think it is the
wild unrest and turmoil of the world,
to say nothing of thut constant struggling,
which make existence so sweet
to us?"
"Ah, you speak of your own world!"
she said sadly. "Think what my world
is?continual plotting, endless striving,
with always the one great dread of capture
hanging over me. Ub, Dr. De Normanville,
you little kuow the sort of
life I lead!"
"Then why do you go on with it? If
only I might"?
I checked myself suddenly. Another
moment and the fatal words would have
nassprl mv lin? Rnt tn sea her thus and
not to tell her of my love was almost
more than I could bear. I kept a tight
rein upon myself, however, and crammed
the words back into my heart. She
had paused and was looking away toward
the dark forest.
"Why do I go on with it?" she answered,
a few moments later. "Because
I must. Because there is no one else to
guide and care for them but me."
"But supposing you were caught?
They would have to shift for themselves
then."
"I shall never be taken alive?that
is, except by treachery. No. Dr. De
Normauville. come what may. I can
never forsake them. My duty lies Before
me, and as I have endeavored to do it
, in the past so I must strive to do it in
the future. But it is getting late, and
we have traveled a long distance today.
Don't you think we had better bid each
other good night?"
As she spoke she rose, and I followed
her example. Then she shook hands,
wished me good night and disappeared
into her own hut, her dog at her heels.
When she had gone, I reseated myself,
lit another cigar and fell to work upon
my thoughts. Away in the darkness beyond
the leaping fires a Sambhur deer,
probably disturbed by our lights, was
barking to bis mate, and in a tree near
at band a night bird hooted dolefully.
The first sweetness of the evening bad
passed, and now an unutterable melan
choly seemed to have laid its hand upon
it.
When my cigar was finished, I passed
into my hnt, glanced at my rifles to see
that they were ready to my hand in case
of need, and having disrobed myself
went to bed. Tired as I was, my slumoers
were almost dreamless, and it seemed
bat a few minutes from the time I
laid my head upon my pillow before my
servant was waking me to the newborn
day.
Immediately breakfast was over I
took my specimen cases and a light
rifle, and, accompanied by Alie and two
of our native servants, dived into the
forest, on collecting thoughts intent
But the profusion of subjects was so
vast that it was difficult to know quite
where to begin. At every turn some peculiar
grass, some plant, some shrub
would arrest my attention, while in the
air butterflies, beetles and birds innumerable
seemed to call upon me to catch
and catalogue them without delay. Alie
had quite recovered her good spirits by
this time, and having onoe grasped the
general idea followed her new hobby
with the same impassioned ardor that
was noticeable in everything she undertook.
By midday our cases were full to
bursting, so we returned to the camp to
lunch. In the afternoon we continued
our work, but this time without our native
followers, who, when all was said
and done, preferred chattering to working,
and in more wuys than one were in
the way.
By the time the sun declined upon
the mountain our boxes were once more
full, and we turned our heads campward,
following on our homeward route
the course of the same stream we had
pursued on our outward journey. It was
warm work, and when aboht half our
walk was done we stopped on a little
rise to look about us.
Alie seated herself on a fallen tree, and
I put down my boxes and took my place
beside her. Throughout the afternoon
she bad been a little quiet, and I must
own that my own spirits were none too
lively. Enjoyable as our excursion bad
proved, it was nevertheless a fact that
every day was bringing my stay in the
island nearer to its close, and under the
circumstances I could not help feeling
that, my duty done, it behooved me to
be moving on as soon as possible. And
yet the thought of leaving this woman,
into whose life I had flashed like a meteor
and whom I bad come so desperately
to love, was agonizing to me.
Alie rolled a small stone into the
foaming torrent below us and then
turned to me.
"Dr. De Normanville," she began?
and it struck me that she hesitated a
good deal over what she bad to say?
"when my agent visited you in Hongkong
and induced you to come to onr
assistance, be promised that as soon as
your work was completed you should
be returned safe and sound to the place
whence you started. Your work is completed,
and now it only remains for you
to say?well, to say when you wish to
leave us."
This speech, following on top of what
I had been thinking myself, put me in
a strange position, and for a minute I
did not know how to answer. Then a
torrent of words and protestations rose
upon my lips, Due i pressed mem duck
and to gain time for reflection asked a
question.
"I hope that I have done my work to
your satisfaction?"
"How can you ask such a thing?"
she answered promptly. "You have
worked for us as few other men would
ever have done. I cannot"?here her
voice trembled a little, and her beautiful
eyes filled with tears?"I cannot
ever thank you as I would wish to da"
Either her tear laden eyes or this expression
of her gratitude must have deprived
me of my self control, for when
she had finished speaking my presenoe
of mind completely deserted me, and
without more ado I drew closer to her
on the tree, and, taking her hand in
mine, said, almost without thinking of
my words:
"Alie, cannot you see that there can
be no question of thanks between us?
Cannot you see why I have worked so
hard for you? Cannot you see that I
would give my own existence to save
for you even the life of the dog you
loved? Have my actions not spoken for
themselves?"
She rose to her feet, but I noticed
that sbe turned her face away and
would not look at me. I could feel that
sbe was trembling violently. In spite
of this I continued:
"Alie! You must see that I love you
with my whole heart and soul. From
the moment I first saw you on your
yacht's deck I have been your slave. I
i* iu mnrlnpHB fnr ft man like me
auun av ia ?
to hope to will such a queen among
women as yourself, but I cannot help
it: Send me away from you if you will,
but there is one thing beyond your power
to do, and that is to take away from me
my love."
"Hush, husb, for pity's sakel"
"No, Alie, I cannot stop. I have gone
too far now to draw back. Day by day
I have hidden away in my heart?I
have tried to crush down and stifle this
love of mine, but it will not be hidden,
it will not be crushed, it will not be
6tifled. Now the flood has risen, it has
burst its bonds and washed away all
thought of prudence. You have learned
my secret. Alie, is there no hope at all
for nie? I know I am not worthy of
you, but 1 am an honest man, and I
love you with my whole heart and sou]." I
"Dr. De Nnrmanville," she said slowly,
turning her tear stained face toward
me, "I am sorry, more sorry than yon
will ever guess, that you should have
told me this. Many men have let me
know their love before now, and I was
able to tell them without pain to myself
that it could not be. Now, you love me,
you who have been so true and so brave,
and I have to make you see that what
you wish can never be possible. Do not
think I am insensible of the honor you
have done me, for it would honor any
woman to be asked to be your wife. Do
not think that it does not pain me to
hurt you so. But, oh, Dr. De Normanville,
cannot you see that I can be no
man's wife, much less yours?"
"And why, in heaven's name, not?"
All this time she bad not attempted
to withdraw her hand from mine.
"Because, according to your lights, I
am not worthy. You have this moment
called yourself an honest man. Well,
then, judged by your ideas of honesty,
1 am not an honest woman. Look at
your own career; look at the name you
have already created for yourself; tbinK
rrrwyy fntriro* t.hpn Hnw nan T a wnm
an bunted by every nation, a woman on
whose bead a price is set, who dares not
show ber face in a civilized country?
allow herself to share that name and
that future with you. Ask yourself that
question and answer it before you think
of making me your wife."
"I can have no future without you."
"That is no answer to my question.
No, Dr. De, Normanville, I am sorry,
more sorry than you will ever know,
that this trouble should have come upon
you. But wheu you have time to refleot
you will see as clearly as I do that
what you ask is impossible. It can never
bo."
"One question before you say it cannot
be!" I cried. "I will not insult you
by imploring you to tell me the truth.
You will do that without my asking.
But we will suppose for the moment
that you were not the outlaw you declare
yourself to be and I asked you the
same question. Will you tell me if you
would give me the same answer then?"
"It is unfair of you to put it in that
way," she said, toying with a leaf.
"But since you do ask I will tell you
truthfully. If I were in the position you
describe and you aBked me to share your
life with you, I would give you this
answer?that I would be your wife or
the wife of no other man."
"You love me, then, Alie?"
My heart seemed to stop beating
while I waited for her answer. When it
did pass her lips, it was so soft that I
could hardly hear it.
"Yes, I do love you."
Before she could prevent me I had
taken her in my arms and rained kisses
upon her beautiful face. For a moment
she did not resist. Then Bbe withdrew
herself, panting, from my arms.
"Let me go!" she gasped. "Yon must
not do this. No, no, no! What am I
telling you? Oh, why cannot you see
that what you wish is impossible?"
"As I live," I cried in return, "it is
not impossible, and it never shall be!
Since you own yourself that you love
me I will not live without you. I love
you as I verily believe man never loved
woman before. If I were a poet- instead
of a prosaic doctor, I should tell you,
Alie, that to me your smile is like
God's sunshine. I would tell you that
the wind only blows to carry to the
world the story of my love for you. I
would tell you all this and more?yes,
a thousand times more. But I am no
poet. I am only a man who loves you
for your own beautiful self, for your
sweetness, your loneliness, your tenderness
to those about you. What does
fame mean for me? I want only you.
Let me have you for my companion
through life, and I will go with you
where you wish, stay here with you if
you please or go away, just as you may
decide. I have but one ambition, and
A nd with a chokivpeob she fled.
that is to be w orthy of you, to help you
to do good. All I ask is to be allowed
to live the life you live yourself."
"And you think that I would let you
make this sacrifice for me? No, no I Oh,
why cannot you see that it is impossible?"
Again I attempted to take her in my
arms. Bat this time she eluded me, and
with a choking sob fied through the
scrub toward the camp. Seeing that it
was useless to attempt to reason witb
her in her present state, I followed more
leisurely, reaching the huts just as the
gong was sounding for dinner. As soon
as my ablutions were performed, I
sought the dining hut, but my hostess
was not there. I waited, and presently
the servant arrived to inform me that
oho w?o Tint well and would dine in her
own apartment.
I was not prepared for this, and my
thoughts daring my solitary meal and
when I was smoking on the plateau before
the huts afterward were by no
means pleasAnt. Glad though I was that
I had made her aware of my sentiments
toward her, I almost began to wish, if
she were going to avoid me, that I had
deferred my explanation until we had
reached the settlement again. But I was
destined to see her that night after all.
About 10 o'clock, just as I was thinking
of retiring to my own hut, I heard
a footstep behind my chair, and a mo
meat later Alle, accompanied Dy ncr
dog, stood before me.
"Dr. De Normanville," she said softly,
"I cannot imagine what yon mast
think of me. I have come to tell yon
that I felt I could not sleep until I had
apologized to you."
Her penitence sat so prettily upon her
that it was as much as I could do to
prevent myself taking her in my arms
and telling her so. But I managed somehow
to keep myself within bounds and
only said in reply:
"You must not say a word about it
I was equally to blame. Great as is my
love for you, I should not have forced
it upon yon in that unseemly fashion."
"No! No! Don't say that I want
you really to understand my gratitude.
That I love you, I have said. Perhaps I
ought not to have confessed it. But seeing
that I have done so, and have told
you exactly what my position in the
world is. von must see that it is that
very love which keeps me from giving
myself to yon as I should like to do. I
don't make my meaning very clear, but
can yon understand that?"
"I think I do," I said. ."But it does
not alter my position. I love yon as I
shall never love any other woman. As
I told yon this afternoon, my whole life
is bonnd np in yon. It remains for yon
to say whether I shall be the happiest
or the most miserable of men. Remember,
save for my sister, I am alone in
the world. Therefore, as she is amply
provided for, I have only myself to
think of. If yon will have me, I will
give my life to yon to do as yon please
with."
"This generosity is like yourself.
Will yon let me make a bargain with
yon?"
"What is it?"
"It is this. First yon shall promise
not to speak of this to me again nntil I
give yon permission."
"I will promise that. And on your
part?"
"I will promise to give yon my answer
at the end of 12 months. In the
meantime yon will go back to England,
live yonr own life, and on the first day
of May next year, if yon still love me
and are as anxious then to make your
sacrifice as you are now, I will meet you
again and be yonr wife as soon as yon
please. What do yon say?"
For a few moments I could answer
nothing; then, thongh I am not theatrically
inclined as a general rnle, I fell
on my knee, and taking her band kissed
it, saying in a voice 1 hardly recognized
as my own:
"My queen and my wife!"
"You are content to abide by that?"
' 'Since you wish it I am more than
content,"I answered, my heart overflowing
with happiness.
"Then let us say no more on the subject.
' Good night, and may God bless
you."
She turned and left me without another
word, and when I bad seen her
disappear into her hut I, too, sought
my oouob, to dream, as I hoped, of' the
happiness that the future had in store
for me.
TO BE CONTINUED.
the; repeal op the homestead.
What Senator Sullivan Expects of HI*
Constitutional Amendment.
Columbia State, Tuesday.
Senator Sullivan, of Anderson, is
opposed to the homestead, and yesterday
in the senate, introduced a
resolution looking to its repeal. He
purposes to make a hard fight this
year agaiDst the homestead, and when
asked about the object of bis resolution,
said :
"The joint resolution offered for the
repeal of the present homestead provision
of the constitution, looks to
leaving the matter of exemption of
personal property to the general assembly,
and to prohibit homesteads in
lands.
"TtiA nrflapnt homestead law is the
root of many evils, sucb as our obnoxious
lien law, a source of constant litigation
and legislation.
"Get the homestead out of tbe way
and we can repeal the lien law, and at
the same time leave tbe people of limited
meaDs a basis of credit. Tbe
necessity of so much mortgage-taking
will no longer exist. Tbe credit of
our people and of the state will be
greatly enhanced.
"Why should money be tight at 8
and 10 per cent, in South Carolina
wbeu in other states it can be bad at
from 4 to 5 per cent? This homestead
law discredits us at once before
tbe world and keeps out pf the state
money products and out of touch with
those who are glad to extend credit on
tbe least margin. Repeal tbe present
homestead exemptions and money in
South Carolina can soon be had readily
at 5 or 6 per cent.
"Tbe homestead law is no friend to
the poor man who desires to rise in the
world. Get it out of the way and we
can then legislate to some purpose on
questions relating to the credit system.
There may have been a time in the
years and centuries gone by when this
law served a good purpose; but I think
reflection will convince us that it is
now out of date and a real obstacle to
every branch of iudustry and trade."
Traveling Post Offices.?The
post office department has ordered an
innovation in the postal service by the
experimental establishment of a post
office on wheels, to operate in the vicinity
of Westminister, Md. Tk^^ervice,
which is to begin shortly, calls
for the use of a postal wagon to travel
over a designated route in rural districts.
Mail boxes can be placed at
some point on the route for every farmer
living within a mile or two from
the proposed route and mail will be
collected therefrom. One important
feature of the contemplated innovation,
which, if successful will be extended
generally, is that it will have
money order and registry matter facilities.
I?-No man will ever be celebrated
for his piety whose religion is all in his
head. i
(ills ml in mm,
Interesting Story For Friends
at Home.
BOUGH TRIP ON THE TRANSPORT.
Strange Sights In a Strange Country?
The Cubans at Home?How They Dresa?
So-called Beautiful Senorltas Require
Less Faint and More Soap?The Horrors
of a Crowded Troopship.
The following splendily written and
unusually interesting letter is from
Sergeant Augustus Deal, The Enquirer's
Second Regiment correspondent,
to bis mother, Mrs. M. E. Deal, of
nUntahnmr Tt man aont to THR En.
quirer at SergeaDt Deal's request,
with the explanation that having already
written a long letter to bis mother,
he did not then feel inclined to undertake
another; but that The Enquirer
might use such extracts as it
should consider desirable. . Such a capital
letter, however, could not be condensed
to advantage, and, therefore, in
the exercise of the discretion allowed
by this highly talented young soldier
boy, the editor prefers not to undertake
any changes:
"Camp Columbia,"
Havana, Cuba, Jan. 12, 1899.
My Dearest Mother : I know that
you are anxious to hear from me and
that I should have writteu to you before
this; but after the horrible trip over
in the overloaded, top-heavy old cattleship
of a transport, and the unnecessary
confusion and hardship caused
us by the bungling of some of our own
officers, I have felt disposed to do
little else, in my spare moments, than
lie on my cot in tbe shade and swear
in execrable Spanish at tbe hordes of
Cubans (every shade) that are continually
swarming through tbe campB
selling oranges and "sbigaretty" and
shrewdly trading their stock for whatever
articles of a soldier's apparel that
may strike their fancy.
However, my first letter from Cuba,
and my first in the New Year of 1899,
shall be to you; but knowing your
love for the beautiful in nature, I sincerely
regret that I am not able to describe,
or even suggest to you, the
beauties and wonders of this strange
island.
We are encamped now on an old
sugar plantation out in the bills, high
up above and to tbe west of Havana.
it is a spienaiu site, possessing uiuuy
natural advantages for a camp, and
commanding a beautiful view of the
city and the ocean. The discipline is
very leoient; the men being allowed
to go pretty much anywhere they
please, except to Havana, nine miles
away, where a strict provost guard is
iu charge. To the sea it is only about
three miles, and a great many of the
men have availed themselves of the
opportunity to take a surf bath; but
the beach is rocky and covered with
sharp shells, and proved to be a disappointment.
The weather here is charming?
neither cold nor warm?with a most
delightful breeze all the time ; but this
is winter and their dry season, you
know, and I suppose we will all wish
ourselves well away from here before
we get away; before the torrid summer,
with its terrific rains, strikes us.
We have already experienced one
rain?a perfect downfall?and we have
been wading in the reddest, stickiest
mud ever since until today, when we
moved our camp to its present site.
The country around here is beautiful
beyond description ; the landscapes
glorious. But it is not this that attracts
the attention of the men. It is
amusing to see them stand in wonder
before a bearing orange or banana
tree, or a field of sugar cane, sown
broadcast like wheat, and so thick a
rabbit could hardly get through. The
royal palms, with their extremely tali
and slender columns, of a color that
might easily be taken for stone masonry,
and their cane-like stems at the
top, capped by a tuft of leaves, come
in fur a eood deal of admiration.
Some of them taper gradually, with
apparently not the slightest variation
from the symmetrical in any direction,
while others beginning small at the bottom,
bulge to enormous proportions,
tapering symmetrically and gracefully
at the top.
Of the city of Havana I have seen
very little, and of that I am not near
so enthusiastic. If I were to express
in as few words as possible the sensations
that overwhelmned me as I passed
through it on the day of our arrival,
and in the order of their importance,
I should say, ''filth," decay, children,
inertia and the ancient splendor of the
old fortress-like houses, with their invariable
iron barred doors und windows.
Filth certainly deserves the first
place?in fact the first several placestor
it is no exaggeration to say that the
streets, which are also the sewers,
stink strongly with an odor that was
particularly repugnant. "Decay" was
stamped so deeply on everything,
both animate and imauimate, both
bouses and people, that it is entitled
to second place, although "children"
is a close third. They swarmed
through the city singly, in bevies, iu
droves; by tens, hundreds and thousands,
and the strangest, funniest part
Sara 11/qa t.hnf.!
tu tUO AUJVI1VHU QV1U1VIUJ Tf Hw VUMV
the majority were entirely naked, and
it their mid-winter also! They reminded
me of the flies of Jacksonville,
Fla., where the men used to say, with
more truth than poetry, that "if you
wished to sit down, you must first
brush off the flies and then sit dowu
quick."
The next thing to particularly impress
me wasjhe general inertia of the
populace. From the extremely graceful
and iudolent manner in which they
nearly all were reposing, one would
naturally be led to believe that this
was their past, present and future
state, and further experience with]
mem nas leoueu iu cuuurui mm view ?
oue "South Carolina nigger" being
worth at least five of them.
The most fascinating and interesting
study, however, was the bouses. Built
of solid masonry, usually only one
storied, with every open place heavily
iron-barred, and with no yard, they
were more like' mediaeval castles than
dwellings. They were usually only
two rooms thick, and in the rear would
be the most beautiful gardens. The
strangest, most unreal thing of it all
was to see the most magnificently furnisbed
houses, with the prettiest and
most artistic fresco and tiling, face
streets not wiae enougu ior twa waguua
to pass, and filthy to buch a degree
that Americans would not believe it.
The sidewalks almost everywhere that
' I saw, were only about two feet wide?
two people could not pass upon them. '
There are several other small towns
around us: Mariano, with a population
of 15,000, being about two miles
distant. About half a mile below us,
where we were first encamped, is another
old plantation. The majority of
the heavy stone buildings are in ruins,
having been burnt; but the dwelling,
grim and grand, is still intact, and
presents an interior of marvelous
beauty. Tiling seems to be used on
all the floors, and some of it and the
frescoes are exquisite.
Lumber is $120 per 100 feet, I hear;
but I cannot believe it. Anyway, we
are paying $15 a cord for wood to
burn. The prices of different things
are, to us, so disproportionate that
they furnish a subject of unflagging
interest. Eggs, for instance, are 80
cents a dozen, while you can get several
packs of splendid cigarettes for a
sickle. One of the men asked for a
uickle's worth of apples and was given
one shrivelled little apple. He preferred
to take six big oranges instead.
The dress of the natives is very
simple. Twenty-Ave cents for a hat,
20 cents for a pair of slippers, $1 for a
pair of trousers and a jacket made of
some light stuff*, throw in a nickle for
"shigaretty" and for $1.50 you have
dressed your Cuban. Now add a little
dirt, a smile for the "ab-may-ree-cahna
b" and give him a machete (ma-cheyle)
and you have the type. This is thelaboring
class; but some of the richer
Cubans dress elegantly and with taste.
MitmnAM nkiMean natrlonh f.hifl
AUO JUUUgUt VUUUI VU uvgivvv vww
little item, and in a state of Datura,
play io the mud to their heart's content,
with uo fear of being scolded for
soiling their clean clothes.
The people are generally and unusually
small and slight. I, with my 5
feet 7 inches and 180 pounds, feel like
a giant among them. Their hands
and feet are very small, and I should
say their average weight is about 110
pounds?possibly 115 pounds.
The soldiers generally are great admirers
of the dark beauty and lustrous
eyes of the sayn-yo-ree-tahs; but as for
myself, I am free to confess that I prefer
less powder and paint and mora
soap.
But to go back a little. We took
the transport Roumanian at Savannah
on Tuesday morning, January 8, and
debarked at Havana on Friday morning;
being just three days out. And
obi those days. Truly, "a tale I
could unfold whose lightest word
would barrow up thy soul." The ship
was top-heavy and overcrowded?carrying
beside our own corral, that of
the Ninth Illinois?in all about 1,000
men and 800 horses and mules.
We were fortunate in catching a
very quiet sea ; but, nevertheless, the
ship rolled' fearfully. Consequently,
the young volcanoes Within us scon
began to erupt, and it soon became an
open contest as to whose stomach contained
the most, who could strangle
the loudest and become the most
gbastly, deathly sick; and your precious
son, mamma, was not the least of
these if be didn't beg to be either
-? ? l.ill-1 on/1
cnioroiormeu ur &mcu ubv ovU
didn't have the strength and necessary
vocabulary to swear as loud and proficiently
as most of the others.
I had remained on deck during the
first afternoon "feeding the fishes";
but toward night went down into the
hold, which had already become foul
and sloppy, to get my blankets, intending
to return; but I never got
back. I managed to get lodged in a
hammock beneath some poor devil
who seemed to be having a particularly
hard time of it. Periodically he
would interrupt bis prayers, curses
and lamentations, launch over to one
side and emit volumes, it seemed to
me; and as the hammocks were continually
swaying as the shipped rolled,
it occurred to me in a kind of dull way,
that I might offer some obstruction to
its passage; but strange to say I
neither moved nor cared. 1 remember
wondering bow in the world he
could ever have gotten so much inside
himself and if be would never
stop; when alter an unusually hard
straugle, I heard him declare, with a
perfect avalanche of army oaths, that
he bad thrown up everything but bis
government job, and I know how heartily,
just then, that the poor fellow
wished that could be thrown up also.
All around, packed like hogs in a
pea, but without the advantage of
fresh air, everything was the same
way. I heard men slashing around
on the door that had been at least dry
a few hours before, and drop valuable
articles that they never used again.
It was a perfect pandemouium of
groans, curses, coughs and strangles
that continued all night long and
was still in progress, although the
storm had aimost spent itself, when ?
finally mustered up strength enough,
at 12 o'clock the next day, to crawl
up on deck. Whether I slept any during
the night, I do not know. Sometimes
I would drop otf in a kind of
stupor, and then I suppose I slept;
but it seemed to me that I was always
awake and could never lose conciousness
as I so longed to do.
The sickness seemed to attack the
miud as much, if not more, than the
body; and when I began to realize
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