There are all kinds of reptiles and varmints. Hamilton and I have killed three centipedes in our tent. The natives say their bite will kill, but our doctors say not; several of our boys have been bitten; none died so far. A soldier of the Third Wisconsin shot and killed one of the regulars. The wealthy class of people here dress like us; have fine carriages, but their horses are all small and pace. They raise hogs and their cattle are Jerseys. They do all their work with oxen and large two-wheeled carts. The oxen pull with their horns and you would wonder at the load they pull. The poorer class of people are nothing better than slaves. From ten to thirty will live in one small house. I have not seen a window glass or chimney on a house since being on the island. They build their fires in small stoves and cook their grub in kettles. They raise bananas, oranges, limes, the same as lemons, cocoanuts, pomegranates, mangoes, etc. They also raise melons, tomatoes, cucumbers and such vegetables. Think of getting those things fresh the year round.
They wear as few clothes as possible. You see children as old as four years without a stitch of clothes on. I mean the poor, and none of the older wear shoes; their endurance is wonderful, and they don't perspire like us. They all smoke either cigars or cigarettes. We see children four years old smoking cigars. You can buy as good a cigar here for 1 cent in their money as we can buy at home for 5 cents. One dollar in our money is equal to two dollars in theirs. So we get our smoking pretty cheap. Fruits are sold accordingly. We are to turn our Springfield guns in this morning and get the Krag-Jorgensen; they are much lighter and their bullets are not near so heavy. Hope this will be of interest to you. Don't forget to send the Times as we have not seen a paper since leaving Charleston. Regards to all.
In the course of an interesting letter written by James Burns of the Twenty-seventh battery, Indiana volunteers, to his mother, and dated August 15, at Guayama, Puerto Rico, he said that the news of the cessation of hostilities was received by courier only a short time before the battery expected to get actively into battle. Most of the boys, he said, were anxious to return home. For himself, he expressed a desire to remain for the reason that the country there is very rich, the climate healthful and the possibilities to make money in the future, through American push and energy, the best in the world. Speaking of the daily routine of the battery boys he said:
Every man cooks his own meals and we get plenty of good food, such as bacon, potatoes, beans, onions, hard-tack, canned corn beef, canned roast beef, canned tomatoes and the like. The climate is the finest I ever experienced. While the temperature is very high, still the strong trade winds render it always agreeable, the hottest day being far more pleasant than at home. Water is pure and plentiful. The country is cut up every quarter mile or so by limpid mountain streams and the beach on this, the south side of the island, is as fine as any in the world. Palms abound in profusion and the most beautiful flowers and ferns cluster and grow delightfully everywhere. The cocoanut, mango, bread-fruit, banana, lemon, lime, sago, prickly pear, mangrove and bay trees grow luxuriantly about our camp.
The natives here are of small stature. They are black-haired and have bright, sparkling eyes. They are all of a mixture of either the French or Spanish with the negro. There is a large population of French and Portuguese, the pure Spanish being but little more than one-sixth of the entire population. The natives are a bright, intelligent class. There are few public schools, education being given to children at their homes by traveling teachers and governesses. There are but few Protestants or Protestant churches, the Catholic being the prevailing religion, and their churches being much more magnificent than any you have at home. The priests constitute the ruling force among the people. Children run naked until they are six years old. Every one wears white linen clothing and most, of the people go bare-footed. The men wear straw hats and the women go with their heads uncovered. There are not a few English and Americans here, and they scrupulously maintain the Anglo-American costumes. News does not reach us for ten days or more after you read it in the newspapers in the States. We are just reading the Indianapolis papers of July 31 and August 1, and the news is perfectly fresh to us. The marriage rite here is a very loose affair. A man may have one or two families, as he may elect. One of these may include the progeny of a wife of his own class and the other by a negro woman or half-breed. All he has to do is to pay the prescribed duty.
There are no bad fevers here, but small-pox sometimes is prevalent in certain localities, although they have not had the scourge for three years. Leprosy, elephantiasis and diseases arising from a bad condition of the blood prevail to some extent. Ruins of sugar mills and plantations abound on every side, once great money-producing establishments, but destroyed by Spanish avarice and the American tariff. Cattle-raising, fruit-growing, coffee, and rice culture furnish the principal money-making vocations in Porto Rico. There are no railroads that amount to anything. The wagon roads are all military roads and the freighting is carried on with pack mules and bull-carts. The latter are of the clumsiest character, the yoke resting on the horns of the animals instead of upon their necks, as in the old farm districts in the United States. They carry from two to three tons or more at a load. The horses and mules are small, but willing and patient animals. The natives are sharp traders and boys of from six to ten years of age can drive close bargains. One of our American dollars will purchase exactly twice as much as a Spanish dollar. The one particularly cheap product is the cigars. "Smokes" of a good quality sell for one cent each. Bananas and lemons are cheap, and of the latter fruit we partake plentifully. Cocoanuts sell for five cents each; milk, five cents; bread, twenty cents, and sugar, four cents. These prices are on a basis of the Spanish money.
This letter was written by one of the soldiers of the Sixteenth infantry, five captains of which led the particular charge in which this regiment participated:
July 24, 1898.
We are in bivouac near our trenches, within half a mile of
Santiago. The fighting is all over and we are just waiting for
something to happen. The latest newspaper we have seen was that of
July 3, so you see I write like a person of the past generation.
We have had a hot time. The Spanish got drunk and put up a pretty good fight. At least I have heard they were all drunk in the battle of the 1st. I don't know whether it is true or not, but I do know that they did not run as quickly as we wished them to do.