Show 4 1 az ra r A AT tj CAPTIVE SPANIARDS DS AT SIBON 0 W fedj ir V as y wera we aotoa u to got get a square sl alier arb maal to a A ahli CW ord writing writt ng fore iture of es fo allow ing ng I 1 U ar the kristt pris drisoll tt oa o ers a V st S there therefore url ISO kt f aej tf defenders fenders ie of santiago heddla up within a tow stead iid barbwire barb wire anelo ure a few h uri M di from the hospital and the th D ber As increasing hourly they are am beginning to come in volunta voluntarily cily no new same who were taken in the attacks on el elcaney cahney and who were exchanged escaping from their own lines and seeking captivity cap as oth pr men might seek freedom ledom captivity means to them wety safety and three meals a day whereas within the he city or in it ii defensive Je trenches they might get one meal and they might not while if they taketo take to the woods there the cubans await them cheerfully anxious to carve ca them into little pieces they are little men and lithe for the most part these spanish prisoners with vita closely cropped hair and skins varying from a light olive tint to a jet black for there are many negroes u among them their hats are aref df coarse ornamented by a dagy cockade of red and yellow and their uniform cons consists istir of a blue and white striped blouse and groubers grousers gro users of light potton cotton material many bay of them are am j without shoes and their uniforms aw arar generally ragged and dirty A company of the thirty third michigan is keeping watch and ward over them but their task seems to td be an easy om one and the sentries gentries ya yam drow as they pace it tm and fro frd there malpe may abe some to in the lounging hopeless looking who would like to make a hold bold dash for liberty but it is doubtful it there are they seem to regard the stalwart proportions of the michigan men with simple wonder it Is no marvel that you succeed they tell them you are so big so too they compare the american horses with the little fox I 1 terriers their own cavalry bestride and again they find justification tori ford 1 their position generally the prisoners seem content to lie he basking in the sun though that is hardly a matter of choice for there is no shade in their feet square of space for them to lie in some of them are stretched out on their backs their hats tilted over their eyes sleeping so soundly that the long bodied agile ants scurrying and dodging about over their faces hardly make the muscles twitch one or two groups have packs of cards quaint gayly painted paste boards of unrecognizable suits with full length figures in baggy breeches and nd flowing gowns for the pictures they play for coffee beans and some of the lur lucky ky gamblers have won enough for a brewing verl veritable table pots but there are apparently no tunny funny situations in the game and no exultation over a winning there are little circles standing or lounging about as they talk and their conversations or discussions are usually animated fiercely so at times and there is I 1 abundance of vehement gesticulation but there is never a laugh moodiness melancholy despair jorj or W MN M im N SIR 6 af m fc kr 4 IA I A l 1 font siranos 9 7 t f bau barb wire mever ferid in 0 so o before hitau rf the p the 7 ami as trev tb ex please within os viv tire woe MOO to they of them divided in todail to sail en benl enl squads of 0 ten tea each squad j awby two vigilant privates with loaded rifles rift tire are policing the village alq shovels they ey are gath efing ne decaying dei ayin 9 refuse that the tydd J land d crabs b have proved unequal 49 4 r raking aking and scraping the foul nce ace years of auban uban neglect into loathsome heaps presently to be burned with a stench st indescribable and abominable the cubans when to pet pep form some light and agreeable taste task tor for the accommodation or assistance lot of their american saviors sav tors often respond with more or less hauteur that thai wey they are not servants porters or hoa bos j pital attendants as the case may be but fighters it is generally admitted by our men that the spaniards are fighters in their poor weak way so that it is quite likely that they object to becoming scavengers spanish pride being no less than cuban pride this may account for the gloom however the work is a necessity i and if the spanish prisoners pr were not available it is certain that the cuban fighter could not be induced to undertake it he would boober have yellow fever so RO that task would devolve upon private thomas rhomas ameri canns moreover it ft is more disagreeable than arduous and though it may hurt castilian pride v a little it raises no blisters then there la is the nil all compensating ration the abe full ration as issued to the american soldier corned beef bacon hard bard tack sugar and coffee to to repletion or to something very near it small wonder that the half starved wretches declined to be exchanged the presence of the spanish in this particular situation is evidently a source of high gratification to the insurgent soldiery though it Is evident that they do not approve agthe afi the consideration with which the prisoners are treated they are not allowed allo by the guards to approach the inclosure i re or to annoy the former oppressors in any way that can be prevented but they make the most of their privilege of gazing from afar it is a huge hu ge joke for these black men back of the inclosure and halfway half balf way up the hillside a blockhouse has been converted into a hospital for the spanish wounded there are seven of them in there now under the personal charge of dr lesser who pours carbol laed balm and sterilized oil into their hurts with an unsparing hand band it is touching to witness the expression of surprise and gratitude on their wasted and pain drawn faces when they realize for the first time that they are not going to be slaughtered but cared for with skill and kindness on the whole they are more cheerful in the block house than in the inclosure below which is to say they are occasionally cheerful |