Show DISCONTENTED SOLDIERS Spains Halfstarved Troops No 7 IsTatch Por Patriots Mobile Ala May 3The American bark John R Stanhope is in port from Honduras Since she left Mobile last time the vessel has been in Manzamilo en the southeast coast of Cuba which port Captain P V Marshal left on March 26 ard the master tells a surprising sur-prising story to the Associated Press representative of the military condition existing there being verified by the mate Thomas Coburn Because of demonstrations hostile to Americans the pmcers and crew o the vessel did not frequent the shore but during their visits to the city they saw and heard enough to convince them that the Spanish soldiers are utterly unable to cope even with an inferior American force A cavalryman who ould converse in good English told them that there were I 4000 Spanish soldiers in the city and that 600 had died during the week the 1 Stanhope was there of neglect and r want From the same source Captain Marshal learned that the whole troops were so discontented with their treatment treat-ment that they would willingly go over to the insurgents hut the insurgents distrusted them and had refused all overtures for such a union The troops were quartered in the streets and at night slept under verandas and in doorways They demanded accommodations accommo-dations from the citizens but it was refused them and they were powerless to enforce it The rations for a day consisted of barley water a small portion por-tion of bread and a small piece of pork This was doled out by officers and carried away like a plate of unsavory soup all in the same tin dish and the soldiers disposed of i like ravenous dogs They were ragged and dirty un soldierly in bearing and discipline and their courage had been killed by vicissitudes vic-issitudes and illtreatment Mate Coburn said that the negro tramps on the wharves of Mobile looked respectable in comparison and were infinitely better of One night on the outskirts of the city he saw hundreds of Spanish soldiers huddled together like animals on the floor of an old stable sta-ble The mortality among the soldiers is the result of their condition and not of the climate American troops need have no fear said the mat While the terrible mortality is not exaggerated in the dispatches dis-patches to this country there are more deaths from starvation than from any climatic malarias From the best information In-formation obtainable Captain Marshal is of the opinion that the whole of the 40000 troops driven into Manzanillo from the provinces of Santiago de Cuba by the insurgents are only awaiting a favorable opportunity to openly revolt |