Letters from the Front

The Spaniards aren't very good shots I have found. They only managed to hit a small few of our men, and I heard that only one of those died from his injuries. Our new machine rifles allow us the chance to kill more of them before we need to reload. I found this a great help during a particularly heated exchange of gunfire. My self-loading rifle let me kill several Imperials without a need to recock it after every shot.

In the end, the Cubans did prove to be better soldiers than I had expected. They managed to clear several of the Spaniards rifle pits by themselves with very little of them being injured in the doing. The fighting lasted for quite awhile before we were able to kill or run off the remaining soldiers. All in all, it was a rousing battle from beginning to end.

The heat here is overwhelming, I now sorely regret that I had to leave my horse behind, as I have never walked so far with so much weight. When the captain calls for us to stop for awhile, the other men, and myself, have begun to throw off our packs and lay flat on the ground. I do not know if the stops helped the other men much, but I was able to get to my feet quite lively after only a short spell. The area is fairly mountainous, making the trek from Daiquiri to Siboney harder than a man should have to walk. A couple of the men, unused to the exertions, fainted dead away. The sergeant had several of us make each of them comfortable underneath a tall palm tree with their rifles and full canteens. I hear tell both men made the walk to Siboney several hours after we made camp for the night.

William asks me to thank you for sending the package of socks before we left. His were ruined during the march to Siboney. I want to thank you for the rolls of film for my Kodak camera. I had only been able to find one roll in the shops in Tampa. We weren't given as much time as I would have liked before we sailed for Cuba. I had better stop here as the mailbag is about near ready to leave. I will write when I have more time. We are supposed to march again in the morning.

I am able to write again sooner than I had expected. The Sergeant told us yesterday that we would not be moving again for several days. He said that a pair of airships had flown overhead yesterday. The Colonel apparently felt that they were trying to scout out our positions, so he ordered us to stay on for a few more days.

I think that they hope to get the men acclimated to the heat and humidity of the jungle that we are going to be fighting in soon. We have had an easy going of it so far as the Spanish troops seem more adept at running away from us than actually fighting. This strengthens mine and most of the other men's belief that they do not deserve to be here. If God wanted them to rule over the uncivilized natives, then He would have strengthened their hand against us. I am sure you do not want to read anymore of my preaching on the matter. I have found that William would agree with you in that respect. There is not much to say as we have done little except try to relax in this forsaken heat. I will try to write again in several days. William asks that you tell mom and dad he sends his greetings. He is his usual lazy self and will not take the time to write them himself. But then you well understand little brothers’ ways.