Republican news item. [volume], August 04, 1898, Image 3

About Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??

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I OUR PRISONERS OF WAR. |
O Humane Treatment That Has Opened the Eyes of w
Q the Captured Spaniards. w
ADMIRAL CERVEHA'S BILLET. '
Civilization wkile you wait would be
an appropriate motto for the prison
stockade at Camp Long. The camp is
on Seavey's Island, part of the Navy
Yard, which on the map appears in
Kittery, Me.,and on official documents
at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire.
Two days before the St. Louis
steamed into the harbor with 69*2
Spanish prisoners of war on board the
camp ground was not much better than
a desert. This end of the island is
bound with rocks which stick up
through the blueberry bushes and
scrubby grass on knolls and hillsides.
Within thirty-six hours from the ar
rival of the St. Louis in the lower har
bor the village had been equipped
with all the creature comforts de
manded by a free born American citi
zen.
The landing of the Spaniards was
■without ceremony or display. Two
black, flatiron shaped barges were
brought up, one after the other, from
the big liner, about a mile away, and
made fast to Lieutenant Cireely's land
ing place, at the foot of old Fort Sulli
van, now used as a reservoir. There
were a few workmen and a few ladies
and children from the post on the
shore, and a cordon of pleasure boats
on the water, but no official demon
stration of any sort. There was not
an officer, nor even a marine, in sight,
aud no indications that the island was
garrisoned.
On the first barge Lieutenant Cat
liu, a survivor of the Maine disaster,
brought with him Captain Moreu, of
the Cristobal Colon, to act as interpre
ter, and about a dozen American ma
rines to take care of a bootload of four
hundred Spanish prisoners of war.
Lieutenant Catlin had a navy revolver
in his belt instead of a sword, but
went at his work without any fuss or
feathers. When sis marines had
scrambled ashore aud were strung
along the bank, the gangway was
opened to the prisoners, who went off
the barge in an irregular straggling.
They were defeated and shipwrecked
sailors, and they showed it. Bare
headed aud barefooted, with straggly
QUARTERS OF ADMIRAL CERVERA AND HIS
OFFICERS AT THE ANXArOLIS NAVAL \
ACADEMY.
beards, aud only a couple of dirty gar- ,
meats in most cases covering legs and ;
bodies, they passively obeyed the or- I
ders of Captain Moreu, and were !
gathered in ship's companies by the
calling of the roll. Hardly had a hun- |
dred men been landed before the sick
began to drop groaning upon the Jnsty
roadside.
After the mustering was over the
first shipload of prisoners was sur
rounded by marines from the garrison
and marched into the stockage, the
barefooted ones being chiefly anxious i
to avoid the nettles that lurked in
some of the grassy places.
After one day in camp these same
hungry looking prisoners could hardly
be recognized. The day's rations of
beef, bread, coffee and pickles were i
devoured at one meal, each man eating !
more than a pound of meat. They j
found hammocks, comfortable hair 1
BARRACKS ON SEAVEY'S ISLAND, PORTSMOUTH HARBOR.
(Where the rank and file of the Bpanish prisoners are confined.)
mattresses and government blankets
provided for them, and after a few
puffs from borrowed cigarettes the
well Spaniards slept long and sound
ly. More meals followed with sur
prising abundance and regularity, and
great wagon loads of clothes were
hauled over,from the Navy Yard and
dumped at the feet of the prisoners.
The few industrious spirits volun
teered for camp work, and their work
ing made a pleasing spectacle for those
who were not industrious. With
warm, new clothes and a comfortable
fulness under one's belt, it is agree
able to sit iu the sun, or at least oat
of the rain, and discuss why it was
that Admiral Cervera did not utterly
destroy the American fleet. To be
sure there are sentries and deep water
in front, and sentries with a high
board fence, backed by barb wire and
Gattling guns, in the rear. What
would you? Shall sane men runaway
from good food, good clothes and a
good company to lose themselves in a
strange country and starve?
The landing of the prisoners and the
establishment of the camp was ac-
UNCLE SAM, HE TAYS TIIE FREIGHT.
(The cartoonist of the New York Herald gives his l>lea of how the prisoners will be sent
home to Spain.)
complislieil without the slightest hos
tile demonstration on the part of the
Spaniards. Some of the men passive
ly object to being clean, but they can
put up with cleanliuess if only they
get plenty of tobacco.
Colonel Forney has in the barracks
at the Navy Yard and on duty at the
stockade about two hundred men, but
Surgeon Parsons says that if the
Spaniards only understood that they
' were to have their three square meals
a day a marine guard would be re
quired, not to keep them on the island
but to drive them ivwav from it.
Two Spanish chaplains, two sur
geons, nn apothecary's steward and
five junior lieutenants have had a
building built for their special accom
modation, and have been fitted out
with sailor's clothes from the navy
yard storehouses. Their wardroom is
fitted out with bunks and abundant
furniture.
The civilizing influence of a short
piece of rope is still to be seen in
Camp Long. In the olden times the
rope was used to cow starved and ill
treated prisoners. To-day it serves a
different purpose. The members of
the officer's mess hardly got new
clothes before they began devising
amusements, and jumping rope has
become very popular. Two of the
more sedate officers swing the rope
while the others take turns jumping.
The horrors of war already seem
faraway, and the most important things
in the world seem to be the delights of
good living. Admiral Carpenter, who
is in temporary command of the Navy
Yard, has closed the island to curious
visitors, who are not annoying when
they get long range views from the
New Castle and Kittery shores.
The scene on shore of the prison
front on Seavey's Island on a recent
afternoon between five and sis o'clock
presented a most novel and interest
ing picture. The prisoners had just
finished their afternoon meal and had
swarmed to the water's edge to wash
their bowls, plates and spoons. The
olatter of the dishes and the laughter
and animated conversation of the pris
oners made such a babel of noises that
they could plainly be heard on the
Newcastle shore on the other side of
the Piscataqua River.
Hundreds of boats gathered in front
of the Spaniards on the beach and
watched them at their work and en
joyed the animated scene, for the
"Dons" seemed happy as larks and
evidently greatly pleased at the atten
tion shown them. Many ladies in the
boats had provided themselves with
kodaks, and hundreds of pictures were
taken of the prisoners that will prove
valuable souvenirs of the American-
Spanish war as time goes by. The
Spaniards enjoyed having their pic
tures taken, and many of them gath
ered in groups and posed in pictur
esque attitudes and waited their, turns
for the camera.
A colored prisoner, black as Erebus,
waded out into the water up to his
knees, and, striking his bowl and
plate together fto attract attention,
plaoed his bauds by his side, rolled
the whites <H hi# eyes heavenward,
and stood expectant. Scores of ko
daks snapped, and the colored sailor
triumphantly rejoined his. comrades
on the shore. A lady in one of the
boats threw a bunch of flowers into
the water near the shore, and in
stantly twenty or more of the prison
ers struggled for the possession of
the trophy. The Spaniard who cap
tured the bouquet was generous, how
ever, and divided the flowers among
his comrades, who proudly held aloft
the mementos, bowing and smiling
to the lady who threw them into the
water.
After the dishes had been washed
many sat in groups on the bank, some
of them singing the songs of their
native land, some playing cards, others
writing letters home, and all of them
apparently pleased with the situation.
It was a scene never before witnessed
in the Harbor of Portsmouth, but its
repetition is likely to happen every
pleasant day in the weeks to follow.
So much for the humbler prisoners.
Those of higher rank, Admiral Cer-
vera and his captured officers, are
held at the Naval Academy, Ann
apolis, Md.
Admiral Cervera would be taken for
an English merchant by ninety-nine
out of a hundred persoLs who didn't
know who he was. He is prosperous
looking, well-made, and wears a gray
beard. His son, Lieutenant Angel
Cervera, is tall and handsome, and
wears a coal-black beard. Altogether,
the Spaniards are quite a distin
guished-looking group, and when
they are fitted out in appropriate gar
ments will doubtless make much
social progress in Annapolis, as nearly
all of them have given orders for
visiting cards.
The parole signed by all the prison
ers except Admiral Cervera, who
waved it aside when presented, with
the remark that his sword of honor
was sufficient, and Captain Eulatu, of
the Vizcaya, who declined to sign it
because he declared the other officers
should be permitted to give their
word as well as the Admiral, is as
follows:
"I do pledge my word of honor
that during the period of my retention
at the United States Naval Academy
as a prisoner of war I will not go be
yond such limits as may be pre
scribed by the Superintendent of the
Naval Academy, and freely agree to
abide by such regulations as said
Superintendent may from time to
time establish.
"The limits now established will be
the grounds of the Naval Academy
and the city of Annapolis from 8
o'clock until sundown."
Admiral Cervera's house, which is
A GROUP OF SPANISH PRISONERS ON SEA
VET'S ISLAND.
known as No. 17 Buchanan row, is an
old brick painted a dark drab, with
brown outside shutters, and its front
windows overlook the oak-shaded
grounds of the academy. The com
mandant's house is two doors distant
at the corner, and diagonally across
the lawn to the left is the superin
tendent's office. A fine marine view
is obtained from the rear windows,
with the parade grounds in the fore
ground.
The whole house except the hall,
which is approached by a flight of
stairs from the road below, is heavily
carpeted. The parlor is supplied
with comfortable furniture. Opening
into the parlor by broad doors is the
dining room, which is carpeted like
the parlor and contains an oak dining
set. The passage chamber, which
communicates with the bed room, is
the Admiral's private office. It is
provided with a desk, chairs, good
lights and writing material. All the
mail matter sent and received by the
prisoners goes through the offioe of
the superintendent, and is censored.
The Spanish officers are not being
pampered with luxuries. They are re
ceiving the same focd that is given to
the naval cadets.
Admiral Cervera has a house which
is occupied by three or four others
besides himself aad his son. The
cook and the steward of the fTartnn
have been placed at his disposal, and
a servant to attend to his personal
wants. The last occupant of the
house was Lieutenant Gove. The
other prisoners occupy the old cadets'
quarters on Stribling row.
COOKING FOR SOLDIERS.
German Army Inventors Pay Much At
tention to the Subject.
The interest shown by all classes of
people at present in the matters of
military mauceuvring and equipments
is so great that a recent exposition of
CAMP COOKING APPARATUS FOB A
SMALL BATTALION.
army and camp furnishings was a gi
gantic success, as demonstrated by the
throngs of people which flocked to the
place day after day. Evidently the
German inventor has been working on
the theory that a full stomach is the
best equipment for a fighter, and
cooking implements were displayed
in the greatest variety. A clever
cooking outfit is shown herewith.
The stove for a battalion is designed
for use in the open. It is formed of
several iron chests arranged in the
shape of a cross, with a chimney iu
the middle. A smaller one is built
to accommodate a squad of about
thirty men, aud for use where there
are no general cooking provisions
made for the men, each one looking
after the preparation of his own ra
tions.
It is gratifying to note that the sub
ject of caring for the dead aud
wounded has received a great deal of
attention at the hands of army aud
navy inventors. A large variety of
devices was shown, having for their
object the care and comfort of the
wounded warrior.
—People Who Live in Trees.
Of all the islands of the South Seas
New Guinea is in some respects the
most peculiar. With its towus built
on the water, its native castles in the
trees and its strauge native inhab
itants, who have been steadily dying
A Ti'.EE TOP HOME.
out since the advent of the white man,
it is an intensely interesting bit of the
world. The natives are gifted with
such remarkable powers that they can
see into distances far beyond the vis
ion of the white man; they can track
the wild beast by signs that the white
man cannot learn; they can find food
and drink in deserts where white men
would perish of thirst and starvation.
The accompany picture represents
one of the tree houses built by na
tives of the island. Among the sav
age tribes are warriors who are knosvn
as the "head hunters." The aerial
houses are built as refuges from the
head hunters. When the cry is raised
that the head hunters are coming the
feeble and the women flee to the tree
huts and the able men arm for the
fight.
A Natural San Dial.
An immense sun dial, certainly the
largest in the world, is at Hayon
Horoo, a large promontory extending
3000 feet above the Aegean Sea. As
the sun swings around the shadow of
this mountain it touches, one by one,
a circle of islands, which act as hour
marks.
Magnanlmou*.
Jimmy (the terrible scrapper) —
"Say, me young friend, I could ohew
yer up an' neber know dat I had fed,
but I'll refrain! An' now go home an'
tell yer beantifnl sister dat I spared
yer fer lore of lier 112
PS FARM AND GARDEN^
Shade for Stock.
If there are no trees in the pasture
barsure and provide shade by building
a cheap shed with roof but no sides.
Better gains during the hot days will
move than offset the cost. Keep tlie
watering tanks full.
Chemical Weed Destroyers.
Professor Shutt of the experiment
farms at Ottawa, Cunada, recommends
the following very simple compound
for destroying weeds and grass: Two
pounds of sulphate of copper, or blue
vitriol, and six gallons of hot water.
Dissolve and apply as a spray, or
through an ordinary sprinkling pot.
Anyone having considerable trouble
with weeds and grass growing on roads
and paths will do well to try this ef
fective weed destroyer.
A Hone Umbrella.
A beautiful way to train a rose vine
is on. a big round frame like an opened
umbrella. Instead of old-fashioned
■ Hat trellis or a simple feucelike sup
port on which the vine runs wild,
make a strong upright post at least
six feet high and fasten securely the
light supports radiating like the frame
of an umbrella. The rose vine should
be trained to twine closely around the
handle of the umbrella and then made
to cover the frame as closely as the
branches will grow. A marshal neil,a
red rambler, or any rose vine can be
BO trained and be used as a summer
house. Nothing could be prettier than
such an umbrella well pruned and full
of roses in all stages of blossoms.
Starting an A*i>ata:iiA 15ccl.
Asparagus roots may be plantel in
spring or fall, but unless the ground
j is well drained, spring is preferable.
I Good strong one-year-old roots are
best. The soil should be made as rich
:as possible. If very stony the stones
I should be removed, as they are much
;in the way of cutting the stalks. In
| garden culture it is best to dig trenches
i about three or four feet apart and
i twelve inches deep; then putin a
i layer of manure to (ill about half of
' the trench after it ha 3 been packed
down. On this put two or three in
ches of soil on which place the roots,
1 spreading them out in all directions,
and cover with tine soil, packing down
| all around. The plants should not
stand closer than two feet in the rows,
' aud as they start to grow more soil
| should be drawn into the trenches until
I the surface is level again. All that is
| necessary during the season is to keep
I the ground loose and free from weeds.
! To raise a tirstclass crop the bed
has to be manured every year by scat
tering manure over the plants in the
fall. If white or blanched asparagus
is desired, the roots have to be set
ieeper and the rows have to be hilled
up similar to what is done with celery.
—New England Homeste.id.
I„evel Culture for Potatoes.
Practice of late years is largely in
favor of level culture for the best re
j suits in potato growing, although the
! socalled trench system aud the hill
I system have adherents. In former
j. years on new rich soil shallow plow
ing and planting necessitated the hill
system of culture in order to prevent
the drying out of the tubers by the
sun. As farmers learned the value of
deep aud thorough cultivation, as well
as the advantage of running the weeder
i or cultivator through the rows before
■ the plants broke through the ground,
I it was no longer necessary to throw up
1 mounds of earth to protect the tubers.
| Then again, our best varieties may be
; grown to maturity in from ten to
' twelve weeks and protection against
i late frosts is no longer necessary as it
was with most of the popular varieties
of twenty years ago. If farmers will
keep scab from seed potatoes, plant
them in deep soil and keep them under
good cultivation on the level system,
there is uo reason why paying crops
cannot be generally raised.
Chicks in the Hot Weather.
How are the chicks? If they are
dying or seem drooping, examine very
carefelly for lice. If lice are fonnd,
and there is not much doubt but that
they will be, dust with good insect
powder and also dust the mother.
Dust her extr i well under the wings
and around the vent. Rub coal oil on
her legs. If they are scaly a few ap
plications will clean them, and if
smooth it will prevent the hen or
chicks from having scaly legs. It is
best for all reasons to dust the hen
and chicks at roosting time and sprin
kle coal oil on the under side of the
coop. Sprinkle enough so that it will
smell quite strong. Sprinkle with oil
twice a week; it is much cheaper than
having lice.
See that they have access to a good
dust bath. Sawdust mixed with the
flue dust is a great help. It will work
into the skin better, aud enables the
hen to shake the lice off when she
shakes herself after the bath. If no
lice or signs of lice, i. e., nits, are
seen and th# chicks are ailing, you
have surely neglected to provide
"teeth" for the little things. Mix some
sharp sand in their breakfast, and
have a dish or board of grit, pounded
dishes and small gravel iu their coop.
Of course you don't feed your chicks
in their roosting room. There's not
much excuse to make a chicken dining
room in their bedroom. It's too ex
pensive in the end. Move your roost
ing coop to clean ground twice each
week.—American Agriculturist.
Cannai.
Of all the plants which are adapted
for bedding out on the lawn or border
the canna ranks first. For an elegance
in general appearance, and for a trop
ical effect the broad leaves of the aan-
na are unexcelled, and in the newer
and better sorts the flower is quite an
item. This plant is like other good
things in the line of floriculture, mak
ing rapid progress mainly in the
flower. The different varieties vary
considerably in height, from the dwarf
est French to the tallest old-fashioned
dark-leaved sorts.
The latest acquisitions to the many
fine varieties of cannas are the orchid
flowering sorts, the flowers of which
are serrated or crimped on the edges,
making them particularly beautiful.
It is said, however, that they are not
so well adapted for general bedding as
the plain-flowered sorts.
Cannas delight in a very rich soil
and an abundance of water, and with
these two conditions properly supplied
success is assured at once. They
should be bedded out as soon as the
soil has become warm and all danger
of frost is over. Water liberally all
summer, and in the fall, as soon as the
leaves have been blasted somewhat by
the first early frosts, cut the tops off
to within six inches of the roots. Dig
the roots carefully and store them iu a
dry cellar where the temperature is
not too high, nor where it does not
drop to the frost line. In the spring
the roots can be separated, each clump
making two or three plants. —Womau's
Home Companion.
Growing Carnations.
To grow strong plants for winter
blooming secure young stock iu the
early summer, plant them out iu a
fairly good garden soil where they can
be cultivated well during the summer.
A well-drained location, easy ot'access
with water, is best, us during the se
vere dry spells so often occurring the
plants make very little growth, and if
helped by the free use of water, as
seems necessary, better results will be
secured.
Keep the soil about the plants
stirred constantly all summer, culti
vating the plants exactly as any other
bedded out stuff. From the time the
carnations are set out until the first
week in August remove all flower buds
and flower stalks as fust as they ap
pear. After the first of August it is
better not to cut the plants back any
more, as the buds for the fall flowers
will then commence to form.
The first teu days iu September,
varying somewhat according to the
season, is the proper time to take the
plants up and either pot them or bed
them out on the benches of the green
house or conservatory. If they are to
be potted, use good garden soil, with
some broken pots or tuft of sod iu the
bottom of the pot for drainage. After
potting or plautingon the bench,shade
from the sun for several days, nud let
them have plenty of air. Air iu the
culture of carnations is very necessary
as they do not thrive in a close at
mosphere.—Woman's Home Com
panion.
Feeding Cows on Taoture.
When the pastures begin to fail it
will bd necessary to give the cows some
extra feed. Indeed, it has been shown
to be profitable to give this extra food
even in the first flush of the grass, for
the increased product not ouly paid
for the extra food, but the condition
of the cows was improved all through
the following wiuter and into the next
summer. Any animal may acquire a
reserve force, so to speak, by which
the system accumulates the material
for a leugtheued product during a sea
son of lessened supply of food. This
extra feeding on the pasture avoids
any draft on this accumulated reserve,
gained through good feeding during the
wiuter, and prevents that frequent
falling ott' iu condition which is apt to
occur while the cows are in the flush
of milk, while the pastures are fresh.
This has been demonstrated by both
practical feeding and scientific tests in
which the cows on good pasture have
received a liberal addition to the grass
of grain food, either simple corn meal
or gluten meal,or indeed some change
even of green feed, as peas and oats
mixed or green sweet corn with the
grain on. l£ was found at one of the
experiment stations that this extra
feed was not only liberally paid for
during the summer, but its effect was
noticeable during the next winter and
into the following summer. It has
been, and still is, my practice to feed
ten pounds of corn meal daily to my
cows while on the best pasture and to
add green cut fodder in addition when
the pastures begin to fail later in the
season. Aud this better feeding has
paid well without exception as regards
individual cows. They all responded
to the stimulus, while the calves of
these cows always improve on their
dams in productive value.—Orange
Judd Farmer.
Ron* llirds Fly and Glide.
Most people accustomed to an open
air life can tell almost any bird by it?
flight, but it would be difficult for tin
average man to describe how one bird
differs from another in this reaper;
Scientists have, however, closely ob
served the motion of the wings, aud
this is their classification:
Gliding flight—A sort of sliding
over the air on fixed wiugs, practised
by pigeons and swallows.
Soaring flight—Sailing, with oeca
sional flaps, as in the case of liawii
and eagles.
Bowing flight—Progression by the
ungraceful flapping we see in ducks
geese, partridges, pheasants and some
times crows.
Sailing flight—Using the wind aloue
and going aloug with it as a barge goe
with the stream. Vultures, the alba
tross and other large and heavy bird
move about in this lazy way.
Hovering flight—Remaining flutter
ing over a fixed point as humming
birds and skylarks do.—New Yor'
Journal.
Ostrich-taming is a very profitable
industry in Africa ; there it is ?om
puted there are over 150,000 tame
birds.