Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VIII THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN Seal of the Corporation of the City of Ponce after the WHEN the men who accompanied our array to Porto Rico returned to their own people again, they found that at home the Porto Rican campaign was regarded as something in the way of a successful military picnic, a States. The original seal . contained the arms of sort ot comic-opera war, a mag Ponce, a lion on a bridge. nified field-day at Van Cortlaudt Park. This point of view was hardly fair, either to the army in Porto Rico or to the people at home. It cheated the latter of their just right to feel proud. In comparison to the Santiago nightmare, the Porto Ricau expedition was a fete des fleurs; but the reason for this, apart from the fact that the country, unlike Cuba, had not been devastated and that the Porto Ricans, unlike the Cubans, were most friendly, was one which should make all Americans pleased with themselves and with their army. It should give them such confidence in the army and its generals as we like to honestly feel when we boast of anything to which we can prefix the possessive pronoun, whether it be our local base-ball nine, our express trains or elevators, or our army and navy. Porto Rico was a picnic because the commanding generals would not permit the enemy to make it otherwise. The Spaniards were willing to make it another nightmare--they were just as ready to kill in Porto Rico as in Cuba--but our commanding General in Porto Rico was able to prevent their doing so. A performance of any sort always appears the most easy when we see it well done by an expert--even golf looks possible as Whigham plays it. All he does is to hit a ball with a stick. But you might go out and hit the same ball with the same stick for a year, and no...
