honesty in private dealings with shameless graft in transactions with 

 the Government. Of the delinquent clerks he said: "It isn't so much 

 their robbing of their own people; what I can't stand is to have them 

 think I'm such a fool as not to see through their tricks." 



Hatcher told me of a Spaniard whom he met on the Straits of Magel- 

 lan and who insisted that the Spanish fleets which had been destroyed 

 at Manila and Santiago had been sold to the Yankees. So topsy-turvy 

 were the Spanish conceptions of honour, even more so than the Prus- 

 sian, that this man thought it less disgraceful to his country to have 

 venal admirals, who would sell out to the enemy, than to be beaten in 

 a fair fight. Graft is, unfortunately, not unknown in our own dear 

 country, but what scandalised us all in Cuba was the universality of it 

 and the social standing of the people who practised it, not to mention 

 the childlike naivete of their methods; if forms were observed, substance 

 did not matter. 



General Ludlow was very polite and hospitable to me and made a 

 deep impression on me as a man of strong intellect and character, as 

 well as a polished man of the world. When I went to bid him good-bye, 

 I said, in thanking him for all his kindness: "General, I'm very glad 

 to have had the privilege of making your acquaintance." He laughed 

 and, turning to his Adjutant General, replied: "Scott, some of these 

 Cubans don't think it's so much of a privilege to meet me, do they.^" 

 When Generals Ludlow and Chaffee were ordered to the Philippines 

 and General Wood relieved General Brook, my Brother became Adju- 

 tant General of the island and, during General Wood's long absence, 

 the Acting Governor. He has recorded some of his experiences in this 

 capacity in his Memories, but has omitted one tale that should not be 

 lost. 



One of the young officers under him took a month's leave and ran 

 over to Hayti, where he engaged as guide some government functionary 

 who, though very black, spoke very fair English. The Haytian proved 

 to be an excellent guide, who showed the visitor everything of interest 

 that could be seen within the limits of time. When paying him off, 

 the American said: "You have a wonderful country here — why don't 

 you make something out of it? Why don't you stop all this nonsense 

 of revolutions and get down to work and raise more crops and less 

 hell?" The darkey replied: "Oh! that would do very well for you cold- 

 blooded Northerners, but us Latins has got to have more excitement." 



Shortly before I left Havana, my Brother and I were greatly saddened 

 by the news that our uncle, Colonel Stockton, had died suddenly on 



C 240 ] 



