The Return Home 203 



esting to go in once or twice, and wander through 

 the narrow streets with their curious little shops and 

 low houses of stained stucco, with elaborately 

 wrought iron trellises to the windows, and curiously 

 carved balconies ; or to sit in the central plaza where 

 the cathedral was, and the clubs, and the Cafe 

 Venus, and the low, bare, rambling building which 

 was called the Governor's Palace. In this palace 

 Wood had now been established as military gov- 

 ernor, and Luna, and two or three of my other 

 officers from the Mexican border, who knew Span- 

 ish, were sent in to do duty under him. A great 

 many of my men knew Spanish, and some of the 

 New Mexicans were of Spanish origin, although 

 they behaved precisely like the other members of the 

 regiment. 



We should probably have spent the summer in 

 our sick camps, losing half the men and hopelessly 

 shattering the health of the remainder, if General 

 Shafter had not summoned a council of officers, 

 hoping by united action of a more or less public 

 character to wake up the Washington authorities to 

 the actual condition of things. As all the* Spanish 

 forces in the province of Santiago had surrendered, 

 and as so-called immune regiments were coming to 

 garrison the conquered territory, there was literally 

 not one thing of any kind whatsoever for the army 

 to do, and no purpose to serve by keeping it at San- 



