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DEADLY ENCOUNTER WITH THE SWORD AND THE 
 
 MACHETE. 
 
 The Machete, to which constant references are made, is the implement 
 used in cutting sugar cane. The weapon, however, is longer and narrower 
 <han the ordinary machete, and is very deadly in the hands of the insurgents. 
 
SW5ST 
 
 fl K / 
 
 WA* 
 !/ /M\- 
 
 m : 
 
 CUBAN PATRIOTS FIGHTING FROM THE TREE TOPS. 
 
 Concealing themselves in the tops of palm trees, the insurgents make 
 attacks as represented in the engraving. This mode of warfare is adopted 
 for the purpose of concealment from the enemy, and with practised 
 riflemen is most destructive. 
 
THE WAR IN CUBA 
 
 BEING A FULL ACCOUNT OF HFR GREAT 
 
 STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A COMPLETE RECORD OF SPANISH TYRANNY AND OPPRESSION: 
 
 SCENES OF VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED; FREQUENT 
 
 UPRISINGS OF A GALLANT AND LONG SUFFERING 
 
 PEOPLE; REVOLUTIONS OF 1868, 95- 96. 
 
 Daring Deeds of Cuban Heroes and Patriots 
 
 THRILLING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT; AMERICAN AID FOR 
 
 THE CAUSE OF CUBA; SECRET EXPEDITIONS; INSIDE 
 
 FACTS OF THE WAR, ETC., ETC. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH A FULL DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 CUBA, ITS GREAT RESOURCES; PRODUCTS AND SCENERY OF THE 
 
 "QUEEN OF THE ANTILLES;" MANNERS AND 
 
 CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE, ETC., ETC. 
 
 BY 
 
 Senor GONZALO de QUESADA 
 
 Charge cT Affaires of the Republic of Cuba, at Washington, D. C 
 
 AND 
 
 HENRY DAVENPORT NORTHROP 
 
 The \veU-kno\vu author 
 
 Embellished with a large number of Beautiful Phototype 
 and Wood Engravings 
 
 LIBERTY PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 PUBLISHERS. 
 
LOAN STACK 
 
 Entered according ?.u Act of Congress, in the year 1896, by 
 
 W. R. VANSANT, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 (7 
 
922 
 
tin 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ARMY OF CUBAN PATRIOTS, 
 
 WHO ARE 
 
 SACRIFICING THEIR LIVES IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM 
 THIS VOLUME is 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 WITH THE HOPE AND BELIEF THAT 
 
 THEIR 
 
 GREAT STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE 
 WILL BE CROWNED WITH SUCCESS. 
 
APPEAL TO AMERICANS. 
 
 By a Lieutenant from the Cuban Army. 
 
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PREFACE. 
 
 THE eyes of the whole world are turned toward Cuba, eagerly 
 watching her Great Struggle for Freedom. The American 
 people recall the long and gory conflict that made this a free 
 and independent nation. Their hearts beat high and their blood 
 grows warm as they read of Cuba s gallant fight for Independence. 
 
 The Cuban people have the same reason for their Great Revolu 
 tion that America had when she threw off the yoke of oppression. 
 For long ages the beautiful " Queen of the Antilles " has suffered 
 under the curse of Spanish tyranny and injustice. She has been 
 robbed and impoverished. Just rights have been denied to her peo 
 ple. Repeatedly and gallantly she has fought to be free and has 
 poured out her blood. 
 
 The whole tragic story is contained in this very comprehensive 
 volume. The reader follows the silver-starred flag of the Cuban 
 Patriots which waves from one end of the Island to the other. He 
 sees an army of heroes fighting as Spartans fought at Thermopylae, 
 as sturdy Scots fought at Bannockburn, as the brave souls in our 
 own Revolution fought at Bunker Hill and Yorktown. 
 
 PART I. treats of the Great Insurrection. Spanish brutality and 
 injustice are pictured as they really are, and the reader fully under 
 stands why Cuba demands Independence from the atrocious rule of 
 the haughty Castilian. 
 
 In a speech on the Cuban question, Congressman Robert R. Hitt, 
 Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, used the following 
 
 stirring words : " Americans, who are descendants of those who 
 
 iii 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 struggled through a contest against tyranny like that now being 
 waged in Cuba, cannot be false to the memory of their fathers nor to 
 the traditions and spirit of their history." 
 
 In this volume the opening scenes in the beginning of the war are 
 vividly depicted. Then comes General Campos from Spain, with his 
 Army of 75,000 troops. All the stirring incidents of the conflict are 
 pictured in glowing colors the successes of the Patriot Army, the 
 downfall of General Campos, the arrival of General Weyler, secret 
 expeditions, and pathetic stories of the war. 
 
 PART II. contains the complete History of Cuba from its discovery 
 by Columbus to the present time. Striking portraits are given of 
 the early Spanish rulers, and all the great events are vividly depicted. 
 The story of Marti, the conspiracy of Lopez, the slaughter of the 
 crew of the " Virginius," are told in all their thrilling details. 
 
 PART III. gives a picturesque description of Cuba, one of the love 
 liest gardens of the Tropics. This, like every other part of the 
 work, has a peculiar charm to all readers. They behold the natural 
 scenery of the far-famed Island ; they see the people in their native 
 homes ; they learn all the manners, customs, peculiarities and charac 
 teristics of the Cubans, and find at the close of this most instructive 
 volume that they have made a journey through every part of the 
 " Queen of the Antilles." 
 
 This work stirs anew the sympathy of the American people for the 
 brave Cuban Patriots who have resolved to free their beautiful Island 
 from the oppression under which it has long suffered and bled. 
 The conflict has been waged before, but never with such grim resolu 
 tion and heroic bravery. The day of victory is not far distant 
 
 " Freedom s battle once begun, 
 Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son, 
 Though baffled oft, is always won." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 The Great Insurrection in Cuba. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TAGB 
 
 THE LONG STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ^/SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE 28 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT 42 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 s/ BEGINNING OF THE WAR 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 INSURGENT CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN CUBA 66 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS 73 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ^GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA 85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HORRIBLE STORY OF BARBARITY , 96 
 
 vii 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PACK 
 
 MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA ...................... 103 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES .................. 114 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 FREEDOM FOR CUBA ......................... 127 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SPANISH INSULTS TO THE AMERICAN FLAG ............ 136 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE .................... 142 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 STIRLING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT .............. 161 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR ............ ..... 16f 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR . . ................... 187 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE ................. 20? 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 THE UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE . . 283 
 
CONTENTS. ix 
 
 PART II. 
 
 History of Ouba and Spanish Misrule. 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS 257 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A WILY OLD GENERAL _ ... 306 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS 817 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 STORY OF MARTI, THE SMUGGLER 334 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ 340 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BITTER TEN YEARS WAR 857 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 BUTCHERY OF THE CREW OF THE "VIRGINIUS" . , 407 
 
* CONTENTS. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 Picturesque Cuba. Manners and Customs of the People. 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 MOB 
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND 878 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CURIOUS SIGHTS iIJ HAVANA <*a 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS 400 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS 413 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA 426 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF FAR-FAMED MATANZAS . . 439 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 A QUAINT OLD TOWN 456 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA 46fl 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS 479 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS t 497 
 
 DISTINGUISHED CUBAN PATRIOTS 513 
 
 APPENDIX OP LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA . 545 
 
WAR-SONG OF THE CUBAN PATRIOT& 
 
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PARTI. 
 
 The Great Insurrection in Cuba 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Long Struggle for Independence. 
 
 HE most glowing pages of history are thore that record the 
 proud achievements of patriots and heroes to gain national 
 liberty and independence. Sparta had her Thermopylae. 
 Scotland had her Bannockburn and immortal Bruce. America had 
 her Revolution, her Bunker Hill and Yorktown. Cuba has her 
 patriot army, resolved that her fertile plains shall no longer be tram 
 pled under the heel of Spanish tyranny, and the warm sea that laves 
 her rocky shores shall sing the anthem of the free. 
 
 "Queen of the Antilles !" Beautiful Cuba! For ages she has 
 writhed under the oppression of the haughty Castilian. Spain, now 
 in hopeless decline, once the mightiest nation of the globe, has had 
 many of the richest of her colonial possessions, one after another, 
 wrenched from her cruel grasp, and with desperate resolve sends the 
 flower of her army to beat back the insurgent hosts and strengthen 
 her hold upon this fairest gem of the West Indies. 
 
 Tha American people are alive to the situation. They recall the 
 gory conflict that made themselves a free and independent nation. 
 Their hearts beat high and their blood grows warm as they read the 
 thrilling story of struggling Cuba and the brave deeds of her patriotic 
 souls. To give here a complete history and description of Cuba s 
 grand uprising, is all the advocacy that her sacred cause requires. 
 It will be of interest to the reader to have, in the first place, a com- 
 2 17 
 
18 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 prehensive sketch of the Spanish oppressions under which the people 
 of Cuba have struggled for ages, together with their heroic efforts to 
 obtain their freedom and independence. The history will be given 
 later in detail, but from this general outline, a correct idea can be ob 
 tained of the causes which have led to the latest and greatest revolu 
 tion. Since the beginning of the present century Cuba has been the 
 scene of revolutions or uprisings of one kind or another. The direct 
 aim of most, if not all, of these has been to free the island from Span 
 ish control. The armed natives of the cities, joined by bands of 
 stragglers and aided by filibusters, have struggled without organiza 
 tion against drilled, uniformed and comparatively well-equipped reg 
 ular troops representing Spain. 
 
 Glowing Record of Brave Deeds. 
 
 For a long time insurrection was the term applied to these upris 
 ings. At first, and indeed, until recently, it may be doubted if these 
 uprisings had the genuine sympathy of the Cubans as a body, and 
 consequently, they were foredoomed to be failures. 
 
 But the history of these struggles is replete with brave deeds and 
 exhibitions of personal courage and strategy that would do credit to 
 a body of men familiar with the science of warfare and accustomed 
 to facing danger on the battlefield. 
 
 The Spanish colonies, Cuba excepted, gained their independence 
 in 1820-21. Bolivar was their successful leader, and when he had 
 fired the other provinces of Spain he turned his attention particularly 
 to Cuba. But for a time his project failed; some Cuban revolution 
 ists allege that it was the refusal of the United States to countenance 
 such efforts which prevented their success. Be that as it may, the 
 efforts of the islanders to throw off the Spanish yoke came to nothing 
 material. 
 
 But Bolivar and his fellow-conspirators were determined, and 
 sought by every means in their power to stir up rebellion in the 
 Island. Commissioners were sent to Cuba to create sentiment favor 
 able to revolution. They were soon seized by the Spanish authori 
 ties and executed. Bolivar s plan came to a dismal end. 
 
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. Ifc 
 
 Revolution was in the blood of many of the Cubans, however, and 
 not many years later it had manifestation. From 1848 to 1854 small 
 and ill-planned uprisings took place. Certain elements in the South 
 ern States assisted in encouraging these insurrections. 
 
 There was for some time in Southern circles a project looking to 
 the annexation of Cuba to the United States, and its division into 
 four States, each of which, of course, would have been entitled to 
 representation in Congress, giving the South, perhaps, eight Senators 
 and sixteen Representatives, and so throwing the balance of power 
 here into the hands of the slavery advocates. 
 
 Captured and Put to Death. 
 
 The most important of these movements was that headed by Nar- 
 ciso Lopez, who had served in the Spanish army as a general of divi 
 sion, but who, on going to Cuba, espoused the cause of the revolu 
 tionists. He, with Crittenden, the Kentuckian, with a force of 400 
 Americans, and 200 Cubans, set out from New Orleans, landed at 
 Cardenas, on the north coast of Cuba, and captured it by assault. 
 
 The victory was a hollow one, for the time had been ill-advisee? 
 and the country did not rise. Finding themselves without support, 
 and seeing that without aid from the Cubans, they must be captured 
 or driven into the sea, the invaders returned to Key West. The 
 Cubans on that occasion regarded the movement as one solely in the 
 interests of slavery, and believed its projectors to be inspired by 
 mercenary motives. 
 
 But Lopez was not to be cast down by one failure. He made a 
 second attempt, and landed at Bahia Honda. There he encountered 
 a force of Spanish troops, under General Henna, and put them to 
 rout. The Spanish commander was killed, and for the time the star 
 of Lopez was in the ascendant. Still the country did not rise. 
 Lopez, in the western end of the Island, where Spanish troops were 
 strongest and the revolutionary spirit weakest, soon found himself 
 surrounded and overpowered. Crittenden, who was to have joined 
 him, remained on the coast, and finally attempted to escape by taking 
 to the open sea in boats. He was captured, with fifty of his men, 
 
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and all were put to death in Havana. The execution was marked by 
 atrocities, the news of which rang through the civilized world. 
 
 The forces of Lopez, overpowered by Spanish troops, were dis 
 persed with ease. The com 
 mander himself was garro- 
 ted. The Island was quiet 
 for a time then, but not for 
 long. Other attempts to arouse 
 the country up to 1854 were 
 those of Pinto, a Spaniard of 
 revolutionist tendencies ; Es- 
 trampes and Aguero, the 
 last-named of whom freed all 
 his slaves before he raised the 
 rebel standard. He was the 
 first outspoken abolitionist 
 in Cuba. He and the other 
 leaders were captured after a 
 brief struggle and executed. 
 
 There were some unim 
 portant risings after that, but 
 none of note until after the 
 American civil war. This 
 conflict abolished slavery. Then the Southern States had no 
 further object in meddling with Cuba. The filibustering movements 
 died out It remained for Cuba to attempt to work its own salvation. 
 In 1868 came the hour which thousands of patriots hailed as the 
 dawn of deliverance, for on October 10 of that year Cespedes raised 
 the five-barred flag at Yara. He was a lawyer and logical above all 
 things, so to begin with he freed his two hundred slaves, and they 
 followed him to battle to a man. The entire eastern end of the 
 Island rose against the Spaniards at the call of Cespedes, but the men 
 were without arms or discipline. Their spirit was unquestioned, but 
 they were of little utility against well-armed and disciplined forces. 
 
 Their leaders were Maximo Gomez, who is now commander-in 
 chief of the revolutionary forces ; Marmol and Figueredo. 
 
 GENERAL MAXIMO GOMEZ, 
 Commander-in-Chief, Cuban Army. 
 
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The centre of the Island, called Camaguey, flocked to the standard 
 of the Marques de Sta Lucia and the Agramontes in November, and as 
 enthusiasm and confidence came with numbers the beginning of 1868 
 saw Las Villas in rebellion with 14,000 men, among whom there 
 were not more than 100 armed with effective firearms. To oppose 
 these unarmed and undisciplined enthusiasts there were 15,000 regu 
 lars. 
 
 The western end of the Island proved cold, but even there small 
 uprisings were fomented. They were put down without difficulty. 
 Aid from without was not wanting. In 
 December, 1868, General Quesada land 
 ed with the first expedition from Nassau, 
 bringing the first consignment of arms 
 and munitions of war. The revolution 
 ist cause prospered, and on April 10, 
 1869, a new government was constituted 
 ai J a House of Assembly established. 
 Cespedes was President of the provi 
 sional government, and Quesada com- 
 mander-in- chief of the forces. 
 
 The government, which had little be 
 yond its name, issued a proclamation giving freedom to all the ne 
 groes in the island a matter which gave great offence to the Span 
 iards, even those of liberal tendencies. 
 
 Ten years of desultory warfare followed. The revolutionists held 
 the centre of the Island and the mountains, but were unable to obtain 
 any standing in the seaports, as their flag was not recognized there 
 by the great powers, although it was duly saluted from time to time 
 by the South American Republics. The United States did not 
 recognize the revolutionists, despite the efforts of General Rawlings 
 and Senator Sherman to that end. 
 
 Every effort was made to send arms to the insurgents. There 
 were continual attempts at blockade-running. Some of these expe 
 ditions evaded capture, but others were taken by Spanish troops ?tid 
 the leaders were promptly executed. The most notable was that ol 
 
 CUBAN COAT OF ARMS. 
 
22 oTRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the " Virginius," under Captain Fry. The " Virginius " put out from 
 Kingston, Jamaica. The capture of the "Virginius" and the summary 
 execution of American citizens by the Spanish authorities so excited 
 this nation at the time that war with Spain seemed certain. This 
 was one of the most notable incidents in Cuban history, at least in 
 point of AmericpJi interest. 
 
 Had the popular voice been heeded at that time a peaceful solu 
 tion of the difficulty would have been impossible. Feeling ran so 
 high throughout the country that public meetings were held all over 
 the country denouncing the execution as a butchery, and warlike 
 preparations were begun in many cities. In some cases ships were 
 prepared to go to sea in anticipation of an immediate declaration of 
 
 war. 
 
 Tragic End of the Expedition. 
 
 The voyage of the "Virginius " was begun in November of 1873. 
 The steamer was pursued by the Spanish warship " Tornado," and cap 
 tured within sight of the Morant Point Lighthouse, at the east end 
 of Jamaica. She was towed at once into Santiago de Cuba, despite 
 the fact that she was flying the Stars and Stripes and was in British 
 waters. Fifty-three of her men were shot in a public square in San 
 tiago, in some instances after they had been given a trial lasting only 
 ten minutes. 
 
 Among them was Captain Joseph Fry, who commanded the ship ; 
 Bernade Varona, W. A. C. Ryan, Jesus del Sol and Pedro Cespedes. 
 There was no United States cruiser within reach of Santiago, but the 
 British man-of-war " Niobe" arrived in time to prevent further slaugh 
 ter of American and English subjects. Her commander, Sir Lam- 
 bon Lorraine, acted with quickness and determination. 
 
 " Shoot another Englishman or American," he said, " and the 
 Niobe will bombard the city." 
 
 Then the slaughter ceased. Both the United States and England 
 protested through their representatives, and sent men-of-war to pro 
 tect the other prisoners. The survivors were delivered up to the 
 rescuing ships and brought to New York, and the " Virginius," with 
 a hole in her bottom, sank off Frying Pan Shoals. 
 
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 23 
 
 The return of the survivors and an accurate knowledge of the 
 details of the shooting only served to fan into fierce blaze the fire of 
 popular indignation. The general voice was for war with Spain, and 
 General Sickles, then American Minister in Madrid, had already 
 asked to be recalled, and was preparing to leave the capital. 
 Finally, however, the matter was adjusted diplomatically. The Span 
 ish Government paid an indemnity for the American subjects shot 
 with General Ryan and Thomas Ryan, and the war cloud blew over. 
 
 But in Cuba the revolutionsts continued their fight for supremacy. 
 For five years until 1878 they strove against terrible odds in the 
 centre of the Island and in the mountains. At last they saw that the 
 lack of arms and supplies and of money to purchase either had made 
 the struggle a hopeless one, and they decided to make peace. 
 
 Promises of Reform by Spain. 
 
 A treaty was signed, by which Spain granted the native Cubans 
 certain liberties, promised to reform their administration in some 
 measure, and recognized the freedom of all the slaves who had fought 
 in the Cuban army. It had been a long and desperate fight. Quesada 
 had been succeeded as General-in-chief by General Thomas Jordan, 
 formerly General Beauregard s chief of staff and a West Pointer. 
 He lent much strength to the cause, but abandoned it as hopeless 
 after a year s campaigning in the face of overwhelming odds, and 
 with a few arms and scant supplies. After him came Agramonte, 
 but he died in a year, and then, when the rebel cause seemed to be 
 prospering, General Gomez took command. He invaded the western 
 part of the Island and almost reached Matanzas, but he, too, saw 
 that he could not gain ground with unarmed men and withdrew his 
 forces. That was in 1876, and from that time the revolution waned 
 until the treaty of El Zanjon in February, 1878. 
 
 Still there was not entire quiet. In the east end of Cuba General 
 Maceo refused to recognize the treaty, and continued to fight for 
 eleven months, only to fail in the end and be driven from Cuban soil. 
 The treaty concessions were by no means liberal enough to maintain 
 order for any length of time. In 1880 General Garcia tried again. 
 
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 25 
 
 He was captured in 1875, but before surrendering shot himself under 
 the chin, the bullet passing out at the forehead. He was sent to a 
 fortress in Spain, and when he recovered made his escape to the 
 United States. 
 
 Here he and Jose Marti 
 planned another expedition to Cu 
 ba. They landed and held their 
 ground for six months, only to 
 find that the country was not ripe 
 for revolt. The Cubans, weary of 
 continual turmoil and bloodshed, 
 longed for quiet. At last Garcia 
 was captured and sent once more 
 to Spain. From this time dates 
 the autonomist party, started by 
 a group of men who maintained 
 that experience would not justify 
 further attempts to gain freedom 
 for Cuba by force of arms, and 
 that the Island s hope lay in peace 
 ful measures alor*e. The party 
 gained a footing very rapidly ; in 
 deed, its existence and doctrine had much to do with the failure of 
 General Garcia and the Cuban party of freedom. 
 
 Despite the efforts of the peace party, however, there were revolu 
 tionist leaders who were ready to try again. In 1884 Generals Gomez 
 and Maceo visited the United States and Central America with a view 
 of preparing for another invasion. The movement was opposed 
 bitterly by the home-rule party in Cuba, and was abandoned. Small 
 and ill-advised attempts at revolution followed from time to time after 
 that, notably those headed by Limbano Sanchez, Benitez and Aguero. 
 
 The home-rulers, in the meantime, were attempting to get what con 
 cessions they could from Spain by peaceful means. In 1890 they be 
 came restless again. The peace policy did not prosper. Cuba was 
 growing uneasy again, The concessions, small and unsatisfactory at all 
 
 JOSE MARTI, 
 Late President of the Revolutionary Party. 
 
26 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 times, began to be regarded as sops which Spain distributed to main- 
 rain peace. They gave no promise of more liberal treatment in future. 
 Men began to say that the native Cubans were cheated at the polls, 
 and in time their representatives went to the Cortes no more. 
 
 For fourteen years the home-rulers, led by such men as Govin 
 Montoro, Figueroa, Fernandez de Castro and Giberga, had made 
 most vigorous rights at the polls, and, notwithstanding conservative 
 frauds, had sent their best orators to the Spanish Parliament. It was 
 to no purpose. The home-rulers spoke to empty benches in Spain, 
 and no party there recognized them. They succeeded, nevertheless, 
 in forcing the conservatives in Cuba to modify their policy and aided 
 manfully to complete the emancipation of the negro, following the 
 Cuban Constitution, which declared that " all men are free. 7 With 
 the economic party they forced the government to celebrate the 
 Spanish-American treaty, without which the fate of the Island was 
 sealed. 
 
 Divided on Important Questions. 
 
 The conservatives divided into two groups, one leaning toward 
 union with the Cubans on economic questions and hoping secretly for 
 the annexation of Cuba by the United States. They were demoral 
 ized by the refusal of the liberals to go to the polls, the autonomists 
 having declared that unless the obnoxious suffrage laws which gave 
 the Spaniards a sure majority at the polls and disfranchised the Cuban 
 rural population were abolished, they would never go to the legisla 
 tive assembly again. 
 
 The Spanish liberals really formed the economist party, to obtain 
 commercial concessions and secure a treaty with the United States, 
 and by joining hands with the Cubans they forced Spain s hand in the 
 matter. But this, like the other efforts to restore quiet and content, 
 proved a failure. The Cubans complained that in return for the treaty 
 and its benefits to the Island Spain imposed new taxes, which more 
 than counterbalanced all the good that had been done. Representa 
 tives were sent to the Spanish Parliament again, the home-rule con 
 tingent demanding, as of old, electoral reform sufficient to guarantee 
 just representation. 
 
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 27 
 
 It was then that the Cuban revolutionary party began to gain 
 prominence the party which has drawn the sword in the latest revo 
 lution and asserted boldly that peaceful measures, looking to freedom 
 and equality, had failed, and that Cuba must take up arms again and 
 drive the Spanish soldiers into the sea. Such talk was dangerous on 
 Cuban soil. Leaders of the party who were not already in exile left 
 Cuba and began to plan from the outside, to raise money, to stir up 
 the native population by secret agents in a word to prepare the Island 
 for one grand united effort to be free. 
 
 While this sentiment was being nursed at home and outside of Cuba 
 the peace party was still at work on its own lines. In 1894 the reform 
 wing of the Spaniards joined the Cubans in their fight against the 
 Spanish conservatives. They secured some reforms, but these, the 
 Cubans say, are a mere farce, as the proposition is the establishment 
 of a council in Cuba in which the Spanish element will predominate. 
 This council was to consist of thirty members, of which fifteen were 
 to be appointed by the crown, and the remainder elected. The 
 method of electing, the Cubans contend, would insure a majority for 
 the Spaniards, and in any event the council might be dissolved at 
 pleasure by the Captain-General, whoever he might be. 
 
 The Cubans want universal suffrage, and have been unable to secure 
 it, as the Spaniards have insisted upon certain property qualifications. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 Spanish Tyranny and Injustice. 
 
 BY agreement that is practically unanimous outside of Spain, the 
 people of Cuba have just cause for complaint. They have 
 been the victims of extortion. They have been systematically 
 robbed and hence impoverished. Time after time they have sought 
 redress, and the answer has been a Spanish army, landed on their 
 shores. They have asked for representation in the Spanish Cortes, 
 and this has been granted so grudgingly that it has amounted to 
 very little. They have plead long and earnestly for the correction 
 of abuses, only to find that the chains which bound them were 
 riveted tighter. 
 
 Under such outrages it is no wonder that the people of Cuba have 
 risen repeatedly to throw off the yoke of the tyrant, and in their 
 gallant struggles have had the sympathy of nearly the whole 
 civilized world. 
 
 War is a dire necessity. But when a people has exhausted all 
 human means of persuasion to obtain from an unjust oppressor a 
 remedy for its ills, if it appeals as a last resource to force in order to 
 repel the persistent aggression which constitutes tyranny, this people 
 is justified before its own conscience and before the tribunal of nations. 
 
 Such is the case of Cuba in its wars against Spain. No nation 
 has ever been harsher or more obstinately harassing; none has ever 
 despoiled a colony with more greediness and less foresight than 
 Spain. No colony has ever been more prudent, more long-suffering, 
 more cautious, more persevering than Cuba in its purpose of asking 
 for its rights by appealing to the lessons of experience and political 
 wisdom. Only driven by desperation have the people of Cuba taken 
 up arms, and having done so, they display as much heroism in the 
 hour of danger as they had shown good judgment in the hour of 
 deliberation. 
 28 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 29 
 
 The history of Cuba during the present century is a long series 
 of rebellions; but every one of these was preceded by a peaceful 
 struggle for its rights a fruitless struggle because of the obstinate 
 blindness of Spain. 
 
 Cubans were deprived of the little show of political intervention 
 they had in public affairs. By a simple Royal Decree in 1837 the 
 small representation of Cuba in the Spanish Cortes was suppressed, 
 and all the powers of the government were concentrated in the hands 
 of the Captain General, on whom authority was conferred to act as the 
 governor of a city in a state of siege. This implied that the Captain 
 General, residing in Havana, was master of the life and property of 
 every inhabitant of the Island of Cuba. This meant that Spain 
 declared a permanent state of war against a peaceful and defenceless 
 people. 
 
 Wandering Exiles. 
 
 Cuba saw its most illustrious sons, such as Heredia and Saco, 
 wander in exile throughout the free American Continent. Cuba saw 
 as many of the Cubans as dared to love liberty and declare it by act 
 or word, die on the scaffold, such as Joaquin de Aguero and Placido. 
 Cuba saw the product of its people s labor confiscated by iniquitous 
 laws imposed by its masters from afar. Cuba saw the administration 
 of justice in the hands of foreign magistrates, who acted at the will 
 or the whim of its rulers. 
 
 Cuba suffered all the outrages that can humiliate a conquered 
 people., in the name and by the work of a government that sarcastic 
 ally calls itself paternal. Is it to be wondered then that an uninter 
 rupted era of conspiracies and uprisings should have been inaugu 
 rated ? Cuba in its despair took up arms in 1850 and 185 1, conspired 
 again in 1855. waged war in 1868, in 1879, in 1885, and has been 
 fighting since the 24th of February, 1895. 
 
 But at the same time Cuba has never ceased to ask for justice and 
 redress. Its people, before shouldering the rifle, pleaded for their 
 rights. Before the pronunciamento of Aguero and the invasions of 
 Lopez, Saco, in exile, exposed the dangers of Cuba to the Spanish 
 statesmen, and pointed to the remedy. Other far-sighted men 
 
so 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 31 
 
 seconded him in the Colony. They denounced the cancer of slavery, 
 the horrors of the traffic in slaves, the corruption of the office-holders, 
 the abuses of the government, the discontent of the people with their 
 forced state of political tutelage. No attention was given to them, 
 and this brought on the first armed conflicts. 
 
 Before the formidable insurrection of 1868, which lasted ten years, 
 the reform party, which included the most enlightened, wealthy and 
 influential Cubans, exhausted all the resources within their reach to 
 induce Spain to initiate a healthy change in the Cuban policy, The 
 party started the publication of periodicals in Madrid and in the 
 Island, addressed petitions, maintained a great agitation throughout 
 the country, and having succeeded in leading the Spanish Govern 
 ment to make an inquiry into the economical, political and social 
 condition of Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government 
 which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the 
 people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the propo 
 sition as useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction 
 wi.th extreme severity. 
 
 Outbreak of the Long War. 
 
 It was then that the ten-year war broke out. Cuba, almost a 
 pigmy compared with Spain, fought like a giant. Blood ran in tor 
 rents. Public wealth disappeared in a bottomless abyss. Spain lost 
 200,000 men. Whole districts of Cuba were left almost entirely 
 without their male population. Seven hundred millions were spent 
 to feed that conflagration a conflagration that tested Cuban heroism, 
 but which could not touch the hardened heart of Spain. The latter 
 could not subdue the bleeding Colony, which had no longer strength 
 to prolong the struggle with any prospect of success. Spain pro 
 posed a compact, which was a snare and a deceit. She granted to 
 Cuba the liberties of Puerto Rico, which enjoyed none. 
 
 On this deceitful ground was laid the new situation, throughout 
 which has run a current of falsehood and hypocrisy. Spain, whose 
 mind had not changed, hastened to change the name of things. The 
 Captain General was called Governor General. The royal decrees 
 
32 SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 
 
 took the name of authorizations. The commercial monopoly of 
 Spain was named coasting trade. The right of banishment was 
 transformed into the law of vagrancy. The abolition of constitu 
 tional guarantees became the law of public order. Taxation without 
 the consent or knowledge of the Cuban people was changed into the 
 law of estimates (budget) voted by the representatives of Spain, that 
 is, of European Spain. 
 
 The painful lesson of the ten-year war had been entirely lost on 
 Spain. Instead of inaugurating a redeeming policy that would heal the 
 recent wounds, allay public anxiety, and quench the thirst for justice 
 felt by the people, who were desirous to enjoy their natural rights, the 
 Spanish Government, while lavish in promises of reform, persisted in 
 carrying on unchanged its old and crafty system, the groundwork of 
 which continues to be the same, namely : To exclude every native 
 Cuban from every office that could give him any effective influence 
 and intervention in public affairs ; the ungovernable exploitation of 
 the colonists labor for the benefit of Spanish commerce and Spanish 
 bureaucracy, both civil and military. To carry out the latter pur 
 pose it was necessary to maintain the former at any cost. 
 
 Systematic Robbery of Cuba. 
 
 What use the Spanish Government has made of its power is 
 apparent in the threefold spoliation to which it has submitted the 
 Island of Cuba. Spain has not, in fact, a colonial policy. In the 
 distant lands she has subdued by force, Spain has sought nothing but 
 immediate riches, and these it has wrung by might from the compul 
 sory labor of the natives. For this reason Spain to-day in Cuba is 
 only a parasite. Spain robs the Island of Cuba through its fiscal 
 regime, through its commercial regime and through its bureaucratic 
 regime. These are the three forms of official spoliation ; but they 
 are not the only forms of spoliation. 
 
 When the war of 1878 came to an end, two-thirds of the Island 
 were completely ruined. The other third, the population of which 
 had remained peaceful, was abundantly productive ; but it had to 
 face the great economical change involved in the impending abolition 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 33 
 
 of slavery. Slavery had received its death-blow at the hands of the 
 insurrection, and Cuban insurrectionists succeeded at the close of the 
 war in securing its eventual abolition. 
 
 Evidently it would have been a wholesome and provident policy 
 to lighten the fiscal burdens of a country in such a condition. Spain 
 was only bent on making Cuba pay the cost of the war. The 
 Government overwhelmed the Colony with enormous budgets, reach 
 ing as high a figure as forty-six million dollars, and this only to 
 cover the obligations of the State ; or, rather, to fill up the unfathom 
 able gulf left by the wastefulness and plunder of the civil and military 
 administration during the years of war, and to meet the expenses of 
 the military occupation of the country. 
 
 Oppressive Taxation. 
 
 The economical organization of Cuba is of the simplest kind. It 
 produces to expoit, and imports almost everything it consumes. In 
 view of this, it is evident that all Cuba required from the State was 
 that it should not hamper its work with excessive burdens, nor 
 hinder its commercial relations ; so that it could buy cheap v/here it 
 suited her, and sell her products with profit 
 
 Spain has done all the contrary. She has treated the tobacco as 
 an enemy; she has loaded the sugar with excessive imposts; she 
 has shackled with excessive and abusive excise duties the cattle- 
 raising industry ; and with her legislative doings and undoings she 
 has thrown obstacles in the way of the mining industry. And, tc 
 cap the climax, she has tightly bound Cuba in the network of a 
 monstrous tariff and a commereial legislation which subjects the 
 Colony, at the end of the nineteenth century, to the ruinous monopoly 
 of the producers and merchants of certain regions of Spain, as in 
 the halcyon days of the colonial compact. 
 
 If Spain were a flourishing industrial country, and produced the 
 principal articles required by Cuba for the consumption of its people, 
 or for developing and fostering its industries, the evil, although 
 always great, would be a lesser one. But everybody knows the 
 backwardness of the Spanish industries, and the inability of Spain to 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 35 
 
 supply Cuba with the products she requires for her consumption and 
 industries. The Cubans have to consume or use Spanish articles of 
 inferior quality, or pay exorbitant prices for foreign goods. The 
 Spanish merchants have found, moreover, a new source of fraud in 
 the application of these antiquated and iniquitous laws ; it consists in 
 nationalizing foreign products for importation into Cuba. 
 
 As the mainspring of this senseless commercial policy is to sup 
 port the monopoly of Spanish commerce, when Spain has been com 
 pelled to deviate from it, to a certain extent, by an international 
 treaty, it has done so reluctantly, and in the anxious expectation of 
 an opportunity to nullify its own promises. This explains the acci 
 dental history of the Reciprocity Treaty with the United States, 
 which was received with joy by Cuba, obstructed by the Spanish 
 administration, and prematurely abolished by the Spanish Govern 
 ment as soon as it saw an opportunity. 
 
 Seeds of Discontent and Dissension. 
 
 The injury done to Cuba, and the evil effects produced by this 
 commercial legislation, are beyond calculation ; its effects have been 
 mateiial losses which have engendered profound discontent. The 
 " Circulo de Hacendados y Agricultores," the wealthiest corporation 
 of the Island, in 1894, passed judgment on these commercial laws in 
 the following severe terms : 
 
 " It would be impossible to explain, should the attempt be made, 
 what is the signification of the present commercial laws, as regards 
 any economical or political plan or system ; because, economically, 
 they aim at the destruction of public wealth, and, politically, they 
 are the cause of inextinguishable discontent, and contain the germs of 
 grave dissensions" 
 
 But Spain has not taken heed of this ; her only care has been to 
 keep the producers and merchants of such rebellious provinces as 
 Catalonia contented, and to satisfy its military men and bureaucrats. 
 
 For the latter is reserved the best part of the booty taken from 
 Cuba. High salaries and the power of extortion for the office 
 holders sent to the Colony ; regular tributes for the politicians who 
 
36 SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 
 
 uphold them in the Metropolis. The Governor General is paid a 
 salary of $50,000, in addition to a palace, a country house as a sum 
 mer resort, servants, coaches and a fund for secret expenses at his 
 disposal. The Director General of the Treasury receives a salary of 
 $18,500. The Archbishop of Santiago and the Bishop of Havana, 
 $18,000 each. The Commander General of the " Apostadero " 
 (naval station), $16,392. 
 
 Fat Salaries of Spanish Officials. 
 
 The General Segundo Cabo (second in command of the Island), 
 and the President of the " Audiencia," $15,000 each; the Governor 
 of Havana and the Secretary of the General Government, $8,000 
 each; the Postmaster General, $5,000; the Collector of the Havana 
 Custom House, $4,000 ; the Manager of Lotteries, the same salary. 
 The Chief Clerks of Administration of the first class receive $5,000 
 each, those of the second class $4,000, and those of the third class 
 $3,000 each The major generals are paid $7,500, the brigadier 
 generals $4,500, and, when in command, $5,000; the colonels $3,450, 
 and this salary is increased when they are in command of a regiment. 
 The captains of" navio" (the largest men-of-war) receive $6,300; the 
 captains of frigates, $4,560; the lieutenants of "navfp of the first 
 class, $3,370. All these functionaries are entitled to free lodgings 
 and domestic servants. Then follows the numberless crowd of minor 
 officials, all well provided for, and with great facilities better to pro 
 vide for themselves. 
 
 In August of 1887, General Mann entered the custom-house of 
 Havana at the head of a military force, besieged and occupied it, 
 investigated the operations carried on there, and discharged every 
 employee. The act caused a great stir, but not a single one of the 
 officials was indicted, or suffered a further punishment. There were, 
 in 1891, three hundred and fifty officials indicted in Cuba for commit 
 ting fraud ; not one of them was punished. 
 
 But how could they be punished ? Every official who comes to 
 Cuba has an influential patron in the Court of Madrid, for whose pro 
 tection he pays with regularity. This is a public secret. General 
 
J 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 37 
 
 Salamanca gave it out in plain words, and before and after General 
 Salamanca all Spain knew and knows it. The political leaders are 
 well known who draw the highest income from the office-holders of 
 Cuba, who are, as a matter of course, the most fervent advocates of 
 the necessity of Spanish rule in Cuba. 
 
 But Spanish bureaucracy is, moreover, so deep-rooted in Spain 
 that it has succeeded in shielding itself even against the action of the 
 courts of justice. There is a royal decree (that of 1882) in force in 
 Cuba, which provides that the ordinary courts cannot take cognizance 
 of such offences as defalcation, abstraction or malversation of public 
 funds, forgery, etc., committed by officials of the administration, if 
 their guilt is not first established by an administrative investigation. 
 The administration is, therefore, its own judge. What further 
 security does the corrupt office-holder need ? 
 
 Why Cuba is Ruined. 
 
 The cause of the ruin of Cuba, despite her sugar output of one 
 million tons and her vast tobacco fields, can be easily explained. 
 Cuba does not capitalize, and it does not capitalize because the fiscal 
 regime imposed upon the country does not permit it. The money 
 derived from its large exportations does not return either in the form 
 of importations of goods or of cash. It remains abroad to pay the 
 interest of its huge debt, to cover the incessant remittances of funds 
 by the Spaniards who hasten to send their earnings out of the coun 
 try, to pay from Cuban money the pensioners who live in Spain, and 
 to meet the drafts forwarded by every mail from Cuba by the Span 
 iards as a tribute to their political patrons in the Metropolis, and to 
 help their families. 
 
 In exchange for all that Spaniards withhold from Cuba, they say 
 that they have given her her liberties. This is a mockery. The lib 
 erties are written in the Constitution, but obliterated in its practical 
 application. Before and after its promulgation the public press has 
 been rigorously persecuted in Cuba. Many journalists, such as 
 Senores Cepeda and Lopes Bririas, have been banished from the 
 country without the formality of a trial. In November of 1891 
 
38 SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 
 
 Don Manuel A. Balmaceda was tried by tourt martial for having 
 published an editorial paragraph relative to the shooting of medical 
 students. 
 
 The newspapers have been allowed to discuss public affairs theo 
 retically ; but the moment they Denounce any abuse or the conduct 
 of any official they feel the hand of their rulers laid upon them. 
 The official organ of the home-rule party, " El Pais," has undergone 
 more than one trial for having pointed in measured terms to some 
 infractions of the law en the part of officials, naming the transgress 
 ors. In 1887 that periodical was subjected to criminal proceedings 
 simply because it had stated that a son of the president of the 
 Havana " Audiencia " was holding a certain office contrary to law. 
 
 Right of Public Meeting Denied. 
 
 They say that in Cuba the people are at liberty to hold public 
 meetings, but every time the inhabitants assemble, previous notifica 
 tion must be given to the authorities, and a functionary is appointed 
 to be present, with power to suspend the meeting whenever he 
 deems such a measure advisable. The meetings of the " Circulo de 
 Frabajadores " (an association of workingmen) were forbidden by the 
 authorities under the pretext that the building where they were to 
 be held was not sufficiently safe. In 1895 the members of the " Cir 
 culo de Hacendados " (association of planters) invited their fellow- 
 members throughout the country to get up a great demonstration to 
 demand a remedy which the critical state of their affairs required. 
 The government found means to prevent their meeting. 
 
 One of the most significant events that have occurred in Cuba, and 
 one which throws a flood of light upon its political regime, was the 
 failure of the "Junta Magna"( an extraordinary meeting) projected 
 by the " Circulo de Hacendados." This corporation solicited the 
 co-operation of the " Sociedad Economica " and of the " Junta Gen 
 eral de Comercio " to hold a meeting for the purpose of sending to 
 Madrid the complaints which the precarious situation of the country 
 inspired. The work of preparation was already far advanced, when a 
 friend of the government, Sefior Rodriguez Correa, stated that the 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 39 
 
 Governor-General looked with displeasure upon "3J\& forbade the hold 
 ing of the great meeting. This was sufficient to frighten the " Cir- 
 culo " and to secure the failure of the project. It is then evident that 
 the inhabitants of Cuba can have meetings only when the govern 
 ment thinks it advisable to permit them. 
 
 Against this political regime, which is a sarcasm, and in which 
 deception is added to the most absolute contempt for right, the 
 Cubans have unceasingly protested since it was implanted in 1878. 
 It would be difficult to enumerate the representations made in Spain, 
 the protests voiced by the representatives of Cuba, the commissions 
 that have crossed the ocean to try to impress upon the exploiters of 
 Cuba what the fatal consequences of their obstinacy would be. 
 
 A Bold Manifesto. 
 
 The exasperation prevailing in the country was such that the 
 "Junta Central" of the home-rule party issued in 1892 a manifesto in 
 which it foreshadowed that the moment might shortly arrive when 
 the country would resort to " extreme measures, the responsibility of 
 which would fall on those who, led by arrogance and priding them 
 selves on their power, hold prudence in contempt, worship force and 
 shield themselves with their impunity." 
 
 This manifesto, which foreboded the mournful hours of the present 
 war, was unheeded by Spain, and not until a division took place in 
 the Spanish party, which threatened to turn into an armed struggle^ 
 did the statesmen of Spain think that the moment had arrived to try 
 a new farce, and to make a false show of reform in the administrative 
 regime of Cuba. Then was Minister Maura s plan broached, to be 
 modified before its birth by Minister Abarzusa. 
 
 This project, to which the Spaniards have endeavored to give cap 
 ital importance in order to condemn the revolution as the work of 
 impatience and anarchism, leaves intact the political regime of Cuba. 
 It does not alter the electoral law. It does not curtail the power of 
 the bureaucracy. It increases the power of the general government. 
 It leaves the same burdens upon the Cuban tax-payer, and does not 
 give him the right to participate in the formation of the budgets. 
 
40 SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 
 
 The reform is confined to the changing of the Council of Admims. 
 tration (now in existence in the Island, and the members of which 
 are appointed by the government) into a partially elective body. 
 One-half of its members are to be appointed by the government, and 
 the other half to be elected by the qualified electors, that is, who 
 are assessed and pay a certain amount of taxes. The Governor Gen 
 eral has the right to veto all its resolutions, and to suspend at will 
 the elective members. This Council is to make up a kind of special 
 budget embracing the items included now in the general budget of 
 Cuba under the head of ".Fomento." The State reserves for itself all 
 the rest. 
 
 Treated as a Subjugated People. 
 
 Thus the Council can dispose of 2.75 per cent, of the revenues of 
 Cuba, while the government distributes, as at present, 97.25 per cent, 
 for its expenses, in the form we have explained. The general budget 
 will as heretofore be made up in Spain; the tariff laws will be enacted 
 by Spain. The debt, militarism and bureaucracy will continue to 
 devour Cuba, and the Cubans will continue to be treated as a subju 
 gated people. All power is to continue in the hands of the Spanish 
 government and its delegates in Cuba, and all the influence with the 
 Spanish residents. This is the self-government which Spain has 
 promised to Cuba, and which it is announcing to the world, in 
 exchange for its colonial system. A far better form of government 
 is enjoyed by the Bahama or the Turks Islands. 
 
 The Cubans would have been wanting not only in self-respect, but 
 even in the instincts of self-preservation, if they could have endured 
 such a degrading and destructive regime. Their grievances are of 
 such a nature that no people, no human community capable of valu 
 ing its honor and of aspiring to better its condition, could bear them 
 without degrading and condemning itself to utter nullity and annihi 
 lation. 
 
 Spain denies to the Cubans all effective powers in their own 
 country. 
 
 Spain condemns the Cubans to a political inferiority in the land 
 where they are born. 
 
SPANISH TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE. 41 
 
 Spain confiscates the product of the Cubans labor, without giving 
 them in return either safety, prosperity or education. 
 
 Spain has shown itself utterly incapable of governing Cuba. 
 
 Spain impoverishes and demoralizes Cuba. 
 
 To maintain by force of arms this monstrous regime, which brings 
 ruin on a country rich by nature and degrades a vigorous and intelli 
 gent population, a population filled with noble aspirations, is what 
 Spain calls to defend its honor and to preserve the prestige of its 
 social functions as a civilizing power of America. 
 
 Rebellion against Oppression. 
 
 The Cubans, not in anger, but in despair, have appealed to arms 
 in order to defend their rights and to vindicate an eternal principle, a 
 principle without which every community, however robust in appear 
 ance, is in danger the principle of justice. Nobody has the right 
 of oppression. Spain oppresses Cuba. In rebelling against oppres 
 sion, Cuba defends a right. In serving her own cause she serves thfe 
 cause of mankind. 
 
 She has not counted the number of her enemies ; she has not 
 measured their strength. She has cast up the account of her griev 
 ances. She has weighed the mass of injustice that crushes her, and 
 with uplifted heart she has risen to seek redress and to uphold her 
 rights. She may find ruin and death a few steps ahead. So be it. 
 If the world is so indifferent to her cause, so much the worse for all. 
 A new iniquity shall have been consummated. The principle of human 
 solidarity shall have suffered a defeat. The sum of good existing in 
 the world, and which the world needs to purify its moral atmosphere, 
 shall have been lessened. 
 
 The people of Cuba require only liberty and independence to 
 become a factor of prosperity and progress in the community of civil 
 ized nations. At present Cuba is a factor of intranquillity, disturb 
 ance and ruin. The fault lies entirely with Spain. Cuba is not the 
 offender; it is the defender of its rights. Let America, let the world 
 decide where rest justice and right. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 Why Cuba Demands Self- Government. 
 
 WE have already seen that there have been in Cuba repeated 
 uprisings and the most heroic and self-sacrificing efforts to 
 obtain independence. Every intelligent reader will con 
 clude that there must have been grave and serious causes for this 
 chronic state of discontent and revolution. 
 
 We will here allow a prominent, distinguished Cuban, whose in 
 telligence and discernment are not to be questioned, state the case in 
 his own clear and convincing manner. This gentleman is Tomas 
 Estrada Palma, Delegate and Minister Plenipotentiary " Republica 
 de Cuba/ This gentleman says : 
 
 The cause of the present revolution in Cuba, briefly stated, may 
 be said to be taxation without representation, a phrase certainly 
 familiar t3 American ears and emphasized by the most important 
 event in the history of the nation, the War for Independence. Is it 
 not quite natural, especially in this progressive age, that an intelli 
 gent and spirited people like the Cubans should demand the right to 
 govern themselves, especially in view of the fact that they have always 
 suffered from misgovernment at the hands of their rulers ? 
 
 For three hundred years, in the early history of Cuba, Spain 
 almost forgot the existence of the Pearl of the Antilles, her attention 
 being turned to Peru and Mexico, the countries of gold and silver. 
 It is said that some of the Spanish officials even forgot the name of 
 the Island, directing their dispatches to the Isla de la Habana. 
 
 All the laws for Cuba are made in Spain. The annual budget of 
 the Island, that is, the annual estimate of revenue and expenditure, is 
 made in Spain ; all the employes in the governmental service on the 
 Island come from Spain. The Spaniards decide just how much 
 money shall be raised by taxes and all the Cubans have to do is, to 
 42 
 
WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 43 
 
 use an Americanism, " step up to the captain s office and settle." 
 The annual taxation amounts to between $24,000,000 and $26,000,- 
 000. Among the items of expenditure are $10,500,000 for interest 
 on the national debt of Spain, nearly $7,000,000 for the army and 
 navy, about $4,000,000 salaries for civil employes, $2,000,000 for 
 pensions to retired military, civil and judicial officials or their 
 widows, nearly $1,000,000 for the Judicial and $700,000 for the Trea 
 sury Department. 
 
 No money is appropriated to primary public education, and only 
 an insignificant sum to works of public utility and higher education. 
 The municipalities provide for primary education as best they can, 
 though their means are very limited, all the available methods of 
 raising revenue having been exhausted by the General Government. 
 This taxation, for a country of i,6oo ; OOO inhabitants, is an enormous 
 burden, but does not represent the real amount of money taken from 
 the people. For every dollar raised by taxation another dollar is 
 stolen by the Spanish officials sent to the Island by the paternal 
 
 Government. 
 
 Driven to take up Arms. 
 
 Under these circumstances it is not surprising that the Cubans 
 should demand the right to self-government. It must be remem 
 bered that they have not resorted to physical force until peaceable 
 methods to secure redress of their wrongs have failed. The people 
 have vainly applied to the Spanish Cortes for the right of self-govern 
 ment, not only at a comparatively recent date, but for the past 
 seventy years they have vainly endeavored to secure their rights by 
 legislative means and have hoped to avoid a war. 
 
 The Spanish law-makers have invariably refused to grant them any 
 real redress. I say real redress because the Cortes, about a year 
 before the present revolution, offered a scheme of reform which 
 would not have remedied any of the evils complained of, and was 
 only intended as a sop to blind the eyes of the Cubans and keep 
 them patient under the yoke of their masters. It did not, in any 
 sense, provide for the self-government of Cuba. The Cubans would 
 still be compelled to pay their enormous taxes, all the officials on 
 
44 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 the Island would still come from Spain as they have been coming 
 from time immemorial. The budget would still be made in Spain to 
 suit the ideas of the rulers there, and the Cubans would have just as 
 little as ever to say about the management of affairs on their beauti 
 ful Island. 
 
 Criminals Protected. 
 
 The Spanish Government always protects its officials in Cuba 
 when they have been discovered in any crime. It is very rarely that 
 they are ever convicted of a crime, because the court officials are 
 Spaniards and protect them in every possible way. Once in a great 
 while, however, a Spanish official may be found guilty ; but, when he 
 is sent to Spain where he is to receive his punishment, he is invari 
 ably pardoned. He uses the money which he has stolen from the 
 Cubans to secure his release from serving any sentence. 
 
 Mr. Edward A. Gilmore, an American, who was employed on a 
 sugar plantation in Cuba for several years, gave the following illus 
 tration of Spanish justice in Cuba in one of the New York dailies. 
 Mr. Gilmore says that there was an estate for sale in a town not far 
 from Havana. One of the Superior Judges wanted the estate and 
 began negotiating for it. At the same time a young Cuban lawyer 
 decided that the estate was a property that would suit him. He 
 went to the owner, closed a contract with him, and the deed was 
 made out. When the Spanish judge heard that he had lost the 
 estate he determined to secure it, notwithstanding it had been sold 
 to another party. 
 
 He made a charge of fraud or some kind 01 illegality against the 
 young lawyer, had the case tried before himself, promptly decided 
 against the young lawyer, throwing him into prison for an alleged 
 violation of the law, and confiscated the estate. Mr. Gilmore closes 
 his recital of this incident by saying that this case is only one of a 
 score of other cases of which he has personal knowledge. " The 
 arrogance and injustice of the Spanish rulers," he says, "and the 
 long-suffering spirit, the humility of the Cubans under the outrage 
 ous oppression from which they suffer, are simply incredible to one 
 who does not know the facts." 
 
WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 45 
 
 The attempt on the part of the Spanish Cortes to deceive, to hum 
 bug the Cubans into the idea that they were going to give them 
 home rule, when they had no intention of so doing, certainly hastened 
 the present uprising. After suffering so many years from the injus 
 tice of their rulers, showing their discontent by several uprisings, 
 notably the war of 1868 which lasted for ten years, the Cubans 
 thought that Spain might finally reform the terrible abuses under 
 which they had suffered so long. But Spain gave them nothing. 
 Now, Cuba is fighting for the reforms which she vainly tried to secure 
 by peaceable means. 
 
 Hypocritical Promises. 
 
 Spain talked about giving Cuba home rule, but there was not the 
 slightest intention of giving to Cuba even the kind of home rule that 
 Canada enjoys. Canada has her own Legislature, makes her own 
 laws, and has her own government employes appointed from among 
 her own people ; and England, the mother country, only sends there 
 a Governor-General. But that is not the case with Cuba, and Spain 
 would never give that kind of government to the Cubans, if they 
 wanted it, which they do not. 
 
 There is really occasion for but very little commercial intercourse 
 between Spain and Cuba, because the United States sends to the 
 Island about everything that its inhabitants need, while, on the other 
 hand, the United States is Cuba s great market for sugar. Spain 
 cannot buy her sugar. Spain cannot supply her with flour. The 
 flour that reaches Cuba is first sent to Spain, and from there to Cuba, 
 so that the Spaniards may collect a duty from the Islanders. In that 
 way the Cuban pays very dear for his flour, whereas he ~ould obtain 
 it very cheap if complete commercial intercourse existed between the 
 two countries. 
 
 The great advantage which Spain has in Cuba, and will hold on to 
 until it is forcibly wrested from her, is that she has her own officer 
 on the Island to make up the budget, so that it will be to the profit 
 of Spain without regard to the benefit of the Cubans. She wants the 
 Island to pay for her army and navy, consular expenses, and the 
 
46 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 salaries of the Spanish officials sent to Cuba, who steal from the 
 people as much again as they are paid for their services. Oh no; 
 Spain will never grant home rule in any sense of the word to Cuba, 
 from which she derives such a large revenue for her lazy and venal 
 officials. 
 
 The present uprising is, in every sense of the word, a real revolu 
 
 tion, because it comes from the 
 whole people. The previous 
 struggles for Cuban independence 
 have generally been inspired by 
 a few men occupying high posi 
 tions. At such times the mass 
 of the people were not conscious 
 of their rights, but, in the present 
 great struggle, which we firmly 
 believe will result in giving self- 
 government to Cuba, the whole 
 people, the lower as well as the 
 higher classes, have engaged their 
 sympathies in the movement, and, 
 as far as they are able to do so, 
 they give their aid. They have 
 had their eyes opened to the leg 
 islative policy of Spain and her 
 false promises of righting the 
 wrongs of Cuba. They are indignant at the treatment they have 
 received at her hands, both at home and in the Cortes, and they are 
 thoroughly aroused to fight for the rights that they have been vainly 
 demanding for the past seventy years. 
 
 It is not the fault of the Cubans that they have appealed to arms. 
 They would be only too glad to secure their liberty without the aid 
 of war ; but it has been plainly and repeatedly demonstrated to them 
 that they cannot obtain their rights without a physical struggle. 
 * Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." And so it 
 is that in all orders of Cuban society, from the ignorant Negro to the 
 
 SALVADOR CISNEROS, 
 President of the Cuban Republic. 
 
WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GO VERM MENT. 47 
 
 intelligent merchant and the educated man of letters, all are inspired 
 with one thought, all are animated with one resolve the indepen 
 dence of Cuba. 
 
 The revolutionists in Cuba fight according to two methods, one is 
 the guerrilla method, and the other is by massing their troops and 
 fighting the Spanish forces in the open field. Whenever they can 
 secure an advantageous position to meet the enemy in the open field 
 they mass two or three thousand or more men, and battle with the 
 Spaniards ; then they divide their forces into bands of two or three 
 hundred each and engage in guerrilla warfare. They are glad to 
 meet the enemy face to face, and do so when they can secure an 
 opportunity. The revolution has extended from the eastern part 
 very far into the western end of the land. I should say that the 
 revolution extends over four-fifths of the Island. 
 
 Arms and Ammunition. 
 
 It is not possible for the insurgents to fight in the towns along the 
 coast, because they are guarded by Spanish war ships, still we have 
 troops on the coast, and we are able to protect the landing of new 
 comers who are going to join our army, and also to land the arms 
 and ammunition, which are continually being sent to the troops. 
 Many of the firearms used by the insurgents have been captured by 
 them Irom their enemies. Fourteen thousand rounds of ammunition 
 were captured in one engagement alone. 
 
 I think there are some Cubans who are anxious that their Island 
 shall be annexed to the United States as soon as possible ; but there 
 are many more, in fact a vast majority, who believe that the question 
 of annexation is a long way off, and is not to be considered until 
 the Cubans themselves have tried an independent government. This 
 last-named class see no necessity for annexing Cuba politically to the 
 United States, because she is already annexed to this country com 
 mercially. They see no reason why Cuba should form a part of the 
 United States. When Cuba once secures her independence the 
 Cuban people will then, through the exercise of the suffrage, decide 
 the kind of government they v ll have. 
 
48 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 It may possibly be that a majority of the people will decide that 
 they want the Island annexed to the United States, or the vote may 
 show a desire on the part of the Cubans to be an independent nation. 
 That question is only to be decided after independence has been 
 ;ecured. The first and foremost thing before us now is to get rid of 
 
 the Spanish Government. When 
 once that has been done and Cuban 
 independence has been secured the 
 question of annexation can be de 
 cided. 
 
 We are now printing a pamphlet 
 which will recite the causes of the 
 war, the many grievances from which 
 Cuba has suffered so long at the 
 hands of Spain, and her determi 
 nation to rid herself of the Span 
 ish yoke. This history of Spanish 
 rule in Cuba will be laid before our 
 members of Congress. This will 
 help them in their consideration of 
 BARTOLOME MASSO, t he Cuban question, and prove con- 
 
 Vice-President of the Cuban Republic. , . , , . 
 
 clusively that our cause is as just as 
 was the cause of the Americans in the Revolution. 
 
 There will be no argument about annexation. What we demand, 
 what we must have first of all is independence. It is too late now to 
 consider any scheme of home-rule, however feasible such a sugges 
 tion may have been in the past. " Independence " is the watchword 
 of the Cuban, first, last and all the time. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of February, 1895, the delegates of the revo 
 lution adopted their Constitution, solemnly declaring the separation 
 of Cuba from the Spanish monarchy and the constitution of Cuba, 
 as a free and independent State, under the name of the Republica de 
 Cuba. 
 
 The officials of the New Republic were chosen as follows : Presi 
 dent, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Marquis of Santa Lucia ; Vice- 
 
WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 49 
 
 President, Bartolome Masso ; Secretary of War, Carlos Roloff; Dele 
 gate and Minister Plenipotentiary, Tomas Estrada Palma ; General- 
 in-Chief of the Army, Maximo Gomez ; Lieutenant-General, Antonio 
 Maceo ; Major- Generals, Serafin Sanchez, Francisco M. Carrillo. 
 
 From the united voice of the American press, from resolutions 
 offered in Congress, and every other possible source, there were 
 expressions of sympathy for the " Queen of the Antilles " in her 
 gallant struggle for liberty. The following poem aptly voices the 
 feeling of the American people : 
 
 For Cuba. 
 
 BY MAURICE THOMPSON. 
 
 Have you heard the call from Cuba 
 
 Coming northward on the breeze ? 
 Ha^e you seen the dark cloud hanging 
 
 To the southward o er the seas ? 
 
 It is a gasp for liberty, 
 
 That shudders on the air ; 
 Spain has relit her torture-fires, 
 
 And men are writhing there. 
 
 Oppression s tempest gathers force, 
 
 Its tidal wave rolls high ; 
 Old Europe s shadow dims the stars 
 
 We kindled in the sky. 
 
 The time is come for action, 
 
 Now let the right prevail ; 
 Shall all our boasted sympathy 
 
 With slaves downtrodden fail ? 
 
 Shall we be mockers of the faith 
 
 By which our course was set ? 
 Shall we deny what we received 
 
 From men like Lafayette ? 
 
 Help ! help ! the swarthy patriots cry, 
 
 While Spaniards beat them down, 
 Because they will not bend the knee 
 
 To one who wears a crown. 
 
50 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The hoary, mediaeval lie, 
 
 That robes the power of kings, 
 And rivets chains on bleeding hands. 
 
 Once more its logic brings. 
 
 At subtle diplomatic pleas 
 
 Let free-born statesmen scoff; 
 Poor, drowning Cuba grips our skirt, 
 
 Shall Freedom shake her off? 
 
 Oh no ! fling out the fleet and flag, 
 
 To shield her from the storm, 
 And let that splendid Island feel 
 
 The clasp of Freedom s arm. 
 
 Early it became evident that there was a strong feeling throughout 
 America, extending to our lawmakers at Washington, in favor of the 
 Cuban cause. Senator Frye of Maine said : 
 
 " If Spain, by her actions at any time, justified us in so doing, I 
 would seize and hold Cuba against the world. This Island has been 
 nothing but a sponge to be squeezed by Spain, utterly regardless of 
 the interests of the people living there. Annexed to our country it 
 would soon become a paradise. As the residents are entirely fit for 
 American citizenship, I regard the acquisition of Cuba, as impera 
 tively demanded, commercially and politically." 
 
 The revolution in Cuba was the subject of a good deal of anxious 
 conversation among public men in Washington. The fact that the 
 previous rebellion lasted for ten years, and cost such a large sum of 
 money to Spain, which, however, she has since shouldered on Cuba, 
 led many of the public men to believe that the present outbreak 
 would be much more serious. It started out under much better con 
 ditions than the last rebellion, and the fact that Spain was sending 
 such a large body of troops to Cuba conclusively demonstrated to the 
 Jnd of the public that the revolution was a very serious affair. 
 
 While there was no disposition to act unfriendly to Spain, the sym 
 pathies of the public men in Washington were all with the Cubans. 
 It was recognized that the Island had been outrageously treated by 
 Spain and that the financial burdens imposed on it were more than 
 
YtfHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 51 
 
 the people could bear. Every fresh trouble would add to the burdens 
 of Cuba because Spain makes Cuba pay the cost of putting down the 
 revolution, and bear every item of expense incurred by Spain in be 
 half of Cuba. 
 
 A prominent Senator remarked that sooner or later Cuba would be 
 a part of the United States, and that while people might smile over 
 the outspoken words of Senator Frye and Senator Call on the sub 
 ject, yet nine out of every ten members agreed with Mr. Frye and 
 Mr. Call on this subject. 
 
 LAND VIEW OF MORRO CASTLE. 
 
 Owned by the United States, Cuba would be tremendously pros 
 perous and would save this country from importing from any other 
 nation sugar, tobacco, oranges and other things now largely im 
 ported. This feeling would lead to a good deal of aid being given 
 indirectly to the revolutionists. 
 
 It was agreed that the Government would enforce the neutrality 
 laws in every manner possible, but it would be absolutely impossible 
 to prevent small expeditions from reaching Cuba from the coast rf 
 Florida. The Spanish Minister complained because munitions of war 
 were allowed to be shipped from the United States to Central Ameri- 
 
52 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 can States, when the Minister maintained that they were intended for 
 Cuban revolutionists. But there is no law whatever to stop the sale 
 of munitions of war during a time of peace, even to Cubans, and 
 according to Spain, Cuba was now in a state of peace. Even custom 
 house officers were under a false impression in regard to this matter. 
 If Spain should declare a state of war in Cuba then the circumstances 
 would be different. 
 
 Minister Murauga notified this Government that a torpedo boat- 
 was being fitted out in the United States for West Indian waters, and 
 asked that its departure be prevented. If this boat tried to leave the 
 United States in a completed condition it might be seized, as a neutral 
 government is bound to restrain the fitting out or sailing of armed 
 cruisers of belligerents, as determined in the Alabama case. But in 
 1879 Secretary Evarts ruled in reply to an inquiry from Secretary 
 Sherman, that " a torpedo launch, in five sections, ready to be set up, 
 though contraband of war, may be exported from the United States 
 without breach of neutrality." 
 
 From an Eminent American. 
 
 Our Consul General, Ramon Williams, of Havana, sent to the State 
 Department a remarkable argument against the continuance of Span 
 ish rule in Cuba and in favor of tariff independence. Reporting 
 under date of February 5, 1895, regarding the American flour market 
 in the Island, he wrote : 
 
 " Spain is the only country beside the United States that now- sends 
 flour to the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico. But its importation 
 from Spain is done in violation of the natural economic law and at 
 the expense of Cuba by lessening the purchasing power of her 
 exports in their exchange for her imports ; for there is scarcely a 
 vestige of natural economic tie remaining between these colonies and 
 their mother country, statistics proving, particularly in the case of 
 Cuba, that they have to send nearly all their exports for outlet to the 
 Jnited States, the beet sugar of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, 
 Holland, Russia and other countries having excluded the cane sugars 
 of all the West India Islands as well as those of Brazil and the 
 

 GENERAL MAXIMO GOMEZ. 
 
 This is the portrait of the renowned Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Cuban Army. He conies from a distinguished family, to which 
 frequent reference is made in Spanish history. His great ability 
 as a general is equalled only by his ardent devotion to the cause of 
 Cuban freedom. General Gomez is over seventy years of age, and 
 2* proud to devote his last days to the cause he has served so long. 
 
GENERAL ANTONIO MACEO. 
 
 This famous General is the second in command of the Cuban 
 Army He has had long experience in the ranks of Cuban Patriots, 
 is well educated, and is considered a very able commander. His 
 achievements have given renown to the cause of the insurgents. 
 
WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 53 
 
 Hawaiian Islands from the markets of Europe, leaving them depen 
 dent on that of the United States. For the effects are tantamount to 
 a second bounty wrought by Spanish legislation in favor of all other 
 sugar-producing countries against Cuba and Puerto Rico." 
 
 Consul General Williams closed his report by instituting a com 
 parison between the present economic policy of Great Britain toward 
 her sugar-producing West Indian possessions and that of Spain 
 toward Cuba, greatly to the disparagement of Spain. 
 
 Mr. Williams enclosed translations of articles published in leading 
 newspapers of Cuba, and said : 
 
 " These publications will likewise convey to the department samples 
 of the public discontent prevailing here against the commercial sub 
 jection in which the island is still held by the mother country." 
 
 Thousands of Troops. 
 
 Patriotic Cuban circles were much excited over the coming o/* 
 General Martinez Campos with a couple of million dollars in cash, 
 a lot of troops and a large personal prestige. It was the same old 
 story of thousands of troops sent by the mother country to suppress 
 Cuban insurrection. Without inquiring for the causes of the rebel 
 lious feeling, and seeking a lasting remedy, one in keeping with 
 justice and humanity, the answer to Cuba s revolution was guns and 
 General Campos. When he arrived he issued from Santiago de 
 Cuba a proclamation offering pardon to all insurgents, with the ex 
 ception of the leaders, who would lay down their arms and surren 
 der. He made preparations to immediately pursue the members o c 
 the bands who refused to come in under the proclamation, and the 
 warfare against them was to be waged vigorously. 
 
 Governor General Campos pledged himself to carry out all the 
 promised political and economical reforms for the Island if he was 
 supported. He thought the rebellion would soon be crushed, but 
 that the entire pacification of the Island would require a long time 
 Campos warned the planters in the interior against aiding the 
 insurgents. 
 
 A newspaper correspondent haJ an interview with the new Captain 
 
54 WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 General of Cuba before he embarked for Manzanillo. He remained 
 in Santiago de Cuba only two days, and nearly every moment of 
 the time was occupied in making changes of military commanders, 
 receiving deputations and holding consultations with subordinates. 
 General Campos said he understood that the press of the United 
 States had sent several representatives to Cuba to study the situation. 
 He felt gratified that there was a desire to obtain facts, and he wel 
 comed such investigation. Asked if he proposed to take the field, 
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY OUTPOST. 
 
 he replied : " I expect to go everywhere. I intend to direct the 
 movements of the army, and to conduct operations that will tend to 
 secure law and order throughout the island." 
 
 " Shall you remain here or go to Havana ?" 
 
 The Marshal replied indirectly; said he expected to leave Santiago 
 that evening, but would return. 
 
 " Are you taking any step in the " Allianca " affair? " 
 
 The Captain-General shook his head slightly in a deprecating 
 manner, apH, said the subject was being considered by Senor Dupuy 
 de Lome, Spain s new Minister to Washington. " Senor Lome is 3 
 
WHY CUBA DEMANDS SELF-GOVERNMENT. 5o 
 
 diplomat," the General remarked, " and the question is for the diplo 
 mats of Spain and the United States to consider. Spain desires to 
 be at peace with the United States and with all other nations." 
 
 He was asked how many revolutionists are in the field. " There 
 is no army," was the reply. " Small guerrilla bands are scattered 
 about the interior at the eastern end of the Island. The country is 
 thinly settled, and very difficult for an army to operate in. A few 
 men who know the paths can roam about in the chapparal, and their 
 capture is difficult. The United States had much trouble with 
 guerrilla bands during the Civil War." 
 
 He was asked what disposition would be made of the members of 
 Maceo s party, imprisoned at Guantanamo. The Marshal shook his 
 head emphatically, and said rather quickly : " They are in the hands 
 of the law." Then he added : " I do not propose to be severe with 
 out reason. When those in arms put them aside and submit, they 
 will be well received." 
 
 " How about the leaders ? " The Marshal answered by referring 
 to his proclamation, in which amnesty was made the reward for sur 
 render, but the leaders were not included. The Captain-General, at 
 the close of the interview, declined to issue to the correspondent a 
 special permit to travel in the interior, but said : " The country is 
 before you ; go and see for yourself. Your passport as a citizen of 
 the United States will protect you in legitimate travel." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 Beginning of the War. 
 
 P)ETWEEN April i Tt and I2th, 1895, Marti and Gomez, the 
 
 [j Cuban exiles, with a handful of companions, landed at Baracoa, 
 on the eastern coast of Cuba, and proclaimed the republic. 
 The effect of this bold move was instantaneous. The news spread 
 from end to end of the Island, and although the friends of Cuba thought 
 the movement ill-timed, hundreds of sympathizers flocked to the 
 patriot standard. Like a prairie fire before a brisk breeze, the single 
 spark of insurrection fired the dry tinder of the oppressed Cubans, 
 and the rebellion grew in volume as it flew westward. 
 
 This is not Spain s first experience of the temper of her colony. 
 For the past seventy years conspiracy, insurrection, rebellion and red 
 war have followed one another in endless progression. A few words 
 will suffice to explain the causes leading up to the latest revolution. 
 
 Cuba became a possession of Spain by the right of discovery on 
 Columbus second voyage. He named it Juana, after the son of 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, and it has successively been known as Juana, 
 Fernandina, Santiago, Ave Maria and Cuba, the latter being the 
 native name of the " Queen of the Antilles." It was colonized by 
 Spain, and its early history is a series of sacks and ravages by Euro 
 pean foes. Not until the rule of Captain-General Las Casas, begin 
 ning 1790, did prosperity begin. 
 
 Under his guidance agriculture and commerce flourished, and the 
 condition of the native population was ameliorated. The effect of 
 his sagacious rule was felt for over thirty years, and when Napoleon 
 deposed the royal family of Spain every member of the local govern 
 ment took oath to preserve the Island for their monarchy, and, going 
 even further, they declared war against the French conqueror. This 
 much to show the instinctive feeling of the colony toward the mother 
 country. 
 66 
 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 67 
 
 Spanish coffers were empty with the restoration of the Bourbons 
 in the person of Ferdinand VII. , and Spain s mistress looked with 
 hungry eyes upon the rich Island with her 1800 miles of sea coast, 
 gemmed with prosperous ports, and her plantations of indigo, sugar, 
 tobacco and fruit. It was Fortunata s purse wherein Spain might 
 dip her fingers, and forever find it full to overflowing. With this 
 discovery came oppressive taxation. With the gradual impoverish 
 ment of Spain came added demands. Then the deprivation of all 
 civil, political and religious liberty, and the exclusion of Cubans 
 from all public stations, and in order to enforce this the Cubans were 
 taxed to support a standing army and navy their jailors. 
 
 Conspiracy of the "Black Eagle." 
 
 With their oppression came their desire for liberty. In 1829 the 
 Black Eagle conspiracy arose, the purpose of which was to throw off 
 the Spanish yoke. It was suppressed, but was followed in 1840 by 
 an insurrection of the colored population. After smouldering and 
 blazing for a while the fires of insurrection were smotkered only to 
 break out eight years later in a genuine conspiracy of the Cubans 
 under the leadership of Narcisso Lopez. This rebellion was quelled y 
 and Lopez fled. In 1850 he landed in Cuba with 600 men from the 
 United States. He made a third attempt in 1851, and together with 
 most of his companions was captured and executed by the Spanish 
 authorities. 
 
 The Reformist party, which sprang up at this time, succeeded in 
 getting an inquiry of the abuses at Madrid, with the result, however, 
 of increased taxation. In 1868 the Advance party in Cuba rose in 
 the district of Bayamo, and on October 10, 1868, signed a declaration 
 of independence at Manzanillo. Their first successes were so great 
 that almost all the Spanish- American republics recognized the insur 
 gents as belligerents. After a war of ten years, that was confined to 
 the mountainous regions east of the town of Puerto Principe, the 
 rebellion was put down. To confine it to that locality the Spanish 
 troops built a great fortified trench, known as La Trocha, across the 
 entire width of the island, in the western portion of the State of 
 
58 BEGINNING OF THE WAR, 
 
 Puerto Principe. It was here that Captain-General Campos, the 
 commander of the Spanish army, drew up his forces in the -summer 
 of 1895, to prevent the eastward march of the insurgents, who were 
 now heavily reinforced. 
 
 All during the .summer of 1895 the insurgents leaders were organ 
 izing their forces and receiving supplies of arms and ammunition. 
 The people were flocking to the standard of revolt, and during Octo 
 ber, 1895, Gomez and Maceo with ease penetrated the lines of the 
 Spanish captain-general, crossing La Trocha, and causing the regular 
 troops to ^all back to a line just east of Remedies. The insurgents 
 still pushing on, this was followed by a retreat of Campos to Sant? 
 Clara, in the province of Santa Clara, still further west. 
 
 Two Cuban Generals. 
 
 Gomez and Maceo were now in supreme authority, for Marti, 
 the great leader of the revolutionary party, died just as the command 
 started west. This blow to the insurgent cause was more than offset 
 by the character of the people among which they found themselves. 
 Of all the provinces of Cuba, Santa Clara is the most outspoken and 
 loyal to the cause of liberty. The ranks of Gomez and Maceo were 
 Increased by thousands of volunteers of an intelligence and physical 
 strength superior even to those of Santiago. Horses were procured 
 in abundance, and the bulk of the insurgent army was formed into a 
 speedy and well-equipped cavalry. They were armed with rifles, and 
 carried with them an abundance of ammunition. Each man also 
 carried a machete, which is a long, heavily-weighted iron knife, used 
 by the sugar-planters to cut the cane, and by all travelers to open up 
 paths through the heavy tropical underbrush. They are terrible 
 weapons in the hands of the Cubans, and the Spanish troops fear 
 them more than the rifles. The insurgents took no supply train 
 with them. A stray pig or fowl supplied them with supper, while an 
 ox meant dinner for a company. Thus prepared, they turned their 
 r aces toward the setting sun and Havana. 
 
 All this while Campos, the Spanish general, was " concentrating/ 
 according to the official dispatches, In other words, he was drawing 
 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 59 
 
 dead- lines across the Island at points where he announced that he 
 would bring the insurgents to a pitched battle. Each successive 
 dead line was further west than the one preceding it. And each 
 time the insurgents slipped by the troops, leaving a harried country 
 behind them. Railroads, bridges and roads destroyed, plantations 
 burned and store-houses empty. The troops, under the spur oi 
 necessity, followed as rapidly as possible, leaving the insurgents in 
 possession of the country to the east. 
 
 Landing of Expeditions. 
 
 In this way not only did the Cubans make this remarkable march 
 westward, but they garrisoned it. In Santiago the insurgents kept 
 the Spanish forces in the fortified cities, and in a short time two large 
 expeditions successfully landed at that end of the island. One, 
 armed with cannon, fired upon and crippled the " Nueva Espana," of the 
 Spanish navy, while such leaders as Rabi, Martinez and Aguirre were 
 fighting as valiantly there as were Gomez and Maceo in the province 
 of Matanzas. 
 
 Similar reports came from Puerto Principe and Santa Clara, show 
 ing that the insurgents had complete control of the interior of these 
 provinces. But Campos claimed that it was IT S plan to get the 
 insurgents between his forces and Havana and crush them as a nut is 
 crushed in a nut-cracker. 
 
 Then came decisive attacks by the insurgents. Campos was driven 
 from pillar to post, changing his headquarters from Santa Clara to 
 Cienfuegos, from Cienfuegos to Palmillas, from Palmillas to Colon, 
 from Colon to Jovellanos, from Jovellanos to Limonare, from Limon- 
 are to Guanabana, and from Guanabana to Havana, where he was 
 feted as a conqueror by the Spanish authorities, and where he received 
 telegrams of congratulation from the Queen Regent of Spain and her 
 Prime Minister. 
 
 Just prior to this noisy welcome, namely, on December 24, 1895, 
 General Maximo Gomez, at the head of 1 2,000 men, by a feint turned 
 the flank of the Spanish commander at Colon, and, passing the 
 sleepy old seaport of Matanzas, marched straight on to a point only 
 
60 BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 
 
 fifty miles from Havana, Campos, with all his 80,000 picked Spanish 
 troops, to the contrary notwithstanding Christmas and New Year 
 were passed, and the insurgents were still there, marching and coun 
 termarching in three columns, holding Spain at bay, and waiting for 
 additional supplies of ammunition and arms before pushing on. The 
 grave question now was what the insurgents would do ? Havana was 
 in an agony of suspense and preparing for a siege. The loyalty of 
 the citizens was unquestionable, as well as that of the Grande Civil 
 or local militia. Campos and all his troops seemed unable to cope 
 with the situation. It was believed that should the insurgents push 
 on and take Havana, the defeat of Spain and the liberty of Cuba 
 would arrive. 
 
 A Concise History of the Struggle. 
 
 These, in outline, are the main facts of Cuba s war during the first 
 year of its progress. The reader will be interested in another account 
 from a war correspondent in Cuba, who had ample opportunity for 
 observation, and the accuracy of whose statements are unquestioned. 
 Writing late in January, 1896, he says : 
 
 " The question of the United States recognizing the belligerent 
 rights of the new Cuban republic is now receiving so much attention 
 that a dispassionate and unbiased account of the state of affairs in Cuba 
 may help some to a better understanding of the situation. In view 
 of the misleading information and exaggeration of facts given out, on 
 one hand, by Cubans in America, and, on the other, of the mis 
 representation and concealment of truth by the representatives of the 
 Spanish side, facts gathered from the scenes of the war and the seat 
 of its causes may throw light upon doubts which are entertained as 
 to the wisdom of America s policy up to this time. 
 
 " The Cuban revolution is now within a few days of having turneo 
 its first year. It has passed all the bounds of previous insurrection. 
 It has passed from the stage of organized rioting into actual war. It 
 is no longer limited to a conflict between classes, or confined to any 
 section of the Island. It has become a war between two peoples who 
 are distinct in all the characteristics which mark the differences 
 
GENERAL CALIXTO GARCIA. 
 
 This renowned Commander has long been a conspicuous figure 
 in Cuban insurrections. >n the latter part of 1895 he was imprisoned 
 at Madrid. Being liberated, he returned at once to the United States, 
 and was instrumental in organizing a formidable expedition to aid 
 the Cuban Patriots. He is considered one of the ablest and most 
 courageous Commanders among the Insurgents. 
 
GEN. MAETTNKZ CAMPOS 
 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 61 
 
 between nations. The recent successes have resulted in the best 
 blood of Cuba s native-born population joining or aiding Gomez s 
 armies, and have brought the issue to a point which means that the 
 price of Spanish victory would be almost inevitably the extermination 
 of some great families and the utter devastation of the Island. 
 
 " Such a victory would carry with it the accumulation of a war 
 debt which would impoverish Cuba for two generations, and leave her 
 a burden rather than a precious possession for the so-called mother 
 country. Without the benefits which would come to the Cubans as 
 the result of such recognition as they ask from the United States it is 
 impossible for the revolutionists to hasten the issue of the war, and as 
 Spain cannot drive them unwillingly into battles, only some event now 
 entirely unforeseen can prevent the prolonging of the war for possibly 
 
 a year or more. 
 
 The Two Armies. 
 
 " Both sides are weak, so weak that the question of which can hold 
 out the longer is as important as the result of battles, perhaps more 
 important than the result of the insignificant engagements which now 
 monopolize all the reports from the field. On the side of Spain is an 
 army drawn from a native population of 16,000,000. On the side of 
 Cuba is an army drawn from a native population of 1 ,600,000. Deal 
 ing with the mere numbers one reason is apparent why Gomez avoids 
 battles into which he might throw his forces with a certainty of victory. 
 It is hard for him to replace his losses. Unless the killed were 
 nearly sixteen to one the ease with which Spain could fill the gap in 
 her ranks where they were nearer equal would be his weakness and 
 practically turn his victories into disasters. 
 
 " Spain s army is made up of conscripts, unpaid, poverty-stricken, 
 most of them too ignorant of military training to march in step at 
 guard mount, and so youthful that regiment after regiment would not 
 have an average age of above nineteen years ; half-fed, with no com 
 missary department or surgical service available after battles ; so 
 tender to the climate that ten die of disease to one in conflict, and so 
 neglected in the hospitals that the wounded generally die of yellow 
 fever contracted in the pest-houses to which they have been taken 
 
62 BEGINNING OF THE ,,AR. 
 
 from the field, numbering with the Spanish Cuban volunteers recruited 
 in the Island about 200,000 men ; 120,000 of these have come from 
 Spain ; the other 80,000 are from the Island. Of them all, less than 
 500 are cavalry, and of this 500 at least one-half are only mounted 
 infantry. They are all well armed. In commanders, Spaniards and 
 Cubans, in proportion to the numbers, are equally supplied with 
 veterans. 
 
 Fifty Thousand Native Cubans. 
 
 " The Cuban army numbers 50,000, half of whom are in small 
 divisions, under captains or colonels, acting upon orders and in cam 
 paigns devised by Gomez and Maceo. At least 25,000 of them are 
 mounted, but only 25,000 of them, according to the most trustworthy 
 information, are supplied with modern arms. But the whole 50,000 
 are native Cubans, inured to the climate, safe in the fever season and 
 unaffected by any hardship of march or exposure. Every farm 
 estate and hut is their hospital. Every Cuban woman is a nurse for 
 the wounded. Every farm and plantation is a source of food supply. 
 Every Cuban is their guide and informant, prepared the next moment 
 to He like a Turk to a Spanish column. These 50,000 men are 
 flushed with a year of almost uninterrupted successes, which have 
 resulted in the downfall of one of Europe s greatest generals. 
 
 " Now, at the end of only one year, they have the whole Island at 
 their command, except its city strongholds, with the Spanish armies 
 cut off from communication with each other except by couriers on 
 horses or protected steamers along the coast. Every railroad is 
 paralyzed. The following year s revenues to Spain have been prac 
 tically wiped out by the ruin of business and the destruction of the 
 sugar cane. Havana itself has been declared by the captain-general 
 to be in a state of siege. Gomez, with his army, has slept within 
 sight of the city. 
 
 " The events which have led up to all this make A simple chapter 
 of Spanish disaster and of Cuban successes, with occasional reverses, 
 during which the more or less guerrilla warfare conducted in the 
 early stages has developed into scientific campaigns, and also in the 
 birth, on the i6th of September, 1895, of the Republic of Cuba. The 
 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 63 
 
 war was started through the failure of Spain to put into force reforms 
 in the government of Cuba which had been granted by the Spanish 
 Cortes, after a tremendous effort on the part of the Island to procure 
 relief from intolerable evils. It is generally believed that the Corte& 
 did not act in good faith, but from a pressure to prevent a revolt from 
 what was simple tyranny, and that there was never any intention to 
 permit the reforms to go into operation. 
 
 " Calleja was then the Captain-General of the Island. He made a 
 faint resistance when the first evidences oi the preparation Cuba had 
 been making for insurrection came to the surface in Santiago de 
 Cuba, the extreme eastern province of the Island, and the stronghold 
 of former revolutions. It is a rough country, where it was supposed 
 the trouble would be confined. He declared the province and that 
 of Puerto Principe, adjoining, to be under martial law. 
 
 Grand Uprising of Patriots. 
 
 "Between April I and April 12, Generals Gomez, Antonio Maceo, 
 Jose Maceo, Cebreco, Crombet, Guerra, Marti and Borrero landed 
 with men and arms, and they were joined by thousands of Cubans, 
 who brought out from hiding-places arms and ammunition which 
 they had been collecting and concealing for years. It was already 
 apparent to Spain that the insurrection was to be serious, and by 
 this time General Campos, then her greatest military chief, was 
 already on his way to the Island with 10,000 men. He landed on 
 April 1 6, 1895, at Santiago de Cuba, and made the mistake which 
 has cost Spain the war and may in the end cost her all Cuba. 
 
 " He did not at once put the reforms in force, but announced that 
 after peace was restored he would do all in his power to see that 
 the reforms which had been granted by the Cortes were put in force 
 It is true that already another and greater object was inspiring the 
 Cubans the liberty they now demand ; but, if Campos had then, 
 instead of waiting three months, till the insurrection had gone beyond 
 his control, granted the relief to Cuba which the Cortes had author 
 ized, it would have almost inevitably resulted, notwithstanding what 
 may be said outside of Cuba to-day to *he contrary, in the restoration 
 
64 BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 
 
 of peace, probably only temporary ; but his course precipitated into 
 the conflict all the elements which he might have used to prevent it. 
 
 "At the end of three months Gomez and Maceo had all Santiago 
 and Puerto Principe in a state of insurrection. They started out 
 with comparatively a handful of men. The most reliable sources 
 agree that there were not more than 300. Thousands of Cubans 
 joined them, furnishing their own horses and arms. Campos had 
 declared that Puerto Principe would never rise against Spain, and 
 he proposed at once a plan to make it doubly sure. He procured 
 special concessions from Madrid for the foreign railroads, permitting 
 them to import iron bridges to replace their wooden structures, and 
 pledged them $20,000 a month until they had extended their lines 
 and made connections to complete a continuous road through the 
 country, using the money to employ the natives. This was to insure 
 the peace of Puerto Principe and Santa Clara, both considered con 
 servative, and to prevent the people joining the revolutionary party. 
 
 War s Dire Destruction. 
 
 "After the plan was announced the revolutionists burned out the 
 wooden bridges, tore up the tracks in many places, and the roads 
 have been, for all practical purposes, in their hands ever since. 
 Campos, meantime, to prevent Gomez moving eastward, placed 
 10,000 troops on the border between the provinces of Santiago and 
 Puerto Principe, but Gomez crossed the line on May 19, after a battle 
 at Boca del Dos Rios, where a loss was suffered in the death of Gen. 
 Marti, which was so great a blow to Cuba that Campos announced 
 that the death blow to the bandits had been struck. 
 
 "In. Puerto Principe Gomez captured every town he attempted to 
 take, among them Alta Gracia, San Jeronimo and Coscorro. He 
 took Fort El Mulato, and in all the places secured large quantities 
 of ammunition. So enthusiastic was his reception in the provinces 
 of Puerto Principe and Santa Clara that in the latter 400 Spanish 
 volunteers joined him with their arms. Places in this province that 
 fell in rapid succession were Las Veras, Cantabria, Fort Taguaso, 
 Guenia de Miranda and Cayo Espino. 
 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 65 
 
 " The most important battle of the summer occurred at Bayamo 
 in July, just as Gomez was near the Spanish line between Santa Clara 
 and Puerto Principe. Campos decided to relieve the distress of the 
 garrison at Bayamo and left Manzanillo, intending, after entering the 
 town, to move quickly westward, driving Gomez into the Spanish 
 line, while three other columns were to surround Maceo. Botb 
 bands were to be exterminated at once. On his way to Bayamc 
 Campos was met by Maceo and Rabi at Peralajos, and in a twelve 
 hours battle, in which about 3,000 men were engaged on either side, 
 Campos was completely routed. 
 
 " From that time on through the summer and far into the autumn, 
 every day was marked by skirmishes, the taking of important places 
 and the threatening of the larger towns. It kept the Spanish columns 
 moving constantly, and the exposure in the rainy season killed thou 
 sands. It was, doubtless, Gomez s purpose to conduct his summer 
 campaign to produce that effect, suffering nothing by it himself. He 
 was then planning the great campaign of the winter, the execution 
 of which resulted in the shutting up of Havana. He had accom 
 plished the destruction of all methods of communication in the 
 interior, to the east, and had issued his order against the grinding of 
 sugar cane, for the purpose of cutting off Spain s revenues, and had 
 announced that he would take his army clear through into the 
 Matanzas province to insure obedience to his order. 
 
 "Amazing as this declaration was, it was fairly good evidence of 
 Gomez s modesty. He had not only overrun Matanzas, but Havana 
 province as well, burning plantations within sight of the city, where 
 the owners disobeyed him, and finally subjugating th* province of 
 Pinar del Rio, in the extreme west." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 Insurgent Campaign in Western Cuba. 
 
 EFERENCE was made at the close of the preceding chaptei 
 to ^e spirited warlike operations of the insurgents in West 
 ern Cuba. Carrying the war into this section was simply 
 threatening Havana, and this was one object of the insurgent leaders. 
 Gomez and Maceo. 
 
 Enough of the history of the insurrection has been given to show 
 the manner in which it was carried on during the first few months 
 subsequent to the arrival of the Spanish General Campos and his 
 army. All his boasts of conquest failed of fulfillment. He was slow 
 to bring the insurgents to the point of battle, or if he did succeed in 
 doing this, he failed utterly to accomplish his purpose of so vanquish 
 ing them as to stamp out what he was pleased to call the " Rebel 
 lion, 1 and bring the country into a state of peace and quietude. It 
 is more than probable that some of the skirmishes in which the 
 Spanish troops claimed success were conducted by the insurgents 
 more for the purpose of harassing Campos and his scattered forces 
 than with the idea of obtaining any great substantial victory. 
 
 General Gomez and his commanding officers had a full knowledge 
 of the country, knew all the strategic points, also knew that they 
 were greatly outnumbered by the Spanish forces, and that they had 
 only to hold their ground without being completely overthrown, and 
 the proud army of Spain would be, partially at least, defeated by dis 
 ease and the disastrous effects of the climate, to which they were not 
 accustomed. Certain it is that after the operations of General Campos 
 had been carried on for months, the insurgents were as strong and 
 well-disciplined as ever, while in the provinces which they occupied 
 they constantly received recruits from those dissatisfied spirits who 
 were ready to join the patriot army in its daring and determined 
 effort to throw off the Spanish yoke. 
 66 
 
INSURGENT CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN CUBA. 67 
 
 In order to understand the progress of events, it is necessary to 
 describe the campaign of the insurgents in the province of Pinar 
 del Rio. 
 
 When Gomez retired from this province he left Maceo there, and 
 took up a position east of the Spanish line, where he remained near, 
 but refused tc give battle to the Spanish. He had been waiting for 
 Maceo s work to be finished. All this time he has been within ten 
 miles of Havana, and never more than twenty-five miles away. The 
 highest officers in command of the field operations of the Spanish, 
 commenting upon the strength of the new " wall of men," said that 
 " if only Gomez were in so tight a place as Maceo, both would soon 
 be wiped out, as they were hopelessly separated, Maceo burdened 
 with wounded men, and Gomez between lines rapidly converging." 
 
 A March of Repeated Victories. 
 
 The truth is that they had not endeavored to meet, but Maceo had 
 gone to the extreme end of Cuba, occupying its most western city, 
 driving the garrison of that town down to the shore, where they 
 fought on the sand-beach, under the fire of a Spanish cruiser out at 
 sea. Maceo s march had been one of repeated victories. Towns 
 surrendered without resistance ; around others there were some slight 
 encounters. Portions of several Spanish garrisons joined the revolu 
 tionists with their arms. 
 
 More than 2,000 recruits were made. The new government was 
 established in the cities and towns of Mantua, San Cristobal, Remates, 
 Palacios, Paso Real de San Diego, Guane, Consolacion del Sur, 
 Pilotos, Alonso de Rojas, San Luis, San Juan y Martinez, and other 
 less important places. 
 
 The capital of the province, Pinar del Rio City, was the one place 
 of great importance that held out, but it was cut off from communi> 
 cation with its port, Colon, and was short of provisions. One supply 
 sent by the Spanish for its relief, 100,000 rations, fell into Maceo s 
 hands. 
 
 Maceo s march began as soon as he had left Gomez, near the lower 
 border, between Havana and Pinar del Rio provinces He had 2,000 
 
68 INSURGENT CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN CUBA. 
 
 mounted men, all armed, in divisions under Gens. Zayas, Varuna, 
 Vivo and Gomez Rubio. Almost immediately the forces were 
 divided, Maceo, with the main body, moving southwest, and a small 
 division, under Varona, taking a western course through the northern 
 country, to reunite with Maceo at the western extremity of the pro 
 vince. In this way it was designed to cover at once the sides of a 
 great loop, embracing every important point in the province. 
 
 The Spanish Forces Scattered. 
 
 Gomez s retreat had been misunderstood by the Spanish, and when 
 Maceo moved, the Spanish forces were scattered and unprepared to 
 check him, being to the east, where they supposed the centre of 
 operations was to remain, near Gomez. With trifling losses, and the 
 wounding of but a handful of his men, Maceo entered Candelaria and 
 San Cristobal on the same day, the third of his march. 
 
 In San Cristobal the Spanish flag on the government building was 
 replaced by the emblem of the new republic, a mayor and city officials 
 were appointed, resolutions were adopted by the new authorities, and, 
 after all the arms in the town had been collected, and forty or fifty 
 mounted recruits had been made, Maceo remained a day to rest his 
 men and horses, and moved on the following morning at daybreak 
 toward Palacios, just north of which lies Banos de San Diego. He 
 took both these places, and the same scenes were repeated, the people 
 decorating their houses and flying white flags from every roof as a 
 token of their allegiance to the cause. 
 
 By this time the Spanish saw the trend of Maceo s plans, and 
 Generals Nevarro and Luque were ordered to pursue the insurgent 
 army, reinforcements at the same time being ordered to Pinar del Rio 
 City. The garrison at Guanajay was strengthened, and an additional 
 force was dispatched from Havana to proceed on a steamer along the 
 south coast to Columa, to reach Pinar del Rio, if possible, before 
 Maceo had arrived. 
 
 Nevarro made all haste, but was not out of sight of Guanajay, 
 where he had left the terminus of the railroad, before he came upon 
 burning cane fields, whose owners had disobeyed Gomez s proclama- 
 
INSURGENT CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN CUBA. 69 
 
 tion against grinding. Navarro and Luque had together 5,000 
 infantry, 200 cavalry and 1 1 pieces of artillery. They found that the 
 cattle had been gathered up by insurgents or hidden by their owners ; 
 but, learning that Maceo was at least two days march ahead, they 
 were able to move with freedom, and by forced marches came to the 
 San Juan del Rio sugar estate, where the next day General Navarro 
 met General Arizon s command, which had encountered Maceo s rear 
 guard the previous day. Arizoh had lost, as nearly as can be learned, 
 five men, and had several wounded, and was waiting there to join 
 Navarro s division. 
 
 General Navarro had sent a detachment after the smaller body of 
 insurgents moving on the north, but further than a few encounters 
 with some small bands, which may have been either skirmish lines or 
 independent companies of insurgents, their pursuit was fruitless, and 
 they arrived at Cabanas, on the north coast, the day after the insur 
 gents had taken the place, disarmed the volunteer garrison, secured 
 11,000 rounds of ammunition, and retired with the loss of two men. 
 This loss was confirmed by the Spanish official reports. 
 
 Fled in Disorder. 
 
 To come back to General Navarro, after being joined at the San 
 Juan estate by Arizon s command, he moved on toward Quivera 
 Hacha, and near there came up to Maceo, who had meantime estab 
 lished the insurgent government in Consolacion and Rio Hondo, and 
 was preparing to move upon Pinar del Rio City. Near Quivera 
 Hacha Navarro s skirmishers encountered a small band of mounted 
 insurgents. There was rapid firing, and almost instantly 400 of the 
 insurgents rode down upon Navarro s extreme vanguard, under Lieu 
 tenant La Torre, and came within fifty yards, shouting " Machete," 
 firing but few shots and retiring without attacking. 
 
 The cry of " Machete," the name of the half-sword-like weapons 
 which the Cubans use with such deadly effect in much of their 
 fighting, terrified the Spanish, and considerable disorder followed. 
 Fearing that all Maceo s army was at hand, lines of battle were 
 quickly formed, the main body being well protected by a cactus 
 
70 INSURGENT CAMPAIGN iN VvESTERN CUBA. 
 
 fence. Two divisions were deployed right and left in cane fields, part 
 of which had been burned. About 1 ,000 of Maceo s men were on 
 higher ground, and although firing lasted twenty minutes, the losses 
 on either side were not serious when the insurgents withdrew. None 
 $>f Nevarro s cavalry or artillery took part in the action. 
 
 The Spanish followed them, prepared for an ambush at any 
 moment, as the cane and underbrush were dense, but reached the 
 Begona sugar estate safely, where, coming out into the open, they 
 were within sight of 1000 of Maceo s men, two miles southwest, 
 moving away. The Spanish during the day lost, according to the 
 best information from both sides, about twenty-five men killed and 
 wounded. Regarding Maceo s losses the Spanish report said: "The 
 rebels must have lost several men." 
 
 Gen. Maceo at the Front. 
 
 The Cubans say they did not lose a man, and no dead were found 
 on the field. At the Begona estate Gen. Navarro learned that he had 
 been engaged with only a small part of Maceo s forces, and that the 
 main command was at the Armendares estate. 
 
 The seat of operations at once changed to the vicinity of Pinar del 
 Rio, Gen. Luque succeeding Gen. Navarro in command of the aggres 
 sive movements against Maceo, who, learning of the relief being sent 
 to the city, tried to intercept it, probably in expectation of the valu 
 able capture which he subsequently made. His rapid progress with 
 his cavalry, the Spanish following on foot, of course resulted in 
 several days passing without an engagement. The first encounter 
 took place on January 17, 1896, about five miles south of the city. 
 It was nothing more than a skirmish, neither side suffering, and that 
 night Gen. Luque left part of his forces at the village of St. Luis, 
 through which Maceo had passed two hours ahead of him. He took 
 his main body to Pinar del Rio. 
 
 During the night he learned that Maceo had taken a position at 
 Tirado, commanding the road to Coloma, between Pinar del Rio and 
 the coast. It was over this road that the wagon train from the coast 
 was to bring up the supplies to Pinar del Rio. General Luque 
 
INSURGENT CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN CUBA. 71 
 
 hastened at daylight to drive the insurgents back, but found Maceo 
 strongly entrenched within three miles of the city. This was the 
 morning of the 1 8th. 
 
 Luque came upon Maceo s vanguard under Colonel Velasco, but 
 the moment the attack was made he found himself under fire from 
 the tops of two low hills on both sides of the road, where the insur 
 gents were well protected. They were in such an advantageous posi 
 tion that Luque sustained severe losses without inflicting much injury 
 upon the enemy. So hot was the encounter that Luque withdrew 
 and prepared to charge upon two points where the enemy were mak 
 ing a stand. With the San Quintin battalion he held the road, send 
 ing Colonel Hernandez to the right, while another division advanced 
 on the left. The attack was successful. The Spanish made a magni 
 ficent effort under the withering fire, but both divisions swept Maceo s 
 forces before them, not, however, until thty had left the field scattered 
 with their own dead and wounded. 
 
 The Spanish General Surprised. 
 
 For some reason the cavalry had not been used. The artillery was 
 just coming up when the action had reached this point. The Spanish 
 found that the enemy had, instead of being routed, simply fallen back 
 and taken a position on another hill, and scattered firing went on. for 
 a considerable time, while Luque prepared to attack again. Then, 
 against two thousand of Maceo s men, was directed all of Luque s 
 command, over four thousand infantry, two hundred cavalry and 
 eleven pieces of artillery. 
 
 At least half of Maceo s army, certainly not less than two thousand 
 cavalry, had been moving to Luque s rear and came upon him, sur 
 prising him just as this second attack was being made. 
 
 For a time it was a question whether Luque s command would not 
 be wiped out. They were practically surrounded by Maceo s men, 
 and for fully an hour and a half the fighting was desperate. It is 
 impossible to unravel the stories of both sides so as to arrive at a 
 clear idea of the encounter. Hernandez s right wing had been 
 weakened by the withdrawal of part of the San Quintin battalion, 
 
72 INSURGENT CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN CUBA. 
 
 and when five companies of the insurgents fell upon him he suffered 
 so quickly that Luque sent two battalions to his assistance. Her 
 nandez then succeeded in gaining the hill, where one division of the 
 insurgents was stationed, but not until a cavalry charge had been 
 repelled and seven pieces of the artillery had been turned upon it. 
 
 When the cannonading ceased four companies of infantry charged 
 up the hill and occupied it before the insurgents, who had been 
 driven out by the artillery, could regain it. Shortly the hill on the 
 left of the road was taken in the same way, and Luque, although at 
 a great loss, had repelled Maceo s attack from the rear. 
 
 The insurgent forces then withdrew to a piece of woods and made 
 another stand about a quarter of a mile from the field where the 
 fight had taken place. General Luque, however, withdrew his 
 shattered forces to Pinar del Rio. 
 
 The battle had lasted from 9.15 to 11.30. Maceo had about forty 
 of his men wounded and left four dead on the field, taking away ten 
 others. Twenty or more of his horses were killed. The Spanish 
 reported that he had 1,000 killed ; the next day reduced the number 
 to 300, and finally to the statement that " the enemy s losses must 
 have been enormous " the usual phrase when the true number is 
 humiliating. Luque s loss has never been officially reported. It is 
 variously estimated between fifty and one hundred men, but his 
 defeat was severest in the failure to save the supply train. Seventeen 
 loaded wagons and twenty pack mules carrying 100,000 rations and 
 perhaps 10,000 rounds of ammunition were in Maceo s ha/>; > / the 
 end of the fight. 
 
CHAPTER VL 
 Downfall of General Campos. 
 
 WHEN the Spanish government sent tens of thousands of 
 troops to Cuba, it evidently imagined the revolution would 
 soon be smothered. General Campos had shown his 
 prowess and military skill on many occasions and was considered the 
 ablest commander in the Spanish army. It was thought that he 
 would soon be able to overtake the insurrection and quench its fires. 
 We have arrived now at a point where his complete failure must be 
 recorded. 
 
 It was made plain that he had a larger contract on hand than he 
 was able with all his hosts to carry out. Repeated dispatches had 
 been sent abroad telling of his military movements and successes, 
 but after he had been nine months in Cuba, the stubborn fact still 
 remained that he did not hold the Island, and the fires of the revolu 
 tion were burning higher and brighter than ever. The insurgents 
 roamed over many parts of the Island at their own sweet will. Their 
 leaders had not been captured and the promised era of peace had 
 not come. 
 
 Secret expeditions from the United States had landed on the Cuban 
 shores in spite of all the vigilance of Spanish ships on the sea and 
 armed bodies of troops on land. Such aid was likely to be furnished 
 to an unlimited extent. The sympathy of high officials in our 
 government with the cause of Cuba was pronounced and emphatic. 
 Arms and ammunition in some mysterious way were constantly 
 shipped, and the spirit of revolution was fanned by the national senti 
 ment of the United States. General Campos could not do impossi 
 bilities. The stars in their courses were fighting against him. The 
 government at Madrid became dissatisfied, censorious, and was ready 
 to recall its favorite general as unequal to the situation. The old 
 
 73 
 
74 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 
 
 Spanish Clement in Cuba, sympathizing with the mother country, 
 became restless and turbulent. The war was costing immense sums 
 of money and nothing apparently was being gained. Heavier taxes 
 would have to be imposed upon the people of Cuba, and this, together 
 with the destruction caused by the movements of both the Spanish 
 and the Cuban armies, frightened the people in the large towns and 
 caused them almost to rise in rebellion, not merely against the insur 
 gents, but against the home government. 
 
 About the middle of January, 1896, there was, at Havana, a strong 
 feeling of distrust. On the Exchange the anti-Spanish sentiment was 
 shown in something like seditious utterances. Several colonels and 
 officers of volunteers who were present made speeches against Cap 
 tain-General Campos, and a general protest was expressed against his 
 military inactivity and over-humane policy 
 
 Proposition to Lynch the Captain- General. 
 
 One major of volunteers proposed that Canjpos be either forced to 
 resign or be lynched, and the speech was met by cheers from various 
 Spanish merchants. The majority of the representatives of Spanish 
 business houses present signed a petition to close the Exchange, and 
 many favored closing the stores as a protest against Campos perman 
 ence in the Island. 
 
 A delegation from the volunteer corps officers was. named to wait 
 on Campos and insist that Pando be called and given full military 
 command and that Campos either radically change his political policy 
 or else resign the governorship. The Spanish sentiment against him 
 was increasing hourly, and trouble was feared. Several foreign ves 
 sels in the port, by the direction of their consignees, suspended the 
 discharge of their cargoes, awaiting the outcome of the affair. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Marin was hurriedly called from Matynzas, and 
 had a consultation with the Captain-General. Campos depended 
 upon the regular forces and upon the fleet to support him in the event 
 of trouble, but there were few troops in Havana, most of the columns 
 being out after Gomez and Maceo, and, unfortunately, all the warships 
 were away cruising up and down the coast 
 
DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 75 
 
 A significant editorial appeared in the " Diario de Marino," the 
 organ of the Reformist party, saying that the country and business 
 circles could not longer stand the crisis, and openly intimating that if 
 Campos could neither crush the revolution nor effect immediate peace 
 the time had come for a new trial, as no time must be lost in the face 
 of the growing strength of the rebel movement. 
 
 The next news was that Director-General Martinez Campos had 
 decided to retire from the command of the Spanish forces in Cuba 
 and from the direction of the campaign against the insurgents. This 
 decision was arrived at after his conference with representatives of 
 the three political parties in Cuba, when he found that two out of the 
 three were unalterably opposed to him and his methods. General 
 Martinez Campos did not tell the committee immediately of his 
 decision, but it was understood that he was positive about it, and that 
 his successor would probably assume command of the Spanish army 
 as military governor of Cuba in a short time. 
 
 The General s Decision. 
 
 It was understood that at the conference General Campos asked 
 each of the leaders his opinion. The leader representing the Auton 
 omist party expressed complete satisfaction with the conduct of the 
 campaign, but the leaders of the Reformists and Conservatives ex 
 pressed contrary opinions. General Campos at the conclusion of the 
 conference, informed the committee of his decision to consult the 
 government at Madrid. 
 
 A more detailed account of the Spanish General s failure was 
 given under date of Jan. i6th, as follows : 
 
 " More grave, every hour, is the state of affairs here, if the feeling 
 of the people is a true barometer. Events now occurring are caus 
 ing a loud protest against Campos method in carrying on the war, 
 and since Gomez has escaped from what Spain believed was a trap in 
 which his downfall was inevitable he is spreading uninterrupted ruin 
 wherever he goes. Spaniards are both angry and discouraged. And 
 the Cubans in Havana are more cautious in their conversation not to 
 say too much to reveal their interest in the insurgent victories. 
 
76 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 
 
 " A demonstration was made in Havana yesterday, whuJi the 
 censorship has not yet permitted to be published in the local papers 
 or sent out on the cable. A newspaper, the Diario de la Marina, 
 the most conservative organ, notwithstanding the Spanish control of 
 all publications, published a strong editorial criticising as bitterly as 
 the most diplomatic phrases could express, the fruitless results of the 
 methods being used to suppress the rebels/ and, pointing to the 
 gravity of the situation, declared, reservedly, that public opinion had 
 reached such a stage that it could no longer refrain from giving ex 
 pression to the general conviction that heroic measures should be 
 adopted at once. 
 
 Bold Move by Spanish Merchants. 
 
 " This was followed later in the day by a meeting of the Produce 
 Exchanges, in which, though its session was supposed to be ex 
 ecutive, it is said a number of the merchants of the city participated. 
 Some lively scenes occurred, and the body reached the point of pass 
 ing resolutions condemning the methods of Campos, when they were 
 side-tracked by a proposition that the merchants, in a body, should 
 surrender their houses to the government and close their places of 
 business as a more effective expression of their dissatisfaction. Busi 
 ness is being ruined. Prices are at war figures. 
 
 " Money is scarce, and to make clearer what may have forced 
 others to join in the protests it may be mentioned that the bonds of 
 the railroads are practically abandoned by the companies owning 
 them, sold recently above par, and to-day, when offered by a man 
 forced to sell, found no bidder at 50. The meeting of the merchants, 
 however, adjourned without action after it was decided to make no 
 further manifestation of displeasure for the moment than to compli 
 ment the newspaper mentioned for the stand it had taken. 
 
 " Only two weeks ago, when Campos returned from his unsuccess 
 ful pursuit of the rebels, the same merchants joined a great de 
 monstration on the streets of the city, expressing the confidence of 
 all parties in the wise methods of the Government and the ultimate 
 successful crushing out of the revolution. That indicates the change 
 
DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 77 
 
 of public sentiment and the increasing gravity of affairs. The 
 majority, however bitter the criticism, seem to hesitate in demanding 
 the retirement of Campos from the leadership, but express their 
 desire that he shall change his methods and aggressively force an 
 issue with the insurgents. 
 
 " A significant thing about it is that they do not offer one sugges 
 tion. If Campos, exercising the authority he possesses, command 
 ing a besieged city, were to call these men before him and say, 
 What shall I do ? they would retire as much at sea as they de 
 clare him to be. Chasing cavalry with poor infantry, when the 
 troops are as well mounted as Gomez s forces, and as skillful in 
 separating into several divisions, which flee in as many directions, to 
 congregate later in a country they know so perfectly, is what Campos 
 has been doing for a long time. And he has not met with marked 
 success. 
 
 Indignant Protests. 
 
 " The protests are arising from the representative merchants of 
 Havana. There are some of the richest and most prominent men of 
 the Island in their number. All. three parties, rigid as are their lines 
 in other matters, are united on this point. They are old Conserva 
 tives who have long stood for almost anything, provided Spain was 
 uppermost ; the Reformists who demand more and want certain 
 liberties for Cuba, and the Autonomists, who claim that they would 
 retain Spanish sovereignty, but want Cuba to largely govern herself 
 with an autonomy in reality, which Spain has in the past promised, 
 but never fulfilled. These protests may move Campos to change his 
 n:ethods, even if he can devise any change that is promising, but it is 
 probable that if any concerted effort is made to close the business 
 places of Havana, he will deal summarily with the men who engage 
 in it. 
 
 " He has manifested a .disposition to do this already. When the 
 railroad companies decided to suspend operations, he called the 
 general manager before him. In a stormy interview which occurred, 
 Campos, it is declared, said, If you attempt to do so, I ll seize all 
 your property and use it for our own facilities. The reply is said to 
 
78 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 
 
 have been : We wish you would if it will end the war. But the 
 Government has not protected us ; many of our engines are wrecked, 
 our cars burned or destroyed in derailments, viaducts and tracks 
 torn up, we can go no further alone without being ruined. " 
 
 Thus it will be seen that there was widespread dissatisfaction with 
 General Campos. To add to the general discontent, news came of 
 another success gained by the insurgents. The details of the taking 
 of the seaport Cabanas, on the north coast, west of Havana, were 
 now coming in and being discussed in the city with more than usual 
 interest. Of course it indicated that nearly all that was heard at first 
 was more or less untrue. The burning of so many buildings in the 
 large town of Bejucal, almost in sight of Havana, was given less 
 importance now than the Cabanas incident, because Cabanas is a sea 
 port, and the contention from the beginning was that the rebels had 
 never taken a seaport, or at least one of any importance. 
 
 Wild Charge of Cavalry. 
 
 Gomez, it was now known, descended upon the town and 
 demanded its surrender. The garrison refused. The gunboat 
 " Alerta " was in the bay, and there were marines on shore for their 
 assistance. Gomez s lieutenant, a dashing young fellow of about 
 thirty, was fired on when he approached with the message, but he 
 retired jeering at the soldiers who fired so wildly that not one shot 
 took effect. Gomez s cavalry, it is said about 2,000 strong, 
 descended with a rush on the city, and, invading the streets, drove 
 the Spanish troops into the church. 
 
 The firing was resumed from the roof and tower of the church, but 
 Gomez s men succeeded in setting fire to the structure, and the regu 
 lars were forced to surrender. Meanwhile the gunboat also retired. 
 It stopped farther out in the bay, and, according to the Spanish 
 reports, " placed several perfectly directed shells into the city, doing 
 terrible execution." Gomez retired after he had sacked the town 
 and burned a part of it, having taken 11,000 rounds of ammunition 
 and a considerable quantity of arms. Despite the demonstration 
 made over the marksmanship displayed by their gunboat, the gov- 
 
DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 79 
 
 ernment reported that only two rebels had been killed. No mention 
 was made in the official reports about the loss on the Spanish side. 
 
 These details were not reassuring in Havana, because it was said 
 by one of the leading Spanish residents of the city : " Gomez began 
 by simply burning some cane fields in the far eastern end of the 
 Island. Then he began to destroy great estates. Then he moved 
 all over the Island. He began to burn little villages, and now he is 
 not only taking such places as Bejucal, with 8,000 inhabitants, but 
 has captured a seaport, occupied it as long as he wished and retired 
 with rich booty. It is bad and growing worse. Great things must be 
 
 done at once." 
 
 Another Important Capture. 
 
 In addition to this, word came into the city that another important 
 town of 3,000 population had been taken and burned. Although 
 Gomez was supposed to be still east of Havana, since his escape 
 through " the wall " of men across the narrow part of the island, the 
 town was San Jose de la Yeargas, west of Havana, in the province of 
 Pinar del Rio ; which Gomez invaded when his capture was planned. 
 The report was even admitted as a " rumor " by some of the Spanish, 
 whose admission that a rumor is circulating does not generally occur 
 until after the exaggerated reports which the Cubans have been 
 spreading have pretty generally been accepted as carrying more or 
 less fact. It was said that the town was partially destroyed after the 
 garrison had been driven out, and that the loss of life on both sides 
 was small. 
 
 The truth about Gomez s successful operations within sight, almost, 
 of Havana had not been permitted to go out by cable. He had been 
 so successful that amazement hardly expressed the feeling of the 
 Spanish. About ten days before this the statement reached the 
 world that Campos had Gomez trapped ; that the rebels had left the 
 mountains at last and entered the open country in the narrow western 
 province of Havana, on their way into the extreme western province 
 of Pinar del Rio ; that Campos had thrown " a wall of men " suddenly 
 across the Island west of Havana from near Guanajay to the south 
 coast and had hemmed in Gomez and his " band of raiders/ cutting 
 
80 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 
 
 them off from their eastern strongholds, so that it was only a question 
 of days before the whole outfit would be shot down or the residue 
 marched into Havana with a bayonet at every man s back. 
 
 It was not made clear why Campos was in Havana when Gomez 
 was crossing the open country back of the city. The Spanish said he 
 stayed in the city because it was necessary to the laying of the trap. 
 The Cubans pointed to the reason in the short campaign which 
 Campos made some days before. His generals had been receiving 
 his daily instructions to " go out and find the rebels ; hunt them up 
 and make them fight." They had been coming home empty-handed 
 so long that he became dissatisfied and went out, saying : " I ll show 
 you how." 
 
 He went eastward with a considerable column and met Gomez 
 himself at Mai Tiempo. There was not a pitched battle, but some 
 severe fighting occurred with the rear-guard, Gomez avoiding a decisive 
 issue by his peculiar tactics in battle. At any rate Campos moved his 
 headquarters next night toward Havana " fell back," the Cubans 
 called it. Campos called it an " advantageous change in the base of 
 operations." 
 
 Pell Back to Havana. 
 
 The rebels continued their skirmishing and there were encounters 
 where a couple of thousand men on each side were engaged, and the 
 next night Campos fell back again. The next day came no change. 
 It began to look as if Campos experienced less trouble than his 
 generals in finding rebels, and for the third time Campos moved his 
 quarters back nearer Havana. The next day he arrived in the city. 
 
 The Cubans said that Campos on his arrival was unstrung, that he 
 declared the situation graver than he had before believed it to be. 
 Some who were in the streets watching the return of the troops con 
 firmed this, or refused to discuss it. And the Spanish said that Campos 
 returned because he believed that Havana was to be attacked by the 
 insurgents, and the defense of only 20,000 troops made it necessary 
 for him to throw his column into the city at once. The Cubans called 
 this a retreat. 
 
 It was when Campos was in the city, whatever the real cause may 
 
DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 81 
 
 have been, that Gomez came within a dozen miles of Havana, burning 
 villages and plantatkms right and left, cutting the railroad lines as he 
 had been doing further out, and driving out after disarming the gar 
 risons he found defending them. When Gomez got into the west he 
 found the whole country ready to receive him. He was soon joined 
 by mor* of his troops, and while all accounts vary it is fairly probable 
 that h^ had 4,000 cavalry with him when Campos threw the " wall of 
 men " across the island, and the censor permitted it to be announced 
 to the world that the trap had been sprung. 
 
 The Garrison Surrenders. 
 
 The trap was still set, but Gomez passed "the wall," captured 
 Bejucal, a town of 8,000 people only twelve miles south of the city, 
 and was again east of Havana. Various reports were coming in 
 about the taking of the city, most of them agreeing only that Campos 
 left a strong garrison there, that it surrendered with slight resistance, 
 and that the railroad station in the centre of the city, with thirty-five 
 buildings, was burned. There was not the slightest doubt in Havana 
 after the capture of Bejucal and the new move of Gomez occurred, 
 that information of the movements of Gomez s generals indicated the 
 gathering of ten or twelve thousand insurgent cavalry within the 
 provinces of Matanzas and Havana. 
 
 The Spanish, in the information which they permitted Havana to 
 receive, but cut off from the rest of the world, made no concealment 
 of their alarm, although they would not of course permit any ex 
 pression of just what they feared would occur. Yet they declared 
 that they wished for nothing so much as a chance for a decisive battle. 
 
 Meanwhile, divisions of the Cuban army were apparently hurrying 
 eastward to join Gomez. That they were doing so for some other 
 purpose than to rescue Gomez was apparent from the nature of their 
 progress. Gomez had no difficulty in carrying to a successful issue 
 his western campaign and went back through " the wall " out of the 
 trap without even one battle. Now, the troops he left behind had been 
 ordered to join Maceo, and the first of them reached Matanzas under 
 General Cespedes. They were less than one hundred and fifty miles 
 6 
 
82 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 
 
 from Havana. Generals Jose Maceo and Rabi, with other divisions 
 between Puerto Principe and Santa Clara, moved all in the same 
 direction toward Gomez, but their progress was not made as if they 
 had in mind at any time a fear for Gomez s safety while west of 
 Havana. The Cubans said 25,000 mounted men were in these 
 divisions. They may have had 10,000, but the insurgents were 
 almost without exception finely mounted. 
 
 Furthermore, they controlled all the railroads in Cuba. They cut 
 up the lines, burned bridges, destroyed rolling-stock, and ruined the 
 business of the roads. Within a few hours they notified the engi 
 neers and conductors of the trains still moving on a few sections that 
 they would be shot if they carried Spanish troops again. 
 
 No Protection from the Government. 
 
 The Spanish troops might man their own trains ; but the first 
 event to follow the new order was the announcement that the rail 
 road companies would no longer attempt to repair their tracks or 
 viaducts. They lost all their traffic and spent thousands upon 
 thousands of dollars in repairing breaks, but the Spanish Govern 
 ment neither protected them nor gave them even a Spanish promise 
 to pay the loss. Of course, considering the claim that the Cubans 
 were rioters and raiders, and that actual war did not exist, the com 
 pany expected the protection of the State from rioters. 
 
 From this time on the railroads were solely in the hands of the 
 Spanish Government, theoretically ; of the insurgents, practically. 
 This action of the companies, which are largely owned by foreign 
 investors, is received in Havana as significant of more than the mere 
 deserting of a losing enterprise. 
 
 With affairs at this point the question at once arose whether the 
 event for which all the world was waiting, the capture of Havana, 
 was possible for Gomez, and whether Gomez would make the attempt 
 
 Gomez, in all probability, could have taken Havana. It is just as 
 certain that Gomez knew the chances of his success in an attack. 
 The question to be settled was whether he wished to do so. 
 
 He had done about everything he had said he would do since the 
 
DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 83 
 
 first wave of the revolution gathered itself at the eastern end of the 
 Island in February, 1895, for the sweep it had just finished in the 
 western extremity. Yet he did not hold one large city. One hun 
 dred and thirteen thousand Spanish soldiers from abroad and 80,000 
 volunteers from the Island (according to the Spanish official figures) 
 were holding the cities and towns of greater importance in every 
 province. Gomez had not made serious efforts to capture any of the 
 strongly garrisoned places. He filled the very streets and houses of the 
 cities, however, with smoke from the blazing plantations outside, and 
 passed and repassed with his troops in sight of the Spanish colors, 
 but the Spanish defended the cities successfully, they said. 
 
 A Most Successful Advance. 
 
 Gomez has never attacked them. He may have exhibited great 
 wisdom in not doing so. The Spanish say he did. Gomez always 
 disappointed Campos. His progress from Cape Maysi to Cape San 
 Antonio had been so successful, so skillful in tactics, so resourceful in 
 avenues of retreat when they were temporarily necessary, and his 
 objects were so uniformly attained, that it- will be one of the greatest 
 chapters in a new nation s history of its birth. The ease and apparent 
 lack of seriousness with which he walked into Campos trap and then 
 walked out again is but one of a score of instances showing how his 
 generalship proved to be more suitable to the exigencies of Cuban 
 warfare than that of his enemies. 
 
 Therefore no reason exists for accepting the supposition of the 
 Spanish that Havana was secure from attack so long as all the other 
 cities on the Island were safe in Spanish possession. And a part of 
 the alarm which was felt in Havana following the unexpected massing 
 of Gomez s armies was due to the suspicion that he would possibly 
 again execute exactly the opposite move from what the Spanish 
 generals anticipated. 
 
 The foregoing facts and circumstances will give the reader a clear 
 idea of the reasons which led to the recall of General Campos. He 
 was unable to suppress the revolution, which had taken a firm hold 
 on a large part of the Island. The more insurgents he condemned 
 
&4 DOWNFALL OF GENERAL CAMPOS. 
 
 and executed, the more came forward to fill their places and risk 
 everything in the cause of freedom. In many instances when he suc 
 ceeded in getting into close quarters with his foes, they eluded him 
 and slipped from his grasp. 
 
 The home government grew impatient and began openly to proclaim 
 his incompetency. Realizing this and feeling that he was unequal to the 
 task assigned him, General Campos signified his willingness to retire 
 from the field. The government at Madrid believed that his measures 
 were not sufficiently severe and thorough. It was much easier three 
 thousand miles away to imagine how a war should be carried on than 
 it was to win the battles on the ground. With a public demonstra 
 tion and a show of regret General Campos left the Island. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 General Weyler in Cuba. 
 
 was a good deal of consternation in Cuban circles when 
 it was announced that General Weyler was to be made Captain- 
 General, and would soon appear to take charge of the Spanish 
 army, and would suppress the revolution with a strong hand. He 
 had been in Cuba before. He was there during the ten years war, 
 beginning in 1868. He gained the reputation of being an active, 
 spirited commander. He also gained the reputation of being a 
 butcher. His bloody acts followed him. It was believed that his 
 reputation for wholesale butchery was the sole reason for his being 
 sent to Cuba at this time. 
 
 But where were all the loud boasts of General Campos and 
 Spanish officials that the fires of the revolution would soon be 
 quenched and it would require but a few months to restore the Island 
 to peace and tranquillity ? It was plain that the insurrection was 
 working mightily in the blood of the people. The sense of v/rong, 
 the memory of cruel deeds, a long and wearying oppression, the im 
 poverished condition of the Island had stirred the spirit of Cuban 
 patriots. So, at the end of a year s conflict, Cuba was still in arms, 
 fighting for independence. 
 
 The steamer "Alfonso XIII." arrived at Havana, Feb. 10, 1896, 
 having on board General Valeriano Weyler, the new Captain-General 
 of Cuba ; and Generals Enrique, Barges, Federico, Ochando, Miguel 
 Melguiso, Marquis Ahumada, Luis Castellvi, Sanchez Bernal and 
 Juan Arolas, the latter being the well-known hero of Jolo, Philippine 
 Islands. 
 
 The entire city was brilliantly decorated in honor of the occision, 
 and the bay was a splendid sight, ail the warships and merchant craft 
 present being decorated with bunting. The wharfs were crowded 
 
GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 87 
 
 with people at an early hour, and all the steamers and tugs were 
 loaded with sight-seers. The Chamber of Commerce, the Bourse, all 
 the big commercial houses and Government Departments, the Canar- 
 ian Association, General Weyler s countrymen and others, crowded 
 upon the chartered steamers or about the landing-place. 
 
 The troops and volunteers were turned out to a man, together with 
 the fire department and police, and for a long time .no such brilliant 
 display had been witnessed in Havana. Among the high military 
 officers present were Generals Suarez Valdez, Pando, Marin and 
 Nevarro, Admiral Yanas and staff, Colonel Castanedo, Major Moriano 
 and many others. 
 
 Enthusiastic Welcome. 
 
 General Weyler was welcomed by the City Council on board the 
 " Alfonso XIII." He was presented with an address of welcome 
 and assurance of loyalty. At 1 1 o clock the Captain-General came 
 ashore, and was received by General Marin and staff. The streets 
 were packed with people, who displayed the greatest enthusiasm. In 
 fact, rarely has a distinguished person been received so warmly as 
 was General Weyler when he landed. There is no doubt that con 
 siderable real enthusiasm was manifested, in addition to the greet 
 ings which would naturally be bestowed upon the representative of 
 Spain. 
 
 The balconies in all the streets about the water-front and in the 
 vicinity of the Palace were full of ladies in holiday attire, and they 
 showered flowers upon the new commander as he passed. Besides, 
 numerous floral offerings of the most beautiful description, prin 
 cipally in the shape of crowns, were presented to the General, who 
 expressed his thanks in each case in a few brief words. He seemed 
 to be much pleased with his reception, and upon arriving at the 
 Palace formally took over the duties of the captain-generalship, tak 
 ing the oath of fealty over a crucifix and upon a Bible. General 
 Marin administered the oath of office, and soon afterward he received 
 the local military and civil authorities, the different corporations and 
 the bishops and priests. 
 
 The German warships which were in the harbor saluted tf 
 
88 GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 
 
 arrival of General Weyler, as did all the Spanish warships in port 
 and the forts ashore. The Loyalists, of course, were out in the 
 strongest force possible ; but it may be said that the entire popula 
 tion of Havana turned out, and hardly a representative of the ship 
 ping or business interests of the city failed to make the day a 
 holiday. After the reception of the local military and civil authori 
 ties, corporations and clergy was completed, General Weyler ap 
 peared upon the balcony of the Palace and reviewed the troops. His 
 appearance before the public was the signal for a long outburst of 
 the most enthusiastic cheering, the firing of cannon and the sound of 
 martial music, all the bands in the city being stationed at different 
 points. In addition to the inhabitants of the city proper thousands 
 of people flocked into the city from all directions before daybreak. 
 
 Restrictions upon the Press. 
 
 Accompanying General Weyler were Captains Gelaber and Lin 
 ares, who are known as " military editors." They were to have 
 charge of the press censorship, and it was rumored that there would 
 be considerably more difficulty experienced in this connection by the 
 correspondents in the future. The press regulations had been con 
 siderably relaxed, and not much difficulty had been experienced in 
 getting average matter upon the cable. But, it was thought the new 
 Captain-General would be very severe with correspondents who sent 
 false accounts of Cuban successes or in any way brought about the pub 
 lication of false news. By this it was not meant that General Weyler 
 intended to interfere with the proper liberty which the press can be 
 allowed in war-time. It really meant only that he would do every 
 thing possible to prevent the sending out of news undoubtedly false. 
 
 A disinterested observer of the situation wrote as follows under 
 dite of Feb. 10, 1896: 
 
 " So far as the general situation is concerned, there is not much 
 change. Indeed, no change of importance is expected for some 
 days. General Weyler will first devote himself to a complete review 
 of the operations already undertaken, and he will then figure out the 
 situation as it actually exists. For this purpose, almost immediately 
 
GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 89 
 
 after taking the oath of fealty, he caused orders to be sent to all the 
 commanders in the field to draw up promptly and forward to head 
 quarters here complete returns of the condition of their commands, 
 together with the state of railroads, telegraphs and public thorough 
 fares and the probable location and strength of the enemy in their 
 neighborhoods. 
 
 Weyler Seeks to Learn the Situation. 
 
 " This action upon the part of General Weyler is supplementary to 
 the regular report and returns which were handed over to him by 
 General Mann after the new Captain-General had been sworn in. 
 While it is no reflection upon General Marin or the other Spanish 
 commanders here or in other parts of Cuba, the Captain-General 
 took this step in order thoroughly to go over the ground himself, 
 and possibly in view of the sensational reports which have been cir 
 culated by agents of the insurgents and others to the effect that large 
 quantities of stores, arms and ammunition are missing from the dif 
 ferent depots and have found their way into the hands of the insur 
 gents. Between this and the tales of wholesale dishonesty circulated 
 here and elsewhere there is quite a difference, and nobody here 
 believes that there has been any treachery of importance. 
 
 " General Marin, who has been appointed Captain- General of Porto 
 Rico, is expected to leave for his new post to-morrow. The exact 
 plan of campaign of General Weyler is not known, but it is believed 
 that it will be a very different one from that of Campos. He is likely 
 to call in all of the small detachments of troops, which have from 
 the first had such a weakening effect upon the Spanish operations, 
 and will try to drive the insurgents into a position from which they 
 cannot escape without a pitched battle. General Weyler will also do 
 everything possible to muster as strong a force of cavalry as he can. 
 Considerable reinforcements of this branch of the service have already 
 arrived here, and more are expected during the week. 
 
 e< Some reports credit the insurgents with desiring to concentrate 
 all their scattered detachments and columns into one body, and so 
 bring the insurrection to a direct issue. But Spaniards here who are 
 
00 GENERAL VVEYLER IN CUBA. 
 
 well posted on the situation say that there is no truth in the report 
 that the insurgents will make any effort to risk a pitched battle." 
 
 Captain-General Weyler clearly defined the policy he intended to 
 pursue in the conduct of the campaign for the suppression of the 
 insurrection. Before he had been at Havana many hours he issued 
 the following proclamation : 
 
 "To the People of Cuba: Honored by Her Majesty, the Queen, 
 and her Government, with the command of this Island, under the 
 difficult circumstances now prevailing, I take charge of it with the 
 determination that it shall never be given up by me, and that I shall 
 keep it in the possession of Spain, willing as she is to carry out 
 whatever sacrifice shall be required to succeed, as she has been in 
 the past. 
 
 " I rely upon the gallantry and discipline of the army and navy, 
 upon the patriotism, never to be subdued, of the volunteer corps, 
 and more especially upon the support that I should be given by the 
 loyal inhabitants, born here or in Spain. 
 
 " It is not necessary to say that I shall be generous with the sub 
 dued and to all of those doing any service to the Spanish cause. But 
 
 1 will not lack in the decision and energy of my character to punish 
 with all the rigor that the law enacts those who in any way shall help 
 the enemy, or shall calumniate the prestige of our name. 
 
 " Putting aside at present any idea of politics, my mission is the 
 honorable one of finishing the war, and I only see in you the loyal 
 Spaniards who are to assist me to defeat the insurgents. But her 
 Majesty s Government is aware of what you are and of what you are 
 worthy, and the status of peace that these provinces may obtain. It 
 will grant you, when it is deemed suitable to do so, the reforms the 
 Government may think most proper, with the love of a mother to her 
 children. 
 
 " Inhabitants of Cuba, lend me your co-operation and in that way 
 you will defend your interests, which are those of the country. 
 " Long live Spanish Cuba ! 
 
 i( Your General and Governor, 
 
 " VALERIANO WEYLER, 
 
 Marquis of Teneriffe," 
 
GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 91 
 
 To the Volunteers and Firemen. 
 
 General Weyler also offered the following address : 
 
 " Volunteers and Firemen : Being again at your head, I see in you 
 the successors of the volunteers and firemen who fought with me in 
 the previous war, and, with their bravery, energy and patriotism, 
 brought about peace, defended the towns and cities and contributed 
 most powerfully to save Cuba for Spain. Remember these virtues 
 brighten your spirits, and, relying on my whole attention, my decisive 
 support and my utmost confidence, lend me the same help and co 
 operation, and with the same ambition, save the prestige of your name 
 and the honor of our flag, which, forever victorious, should fly over 
 this Island. 
 
 " Soldiers of the army, I greet you in the name of Her Majesty, 
 the Queen, and of the Government. Having the honor of being at 
 your head, I trust that at my command you will continue to show 
 the bravery in face of hardships proper for the Spanish soldier, and 
 that you will confer new wreaths to add to those already attained 
 under the command of my predecessors, Generals Martinez Campos 
 and Sabas Marin. 
 
 " On my part, answering to the great sacrifice made by the nation 
 and using the efforts of all arms and bodies in the work entrusted to 
 each of the organic units, I will not omit anything to place you in the 
 condition for obtaining the victory and the return of peace to this 
 Island, which is what she longs for. 
 
 "Sailors, I have again the satisfaction to be at your side, and I 
 again trust that, as in Mindanao recently, you will lend me your 
 powerful co-operation to bring peace to this Island. Thus I expect 
 surely that you will afford me a new chance to express my thanks 
 and my enthusiasm to the Spanish navy." 
 
 To the Military Officers. 
 
 The following circular of General Weyler was addressed to the 
 military officers : 
 
 " I have addressed my previous proclamations at the moment of 
 
92 GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 
 
 my landing to the loyal inhabitants, to the volunteers and: nremen, 
 and to the army and navy. 
 
 " I may give you a slight idea of the intentions I have and the 
 measures I shall follow as Governor-General-in-Chief, in accordance 
 with the general desire of Spain and with the decided aim of Her 
 Majesty s Government to furnish all the means required to control and 
 crush this rebellion. 
 
 " Knowing this, and knowing my character, I may perhaps need to 
 say no more to make you understand what is the conduct that I am 
 to follow. But with the idea of avoiding all kinds of doubt, even 
 keeping (as you are to keep) the circulars to be published, I deem it 
 necessary to make some remarks. 
 
 Determined to Aid the Local Governments. 
 
 " It is not unknown by you that the state in which the rebellion 
 has come and the raid made by the principal leaders recently, which 
 could not be stopped even by the active pursuit of the columns, is 
 due to the indifference, the fear or the disheartenment of the inhabi 
 tants. Since it cannot be doubted that some, seeing the burning of 
 their property without opposition, and that others, who have been 
 born in Spain, should sympathize with the insurgents, it is necessary 
 at all hazards to better this state of things and to brighten the spirit 
 of the inhabitants, making them aware that I am determined to lend 
 all my assistance to the local inhabitants. Sol am determined to 
 have the law fall with all its weight upon all those in any way helping 
 the enemy, or praising them, or in any way detracting from the 
 prestige of Spain, of its army, or of its volunteers. It is necessary 
 for those by our side to show their intentions with deeds, and thei 
 behavior should prove that they are Spanish. 
 
 " Since the defence of the country demands the sacrifice of her 
 children, it is necessary that the towns should look to their defence, 
 and that no precautions in the way of scouts should be lacking to 
 give news concerning the enemy, and whether it is in their neighbor 
 hood, and so that it may not happen that the enemy ->honld be better 
 informed than we. 
 
GENERAL V/EYLER IN CUBA. 93 
 
 " The energy and vigor of the enemy will be strained to trace the 
 course of our line, and in all cases you will arrest and place at my 
 disposal to deliver to the courts those who in any way shall show 
 their sympathy or support for the rebels. 
 
 " The public spirit being heatened, you must not forget to enlist the 
 volunteers and guerrillas in your district, this not preventing at the 
 same time the organization, as opportunity offers, of a guerrilla band 
 of twenty-five citizens for each battalion of the army. 
 
 " I propose that you shall make the dispositions you think most 
 proper for the carrying out of the plan I wish, but this shall not 
 authorize you to determine anything not foreseen in the instructions, 
 unless the urgency of some circumstances should demand it. 
 
 " I expect that, confining yourself to these instructions, you will 
 lend me your worthy support towards the carrying out of my plan 
 for the good of the Spanish cause. WEYLER." 
 
 The People Alarmed. 
 
 It was considered that General Weyler s Proclamation was poorly 
 adapted to quiet the storm of revolution. When it was announced 
 that he was coming, an alarm amounting almost to terror spread 
 among the Cubans in the provinces, and every day that brought his 
 landing nearer increased the panic. In two days fifteen hundred peo 
 ple fled to Matanzas from the country south. Others came into 
 Havana from all directions. 
 
 In Sabanilla, after the Spanish garrison had killed the men to whom 
 amnesty had been granted, in revenge for their losses and defeat by 
 the insurgents, a reign of terror began in the city. Women dared 
 not leave their homes. In many cases they were dragged out by the 
 Spanish and by the drunken rabble of the town, who had license 
 given to them at the same time that protection was withdrawn from 
 the homes. The whole matter was laid before the Captain-General, 
 but he took no measure of relief. 
 
 A committee of citizens came to Havana from Jovellanos, another 
 place where the same sort of murdering had been going on. It was 
 composed of both Spanish and Cubans. They had no sooner returned 
 
04 GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 
 
 unsuccessful in their mission to General Marin than the inhabitants 
 began to leave, and more than half the population deserted the city. 
 
 The alarm spread to other places, and not without cause. Arrests 
 ot * suspects " were made in every town where there was a Spanish 
 garrison. In Havana " suspects " were taken every day, Of a sus 
 pect s fate only one thing could be learned from the officials " He 
 was incommunicado." That meant that he was buried from the 
 world. No one but the Spanish officers were then permitted to see 
 him, and unless his arrest was observed by some one who knew him, 
 not one word ever reached a friend or family to explain the cause of 
 his disappearance. 
 
 The military executions are not public unless the victim is a 
 " rebel chief" or a cause exists for a display. To be a "suspect " it 
 is only necessary to be a " sympathizer," and " sympathy " is not 
 defined. In a published statement made by Weyler just before he 
 embarked for Cuba he is quoted as saying : " I will be inexorable 
 toward spies and sympathizers," and he also omitted to draw the line. 
 In Cuba it does not mean to extend aid or comfort. 
 
 Large Number of Arrests. 
 
 In five days there were forty-seven arrests in Pinar del Rio " on 
 suspicion." From Jovellanos in Matanzas Province six hundred peo 
 ple fled because thirty-six " suspects " were arrested in two days. 
 Some of these refugees reached Havana, and their story was that six 
 of the prisoners were marched out of the city at night, that firing was 
 heard, and that the guard returned without them. The friends of the 
 victims were too much terrified to manifest their sympathy or attempt 
 to recover the bodies, for fear of being themselves apprehended as 
 suspects. 
 
 From Santiago people came to Havana with the same reports. At 
 Hoyo Colorado, between Havana and Guanajay, the Spanish garrison 
 took seventy-nine suspects within a few days. This town was peace 
 ably held by the Cuban army for several days, and while the insur 
 gents were there they hung some of the dissolute characters in the 
 place, who had used their presence as an excuse for crime. After 
 
GENERAL WEYLER IN CUBA. 95 
 
 their retirement the Spanish moved in, and the wholesale arrests 
 began. 
 
 Before General Weyler set out from Spain a cablegram from 
 Madrid was published in the Havana newspapers quoting him as 
 saying: " I desire the insurgents to remain in Havana and Pinar del 
 Rio, because there the ground is suitable for wiping them out. I 
 believe that suspects are quite right in fleeing from Havana, and when 
 I arrive many more will go." It is significant that the newspapers of 
 Havana in which the military censor caused this to be printed dis 
 played the statement in black full-face type. 
 
 It is noteworthy that when Weyler was named as a possible suc 
 cessor to Captain-General Arias in 1894, Campos, who was not a can 
 didate for the office the choice lying between Weyler and Calleja 
 said : " If Weyler is nominated even the dead would rise from their 
 graves to protest." Calleja was appointed because affairs in Cuba were 
 already becoming unsettled, and the Spanish Ministry feared that 
 Weyler s name alone would be dangerous to all interests. When - 
 ever such methods were urged upon Campos, while he was in Cub?., 
 he steadfastly resisted, and declared that humanity had a call uppn 
 any nation s acts in warfare. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 Horrible Story of Barbarity. 
 
 JUST previous to General Weyler s arrival some startling fact^ 
 came out concerning the battle at Paso Real, between General 
 Luque and General Maceo s division under Bermudez, Zayas 
 ana Chileno. From an official Spanish source and also from citizens 
 of Paso Real, who were eye-witnesses of the battle, it was learned 
 that the hospital was invaded, the wounded rebels killed, some of 
 them in their beds, and that when the thirty-seven Spanish prisoners, 
 taken in the battle outside the town, were about to be taken away, 
 Bermudez, in retaliation for the butchery of his sick, ordered a line to 
 be formed, and the thirty-seven were pinioned and shot. 
 
 The Cubans told a horrifying tale of the fight, and declared that 
 the hospital was the real scene of which Luque wrote in his report : 
 " I had the satisfaction of seeing at the end of the day sixty-two 
 rebels dead." 
 
 Paso Real had been used for seventeen days as the insurgent 
 hospital. Maceo had left all his wounded there when he moved into 
 Havana province to operate with Gomez. The surrounding country 
 was free, practically, from Spanish forces, except Luque s command 
 in Pinar del Rio City. Maceo counted upon reaching the people 
 with protection if they were threatened, and when word came to him 
 that Luque had left for Paso Real, he sent Bermudez with 1,000 
 cavalry to hold the town. Luque, as he said in his report, marched 
 twenty-seven hours, almost continuously, and when he reached Paso 
 Real, he found only a small garrison there. His report says : 
 
 " The rebels made a strong defense, firing from the tops of houses 
 
 and along the fences around the city. The Spanish vanguard, under 
 
 Colonel Hernandez, attacked the vanguard, centre and rear-guard of 
 
 the rebels in the central streets of the town, driving them with con- 
 
 96 
 
98 HORRIBLE STORY OF BARBARITY. 
 
 tinuous volleys and fierce cavalry charges into the outskirts of the 
 town." And all this is true. 
 
 Then General Luque says specifically that " up to this point we 
 had killed ten insurgents." And there the citizens of Paso Real say 
 that the report is also true, but that, having driven the insurgents out, 
 the hospital was attacked, and twenty-eight men, or thirty-two (the 
 accounts vary between these two figures), were killed. They declare 
 that shots were fired through the windows upon men lying in cots, 
 and that, when the doors were broken down, the rest were killed 
 with the bayonet. 
 
 A Spirited Fight. 
 
 General Luque s report continues : " As Colonel Hernandez was 
 pursuing them (the insurgents) out of the city, he encountered 1,000 
 cavalry drawn up in line of battle ready to attack him." This was 
 Bermudez and his cavalry, who had come up at that moment. A. 
 Spanish officer who was in this fight said : " It was as hot as any 
 fight we have ever had in this war. It seemed twice as if they were 
 piling all over us. We just kept on firing, and I could see men 
 going down on both sides. Sometimes we couldn t see anything for 
 the smoke, but when it cleared the men only dropped so much 
 faster that we wanted it back again. I came away at once when the 
 fight was over, and I don t know what the losses were, but they must 
 have been very large on both sides." 
 
 Of this the report says : " The Spanish forces advanced from one 
 position to another, firing volleys. They were met by the enemy, 
 whose cavalry charged, coming as far as the bayonet points of the 
 Spanish soldiers. The first time we repelled them in straight lines, 
 the second time in circular groups." From anything but a Spanish 
 standpoint this peculiar progression of tactics would indicate that the 
 Spanish straight lines were very seriously broken, and that the " cir 
 cular groups " which followed were either accident or necessity, 
 but General Luque says that it really meant that " the rebels were 
 thus utterly dispersed and retreated in the direction of Palacios." 
 
 This part of the day s conflict was where the thirty-seven 
 
HORRIBLE STORY OF BARBARITY. 99 
 
 Spanish were made prisoners. It was after the fight that Bermudez 
 learned what had occurred in the town, and then he shot them and 
 left their bodies on the ground, where they were buried that night by 
 the Spanish, all in one grave. General Luque reported this fight as 
 a great victory. There are Spanish school histories which say 
 Nelson s fleet was defeated at Trafalgar. The Spanish newspapers 
 at Havana were still referring to " the most glorious victory at Los 
 Arrovos," where in the early fall one of their strong forces was 
 utterly defeated, and the official Spanish report of Campos defeat 
 and retreat from Mai Tiempo still reads, " Our side had but seventeen 
 killed." 
 
 A Disastrous Campaign. 
 
 Under date of February 8th, we have an account of the operations 
 of the Spanish General ,Sabas Marin, who left Havana a short time 
 before. His campaign in search of General Gomez was disastrous, 
 and the official reports of Spanish victories were misleading. There 
 were losses on both sides, but Marin accomplished absolutely nothing 
 of what he intended to achieve. 
 
 The first misfortune which overtook the Spaniards was the rout of 
 Carnellas, on the very day on which Marin ieft Havana. Canellas 
 left Guanajay in the morning with 1,500 infantry. His rout was 
 known to Gomez, who sent Pedro Diaz with 400 infantry and 1,000 
 cavalry to engage him at the Saladrigas plantation, while the mair 
 army moved safely eastward, a few miles to the south. It was 
 Gomez s intention to come up in the rear of Marin between the 
 Captain-General s forces and the Spanish line. 
 
 Diaz reached Saladrigas early in the morning. Near the road the 
 land is cut into small sections by stone fences, and a high fence 
 fronted by a ditch faces the road. Just beyond this point is a sharp 
 hill, around which the road turns. Behind the hill Diaz waited in 
 concealment with, the i,opo cavalry for the sound of firing from the 
 400 infantry who were hidden behind the fence where Canellas was 
 to pass. Nearly three hours they were lying there, when the head of 
 the Spanish column appeared. The advance guard was allowed to 
 pass, and the main body was completely in the trap when volleys 
 
100 
 
 HORRIBLE STORY OF BARBARITY. 
 
 were poured into them, fairly mowing them down. Canellas made 
 a brave stand and attempted to dislodge the rebels, but his men 
 were panic-stricken, and some of them had fled before he had his 
 force under control. 
 
 As the first charge was being made Diaz came down upon his 
 
 THE OLD FORT HAVANA. 
 
 flank and rear with the thousand cavalry. The onslaught was irre 
 sistible. Half of Diaz s men never fired a shot, but howling 
 "Machete!" they rode furiously upon the Spanish lines, cutting 
 their way through with the ugly weapon of which they are such 
 masters. 
 
 Diaz had not placed enough men behind the wall to hold it, and 
 the Spanish succeeded in gaining it after a hot struggle. They were 
 but little better off, however, as the insurgents took cover behind 
 another fence on the opposite side of the field. Again they were 
 dislodged and forced back, while from the first position about half of 
 Canellas force withstood the cavalry. Diaz, sheltered in under 
 brush and woods, kept up a scattered firing for over two hours, and 
 then withdrew. 
 
 That night Canellas remained on the battle-ground. As soon as 
 
HORRIBLE STORY OF BARBARITY. 101 
 
 Diaz was gone, picket lines were thrown out and the burying of the 
 dead began. It was midnight when Canellas resumed his march 
 toward San Antonio, and when he brought in what was left of his 
 command Marin hastened back with all his force, to the main line 
 and went down to Quivican. 
 
 No official report of this battle was issued by the Spanish. So far 
 as the record shows it never occurred. A Spanish general admitted 
 that Carnellas lost 200 men. An eye-witness of the fight, who 
 reached Havana that night, said the loss was greater. Gomez s march 
 was thus saved from interruption by Marin. The next day, while 
 Marin was at Quivican, Gomez s forces were near Guira, in the 
 Havana province. Gomez himself was that day at the Mirosa plan 
 tation, east of the Spanish line, with about 400 men. He had come 
 down from the Bahia Honda district, through the same country 
 Maceo was traversing. 
 
 Capture of a Railroad Train. 
 
 Next day, while Marin was moving trains loaded with men out 
 over the branch road toward Guira for another move upon Gomez, 
 occurred the second and by far the most serious of the Spanish disas 
 ters. It was nothing less. Diaz, until now unheard of as a rebel 
 leader, came in behind Marin and captured a railroad train of twenty- 
 nine cars directly on the trocha, two miles south of San Felipe. He 
 took 1,000 Mauser rifles, 200,000 cartridges, two rapid-fire cannon 
 and killed or captured the whole Spanish escort with the train. 
 Then Marin returned again in all haste to Quivican. 
 
 This event has been embodied in an official report, but the report 
 agrees neither with what the Spanish permitted to be printed in the 
 Havana papers nor with the facts which were collected down the 
 line. The rebels tore up the rails for a space of 300 yards. They 
 were unmolested, as the Spanish had no idea that they would venture 
 " into the face of death," as they say when referring to the trocha. 
 Furthermore, Marin was out toward Guira, again engaged in sur 
 rounding Gomez. 
 
 Diaz, with 400 men, waited for the train in comparative security 
 
102 HORRIBLE STORY OF BARBARITY. 
 
 until 5 o clock in the afternoon. It was guarded by only forty-two 
 Spanish soldiers, and they were part in an armored car and part scat 
 tered along the top of the train. The engine ran on to the broken 
 track and rolled over into the ditch. As soon as it struck, the rebels 
 fired on the train, killing Major Lopez Tovezulla, who was in com 
 mand, a lieutenant, a sergeant and fourteen of the soldiers. Then 
 the rest surrendered their arms and the insurgents demanded the 
 number of the car in which the rapid-fire cannon were stored. The 
 soldiers declared they were left behind, and then the looting of the 
 train began. 
 
 When all that the 400 men could carry had been loaded on their 
 horses, and some mules taken from the train had been hitched to the 
 cannon, Gen. Linares, who had heard the firing at San Felipe, came 
 up with 2,000 infantry. The insurgents retired in the direction of 
 Guira without waiting to engage with his force. Linares men 
 managed to save eight of the cars with part of their freight. The 
 other twenty-two were burned, having been fired by the rebels. The 
 train had one of the richest freights which had gone down the road 
 in a long time. It was to be put on a steamer and sent to several 
 ports on the south coast. 
 
 The insurgents not only knew the exact time of its passing, but of 
 its contents, and the " Diario de la Marina," the Spanish newspaper in 
 Havana, gravely requested in its leading editorial that Gen. Marin 
 investigate to discover how the insurgents became informed and take 
 precautions to prevent the repetition of such an unseemly occur 
 rence. 
 
 The Spanish official report said that the Spanish guard did not 
 surrender, and that they retained their arms. The only arms Gen. 
 Linares brought back to San Felipe which he did not take out were 
 some old shot-guns, muskets and muzzle-loading rifles. The Cubans 
 declare that these were thrown away by the rebels when they 
 secured the Mausers, and they are strong evidence that this Cuban 
 version is the true one. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 Men and Arms for Cuba. 
 
 FROM the beginning of the Cuban uprising constant attempts 
 have been made to supply the insurgents with arms and 
 ammunition from our own country. Secret agents were at 
 work in many places, and Spanish spies were equally active. It was 
 well understood that several expeditions had succeeded in effecting a 
 landing in Cuba, and the supplies thus furnished had been of material 
 help to General Gomez and his troops. 
 
 Our government officials, while sympathizing with the cause of 
 Cuba, were nevertheless active in preventing the shipment of arms. 
 But a sea-coast as long as ours, with a great number of ports, has 
 afforded ample opportunity for expeditions to be fitted out secretly, 
 and it seems impossible for Spanish gunboats to prevent entirely the 
 Cuban army from obtaining supplies from outside sources. 
 
 The following account of the seizure of a vessel will be of interest 
 to the reader : The iron steamer " Bermuda," flying the British flag, 
 was boarded and seized by New York revenue officers off Liberty 
 Island late on the night of Feb. 24. The " Bermuda " had been under 
 the watch of Spanish spies for some time. They had reason to believe 
 that she had been bought by Cuban revolutionists and was fitting out 
 as a filibuster. She had been anchored off Liberty Island for several 
 days, and there was evidence that she was preparing for sea. 
 
 At 1 1 P. M., just after a large party of Cubans had gone aboard, the 
 revenue cutter " Hudson " steamed alongside, and a boarding party 
 arrested all on the " Bermuda." At midnight the revenue cutter 
 " Chandler " started down the bay to catch a lighter loaded with 
 ammunition and look for another party of Cubans who had started to 
 board the " Bermuda." 
 
 The tf Bermuda " was an English-built steamer formerly running in 
 
 103 
 
104 MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 
 
 the Outerbridge Line. She was purchased by a firm suspected of 
 being in league with the revolutionary party. She was recently 
 taken to the coal docks at Port Liberty, and there coaled up. Then 
 she went to the Liberty Island anchorage. When the tug ran along 
 side the marshals and Pinkerton men swarmed aboard. No resistance 
 was offered by the frightened crew and Cubans, who had just come 
 aboard. Every man was seized. Among the captives were General 
 Garcia and several other prominent Cubans. Several bags of gold 
 were seized by the marshals and a quantity of ammunition. 
 
 Revolutionists Arrested. 
 
 General Calixto Garcia and about sixty other of the leading spirits 
 in the Cuban revolutionary cause were brought to the Federal 
 Building. The warrant upon which the 200 Cuban revolutionists 
 were taken into custody was drawn in accordance with the section of 
 the Federal Revised Statutes, which is a portion of what is known as 
 the " Neutrality Act." 
 
 A great many of the prisoners found on the " Bermuda " and the 
 two tug-boats were survivors of the expedition which left the Ne\v 
 Haven river a month before on the " J. W. Hawkins," which sunk off 
 the south shore of Long Island, a number of men going down with 
 the wreck. Afterward the filibusters were watched by spies employed 
 by the Spanish and United States governments. The surveillance 
 led to the discovery that General Garcia and his followers had pur 
 chased the " Bermuda " to take a large company of insurgents to 
 Cuba, with arms and ammunition. The " Bermuda," which had 
 been granted clearance papers at the custom house to Santa Martha, 
 United States of Colombia, was making ready to leave port when 
 United States Marshals McCarthy and Kennedy made their raid. 
 The steam lighter " Stranahan," which had left one of the Brooklyn 
 piers, was seized, the ammunition in boxes, which was concealed 
 beneath piles of cord-wood, and on the " Bermuda " were found 
 several bags of gold coin. 
 
 The prisoners were released because their arrest was in violation 
 of the instructions ser-t out from Washington by Attorney- General 
 
MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 
 
 10 
 
 Harmon, that suspicion merely was not sufficient ground for arrest, 
 but that evidence of intention to violate the neutrality laws was 
 required. 
 
 The trial of Captain Wiborg, First Mate Petersen and Second 
 Mate Johansen, of the steamship " Horsa," on the charge of begin 
 ning a military expedition, to carry men and arms to Cuba, to aid in 
 
 MARINE WHARF HAVANA. 
 
 the insurrection against Spain, was held in Philadelphia in the latter 
 part of February, before Judge Butler in the United States District 
 Court. 
 
 In the course of the proceedings, District Attorney Ingham called 
 for the production by Captain Wiborg of the charter under which the 
 "Horsa" made the trip from Philadelphia to Port Antonio, during 
 which the alleged offence was said to have been committed. Mr. 
 Ker, counsel for the defence, contended that if the " Horsa " was 
 more than three miles out from the shore at Barnegat, when the men 
 and ammunition were taken on board, the alleged offence did not 
 come within the jurisdiction of the United States. 
 
 The Judge said that if it was proven that the defendants did not 
 
106 MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 
 
 know where the men were going he would affirm the point. In 
 reply District Attorney Ingham said that he did not rest the United 
 States case on that question. He relied on the testimony which was 
 heard to show that there was an organization, and that it took place 
 in the United States, and that under it men and arms were taken to 
 Cuba. 
 
 Testimony of a Fireman. 
 
 The examination began with Oscar Svensen, one of the " Horsa s " 
 firemen. The witness related that portions of the ship were repainted, 
 and then, coming down to the time when the thirty or forty men 
 were taken on board to be conveyed to Cuba, he said that he told 
 the chief engineer that he did not wish to go along, and desired to 
 go ashore. The witness said that the chief replied that his life was 
 as dear to him as the lives of the witness and the men complaining 
 with him were to them, and that the captain had said it was all right. 
 
 Svensen said he had taken five trips on the "Horsa;" that he 
 knew Firemen Armstrong and Fredericksen of the vessel ; also that 
 nothing about money was said by the captain when the witness and 
 the men with him had raised objections to going along. 
 
 Svensen said that some of the men taken on board on one occasion 
 had an exercise. He had heard the cannon fired and saw the smoke. 
 Regarding the boxes said to have contained ammunition, the witness 
 said that a fellow from Jamaica had opened them. The pay of 
 Svensen was $25 per month. To the question when he had first 
 told his story and to whom, the witness answered by the statement 
 that it was two weeks ago, and to a Pinkerton Agency man. The 
 pay he received for giving information and his detention here was 
 $2 per day and board. 
 
 After some further questioning by counsel, the witness, in answer 
 to a question by the Judge, said that he shipped in Philadelphia, 
 but that he did not know whether the other firemen were employed 
 here or not. Svensen was shown a number of swords and machetes, 
 some of which he designated as " banana snipes." 
 
 The next witness was Ludwig Gustav Jensen, who was also a fire 
 man on the " Horsa." Jensen said that he had wanted extra pay to 
 
MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 107 
 
 go on the ship, after the thirty or forty men were taken aboard, and 
 spoke to the chief engineer about it. The latter had said that if 
 anybody was to get hung it would be him, the chief engineer, and 
 not the crew. In reply to questions from the Judge, the witness 
 described the cartridge boxes, said he saw six of the men taken on 
 board drill, and described the rifles and guns. 
 
 The Captain on the Stand. 
 
 Edward N. Taxis and Herbert Ker testified that the machetes car 
 ried by the men were to be seen strapped to the waists or slung over 
 the shoulders of nearly every inhabitant of the West Indies. Mr. 
 Ker also testified that he had taken a trip to Africa on the " Horsa " 
 last March, and was thoroughly familiar with the vessel. He said it 
 was customary to paint the funnels and other portions of the vessel 
 at sea, and he had often seen it done. During his trip to Africa he 
 on one occasion happened to particularly notice the name on the 
 stern of the vessel, and he testified that the name was in brass letters 
 about six or eight inches high, and were raised about one inch. 
 
 Captain Wiborg was then called as a witness in his own behalf. 
 Before beginning his examination Mr. Ker stated to the court that 
 the mere making of an affidavit by any one in the court-room, who 
 might hear this witness testimony, would result in his life being for 
 feited should he ever set foot in Spanish dominion, and he thought it 
 nis duty, in order to protect his client as far as possible, to ask the 
 court to forbid the publication of his testimony or to exclude every 
 one from the court-room while he was being examined. 
 
 Judge Butler said the court was there to try the case according to 
 the evidence, and had nothing to do with the risk the witness took in 
 giving his testimony. He was not compelled to testify, and what 
 ever evidence he gave would be voluntary, with the full knowledge 
 on the part of the witness of the responsibility he was taking. 
 
 Captain Wiborg testified that he had been captain of the steamer 
 " Horsa" two years. On the evening of November 9, 1895, he left 
 Philadelphia for Jamaica between 7 and 8 o clock. Before leaving 
 port the name of the vessel was scraped off the side of the vessel on 
 
108 MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 
 
 account of iron rust. He had regular clearance papers. The name 
 of the vessel was also on the stern of the vessel in brass letters or 
 composition. He had two boats and two horses, and a lot of empty 
 boxes and barrels. He received a message to go opposite Barnegat 
 and await orders, which he did. 
 
 He anchored four or five miles from shore. He anchored because 
 the chief engineer told him part of the machinery was not working 
 properly, and he should keep the ship in smooth water. While 
 there anchored he received a message by tug telling him to take the 
 men and boats on board and deliver the boats to the men when they 
 called for them. The men walked through the port between decks 
 when they boarded his vessel. He then proceeded southward and 
 passed Waterland Island towards Jamaica. This route is called 
 Crooked Island passage. 
 
 Off the Cuban Coast. 
 
 In taking this route to Jamaica, the captaia said, it was necessary 
 to sail along the coast of Cuba for about six hours. It was when his 
 vessel was about six miles off the Cuban coast that a colored man, 
 who was said to be a pilot, told him to stop the vessel and let the 
 men off. He did so, and the men got into the boats, taking as many 
 boxes as they could carry, and then asked him to tow them in 
 towards shore a bit, which he did. 
 
 In answer to questions, the witness said that the men did not have 
 the appearance of soldiers, and he had no knowledge that they were 
 going to take part in the war in Cuba. In giving them passage he 
 had obeyed orders, and had no right to refuse them. All told, he 
 said, there were 39 men transferred to the <f Horsa/ and they brought 
 a lot of boxes with them. They did not call upon him for meals, but 
 brought their own food with them in the boxes, some of which con 
 tained canned goods and hardtack. He said the men had guns, but 
 he did not think anything of that, as he had often seen passengers 
 carry guns on his vessel. He saw the cannon which they brought, 
 and at first he thought it was one of his own, as it was very much 
 like them. The captain said that he had two cannons on the " Horsa," 
 
MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 109 
 
 one a small brass one, which was used in firing salutes, and the other 
 of considerable size. 
 
 The following was Judge Butler s charge: "The defendants being, 
 or rather having been at the time in question, officers of the ship, 
 the first as captain, and the others as mates, are indicted jointly and 
 also separately, in which indictments it is charged that they, within 
 the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, did begin, set on 
 foot, and provide and prepare the means for a certain military expe 
 dition and enterprise to be carried on from thence against the terri 
 tory and dominions of a foreign prince, to wit: Against the Island of 
 Cuba, the said Island being then and there the territory and domin 
 ions of the King of Spain, the said United States being at peace with 
 the said king, contrary to the Act of Congress in such case made and 
 provided. 
 
 Was it a Military Expedition? 
 
 "The evidence heard would not justify a conviction of anything 
 more than providing the means for or aiding such military expedition, 
 as by furnishing transportation for the men, their arms, baggage, etc. 
 To convict them you must be fully satisfied by the evidence that a 
 military expedition was organized in this country to be carried out 
 as, and with the object, charged in the bill ; and that the defendants 
 with knowledge of this provided means for its assistance and assisted 
 it as before stated." 
 
 In commenting on the Judge s decisions, counsel for the defence 
 said: " It has been decided that, it is no offence against the laws of 
 the United States to transport arms, ammunition and munitions of 
 war from this country to any foreign country, nor is it any offence to 
 transport persons intending to enlist in foreign armies, and arms and 
 munitions of war on the same ship. In such cases the persons trans 
 ported and the shipper run the risk of seizure and capture by the 
 foreign power, against whom the arms were to be used. 
 
 "The Judge further charges that the putting out of lights and the 
 taking on and transferring of passengers and boxes of arms on the 
 high seas are acts which are perfectly lawful, in order to prevent cap 
 ture by a Spanish man-of-war. 
 
110 MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 
 
 " If the Spaniards want to stop the landing of arms in Cuba, let 
 them close the ports of the Island. This, of course, they won t do." 
 
 When the case was given to the jury, they deliberated twelve hours, 
 then brought in a verdict of guilty against Captain Wiborg and his 
 officers, who were sentenced to fines and imprisonment from one 
 year to fifteen months. An appeal was taken, and the men were 
 liberated on bail. 
 
 What Became of the "Bermuda?" 
 
 It is necessary at this point to anticipate a little the order of events 
 and state what became of the steamer " Bermuda," referred to in the 
 first part of this chapter. The quiet, easy-going people of Somers 
 Point, N. J., Ocean City, Beesley s Point and Tuckahoe suddenly 
 awakened, on March 17, to the fact that a big Cuban filibustering 
 expedition lias just cleared from their midst without one of them for 
 a moment suspecting what the strange movements of the large body 
 of swarthy-skinned visitors meant. 
 
 The steamer " Atlantic City " took the Cuban patriots, who reached 
 Tuckahoe on the night of the i6th, out to the famous " Bermuda," 
 which at 6 o clock sharp gave five shrill signal whistles, announcing 
 that she was awaiting them just off the Great Egg Harbor bar. Three 
 hours afterwards the " Atlantic City " returned to her winter berth at 
 Tuckahoe, having safely transferred her passengers to the " Ber 
 muda," which promptly steamed away southward. The party con 
 sisted of General Garcia and his 32 compatriots, who left Philadelphia 
 on the 1 5th, and about 30 other volunteers for Cuban freedom, who 
 joined them in some mysterious way afterward. 
 
 In a clever manner the Cubans eluded the spies in the employ of 
 Spain, who followed their tug down the Delaware on the night of the 
 1 5th. The tug started ostensibly for Cape Henlopen, where it was 
 supposed the filibusters were to be put aboard the " Bermuda." The 
 tug led the Spanish spies a merry chase about the Delaware Bay, and 
 then, under cover of a heavy fog, slipped back up the Delaware, 
 unsuspected and unnoticed, reaching Kaighn s Point, Camden, at an 
 hour on Monday evening, the l6th. Here a special trair> on 
 
MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. Ill 
 
 the Reading Railroad awaited them, and the Cuban patriots were 
 swiftly borne to Tuckahoe, which is only about eight miles from 
 Great Egg Harbor Bay. 
 
 When the big party, which was said to have numbered fully 60, 
 arrived at the little Jersey town, they began looking about for some 
 thing to eat. There was no hotel of any consequence at the place, 
 and, to make matters worse, no stimulants of any kind could be pro 
 cured. Finally two handsome young Tuckahoe girls, who were on 
 their way home from an evening sociable on the outskirts of the 
 town, attracted the attention of the Cubans, and two of the best look 
 ing men of the party were delegated to interview them on the 
 " grub " question. 
 
 Supper for Patriots. 
 
 The girls readily agreed to prepare supper for them, and were 
 handed $50 each to stimulate them in their efforts to get a hurried 
 meal for the hungry patriots. They were warned not to make any 
 stir oyer the matter, and to say not a word to their neighbors until 
 the party had left the place. 
 
 The Cubans ate their late supper in squads, and after liberally 
 complimenting the accommodating girls left the house in the best of 
 humor and quietly boarded the steamer " Atlantic City, 7 which was 
 lying at the wharf, above the drawbridge. The crew of the steamer 
 were asleep at their homes in Tuckahoe, they having no knowledge 
 whatever of the human freight which was taken aboard during their 
 absence by Captain Reuben Young, of the " Atlantic City." 
 
 Meantime a man claiming to be Captain J. F. R. Gandy, of the 
 steamer " Atlantic City," had journeyed from Tuckahoe to Somers 
 Point, where he called on Deputy Customs Collector James Scull, and 
 made application to have the certificate of inspection of the " Atlantic 
 City " changed, so as to permit that boat to navigate anywhere 
 along the coast within ten miles of the shore. The boat had been 
 in service at the Inlet at Atlantic City in the summer of 1895, being 
 one of the fleet of the Atlantic Coast Steamboat Company, an 
 Atlantic City organization. 
 
112 MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 
 
 Captain Gandy informed Deputy Scull that he was in a big hurry 
 to get the papers, and was willing to pay handsomely to have them 
 hurried down to Tuckahoe. On being asked where he was going, 
 he said he was engaged to take a party south, and would leave as 
 soon as the weather would permit. It was still foggy when Captain 
 Gandy reached Somers Point, on Monday morning, and he appeared 
 to be very much irritated at the atmospheric outlook. He made a 
 diligent search for the metropolitan morning papers, and paid any 
 price asked for them. He started back to Tuckahoe by way of 
 Beesley s Point. The inspection papers were mailed on Monday 
 afternoon by Deputy Scull, and could not possibly have reached 
 Tuckahoe before Tuesday morning. 
 
 General Garcia on Shore. 
 
 Captain Gandy had inquired if he could not sail without the 
 papers, but was warned by Mr. Scull to wait until they reached him 
 or he might get into trouble. The " Atlantic City " left Tuckahoe 
 however, at 6 o clock on Tuesday morning, long before the morning 
 mail arrived there. She steamed to Ocean City, which is about five 
 miles off, and anchored in the Ocean City channel. 
 
 Here the sloop-yacht " Black Ball," Captain Samuel B. Scull, put 
 out to the " Atlantic City " and took a man, who has since been identi 
 fied as General Garcia, ashore. The General remained on the little 
 wharf, while the sloop carried out several loads of provisions for the 
 consumption of the Cuban patriots aboard the steamer. The fact 
 that Ocean City is a temperance town was a source of serious dis 
 appointment to the "Atlantic City s" passengers, almost all of whom 
 were shivering with the cold after their cheerless night on the 
 Tuckahoe River. 
 
 All Tuesday afternoon and night General Garcia and his men 
 anxiously awaited a signal from the " Bermuda," which had left New- 
 York on Saturday morning. The cramped quarters aboard the 
 " Atlantic City," and their desire to get away before suspicion was 
 aroused as to the character and destination of the expedition, kept 
 the Cubans in an uneasy state of mind. Not one of them, save 
 
MEN AND ARMS FOR CUBA. 118 
 
 General Garcia, appeared above deck while the " Atlantic City " was 
 archored in the bay, and no one, not even Captain Scull, of the busy 
 " Black Ball," was allowed aboard. 
 
 When at last the shrill screeches of the " Bermuda s " whistle 
 resounded over the bay, a stifled cheer came from the impatient 
 Cubans below deck, and all was activity aboard the little pleasure- 
 steamer. The anchor was hastily weighed, and the " Atlantic City 
 swiftly headed for the open sea. As she cleared the Great Eg;g 
 Harbor bar the men swarmed on deck, and cheer after cheer went up 
 as they sighted the black hull of the " Bermuda " at a distance. 
 Then, and not till then, did the people of shore towns suspect the 
 true character of the mysterious party of Southern excursionists, as 
 they had been frequently referred to. 
 
 Previous to that it had been industriously noised about that the 
 " Atlantic City " had been chartered to take a party of laborers to Cor- 
 son s Inlet, where, it was said, work was to be begun on the proposed 
 new branch of the South Jersey Railroad to Ocean City. The whole 
 details for the transfer of the Cubans from Tuckahoe had evidently 
 been arranged on Saturday, about the time the " Bermuda" left New 
 York. 
 
 The charter of the Philadelphia tug was a clever ruse to throw the 
 Spanish spies off the track, and evidently worked perfectly in every 
 detail. 
 
 8 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 Imprisonments and Massacres. 
 
 EARLY in March the prisons of Cuba were groaning with the 
 burden of thousands of innocents. " Suspect " was a terrify 
 ing word throughout the whole Island. Every town, village 
 and city, from one end of the country to the other, was witnessing 
 scenes that were heart-rending in their cruelty, but upon which it 
 was impossible to look with anything except hopeless pity. 
 
 Men who had escaped were helpless to aid the victims, and to 
 morrow they might be in chains in the same cell. It required only 
 an anonymous letter of denunciation addressed to the Spanish com 
 mander of the forces garrisoned in the town or at the nearest post. 
 It might have been written by a debtor, an enemy, a spy whose ser 
 vices were valuable according to the number of his prey, or by some 
 one whose designs might be furthered by removing the protection 
 of women; but it needed only to be written, and a guard of soldiers 
 were at hand, taking a man out of his bed at midnight, or from his 
 table or his office, whence he was dragged to a military prison, chained 
 into a gang of victims like himself, deprived of communication with 
 any one, and, after a few days, a case having been manufactured 
 against him, he was sent to Havana and thence to Africa, to spend 
 in a living grave the brief period that he could survive the notorious 
 horrors of the penal colony at Ceuta. 
 
 The extent to which this thing was being carried is almost incredi 
 ble. There was no respect of persons, unless it was that the best 
 men of the towns were a majority of the victims. To be simply a 
 ^ suspect" meant, in nine cases out of ten, conviction and sentence 
 to death or life servitude. In one instance twenty men were released 
 just as they were about to be put aboard the steamer for deportation, 
 because it had been discovered that the author of their " denuncia- 
 114 
 
IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 115 
 
 mento " was a sixteen-year-old boy, who had written an anonymous 
 letter, probably inspired by the similarity between their names and 
 those of some insurgent leaders. And these men were all merchants 
 and otherwise prominent citizens of Santiago. Not a day passed 
 without several companies of these prisoners reaching Havana. 
 
 Crowded Dungeons. 
 
 Morro Castle was overcrowded. There, in the dungeons which 
 have accumulated the poisons of three centuries, the poor wretches 
 were crowded like sheep in slaughter-pens ten, fifteen or twenty 
 being crowded into a single cell, where the only light or air reaching 
 them was through a grating which was not more than six inches 
 high from the floor. Unless some one could bribe a guard to give a 
 blanket to a prisoner, the man was left to make the best that he 
 could of bare stones. 
 
 An American correspondent who was in Morro but two days con 
 tracted a fever, although he was treated with exceptional considera 
 tion, as exceptions go in Morro. But the herd, the natives who were 
 being taken away in this manner in greater numbers than the armies 
 lose in battles, the suspects to whom conviction had come without 
 what Americans would recognize as a trial, these were mercilessly, 
 inhumanly treated. In Jaruco, Maceo, in raiding the town, forced 
 the prison gates, and liberated thirty prisoners, who represented some 
 of the best families of the surrounding country. In Cienfuegos there 
 were over fifty " suspects" held as political prisoners. 
 
 In Matanzas there were at one time eighty such men, and some of 
 them were afterward brought to Havana. From Pinar del Rio, Santa 
 Clara, Santiago, Candelaria, Marianao and numerous other places, the 
 same reports were coming. There was hardly an hour of the day 
 that women were not besieging the gates of the Palace with petitions. 
 It was a wife pleading for husband, or mother for son, or children for 
 father, but it was always the same plea, not for trial, nor to offer evi 
 dence of their innocence, but for mercy, always for mercy. 
 
 There seemed to be a blind conviction that there were no such 
 things as trials or evidence, and no ground for hope in either of the 
 
116 IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 shadowy forms that represent them. These wretched women reached 
 the city, perhaps having walked for days, or may be they had horses 
 or found some conveyance, but in any way they nearly all made a 
 wearisome journey, having left all their worldly possessions or sold 
 them to get means for reaching the city, since there were no railroad 
 trains left to carry them. 
 
 Haggard and Frightened. 
 
 They were hollow-eyed, haggard and frightened, but in desperate 
 earnest. They stood outside the gates or in the corridors of the 
 Palace for hours. They made no scenes, as might be expected. They 
 simply waited, waited, waited ; put off on one pretext after another, 
 hour after hour, till the day had passed. Another day and another, 
 they were there, patient and waiting and pleading, but to no pur 
 pose. Some morning a familiar face in the crowd would be missing, 
 and that day she might be seen with others down at the shore, watch 
 ing the small boats loading with prisoners and going out to the great 
 steamers about to leave with convicts for Africa. Possibly there was 
 one last look, but no embrace or word of farewell. After that she was 
 seen no more at the Palace. 
 
 It happened one day that one of these prisoners slipped off the 
 steps while getting into the boat with the others and fell into the water. 
 His arms were pinioned behind him and he was helpless, but he 
 managed to struggle to the surface. As he raised his head none of 
 the guard reached out to save him. The other prisoners were also 
 pinioned and could not. He floated for a few seconds at the side of 
 the boat, and then one of the soldiers pointed his rifle down into the 
 man s face and shot him through the head. It was simply a murder. 
 Nothing was done about it excepting to report that he was " shot 
 while attempting to escape." 
 
 On Feb. 22nd there was a brutal massacre at Guatao, and the poor 
 wretches made prisoners at the time were still confined in Morro 
 Castle, while the government was investigating the slaughter of the 
 eighteen citizens. There was no battle in or near Guatao at the time 
 these prisoners were made, and that is the other side of the story of 
 
IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 117 
 
 Spain s prisoners of war. There were no prisoners made in battles. 
 They were suspects, or, like the Guatao people, escaped from 
 massacre. Official reports of engagements almost never made men 
 tion of a prisoner taken. Of twenty encounters reported not one 
 return of a captive was recorded. It was always, " The enemy left 
 five dead on the field," or some other number. It may be that the 
 Cubans were skillful enough to avoid capture, but it was very common 
 to have reports of captured Spanish soldiers. 
 
 No Spanish soldiers were ever " left dead on the field," but it was 
 admitted by the Spanish generally, and it occasionally crept into a 
 report, that Spanish prisoners had simply been stripped of arms and 
 let go unmolested out of the rebel camp. 
 
 High-sounding Proclamation. 
 
 But General Weyler had seen the enormity of the abuses which 
 brutal and ambitious officers had been guilty of, and went so far as 
 to issue a proclamation against such wholesale arrests as followed his 
 first decree. On March 6th he gave out the following notice : 
 
 " My attention has been called to the frequency with which civil 
 and military authorities and commanders of forces in the country 
 and towns are proceeding to detain civilians, who are afterward 
 placed at my disposal to be deported from the Island, without the 
 said commanders duly justifying the foundation which counseled 
 such determination." 
 
 That was the Spanish way of saying that arrests had not been 
 made upon official evidence. Then General Weyler urged that 
 citizens who write anonymous letters should sign their names and 
 testify freely, knowing that they would receive ample protection, and 
 closed his decree with this warning : 
 
 " I will exact most strict responsibility from commanders who pro 
 pose to me matters of this sort without accompanying them v/ th the 
 elements of justification already expressed." 
 
 General Weyler would not personally assume the responsibility of 
 any man s execution or banishment without clear evidence of his 
 guilt. It would not be possible to find a man who would more merci- 
 
118 IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 lessly execute the penalty of the law than Gen. Weyler, but he was 
 honest. If he had had men in the field whose motives could have 
 been trusted, innocent men s lives might have been safer than they 
 were; but take such brutes as murdered sick men and beat women 
 into insensibility at Guatao, who referred to their bloody work in a 
 report saying : " Glory and infinite applause to our valiant men ; 
 worthy of all praise is the comportment of this column ; all merit 
 the consideration of your Excellency ; their efforts made exceed all 
 praise," and arm the leader of such a mob of assassins with a decree 
 making men enemies who sympathize " in thought, word or action " 
 with the insurgents, and it is doubtful if even the iron hand of 
 General Weyler could hold them in check. 
 
 Shot for Raising a Flag. 
 
 A Frenchman was raising a French flag on his estate when a 
 Spanish column came up, shot him dead, captured the flag and made 
 off with it. This is another instance of Gen. Weyler s difficulty in 
 controlling the irresponsibles, who made prisoners of " suspects," 
 killed innocent people or committed other outrages, and left it to the 
 government to square the matter. These were not isolated in 
 stances, but daily occurrences in all parts of the Island. The shoot 
 ing of this French citizen occurred at the Olayita estate, near San 
 Domingo. The Cuban commanders, Quintin Bandera, Guerra and 
 Seraphim Sanchez were near the town, and passed so close that they 
 were observed to have about 1,000 cavalry. 
 
 They were going in the direction of the Olayita plantation. 
 Lieut-Col. Arce and Major Rogelio Anino, with 450 men, followed 
 them, leaving Guines. An encounter took place in a strip of woods 
 on the edge of the estate, but it amounted to little. The insurgents 
 had not enough ammunition to give battle, and the Spanish could do 
 nothing but worry them with so continuous a fire with Mausers from 
 a distance. The insurgents replied with a few shots, and then broke 
 into two detachments and left the woods, one force taking possession 
 of the battery, and standing off the Spanish for two hours. There 
 was a hot fight at this point. 
 
IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 The insurgents had a sheltered position in the buildings, and 
 nursed their precious supply of cartridges until they were where 
 their only alternatives were to retreat or to suffer a heavy loss of life 
 if they remained till the Spanish could get in upon them. Then the 
 order was given and they rode out, setting fire to the cane field over 
 which they passed in order to make it impossible for the Spanish to 
 follow them through the smoke and flames. When they left, the 
 manager of the estate, Bernardo Duarte, ran out of the house with a 
 French flag and was about to raise it, when he was shot dead. 
 
 Curious Spanish Reports. 
 
 A Spanish officer took the flag and carried it away. Duarte s 
 body was left where he fell. He had taken no part in the fight. 
 When the fight was going on Duarte was in the great stone house 
 which was the owner s residence. The heavy walls were ample pro 
 tection, and with all the inmates he was apparently safe, for he came 
 out when the insurgents left to exhibit the sign of his neutrality. 
 Here a curious thing was revealed by the Spanish report of the 
 engagement, which said briefly, " We found also a woman and the 
 seven farm hands dead." 
 
 There were really thirteen dead. The bodies were buried by 
 workmen from an adjoining plantation. There was no one left to 
 tell whether they were killed by the Spanish or the rebels. Even 
 the Frenchman, Duarte, was shot with his flag in his hands, and the 
 Spanish admitted killing him. 
 
 The hundreds of refugees coming into Havana declared that the 
 Spanish were shooting the men who were on any estate where they 
 could find that a rebel band was camped. Several owners of large 
 estates within this province and Matanzas stated that this was un 
 doubtedly true, and that some of their own men, who worked for 
 them, had disappeared after a fight had been reported near their 
 properties. Others deserted the places and came into the city, refu 
 sing to remain on account of the killing of people near them who 
 were likewise caring for abandoned propertiesc 
 
 On March 5 Gen, Melquizo went out from Jaruco with two battal- 
 
120 IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 ions of cavalry and infantry, and found some of Maceo s forces at the 
 sugar estate Morales, near Casiguas, between Bainoa and Guines. 
 The estate was occupied by a man named Jose Gregoria Delgado, 
 said to be an American. His son, Jose Manuel Delgado, a doctor, 
 was with him at the time the insurgents and Spanish came together. 
 As usual, the insurgents made a stand in the buildings, because they 
 afford excellent defense. Gen. Melquizo reported after the battle or 
 skirmish, or whatever did actually occur, that " we found eighteen 
 dead on the field." 
 
 It has developed since that fourteen of these dead men were the 
 owner, Delgado, his son and their twelve workmen. Not a man was 
 left alive on the estate. If this did not seem on its face to bear con 
 siderable evidence of a deliberate killing of these men, such an act 
 would seem to be probable when the Spanish loss is mentioned, 
 The Spanish official report said of this engagement that the Spanish 
 had only two men wounded, none being killed. 
 
 No One Left Alive. 
 
 If the Spanish, entirely exposed, charged upon the insurgents, who 
 were occupying protected positions in stone-walled buildings, and 
 succeeded in dislodging them, and did so with no loss whatevei 
 there seems to be some reason for doubting that the fighting was 
 severe enough to cause eighteen dead to the insurgents in actual combat. 
 There was no one left on this estate alive, nor was there any one else 
 from whom it would be possible to learn just what did occur, or why 
 it was that not one man on the whole estate escaped death. 
 
 Not one of them was wounded. They were all lying there dead 
 when people from the surrounding country went there and identified 
 the bodies. It is a suspicious circumstance that they were not shot, 
 but all were cut to pieces with swords. 
 
 It is easy to understand the alarm that spread over the whole 
 Island as the consequence of such things as these. The stories of 
 the refugees who were fleeing from every quarter into the cities, and 
 chiefly into Havana, gave a dozen such instances. They were not 
 tales of frightened negroes. Neither were they coffee-house fabrica- 
 
IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 tions of Cubans. A bookful of these tales could be collected. It 
 was the men who had estates of their own, whose losses in one year 
 alone amounted to anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000, who held on 
 and exhausted every resource to save themselves and their properties, 
 but who were compelled at last to give up and let everything go. 
 
 They were not men who pack up what few valuables they can 
 cany away and then bring their families and servants long distances 
 across the country to Havana, just for the pastime or amusement of 
 lying about their reasons for coming. Where alarm had not driven 
 out the poorer classes, destitution had done so. Forty-two cities and 
 towns had already been burned and destroyed. 
 
 Great Scarcity of Provisions. 
 
 This does not indicate the homes of hundreds of others which 
 have gone up in the flames of burning sugar estates. After the 
 armies of both Spanish and insurgents consumed all the fruit and 
 vegetables, and the railroads ceased carrying freight, food was almost 
 beyond the reach of the poor. Great was the suffering in conse 
 quence of the scarcity of provisions, but a new system was put in 
 operation which deprived even those who had a few dollars left from 
 buying what they needed unless they stood in favor of the Spanish 
 commanders of towns. This was a hard matter for people in a 
 country where everybody was an insurgent, or of a family with repre 
 sentatives in the insurgent army. 
 
 If a man went to a store in any town outside of Havana he was 
 compelled first to make out a statement of what he wished to pur 
 chase. He was limited to two cents worth of salt, five cents worth 
 of flour, one pound of meat, one pound of rice and five cents worth 
 of coffee, and so on ; but he was not permitted to buy oil, candles, 
 medicines, or a multitude of other things. After the list was com 
 pleted, the storekeeper and the customer had to appear before the 
 Mayor of the town and swear that the articles were for the consump 
 tion of the purchaser, and not for the aid and comfort of any in 
 surgent or sympathizer with the insurrection. 
 
 When this was done the whole formality cleared the way for the 
 
122 IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 purchase of about one scanty meal for four persons. This, with the 
 apprehension of suspects, was driving the country people out of their 
 homes until whole districts were depopulated. Paso Real, Mantua, 
 Baja, Guane, Tapaste, San Cristobal, and, in fact, nearly all the towns 
 of Pinar del Rio Province, were admitted by the Spanish reports to 
 be practically deserted. 
 
 In Havana and Matanzas provinces the same state of affairs ex 
 isted. One man who passed through Guatao and Punta Brava said that 
 where there had been 2,200 people all together a month before, less 
 than 100 remained. Women came out and begged that he would 
 give them food. They were crying, he said, and pleaded for relief to 
 be sent out to them. There were a few children left in the places, and 
 the desolation he described was something pitiful. The widows 
 made by the massacre were chiefly those who remained. When asked 
 why they did not get away, and so possibly find a place where they 
 could get some relief, they replied that they could not make the 
 journey. 
 
 Not a Rebel in the Place. 
 
 The government was investigating the massacre, and the method 
 of the investigation indicated that a denial was in course of prepara 
 tion. Here is a significant fact. The " Diario de la Marina," the 
 government s most staunch supporter, published an item which said, 
 " The Mayor of Guatao swears and forswears to Captain Calvo that 
 at the time of the events in Guatao not a solitary rebel was in the 
 place. Two days after the event this Mayor again met Calvo, who 
 asked him if he had seen any insurgents there. He replied he had 
 not. Notwithstanding, five minutes afterward Captain Calvo saw a 
 group of eight men mounted, who ran away." 
 
 This was clearly to discredit the Mayor of Guatao. He confirmed 
 the story of all the citizens, and swore that no insurgents were in the 
 town when the massacre occurred. It also indicated that Captain 
 Calvo, who was in command of the troops who committed the mas 
 sacre, was conducting the investigation. 
 
 It would not be in keeping with the way all this was being done if 
 the " Diario s " vStory were not declared by somebody to be untrue. 
 
IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 123 
 
 The gentleman above referred to was in Guatao at the time Captain 
 Calvo was talking with the Mayor. He describes what occurred 
 this way : 
 
 " I saw they were holding an excited debate about something, so 
 I held up my driver till it was over. Then I talked to the Alcalde, 
 and asked what occasioned all the fireworks between himself and the 
 officer. He replied, I have just been asked about the rebels. I said 
 I had seen four ; he tells me, " You lie, you have seen a hundred. " 
 I have only seen four, and they are down that road now. " 
 
 Charges Proved Untrue. 
 
 If the Mayor told the story just as it had occurred between him 
 self and the officer a moment before, the account of it in the news 
 paper was an apparent attempt to clear the way for almost any sort 
 of a report on the massacre. It would be easier after proving the 
 chief witness unreliable to dispose of the stories of the women as 
 attempts to shield their husbands. The government also took the 
 ground that the insurgents were concealed in the church. This made 
 it necessary to abandon the original charge that they were in the 
 little thatched houses. 
 
 The authorities of Guatao opened the church and showed the 
 officers, who went there to inspect it, that no horses or men could 
 possibly have gotten into it. When this inspection was finished, the 
 keeper of the church handed over the key, and the Mayor joined 
 him in beseeching the Spanish officers to carry it away, so that what 
 ever might happen again they would be relieved of the responsibility 
 for keeping the structure free from invasion. 
 
 Ten more prisoners were taken at the time this investigation, as it 
 is called, was going on. A Spanish column came into Punta Brava 
 from the east. At the same moment another came into the place 
 irom the west. The second one picked up ten men working in 
 tobacco fields on the outskirts of the town. A storekeeper, recog 
 nizing them, went up to the lieutenant commanding, and said that 
 the arrests were unjust, as the men were " pacificados," or peaceful 
 citizens. 
 
124 
 
IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 125 
 
 Then the lieutenant arrested the storekeeper. The two columns 
 were at opposite ends of the main street, their officers disputing as 
 to which was properly in possession of the place, as their orders were 
 slightly conflicting, when a third column arrived with a captain in 
 charge. He settled the difficulty by occupying the town himself, 
 and after learning of the arrest of the ten tobacco-workers he liber 
 ated them all. 
 
 Heavy Guard of Soldiers. 
 
 The demonstrations against Americans in Havana were confined to 
 individual encounters, where there were no serious results. A heavy 
 guard of soldiers was quartered in a building near the Consul s 
 office, and the patrolling of the streets was kept up with vigilance 
 day and night. Where more than four men got together a soldier 
 was at hand to scatter them. In the Plaza, when the military was 
 playing, the crowds were constantly kept moving. An effort to get 
 up a students demonstration fell flat, because a majority of the 
 students were in sympathy with the Americans. 
 
 There never was a time when the students were to be feared, on 
 that account. The source of danger was the volunteers. A corre 
 spondent relates that he was talking with a hotel waiter after he had 
 been away for a day. He said he was out doing duty as a volun 
 teer. He was a little sawed-off ignoramus, and the correspondent 
 was curious enough to ask him how his companions felt toward 
 Uncle Sam. 
 
 " Muera Senor Sam," he hissed, bringing his fist down with a 
 whack on the table. 
 
 " Death to Mr. Sam ?" I repeated. " Why so ?" 
 
 " He is going to help the insurrectors. We ll have to kill them 
 all." 
 
 u But I m an American ; would you kill me, too ?" 
 
 He seemed to be confronted by a situation for a moment only, 
 when he said, sadly but earnestly : 
 
 " I am your friend, Senor, but I should have to kill you." 
 
 At that moment another Spaniard came up. " Senor, allow me to 
 present my friend . As I was just telling this American gentle- 
 
126 IMPRISONMENTS AND MASSACRES. 
 
 man, Spain will find every loyal son shoulder to shoulder, fighting 
 till the last drop of blood is shed to avenge such an insult to our 
 national honor as this uncalled-for interference of America." 
 
 This is not half-hearted hypocrisy. It is the way men talk who 
 have been ruined by the collapse of every kind of business in the 
 Island, and who want peace and prosperity restored at any cost. 
 They are Spaniards, but they have been so long in commercial inter 
 course with the United States that their sentimental attachment to 
 the theory of Spain s right to Cuba has been blunted by a period of 
 successful business. All Cuba s enterprises are practically insepara 
 ble from the States, while Spain stands by as a third party, consum 
 ing half the profits that would naturally accrue to the other two. At 
 such a price sentiment comes too high to maintain a secure position 
 among hard-headed merchants. 
 
 The Cienfuegos houses resolved to boycott the United States, and 
 proposed to do so by cancelling all their purchasing orders and refu 
 sing to sell to American buyers. This was considerable of a joke in 
 its way. They would have to buy from Havana instead, and Havana 
 would continue to buy direct from the States until war or something 
 as serious should prevent. The merchants at Havana held a meeting 
 to discuss retaliation of the same sort, but when it was pointed out 
 to them that American houses would merely send out their own 
 agents to sell their products they saw the danger ahead and con 
 tented themselves with resolutions praising the Cienfuegos merchants. 
 They could afford to do that, as their commissions were being helped 
 by the necessity of Cienfuegos buying here. 
 
 Two nephews of the Queen, the Princes of Caserta, were in an 
 engagement in Sagua on March 3. The insurgents were led by 
 Serafin Sanchez, Nunez and Alvarez. All that has ever been printed 
 about the fight here was contained in a ten-line item, in which the 
 insurgents lost thirty dead and forty wounded. The Queen cabled 
 congratulations to General Weyler upon the glorious victory, and 
 yesterday the insurgent loss was changed to read " 60 dead and 
 1 50 wounded." It is impossible to learn anything else here about 
 the battle. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 Freedom for Cuba. 
 
 THE sympathy in Congress for the cause of Cuba received 
 formal expression on February 28th. On that date the meet 
 ing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations resulted 
 in action of a more vigorous character than the most ardent friend of 
 the cause of Cuba was justified in expecting. The committee de 
 cided, after some debate, that it would not accept the wording of a 
 resolution already adopted by the House Committee, but would 
 cling to one of its own, which was looked upon as even stronger than 
 any yet seriously considered stronger because the committee capit 
 ulated to the sentiment represented in the resolution of Mr. Cameron 
 declaring for the independence of the Cuban Republic. 
 
 It was agreed that when the question reached the voting stage Mr. 
 Sherman, for the commiteee, was to recommend and urge the passage 
 of the following, which was the language of the substitute reported 
 by Mr. Morgan : 
 
 " Resolved, by the Senate (the House of Representatives concur 
 ring), That, in the opinion of Congress, a condition of public war 
 exists between the government of Spain and the government pro 
 claimed and for some time maintained by force of arms by the peo 
 ple of Cuba ; and that the United States of America should maintain 
 a strict neutrality between the contending powers, according to each 
 all the rights of belligerents in the ports and territory of the United 
 States/ 
 
 As the day wore on in the Senate the crowds in the galleries and 
 on the floor increased. The diplomatic gallery, for once, was well 
 filled. Nearly every member of the House Foreign Affairs Commit 
 tee was on the Senate floor, and they listened to the speeches with 
 the greatest interest. 
 
 127 
 
128 FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 
 
 Mr. Lindsay, of Kentucky, addressed the Senate. He did not 
 think that, in the present emergency, the subject ought to be con 
 trolled, in any way, by the past conduct of Spain to the United 
 States. It was, in one sense, a question of humanity. War was 
 being carried on at the very doors of the United States between the 
 people of Cuba and the Spanish Government, and it would result 
 either in the independence of Cuba or in the utter destruction of hei 
 people. 
 
 Sympathy for Cuban People. 
 
 Expressions of sympathy would avail nothing to the Cuban insur 
 rectionists. If the United States intended to take any step to bring 
 about a condition of affairs in Cuba different from that which had 
 existed during the last seventy years, that step should be in the 
 direction of the ultimate independence of Cuba. 
 
 It might be true it was true that affairs had not yet reached a 
 point that would justify the United States in acknowledging the inde 
 pendence of Cuba. There was a state of things in Cuba that would 
 justify the Government of the United States in considering a proposi 
 tion for active interference in the struggle, for the reason that it 
 seemed highly probable that, without such interference, either public 
 order could never be restored in Cuba, or could only be restored 
 after such suffering by humanity and such injuries to surrounding 
 States, as would obviously overbalance the general evil of all inter 
 ference from without. But the pending resolution proposed no such 
 active interference. It proposed only that the good offices of the 
 United States should be offered to Spain to bring about, not merely 
 a cessation of hostilities, but an ultimate peace on the basis of Cuban 
 independence the only basis on which good government could ever 
 be secured to the people of Cuba. 
 
 Spain owed to Cuba as much as Turkey owed to Armenia, ar 
 much as the United States owed to Venezuela. If Spain did not pay 
 the obligations resting on her, and if her necessities prevented her 
 doing so, then the time had come for steps to be initiated ; and they 
 could be properly initiated only by the government of the United 
 States. Overtures should be made to Spain for the sale of the 
 
FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 129 
 
 Island to the Cubans, the United States to guarantee the payment of 
 the sum to be agreed upon. 
 
 Mr. Sherman, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
 addressed the Senate. He said that he did not disguise from himself 
 the danger and possibility of hostile movements following the action 
 of Congress. Spain was a sensitive, proud and gallant nation, and 
 would not submit to what she considered an injustice. At the same 
 time, his convictions were strong made stronger every day that 
 the condition of affairs in Cuba was such that the intervention of the 
 United States must be given, sooner or later, to put an end to crimes 
 almost beyond description. 
 
 Called a Murderer and Criminal, 
 
 He quoted from a pamphlet written, he said, in a temperate style, 
 to show what the Cubans had done in the way of establishing a gov 
 ernment and carrying on the war, and containing an order of Gen. 
 Maximo Gomez, as to the humane treatment of prisoners that might 
 fall into the hands of the insurgents. And yet, he said, this man 
 Gomez had been denounced as a murderer and barbarous criminal, 
 like the one he would speak of after a while Capt.-Gen. Weyler. 
 Speaking of the insurgent Gen. Gomez, Mr. Sherman said that he 
 was a man of standing and character probably an idealist. But he 
 ought to be, and would probably soon be, considered a patriot. 
 
 Mr. Sherman went on to say that he was not in favor of the 
 annexation of Cuba to the United States. He did not desire to con 
 quer Cuba, or to have any influence in her local autonomy. In his 
 judgment Cuba should be attached to Mexico, because Cubans and 
 Mexicans spoke the same language, had the same origin, the same 
 antecedents, and many of the same circumstances. 
 
 Mr. Sherman sent to the clerk s desk, and had read extracts from 
 a Spanish book, printed in a New York newspaper, reciting horrible 
 cruelties charged against Weyler, some of the incidents being so bad 
 that he directed the clerk to omit them. He spoke of these deeds as 
 barbarous atrocities, and as inhuman cruelties, and said that Weyler 
 was a demon rather than a general. 
 9 
 
130 FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 
 
 He denounced the idea of putting such a man in command of a 
 hundred thousand troops, to ride rough-shod, kill and slaughter a 
 feeble body of people ; and he declared that if this kind of policy is 
 pursued by Spain in Cuba, and if the people of the United States be 
 informed of it, there is no earthly power that will prevent the people 
 of the United States from going over to that Island, running all over 
 its length and breadth, and driving out from it those robbers and imi 
 tators of the worst men that ever lived in the world. 
 
 This statement was greeted by an outburst of applause from the 
 crowded galleries, which showed the intense feeling awakened by the 
 discussion of the subject of Cuban independence. 
 
 Belligerent Rights. 
 
 When the final vote on Mr. Sherman s resolution was taken in the 
 Senate it was passed by a large majority, but there was an evident 
 desire on the part of many in both Houses to grant belligerent rights 
 to the Cubans, who had already maintained a state of war on the 
 Island for over a year. Concerning this last proposition an eminent 
 New York jurist expressed the following opinion : 
 
 "The mere recognition of belligerent rights on the part of the 
 Cubans would not involve us in any complication with Spain. 
 It is a different thing from recognizing the independence of the 
 Cubans. 
 
 " The recognition of belligerent rights is merely the declaration of 
 our opinion that the insurgents have established a stable government 
 and are entitled to all the rights of war. This was what was done by 
 Great Britain during our late war. 
 
 " Such a recognition, however, would not relieve the United States 
 of its obligations toward Spain in the way of preventing the sending 
 out of privateers or filibustering expeditions in aid of the insurgents 
 from our ports. We established this proposition in the Alabama 
 arbitration against Great Britain. 
 
 " Furthermore, such recognition of a state of war between Spain 
 and the insurgents in Cuba would give Spain the right to search our 
 merchant vessels for goods contraband of war. This is the only 
 
FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 131 
 
 respect in which our relations with Spain would be particularly altered 
 by such recognition, as far as I can see." 
 
 " What would be our relations in case Congress should recognize 
 the independence of Cuba ? " was asked. 
 
 ( That recognition might be treated by Spain as an unfriendly act, 
 although I should hardly think that Spain would so regard it. It 
 would not amount to a declaration on our part that we proposed to 
 aid Cuba in the maintenance of its independence, and hence it would 
 not necessarily be a casus belli (cause of war) as between us and Spain. 
 
 " Still it might involve us in serious complications, as we would be 
 bound to regard the insurgent government as the only lawful govern 
 ment in the Island of Cuba, and to act accordingly and to disregard 
 the rights of Spain. And such conduct on our part might lead to 
 controversies with Spain which might furnish a casus belli. I do not 
 personally believe, however, that such a result will follow in any 
 
 avent." 
 
 Probability of Bloodshed. 
 
 It was thought by many in Washington that if the Cuban insurgents 
 were not quickly recognized as belligerents, and General Weyler 
 maintained the reputation he had already acquired, it was not stretch 
 ing speculation too far to assume that there was a probabiltty of the 
 bloody scenes of 1869 being re-enacted, when, under the orders of 
 Gen. Burriel, American citizens were put to death in Santiago de Cuba. 
 
 The Captain-General of Cuba had issued a decree in which he said 
 that all vessels which might be captured in Spanish waters, and which 
 had on board men and munitions, and whose design was to give aid 
 01 comfort to the revolutionists, should be regarded as pirates, and 
 that all on board, regardless of number, should be immediately 
 executed. 
 
 Secretary Fish, then Secretary of State, made a protest against the 
 butchery of the Americans, and maintained the right of the citizens 
 of the United States to carry merchandise to the enemies of Spain, 
 except such articles as were contraband of war, and which might be 
 seized upon the high seas. Secretary Fish said the government 
 could not assent to the punishment by Spain of any citizen of this 
 
132 FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 
 
 country, except under the - laws and treaties existing between Spain 
 and the United States. 
 
 According to Halleck, one of the accepted authorities on laws 
 between nations, " there is no law or regulation which forbids any 
 person or government, whether the political designation be real or 
 assumed, from purchasing arms from citizens of the United States 
 and shipping them at the risk of the purchaser." The same authority 
 says further : " Neutrals may establish themselves for the purposes 
 of trade in ports convenient to either belligerent, and may sell or 
 transport to either such articles as they may wish to buy, subject to 
 risks of capture for violation of blockade or for the conveyance of 
 contraband to belligerent ports." 
 
 Exceptions to the Rule. 
 
 " A belligerent cannot send out privateers from neutral ports. 
 Neutrals in their own country may sell to belligerents whatever 
 belligerents choose to buy. The principal exceptions to this rule are 
 that neutrals must not sell to one belligerent what they refuse to sell 
 to another, and must not furnish soldiers or sailors to either, nor pre 
 pare nor suffer to be prepared within their territory armed ships or 
 military or naval expeditions against the other." 
 
 The position in which the United States would be placed by the 
 recognition of the belligerency of the Cubans is clearly and tersely 
 expressed by Justice Harlan, of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, in an opinion in the case of Ford vs. Surget. It is based on a 
 careful and exhaustive study of the comity of nations, and the parts 
 that appear applicable to the present situation are as follows : 
 
 " If the foreign State recognizes belligerency in the insurgents it 
 releases the parent State for whatever may be done by the insurgents, 
 or not done by the parent State, where the insurgent power extends. 
 
 " If it is a war, the commissioned cruisers of both sides may stop, 
 search and capture the foreign merchant vessel, and that vessel must 
 make no resistance and must submit to adjudication by a prize court;. 
 if it is not war, the cruisers of neither party can stop or search the 
 foreign merchant vessel, and that vessel may resist all attempts in 
 
FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 133 
 
 that direction, and the ships of war of the foreign State may attack 
 and capture any cruiser persisting in the attempt ; if it is war, the 
 insurgent cruisers are to be treated by foreign citizens and officials, 
 at sea and in port, as lawful belligerents ; if it is a war, the rules and 
 risks respecting carrying contraband or dispatches or military persons, 
 come into play. 
 
 " The insurgents gain the great advantage of a recognized status 
 (when belligerent rights are accorded), and the opportunity to employ 
 commissioned cruisers at sea, and to exert all the powers known to 
 maritime warfare, with the sanction of foreign nations. They can 
 obtain abroad loans, military and naval materials, as against every 
 thing but neutrality laws. 
 
 What Rights are Acquired. 
 
 " Their flag and commissions are acknowledged, their revenue laws 
 are respected, and they acquire a quasi-political recognition. On the 
 other hand, the parent government is relieved from responsibility for 
 acts done in the insurgent territory ; its blockade of its own ports is 
 respected, and it acquires a right to exert against neutral commerce 
 all the powers of a party to a maritime war." 
 
 It was thought altogether probable that Spain would immediately 
 enter a protest, if the belligerency of the insurgents was recognized, 
 just as the .United States did in the early days of the civil war, when 
 France took that action. The then Secretary of State, William H. 
 Seward, acknowledged the right of France to take such a step in 
 these words : 
 
 " The President (Mr. Lincoln) does not deny on the contrary, he 
 maintains that every sovereign power decides for itself, on its respon 
 sibility, the question whether or not it will at a given time accord the 
 status of belligerency to the insurgent subjects of another power, as 
 also the larger question of the independence of such subjects and 
 their accession to the family of sovereign States." 
 
 As to the contention by Spain that war did not exist in Cuba; 
 that there was a revolt against constituted authority, by a mob of 
 rioters, this was pretty thoroughly disposed of by the opinion of the 
 
134 FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 
 
 Supreme Court of the United States about twenty years ago. It has 
 never been changed or abridged. 
 
 " A civil war," said Judge Grier, giving the opinion in what is 
 known as the Prize Cases, " is never solemnly declared ; it becomes 
 such by its accidents, the number, power and organization of the 
 persons who originate and carry it on. When the party in rebellion 
 occupy and hold in a hostile manner a certain portion of territory ; 
 have declared their independence; have cast off their allegiance; have 
 organized armies ; have commenced hostilities, the world acknowl 
 edges them as belligerents, and the contest a war." 
 
 The Resolutions Adopted. 
 
 After much discussion in Congress concerning the form that the 
 resolutions should take, making the action of the two Houses con 
 current, on April 6th, 1896, by the decisive and emphatic vote of 
 244 yeas to 27 nays the House of Representatives passed the Senate 
 concurrent resolutions declaring that public war exists in Cuba, and 
 granting belligerent rights to the insurgents. 
 
 Public interest in the Cuban question was manifested by the people 
 of Washington, and long before the noon hour the Capitol corridors 
 were thronged. When the House of Representatives was called to 
 order there was standing-room only in the galleries, and long lines 
 of waiting people filled the corridors before the entrance doors. 
 There were no proceedings of unusual moment on the floor of the 
 House. There was no debate and no opposition to the proceedings. 
 
 Congressman Hitt, of Illinois, Chairman of the Committee on For 
 eign Affairs, arose and demanded the regular order, and Speaker 
 Reed put the question on the adoption of the conference report. 
 The great, swelling chorus of ayes was followed by a feeble, scatter 
 ing negative vote, and the Speaker was about to declare the motion 
 carried when Mr. Hitt asked for the yeas and nays. Yielding to the 
 appeals of many members, however, he withdrew it; but Mr. Tucker, 
 of Virginia, demanded a record-making vote, and so the roll was 
 called. 
 
 When Speaker Reed announced that " The yeas are 244 and the 
 
FREEDOM FOR CUBA. 135 
 
 nays 27, and the resolutions are adopted," the applause upon the 
 floor of the House and in the galleries was roof-shaking in its inten 
 sity and continuity. 
 
 By its action the House agreed to the Senate resolutions, and 
 disposed of the Cuban question. These resolutions are as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That, in the opinion of Congress, a condition of public 
 war exists between the Government of Spain and the government 
 proclaimed and for some time maintained by force of arms by the 
 people of Cuba, and that the United States of America should main 
 tain a strict neutrality between the contending powers, according to 
 each all the rights of belligerents in the ports and territory of the 
 United States. 
 
 Resolved, Further, that the friendly offices of the United States 
 should be offered by the President to the Spanish Government for 
 the recognition of the independence of Cuba. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 Spanish Insults to the American Flag. 
 
 REAT excitement was caused in Spain by the passage of the 
 resolutions in the United States Senate relating to the inde 
 pendence of Cuba, and in a number of places the American 
 flag was torn down and trampled upon by boisterous mobs. As show 
 ing the spirit by which the crowds were actuated, we give here a 
 detailed account of the insults, which it is but just to the Spanish 
 authorities to say they repudiated, calling out troops in some instances 
 to protect our American officials and their residences. 
 
 At Madrid on March 2nd, 1896, there was a demonstration of 
 students against the American legation, but before any overt acts had 
 been committed the mob was dispersed by the authorities. The ex 
 citement over the Cuban question was intense. The prompt measures 
 taken by the authorities to suppress disorder and prevent demonstra 
 tions, large forces of police being everywhere present, convinced the 
 people that lawless acts would not be tolerated. 
 
 At Barcelona mounted gendarmes were kept busy patrolling the 
 city and dispersing gatherings of persons plotting to vent their wrath 
 upon the representatives of the United States Government there. Re 
 peated attempts were made to attack the United States Consulate. 
 The rioters were repeatedly charged by the police and scattered, only 
 to form in some other place with a determination to mob the Con 
 sulate. Such tenacity of purpose indicated that mischief-makers were 
 working upon the excited populace. 
 
 The greatest activity was displayed in the government dockyards, 
 and every preparation possible was being made by the naval and 
 military forces for an emergency. 
 
 The " Imparcial," a Madiid journal, declared that the utterances of 
 the United States Senate constituted an " unqualified anc? unreasoning 
 138 
 
138 INSULTS TO THE AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 provocation," adding : " If the desire for war was on account of a 
 fault in Spain, the Senators would be doing their duty. But no pro 
 vocation has been given to the United States, and ti.e Americans 
 judge rashly of the results of a Spanish- American war. The ob 
 noxious language of the Senate ought not to surprise any one. 
 United States Senators are accustomed to exchange gross insults 
 without crossing swords or exchanging bullets. These are the 
 cowards who are seeking war, and one awaits death with more cool 
 ness with a good conscience than with pockets filled with dollars." 
 
 The Spanish officials at Washington described the occurrences in 
 Spain as merely the outbursts of a few excited Spanish youths, and 
 claimed that the dispatches bore out this view, and there was no 
 probability of any diplomatic trouble. The prompt disavowal of the 
 Minister of State to Minister Taylor was pointed to as evidence that 
 the Spanish Government did not sympathize with the " mob." 
 
 "Down with the United States." 
 
 An anti-American demonstration occurred at Cadiz, Spain, March 
 7. A mob of about 500 students met in Genove s Park. They carried 
 two Spanish flags, and, after cheering some fiery utterances, paraded 
 before the town hall with cries of " Long live Spain ! " " Down with 
 the United States ! " etc. Later, they proceeded to a tobacco factory 
 and asked the manager to permit the workmen to join in the demon 
 stration. The manager, however, refused and called upon the police 
 for protection. The latter charged the mob with drawn swords, and 
 several of the students were wounded before they were driven away 
 from the vicinity of the factory. 
 
 After leaving that neighborhood the students made a demonstra 
 tion in front of the military club. There the police were again 
 ordered to charge the mob. This time the students showered stones 
 upon the police and were dispersed with much more difficulty. The 
 authorities anticipated additional outbreaks. 
 
 The orchestra of the Grand Theatre at Barcelona played the 
 national march, and the audience rose with enthusiastic shouts of 
 " Long live Spain ! " " Long live General Weyler ! " " Long live the 
 
INSULTS TO THE AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 139 
 
 army !" " Down with the United States ! " etc. The audience, after 
 leaving the theatre, was joined by very many other people, and 
 paraded the streets, utterin g similar shouts. The demonstrations took 
 such proportions that the police were unable to disperse the crowds, 
 and it became necessary to 
 call out the gendarmes, tvho, 
 with a considerable show of 
 force, succeeded in quelling 
 the disturbance. 
 
 There was an anti-Ameri 
 can riot at Bilboa, Spain, 
 March g, and it was of greater 
 importance than the previous 
 so-called patriotic disturb 
 ances caused by the action of 
 the Congress of the United 
 States in regard to Cuba. 
 About I2 ; ooo people took 
 part in the public demonstra 
 tion. The excitement was 
 started by a group of young 
 
 men at a street corner, who began cheering every soldier who passed 
 by. Their conduct was soon imitated by other groups of people, until 
 every soldier seen was cheered by the crowds, and some musicians 
 who refused to repeat the national anthem were hustled, beaten and 
 otherwise maltreated. 
 
 The excitement increased, and riotous groups formed in the main 
 streets, cheering for Spain and denouncing the United States. The 
 authorities did everything possible to maintain order. Almost the 
 entire police force was turned out as soon as the populace assumed a 
 threatening aspect, and the rioters were dispersed again and again. 
 Eventually, however, the mob became so numerous and excited that 
 the police were almost helpless. 
 
 After the first demonstrations of sympathy with the army the crowds 
 had armed themselves with sticks and cudgels, and their numbers 
 
 GENERAL WEYLER. 
 
140 INSULTS TO THE AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 were so great that the police were swept aside and an immense crowd 
 gathered on the leading thoroughfare, and marched towards the resi 
 dence of the United States Consul, shouting, " Long live Spain ! 
 " Down with the Yankees ! " 
 
 On their way to the Consul s residence they hurled stones through 
 the windows of stores and private residences, overturned a number of 
 vehicles, pulled several mounted policemen from their horses and 
 generally behaved in the most threatening manner. Stores dealing 
 in American goods received the most attention from the mob, and 
 the windows of the Consul s house were badly shattered, although 
 the police defended the building. 
 
 The mob then proceeded in the direction of the United States Con 
 sulate, evidently intending to stone the building as well. But the 
 authorities had taken the precaution to send a strong force of police 
 to guard that building and another detachment of police was stationed 
 across the streets leading to the Consulate. Therefore when the mob 
 neared the United States Consulate it was confronted by the police 
 with drawn swords. The mob halted, and then began pelting the 
 police most vigorously with stones and pieces of brick. 
 
 The policemen, however, held their ground, and a squad of the 
 officers charged the rioters. The latter began firing pistols at the 
 policemen, two of whom were wounded. This caused the police to 
 charge in a body, and, using their swords with good effect, the rioters 
 were dispersed, yelling and hooting at the authorities and shouting, 
 " Down with the Yankees ! " and " Long live Spain ! " 
 
 The police, who made a number of arrests, experienced considers 
 ble difficulty in escorting their prisoners to the depots. During the 
 whole afternoon there was more or less disorder. It was decided to 
 keep both the police proper and the gendarmes confined to barracks 
 until further orders, as there seemed to be danger of another out 
 break. 
 
 The United States Consulate was guarded by a strong detachment 
 of gendarmes armed with carbines, revolvers and swords, and they 
 had instructions to protect the Consulate at any cost. 
 
 There was a serious anti-American riot at Salamanca March th- 
 
VS. 
 
INSULTS TO THE AMERICAN FLAG. 141 
 
 The students, as usual, were the leaders of the disturbance. They 
 carried Spanish and American flags and burned the latter amid the 
 acclamations of the crowds which gathered to witness the " patriotic " 
 demonstration. 
 
 Cheering for Spain. 
 
 Eventually the gendarmes charged the rioters and dispersed them 
 temporarily. Later the students reassembled and gathered another 
 mob about them. The prefect hurried to the scene and exhorted the 
 students to disperse, but they hooted his utterances, cheering for 
 Spain and denouncing the United States. 
 
 Finally the prefect was compelled to call upon the police for pro 
 tection, and the gendarmes again charged the riotous students, who 
 met the onslaught with showers of stones. Order, however, was 
 finally restored, and the university was closed. The authorities 
 feared there would be more outbreaks, and more elaborate precau 
 tions were taken to promptly suppress them. 
 
 A dispatch from Madrid, March 1 2th, was as follows: "Further 
 demonstrations of students against the United States, as a result of 
 the Cuban resolutions of Congress, have occurred. At Corunna two 
 hundred students belonging to the University joined in a parade yes 
 terday, cheered for Spain and burned an American flag. The police, 
 however, succeeded in preventing the rioters from approaching the 
 United States Consulate. 
 
 " At Alicante the Mayor and police, while dispersing a similar anti- 
 American demonstration, were pelted with stones. A number of 
 policemen sustained injuries. 
 
 " A dispatch from Barcelona says that on the arrival there last 
 night of a train from Aragon two men were arrested upon a charge 
 of carrying concealed weapons. When a search of their clothing 
 was made, thirty dynamite cartridges and two daggers were dis 
 covered. The men asserted they had found the cartridges upon the 
 road, and declared that they had come to Barcelona in search of 
 work. The police discredit their story. The United States Con 
 sulate is being closely guarded." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 Horrors of Morro Castle. 
 
 HAVANA may, undoubtedly, be called a military city; for at 
 every corner you meet a soldier, before nearly every public 
 office there is a guard, and at various hours of the day and 
 evening, and in various parts of the city, one s ear is greeted by the 
 notes of the bugle, or the rattling of the drum ; while many of the 
 barracks and a fort or two are right in the midst of the city. 
 
 At night, sometimes, these sentries are troublesome with their 
 challenging, in an open city ; and if one approaches too near their 
 posts, he hears the words, quickly rung out, " Who goes there ?" 
 ( Qiden vive f) As a reply has to be made, the Habaneros say, 
 " Espaiia" the regular pass-word. An American finds no trouble in 
 replying, " Forastero " (foreigner), or ** Americano" But now-a-days, 
 the latter might be dangerous, as the name does not seem to be 
 popular. 
 
 A great deal of good sense has been displayed in uniforming the 
 troops for this climate. In lieu of the heav} cloth, the Cuban sol< 
 diers are clad in simple linen, of various colors white, blue and 
 brown than which nothing can look more soldierly. Take, for 
 instance, the infantry soldier, in full uniform. He wears a sort of 
 dark blue dungaree blouse, gathered at the waist to give it a natty 
 shape, a pair of neat brown-drilling pantaloons, and a low-crowned 
 cap of leather, with visor enough to be of some use. 
 
 In lieu of the stiff, uncomfortable coat collar, and the still more 
 uncomfortable and unhealthy leather stock, he wears a neatly rolled 
 collar, of red cloth, which, with his cuffs of the same, can be taken 
 off when he sends his kit to the wash. 
 
 Others, again, are uniformed in pure white, with pretty " shoulder 
 knockers," and collars and cuffs of red ; while the cavalry and artil 
 142 
 
HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 14^ 
 
 lerymen wear loose short jackets, pants of blue linen, and broad 
 palm-leaf hats. This uniform, far from being uncomfortable or 
 unsoldierly, is just the opposite; and Spanish troops have the appear 
 ance of clean and well-instructed soldiers. 
 
 The Captain-General is the superior military chief of the Island, 
 and commander-in-chief of its armies ; while next to him in rank is 
 the second chief, who has the rank of brigadier-general, and pay of 
 ten thousand dollars per annum, and who is also the sub-inspector of 
 infantry and cavalry. The corps of artillery and engineers have 
 special sub-inspectors, with the title of mariscales de campo. 
 
 The fortresses of the Island, in which are nearly always the prisons 
 and the barracks of the troops, have their owt< governors or con?- 
 manders, with special staffs. 
 
 Large Standing Army- 
 
 The army consists generally of twenty-five or thirty thousand men, 
 with its proportion of infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers and 
 marines. Each regiment has a colonel and lieutenant-colonel, a 
 drum-major, and six contract musicians. The battalion has a first 
 and second commander, an adjutant (lieutenant), an ensign, a chap 
 lain, and a surgeon, a chief bugler, and a master armorer. These 
 regiments are all known by names (not numbers), such as the King s, 
 the Queen s, Isabel II. of Naples, of Spain, etc., which does much 
 towards increasing the esprit du corps so necessary to make good 
 soldiers. 
 
 There is also a battalion known as the " Guardia Civil," a fine 
 body of men, who are scattered in small detachments throughout the 
 Island, mostly as watchmen and police, or, perhaps, as spies. They 
 are generally an intelligent set, handsomely uniformed in well-fitting, 
 dark-blue coats, white pants, and broad-brimmed felt hats, neatly 
 bound with white. One sees them on the wharves, in the opera- 
 house, at the theatre, patrolling the paseo in fact, everywhere in 
 Havana. 
 
 A large percentage of the troops die every year when they first 
 come from Spain, and therefore a large supply of recruits is neces- 
 
144 HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 
 
 sary to keep the regiments up to their maximum. The pay of field, 
 staff, and line is about the same as in our army, being double that 
 which is received in Spain ; though, as some of the officers declare, 
 "half pay" is more at home (Spain) than double pay in Cuba, every 
 thing costs so much more on the Island. 
 
 Havana is said to be impregnable. If it is not, it ought to be, 
 judging from the number of its stone walls, its frowning fortresses, 
 and its ships of war ; and yet it is not so strong as it looks. The 
 day is past for the simple, old-fashioned ways of attack by buccaneers, 
 and new modes of war make sad inroads upon the protection 
 afforded by some of these old-time forts. 
 
 Warning to Filibusters. 
 
 The Morro and La Punta Command the entrance. Across ther bay 
 is the Cabanas, with its guns pointing in every direction, and at the 
 end of the bay the Fortress of Santo Domingo de Atares. which 
 commands the bay and holds the city itself under surveillance. East 
 and west, La Punta, El Morro, Cabanas, Number Four, Principe, 
 San Lazaro, Pastora, and the Tower of Chorrera give notice to the 
 adventurous filibuster to " keep ofT." 
 
 The Castillo de los tres Santos Reyes del Morro, and the Fortress 
 of San Carlos de la Cabana are the ones which every traveler desires 
 to see, and which every one, if it is possible, should visit, as they are 
 world-renowned, in addition to being well worth seeing, not only on 
 account of their structure, but on account of the magnificent views 
 of sea and land from their battlements. 
 
 In former years, it was a matter of some difficulty to gain entrance 
 to these forts, and it is not now accomplished very easily. Of course, 
 our consul is the person to secure passes to the forts ; he always 
 obliges such parties of Americans as desire to visit them, unless in 
 war times. The authorities have a regular printed form of passes. 
 Starting from the landing just outside the Puerta dc la Punta, it is 
 only a short pull directly across to the landing of El Morro. 
 
 Strolling up the slope from the landing, one begins to realize im 
 mediately the apparently great strength of the work. The slope itself 
 
HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 145 
 
 which conducts up to the main gate of the castle is very strong, 
 with solid stone parapets on each side, and a road laid in mortar 
 with small, regular-sized cobble-stones. To the left, almost on a line 
 with the water, is the water battery known as the " Twelve Apostles," 
 twelve iron guns, mounted on siege carriages, carrying twenty- 
 four pound shot, and worked en barbette, which would give them 
 great effect at short range on any vessel attempting to pass. 
 
 Although the soldiers of whom you ask questions in the fort either 
 dare not or will not tell anything, yet they are useful guides. The 
 walls here at the entrance are very thick, you notice, and form case 
 mates, the one to the right being the guard-room, which is also 
 occupied by the officer of the day, who sometimes strolls through 
 the fort with foreigners. 
 
 A Dismal Old Fort. 
 
 In front of the entrance are the barracks and the storehouses, 
 which seem to occupy the hollow square formed by the walls of this 
 portion of the fort. They are of solid stone, with their rooms arched, 
 ceiled, and paved in stone, the bunks of the men being simply cots. 
 Looking towards the harbor is the casemate battery, mounting about 
 eight guns. The whole of this first fort, which seems to be separated 
 from the citadel by drawbridges, is very cramped and very dismal. 
 
 On the extreme corner of the fort, at the very mouth of the 
 entrance to the bay, stands the O Donnell light-house, a cylindrical 
 tower of stone, seventy-eight feet in height from the wall of the 
 castle, and fifteen feet in diameter, being altogether one hundred and 
 fifty-eight feet above the level of the sea. The light is of the first 
 order of Fresnel, fixed, but alternated with large reflectors tK.it i hine, 
 every half minute, for about five or six seconds. It is ordinarily seen 
 at a distance of eighteen miles, though in fine weather at a greater 
 distance. 
 
 Near the light-house, but upon the terreplain of the portion above, 
 is a small frame house, used as the signal-station, where are kept the 
 signal-flags, which are displayed from the masts close by; there aro 
 so many flags and signals of all nations, thai the interior of the house 
 
146 HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 
 
 looks quite like a dry-goods store. This portion of the fort is reached 
 by a stone slope leading up between the quarters, or by a narrow 
 spiral stone stairway inside the walls, coming out upon a concrete 
 terreplain protected by stone parapets, pierced with embrasures for 
 cannon. 
 
 From the parapet there is a fine view of the sea, the city, and the 
 surrounding country. Here, also, can be seen the full lines of the 
 land-face of the fort and the position of the others. 
 
 A Frowning Battery. 
 
 The moat is a dry and very deep one, the scarp walls of which are 
 fully one hundred feet high, and the width full fifty feet. From the 
 battlements one can see how much nature did for this fort in the 
 beginning ; for from the sea-side directly up to the counter-scarp, 
 there is a natural glacis, commanded completely from every part by 
 the guns en barbette in this part of the fort. The strongest battery, 
 and the only one that really looks as though it were ready for work, 
 is the one to the extreme right of the fort, entered by a covered way ; 
 and forming the sea-coast battery. 
 
 It mounts about twenty-four iron guns, of thirty-two pounds cali 
 bre, on siege carriages, and appears to be a very strong battery. 
 Just after entering the fort, by the stone slope, inside the exterior 
 wall, there is to the right hand a long stone-covered gallery, connect 
 ing the southern face of the fort with the covered way that leads to 
 the sea-coast battery, as also to the road leading over to the Cabanas 
 on the brow of the hill. This is a strong affair, arched, and lighted 
 by long, narrow apertures. It is about one hundred yards long. 
 
 Morro Castle is not only celebrated for the beauty of its natural 
 surroundings, but notorious because of the untold misery hidden 
 within its walls. The historic structure, intended as a military 
 stronghold, is admirably situated on a high elevation at the entrance 
 to the harbor of Havana, and, as already stated, from that location an 
 excellent view is obtainable of the land and water for many miles 
 around. Viewed from a military point of observation, the castle, 
 even with its natural advantages, is no longer a stronghold. 
 
HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 147 
 
 A bombardment by the elements controlled by the devastating 
 hand of Father Time has created sad havoc with the architectural 
 beauties of the old place, and what was at one time a really powerful 
 fortification is nothing more than a crumbling mass of masonry. 
 Cubans say that a sad tale of horror and misery can be told about 
 the place for every one of the building stones used in the construc 
 tion of the castle, and they now regard it as simply a shell where 
 human suffering is carefully concealed from the light of civilization. 
 
 A House of Horrors. 
 
 While in Cuba an American correspondent viewed the castle from 
 various points of observation. Fortunately for himself he did not 
 view it from the inside, however, although several other American 
 newspaper correspondents have been detained there under exasperat 
 ing conditions. 
 
 " The castle is a grand old place from a distant point of view," 
 writes the journalist. " In nearly every other consideration it is a 
 House of Horrors. A mere mention of the name Morro Castle 
 thrills the heart of the average Cuban with an ill-feeling, and they 
 have a greater dread of confinement there than they have of the yel 
 low fever. 
 
 " Political prisoners and suspects are taken there under a strong 
 guard of armed men. They are taken there in boats about 6 o clock 
 in the morning, the soldiers having bayonets drawn ready for instant 
 use. While on the way to the castle it would be almost certain 
 death for a prisoner to show the least sign of insubordination, for the 
 guards are authorized to deal summarily with their prisoners when 
 ever occasion requires, and no hesitation occurs in taking full and 
 instant advantage of that feature. 
 
 " Mr. Michaelson, the correspondent of a New York newspaper, 
 and his interpreter were confined there as suspects. It required ex 
 ertions of a most vigorous character for other Americans to discover 
 the fact that Mr. Michaelson was really confined there. Murat Hal- 
 stead and other Americans interviewed General Weyler, and finally 
 gained from the Spanish commander a blunt admission that the New 
 
148 HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 
 
 York writer was in the castle. The treatment Mr. Michaelson 
 received was almost brutal in its nature. 
 
 " He was compelled to sleep on the bare floor, and the interior of 
 the whole castle is like a dungeon. Stimulants forwarded to the 
 castle by his friends were never delivered to the prisoner. A ham 
 mock was not permitted to reach him until the day before he was 
 liberated, and meals purchased at a hotel for his benefit were detained 
 on the outside. His food was thrown to him as it might be given to 
 a dog. Finally, a prison attendant who saw that he was a gentleman, 
 gave him food on a tin plate, and then said in Spanish, I would 
 like to have a little tip, if you don t mind, sir. . 
 
 Slow Death in Prison Vaults. 
 
 " While in the cell, the correspondent saw a rat of tremendous size. 
 It was a black rat with a long gray beard, and approached Michael- 
 son, he said, as if bent on opening hostilities. Michaelson took off 
 his boot and hurled it at the animal, the missile striking the cell door 
 with a loud noise. The rat was frightened away, and prison officials 
 were attracted to the cell They rebuked the prisoner for a breach 
 of prison discipline, the noise not being permissible. 
 
 " The prison is a damp, unhealthy place, where no regard is paid 
 to sanitary arrangements or conditions. A short confinement within 
 its dreary walls is frequently attended with fatal consequences. The 
 climate is such that dreaded fevers are disastrous in their results, the 
 ravages of yellow fever being terrible in extent. 
 
 " The hospitals in and around Havana are so crowded with 
 patients that frequently the military doctors send sufferers to hotels 
 while the unfortunates are suffering from some dreaded disease. The 
 announcement is made that the complaint is rheumatism or some 
 other disease not of an infectious or contagious character, so that 
 this method frequently results in many well persons being subjected 
 needlessly to great dangers of contamination." 
 
 In April two hundred and twelve men were confined in two cells 
 of Morro Castle. They were political prisoners, or " suspects," await- 
 ; ng trial. Some had been there a week, some a month, some a year. 
 
HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 149 
 
 Two were American citizens ; one a British subject. There was a 
 boy of fourteen years, born in Spain, and not long enough in Cuba 
 to dream of rebelling against the government 
 
 There were men bowed in years, young men, merchants, profes 
 sional men, clerks and farm laborers, all gathered in and thrown 
 together, with little or no evidence of having aided or taken part in 
 the insurrection. In the Cabanas fortress, close by, and in prisons 
 all over the Island, were other unfortunates. Two thousand, three 
 thousand, perhaps four thousand, altogether, for no man may know 
 how many people Spain had behind the bars at this time in Cuba. 
 
 Like Subterranean Tunnels. 
 
 But of the 212 in the Morro. Each cell is about 20 feet wide and 
 nearly 100 feet deep. They are of stone, arched above, and are more 
 like subterranean tunnels than rooms for human beings. The only 
 openings are at the ends. They are in the lower part of a building, 
 within the outer walls, and having the appearance of being intended 
 for storing supplies. They are damp and filthy, and are said to be 
 infested with vermin. Nothing in the shape of chairs, benches or 
 beds is provided. There are, however, hooks for fifty hammocks in 
 each room. Friends of the prisoners supplied the hammocks ; but, 
 as there were 108 men in one room, and 104 in the other, more than 
 half the number were compelled to sleep on the stone floor. 
 
 Water was furnished twice a day in separate cans, which once 
 contained kerosene oil. Regular army rations were served. The 
 sanitary arrangements were vile. Many men were taken from these 
 cells to the hospitals before the slow-moving authorities saw fit to 
 try their cases, or admit that they had no case. 
 
 One of the prisoners was Lopez Colona, who left Matanzas in the 
 early days of the rebellion. Like Juan Gualberto Gomez, who died 
 in Ceuta prison, Colona presented himself when Captain-General 
 Calleja issued his proclamation granting amnesty to all insurgents 
 who surrendered. He had been in prison more than a year, had 
 neither been deported nor given a trial, and stood a good chance of 
 dying in prison. 
 
150 HORRORS OF MORRO CASTLE. 
 
 Another prisoner was Manuel Francisco Aguerro. He affirmed 
 he was an American citizen, and though he was arrested in July, 
 1895, the American Consul said he had never before heard of the 
 case. Aguerro was a general agent or manager of a traveling circus. 
 He said he had visited the United States yearly to obtain features 
 for his circus, and lived there at one time five years, when he took 
 out citizenship papers. He had taken no part in the war, and way 
 arrested in Guara, Havana province, July 7th, 1895. 
 
 All of the 212 in Morro Castle were white. One already men 
 tioned was a smooth-cheeked Spanish lad of fourteen, who was clerk 
 in a store in a small town in the interior of Havana province. He 
 lost his position, and was walking along the highway to Havana 
 when arrested, charged with being a rebel. 
 
 Aside from those named, the political prisoners are Cubans almost 
 without exception. They are not in any sense prisoners of war. 
 They are peaceable citizens dragged out of their homes, away from 
 families dependent upon them for support, and sent to the Morro. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 Stirring Incidents of the Conflict. 
 
 IT is evident that there was no opportunity for General Weyler to 
 fight a pitched battle with the entire insurgent army. The 
 reason is plain. The insurgents were scattered and were not 
 massed in large numbers. They were, indeed, separated into two 
 divisions, the one under General Gomez and the other under General 
 Antonio Maceo, but they were not to be found at any one point in 
 very formidable numbers. 
 
 The insurgent generals exhibited great strategy in avoiding a 
 pitched battle against overwhelming numbers. They knew every inch 
 of Cuba. They could advance and retreat with the swiftness of the 
 wind. They were well acquainted with all the natural strongholds, 
 and could disappear whenever there was a certainty of being defeated 
 or captured if they risked battle. Thus the war progressed and was 
 not without incidents of the most stirring description. 
 
 On March I3th, Gomez and Maceo, who were in the province of 
 Matanzas, separated, Gomez remaining in the vicinity of Jovellanos, 
 while Maceo moved west. The Government troops directed atten 
 tion to Maceo, who showed a tendency to retreat toward Havana. 
 The columns commanded by Generals Bernal and Prats, Colonels 
 Vicuna and Inclan, Tort and Molina and the Almanza battalion 
 formed a combination to encircle Maceo and prevent his entrance to 
 Havana province. The official announcement was made at the 
 Palace of the combination of the seven columns. The result was 
 anxiously awaited. 
 
 Later the Government announced that Maceo declined an engage 
 ment and entered Havana province. From other sources it was 
 learned that Maceo discovered the combination, and with Lacret and 
 Bandera s forces, numbering over ten thousand, fell upon the 
 
 151 
 
152 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 Almanza battalion, which happened to be a raw one recently arrived 
 from Spain, broke it to pieces near Los Palos, rode over the remains 
 and crossed the Havana line, leaving the Government combination in 
 the rear. Maceo passed south of Guines and struck the railroad 
 north of Batanao, removed the track and telegraph wires from the 
 trocha, and caused consternation in the block-houses along the strong 
 line. In the vicinity of Pozo Redondo he burned two bridges, and 
 was reported going in the direction of Pinar del Rio line. 
 
 General Weyler was very angry over the failure of the columns to 
 prevent Maceo s return, especially since he had just proclaimed the 
 province free of insurgents. The Government troops were rushed 
 west in pursuit of Maceo, and the strong line was again strengthened. 
 There was no improvement in the situation in the other provinces. 
 The Spanish held only three towns in the Western province Pinar 
 del Rio, Candelaria and Artemisa. 
 
 In Matanzas many thousand acres of cane were burned, railroads 
 destroyed and towns attacked. The rebels were more numerous than 
 ever. The same was true of Santa Clara and Santiago provinces. 
 General Weyler s recent decrees were being rigidly enforced, causing 
 panic in many sections. 
 
 The Spaniards Killing One Another. 
 
 An untoward military accident occurred, growing out of a mis 
 understanding of the reply to a challenge, resulting in the killing of 
 twelve soldiers and the wounding of a number of others. A small 
 band of insurgents had set fire to the cane and buildings on a sugar 
 estate near Marianao, Province of Havana. The smoke attracted the 
 attention of two columns of Spanish troops who were advancing in 
 search of the rebels. The column which first arrived on the estate 
 entrenched themselves, as a precaution against any sudden attack 
 t rom the insurgents, who were supposed to be near. 
 
 The second column, consisting of the San Quintin battalion, 
 arrived on the scene after dark. As they approached the entrench 
 ments of the first column they were hailed by the usual " Alerta" 
 from a picket, and responded by calling out the name of their battal- 
 
STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 153 
 
 ion San Quintin. The picket, confused by the sudden appearance 
 of the column, misunderstood the reply, taking it, from the similarity 
 of sound, to be Quintin Bandera, the name of one of the rebel 
 leaders. He at once concluded that the insurgents were moving tc 
 attack the column to which he belonged, and, without further parley, 
 discharged his piece and fell back to the entrenchments, where the 
 report of his rifle had caused all the troops to seize their arms and 
 prepare to repel an attack. 
 
 The second column had in the meantime continued to adv^nce^ 
 supposing that they had come upon the rebels for whom they were 
 looking. They had not gone far before the first column poured a 
 volley into their ranks. The second column returned the fire, and 
 then in response to an order fixed their bayonets and rushed forward 
 to take the entrenchments by storm. As they went over the en 
 trenchments the first column poured another volley into them, and 
 then when the troops came into close quarters it was discovered from 
 the uniforms and flags that a fatal blunder had been made. 
 
 It was reported that the losses on both sides in killed and wounded 
 were over thirty, but there was a strong suspicion that they were 
 much larger. 
 
 Defending Havana. 
 
 " Within three days," says a journalist, " I have made two journeys 
 out into the surrounding country, and have seen the hurried prepara 
 tions for the defense of the city which are going on day and night. 
 I went clear across the Island to the south coast along the trocha, 
 and the work is astonishing. Miles of trenches are being dug; on 
 every high piece of ground commanding a quarter of mile radius has 
 been erected a stone fort with a boiler-iron roof and watch-tower, 
 and outside the limits of the city not a building commanding a street 
 or village, or a hacienda in the country remains which has not been 
 barricaded and garrisoned. The numerous little forts are each capa 
 ble of holding a hundred or a hundred and fifty men and a machine 
 gun has been sent out to half a dozen of them which are nearest the 
 city. 
 
154 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 " It all looks very much like the hasty defense of a city about to 
 be attacked, and the nature of the fortifications, outside the forts 
 described, bears out this impression. The buildings utilized are 
 topped along the four sides of the roof with a rampart of oil-barrels 
 filled with sand, and when the supply of barrels has failed ordinary 
 sugar sacks have been used in the same way. At Guanabacoa, east 
 of the city in the direction of Matanzas, sardine boxes, flour barrels, 
 empty cracker cases, old lumber and every sort of junk have been 
 piled up in lines and filled with gravel. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to the American press, was received 
 at Tampa, Fla., March I4th : 
 
 Outrages by a Despot. 
 
 " If the Government that unhappily rules the destinies of this 
 unfortunate country should be true to the most rudimentary princi 
 ples of justice and morality, Colonel Jull, who has been recently 
 appointed Military Governor of Matanzas province, should be in the 
 galleys among criminals. It is but a short time since he was relieved 
 by General Martinez Campos of the military command at Cienfuegos, 
 as he had not once engaged any of the insurgent forces, but vented 
 all his ferocious instincts against innocent and inoffensive peasants. 
 
 " In Yaguaramas, a small town near Cienfuegos, he arrested as 
 suspects and spies Mr. Antonio Morejon, an honest and hard-working 
 man, and Mr. Ygnacio Chapi, who is well advanced in years and 
 almost blind. Not being able to prove the charge against them, as 
 they were innocent, he ordered Major Moreno, of the Barcelona 
 battalion, doing garrison duty at Yaguaramas, to kill them with the 
 machete and have them buried immediately. Major Moreno answered 
 that he was a gentleman, who had come to fight for the integrity of 
 his country, and not to commit murder. This displeased the colonel 
 sorely, but, unfortunately, a volunteer sergeant, with six others, were 
 willing to execute the order of the colonel, and Morejon and Chapi 
 were murdered without pity. 
 
 "The order of Jull was executed in the most cruel manner. It 
 horrifies to even think of it. Mr. Chapi, who knew the ways of 
 
STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 155 
 
 Colonel Jull, on being awakened at 3 o clock in the morning, and 
 notified by the volunteer of the guard that he and Morejon had to 
 go out, suspected what was to come, and told his companion to cry 
 out for help as soon as they would be taken out of the fort. They 
 did so, but those who were to execute the order of Jull were neither 
 moved nor weakened in their purpose. 
 
 A Ghastly Spectacle. 
 
 " On the contrary, at the first screams of Chapi and Morejon they 
 threw a lasso over their heads, and pulled at it by the ends. In a 
 few moments they fell to the ground, choked to death. They were 
 dragged on the earth without pity to the place where they were buried. 
 All this bloody scene was witnessed by Jull from a short distance. 
 Providence has not willed that so much iniquity should remain hid 
 den forever. In the hurry the grave where these two innocent men 
 were buried was not dug deep enough, and part of the rope with 
 which they were choked remained outside. A neighbor looking for 
 a lost cow saw the rope, took hold of it, and, on pulling, disinterred 
 the head of one of the victims. He was terror-stricken, and imme 
 diately gave notice to the Guardia Civil and the Judge. These 
 authorities soon found out that the men had been killed by order of 
 Colonel Jull, and therefore proceedings were suspended. 
 
 " The neighbors and all civil and military authorities know every 
 thing that has been related here, but such is the state of affairs on 
 this Island that General Weyler has had no objection to appointing 
 this monster, Colonel Jull, Military Governor of Matanzas. Such 
 deeds as enumerated are common. 
 
 " The people of the town of Matanzas, with Jull as Governor, and 
 Arolas at the head of a column, will suffer the consequences of their 
 pernicious and bloody instincts. 
 
 " That the readers may know in part who General Arolas is, I will 
 relate what has happened in the Mercedes estate, near Colon. It 
 having come to his knowledge that a small body of rebels was 
 encamped on the sugar Estate Mercedes, of Mr. Carrillo, General 
 Arolas went to engage them, but the rebels, who were few in num- 
 
156 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 her, retreated. Much vexed at not being able to discharge one 
 at them, he made prisoners of three workmen who were out in the 
 field herding the animals of the estate, and without any formality of 
 trial shot them. When the bodies were taken to the Central they 
 were recognized, and to cover his responsibility somewhat General 
 Arolas said that when he challenged them they ran off, and at the 
 first discharge of musketry they fell dead. 
 
 * It seems impossible that being so near the United States, so neat 
 that country so free, cultured and generous, innocent peasants can be 
 butchered with impunity. Not even in Armenia happens what is 
 being witnessed in Cuba. The history of the Spanish dominion in 
 this unfortunate Island is a history of crimes." 
 
 Appalling Devastation. 
 
 Some idea of the devastation wrought by the war in Cuba may be 
 gathered from the fact that fifty-nine towns were destroyed in the four 
 western provinces. Most of these towns were burned by the insurgents 
 for resisting attacks, or because they were being used as depots of 
 supplies for government troops. In some cases, like that of Cabanas, 
 the Spanish troops demolished the town to prevent the insurgents 
 from occupying it. Very little of the destruction was done wantonly 
 by either side. 
 
 When the insurgents, led by Maceo, entered Pinar del Rio every 
 town in the province except the capital city welcomed him with open 
 arms, and no property was injured. Later the Government troops 
 entered the province, and, moving in strong columns, dislodged the 
 insurgents from town after town, establishing their own garrisons there. 
 Thereupon the inhabitants burned their own town, and nearly the 
 entire province was laid in ashes. Spanish troops occupied the city 
 of Pinar del Rio, the towns of Candelaria, Artemisa and the port of 
 Colima. All the rest of the province was in the hands of the enemy. 
 A Spanish force was sent to establish a base of supplies at Guane. 
 Upon the approach of the column the residents burned their town. 
 
 In the general devastation of Pinar del Rio tobacco warehouses 
 were burned, and the indications were that this crop would not be 
 

STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 157 
 
 permitted to reach the coast. Banana and pineapple crops were also 
 interfered with. Shipments from the interior to the sea-coast towns 
 were so completely blocked that at Guines, in this province, cows 
 were offered for sale at $4 each, pigs $1, turkeys 40 cents, and eggs 
 and milk had no price. In Havana these things were worth four 
 times the customary price, and codfish imported in large quantities 
 for consumption in the interior was offered for one and one-half cents 
 per pound, but a little more than the duty alone. Thousands of 
 people were destitute, and had it not been for tropical fruits and 
 the tropical climate starvation would have been theirs. 
 
 The following report from Defuniak Springs, Fla., under date of 
 March i8th, shows that the friends of Cuba were active in supplying 
 arms and ammunition : 
 
 Arrival of Munitions of War. 
 
 " The expedition of General Enrique Collazo, which sailed from 
 Tampa about two weeks ago, was met at an appointed location in 
 the Gulf by a steamer whose name is given as Jose Marti, having 
 aboard General Collazo, Major Charles Hernandez, and Miguel Duque 
 de Estrada, a brother-in-law of Collazo. The main body consisted of 
 ninety-eight able-bodied men, most of whom are prominent in society 
 in Havana. The steamer will immediately sail for Cuba, intending to 
 land on the northern coast, near Cardenas. The following is a list of 
 the munitions of war taken : 
 
 " Five hundred Winchester rifles, 500 Remington rifles, 500 ma 
 chetes, two rapid-firing field-pieces, and a large number of cartridges, 
 caps and considerable dynamite. Sufficient accoutrements and 
 equipments were taken for five hundred men. 
 
 " The Spanish Consul at Tampa was fully aware of the move, but 
 on account of it being made on Sunday he could obtain no warrant 
 to arrest the members of the expedition, the United States Marshal 
 refusing to act without it." 
 
 The strength of the insurgent army at this time was close to 
 43,000 men. Cubans themselves estimated the number of men in the 
 field as high as 60,000; but even if unarmed camp-followers, men in 
 
158 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 charge of provision trains, hospitals and camps were counted, it is 
 doubtful if that number could have been found actually in service. 
 There were thousands of Cubans who would willingly have cast their 
 lot with the patriot army, but lack of arms and ammunition prevented. 
 The insurgent forces operated, as a rule, in zones or districts, and 
 were organized on military lines. The columns of Gomez, Maceo, 
 Lacret and Banderas were, however, limited to no one province, but 
 passed from one to another, under direct orders of Gomez. 
 
 A Hand-to-Hand Encounter. 
 
 News was received at Havana of an important battle which was 
 fought in the vicinity of Candelaria, in the Province of Pinar del Rio. 
 The Government troops were unable to drive the insurgents back, 
 and retired from their position with considerable loss. The Spanish 
 forces were commanded by General Linares and Colonels Inclan and 
 Hernandez, and the insurgents by Maceo and Banderas. The fighting 
 was begun on a line parallel with the roadway. The Spanish forces 
 deployed, the Tarifa battalion, a section of the Victoria cavalry and a 
 detachment of artillery forming the vanguard and opening fire upon 
 the enemy. 
 
 The insurgents returned this fire, and at the same time made an 
 attack upon the rear-guard of the Spaniards, completely encircling 
 their column. Having entirely surrounded the Government troops, 
 the insurgents advanced upon the artillerymen with machetes. The 
 latter made a vigorous resistance, using muskets and grenades with 
 such effect as to check for a time the enemy s advance ; but, with 
 reinforcements, a second charge was made by the insurgents and a 
 hand-to-hand engagement ensued. The battle terminated with a 
 bayonet charge. After a hot fight, lasting two hours, the Spaniards 
 were defeated, losing many killed and wounded. It was the intention 
 of the enemy to prevent Colonel Inclan from proceeding to Can 
 delaria. 
 
 The official report of the fight said the insurgents suffered a tre 
 mendous loss. The Spaniards lost two captains and fiv< privates 
 killed, and one lieutenant, four sergeants and fifty-foui soldiers 
 
STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 159 
 
 wounded. General Linares arrived at Candelaria an hour alter the 
 conclusion of the engagement, when he reported his share in the 
 battle. 
 
 A dispatch from Havana to the Impartial at Madrid said: " Captain- 
 General Weyler feels much hindered by the excessive degree of 
 prudence he is compelled to observe during the discussion in the 
 United States Congress of the question of the belligerency of the 
 Cuban insurgents, which, moreover, prejudices the course of the 
 war." 
 
 Mr. Armstrong, Secretary of the United States Legation at 
 Madrid, said : " General Weyler is certainly in a very embarrassing 
 position. He is trying to quell an insurrection in a province in 
 which 90 per cent, of the population are opposed to him, and as soon 
 as he starts a friendly nation practically tells him that, while he may 
 carry on the war, he must not shoot any one." 
 
 A detachment of Spanish troops near Cardenas, province 9f 
 Matanzas, captured 151 cases of ammunition, nine cases of carbines, 
 fourteen medical chests, twenty boxes of accoutrements and two 
 boxes of cartridge caps. These supplies, evidently intended for the 
 insurgents, were found in three boats, which apparently belonged to 
 some filibustering steamer off the coast. 
 
 Senor Dupuy de Lome, Spanish Minister at Washington, re 
 ceived the following cablegram on March 20 : 
 
 " HAVANA, March 20. The detachment of Veradero, near Carde 
 nas, captured 1 50 boxes of ammunition for Remington and Winchester 
 rifles, nine boxes of cavalry rifles, fourteen tin boxes of medicines, 
 twenty knapsacks covered with oil-cloth, two boxes of explosives and 
 three boats. (Signed) WEYLER." 
 
 The Spanish Minister was of the opinion that the war material 
 mentioned was that of the Colazzo expedition, which was shipped 
 from Cedar Key in the schooner " J. S. Mallory," captured by the 
 United States revenue cutters, released by the authorities at Tampa, 
 and afterwards transshipped somewhere near the southern coast of 
 Florida to the steamer " Three Friends." 
 
 With the arrival at Philadelphia of the schooner * J. Manchester 
 
160 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 Haynes" from Havana, came an interesting account of the state of 
 affairs at the Cuban capital. For two months the schooner lay at 
 Havana, and during all that time the insurgents tantalized the Span 
 ish soldiers, who, notwithstanding the vigorous policy that was sup 
 posed to have been adopted, seemed to be unable to cope with the 
 tactics employed by the patriots. 
 
 Flames from Burning Plantations. 
 
 Ninety thousand soldiers were quartered at Havana. During the 
 time the " Haynes " was at that port the insurgent force, numbering 
 about 6000, were at no time farther away from the capital than fifteen 
 miles. The Spanish soldiers had possession of the city, but just 
 outside havoc was being wrought by the insurgents. Flames from 
 burning plantations could be seen at all times, and frequently a daring 
 patriot would go almost into the capital and destroy property. 
 
 The Western Railroad, which runs from Havana, was a great 
 sufferer. No sooner were the rails relaid than the insurgents tore 
 them up again. An engineer, more daring than the rest, was warned 
 by the insurgents not to venture out from the town, but, risking it, 
 he was captured, and when the " Haynes" left Havana nothing further 
 had been heard concerning him. The President of this railroad also 
 lost cattle, which were in the western part of the city. The insur 
 gents some weeks before raided that section and destroyed a large 
 number of cows, and no milk could be had for several days. 
 
 Insurgent spies were said to enter Havana frequently to find out 
 whatever news it was possible to learn, especially the plans of the 
 Spanish. They then returned to the country, and the information 
 thus obtained enabled the officers to direct their forces in a manner 
 that baffbd the Government troops. 
 
 The " Haynes " was at Havana when General Weyler arrived. 
 War was to be pushed to a speedy end, it was declared, but there 
 was no sign of an early termination of hostilities. When the United 
 States Senate passed the resolutions favoring the recognition of the 
 insurgents as belligerents, there was bitter feeling expressed by the 
 Spaniards against this country. " Why," said one, " I could eat ten 
 
STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 161 
 
 of those Arnencans myself!" Somebody remarked that it would be 
 better for his country if he ate ten of the insurgents. 
 
 The insurgents seemed never to rest, but it appeared otherwise 
 ivith the Spaniards. A small band of the insurgents would approach 
 very close to the capita], but while the Government troops were pur 
 suing them the time for eating would come. This settled it. The 
 soldiers stopped to eat After they had filled their stomachs with 
 things good to eat and drink, they enjoyed their cigarettes. By this 
 time the insurgents ort their ponies were far away. This is quoted to 
 illustrate the activity vf one and the apathy of the other of the con 
 tending forces. 
 
 Capture of a Band of Insurgents. 
 
 Some days before the " Haynes " sailed for Philadelphia several 
 bands of insurgents were captured. One band, numbering seventeen, 
 headed by a negro chief, was marched through the town in the charge 
 of a large regiment of soldiers. The soldiers with great glee kept 
 swinging their swords near the chief s head. The entire band was 
 taken to Morro Castle, where, it was believed, the chief would be 
 shot. A Spanish commandant, who had been found giving provi 
 sions to insurgents, was executed in Morro Castle. An American 
 sailor, who had been three years in Morro Castle, was released 
 severax weeks before. He had been put there for knocking down a 
 policeman. The sailor was lounging around the docks when the 
 " Haynes " departed. 
 
 A day or so before the schooner sailed from Havana an expedition 
 was said to have been landed at Cabanas, a town to the westward of 
 the capital. The gunboats did not seem to be able to prevent the 
 landing of filibusters, who found it comparatively easy to get ashore 
 on the coast from Santa Cruz to Havana. It was stated that property- 
 owners and merchants were openly professing sympathy with the 
 Spaniards, fearing that all that belonged to them would be confiscated 
 if they appeared to favor the other side, but when the turning-point 
 came, it was believed all would actively support the insurgents. 
 
 Owing to the destruction of the plantations very little new sugar 
 11 
 
162 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 was coming into Havana from the country districts. There was a lot 
 of old sugar in the warehouses, but this the people did not care to 
 send out because no new material was coming in. 
 
 Reference has been made to the expedition of the steamer " Three 
 Friends," of Jacksonville, Florida. We here give the complete story 
 of the trip. The steamer, in command of Captain Napoleon B. 
 Broward, arrived at Jacksonville on March iSth, having succeeded in 
 landing in Cuba General Enrique Collazo, Major Charles Hernandez, 
 and Duke Estrada, besides fifty-four men taken off the schooner 
 " Ardell," from Tampa, and the entire cargo of arms and ammunition 
 of the schooner " Mallory," from Cedar Key. It was by long odds 
 the most important expedition that has set out from this country, and 
 the Cubans at Jacksonville, when they learned that the " Three 
 Friends " had safely fulfilled her mission, shouted " Viva Cuba ! " 
 until they were hoarse. 
 
 Large Cargo of Arms. 
 
 They declared that it would change the character of the whole 
 war, as the unarmed men would now be armed and those without 
 ammunition would be supplied, and that Maceo, who had before been 
 wary and cautious, would be more aggressive than he had ever been 
 before. The cargo of arms landed by the " Three Friends " and 
 the " Mallory " was as follows : 750,000 rounds of cartridges ; 1,200 
 rifles ; 2,100 machetes; 400 revolvers, besides stores, reloading tools, 
 etc. 
 
 The " Three Friends " met the " Mallory " at Alligator Key. The 
 (< Ardell " had just finished transferring the men to her. While they 
 were rendezvoused there behind the pines in a deep coral-walled 
 creek three big Spanish men-of-war steamed slowly by, but they did 
 not discover that there was anything suspicious-looking in shore, 
 although with a glass men could be seen in their look-outs scanning 
 the horizon, as well as searching the shore. Sunday, about noon, no 
 vessels being in sight, the " Three Friends " took in tow the " Mal 
 lory " and steamed southward under a good head of steam. 
 
 The " Three Friends " is a powerful tug, and by Monday night 
 
STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 163 
 
 was close enough to the Cuban shore to hear the breakers. Several 
 ship lights to the west were seen, one of which was evidently a 
 Spanish man- of-war, for she had a search light at her bow, and was 
 sweeping the waves with it, but the " Three Friends " was a long 
 way off and had no light, and so was out of the neighborhood of the 
 Spaniard. 
 
 Shadowed by Detectives. 
 
 At ten o clock that night, by the aid of a naphtha launch and two 
 big surf-boats, which had been taken out of Jacksonville, the " Three 
 Friends " landed the men and ammunition from her hold, and from 
 that of the " Mallory." It took four and a half hours to complete 
 the job. There were hundreds of men on shore to assist, and they 
 did it silently, appreciating the peril of the undertaking. 
 
 The Cubans on shore recognized General Collazo immediately, and 
 no words can describe their joy upon seeing him. He is a veteran 
 of Cuban wars, and is one whom Spain fears. In fact, it is known 
 that during his sojourn in Florida he was shadowed by detectives, 
 who had been instructed to spare no expense to keep Collazo f: o n 
 reaching Cuba. When it was whispered that Collazo was really 
 among them, they seemed not to believe their ears, but came forward 
 and looked, and, seeing that there was really no mistake, threw up 
 their arms and wept. Major Charles Hernandez and Duke Estrada 
 were also enthusiastically welcomed. 
 
 It was reported that night that Maceo had received the arms of the 
 first expedition that set forth three days before the " Three Friends 
 landed. They were not from the " Commodore," for they reported 
 that they were now on the lookout for that vessel. They said, too, 
 that at the end of the week four expeditions were afloat. Two, in 
 cluding the " Three Friends," had landed, and two more were on the 
 way. Tuesday morning, as the " Three Friends " was returning, she 
 sighted a steamer that answered to the description of the " Commo 
 dore." She was headed southward, and pushing along apparently 
 at the rate of fifteen knots an hour. This vessel has an engine capa 
 ble of driving a ship twice her size, and has a speed of seventeen 
 knots an hour. 
 
164 STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 
 
 On Wednesday, March 3, General Collazo, Major Hernandez and 
 Duke Estrada left Tampa, and reached Jacksonville the next day. 
 They remained secreted at the house of a Cuban sympathizer until 
 the 1 2th, General Collazo knowing that detectives had been on his 
 trail for weeks. They intended to leave on the night of March 5th, 
 but their departure was delayed, on account of the capture of the 
 " Mallory," until the 1 2th. After release, the "Mallory " sailed with 
 a part of the arms seized at Cedar Keys six months before, some on 
 an island, some in a house, and some that had been jettisoned and 
 had been released through the efforts of H. S. Rubens, general 
 counsel of the Cubans. The schooner " Ardell " left Tampa the 
 same night with fifty-four men and Brigadier-General Vasquez, a 
 brother-in-law of General Collazo. 
 
 Escape of the Vessel. 
 
 Five tons of the " Mallory s " arms and ammunition were taken from 
 her at Tampa and shipped to Jacksonville, in a sealed car, with instruc 
 tions not to open until called for. When the car arrived in Jackson 
 ville, one of the clerks of the railroad, not knowing of the orders, 
 opened the car and unloaded it in the freight depot of the Florida 
 Central & Peninsular Railroad, and this discovery led to all sorts of 
 rumors. It was known that the boxes contained arms, as they were 
 heavy, and they were labelled " Colt s Fire Arms Company." They 
 were promptly removed to the warehouse of the President of the 
 Friends of Cuba Club of Jacksonville. 
 
 The arms remained in this warehouse until the night of the I2th 
 instant. Meanwhile the " Mallory " sailed from Tampa with the re^ 
 mainder of the cargo to Alligator Key, the appointed rendezvous. 
 Alligator Key is about 100 miles south of Biscayne Bay. It is a 
 part of the Florida reef, and, being well wooded, is an excellent place 
 for the purpose. There the " Mallory " was joined by the "Ardell," 
 where the two waited for the "Three Friends." 
 
 This vessel left the dock of the Alabama Coal Company in Jackson 
 ville at 8 o clock on the night of Thursday, the 1 2th inst, and pro 
 ceeded to the dock, where she loaded with arms, ammunition and 
 
STIRRING INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLICT. 165 
 
 dynamite. At 10 o clock she sailed for the mouth of the river, but 
 stopped at Bucki s on the way and took aboard General Collazo and 
 his party, and A. W. Barra, who had driven out in carriages from the 
 place where they were secreted. At this point a large naphtha launch 
 was taken on, as well as two large iron surf-boats, to be used in 
 landing the arms, etc. 
 
 The steamer proceeded out to the bar that night, and at daylight 
 of Friday, the I3th, she proceeded down the coast. She arrived al 
 Alligator Key Sunday morning, and then took in tow the " Mallory." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 Pathetic Stories of the War. 
 
 ON the 4th of March, Dr. Delgado, an American citizen residing 
 in Cuba, was wounded by brutal Spanish soldiers. There was 
 a ghastly gash made by a machete across the side of his 
 head, extending downward to the throat. It was sewed up by the 
 doctors. The bullet-hole through his side was the most painful. 
 
 He had lived in New York, and had begun practicing medicine 
 there as assistant to Dr. Alexander Mott. He came to Cuba in 1876 
 to claim property which belonged to him by inheritance. He 
 grieved a great deal over the young men who were killed on the day 
 of the massacre, when he escaped so miraculously to tell this story. 
 
 A newspaper correspondent heard the story of the butchery from 
 Delgado s old father, who speaks good English. The old man was 
 still suffering from the effects of the weeks which he spent in the 
 damp cane fields with his wounded boy. Frequently, as he told the 
 awful story, his face was convulsed with suffering, and tears flowed 
 from his eyes. In his trembling hands he held the blood-stained 
 bullet which fell from his side when they removed his garments. He 
 said that he would bring it himself to Mr. Cleveland and would ask 
 the President if there was no protection for Americans in Cuba. 
 
 * Our plantation," he said, " is called Dolores, the old name being 
 Morales. It was about half-past one on the 4th day of March when 
 a regiment of rebels, about 400 or 500 men, invaded the place. 
 They told us that they were Maceo s men, and soon after them came 
 Maceo, with twenty-four women, sixteen whites and eight mulattoes. 
 I understood that these women were the wives of the officers. 
 
 " Maceo shook hands politely and asked if I would allow them to 
 take breakfast with us. Of course there was nothing to do but to 
 say yes, and the men spread themselves over about seventy acres of 
 166 
 
PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 167 
 
 the plantation, the officers and the ladies coming into the house. 
 They had provisions with them, but desired to cook and serve them, 
 which they did. They sat down at the table, and were soon joking 
 and laughing. 
 
 " Suddenly we heard rifle-shots. Hernandez yelled to his wife to 
 hand him his machete. Then all went out and found that the firing had 
 come from what seemed to be an advance guard of the Spanish troops. 
 There was some skirmishing at a distance, and the insurgents rode 
 away. They did not wish to fight on the plantation, as they were on 
 another mission. 
 
 Bullets Cause Alarm. 
 
 " The Spaniards had fired the cane, thinking there were other 
 insurgents hiding in it. Spanish bullets rattled on the tiled roof of 
 the house, and farm-hands who were ploughing back of the house got 
 frightened and wished to come in. So the doors and windows were 
 unbarred, and six men and three women, wives of the farm-hands, 
 came in. 
 
 " After a while I opened the window to see how matters stood and 
 saw two cavalrymen and a captain, with two soldiers. My son and 
 the farm-hands went out toward the burning cane in an attempt to 
 save some oxen that were near the cane. When the captain saw 
 them he shouted : Who are those people ? 
 
 " I told him they were our workmen, and he then gave orders to 
 clear the house. They rushed their horses right through the house, 
 the captain leading them. I took out my American papers and 
 showed them to him to prove that I was a peaceful citizen. 
 
 " They are the worst documents you can have, said the captain. 
 They answered my son in the same way, and the captain repeated 
 the order to clear the house. Then they ordered us to march on as 
 prisoners and told the women to stay back. My son asked them to 
 let me stay back with the women, and they allowed me to do so. Of 
 course, the women were panic-stricken and screaming when they saw 
 their husbands taken away. 
 
 " We heard shots and then a second volley. One of the women 
 
168 PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 
 
 cried out : They have killed my husband ! Her words were true. 
 After about three hours I ventured out, and I saw coming toward the 
 house the old farm-hand, a man of about 70. He seemed to be hold 
 ing a red handkerchief over his arm, but when I got nearer I saw 
 that it was covered with blood. He cried out when he saw me : 
 
 " They have killed them ! 
 
 " My son ! My son ! I cried. 
 
 " He was the first one that they killed/ he said. 
 
 " I took the man in the house and tried to bind his arm, which had 
 been shattered by a bullet I endeavored to pacify the women, and 
 told them that they should go to the nearest neighbors for help. 
 The two white farm-hands, who had been hiding in the cane, then 
 came over toward the house, while I was trying to quiet the women. 
 They were afraid to move, panic-stricken, and would not go for help. 
 
 " Suddenly a young man dashed up to the house at full gallop. 
 He drew his revolver and told the farm-hands to get cots and pil 
 lows and medicine to bring to the missing men in case any of them 
 should be still alive. He said he would shoot them if they diso^ 
 beyed, and they did as he directed. They made up a litter, and we 
 walked on till we found the place where the men lay in a pool oi 
 blood. 
 
 " I looked into my son s face and cried out: My son, my son. He 
 opened his eyes and whispered, Father, they have killed us. " 
 
 The old gentleman broke down in a passion of weeping at these 
 recollections of this awful scene. He led me in to the bedside of his 
 son, who then told me his story of the butchery. 
 
 " They marched us along," he said, " and I spoke to the General : 
 General, I am an American citizen, and here are my papers from Mr. 
 Williams. 
 
 " They are the worst things you could have, he said. I wish the 
 Consul were here himself, so that I could treat him thus/ and he 
 struck me three times in the face. Then he sounded the bugle calling 
 the volunteers, and ordered us taken to the rear-guard. Of course, 
 we knew that this meant death. They tied us in a line with our 
 hands pinioned. I knew the sergeant and said to him : 
 
PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 169 
 
 " Is it possible that you are going to kill me ? 
 
 " How can I help it ? he answered. Then the order was given 
 and the soldiers rushed upon us with machetes. Their knives cut our 
 ropes as we tried to dodge the blows, and the soldiers fired two 
 volleys at us. 
 
 " The first shot grazed my head, and I dropped to the ground as 
 though dead. The old farm-hand also threw himself to the earth. 
 This act saved both our lives. 
 
 " The other four men who tried to fight were killed. At the second 
 discharge a bullet pierced my side. When we all lay as though dead 
 they came up and turned us over and searched our pockets mine 
 first, of course, as I was better dressed than the other men. One of 
 the soldiers noticed that my breast moved and shouted out : This 
 fellow is not dead yet. Give him another blow, and he raised his 
 machete and gave me a slash across the face and throat. Then I be 
 came unconscious." 
 
 Secreted in a Cane Field. 
 
 Delgado s father took up the story as his son left ofT: " The brave 
 young man who brought us to the place where my son was, now 
 jumped from his horse and gave orders to the men to lift my son on 
 the litter, as we found he was the only man still living. We put a 
 pillow under his head, and the two farm hands lifted the litter and 
 carried it into the cane field. 
 
 " Meanwhile, the women relatives of the dead men came up and 
 began to wail and cry. The young man, whom we afterward found 
 was an insurgent leader, told them they should be quiet, as their 
 lamentations would bring the Spanish troops upon the scene again. 
 
 " Then the litter was carried into the cane field. This young man 
 said : You must immediately write to the American Consul. I will 
 furnish you with a messenger, and you may rest safely in this cane 
 field with your son. I will put a guard of 500 men around it so that 
 they cannot burn it, as they do when they know people are hiding in 
 the cane/ 
 
 " For five days I was in the cane field with my son. It rained upon 
 
170 PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 
 
 us, and then I put the pillows over my son s chest, in order to protect 
 him. I suffered greatly from rheumatism. Only the young man 
 appeared and said that General Maceo had sent a guard to escort me 
 back to my home. 
 
 <( With my boy we were taken there and guard kept around our 
 house. Then the messenger came back from the Consul, and I came 
 on to Havana to see General Weyler, who had my son brought here 
 to the city." 
 
 On the Sunday after Delgado was borne down the Prado on a 
 covered litter, escorted by a gorgeous Red Cross detachment in 
 Spanish uniform. There was so much theatrical display and pomp 
 about the procession that it looked very much like a clever ruse to 
 impress the newspaper correspondents, who, it was known, were in 
 possession of all the details of the butchery. 
 
 No Protection for Americans. 
 
 Here is the story of the three brothers Farrar, all American 
 citizens and joint owners of the coffee plantation Estrella, in Havana 
 province, near Alquizar. It does not differ greatly from the experi 
 ence of many other owners of estates in the interior, but as these 
 men happened to be Americans and had made sworn statements 
 protesting against the excesses committed by Spanish troops, and 
 demanding damages, the affair became one of official record, and 
 cannot be brushed away with a general denial. The papers were 
 placed in the hands of Consul-General Williams, and Miguel Farrar, 
 one of the brothers, furnished a copy of the statement. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 "On Saturday, March 2ist, the dwelling-house of the coffee plan 
 tation Estrella was the object of wanton attack by the column of 
 General Bernat, operating in that region. The said building received 
 cannon shots of grape and canister, breaking the door, one window, 
 several piazza columns, and greatly endangering the lives of the 
 families of my brothers, Don Tasio and Don Luis Farrar, both Amer 
 ican citizens, the wife of the former being enceinte. There were two 
 small children in the house. From my information it appears that 
 
PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 171 
 
 the troops mentioned had sustained fire with a rebel band in Paz 
 plantation, a quarter league from Estrella. 
 
 " The rebels having fled to Pedroso and Buena Esperanza planta 
 tions, the government troops advanced toward Estrella, in quite an 
 opposite direction from that taken by the rebels. On arriving at the 
 borders of Estrella plantation, the Spanish columns began firing 
 cannon at the dwelling-house, and it was immediately invaded by 
 soldiers, who ransacked it, carrying off from wardrobes all jewelry 
 and men s clothing which they contained, as well as a sum of about 
 $60 in money. They also took away everything found in workmen s 
 dwellings, arresting at the same time twelve of the occupants, whom 
 they conducted to Alquizar as insurgents. It should be observed 
 that the cannon were fired solely at the dwelling-house of the owners, 
 although there were twenty other buildings on the plantation, and 
 the place was entirely clear of insurgents. 
 
 Immediate Indemnity Demanded. 
 
 " In consideration of all the above, and particularly on account of 
 the danger to which his relatives were exposed, and also for the 
 unjustifiable looting on the part of the regular troops in the service 
 of a constituted government, the undersigned does most solemnly 
 protest and asks an immediate indemnity for the damage suffered, 
 which he values at $5,000, as all work has been stopped on the plan 
 tation and everything abandoned." 
 
 The Spanish official account of what happened on the Estrella plan 
 tation was as follows : " The column of General Bernat found several 
 bands of rebels who fortified the houses of the coffee plantation Estrella, 
 where they were beaten, and by artillery shots and cavalry charges the 
 enemy was dislodged from his position. Twelve prisoners were cap 
 tured, besides arms, ammunition and instruments to destroy railroad 
 tracks. It is believed from the trails of blood seen in the place that 
 the rebels had many dead and wounded. All the prisoners will be 
 summarily court-martialed." 
 
 On March 25th twenty prisoners, taken in the operations around 
 Artemisia and Alquizas, arrived in Havana. On being escorted 
 
172 PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 
 
 through Obispo street to the palace they were followed by a con 
 stantly increasing mob, who shouted: "Viva Espana," and " Death 
 to the rebels." 
 
 The men were kicked, beaten, and one had his head cut open by a 
 flying missile. It was enough to make decent blood boil to see the 
 poor wretches, with arms pinioned and a mob at their heels shouting 
 for their blood. By the time the prisoners reached the Palace the 
 mob numbered between 200 and 300. General Ahumada, the secundo 
 cabo, or second chief of the government, came out and ordered the 
 guards to disperse the mob. 
 
 A Heroine who Fought for Cuba. 
 
 An authentic account is given of a heroine who fell in defense of 
 the Cuban cause. This woman was Senorita Matilde Agramonte, of 
 Havana, who, after marching and fighting with Maceo s soldiers, fell 
 dead at last, riddled with Spanish bullets. 
 
 Matilde was the last representative of one of the most widely 
 known of old-stock Cuban families. Her ancestors were among the 
 first Spanish settlers of the Island. In every insurrection that has 
 occurred on the Island men of the Agramonte and Varona families 
 have been found in the field. The wealth of the family has been 
 counted by millions. 
 
 When uncles and brothers of Senorita Matilde followed General 
 Maceo into battle they left Matilde on the ranch, in charge. The 
 girl set out on a visit to Ciego de Avila. Upon her return she found 
 nothing left but ashes and the bodies of the servants. She decided 
 to join the army of General Maceo, and so the first female soldier to 
 bear arms against Spain was enlisted. 
 
 The poor girl never saw but one battle. That was at the planta 
 tion of Olayita, in Quemado de Guines, province of Santa Clara. 
 The patriots were overwhelmingly outnumbered. To protect the 
 main body in retreat, Maceo called for volunteers, who should remain 
 behind and draw the fire of the Spanish. 
 
 Among those who stepped forward was Matilde. They carried 
 out General Maceo s plan, but forfeited their own lives. Matilde 
 
PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 173 
 
 stood shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers and fired her rifle. She 
 was one of the last to fall. 
 
 The arrest of suspects continued during March at such a rate that 
 the prisons were full, and epidemics among the prisoners were feared. 
 The Remedios prison was in a terrible sanitary condition, with 200 
 prisoners in quarters which were very much overcrowded. 
 
 At Sagua there were 226 prisoners, and there was room for no 
 more. The same state of affairs prevailed at many other points. 
 The decrees of General Weyler were enforced with great harshness 
 against the Cubans supposed to have Cuban sympathies. A state of 
 panic, as a result of these decrees and the action of troops, prevailed 
 in all portions of the Island occupied by the Spanish. 
 
 Where were the Prisoners? 
 
 The peaceable citizens had no fear of the insurgents, who followed 
 more humane methods. It was absolutely impossible for corre 
 spondents to learn the whereabouts of the prisoners of war who were 
 reported to be taken in the battles fought. The subordinate Spanish 
 ofjficers said that secret orders had been given to take no prisoners. 
 The Cubans released all the Spanish soldiers captured. The Span 
 ish gave no quarter. So many plantation employes and managers 
 were butchered that the men dared not remain on the plantations, 
 and the women were left in charge of them. The men hid in the 
 woods at the approach of the Spanish column. 
 
 Here is the proclamation of General March, commanding the 
 Third Division of the First Army Corps, issued from headquarters at 
 Holguin, Santiago Province : 
 
 " Be it known that the forces operating in the territory of this divi 
 sion have orders to fire, without giving the signal to halt, on any 
 person who travels at night on the roads outside the towns and ham 
 lets, and for the purpose of preventing accidents this is hereby pub 
 lished for general knowledge." This illustrates the kind of war 
 Spain was giving Cuba. Even the Spanish officers were disgusted at 
 the methods used. 
 
 Under date of March 26th, it was reported that another blunder 
 
174 PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 
 
 on the part of two Spanish commanders had once more led to fatal 
 results. The catastrophe which occurred at El Cano was to a great 
 extent due to the darkness of the night, but now news came of columns 
 mistaking each other for enemies in broad daylight, and continuing to 
 fight until thirty men had been killed and over one hundred wounded. 
 With an absence of good taste, and even of common sense, this 
 unfortunate affair was made a subject for self-glorification in the 
 newspapers of Havana. They pointed exultingly to the proof 
 afforded of the extreme valor and discipline of their army, which 
 enabled them in so short a time to inflict such heavy damage. With 
 out desiring to detract from the acknowledged courage of the 
 Spaniards, it may be stated that this made the fourth time within 
 a few months that loyal battalions fired upon their own men, This 
 argued, to say the least of it, an absence of coolness and judgment, 
 the qualities most essential to a good commanding officer. 
 
 His Own Brother Among the Slain. 
 
 The manner of carrying on the campaign against the insurgents 
 consisted in strong columns, which were supposed to be continually 
 on the advance. Three of these were kept within sound of shot of 
 one another, while each leader had orders to attack the enemy any 
 where, regardless of superiority of numbers or position, and to rely 
 upon the support of the nearest troops. Inexperienced generals and 
 colonels were not capable of bringing this to a successful issue. 
 
 On the very first alarm they commenced an engagement either at 
 long range or without proper investigation, to find subsequently to 
 their dismay that they had actually been forwarding the cause of 
 Cuban independence. Some sad stories were told of the scenes that 
 followed upon the battle at Santa Rosa. One soldier, while engaged 
 in succoring the wounded of the opposing column, discovered his 
 own brother among the slain. 
 
 But in a fatal civil war such episodes are necessarily of frequent 
 occurrence. A colonel of the Guardia Civil, stationed at Cienfuegos, 
 had two sons who, notwithstanding the fact of their being Spaniards, 
 were strongly imbued with Cuban sympathy. They joined the army 
 
PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 175 
 
 of Gomez, and in the first action in which they took part one of 
 them was killed by the regiment commanded by his father. One 
 might hear over and over again of similar political differences in 
 families throughout the Island. 
 
 A merchant of large fortune in Havana sent his eldest boys to the 
 United States to keep them out of harm s way. Within three weeks 
 they had returned with an expedition, and had been initiated among 
 the insurgents. One still remained, Benjamin ; but as he was only 
 thirteen years of age, no apprehensions were entertained on his 
 account. He was missing, however, one morning, and the anxious 
 Spanish father hurried forthwith to General Weyler to report the cir 
 cumstances and his fears that his son had taken to the woods. Mes 
 sages were immediately dispatched in all directions, with the result 
 that the juvenile warrior was captured asleep by the roadside, twenty 
 miles from the capital, covered with dust and completely worn out by 
 his long tramp. 
 
 A Singular Incident. 
 
 From these dreary records of battle and spoliation it is a relief to 
 turn to an incident which took place at Bolondron, in Matanzas, 
 though it can hardly be regarded as either admirable or edifying. 
 It appears that sparrows in Cuba are looked upon as loyal subjects, 
 and that good Spaniards have a respect for them which we are far 
 from sharing in the United States. Now, there is a native bird 
 called a pitirri, a very desperate character, who, from his absolute 
 contempt for European prejudices, may almost be considered as an 
 insurgent. 
 
 On the I Qth of March, it is well to be accurate, an ill-conditioned 
 pitirri got into an argument with a select flock of sparrows, and some 
 very unparliamentary language was exchanged. In the investigation 
 into the matter it has not been fully decided as to what was the origin 
 of the discussion ; but it is supposed to have had reference either to 
 the elections or the question of belligerency. Whatever it was, how 
 ever, the sparrows called upon the pitirri to retract or come on. 
 
 He selected the latter alternative, and for a few minutes there was 
 little to be seen but a confused mass of plumage and dust. Though 
 
176 PATHETIC STORIES OF THE WAR. 
 
 vastly outnumbered, the Cuban champion was game to the back 
 bone, and, though he carries a white feather or two in his genera 
 make-up, there was none in his disposition. The consequence was 
 that courage and skill, as they deserve to do, triumphed. Six spar 
 rows were stretched in the cold embrace of death upon the earth, 
 while their companions withdrew to carry the melancholy tidings to 
 the widows and orphans. 
 
 Some volunteers had witnessed the action from a distance, as is 
 their custom, when they witness it at all, and their souls were wroth 
 within them. Reinforcements were hastily summoned, and a guarded 
 advance was made upon this prototype of Maceo. But the pitirri 
 was satisfied with his exceedingly creditable performance, pocketed 
 the stakes, and quietly flew away to his club among the palms. 
 Slowly and sadly the poor, lifeless remains were lifted from the 
 ground, and slowly and sadly they were borne by the volunteers to 
 the barracks. 
 
 Here it was unanimously decided to honor the defunct birds with 
 a public funeral. At first it was even proposed to bury them in the 
 town cemetery ; but it was finally arranged that the obsequies (or the 
 " orgies," as Mark Twain s tramp would say) should take place in the 
 plaza. The procession to the grave was worthy of the great occasion. 
 Hundreds followed the bier, which was draped with the Spanish 
 colors, and covered with wreaths and emblems. 
 
 The amazing part of this absolutely true story is that the cura, 
 Father Gurna, actually headed the cortege. A volley of blank cart 
 ridges over the buried sparrows terminated the proceedings, and 
 never, surely since Homer wrote of the frogs and mice, have the 
 doughty deeds of such small deer been so magnificently recognized 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 Successes of the Revolutionists. 
 
 AFTER Maceo s return to the Province of Havana his course 
 may be described as one continued triumph. Every opposi 
 tion which he met with was swept from his path. He defeated 
 detachments, he destroyed military stations, he marched victoriously, 
 until he was on the very borders of Pinar del Rio, when, according 
 to the Captain-General, the rebellion had been crushed forever. 
 
 It was impossible to obtain perfectly accurate accounts of the 
 engagement, which took place in the vicinity of Palos. The official 
 reports stated that an encounter occurred without furnishing further 
 details; but from what one could learn from other sources, two bands 
 of the patriot army, commanded respectively by Maceo and Quintin 
 Banderas, succeeded in partially surrounding the column of Colonel 
 Tort, which they routed with heavy loss. 
 
 Directing their course to the southwest, the insurgents arrived on 
 the evening of the 1 2th before the town of Batabano. Batabano is a 
 small seaport, where vessels trading along the coast and passenger 
 steamers from Havana are constantly putting in. The country in 
 the vicinity is rich and fertile, while within a few miles the vast 
 plantations of Helena yield annually the largest return of sugar in 
 the Island. 
 
 The town was defended by a strong volunteer detachment, who 
 were further supported by a Spanish gunboat at anchor in the har 
 bor. As the Cubans advanced, the land and sea forces opened fire, 
 and for a short time there was a brisk fusilade upon the insurgent 
 ranks. These latter, who were, of necessity, sparing of their ammu 
 nition, returned the fire in moderation, but meanwhile pressed forward 
 without an instant s pause. 
 
 As soon as Maceo had succeeded in effecting a lodgment in the 
 12 177 
 
178 SUCCESSES OF THK REVOLUTIONISTS. 
 
 outskirts of the town, the volunteer army fell back precipitately 
 under shelter of the guns of the guard ship, and left Batabano in the 
 hands of the invaders. The whole affair did not occupy quite an 
 hour, and the losses on either side were only trifling. 
 
 The real disaster took place after the combat, for the insurgents 
 then proceeded to set fire to the principal buildings, and as the 
 flames spread with great rapidity, the entire town was quickly in 
 a blaze. A few houses alone escaped, so that in place of the once 
 prosperous seaport there remain nothing now but the blackened and 
 crumbling ruins. 
 
 Destruction of a Beautiful Residence. 
 
 Later the hacienda of a Mr. Goicochea was also burned to the 
 ground. This beautiful country residence was called Chico, and lay 
 at a distance of only eight miles from the capital, near the small town 
 of Arroyo Arenas. It was said to be one of the handsomest places 
 in Cuba. The house was the very beau ideal of a planter s home, 
 with its wide verandas, its spacious apartments and its enclosed 
 court, filled with flowers and luxuriant palms. 
 
 The owner was a Cuban, but his sympathies were decidedly Span 
 ish. Indeed, he had at his own expense raised and equipped a body 
 of guerrillas, and in many other ways had shown his hostility to the 
 cause of independence. The estate was partly devoted to the culti 
 vation of coffee and tobacco, but, in addition to these, there were 
 large pasturages, where about twelve hundred head of cattle and 
 one hundred and fifty horses were at grass. A band of seven insur 
 gents descended on the land early in the afternoon. They had 
 chosen their hour with great judgment, as the guerrillas were absent 
 and two men alone represented the garrison. 
 
 The dwelling-house and out-offices were set on fire, the carriages, 
 of which there were many, and the farming implements were piled 
 together and burned, and the ornamental grounds and gardens were 
 laid waste. Not content with inflicting this wholesale destruction, 
 the attacking party drove away all the stock, until the es< mated loss 
 is calculated to have amounted to over $200,000. 
 
SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 17b 
 
 Now, these seven insurgents, though they were decidedly what the 
 Highlanders call " men of their hands," were not for that reason 
 deficient in reasoning capacity. They concocted a plot, which simply, 
 as a ruse de guerre, may challenge competition. They terrified the 
 two prisoners whom they had secured by announcing their deter 
 mination to hang them both forthwith. Such a threat was naturally 
 enough met by many prayers and entreaties, which were finally 
 granted upon one condition. 
 
 This was that the released men should proceed to Marianao and 
 there inform the officers in command that the Cubans intended to 
 attack the village of El Cano that very night. Rejoicing at their 
 escape, the two readily consented, with the result that six companies 
 from the St. Quintin and Peninsula regiments were ordered to march 
 at once to the threatened locality. 
 
 Spanish Troops Outwitted. 
 
 As El Cano had latterly been supposed to be in danger, it held a 
 garrison of eighty men, under the command of a sub-lieutenant, who 
 had taken the precaution to strengthen his position by a barricade 
 erected midway down the single street. The wily insurgents knew 
 all this well, and so they hovered around the outskirts to precipitate 
 the mistake which they hopefully anticipated. 
 
 Shortly after nightfall the relieving column was heard approaching. 
 " Quien vive," shouted the sentries, to which the reply, " Cuba libre !" 
 came back instantly from the concealed patriots. The garrison, of 
 course, concluded that they had to do with the enemy, and fired a 
 volley upon their own men, who in their turn imagined that the 
 town was in the hands of the insurgents. Under this delusion both 
 sides continued to shoot, but as the defenders were behind walls, 
 they suffered nothing, while the column speedily had many men 
 hors de combat. 
 
 After this had gone on for some time the besieging column was 
 ordered to charge into the town, and they managed to advance as far 
 as the barricade. Here, however, they met with such a warm recep 
 *ion that the colonel decided to be satisfied with the half that he had 
 
180 SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 
 
 gained, and to wait for daylight to resume the combat. With the 
 morning came an explanation. The opposing forces beheld to theii 
 dismay that they had made a terrible mistake, and nothing remained 
 but to count up the loss. 
 
 This was found to consist of thirteen killed and thirty-five wounded, 
 including four officers and eight sergeants, all on the attacking side, 
 for, so cleverly had the young sub-lieutenant disposed his men, that 
 they had not suffered in the slightest degree. 
 
 One thing deserves mention, and that is that, though these Spanish 
 soldiers were armed exclusively with Mauser and Remington rifles, 
 ,nany of the wounds were found to have been inflicted by other 
 bullets, which leads one to conclude that the seven Cubans had not 
 been altogether idle spectators of the affray which they had so suc 
 cessfully brought about. 
 
 A reliable newspaper correspondent in Cuba wrote, under date of 
 March 2 1st, 1896, as follows : 
 
 Doubtful Victories. 
 
 "No unprejudiced person can any longer deny that hitherto the 
 efforts of the Captain-General to cope with the rebellion have proved 
 eminently unsuccessful. The army, with a few ultra-loyal Spaniards, 
 r ack their invention to smooth over the situation, while optimist 
 newspapers improve upon the official reports of victories. When, 
 however, we see such victories followed by the unchecked progress 
 of the insurgents, it is not difficult to read between the lines. 
 
 " Nor is it even assuming too much to prophesy that the reign of 
 Weyler will be brief. Martinez Campos, a soldier, and a brave one, 
 to whose capacity as a commander is largely due the existence of the 
 present reigning house of Spain, managed to weather the storm for 
 ten months. He had not the honest support of his military col 
 leagues, and was further impeded by secret and implacable intrigue. 
 
 " Under the circumstances, his failure was hardly to be wondered 
 at. His successor, however, was the chosen of the most influential 
 Spanish factions in Cuba, while the soldiers considered him as a man 
 after their own heart. We were told of his surpassing energy, of his 
 
SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 181 
 
 exceptional courage, and of his indomitable resolution. Of these we 
 have seen nothing, unless it be an energy to frame oppressive procla 
 mations, a courage to endure a guilty conscience, and a resolution to 
 sustain the crimes of his subordinates. 
 
 " The last few days have shown more than ever the worthlessness 
 of his plans. Gomez has returned to the province of Havana. Maceo r 
 Quintin Banderas and Periquito Perez have triumphed in Pinar de: 
 Rio, and Nunez and De Robau continue to harass Santa Clara. 
 
 A Young Hero. 
 
 " Among the many brave leaders of the insurgents there is perhaps 
 none who has shown more heroism than young De Robau. After 
 the breaking out of the revolution he was one of the first to join the 
 standard of independence. At that time he was engaged to be married, 
 yet with him the call of duty was paramount over every selfish consider 
 ation. After having served for some months with conspicuous credit, 
 he was sent with his command into the neighborhood of his fiance. 
 
 " The men hitherto, it may be imagined, had not paid much atten 
 tion to their appearance, but now there was a regular conventional 
 dress parade. A barber was requisitioned, accoutrements were fur 
 bished up, and weather-beaten sombreros were ornamented with 
 brilliant ribands. When the metamorphosis was complete De Robau 
 placed himself at the head of his dashing troop, and went in state to 
 call upon the lady of his affections. 
 
 " His march was a triumph, as everywhere he was attended by 
 crowds of enthusiastic people, who had long known him, and who 
 now hailed him as a distinguished champion. How he sped in his 
 wooing may be gathered from the fact that an orderly was scon 
 dispatched for the village cura, and that there was a wedding whicli 
 fairly rivalled that of Camacho, so often and so fondly recalled by 
 the renowned Sancho. Since then the Senora de Robau has accom 
 panied her husband throughout the campaign, sharing the hard fare 
 and the dangers of the men, and adding another to the noble band of 
 patriotic Cuban women, who vie with their husbands and brothers in 
 fidelity to their native land. 
 
182 SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 
 
 " Last Tuesday the insurgents gained an important victory. The 
 columns of Colonel Inclan appear to have fallen into an ambuscade 
 upon their march near Candelaria, when Maceo upon one flank and 
 Banderas on the other poured in a heavy fire, inflicting serious loss. 
 Nor was the misfortune confined to men alone, for it is now com 
 monly believed that the Cubans succeeded in capturing some pieces 
 of artillery after a severe encounter with the gunners, who defended 
 the cannon with great bravery. 
 
 " The same patriot forces routed Colonel Frances close to Guanajay 
 and compelled him to fall back for support upon the brigade of 
 General Linares at Artemisa. That the wounded in both these en 
 gagements far exceed the official reports can be gathered from the 
 large ambulance train which was sent out to the ground yesterday 
 morning from Havana. The increasing audacity of the insurgents, 
 the comparative ease and impunity with which they roam from one 
 end of the Island to the other, and the burning towns and villages 
 which everywhere mark the line of their advance bear witness to 
 the incapacity of the present administration. 
 
 " Nor do we hear anything further of that cane-crushing which 
 was to have followed immediately after General Weyler s arrival. 
 What has escaped the flames stands still uncut upon the fields, serv 
 ing as a refuge for homeless wanderers, or, as in the case of Dr. 
 Delgado, as a hospital for unfortunate victims. The elections, too, 
 do not progress, and merely prove a bone of contention between the 
 rival parties. 
 
 " Apropos, an amusing thing connected with these elections 
 occurred here on Thursday evening. It was reported that there was 
 to be a conservative demonstration against the office of the Discu- 
 sion/ a paper of decidedly liberal views. Great preparations were 
 made to repel the expected attack. Editors held a council of war, 
 reporters were mustered in force, and even the newsboys were pro 
 vided with defensive weapons. One of these latter, about nine 
 o clock, when all were in breathless anticipation, very mischievously 
 exploded a fire-cracker in the basement. 
 
 " In an instant there was a general stampede. Sauve qui pent ! 
 
SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 183 
 
 was the word, and one of the most completely armed, a perfect walk 
 ing arsenal, and who had previously boasted of his valorous inten 
 tions, got himself tightly wedged into a skylight, in a frantic effort to 
 seek safety on the roof. Amid the universal alarm the newsboys 
 alone were calm and undaunted, and would doubtless have been pre 
 sented with a handsome testimonial had it not leaked out that they 
 knew all the time that the whole affair was a practical joke. The 
 announcement this morning that the * Three Brothers had success 
 fully run the blockade and had landed her cargo of ammunition some 
 where on the coast was received with much secret satisfaction by all 
 the Cuban sympathizers in Havana. 
 
 The Insurgents Wage Destruction. 
 
 "Ammunition is one of the weaknesses of the insurgents; courage, 
 ability and men they possess in abundance ; but the lack of cartridges 
 has interfered with many of their best-laid plans, and has often pre 
 vented them from availing themselves of favorable opportunities. 
 Three or four rounds a man is nothing in an action, especially when 
 the Spaniards are always so abundantly supplied. 
 
 " It is not possible, however, to imagine that anything could inter 
 fere with the prosecution of the war on Gomez s side. He seems 
 determined this time to fight to the bitter end, and as Spanish 
 incapacity becomes daily more apparent, the chances for final inde 
 pendence assume a brighter aspect. Should that cause eventually 
 triumph, it is devoutly to be hoped that it may triumph soon. A 
 long war in any country is a terrible evil, but in Cuba, in the way in 
 which it is waged, it is exceptionally disastrous. Nearly sixty small 
 towns have already been burned, in addition to railway stations and 
 private houses, while the damage to the cornfields, the principal source 
 of capital, is almost incalculable. 
 
 " Another year of such a conflict, and .there will hardly be a dwell 
 ing left standing. Nothing but waste and ruins will mark the once 
 smiling Island, and it must be long before industry and trade can 
 revive. We have but a faint idea in Havana of the misery that 
 exists in the interior, We can only gather a few facts, but they are 
 
184 SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 
 
 still sufficient to show that in many places the people are reduced to 
 the last extremity of destitution, and are face to face with famine. 
 The commonest necessaries of life are almost unattainable, and milk 
 and bread have become rare luxuries. 
 
 " The insurgents, among all this prevailing poverty, fare indiffer 
 ently; but they are more inured to hardships and capable of enduring 
 much without a murmur. It has often been asserted that they pro 
 vide no comforts for their sick and wounded. So far is this from 
 being the case that each one of the six provinces has now got its 
 regular hospital, where Gomez s care has established a staff of medi 
 cal attendants, and a strong garrison. The largest of all lies in that 
 part of Santa Clara called the Isthmus of Zapata. It is a wild, 
 swampy region, through which the natives alone can distinguish those 
 precarious tracks, where the slightest deviation means being engulfed 
 in the treacherous morass. 
 
 Hospitals for the Wounded. 
 
 " Puerto Principe has its hospital on the mountains of Cubita, 
 and it stands in security on the lofty summit of the Gran Piedra. 
 In Havana it is situated not far from Yagua, while in Santiago de Cuba 
 and in Pinar del Rio there are asylums in the hills of Guaniguanico, 
 and La Maestra. There are many smaller ones, as well, but not 
 being so advantageously located, they are exposed to constant danger 
 of capture, when the Spanish soldiers show little mercy to the suffer 
 ing inmates. 
 
 " Perhaps no figure in this unhappy war is so familiar or holds 
 quite so bad an eminence as does Morro Castle. Not even General 
 Weyler, with all his imperfections on his head, can rival the grim old 
 fortress. It is the first object which meets the eye on entering the 
 harbor of Havana, and from its commanding position on a bold bluff 
 over the sea, it seems to dominate the city. Itwasnot until recently, 
 however, that I had an opportunity of having more than an outside 
 view of the prison. 
 
 " Commenced in 1589, in the reign of Philip II., of evil memory, 
 it was not finally completed until the beginning of the seventeenth 
 
SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 185 
 
 century. In 1642 it was captured by an English expedition under 
 the Duke of Albemarle, and remained the headquarters of the British 
 army during their occupation of Cuba. It consists of a strong outer 
 fortification, where there are many cells devoted to those who are 
 called incommunicarods or doomed to solitary confinement. 
 These are dreary rooms with floors and ceilings of stone, bare of 
 furniture and lighted by a single grated window. 
 
 Three Iron Doors. 
 
 " On the walls are the usual evidences of how the unhappy inmates 
 endeavored to while away the long, melancholy hours : Scraps of 
 poetry, interspersed with prose, all of a forlorn tendency and generally 
 signed with the name or initials of the captive. The passage from 
 them into the interior leads through three iron doors, each one of 
 which is carefully locked and barred before the succeeding one is 
 opened. 
 
 " The quadrangle inside is nearly filled by a large building, which 
 constitutes the prison proper, and which is evidently of rather modern 
 construction. Above, it is devoted to store-rooms and the kitchen 
 department, but underneath it is traversed from end to end by two 
 long passages, about twenty feet in width, closed at each extremity 
 by massive bars. These passages contain the suspects awaiting trial, 
 and there, with nothing to protect them from the ocean breezes, 
 which blow fiercely owing to the northern exposure, and with no 
 beds or blankets, they remain for months and months They are 
 never permitted to go out, and can only take what exercise the limited 
 space admits of. 
 
 " Those who have relatives or friends may receive clothes, ham 
 mocks, and even food from them, but the less fortunate are condemned 
 to sleep upon the stones and to endure the cold and wet, which enter 
 freely through the open grating. One of these rooms or passages 
 was occupied by 108 prisoners and the other by 104. It must be 
 remembered that they are all still untried ; in that stage, in fact, 
 where our law would consider them as innocent. Here was a Spanish 
 boy of fourteen, with an honest, kindly face, who has only been a 
 
186 SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. 
 
 few months in Cuba, and who, from his youth and country, can 
 hardly be supposed to be an aggressive insurgent. 
 
 " Lopez Coloma is another inmate, a man who took part i the 
 rising in Matanzas last February, but who surrendered in the follow 
 ing March under the amnesty proclamation of the Captain-General 
 Calleja. For over a year Coloma has suffered for the faith which he 
 placed in the word of a soldier and a Spanish Viceroy. In all prob 
 ability he will share the fate of Jose Gomez, a history of whose, 
 sufferings and tortures his wife is said to possess recorded in his 
 blood. Of the other prisoners I could hear of but little evidence 
 against them ; yet, be they ever so guilty, no man of ordinary feeling 
 could witness without a pang the inhumanity to which they are sub 
 jected in Morro Castle." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 Pen-Pictures of the War. 
 
 ABOUT the middle of March it was announced at Havana that 
 General Weyler would issue another proclamation, which, it 
 was admitted in official circles, would threaten Cubans who 
 had left the Island and were domiciled in the United States with the 
 confiscation of their property, unless they returned at once to their 
 homes. This measure, according to the official apology for it, was 
 to punish " those conspirators against the cause of Spain, out of the 
 country as well as within it." 
 
 While this looked like a wholesale campaign of robbery, there was 
 unquestionably plenty of ground for Spanish anger at the work of 
 the patriots who escaped from her clutches, and were acting so safely 
 and so effectively for their cause in organizing expeditions, working 
 up public sentiment and receiving assistance from the people of the 
 United States to carry on the war. 
 
 They were called conspirators. If they remained where they were 
 their worldly goods were to be taken. If they returned they would 
 in all probability be arrested as traitors and shot or banished. In 
 either case the application of the decree would bring their estates 
 within the laws and they would lose them. 
 
 General Weyler s last preceding proclamations occasioned surprise 
 by their mildness. The Cubans seemed to attach less importance to 
 the provisions relating to the confiscation of their estates than to the 
 articles providing for the disposition of the Civil Guard in the prin 
 cipal towns. The Civil Guard is a part of the regular army. It is, 
 in fact, the better part, because the regiments of which it is com 
 posed are made up of picked men. At all times, in peace or in war, 
 an army of these Civil Guards is maintained on the Island. They 
 do police duty and preserve order in the country. 
 
 137 
 
188 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 For over half a century Cuba has been under martial law, and 
 these forces are continuously active. Peculiar powers have been 
 vested in this institution, and with an extraordinary liberty in inter 
 preting and enforcing laws, which has resulted in excesses against the 
 property and even the lives of inhabitants, a protection has been 
 thrown about them, so that for assault, extortion, libel, injury to 
 property and a variety of other crimes a citizen has no redress. 
 
 The oppression and cruelties of which this department of the gov 
 ernment has been guilty produced the bandits of Cuba. It was one 
 of the multitude of evils which brought about the revolution, and 
 besides its own criminality, it was the particular department of a 
 corrupt administration with which the people were most often in con 
 tact. So many men have been assaulted and beaten to death by 
 Civil Guards that a word has actually come into existence and taken 
 its place in the Spanish language in Cuba to describe the action 
 causing death in that manner " compote." 
 
 Driven to Desperation. 
 
 Women have been subjected to indignity from these " protectors " 
 of peace and good order, in the presence of male members of their 
 families, who dared not resent it. These representatives of the tl holy 
 cause," as Spain terms her t( mission " in Cuba, have been the agents 
 of corrupt governors and mayors for assassinating men, under the 
 old, old story of the prisoner attempting to escape, or in oppression 
 and blackmail, until the ruin of the victims was accomplished. 
 
 In Camaguey the people were driven to a point which resulted in 
 their seizing and hanging some of the Civil Guards, and for a time 
 that put an end to their practices in that province. At elections, the 
 whole Civil Guard is simply a political machine, so powerful and so 
 perfectly handled that, except in a few districts, it controls the vote. 
 
 Manuel Garcia, one of the most dashing leaders in Gomez s army, 
 who was killed by a Spanish spy sent into his company, was a ban 
 dit in Cuba before the war broke out. How he came to be an out 
 law is a fair example of the fate of many citizens. He was a respect 
 able storekeeper in Quivican, just a little way out of Havana, young, 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 189 
 
 handsome and industrious, and was in love with a country woman. 
 They were about to be married when one of the Civil Guards 
 assaulted her. Garcia was immediately ordered to leave the country, 
 the authorities doubtless expecting that he would kill the man, 
 against whom it was impossible to bring any prosecution under the 
 law, because nearly all offences committed by members of the Civil 
 Guard are permitted to be tried by the Civil Guards themselves. 
 
 Beaten and Left for Dead. 
 
 He did not instantly shut up his store and abandon everything he 
 had in the world, and a few days later two of the Civil Guards 
 arrested him and took him to a place where he was stripped and 
 tied to a tree and beaten with a bamboo rod until he was left appar 
 ently dead. He was found shortly by some farmers who were hunt 
 ing for lost cattle in the woods, and was carried to a house, where he 
 recovered. Garcia met two other guards on the road while making 
 his way back to Quivican. He said their salutation was : " If you 
 haven t had enough to cause you to obey the orders, we will see that 
 you get it now." 
 
 Whether this is true is of no importance ; but, whatever the 
 manner of their meeting may have been, it ended in Garcia killing 
 both with his machete and then fleeing for his life. A price of $5,000 
 was put upon his head, but he was never captured. In about a year 
 he appeared as the leader of a company of fifteen or twenty men, 
 and after 1892 he was a terror to the two provinces of Havana and 
 Matanzas. 
 
 The Spanish version of how Garcia became a bandit differs only in 
 the point that as a butcher he sold stolen meat ; that he was a thief 
 and always a criminal, and that the respectable storekeeper of the 
 family was Vicente Garcia. It is interesting, however, to know that 
 after Manuel Garcia was a bandit " compote " was administered to 
 this respectable merchant for his brother s crimes, and the abuse 
 resulted in his also going to the woods and joining Manuel. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, Garcia carried on his depredations within 
 a radius seldom farther from Havana than twenty miles. At one 
 
190 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 time he rode into his native city, Quivican, and burned the railroad 
 station. He held up a train, and in shooting killed the conductor, 
 because a request for money which he had sent to the company had 
 received no attention. When the war broke out in 1895 he was one 
 of the first to rise with a force in Matanzas. He collected about 250 
 mounted and armed men within forty-eight hours, and Gomez per 
 mitted him to attach himself and his followers to the invading army 
 
 A Heartless Assassination. 
 
 Garcia, however, did not live long enough to win any laurels as a 
 fighter for the republic, although his bravery and spirit, and his per 
 fect knowledge of the country, gained as a fugitive, made his services 
 invaluable for a time. It was possible to kill Garcia because of his 
 new surroundings. A brother of Fernandez de Castro, a sugar-estate 
 owner, was kidnapped by Garcia, and a ransom of $14,000 had to be 
 paid by Castro to secure his release. A friend of the Castros is said to 
 have determined to avenge the act, and he enlisted in one of Garcia s 
 companies. He shot Garcia, and before he could escape was cut to 
 pieces with the machetes of the chief s men. It was said, and seems 
 to be generally believed, that Garcia sent at least $25,000 to the 
 States to be used in helping defray the expenses of an expedition. 
 
 Perico Delgado, the leader of the rebel forces in Pinar del Rio, and 
 for a time Maceo s scout; Aguero, Matagas, Mirabal and Socorros, 
 second in command under Delgado in Vuelta Abajo, were all bandits. 
 Aguero and Matagas were killed. 
 
 We have referred to the history of Garcia to give an idea of the 
 interest which attaches to General Weyler s plans for using this Civil 
 Guard. They were centered in all the principal towns, and as fast as 
 surrounding villages were subdued detachments were sent into them. 
 Moving and disseminating from central positions, the guard was 
 eventually to acquire domination of the whole Island. In every 
 town the civil authorities were to be removed, and the commander of 
 the Civil Guard was to exercise the function of mayor and general 
 executive. Into the hands of these leaders was given an arbitrary 
 power which was fairly startling. 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 191 
 
 They govern by martial law, and are at liberty to exercise their 
 own judgment in all emergencies. The first thing they do is to 
 make up a list of loyal citizens in their towns and districts, and 
 another list of rebels and rebel sympathizers, who have gone out to 
 fight or who remain at home ; and the amount of blackmailing done 
 under threats of putting men s names in the wrong list is easily con 
 ceived. All public offices to which the people have elected m^n of 
 their choice in recent years were vacated by this decree. 
 
 The conclusion of this plan, as outlined in the proclamation^ con 
 tained an admission that the Spanish were operating largely ^a the 
 defensive, since the rebel armies had invaded and taken possession of 
 the whole country, province by province, except the few large cities. 
 The language of this admission was that as rapidly as possible towns 
 were to be fortified and placed " in a state of defense to prevent sur 
 prise." The other provisions of the proclamation, touching the 
 confiscation of estates whose owners were insurgents, or who assisted 
 them, were not particularly severe or improper. 
 
 The Cubans have their national anthem, some account of which 
 will be of interest to the reader : " Wherever the armies of the revo 
 lution have gone they have carried it with them. The soldiers have 
 jung it. Their bands have played it. In the festivities that cele 
 brate their entrance into every town and village it has the most 
 prominent place in the music. At the balls it is the last event for 
 women, girls, men and boys to join in the chorus of Bayamesa s 
 Hymn, as it is called. The words and music are familiar all over 
 Cuba, for the people are like the ruralists of Spain in one respect, 
 their love for ballads. 
 
 "In times of peace the wandering minstrel with guitar or mandolin 
 is as familiar a figure in the hill towns and villages of Cuba as in the 
 romances of Spain. And everybody sings or can sing ; except in 
 those awful periods of butchery called * wars with Spain and the 
 subsequent recovery from devastation and poverty. Cuba is one of 
 the happiest countries in the world. She is one of the richest. No 
 man ever went to bed hungry in Cuba, except in war times. They 
 seldom borrow their melodies. They make them. 
 
192 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 "And, as if they were unconsciously sad, as if half a century of suc 
 ceeding revolutions had burdened their very souls with lamentation, 
 nearly all their songs have a plaintiveness that is striking to the ear 
 of a stranger. Their nature has not been subdued, but their hearts 
 have been broken. The Bayamesa s Hymn, however, is in a robust F 
 major, perhaps because it is so old, for one reason. It has been sung 
 for many, many years as a Cuban ballad and has, in its entirety, some 
 fifty verses, if all that have been sung to it were put together. But 
 the theme never varies to arms, not for glory, but to break the 
 chains of tyranny. " 
 
 They Burned their City. 
 
 In the last war the ten years war the city of Bayamo was to 
 have been occupied by a Spanish army. The people were aware of 
 the approach of the enemy, and, as the Russians did at Moscow, they 
 burned their city, leaving nothing but its smoldering ruins to exhibit 
 their hatred and horror of the invaders. To this day Bayamo of the 
 seventies is simply a monument in crumbling walls to the patriotism 
 of a people who had even before that inspired the Bayamesa s Hymn 
 y their deeds. 
 
 It is impossible to give a translation which conveys all the inten 
 sity of the emotions aroused by the song, as it is one of those in 
 which the melody seems to have sprung from the very syllables of 
 the words, and neither can be separated from the other without 
 injury. In turning the old ballad into a national hymn Cubanos has 
 been substituted for Bayames. 
 
 Besides prohibiting this song or the playing of the music in Havana 
 or other cities in Spanish possession, the authorities have had to sup 
 press ballads which have been written by the Cubans caricaturing 
 royalty and the " holy cause " of Spain. They have been prolific in 
 turning them out, and one in particular, against which a special decree 
 was issued from the Palace, was written with the music in waltz time, 
 and the words beginning with and parodying that familiar sentence at 
 the end of all Spanish reports of the battles with the Cubans, " For 
 nuestra parte no hay novedad " on our part we had no loss. 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 193 
 
 The air was so catchy that it was soon being whistled and played 
 all over Havana. The Spanish authorities took it seriously, and they 
 issued a decree making the death penalty for any one to utter the 
 melody with words, and one can no longer sing of Spanish victories 
 at least to that tune. 
 
 Stirring Strains of Music. 
 
 All the revolutionary forces have bands and plenty uf music. 
 Always upon entering a town, if they are not taking it by fighting, 
 they ride in with the band playing martial music. The people turn 
 out to welcome them what people there are left and the same young 
 women who gave them all their smiles flee in terror when a Spanish 
 column approaches their hamlet, for outrages or even murder are in 
 store if they remain. The Cuban soldiers are much given to personal 
 adornment. 
 
 They wear the great five-pointed star on their hats, and the bands 
 are braided with red, white and blue ribbons. Their horses bridles 
 are gaudily tasseled, and the men are as expert horsemen as there are 
 in the world. They are welcomed, and their presence, the festivities, 
 the dances, the stories of their battles, all go to make their coming 
 a happy event. When they leave the band plays the Bayames Hymn. 
 This is in towns, of course, where the Spanish have no garrisons. In 
 the latter the coming of the insurgent army is an invasion with the 
 firebrand and rifle, and the Bayamesa s Hymn gives way to a wild 
 uproar of voices crying, " Viva Cuba Libre ! " 
 
 General Gomez introduced a new plan for the relief of owners of 
 sugar estates, which was intended to result in saving several millions 
 of dollars worth of property that would otherwise go to ruin. Per 
 mits were issued to planters who asked for them, which would let 
 them plow and prepare land for planting cane, cut burned cane which 
 was standing, and, in fact, perform almost any other work necessary 
 to preserve their properties. The grinding of cane was prohibited, 
 as was the production of anything else which would benefit the 
 revenues of Spain. Gomez, however, became so confident that the 
 war would be over within a year, that every possible measure to save 
 13 
 
194 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 the sugar estates which obeyed the orders against grinding was to 
 be taken. 
 
 If the burned cane was allowed to stand it would rot and fall, and 
 leave the fields in a wretched condition, requiring an unusual amount 
 of labor in weeding and cultivating and keeping the ground clean. 
 The roots, however, would not be killed, but would sprout and grow 
 after the rainy season. Cane which has not been cut will keep on 
 growing, and if the war ended so that grinding could be resumed, the 
 heavier and richer cane would produce so much sugar that a part of 
 the losses would be offset. This gain would be material anyway, but it 
 would practically amount to even more than the actual increase in 
 the bearing of sugar, because the expenses of grinding for some time 
 were not incurred. 
 
 Statistics Concerning Sugar. 
 
 We quote from a statement relating to the sugar industry : 
 
 " There are about 750,000 acres of cane under cultivation. Re 
 planting, which covers the plowing of the ground and the care of the 
 crop up to the time for cutting it, would cost about $25 an acre. 
 Some of it would cost more. The introduction of American methods, 
 substituting steam plows, cultivators and higher class of labor for the 
 primitive means generally employed, has brought the cost down to 
 $12 an acre in a few plantations recently replanted. Assuming the 
 average to be $20 an acre, the loss facing the planter, in the event of 
 .longer conflict, would approach $15,000,000. It would take Cuba 
 years to recover, and many men would be hopelessly ruined. 
 
 " The importance of this new privilege is therefore apparent. No 
 such condition existed in the ten years war, because that revolution 
 never extended over much more than half the Island. Many planters 
 are already hastening to secure the advantages of the permission to 
 Work their land, but their great obstacle is the absence of labor. 
 Three-quarters of the men working upon the estates last year are 
 either in the rebel armies or have fled to the cities for refuge. An 
 other embarrassment is the lack of money. 
 
 " The planters can secure no advances upon crops because there is 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 195 
 
 to be no sugar produced. They cannot mortgage their holdings 
 because lenders are putting out nothing in Cuba, and are striving 
 instead to get every dollar away from the Island which they have 
 there. Nevertheless, the new order of things is a benefit to the 
 planters who can profit by it. Thousands of acres of cane will be 
 saved, and plowing is already being done on several estates in Havana 
 and Matanzas provinces. 
 
 " The orders are following so quickly the action of Congress that 
 there is a general belief in a connection between the two events. 
 There has never been a moment when the revolutionary leaders have 
 not maintained that with belligerency rights from the United States 
 the end of the war would be at hand within a few months. They are 
 more confident of this now than ever before, since at the moment the 
 granting of those rights seems to be at hand the bankrupt condition 
 of Spain is also announced. 
 
 Is Spain Bankrupt? 
 
 " If Gomez foresaw the terrible blow to Spain which the cutting 
 off her revenues from the sugar crop was to inflict, it was unquestion 
 ably a master stroke of policy, due to a degree of strategical fore 
 sight for which Spain had never given him credit. It is significant 
 that even in Havana there was permitted to be published a cablegram 
 from London, which read : The economical review, the " Statist," 
 states that Spain is in bankruptcy, and that the war in Cuba may 
 oblige he? to confess this situation. " 
 
 The paralysis of business which afflicted Cuba was manifesting itself 
 in a new way. Spanish merchants who had been loyal to Spain all 
 along were crying now for peace at any price. In conversation they 
 admitted that they were holding off from day to day the inevitable 
 crash, and that it was no longer a question of months, but of days, 
 before the business houses of the Island would go down like a row 
 of dominoes. If Cuba was to be lost, curiously enough they 
 declared that they preferred annexation to the United States rather 
 than attempting to live under the newly-constructed government. 
 
 There was a motive of selfishness or fear which accounts for this. 
 
196 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 They believed that with the Cubans in power they would be shut out 
 of everything and possibly subjected to such restrictions as the 
 Cubans were now under, but they believed that under the govern 
 ment of the United States they would be allowed to hold their own 
 within the limits of legitimate competition. 
 
 Facing Both Ways. 
 
 They talked about the " destiny of Cuba," they argued over 
 " channels of commerce," and they discussed what they called " the 
 inevitable tendencies of commercial control," and then the next 
 moment raised their voices to proclaim their eternal loyalty to Spain 
 and signed a memorial to General Weyler containing a pledge of 
 " our unconditional adhesion to your Excellency and our willingness 
 to sacrifice our fortunes and even our lives to retain Cuba under the 
 bonds of Spain." 
 
 Some figures were prepared and printed, with the sanction of the 
 Spanish, showing the sugar exports of the Island for two months, 
 which, despite their source, indicated the affliction from which all 
 business was suffering through General Gomez s orders cutting off 
 the product. In 1895, on March I, there had been received at the 
 ports of the Island 319,326 tons of sugar. A year later the amount 
 up to the same date was 53,298. This was notwithstanding the fact 
 that the estates began grinding six weeks earlier than the year before, 
 in fear of the rebels coming and in an effort to save all the cane 
 possible before grinding would have to be suspended. Therefore the 
 normal inflow of sugar stood as 319,000 tons, against 53,000 tons 
 under pressure. 
 
 From Sagua, which, in 1895, at this date, had 204,000 sacks of 
 sugar in hand, not one sack was marketed. The figures from 
 Matanzas were, for the same date, 1895, 466,000 sacks ; 1896, 59,000 
 sacks; from Cardenas, 1895, 323,300; in 1896, 1,294; from Cien- 
 fuegos, 1895, 266,200; in 1896, 28,000; from Caibarien, 1895, 150,- 
 800; in 1896, 25,600; from Cuba, 1895, 81,000; in 1896, 10,700; 
 from Zaza, 1895, 10,500; in 1896, none; from Trinidad, 1895, 14,496; 
 in 1896, none. The entire export of sugar in 1895 was generally 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 197 
 
 figured at 6,500,000 sacks, or between 975,000 and 1,000,000 tons. 
 According to these official figures the exports of sugar for the same 
 time in 1896 and the amount on hand were as follows : 
 
 Tons. 
 Exports ......................... 76,076 
 
 Amount consumed .................... 8,400 
 
 Amount on hand ....... .............. 5 5,489 
 
 Total ....................... . . 139,965 
 
 Amount of this which represents old stock left over ..... 86,667 
 
 Remainder in siht 
 
 Under date of March 2Oth it was stated that the insurgent generals 
 were still outwitting and outgeneraling the Spaniards with a com 
 pleteness which would be ludicrous if the horrors of the Spanish 
 attempt at brutal conquest were not always present in one s mind. 
 
 Maceo s invasion of Pinar del Rio had already attained such im 
 portance that it was designated " the second invasion." Although 
 he had not started on his return, a brief summary of the events which 
 had already occurred will show how important this invasion was to 
 the issue of the war. The first event occurred two weeks before, 
 when Maceo, who had been moving eastward through Matanzas, 
 turned back toward the west. The seven Spanish columns, often 
 referred to, were suddenly called upon to check him. 
 
 General Weyler s staff planned a manoeuvre which would bring all 
 the forces into conjunction, surrounding Maceo s army at a point one 
 mile from Coliseo. The orders were sent by telegraph to Generals 
 Prat, Linares and Aldecoa and Colonel Hernandez requiring them to 
 make that place at two o clock in the afternoon. The telegraph 
 operator let the message go correctly to General Prat, but changed the 
 hour to six in the other messages; and when General Prat came upon 
 Maceo he had about 3,500 men and the rebels over 8,000 cavalry. 
 General Prat was forced to retreat with the column badly shattered. 
 
 A second combination was attempted two days later near Limonar, 
 
198 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 where Maceo was apparently intending to cross the line into Havana, 
 province. This also failed, for the reason that Colonel Tort with the 
 Almancea battalion, a newly-arrived body of green recruits from 
 Spain who had never seen fighting, attempted to hold the vital point 
 on the lines. Maceo s veterans swept down upon them and broke 
 through the combination with a fierce fight which fairly wiped out 
 the Almancea battalion. 
 
 Brave Telegraph Operator. 
 
 The Spanish retired in the direction of Limonar, carrying about 
 100 wounded; and, besides the nineteen dead they carried away, 
 left seven on the field, which the rebels buried. With these victories 
 Maceo s road was clear, and after a few engagements of minor 
 importance came the burning of the important town of Batabano. 
 What the Spanish did to defend it is best told by their own report : 
 
 " When we saw the establishment, El Canon, belonging to Mr. 
 Ricardo Ganidera, the first house burned, was in flames, the troops, 
 in anticipation of what might occur, retired to the forts." 
 
 They were so whipped out that General Weyler, the day after the 
 burning of the city, ordered the payment of $10 to each man in the 
 garrison to enable him to buy clothing. Here a gunboat lay out in 
 the harbor and shelled the town while the insurgents were burning 
 it, but Quintin Bandera happened to have four cannons, and when 
 these unexpectedly opened upon the gunboat she put out to sea. 
 
 In this fight the cannon shots were passing over the roof of the 
 little cable station where the line drops off shore, and the operator 
 had to stand outside waving a lantern constantly to enable the gun 
 ners on the water to direct their shots over him or to one side. He 
 had to take his chances with the rebels when their cannons began to 
 take part, and at one time he set down his lantern long enough to 
 telephone to Havana : " Good-by, boys. It s all up with us, and 
 There the wire was cut. He waved his light again till he saw the 
 gun-boat leaving, and then lay flat down on the ground and waited. 
 It was three days before the line was repaired and he was able to send 
 word that he was still alive. 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 199 
 
 While this was going on the Spanish were setting a third line in a 
 combination of troops to keep Maceo within Havana province and 
 out of Pinar del Rio at any cost. Colonel Hernandez and Colonel 
 Inclan, with nearly 3,000 men, were hurriedly sent in front of Maceo 
 by trains down the western railway. General Ochando, the chief of 
 General Weyler s staff, said that morning, the I3th: "They have 
 entered this province again, but I have just given orders to bar their 
 way into Pinar del Rio, and, although I don t know whether they 
 will succeed in getting there or not, if they do they will never come 
 out alive." Two days later Maceo s forces defeated Hernandez and 
 Inclan at the Estate Neptuno, near Mangas, between Artemisa and 
 Candelaria, and captured the mules with the ammunition and rations. 
 
 Sudden Attack from Ambush. 
 
 The next day occurred one of the hardest fights of the invasion. 
 The troops of General Linares had begun to arrive to assist Her 
 nandez and Inclan. They brought cavalry and artillery. The 
 Spanish forces were moving along the road which lies between 
 Candelaria and Guanajay. It was raining in torrents. Suddenly the 
 whole division found itself in an ambush ; 4,000 insurgents were 
 behind stone fences on both sides of the road, and as soon as the 
 fighting began they closed in front and rear. There was fighting for 
 two hours. The insurgents used the ammunition they had captured 
 the day before. They captured two cannons and more ammunition, 
 and inflicted such losses upon the Spanish that a special train was 
 sent out from Havana to bring in the dead and wounded. It was 
 even given out at the Palace that the troops had suffered two captains 
 killed, four lieutenants wounded and fifty-seven soldiers wounded. 
 Thore were about fifty soldiers killed. 
 
 Of course, it was called a Spanish victory, and it was announced, 
 * We dispersed the enemy with bayonet charges." The next day, the 
 l8th, at Cayajabos, the insurgents took possession of the burned 
 town for a camp. Gen. Linares, Col. Frances and Col. Inclan 
 attacked them. Col. Francis arrived first. Gen. Linares and Col, 
 Jnclan heard the cannonading and rifle-fire and hurried on. The 
 
200 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 fight here lasted four hours, and the Spanish had four captains and 
 seven lieutenants killed, the killed and wounded soldiers numbering 
 nearly 300. The insurgents captured 1,000 rifles, and, on account of 
 their strong position in the town, got through the day with about 
 eighty losses, dead and wounded, as nearly as can be learned. Col. 
 Francis was wounded and was brought back to Havana. 
 
 Maceo s Skillful Tactics. 
 
 This is an outline of the invasion. It is sufficient to show that 
 Maceo s march was attended by every effort which the Spanish could 
 exert to prevent his progress, that their resources were taxed to 
 the uttermost, but that they failed at every point. He was still on 
 his march. The Spanish were again behind him. Of his 12,000 
 men he suffered no appreciable loss ; but captured some of the 
 enemy s artillery, disabled one of their best leaders in Col. Frances, 
 took 1,000 Mausers, and more than all these combined, he utterly 
 destroyed the effect of Gen. Weyler s proclamation declaring that 
 Havana and Pinar del Rio were cleared up and closed to the insur 
 gent armies. 
 
 Gen. Gomez s movements were fully as significant as Maceo s in 
 vasion. Apparently satisfied that his lieutenant-general was perfectly 
 safe in caring for himself, Gomez went back into Santa Clara, and 
 crossed the Spanish military lines of that province, without firing a 
 shot. Gomez had entirely disappeared from the official reports for 
 three days, and then this was given out : " It is believed that Gomez 
 is in Havana province." As if Gomez and 6,000 men could dis 
 appear and move around unobserved in a district hardly larger than 
 Long Island. Gomez s move doubtless caused some embarrassment 
 in the official reports, because they had him " driven " desperately 
 into Santa Clara two weeks before, then he was being " harassed " 
 back again and was " forced to make a union with Maceo," and later 
 on they were " forced to separate." While Maceo was being fought 
 and dispersed at every point on his invasion, Gomez was standing at 
 a point near the centre of Matanzas watching the successful beginning 
 of Maceo s march, and for some reason the reports dropped him 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 201 
 
 there. The reference to his being " believed to be " in this province 
 may have been due to the disappointment of his having gone into 
 Santa Clara while all attention was being directed toward Maceo. 
 
 The Spanish merchants of Havana raised a subscription in the 
 shape of pledges, with the purpose of offering a reward of $50,000 
 for " the head of Gomez, dead or alive," and $30,000 for the head of 
 Maceo, under the same conditions. This was generally considered 
 as one of the most practical suggestions which had been made for 
 ending the war. 
 
 This horrible proclamation was issued at Holguin about the 2Oth of 
 March : " Be it known, that all the forces who operate in the territory 
 of this division have orders to fire without giving the halt to any per 
 son who travels at night on the roads outside of the cities and towns, 
 and with the object of preventing any accidents this publication is 
 made for general knowledge." 
 
 The butcheries of Balmaceda and every ghastly chapter of the ten 
 years of blood were committed under a decree of which this was sim 
 ply a reiteration. Gen. March, who issued this decree, was a recent 
 arrival in Cuba, and was in command of the Twenty-third Division 
 of the First Army Corps. He held the rank of brigadier-general. 
 
 Sanctioned by the Spanish. General. 
 
 This bloody edict had the indirect sanction of Gen. Weyler, 
 because he had not abrogated it, and because in his proclamations he 
 conferred almost unlimited powers upon the commanders of army 
 corps, and they in turn issued decrees and approved others published 
 by the heads of their divisions. As a consequence, scores of procla 
 mations were coming out in all the provinces and zones of the Island, 
 Vhich carried the weight and authority of a proclamation from the 
 Captain-general, but which were thus given in a form that avoided the 
 necessity of their coming to the eyes of the world with his signature. 
 
 There was no distinction of age or sex in Gen. March s decree. 
 There was no responsibility placed upon the assassins who were thus 
 given the lives of those whose homes were outside the cities, or who, 
 for any cause whatsoever, passed out of the doors of their houses 
 
202 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 after sunset. There was no reason that the ruffians who were abusing 
 thousands upon thousands of defenseless women and girls should 
 leave any evidences of their crimes, or even await the absence of 
 natural protectors. The robberies which so many Spaniards were 
 protesting against in delegations which were visiting Gen. Weyler 
 almost daily, were of course made safe by such a decree. Col. 
 Molina s threatening to shoot down the owner of the Rosario 
 estate, Ramon Pelayos, was something for which he did not have 
 to answer, as he was safe under a similar decree covering the sec 
 tion of Matanzas province. 
 
 Thirsting for Blood. 
 
 There are Americans all through the Island, and naturalized 
 Americans of Cuban birth (the distinction is simply in the degree of 
 the hatred which the Spanish have for both), who might safely be put 
 out of the way under a decree which said that every person should 
 be killed without even a challenge. This was the state of affairs 
 which the blood-thirsty " volunteers " had been crying for since the 
 day that they welcomed Gen. Weyler s landing. Then they stood in 
 front of the Palace bellowing, " Give us Cepero s head," and, " Blood 
 to fertilize Cuba." Now they were following the prisoners who were 
 brought into the towns, screaming : tl Kill them ! Kill the devilish 
 insurgents ! We want no more prisoners." 
 
 A batch of prisoners, pinioned and tied arm to arm, were attacked 
 by a mob at the Machina as they were about to be taken from a 
 steamer to the Cabanas and were beaten, kicked and bruised almost 
 to death, while the guards stood by and looked on. If this was per 
 mitted in Havana, what could be expected beyond the city, where 
 the whole Island was in darkness concerning the events that were 
 taking place ? 
 
 Every day made matters worse. The Guatao massacre resulted in 
 the bestowal of honors upon the Marquis of Cevera by making him 
 the military governor of Marianao, and Capt. Calvo, whom he sent to 
 Guatao, and whose men committed the eighteen murders, was now in 
 command of the troops, which were placed at the disposition of the 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 203 
 
 Marquis. The massacre on the Delgado estate, from which the 
 American Dr. Delgado escaped miraculously, but not until four boys 
 and two men had been shot and macheted to death, and an old man 
 of 70 had been left for dead, was rapidly being forgotten, and Gen. 
 Melguizo was still conducting the operations of his columns, and 
 glorious victories were almost daily attributed to him in the Spanish 
 official reports. 
 
 These reports described the Delgado massacre, and the murder of 
 15-year-old Catarino Rubio, before her mother and sisters, while she 
 was attempting to prevent the soldiers, who had shot her father, from 
 stripping his body, as "victories" of General Melguizo s forces. Rape 
 and death and destruction were sweeping over the western end of 
 Cuba, annihilating the population or driving the people out of the 
 country, and what property the insurgents were not destroying was 
 being given to the firebrand by the Spanish. 
 
 Details of Another Massacre. 
 
 There were rumors of another massacre which was said to have 
 occurred near the estate Esperanza, in the Sagua district. It was 
 impossible to get any reliable details, but the following was published 
 in the Discussion, a Havana newspaper: " Major Goicochea, on the 
 1 6th, left the estate Esperanza with a detachment of guerrillas, and 
 found a vanguard, which fired upon them. They rushed at them with 
 machetes after the discharge, causing them a loss of six. Continuing the 
 march, the column arrived at Bernigal, near to the Olayita estate, 
 encountering the main body of the rebel force. Here an engagement 
 took place, resulting in the dispersing of the enemy, and causing 
 them nine more dead. I must remark," concludes the correspondent, 
 "that the dead were all killed by machetes, and by the guerrilla 
 Goicochea." 
 
 A force of Havana volunteers, under the command of Major Pru- 
 dencia Noreiga, burned the buildings where the tenants lived on the 
 San Jose estate in Manacas, Santa Clara, and then obliged the home 
 less people to go to the town of Placetas, where they might find 
 shelter and food if they happened to have any friends. Before send- 
 
204 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 ing them off they made five of the men prisoners on the charge that 
 they were insurgents, although one of them, Fermin Urrutia, was 
 eighty years old. 
 
 The last that was ever seen of these prisoners alive was when some 
 friends saw them digging a ditch around the fort at the Tahon Railway 
 station, and the next morning five bodies were found dead on the San 
 Pablo estate, so hacked with machete cuts that they were disfigured be 
 yond recognition. In the pocket of one was a paper showing him 
 to be Marcelino Herandez, one of the five prisoners. After this 
 became known, the women who had gone on to Placetas sent 
 Nicholas Valdivia to the commander, Noreiga, to ask what had 
 become of their husbands. Valdivia was seen to enter the fort, but 
 he was not heard of afterward. 
 
 Unprovoked Murder. 
 
 After General Prat was unsuccessful in capturing Maceo in the 
 attempted combination near Coliseo, a detachment rode up to the 
 Demante estate, owned by Laureano Angulo, and fired at four negroes 
 who were standing near one of the buildings. They were all killed. 
 One of them was holding a boy in his arms, who escaped. There 
 was never any explanation of this, but it is supposed the Spanish 
 troops believed they were spies. The people who had fled from the 
 country into Matanzas, and some of them who came on to Havana, 
 declared that the men were " pacific?. dos," or farm hands, who were 
 non-combatants. 
 
 The following graphic portraiture of General Weyler is from the 
 pen of a journalist and gives an interesting account of the Spanish 
 commander : 
 
 " Most men resemble their reputations, and if a life famously spent 
 is in the mind of one who visits a character of world-wide repute, he 
 quite naturally discovers peculiarities of facial expression and phy 
 sique which appear to account for the individuality of the man, 
 fighter, philosopher, criminal, reformer or whatever he may be. 
 
 "All this is true of General Weyler. He is one of those men who 
 create a first impression, the first sight of whom never can be effaced 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 205 
 
 from the mind, by whose presence the most careless observer is 
 impressed instantly, and yet, taken altogether, he is a man in whom 
 the elements of greatness are concealed under a cloak of impene 
 trable obscurity. Inferior physically, unsoldierly in bearing, exhibit 
 ing no trace of refined sensibilities nor pleasure in the gentle associa 
 tions that others live for or at least seek as diversions, he is neverthe 
 less the embodiment of mental acuteness, crafty, unscrupulous, fear 
 less and of indomitable perseverance. 
 
 " He is one of the most magnetic men in whose presence I have 
 ever stood yet not attractive. His overwhelming personality is 
 irresistible yet he is unpleasant of appearance. He turns the mind 
 into a quick seeker for similarities, and one cornes quickly. To me 
 it was Marat. I have never seen a presentation of Marat that might 
 not profitably be exchanged for a delineation of Weyler. It would 
 account more satisfactorily for the power he attained that domina 
 tion of men with which it is so hard to candidly associate those pic 
 tures of the tyrant that are familiar to the stage. 
 
 No Appeal from Weyler s Decree. 
 
 "I am not saying that Weyler is a second Marat; but I recall 
 Weyler s history, and that now his will is life or death to over a 
 million and a half of people, that from his decree there is no appeal, 
 that the making of the laws has been given to him by a decree so 
 absolute that he may confer all his powers upon any subordinate. 
 
 " I have talked with Campos, Marin and Weyler, the three Cap 
 tains-General to whom Spain has intrusted (thus far unsuccessfully) 
 the reconquest of Cuba. Reconquest seems an ill-chosen word, but 
 one of General Weyler s staff has so denominated this war, and Cuban 
 revolutions can be settled only by conquests. Campos was an excep 
 tional man. Marin was commonplace. Weyler is unique. Campos 
 and Marin affected gold lace, dignity and self-conciousness. Weyler 
 ignores them all as useless, unnecessary impediments, if anything, to 
 the one object of his existence. Campos was fat, good-natured, wise, 
 philosophical, slow in his mental processes, clear in his judgment, 
 emphatic in his opinions, outspoken, and withal, lovable, humane, 
 
206 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 conservative, constructive, progressive, with but one project ever 
 before him, the glorification of Spain as a mother-land and a figure 
 among peaceful, enlightened nations. 
 
 " Weyler is lean, diminutive, shriveled, ambitious for immortality 
 irrespective of its odor, a master of diplomacy, the slave of Spain 
 for the glory of sitting at the right of her throne, unlovable, unloving, 
 exalted and doubtless justly in self-esteem, because he is un- 
 mistaken in his estimation of his value to his Queen, His passion is 
 success, per se, foul or fair consequences or the conventional ideas of 
 humanity notwithstanding. 
 
 His Mental Peculiarities. 
 
 " Imagine that man ever loving a woman ! That is the first exclama 
 tion his presence suggests. They say that Weyler had a mother, and 
 that he loved her. I know, for I have heard him say so, that he re 
 members something of his grandfather, who was a German, whence 
 came his name. But there is not enough blood in his frail little body 
 to warm into life those passions that revere the closer relations of 
 womanhood, and mentally he is incapable of intellectual affections. 
 What he lives for is completely epitomized in his person, and as 
 others have been, I also was conscious of it the. first time I saw him. 
 
 " That was in the Palace, of course. The gates were guarded by 
 gaudy soldiers tinseled and polished. Every turn in the stairway 
 and corridors was emblazoned with the arms and emblem of Spain. 
 Officers of all ranks, groomed, barbered and powdered, were visible in 
 scores. In the great Sala de Recibimiento were all military condi 
 tions from lieutenants to generals, whose hushed conversation and 
 functional palaver were oppressive. On through this crowd and 
 through more obstacles of formality to the presentation, the journey 
 through the forest of gold lace terminated before the closed door of 
 General Weyler s official abode. There an adjutant more bedizzened 
 than the rest of the dazzling multitude trod softly to the portico, gently 
 opened the way, retired again without a word, and we were alone 
 in the presence of the man. 
 
 " And what a picture ! A little man. An apparition of blacks-- 
 
PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 207 
 
 black eyes, black hair, black beard, dark exceedingly dark com 
 plexion ; a plain black attire, black shoes, black tie, a very dirty shirt 
 and soiled standing collar, with no jewelry and not a relief from the 
 aspect of darkness anywhere on his person. He was alone, and 
 was standing facing the door I entered. He had taken a position in 
 the very centre of the room, and seemed lost in its immense depths. 
 It is capable of holding four hundred people. Its vast marble floor 
 is vacant of furniture, and its walls, of great height, are covered with 
 portraits, larger than life, of the captains-general of Cuba during one 
 hundred and twenty years. Voices echo in the cavernous chamber, 
 and the ancient personages looked down upon an invasion of their 
 quarter almost as if they, too, were receiving, with the living picture 
 which will some day hang among them. It was like a stage-setting 
 around this remarkable man. 
 
 Form and Features.- 
 
 It is not remarkable that I momentarily hesitated to make certain 
 that this was actually Weyler. Doubt was dispelled with a look at 
 his face. His eyes, far apart, bright, alert and striking, took me in at 
 a glance. His face seemed to run to chin, his lower jaw protruding 
 far beyond any ordinary indication of firmness, persistence or will 
 power. His forehead is neither high nor receding ; neither is it that 
 of a thoughtful or philosophic man. His ears are set far back ; and 
 what is called the region of intellect, in which are those mental 
 attributes that might be denned as powers of observation, calculation, 
 judgment and execution, is strongly developed. The conformation 
 of his head, however, is not one that is generally accepted as an 
 indication of any marked possession of philoprogenitiveness or its 
 kindred emotions and inclinations. His nose is aquiline, bloodless 
 and obtrusive. When he speaks it is with a high nasal enunciation 
 that is not disagreeable, because it is not prolonged ; and his sen 
 tences justify every impression that has already been formed of the 
 man. They were short, crisp, emphatic and expressive. 
 
 " I have an aversion to speech, he said. I am an enemy of pub 
 lications. I prefer to act, not to talk. I am here to restore peace, 
 
208 PEN-PICTURES OF THE WAR. 
 
 When peace is in the land I am going away. I aM a soldier. 
 When I am gone politicians will reconstruct Cuba, and probably 
 they will upset things again until they are as bad as they are now. 
 I care not for America, England any one but only for the treaties 
 we have with them. They are the law. I observe the law and 
 every letter of the law. I have my ideas of Cuba s relation to Spain. 
 I have never expressed them. Some politicians would agree with 
 them ; others would not. No one would agree with all of them. I 
 know I am merciless, but mercy has no place in war. I know the 
 reputation which has been built up for me. Things that are charged 
 to me were done by officers under me, and I was held responsible for 
 all things in the ten-years war, including its victorious end. I do not 
 conceal the fact that I am here solely because it is believed I can 
 crush this insurrection. I care not what is said about me, unless it 
 is a lie so grave as to occasion alarm. I am not a politician. I am 
 Weyler. 
 
 " Planted squarely on his tiny feet, which were set far apart, Gen. 
 Weyler talks with his hands in his trousers pockets and a half smile 
 dimly playing over his features ; but every word he utters is without 
 gesture or intonation which gives one thought the slightest emphasis 
 or importance over another. The great pictures of the captains-gen 
 eral of a hundred years seem to look down in admiration upon the 
 man in whose keeping Spain has intrusted all that their century of 
 labor has produced. 
 
 " For some reason there was no disposition on my part to reply in 
 those meaningless, commonplace but always necessary acknowledg 
 ments of courtesy. Adroit phrases mean nothing to Weyler. I was 
 frozen by his atmosphere for the moment into a being remotely 
 resembling himself, and as dignifiedly, concisely, unconsciously per 
 haps as the tone of his conversation, I made the requests which had 
 led to my visit and retired. There again was the sea of gold lace, 
 the multitude of generals and lieutenants, the noisy clanking of swords 
 and spurs, the gaudy guards at the gate, all keeping up the appear 
 ances of military domination ; but behind them in the recesses of the 
 Palace was the man, the memory, the Altogether of Spain in Cuba." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Side-Lights upon the Struggle. 
 
 THE intense sympathy for Cuba among the American people was 
 voiced by the following editorial in one of our most widely- 
 circulated journals, which was only one of many similar in 
 sentiment that appeared in the newspaper press throughout the 
 country : " Cuba bleeds at every pore, and Liberty goes weeping 
 through a land desolated by cruel war and throttled by the iron hand 
 of a foreign despotism. We hold that this government would be 
 justified not only in recognizing Cuban belligerency, but also in 
 recognizing Cuban independence on the sole ground of the rights 
 and claims of outraged humanity. Take, for instance, the following 
 proclamation of an almost general death sentence issued by Butcher 
 Weyler : 
 
 Those who invent or circulate, by any means whatsoever, news 
 or information which directly or indirectly favors the rebellion. 
 
 " Those who destroy or damage railroads, telegraph or telephone 
 lines, or interrupt communication by destroying bridges or wagon- 
 roads. 
 
 " Those who sell, carry or deliver arms or ammunition, or in any 
 other way furnish or keep them in their possession. Persons know 
 ing of the importing of such articles and not causing their seizure 
 incur criminal responsibility. 
 
 Those who by word, or through print, or in any other manner 
 belittle the prestige of Spain s army, volunteers, firemen or any other 
 force operating in this army. 
 
 Those who by the same means endeavor to praise the enemy. 
 Those who furnish the enemy horses or other means of service 
 in warfare. 
 
 " Those who act as spies. 
 U 
 
210 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 " Those who, having acted as rebel guides, fail to report imme 
 diately and prove that they were compelled to do so by force, fur 
 nishing on the spot proofs of their loyalty. 
 
 " Those who adulterate provisions for the army or combine to 
 raise the price of the same. 
 
 " Those who use carrier pigeons, rockets or other signals to con 
 vey news to the enemy. 
 
 "Then take Weyler s proclamation of February 16, in which he 
 decreed that all the rural population must be driven within the 
 Spanish lines, and that all the goods of country merchants should be 
 conveyed to the Spanish garrisons. In consequence of Weyler s 
 barbarous decrees the most harrowing scenes of savagery and bru 
 tality are of almost daily occurrence in this beautiful Island, which is 
 situated a hundred miles from our Florida coast line. In the midst 
 of these horrifying and terrorizing spectacles Cuba extends her hands 
 in supplication to this land of boasted freedom, asking for only a 
 kindly glance of friendly recognition. 
 
 Americans cannot be Neutral. 
 
 " Shall we refuse them this small crumb of comfort from our boun 
 teous board ? Spain may have the right to expect American neutral 
 ity, but she has no right to demand indifference on our part to the 
 fate of a brave people, whose territory almost touches our own, and 
 is nearer to our National capital than are a number of the States of 
 the Union, and whose heroic struggle for liberty was largely inspired 
 by our glorious example of beneficent free institutions and successful 
 self-government. 
 
 " Spanish rule in Cuba has been characterized by injustice, oppres 
 sion, extortion and demoralization. She has fettered the energies of 
 the people, while she has fattened upon their industry. She smiled 
 but to smite, and embraced but to crush. She has disheartened 
 exertion, disqualified merit and destroyed patience and forbearance, 
 by supporting in riotous luxury a horde of foreign officials at the ex 
 pense of native industry and frugality. 
 
 "Then the climax of Cuba s wrongs and woes is reached in the 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 211 
 
 advent of the bloody Weyler, who has turned the battle into a 
 butchery, made war a double crime by justifying in its name whole 
 sale rapine and murder, and transformed the honest soldier into a 
 heartless brigand and a fiendish assassin. 
 
 " Spain has inverted social order, defiled domestic purity, outraged 
 civic forms and laid waste the whole Island to satisfy an appetite for 
 plunder and spoils that is as cruel as it is insatiable. Irritated into 
 resistance, the Cubans are now the intended victims of increased 
 injustice. But the inhuman design will fail of accomplishment. 
 Cuban patriotism develops with the growth of oppression. The 
 aspiration for freedom increases in proportion to the weight of its 
 multiplied chains. The dawn of Cuban liberty is rapidly approaching." 
 
 Spanish Soldiers Missing. 
 
 Some idea of the loose manner in which the war is carried on may 
 be gained from the statement in official circles at Havana that there 
 were 15,000 Spanish soldiers missing somewhere in Cuba. The fact 
 was communicated to the Madrid government, and the search for 
 their whereabouts went on day and night. They were, perhaps, lost 
 only so far as the record was concerned, and might be accounted for 
 in time, but such carelessness, or worse, upset official circles in Havana 
 to something approaching a state of alarm, for 15,000 men, with 
 15,000 rifles and half a million cartridges, is an enormous item in the 
 Spanish army. 
 
 The disappearance of the men would ultimately be traced, it was 
 said, to one of three causes : Deaths in battle, the real number of 
 which was concealed to hide Spanish losses ; details to positions in 
 various parts of the Island, of which no record had been kept ; or 
 desertions to join the insurgents. Very likely all three causes con 
 tributed to the discrepancy. It is entirely improbable that the whole 
 15,000 took "to the woods," although the Spanish records showed 
 that entire garrisons joined the insurgents with their arms in every 
 province in the Island. 
 
 Possibly the extent of this loss was purposely kept out of the 
 records, although there was no reason that, officially, it should not be 
 
212 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 known to the administration. It was said that Campos stationed 
 small bodies of fifty or a hundred men in numerous places, often doing 
 so in circumstances which resulted in no official record of the division 
 of a detachment being placed in the books at the Palace ; but careless 
 ness of that nature on such a grand scale not only seems out of the 
 question, but the balance would have been shov/n as a result of the 
 order issued by General Weyler for a report from every commander 
 showing the number, position and condition of his force. 
 
 How to Account for It. 
 
 The responses to this increased the confusion, and there were re 
 ports from reliable sources that there were 20,000 men, instead of 
 15,000, to be accounted for. The supposition that many losses in 
 engagements were not sent in received support from the known falsity 
 of those reports, which was repeatedly pointed out. That 700 
 Spanish should attack 5,000 insurgents, that a battle lasting seven 
 hours should ensue, and that only one Spanish soldier should be 
 wounded (as was told in a report from Santa Clara) indicated that the 
 Spanish soldiers had charmed lives, or that an enormous amount of 
 lying was being done. How far this was carried on in the past can 
 be shown by a few figures, and they may account for the present 
 difficulty. 
 
 During the ten years war, a professor of languages in Havana, 
 an American of Cuban birth, kept systematically a record of the 
 Cuban losses reported in the authorized publications in Havana. He 
 made it all in detail, giving the date of each engagement, the locality, 
 the number of men on each side, and the Cuban losses in killed, 
 wounded, prisoners and horses. At the end of the war his totals 
 were as follows: Cuban losses 395,856 killed, 726,490 wounded, 
 451,000 prisoners, and a little over 800,000 horses killed or captured. 
 The entire population of the Island was only a million and a quarter 
 in the most liberal figures obtainable, or less than the number of 
 killed, wounded and prisoners ! 
 
 In curious contrast with this are the Spanish figures of their own 
 losses, which follow. To show their real significance we give also 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 213 
 
 the number of men the Spanish army had in the Island during each 
 
 of the years for which the losses are given : 
 
 Losses. 
 
 1869 5,504 
 
 1870 9,395 
 
 1871 6,574 
 
 1872 7,780 
 
 1873 5.902 
 
 1874 5,923 
 
 1875 * 6,361 
 
 1876 8,482 
 
 1877 17,677 
 
 1878 7,500 
 
 Total 81,098 625,211 
 
 Of this number, the official record indicates that only 6,488 died in 
 battle or from wounds. In other words, 92 per cent, of the Spanish 
 losses were from fever. There never was a time when less than 14 
 per cent, of the army was in hospitals, and in 1874 18 per cent, of 
 the force was ineffective from sickness. 
 
 Comparing the Losses. 
 
 " A comparison of these losses," says a reliable authority, " with 
 the alleged Cuban loss is hardly more interesting than a comparison 
 with the Spanish losses in this present war. The conflict has lasted 
 just one year. The Spanish losses are now given for the twelve 
 months as 3,500, or at the extreme 4,000, killed or mortally wounded. 
 The exact figures cannot be available until the present cases in hos 
 pitals have completed their record. This is, at the higher figures, 
 only 4 per cent, and a fraction of losses from all causes, out of her 
 army of 113,000. The lowest percentage reported in. the ten years 
 war was 9! in 1874, and the highest 19 and a fraction in 1876. 
 The curious differences here may be disposed of on the basis that 
 eighteen years have intervened between the two wars, that the im 
 proved methods of dealing death have been introduced, that hospitals 
 are better, and that the deficient arms of the insurgents are to be 
 taken into consideration. 
 
214 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 " Howevc/, the relative conditions of the two armies more closely 
 resemble each other than would at first be supposed, and where they 
 do differ they indicate that the record of Spanish losses in this war 
 should be greater than reported, and greater proportionately than it 
 was in the ten years war. In both wars the insurgents have man 
 aged to keep themselves armed with practically the same weapons as 
 their adversaries have had. Their cry now is that they have not 
 enough or they would have an army of 100,000 men in the field. 
 
 " In the ten years war nothing like the present extent of the revo 
 lution was attained. Gomez was only as far west as Matanzas, 
 retreating instantly. To-day the whole Island is in the hands of the 
 Cubans, except a few cities. Even Havana is in a state of siege, for 
 the first time in 100 years." 
 
 Mainly Due to Volunteers. 
 
 The danger to American citizens, and the brutal outrages outside 
 Havana, like the massacre at Guatao, were due chiefly to the volun 
 teers recruited for the Spanish army right in Cuba. The regular 
 Spanish soldiers were either officers doing their best, according to their 
 ideas, to save their country, or else were recruits who were utterly 
 apathetic and were chiefly food for fever and the machete. It was the 
 brutish rabble of the dregs of Cuba that resorted to robbery and 
 crime of every description criminals whose only object in joining 
 the army was the commission of crime on defenseless people but 
 the Spanish commanders were directly and personally to blame for 
 their presence in the Spanish ranks, even Martinez Campos having 
 recruited as many of these undesirable wretches as he could get hold 
 of. Campos kept them under control, in some measure, in connec 
 tion with the regulars ; but Weyler turned them loose in the rural 
 districts. 
 
 General Campos admitted that the volunteers onlr tfere to be 
 feared, and that Americans did not need to concern themselves. At 
 that time the danger was comparatively small. General Marin, his 
 successor, went so far when Consul-General Williams brought the 
 subject to his official notice, after numerous appeals from American 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 215 
 
 residents, as to say : " If it should become necessary I will use the 
 regulars to shoot down any volunteers that attempt excesses/ 
 
 General Weyler was sending the volunteers out of the city in great 
 numbers, but several regiments remained at Havana. They were a 
 hot-headed, ignorant, thoughtless mob, compared with the Spanish 
 regulars, and were a continual source of trouble to the government. 
 The volunteers prepared to send their colonels to Campos to demand 
 that he adopt sanguinary methods of warfare, but Campos sent them 
 word that any officer approaching him to criticise his generalship 
 would be court-martialed. Then it was that the complications pro 
 duced by these volunteers led to Campos retirement. These volun 
 teers made up the mob which lined the streets the day that Weyler 
 arrived, yelling, " Blood to fertilize Cuba. Give us Cepero s head ! 
 Cepero s head ! Cepero s head ! " Cepero was the American citizen 
 who was a prisoner of war in Morro Castle. 
 
 Discussing the Action of Congress. 
 
 Much was said at Havana by the Spaniards concerning the resolu 
 tions of Congress granting rights of belligerents to the Cubans. 
 They cordially believed that the American people had a single selfish 
 motive the tearing of Cuba away from Spain. They admitted that 
 there was no ground for the charges repeatedly published, that 
 " recognition meant friendly assistance to organized bandits commit 
 ting murder, arson and rape." 
 
 They declared that all America had in view was the ultimate 
 annexation of Cuba. They acknowledged that the loss would be so 
 severe to Spain that she would hazard all her resources of men and 
 money until she could fight no longer to hold her possession. They 
 felt that the unjust and obtrusive interference of the United States 
 should be rebuked by other nations and that altercations would 
 occur which might justify Spain in declaring war, although such an 
 issue with the United States would not be resorted to until national 
 honor was at stake. 
 
 An incident showed the treatment accorded to newspaper corres 
 pondents by General Weyler. Two of these were arrested, but were 
 
216 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 subsequently discharged. Their names were Michaelson and Betan- 
 court. 
 
 Their release was only provisional, pending the result of the inves 
 tigation on the charge that they were at Guatao on the fatal day of 
 the massacre and brought the news to Havana. The only evidence 
 against them was the report that two American correspondents had 
 managed to get to the scene of the massacre. Michaelson and 
 Betancourt had been at Marianao, half way to Guatao, where the 
 railroad ends. Marques de Cervera received a call from them. When 
 he was requested that night, in a message from Havana, to furnish 
 information as to who had been permitted to go to Guatao, he 
 naturally suspected, having knowledge of no one else going that way, 
 that Michaelson and Betancourt had eluded his vigilance and passed 
 along chat road. There was no other evidence in the matter. 
 
 At 2 o clock in the morning guards of soldiers invaded the room 
 *f each man Michaelson s at the hotel and Betancourt s at his home. 
 They made a thorough search in each case, looking through every 
 thing, examining every scrap of paper, peering into bureau drawers, 
 clothes-closets and everything. This process lasted two hours, so 
 thorough and exhaustive was it, and they found absolutely nothing 
 to sustain the position of the authorities. Nevertheless, they removed 
 both men to police headquarters, where they were kept until 6 A. M., 
 when they were taken in row boats across the bay to Morro Castle. 
 
 There they were placed in solitary confinement in stone dungeons, 
 with no cots, no chairs, no blankets, not a thing, indeed, to relieve 
 their condition. Mr. Murat Halstead and Consul-General Williams 
 hastened to General Weyler to protest against this high-handed out 
 rage ; but they were unable to see the autocrat until 5 p. M., because 
 he was out calling and did not choose to have his social engage 
 ments interfered with by anything so trivial as duty or so absurd as 
 humanity. 
 
 When these two gentlemen were finally successful in getting an 
 audience with Weyler, he informed them that the offence charged to 
 the prisoners which was that of telling the truth was very grave, 
 indeed, and that it would take three days at least to investigate it. 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 217 
 
 At the end of two days they were released. They had received 
 blankets and hammocks only just before their departure from Morro 
 Castle, and too late to do them any good in their stone dungeons. 
 No liquor or tobacco or anything else was sent to them during their 
 incarceration, except some food, and that but little. 
 
 Gen. Weyler had been encouraged by the course of events after 
 his arrival, and cabled to his home government to that effect. The 
 progress of Gomez and Maceo back into Matanzas and toward Santa 
 Clara was interpreted as a retreat from the neighborhood of Havana. 
 That it was not a retreat, but rather an indication that they were 
 conducting a new campaign, which the Spanish are unable to check, 
 is shown by their movements. 
 
 The Two Generals Separate. 
 
 After the burning of Jaruco, the announcement was made that the 
 Spanish columns, under Gens. Linares, Prat, Aldeco, Col. Hernandez 
 and others, had the insurgents hemmed in ; that they were in front 
 of them to prevent their going back into Matanzas, and that behind 
 them were all the forces at Havana and along the trocha. Maceo 
 and Gomez separated at once, Maceo taking a northern course, and 
 Gomez paralleling his march about twenty miles southward, and then 
 they moved eastward simultaneously. 
 
 They burned and destroyed every obstruction to their progress, 
 tearing up the railroads to prevent the transportation of the Spanish 
 troops, and fighting at Catalina, Candela Hills, San Nicholas, Roque, 
 Limonar, Tosca and the Guamacaro Hills, but nothing stopped the 
 progress of either. Every battle was reported as a Spanish victory, 
 in which the enemy were routed or dispersed or driven back ; but 
 the mere fact that the Spanish columns were still in front and re 
 porting encounters daily, and that Gomez and Maceo were moving 
 irresistibly forward into the great sugar district, revealed the true 
 state of affairs. 
 
 Their purpose in going there was disclosed by two things. Gen. 
 Weyler, upon getting them surrounded in Havana province after 
 Maceo crossed the trocha, issued orders to the planters of Matanzas 
 
218 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 and Santa Clara to begin grinding cane. Gomez s proclamation for 
 bade their doing so, and they had stopped to save their estates from 
 being burned. Gen. Weyler gave notice that by March 15 the Island 
 would be so cleared up that they would be safe to proceed, but in 
 order to profit by the thirty days which would intervene between his 
 order and that date, he requested work to be begun at once, sup 
 posing he could hold Gomez and Maceo where they were and give 
 the planters protection in the meantime. 
 
 Quintin Bandera started at once with 2,000 cavalry from Sancft 
 Spiritus, and, hurrying by thirty miles a day marches, he swept into 
 the sugar district to the assistance of the already large forces of 
 insurgents there, and, encouraging them as well as reinforcing their 
 numbers, he hurried on to facilitate the progress of Gomez and 
 Maceo. On the 2ist he met Gomez s forces near Najasa, for the 
 latter had advanced more rapidly than even the insurgents anticipated, 
 and was well into the centre of the province of Matanzas. Maceo 
 had gotten even farther, and was northeast of Gomez s position, one 
 of his detachments entering Cardenas, the seaport east of Matanzas, 
 two days later. 
 
 Sugar Industry Prevented. 
 
 Bandera s command separated at once and came into Havana pro 
 vince. Four days later he camped, 2,000 strong, at the estate Ben- 
 igno, Garcia Aguiar, in the district of Palma, near Sabanilla. He 
 moved about in the same locality that Gomez occupied during 
 Maceo s absence to conduct the campaign in Pinar del Rio, where he 
 waited for Maceo, and from which place he went across the trocha to 
 Maceo s assistance in clearing the way for the return of the latter s 
 army. 
 
 The burning of cane was resumed. Wherever an effort was made 
 to grind, the insurgents destroyed the estates. The planters were in 
 a lamentable situation. If they attempted to grind, they were faced 
 first by the absence of labor. It had gone to the woods, or fled to 
 Havana. If they sent cutters into the fields or started fires under 
 their boilers, the fire-brand was at hand. If they did not make any 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 219 
 
 attempt they would be " considered sympathizers with the insurgents 
 and the enemies of Spain " with all the penalties. After everything 
 else, if they did grind, by paying the Cuban republic for the privilege ? 
 the railroads were destroyed, and not a pound of their product could 
 be transported out of the country. 
 
 Early in March Captain-General Weyler issued the following pro 
 clamation : 
 
 * I have promulgated an order that the teachers of divinity of the 
 Provinces of Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto Principe and Santiago de 
 Cuba, who, confessedly, have taken part in the movements of the in 
 surgents, shall be pardoned on making their submission, surrendering 
 their arms, and placing themselves under the surveillance of the law 
 ful authority, provided they have not committed other crimes since 
 the issuance of my last proclamation. It will be a commendable 
 circumstance that these submissions may be made by bodies of those 
 affected. 
 
 Strict Regulations. 
 
 " The teachers of divinity who, without arms, shall come in under 
 the same circumstances, will be immediately transferred to the 
 encampments, forts, towns, and, in general, where they may be under 
 the immediate vigilance of the troops, and all the teachers shall be 
 under the control of the commandants in whatever jurisdiction they 
 may be assigned. 
 
 " A record of those so attached to each column, encampment or fort 
 v/ill be kept, and their superiors will make a report every fifteen days 
 concerning the conduct of the teachers, and will determine the time 
 at which they will be permitted to reside in whatever place it may be 
 deemed advisable to conduct them, placing them under the supervi 
 sion of the local authorities or making any other disposition of them 
 which may be considered proper. 
 
 u In the meantime they will become permanently attached to the 
 military forces, and will give their attentions to the dying, and will be 
 entitled to such rations as troops in the field or traveling. These 
 directions will not go into effect in the provinces of Pinardel Rio and 
 Ha, ana until these Provinces have extended to them the prevailing 
 
220 SIDE LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 law in the case of those who deliver themselves up to the authori 
 ties. WEYLER." 
 "Havana, March 5, 1896." 
 
 Another proclamation was as follows : 
 
 " I make known to our harassed troops and to those who attempt 
 to demoralize them as they pursue eastward insurgent parties more 
 numerous than those whom they leave in the Provinces of Pinar del 
 Rio and Havana, that the time has arrived to pursue, with the greatest 
 activity and rigor, the little bands, more of outlaws than insurgents, 
 who have remained in the said provinces, and to adopt whatever 
 measures are necessary for the proper and immediate carrying out of 
 that intention. I hereby order : 
 
 Disposition of Troops. 
 
 " First That the troops be divided into columns to operate in 
 both provinces, and that the Guardis Civil be re-established on the 
 lines of that now existing in Pinar del Rio and in a part of Puerto 
 Principe, and that in Havana and a part of the Province of Santiago 
 de Cuba, and that they occupy only the places remote from the pres 
 ent pacified or tranquillized districts until they are able to occupy the 
 positions which they held before (in the districts row in revolt). 
 
 "Second The commander of each zone, or tbe corresponding 
 official who may be otherwise characterized in each place, shall be 
 the commander of the native army, and shall have municipal 
 powers, but in a less degree than those he exercises in the same 
 position with any garrison force of the army. In this case the 
 command of the native armies will devolve in accordance with 
 seniority of services. 
 
 " Three Each community seeking to do so and applying to the 
 general staff of the army may arm a section of volunteers or guerril 
 las of thirty men, equipped as infantry soldiers, which force will de 
 fend the country and operate under orders of the military authorities 
 of the locality. Each section may be commanded by retired officers, 
 or deputed officials, or by persons of satisfactory qualifications 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 221 
 
 and antecedents, obtaining the pay of those holding second com 
 mand of infantry, the appointment of the officials of these sections to 
 be approved by the Captain-General. 
 
 " Fourth Those who are in possession of arms must be placed in 
 a state of complete defense and enabled to avoid a surprise. 
 
 " Fifth The military governors of Havana and Pinar del Rio will 
 present reports to the Captain- General for the guidance of the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Third Army Corps, and will send to the 
 Governor-General proposals for the nominations of Mayors or Magis 
 trates in the places where Guardis Civil exist, or, if they deem it 
 expedient to expel those officials, retired persons or authorized per 
 sons who possess the necessary qualifications. 
 
 They Must Surrender. 
 
 " Sixth The authorities of the villages who will show themselves 
 friendly within a term of ten days, and those of the vicinity of the same, 
 and all those within its limits that are engaged in the insurrection, are 
 warned to surrender themselves within the space of fifteen days from 
 the publication of this proclamation, otherwise they will be subject 
 to arrest ; and well-disposed persons will be set to their civil respon 
 sibilities, and, to effect this, it will be proposed to the Governor-Gen 
 eral to nominate a body which will see to carrying this out. 
 
 " Seventh If, in the case of insurgent parties who have robbed, 
 sacked, burned, or committed other outrages during the rebellion, 
 any one will give information as to the participation that such per 
 sons may have had in them, not only those who may have been in 
 the rebel ranks, but also those who have succeeded them, or who 
 have not remained in their homes, they will be fittingly punished ; 
 and, moreover, if any town or other places where robberies have 
 been effected is known to them, they will be required to make iden 
 tification that proper responsibility may be fixed. 
 
 " Eighth Rebels who may not be responsible for any other crime, 
 who within the term of fifteen days present themselves to the nearest 
 military authority in both provinces, and who will assist in the apprehen 
 sion of any one guilty of the foregoing offences, will not be molested, 
 
222 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 but will be placed at my disposal. Those who have presented them 
 selves at any earlier time will be pardoned ; those who may have 
 committed any other crimes or who obstructed any public cargo 
 proceeding to its destination, will be judged according to the antece 
 dents, and their case will be withheld for final determination. He 
 who presents himself and surrenders arms, and, in a greater degree, 
 if there is a collective presentation, will have his case determined by 
 me. All who present themselves after the time mentioned in this 
 warning will be placed at my disposal. 
 
 " Ninth All the authorities or civil functionaries of whatsoever 
 kind who do not hold a license for attendance upon the sick and who 
 are not found at their posts after the end of eight days in both prov 
 inces will be named to the Governor-General as ceasing to act for 
 the local authorities. 
 
 " Tenth The planters, manufacturers and other persons who, 
 within the territory of the provinces warned shall periodically facili 
 tate or even for a single time shall give money of any kind soever to 
 the insurgents, save and except in the case of their being obliged to 
 yield to superior force a circumstance which will have to be ex 
 amined in a most searching manner will be regarded as disloyal 
 through helping the rebellion. 
 
 " Eleventh For the repair of roads, railways, telegraphs, etc., the 
 personal co-operation of the inhabitants of the villages will be re 
 quired, and in the case of the destruction of any kind of property, 
 the occupants of convenient habitations will be held responsible if 
 they do not immediately inform the nearest authority of such occur 
 rences. VALERIANO WEYLER." 
 
 One of the incidents of the struggle was General Antonio Maceo s 
 arraignment of General Weyler, soon after the latter arrived in Cuba. 
 General Maceo wrote as follows : 
 
 " Republic of Cuba, Invading Army, 
 
 " Second Corps, Cayajabos, Feb. 27, 1896, 
 " General Valeriano Weyler, Havana : 
 
 " In spite of all that the press has published in regard to you t 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 223 
 
 have never been willing to give it belief and to base my judgment of 
 your conduct on its statements ; such an accumulation of atrocities, 
 so many crimes repugnant and dishonoring to any man of honor, I 
 thought it impossible for a soldier holding your high rank to commit 
 " The accusations seemed to me rather to be made in bad faith, or to 
 be the utterances of personal enmity, and I expected that you would 
 take care to give the lie in due form to your detractors, rising to the 
 height required of gentlemen, and saving yourself from any imputa 
 tion of that -kind, by merely adopting in the treatment of the 
 wounded and of prisoners of war the generous course that has been 
 pursued from the beginning by the revolutionists toward the Spanish 
 wounded and prisoners. 
 
 Appeal Against Spanish Infamy. 
 
 " But, unfortunately, Spanish dominion must always be accompanied 
 by infamy, and although the errors and wrongful acts of the last war 
 seemed to be corrected at the beginning of this one, to-day it has 
 become manifest that it was only by closing our eyes to invariable 
 personal antecedents and incorrigible traditional arbitrariness that we 
 could have imagined Spain would forget forever her fatal character 
 istic of ferocity toward the defenseless and assassination in security. 
 For really it is difficult to believe everything we see in life, however 
 absurd it may seem. 
 
 " But we cannot help believing evidence. In my march during the 
 period of this campaign I see with alarm, with horror, how the 
 wretched reputation you enjoy is confirmed, and how the deeds that 
 disclose your barbarous irritation are repeated. V/hat ! must even 
 the peaceful inhabitants (I say nothing of the wounded and prisoners 
 of war), must they be sacrificed to the rage that gave the Duke of 
 Alva his name and fame ? 
 
 " Is it thus that Spain, through you, returns the clemency and 
 kindness with which we, the redeemers of this suffering people, have 
 acted in like circumstances ? What a reproach for^ yourself and for 
 Spain ! The license to burn the huts, assassinations like those at 
 Nueva Paz and the villa El Gato, committed by Spanish columns, in 
 
Si24 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 particular those of Colonels Molina and Vicuna, proclaim you guilty 
 before all humankind ; your name will be forever infamous, here and 
 far from here remembered with disgust and horror ! 
 
 " Out of humanity, yielding to the honorable and generous im 
 pulses which are identified with both the spirit and the tendency of 
 the revolution, I shall never use reprisals that would be unworthy 
 of the reputation and the power of the liberating army of Cuba. But 
 I nevertheless foresee that such abominable conduct on your part and 
 on that of your men will arouse at no distant time private vengeances 
 to which they will fall victims, without my being able to prevent it, 
 even though I should punish hundreds of innocent persons. 
 
 " For this last reason, since war should only touch combatants and 
 it is inhuman to make others suffer from its consequences, I invite 
 you to retrace your steps, if you admit your guilt, or to repress these 
 crimes with a heavy hand if they were committed without your con 
 sent. At all events, take care that no drop of blood be shed outside 
 the battlefield ; be merciful to the many unfortunate peaceful citizens. 
 In so doing you will imitate in honorable emulation our conduct and 
 our proceedings. Yours, 
 
 A. MACEO." 
 
 This appeal is valuable as showing the grievances of the insurgents, 
 as well as their commander s bold and telling way of stating them. 
 
 An interview with General Weyler by a lady correspondent in 
 Cuba will be of interest. She writes under date of March 1 3th : 
 
 His Excellency, Captain-General Weyler, graciously gave me an 
 audience to-day. He received me with most charming courtesy; 
 escorted me through his apartments and presented me with a bunch 
 of roses from his own table. Before I left he had honored me with 
 an invitation to dine with him at the Palace. 
 
 " Your Excellency," I said to him through my interpreter, " the 
 American women have a very bad opinion of you. I am very much 
 afraid of you myself, but I have come to ask the honor of an inter 
 view with you, in order that I may write something which will reas 
 sure the women of America that you are not treating women and 
 children unmercifully." 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 225 
 
 " I do not give interviews," he said. " I am willing, however, to 
 answer any question you wish to ask." 
 
 " In the United States," I said, " an impression prevails that your 
 edict shutting out newspaper correspondents from the field is only 
 to conceal cruelties perpetrated upon the insurgent prisoners. Will 
 your Excellency tell me the real cause ? " 
 
 " I have," replied the General, " shut out the Spanish and Cuban 
 papers from the field, as well as the American. In the last war the 
 correspondents created much jealousy by what they wrote. They 
 praised one and rebuked the other. They wrote what their prisoners 
 dictated instead of facts. They even created ill-feeling between the 
 Spanish officers. They are a nuisance." 
 
 "Then I can deny the stories that have been published as to your 1 
 being cruel ? " 
 
 The General shrugged his heavy shoulders as he said carelessly : 
 "I have no time to pay attention to stories. Some of them are true, 
 and some are not. If you will particularize I will give direct 
 answers, but these things are not important/ 
 
 " Does not your Excellency think that prisoners of war should be 
 treated with consideration and mercy ? " 
 
 The General s eyes glinted dangerously. " The Spanish columns 
 attend to their prisoners just as well as any other country in time of 
 war," he replied. " War is war. You cannot make it otherwise, try 
 as you will." 
 
 " Will not your Excellency allow me to go to the scene of battle 
 under an escort of soldiers, if necessary, that I may write of the 
 situation as it really is, and correct the impression that prevails in 
 America that inhuman treatment is being accorded the insurgent 
 prisoners ? " 
 
 " Impossible," answered the General. " It would not be safe." 
 
 " I am willing to take all the danger, if your Excellency will allow 
 me to go," I exclaimed. 
 
 General Weyler laughed. " There would be no danger from the 
 rebels," he said, " but from the Spanish soldiers. They are of a very 
 affectionate disposition and would all fall in love with you." 
 15 
 
226 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 " I will keep a great distance from the fighting if you will allow 
 me to go." 
 
 The General s lips closed tightly, and he said : " Impossible ! Im 
 possible ! " 
 
 " What would happen," I asked, " if I should be discovered cross 
 ing the lines without permission ? " 
 
 " You would be treated just the same as a man." 
 
 " Would I be sent to Castle Morro ? " 
 
 " Yes," he replied, nodding his head vigorously. That settled it. 
 I decided not to go. 
 
 " W 7 hy," I asked him, " is the rule incommunicado placed upon 
 prisoners ? Is it not cruel to prevent a man from seeing his wife and 
 children ? " 
 
 " The rule incommunicado/ " said the General, " is a military 
 law. Prisoners are allowed to see their relatives as a favor, but we 
 exercise discretion in these cases." 
 
 " There are stories that prisoners are shot in Morro Castle at day 
 break each morning, and that the shots can be plainly heard across 
 the bay. Is this true ? " 
 
 The General s eyes looked unpleasant again. " It is false ! " he 
 said, shortly. " The prisoners go through a regular court-martial, 
 and no one could be shot at Morro without my orders, and I have not 
 given orders to shoot any one since I have been here." 
 
 " Do you not think it very cruel that innocent women and children 
 should be made to suffer in time of war ? " 
 
 " No innocent women and children do suffer. It is only those who 
 leave their homes and take part in battles who are injured. It is only 
 the rebels who destroy peaceful homes." 
 
 " It is reported," I said, " that thirty women are fighting under 
 Maceo. Is this true ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied the General. " We tbok one woman yesterday 
 She was dressed in man s clothes and was wielding a machete. She 
 is now in Morro Castle. These women are fiercer than the mer 
 Many of them are mulattoes. This particular woman was whit*- " 
 
 " What will be her fate ?" 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 22? 
 
 "She will go through the regular form of trial." 
 
 " Will no mercy be shown her ? " 
 
 " Mercy is always shown to a woman. While the law is the same 
 for both sexes there is a clause which admits of mercy to a woman." 
 
 " There are several Cuban women insurgents in Morro and the 
 Cabanas. Would your Excellency," I asked, " allow me to visit 
 them ? " 
 
 A Rigid Military Law. 
 
 " No/ he said. " There is a law that no foreigner shall enter oui 
 fortresses. It is a military law. We can make no exceptions. You 
 understand that I do not wish to be discourteous, senorita." 
 
 * Some of these women," I continued, " are said to be imprisoned 
 for merely having Cuban flags in their homes. Is this possible ? " 
 
 " Treason," exclaimed the General, " is always a crime, punishable 
 by imprisonment." 
 
 " There is a newspaper correspondent at present in Morro. What 
 was his crime ? " 
 
 The General shrugged his shoulders again. "I know nothing 
 about him," he said. " I think he has been freed." 
 
 " Do you not think that the life of a newspaper correspondent in 
 Havana is at present a most unhappy one ? " 
 
 " I think it must be, for they make me unhappy. If they were all 
 like you it would be a pleasure." 
 
 " Is it true that thumbscrews are used to extort confessions from 
 prisoners ? " 
 
 " Not by the Spaniards. Rebels use all these things, similar to 
 those that were used in the Inquisition tortures." 
 
 " What does your Excellency think of the Cubans as a race ? Do 
 you not think them progressive and brave ? " 
 
 " With the progress of all nations the Cubans have progressed," 
 he replied. " There are many Cubans in sympathy with Spain, but 
 this insurrection is a blot upon the Cuban race which nothing can 
 ever erase. It is a stain made with the blood of the slain and the 
 tears of the women. It injures the Cubans themselves more than 
 any other." 
 
228 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 In the latter part of March Cuban circles in this country were 
 elated over the successful landing in Cuba of the expedition sent out 
 by the steamship " Bermuda." After her departure there was great 
 anxiety among the Cuban sympathizers, and news of her safe land 
 ing afforded corresponding satisfaction. 
 
 Rafael Portuondo, Secretary of State of the insurgent Republic, 
 said : " The successful landing of General Garcia and the Bermuda s* 
 cargo of arms and ammunition is of greater moment to us than the 
 outside world can imagine. We have hoped so long in vain for the 
 administration of the United States to recognize our belligerency, 
 that we have almost abandoned the idea of ever benefiting by the 
 improved moral and international standing which such an act would 
 give us in the eyes of other nations. We see now that we can expect 
 but little aid from any one else ; that we must carve our destiny with 
 the Cuban sword the machete. 
 
 " Diplomacy so far has availed us nothing. We have got to fight 
 our way to freedom, and General Garcia is a fighter. He has faced 
 death many times. He is feared by his enemies and loved by his 
 friends. He will be a power in Cuba, and his safe arrival on the 
 Island will be an important step toward securing her freedom. He 
 will take immediate command of the department of the Oriente, 
 which includes the provinces of Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba." 
 
 After Garcia s escape from Madrid in the fall of 1895, and his sub 
 sequent arrival in New York, every effort was made to enable him to 
 reach Cuba with a respectable expedition. The failure of those 
 efforts in the sinking of the " Hawkins " and the detention of the 
 " Bermuda " are well known. Secretary Olney s order to release the 
 " Bermuda " and arms seized on the " Stranahan " encouraged the 
 Cuban officials in this country to make another attempt to leave the 
 port, which was done in broad daylight. 
 
 On Sunday morning, March I5th, the " Bermuda" steamed out of 
 New York harbor. She carried four rapid-fire Hotchkiss cannon, 
 one twenty-pounder and one ten-pounder. These were by far the 
 largest guns yet used by the insurgents. 
 
 Early in April was the time for holding elections in Cuba, and it 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 229 
 
 was claimed that Spain would receive a strong support. Despite the 
 threats of the captain-general, the Autonomist party remained firm, 
 and refused to take any active share in the elections. They intended, 
 indeed, to vote for two Senators, one for the University and the other 
 for Los Amigos del Pais, but here their efforts were to cease. 
 
 It was a serious predicament for General Weyler. He pledged his 
 reputation on his ability to drive voters to the polls, hoping by that 
 act to prove to the government in Madrid that affairs were not in such 
 a really desperate condition. Cuba had never been officially declared 
 to be in a state of war. It was admitted that serious disturbances 
 existed; but, then, are not misfortunes liable to occur in the best 
 regulated households ? Have not the United States had riots in 
 Pittsburg and Chicago, and had not England to contend against the 
 Irish Land League? 
 
 And yet one is tempted to ask why people who arrived on board 
 the steamers were subjected to a rigorous inquisition. Every Wed 
 nesday and Saturday, when the Tampa boat reached Havana, the 
 passengers were compelled to go to the Hotel Mascotte, near the 
 quay, and were there thoroughly searched. 
 
 Outside of the city, too, the country had not the appearance which 
 we are accustomed to see in times of ordinary tranquillity. A trip 
 from Havana to Batabano, on the south coast, was exactly like jour 
 neying through a desert. At intervals of a couple of miles small 
 forts are constructed along the line, each with its garrison of twenty 
 or thirty soldiers, but, with these exceptions, no trace of human ex 
 istence was to be seen. A lonely and abandoned country stretched 
 away on each side. 
 
 Here and there a small green patch of sugar cane had escaped the 
 general conflagration, but for the most part the eye rested only upon 
 blackened stalks, over which the tall, slender palm trees waved like 
 sorrowing mourners. Station buildings were heaps of crumbling 
 ruins, where, amid the general wreck, temporary fortifications of stone 
 and metal rails had been hastily put together, though for what pur 
 pose it was hard to imagine. 
 
 Every little village was occupied by troops, sentries were stationed 
 
230 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 upon every church, whose walls had been pierced for muskets, and 
 round which deep trenches had been dug as an additional means of 
 defence. These sacred edifices represented the citadel of the position, 
 and, filled as they were with men who had signalized themselves by 
 robbery and crime, one was forcibly reminded of the words which 
 say : " You have made my house a den of thieves." 
 
 Batabano itself was half destroyed. In the recent attack the town 
 hall and all the rest of the public buildings were burned, and yet there 
 were ample accommodations for the few families who lingered on. 
 
 The port, called Surgidero, is about three miles distant. It is an 
 important place, as it is the point of embarkation for Cienfuegos and 
 Santiago de Cuba. So far it had escaped the insurgents, but there 
 was a band lurking in the jungle close at hand who made constant 
 demonstrations during the night, and kept the military authorities 
 busy. 
 
 Embankments and Breastworks. 
 
 The precautions which were adopted for defence are interesting. 
 A narrow, shallow trench was excavated for nearly a mile and a half 
 outside the little seaport to protect it on the land side. Behind this 
 trench the earth was thrown up into a low embankment, strengthened 
 with a wattle breastwork, and guarded along the entire line by no 
 fewer than twelve forts. A gunboat was close in shore, and as a 
 guide to direct her fire, lanterns on high posts were set close together 
 a few paces beyond the trench. She had a good deal of practice, for 
 one of the inhabitants said that he counted thirty-seven shells which 
 she discharged one night. Like Mr. Winkle s shot, however, they 
 proved to be merely homeless wanderers, finding, contrary to th? 
 proverb, no billet anywhere. 
 
 At the railway station, the platform was crowded with people. 
 They were emigrants, flying with their families and household goods 
 from the terror which reigned throughout the land. But it was not 
 a fear of the insurgents which compelled them to leave their homes. 
 The Spanish army was the cause. The alcalde of Jovellanos, in Ma 
 tanzas province, said that there was no safety for any one outside o) 
 the large cities. 
 
SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 231 
 
 This man was a Spaniard and a loyal subject He officiated as 
 Mayor of Jovellanos for two years, and was prosperous and respected. 
 After soldiers were quartered in the town, he said, life had become 
 unbearable. They plundered his store, notwithstanding his position 
 as Chief Magistrate, and robbed the inhabitants at will. A Spanish 
 guerrilla force, under the command of Lieutenant Salvador Paula, saw 
 ten laborers working in a field in the outskirts of Jovellanos. When 
 challenged these men replied : " Viva Espafia ! " Yet they were im 
 mediately fired upon, though fortunately without any evil result to 
 them. They were wise enough to fling themselves upon the ground, 
 while an unfortunate Chinaman, who was feeding his horse close by, 
 received a bullet in the leg. This poor creature limped up and 
 showed the wound to Lieutenant Paula, who thereupon exclaimed : 
 " O, you complain, do you? I will soon prevent your telling tales !" 
 drew his machete and with one stroke cut off the Chinaman s head. 
 This episode undoubtedly saved the workmen s lives. 
 
 Still Another Atrocity. 
 
 The guerrilleros, having gratified their taste for blood, departed, yet 
 though the case, the Alcalde said, was reported to the commandant, 
 General Prat, Paula and his gang were left unpunished. 
 
 Another atrocity was that of Colonel Vicuna, who, when marching 
 with his column to the town, met three unarmed men upon the road. 
 They were instantly arrested, and though there were no grounds for 
 supposing them to be insurgents, Colonel Vicuna ordered them to be 
 shot, a command which was carried out on the spot. Three days 
 afterward the Alcalde read in the official reports in the newspapers 
 that this very column had had an engagement with the insurgents 
 near Jovellanos, and had killed three. The battle referred to was 
 this cruel execution of inoffensive civilians. 
 
 Of a truth these official reports were merely useful as a record of 
 what did not occur. No reliance can be placed in a single state 
 ment, unless it be the simple fact that something took place in a cer 
 tain locality, while the circumstantial story and the result were 
 complete fabrications. An account was given of an encounter near 
 
232 SIDE-LIGHTS UPON THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 Cardenas, where the Spaniards had one dead and four wounded. It 
 was found subsequently that their losses amounted to sixty-two, of 
 which no fewer than twenty-five had been killed. 
 
 In like manner the true account of the assault on Santa Clara is 
 very different from that supplied from the Palace for publication. In 
 a letter from an eye-witness of the whole affair, we find that the 
 Cubans met with scarcely any opposition, and that General Bazan, so 
 far from having ridden with his staff through the rain of bullets, 
 sought refuge in the theatre until the enemy had retired. The 
 insurgents patrolled the town all night long, and procured without 
 difficulty the supplies which they required. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 The United States to the Rescue. 
 
 ON the loth of April, 1896, our State Department at Washing 
 ton sent to Madrid an important official despatch hearing on 
 Cuban affairs. It was signed by Secretary Olney, and ad 
 dressed to Minister Taylor. In it was laid down the attitude of the 
 Administration on the Cuban question. The despatch was a lengthy 
 one. Its four principal points were : 
 
 First. The President proposed that Spain accept mediation on the 
 \ part of the United States, looking to a settlement of existing differ- 
 \ ences between the Spanish Government and the Cubans. 
 
 Second. It referred to the correspondence between the State De 
 partment and the Madrid authorities in 1870, in which Spain promised 
 to inaugurate governmental reforms in Cuba, which promises, it was 
 ^ said, have not been fulfilled. 
 
 Third. That the present rebellion in Cuba is more serious and 
 * widespread than any which have arisen in recent years, and that the 
 insurgents controlled practically all of Cuba except Havana and the 
 near neighborhood. 
 
 Fourth. It assured Spain of the kindliest motives on the part of 
 the United States in seeking to bring about a pacific condition of 
 affairs in Cuba, and urged that the good offices of this country be 
 accepted in the spirit proffered. 
 
 After the passage in the House of the Cuban resolutions the Presi 
 dent and Secretary Olney were frequently in consultation in relation 
 to the general affairs in Cuba and the wisest course for the United 
 States to pursue in the matter. Few, if any, of the many friends of 
 Cuba in Congress expected that the President would take steps in 
 harmony with the provisions of the resolutions. The President 
 decided that the question of recognizing a state of belligerency in 
 
 233 
 
234 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 the Island was not seriously to be considered. In reaching this 
 decision he followed the advice of Secretary Olney, which was based 
 on the precedent established by President Grant in his first adminis 
 tration, upon the earnest recommendations of Secretary Fish. 
 
 Our Government Offers to Mediate. 
 
 It having been determined not to recognize belligerency in the 
 Island, the point to be decided was what, if any, steps should be 
 taken in the matter. The President and the Secretary of State 
 agreed that some measures were necessary. As a result of several 
 important conferences, the President finally concluded that mediation 
 on the part of the United States should be suggested to Spain. 
 
 As far as known the President did not discuss the proposed course 
 with any other member of the Cabinet than Mr. Olney. In interna 
 tional affairs it was the exception when he asked for the views of any 
 other Cabinet Minister. In the case of Cuba he did not depart from 
 his rule, but drew up not only the outline of Mr. Olney s note to 
 Minister Taylor, but suggested many of the paragraphs, and some of 
 the sentences. 
 
 The President viewed the condition of affairs in Cuba as deserving 
 of serious consideration. He recognized that conditions existed 
 which were most unfortunate, and which were injurious not only to 
 Spain, but to the vast commerce between the United States and 
 Cuba. He realized, however, that Spain and this country are on 
 terms of amity, and thought that vigorous proceedings on the part of 
 the United States would result in the object aimed at being lost 
 This might mean a rupture of the friendly relations between Spain 
 and the United States. The President was opposed to the adoption 
 of any such course. 
 
 He looked upon the recognizing of a state of belligerency in Cuba 
 as unwise and unjustifiable under the circumstances, and as certain to 
 irritate the Spanish people. For the present, at least, he was of the 
 opinion that the best course was to propose the good offices of this 
 Government, looking to a settlement of the serious differences 
 between Spain and the Cuban insurgents. 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 235 
 
 Secretary Olncy s letter to Minister Taylor was written in the 
 most careful, cautious manner. In referring to the proposition that 
 Spain accept mediation on the part of the United States, he said that 
 the attitude of this country in the matter is a friendly one, and that 
 the United States could have no other object, as Spain must know, 
 than to bring about a more satisfactory condition of affairs in Cuba. 
 He complimented Spain to the extent of intimating that she is too 
 great a Power to fear to do what is right, and that if the claims of the 
 Cuban insurgents as to Spanish wrongs were based on fact, it was 
 the duty of the Madrid Government to inaugurate a more just, leni 
 ent and humane policy toward Cuba. 
 
 Trying to Restore Order. 
 
 Such a course, it was pointed out, would tend to bring about quiet 
 and restore order in the Island, and modify the growing impression 
 throughout the world that many of the alleged evils in Cuba are the 
 result of harsh treatment or the maladministration of the Colonial 
 Government. As one reason for suggesting mediation in the case, 
 Minister Taylor was informed that many of the citizens in this coun 
 try interested in estates in Cuba, or in the commerce with the Island, 
 were suffering on account of the rebellion. This fact and others, 
 which the Secretary set forth, were, in his opinion, a sufficient justifi 
 cation for proposing to Spain that she accept the good offices of the 
 United States looking to a settlement of differences between the 
 mother country and her Island Colony. 
 
 The Secretary of State referred to the correspondence between the 
 State Department and the Madrid Government in the first adminis 
 tration of President Grant, when Secretary Fish, by direction of the 
 President, proposed that the United States should act as mediator be 
 tween Spain and the insurgents. Spain then politely declined the 
 good offices of this country, but intimated that the time might come 
 when they would be acceptable to her. She promised, however, that 
 a number of important governmental reforms should be instituted in 
 Cuba, among others that the taxes in the Island should be equitably 
 levied, that no unjust discrimination should be made against native 
 
236 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 Cubans in the matter of holding offices, that the security of persons 
 and property should be maintained, that the judiciary should be 
 separated from the military authorities, and that greater freedom of 
 speech, press and religion would be inaugurated. In those days 
 slavery existed in Cuba, and partly at the instance of the United 
 States, the Spanish Government passed a law of emancipation. 
 
 Spain s Promises Broken. 
 
 A number of other important reforms have not been brought 
 about, however, and the Secretary pointed out that representatives of 
 the insurgents in Washington contended that there was no probability 
 of changes in law and custom being made. In a communication 
 to the State Department, T. Estrada Palma, representing the in 
 surgent party, stated that the causes of the revolution in the 
 Island were substantially the same as those of the former revolution, 
 lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representa 
 tion of the Spanish Government that Cuba would be granted such 
 reforms as would remove the ground of complaint on the part of the 
 Cuban people. 
 
 Unfortunately, Mr. Palma said, the hopes thus held out have never 
 been realized. The representation which was to be given Cubans 
 proved to be absolutely without character. Taxes were levied anew 
 on everything conceivable ; the offices in the Island increased, but 
 the officers were all Spaniards ; the native Cubans had been left with 
 no public duties whatsoever to perform except the payment of taxes 
 to the Government, without privilege even to move from place to 
 place in the Island, except on the permission of governmental 
 authority. 
 
 Mr. Palma also complained that Spain had framed laws so that the 
 natives had substantially been deprived of the right of suffrage. 
 There was appropriated only $746,000 for internal improvements out 
 of the $26,000,000 collected by taxes. Mr. Olney pointed out that 
 if even part of the injustice and harshness alleged by the insurgents 
 existed in Cuba, important reforms would appear to be demanded 
 under the circumstances. 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 237 
 
 Secretary Olney informed Minister Taylor that from advices re 
 ceived from Cuba it was made clear that the revolution in the Island 
 was more widespread than the ten years revolution, and that the 
 insurgents were reported to be masters of the situation, except in and 
 near Havana. These conditions, in the opinion of the Secretary, 
 went to show the extent of the insurrectionary movement, and the 
 large number of persons engaged in it, and the effect was a serious 
 blow to business throughout the Island, and operated necessarily 
 greatly to the disadvantage of the commerce of the United States. 
 
 Much more was said in this connection in the despatch to Minister 
 Taylor, but the drift of the statement was that the revolution had 
 made greater headway than any preceding revolution in Cuba, and 
 that the conditions were cause for grave concern on the part of the 
 United States. Mr. Olney intimated that if the insurgents had not 
 been successful in overcoming the Spanish forces and getting charge 
 of the Island, it was equally true that Spain had not put down the 
 rebellion. 
 
 A Friendly Proposition. 
 
 The Secretary concluded his lengthy despatch by directing Minis 
 ter Taylor to assure Spain of the friendliness of this country in pro 
 posing mediation. His argument throughout was a strong one. 
 Minister Taylor was instructed to lay the President s proposition 
 before the Spanish Foreign Secretary at an early date, and to com 
 municate the reply of the Madrid Government promptly upon re 
 ceiving it. 
 
 What the feeling was at Madrid is clearly shown by the statement 
 of a journalist, under date of April 16 : 
 
 " As I am about to leave Spain a resume of the present state of 
 affairs here may be appropriate. 
 
 " Quiet reigns. It seems to me that the whole trouble will be 
 amicably arranged. It is only necessary for Mr. Cleveland to make 
 friendly overtures in order to get a friendly reply in regard to the 
 reforms to be granted to Cuba. The present government has said as 
 much. Laws have already been passed, and are only awaiting the 
 cessation of hostilities to be enforced. 
 
238 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 " Spain will strain every nerve to suppress the insurrection, although 
 the government does not expect to succeed in this before the rainy 
 season sets in. On the contrary, preparations are now under way to 
 send six thousand more soldiers to Cuba at the end of the summer. 
 That will make a total of two hundred thousand men sent to the Island 
 since the war began. 
 
 "The jingo threats of American interference have really strength 
 ened the present government. Every Spaniard, whether conserva 
 tive, liberal or republican, would stand by the red and yellow flag, 
 and afterward would fight it out among themselves. The conserva 
 tives, who outnumber the liberals by three to one, are doing every 
 thing in their power, without compromising the honor of the nation, 
 to avert war with the United States. 
 
 " The liberals are the jingoes of the Peninsula and they seem to 
 think that Spain has been insulted quite enough already. The 
 republicans are very much in the minority just now and are confined 
 almost entirely to the northern provinces. They are against anything 
 that is done by the government, and are consequently opposed to the 
 pacific methods of Premier Canovas and his colleagues. Even they 
 would stand by the Crown in case of war. 
 
 Our Country Cordially Hated. 
 
 " While there is a deep-seated bitterness to the United States all 
 over the country, there is very little open exhibition of it. If the 
 match were applied this feeling would explode with such violence that 
 the lives of Americans would not be safe anywhere from Cadiz to 
 San Sebastian. The recognition of the Cuban insurgents as belli 
 gerents would be such a match. The thousands of students in 
 Madrid and Barcelona ,would start the trouble, and the infection 
 would soon spread. It should be remembered that there are 17,000 
 of these students in Madrid alone, and Madrid is only one of twelve 
 university cities. 
 
 " If war came I doubt if Spain would attempt to hold Cuba for 
 any length of time. She would withdraw her troops and use them 
 to defend the Peninsula from invasion. Before that happened ihe 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 239 
 
 effort would probably be made to attack Florida. Thirty merchant 
 steamships, some of which are now being converted into cruisers, 
 would be employed purely as privateers to harass American com 
 merce. It is the boast of the Spaniards that they drove Napoleon 
 back across the Pyrenees by guerrilla warfare, and they believe they 
 could drive the Stars and Stripes from the seas by corsair methods. 
 " The regular Spanish navy would be kept near Cadiz and Barce 
 lona, and it would not be an easy matter to capture Cadiz, which is 
 quite as well fortified as New York. New and big guns have re 
 cently been mounted on the shore batteries. Torpedoes and tor 
 pedo boats are there without number. Barcelona also is well pro 
 tected, and for that matter the defences of all the ports are being 
 strengthened. 
 
 Scarcity of Food. 
 
 " Spain is so barren in food products that an invading army would 
 have to depend entirely on its base for supplies. It could not live off 
 the country. On the other hand, Spanish soldiers subsist on next to 
 nothing. The private soldiers in the Spanish army honestly believe 
 that in case of war Spain would win. They think this because the 
 regular army of the United States numbers less than half the force 
 now stationed in Madrid. 
 
 " Even though the Cuban rebellion is costing Spain one million 
 pesetas daily, still Spanish money is but little more depreciated than 
 it was three years ago, in time of peace." 
 
 The friendly efforts in the direction of mediation by the United 
 States in Cuban affairs soon bore fruit. The State Department had 
 information, it was reported, through Minister Taylor, at Madrid, 
 that the Spanish authorities were making active preparations to put 
 into effect the long-promised reforms in Cuba, which practically con 
 templated home rule for the Island. 
 
 The exact date when these reforms would be put into operation 
 was not known. There was some criticism even in Spanish circles 
 that these reforms were not inaugurated before the elections in Cuba. 
 The war on the Island and the desire to crush it was the excuse 
 
240 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 offered for not sooner carrying out the laws enacted on March 15, 
 1895, by the Cortes. 
 
 Not only was it proposed to carry out the provisions of these laws, 
 but the Spanish Ministry contemplated further reforms, which would 
 be submitted to the Cortes for its approval. There were reasons for 
 believing that the United States had taken an important part toward 
 inducing Spain to adopt a more conciliatory course in regard to 
 Cuba, and that in the role of meditator strong efforts were made by 
 this country, especially after the arrival of the newly appointed 
 consul, General Fitzhugh Lee, in Havana, to induce the Ojban insur 
 gents to accept in a friendly spirit the contemplated changes in the 
 administration of affairs in Cuba by the Spanish Government. 
 
 The Proposed Reforms. 
 
 The following is a copy of the laws enacted by the Cortes provid 
 ing for the reforms. The internal affairs of the Island were to be 
 under the control of a council of administration, to comprise thirty 
 members, fifteen to be appointed by royal decree and fifteen to be 
 elected according to the census under new methods of suffrage. The 
 council, however, would be subordinate to the Governor-General. 
 The conditions prescribed for appointment or election of councillors 
 were these : 
 
 Besides a residence of at least four years on the Island, some one 
 of the following qualifications were required: 
 
 To be or to have been president of the Chamber of Commerce or 
 the Economic Society of Friends of the Country or of the Planters 
 Club; to be or to have been director of the university, or dean of the 
 College of Lawyers of the capital of a province for a period of two 
 years ; to have been for a period of four years before the election one 
 among the fifty largest taxpayers in the Island ; to have exercised 
 the functions of Senator of the kingdom or Deputy to the Cortes in 
 one or more legislatures ; to have been once or more than once pre 
 sident of the provincial Chambers of Deputies of the Island; to have 
 been for two or more terms of two years each a member of the Pro 
 vincial Commission, or for eight years a provincial Deputy; to have 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 241 
 
 been for two or more terms Mayor in a capital of a province ; to 
 have been councillor of administration for two or more years previous 
 to the promulgation of this law. 
 
 The councillors shall remain in office for a term of four years, the 
 election taking place every two years alternately in the provinces of 
 Havana, Pinar del Rio and Puerto Principe, and in those of Matanzas, 
 Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba. Havana shall elect four Council 
 lors, Santiago de Cuba three and the other provinces two each. The 
 whole number of Councillors shall be elected on the promulgation of 
 this law. In ordinary cases the elections shall take place at the same 
 time and by the same ballot as those of the provincial Deputies. 
 
 The Council shall examine the certificates of the members elected 
 and decide as to the legal qualifications of the nominees of the people 
 and of those of the Crown, and shall determine all questions relating 
 to its Constitution in conformity to the law. In the first session of 
 each year the Council shall appoint two vice-presidents and two 
 secretaries, selected from the whole number of the Councillors. The 
 Governor-General, whether permanent or provisional, shall be presi 
 dent of the Council. 
 
 The Council of Administration shall have charge of all questions 
 relating to the constitution of municipalities and to the aggregation, 
 segregation and demarcation of municipal districts. All questions 
 relating to constitution of town councils, to matters pertaining to 
 election, competency of nominees and the like shall be determined 
 by the provincial Chamber of Deputies. Presidents of the munici 
 palities will be those elected by the town councils among the town 
 councillors, unless the Governor-General shall deem it expedient to 
 replace them. 
 
 The Council of Administration shall decree whatsoever it may 
 deem expedient for the conduct of the public works throughout the 
 Island and of the telegraphic and postal communications, both by 
 land and sea; of agriculture, industry and commerce and of immigra 
 tion and colonization, of public instruction and of charities and health, 
 without prejudice to the powers of supervision and other powers 
 inherent in the sovereignty reserved by the laws to the national 
 16 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 government. It shall make up and approve the annual budget, 
 making in it the necessary appropriations for the administrative 
 department, the heads of which may be summoned for the council of 
 the administration, but shall not have the right to vote. The council 
 shall exercise such functions as the municipal and provincial laws 
 may assign to it and such as are assigned by other special laws. 
 
 Everything Controlled by the Governor-General. 
 
 The Governor-General will continue to be the immediate represen 
 tative of the national government in the Island of Cuba. He will 
 have supreme command of all the forces on land and sea stationed on 
 the Island. He will be the delegate of the Ministers of the Colony, 
 State, war and navy, and all the other authorities of the Island will 
 be subordinate to him. His appointment or removal will emanate 
 from the President of the Cabinet, with the concurrence of the latter. 
 
 He will continue to have direct charge of all international ques 
 tions, and will have an advisory council, composed of the Reverend 
 Bishop of Havana, or the Reverend Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba ; 
 the Commander-General of the Navy, the Lieutenant-Governor, the 
 President and the Attorney- General of the High Court of Havana, 
 the head of the Department of Finance and the director of local 
 administration. 
 
 In addition to the Island administrative reforms adopted by the 
 Cortes of 1895, the Spanish Ministry considered a question of larger 
 representation of native Cubans in public offices on the Island, and 
 several important reforms in regard to customs and internal taxation. 
 
 Meanwhile the war went on in Cuba, and Captain-General Weyler, 
 the man who was to accomplish so much, who was to crush the 
 rebellion within a few months, and who was to repair the mistakes of 
 Campos, only involved the loyal cause in fresh misfortunes. His 
 columns were defeated, his heartless proclamations set at naught, and 
 the very discretion which kept him in safety in his Palace, was a fruit 
 ful subject for all kinds of unflattering insinuations. 
 
 Says a correspondent : " Looking at him closely the other day I 
 was struck more than ever with a curiosity to discover how it *s that 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 243 
 
 he has succeeded in inspiring people with any confidence in his 
 character. He does not even possess the appearance of a great male 
 factor, such as one can fancy of a Danton or a Sulla, but, on the con 
 trary, that of a very commonplace criminal, who would not look out 
 of place in any police court in any city of the world. 
 
 " Perhaps it is due to the effect which he produces when, trussed 
 up in uniform, with his ribband and stars, and the Cruz Laureada, the 
 Spanish equivalent of the Victoria Cross, gained in San Domingo 
 in all probability for some action like Melguizo s. He is then a 
 butoned-up man like Mr. Tite Barnacle, who, we have it on the 
 authority of Dickens, was consequently a weighty one. All buttoned- 
 up men are weighty, all buttoned-up men are believed in. 
 
 Failure of General Weyler s Plans. 
 
 " Weyler has the bitter disappointment just at present of knowing 
 that the latest of his carefully devised plans has failed in its effect. 
 Maceo, with some six hundred of his followers, has crossed the 
 formidable trocha near Cayujabos, though how he crossed it remains 
 still a mystery. This military Figaro is accustomed to perform such 
 feats and to appear in the most unexpected places without the 
 slightest warning. 
 
 " The Spaniards, however, have a way of accounting for his last 
 exploit which is more ingenious than probable. They say the 
 insurgents disguise themselves as banana-sellers whenever they desire 
 to pass through any fortified line. The soldiers imagine that they 
 are innocent countrymen, and consequently never think of interfering 
 with their passage. Of course not. Have not recent events shown 
 the perfect impunity with which non-combatants are at liberty to 
 wander everywhere in safety, and how considerate and gentle com 
 manding officers have proved themselves of late ? 
 
 " True to his policy of suppressing or distorting all news unfavor 
 able to the Spanish cause, Captain-General Weyler has exerted him 
 self to conceal the recognition of the belligerent rights of the insur 
 gents by Congress. For many days the newspapers in Havana have 
 been accustomed to announce that no telegrams had been received b^ 
 
244 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 them from the United States, but now they are forbidden to print 
 even this notice, as doubtless too suggestive of coercive measures. 
 
 " And yet, of what avail is all this secrecy in such a case ? Does 
 the government imagine that a fact unacknowledged, for that very 
 reason ceases to exist, or do they cling to the hope of something in 
 the chapter of accidents to avert its fulfillment ? The good tidings 
 finally leaked out, despite all precautions, and brought joy and con 
 solation to many a heart. 
 
 " It is still, however, too little circulated to permit of any effect 
 being openly manifest. The streets are tranquil, people attend to 
 their business as usual, and there is no appearance of any popular 
 disturbance. There may, indeed, be none, or if there be it will surely 
 follow upon some initiative proceeding in Barcelona or Madrid. 
 
 " The Spaniards in Havana are inveterate enough towards the 
 United States, but then they live too near its shores not to recognize 
 the power and importance which distant Spain has not yet learned to 
 appreciate. They would like, had they a reasonable chance of suc 
 cess, to gp to war, while in their hearts they must acknowledge how 
 vain is the delusion of landing an invading army or of sweeping 
 American commerce from the ocean. They have continually before 
 their eyes, too, the desperate condition of affairs in this Island, and 
 they can realize in a way which their fellow-countrymen cannot, the 
 disastrous overthrow of the Captain-General s tactics. 
 
 " At this very time many of the people in the Province of Pinar 
 del Rio have abandoned their dwellings, and are hiding in the sugar 
 cane to escape the brutalities of the columns, who are far more zeal 
 ous in seeking such opponents than in following up the Cuban 
 forces. One can imagine a conversation between a privileged stranger 
 and a sentinel upon one of the innumerable forts along the tracks. 
 
 " What is that large body of men whom I see approaching from 
 the hills ? 
 
 " Oh, that/ replies the other carelessly; why, nothing but a 
 crowd of fellows coming to sell fruit to the troops. 
 
 " Your men are fond of fruit, then ? asks the stranger. 
 
 " Oh, passionately, says the sentinel. 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 245 
 
 " But they have arms, I notice/ this a little anxiously, and they 
 don t seem inclined to stop. 
 
 " Why, you see how it is/ answers the soldier, the colonos all 
 carry machetes, besides which, since that unfortunate affair at El 
 Cano, we have to be cautious about firing upon stray parties. 
 
 " But, I say, look there, they ve surely got a Cuban flag. 
 
 " Don t know, I m sure. I m color blind, says the sentinel, 
 resuming his rounds and dropping the conversation. 
 
 " It is, indeed, true that the Spaniards have been signalizing them 
 selves of late by their lamentable mistakes. The last one did not 
 certainly destroy any of their own men, but it resulted in the death 
 of four women and two children. This was on the evening of the 
 attack upon Hayo Colorado. About nightfall a body of insurgents 
 crept through an open drain into the town, and had secured a safe 
 position before their presence was recognized by the garrison or by 
 the outposts stationed in the forts around. 
 
 Reckless Firing in the Streets. 
 
 "The invaders were left unmolested to procure such stores and 
 supplies as they required, and it was only when their business was 
 transacted and they had departed that the soldiers ventured to com 
 mence firing. The volleys which they then poured at random into the 
 streets failed in their object, for the excellent reason that the enemy 
 was not there, but they killed the women and children all the same. 
 
 " Strong measures are evidently to be taken with those planters 
 who have failed to make at least some attempt at grinding. One of 
 the offenders, Pedro Larrondo, of Sagua la Grande, in Santa Clara, 
 has just been arrested for his obstinacy in this respect. In all proba 
 bility he thought it wiser to suffer the loss of one year s produce 
 than to incur the certainty of having his fields and buildings 
 destroyed by fire; but it remains to be seen whether Weyler s anger 
 may not prove more disastrous still than Cuban flames. 
 
 " Some men are now putting in large claims against the govern 
 ment for their many losses, alleging with reason that the order com 
 manding all civilians to withdraw from the country into the towns, 
 
246 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 had left their plantations and farms completely at the mercy of the 
 insurgents, and had also caused their cattle to die from want of 
 water. But of what avail will it be even if these claims are admit 
 ted? 
 
 : Honey from silk worms, who can gather, 
 Or silk from the yellow bee? 
 
 " And still more, who can expect to get compensation from a 
 bankrupt nation, who do not pay their own army, and who have 
 repudiated the many debts incurred in the last war in Cuba ? 
 
 " The spy system continues on the even tenor of its way in 
 Havana, in a manner that is sometimes, though not often, exceed 
 ingly ridiculous. When we American correspondents assemble in a 
 group we are generally aware of the same stunted individual, who 
 hovers on the outskirts with an assumed air of innocence, which sits 
 about as well on his Old-Bailey-looking countenance as a smile 
 would on that of a rhinoceros. They are kittle-cattle, however, to 
 deal with, these honored companions of the Spanish officers. 
 
 " They have methods of supplying evidence which have the merit, 
 it least, of being unavoidable, and as they are never subjected to the 
 cross-examination of their victims their carefully-prepared fabrica 
 tions invariably triumph. It was, m all probability, to one of their 
 tvell-devised schemes that Mariano Artiz, of Narcissa, near Saguajay, 
 A Cuban of fortune and position, owes the fact that he is now a pris 
 oner. An envelope directed to him was stopped at the post-office, in 
 Accordance with the system which holds no correspondence as 
 sacred, and in it was found a letter to Maximo Gomez." 
 
 About the middle of April one of the staff officers of the Cuban 
 Army was in Philadelphia recovering from a wound received in a 
 battle with the Spanish troops. He said that Gomez was again at the 
 head of the insurgent forces and that Maceo would get away from the 
 enemy, reported to have him hemmed in. Atrocities he declared 
 continued. With the advent of the rainy season he said the patriots 
 would inaugurate an offensive campaign. 
 
 The story he told of the progress of the war, of the atrocities per 
 petrated after General Weyler assumed command of the Spanish 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 247 
 
 forces, and of the health of General Gomez, was one that will be read 
 with interest, painful as it is in some respects. 
 
 Peraza (this officer s name) was a fine specimen of the patriotic 
 volunteer. Fully six feet in height, but twenty-four years of age, and 
 weighing 177 pounds, burned very dark by the tropical sun under 
 which he lived, he looked to be a hard fighter. He was wounded in 
 a charge by the cavalry of his division, a rifle ball entering his left 
 shoulder. Bailing to have it extracted in the camp hospital, he 
 managed to get to New York by steamer, bringing with him some 
 important military papers, and there the missile was located and taken 
 out. He was awaiting a favorable opportunity to get back to the 
 scene of strife. 
 
 Some Inside Facts. 
 
 In his statement he said : " I want at the outset to deny that 
 General Gomez has been wounded or that he is dying of consump 
 tion, as has been reported through Spanish sources. He has been 
 sick from liver troubles, but is in a fair way to complete recovery 
 and is again at the head of his forces, as active as he ever was and as 
 confident of ultimate success as at any time since he took the field. 
 He has now directly under him an army of 12,000 men, most of 
 whom are well armed. 
 
 " His total strength, counting the divisions of Maceo and other 
 generals, is about 30,000. What is mostly lacking is ammunition. 
 We meet the Spaniards and fight as long as our cartridges hold 
 out and then divide into small groups, scattering in such a way that 
 the government troops cannot reach us in force. 
 
 " As to the burning of the plantations, the Spanish reports are to 
 a great extent false. When any of our generals attack a place con 
 taining Americans or other foreigners their property is respected and 
 is not touched at all. Gomez has issued positive orders to protect 
 the interests of such persons rather than to harm them. With regard 
 to the reports of our losses in battle they are always exaggerated by 
 the enemy. 
 
 (< The latter never admit their own Josses, but count those on our 
 
248 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 side as it may suit themselves. Our dead are always earned away 
 and buried in the most convenient spots. None of our wounded are 
 left on the field for fear the Spaniards would kill them outright. We 
 send our wounded to the hospitals, located in the mountain fastnesses. 
 Every division of our army has one of these places thus situated. 
 There there are regular physicians, a few of them being from the 
 United States. There are no Sisters of Charity, but there are Red 
 Cross men and women, mostly Cubans. 
 
 " The recent successful expeditions have been a great help to us. 
 We have got some more artillery, and it is being used under the 
 direction of General Bandera in the province of Labillas. The rainy 
 season begins about the I5th of this month. Then comes the yellow 
 fever. It will decimate the ranks of the Spanish soldiers, because 
 they are not acclimated. Our forces will, however, go on harassing 
 the enemy and will be on the offensive all the time instead of on the 
 defensive. 
 
 " General Weyler has not been any more successful against us 
 than was Campos. In fact, less so. Our people think the former tc 
 be a coward at heart. Campos took the field, while Weyler has not 
 shown himself at all. He remains in Havana and gives orders to his 
 so-called volunteers orders which lead to many atrocities. 
 
 " I have seen with my own eyes, on a farm in Lavinas, the bodies 
 of men who had been shot down simply because they were known 
 to sympathize with the cause of liberty. One of my awn cousins 
 who was captured by the Spaniards was hung to a tree and several 
 shots fired into him. When we take wounded Spaniards we care for 
 them, after taking away their rifles, until they are able to .get back to 
 their companions, when they are permitted to go. The killing of old 
 men and old women by the Spanish volunteers goes on, no matter 
 what the reports from government sources may say. 
 
 " Concerning the statement that General Maceo has been hemmed 
 in, I can only say that once before he was in a far worse position than 
 he now is. He is as cool and fearless as Gomez, and when he M 
 to get away I guess he will be able to do it." 
 
 The lieutenant was wounded in the left shoulder, " right nea 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 249 
 
 Carolina State," he said. General Lacret was endeavoring to join a 
 portion of his column that had become separated from him, when he 
 was attacked by the Spaniards numbering 3000. Lacret had about 
 1000 men. The fight lasted about two hours, when the insurgents 
 retreated. Peraza told of a little boy but thirteen years of age, who 
 was in one of the fights. A Spanish officer had had his arm broken 
 by a rifle ball, but with his good hand he shot at the lad, hitting him 
 in the left breast. The lad fell with a cry of " three cheers for Free 
 Cuba." He was sent to the hospital and ultimately recovered. These 
 children, the lieutenant said, follow the insurgents from place to place 
 and are permitted to remain because of the fear that they will be 
 killed if sent away. 
 
 General Maceo Wins a Battle. 
 
 On April I5th news reached Havana that there had been heavy 
 fighting in Pinar del Rio province. Even official reports admitted 
 that the Spanish columns were repulsed by General Antonio Maceo, 
 with great loss of life. The admission was very significant, in view 
 of the circumstances and the character of official reports, which gave 
 rise to a proverb that the Spaniards loss was always one man when* 
 ever they were compelled to acknowledge defeat. 
 
 It was very difficult to obtain details of Maceo s victory. The 
 Spanish version alone was received. All telegraph lines were cut, and 
 news filtered to the city only by word of mouth. The battle was west 
 of the military strategic line, near Lechuza. Government reports had 
 previously located Maceo through an error at Lachuza, east of the line. 
 
 Further information received from private sources in Havana 
 showed that this was the bloodiest engagement of the war. The 
 Spanish forces, under Colonel Linares, suffered overwhelming defeat 
 at the hands of Antonio Maceo, who commanded a force of eight 
 thousand men in a strong position. 
 
 Spanish reports placed Colonel Linares force at fifteen hundred, 
 of whom 450 were killed ana 500 wounded. The insurgents lost 200 
 killed and about 400 wounded. The Spanish plan was for three bat 
 talions to attack Maceo simultaneously, but Colonel Echoverrea f 
 
250 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 battalion failed to arrive. It was stated that he was to be court- 
 martialed. 
 
 Maceo led his troops into the thickest of the fight, and Colonel 
 Linares forces retreated in disorder. They finally made a stand on 
 the wharf of the San Claudia plantation behind rude fortifications, 
 until a warship came to their rescue. The Cuban forces on the 
 shore made sad havoc with the troops as they embarked, shooting 
 them down in their boats. In the battle the Amazons, a company of 
 Cuban women, fought bravely. 
 
 In an effort to capture Colonel Linares, an insurgent, Alvarez, got 
 separated. Seeing his danger, Mrs. Alvarez and several others 
 followed him. Both husband and wife were caught in the Spanish 
 lines and tried to fight their way back with machetes. Thinking that 
 his wife was at his side still, Alvarez made his escape, but she was 
 cut off at the last moment and was literally hacked to pieces by 
 Spanish machetes. In his grief and chagrin Alvarez shot himself 
 
 seriously. 
 
 "If You Live I Will Hang You." 
 
 General Maceo commanded him to appear before him. On 
 demanding a reason for his crime, Alvarez said he could not endure 
 life purchased by his wife s death. Maceo replied : " Pray God you 
 may die, for if you live I will surely hang you. Cuba needs men too 
 sorely to lose any except in the face of the enemy. " 
 
 The news of the Spanish defeat produced a great sensation in 
 Havana, and the censors were forced to admit many details. 
 
 Maceo s alleged heavy losses at La Palma, on the other hand, were 
 corroborated by details received at Havana through non-official 
 sources. The town was well fortified, and the rebel leader s attack 
 was repelled. He directed his cannon on the town with his own 
 hands. He was very anxious to capture it, as it contained large 
 stores of ammunition and supplies. Two hundred volunteered and 
 made the attempt. They crawled on their hands and knees through 
 the fields, and about one hundred and fifty managed to enter the 
 town. Ninety were shot from behind the walls before the others 
 beat a retreat, Nearly all those killed were negroes. 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 251 
 
 An unusually large number of sugar plantations were burned. 
 The losses from this source were said to aggregate $4,500,000 within 
 a period of eight days. Property-owners ran equal risks from both 
 sides. The Spanish troops passing estates shared by insurgents 
 burned them, believing that the owners paid taxes to the insurgent 
 government. The insurgents also continued their policy of destruc 
 tion, and were determined to lay the country waste. The ruin was 
 widespread, and the misery was growing greater. 
 
 The insurgents anxiously awaited a formal declaration of belliger 
 ency by the United States, and believed that every South and Central 
 American government would immediately follow the example. 
 
 "A delay until August will mean the destruction of property worth 
 $80,000,000 more," said one leader, grimly. " Weyler s regime has 
 been marked by horrible cruelty, and minor officials feel or know that 
 extreme measures will be approved." 
 
 Reports of massacres of innocent persons everywhere in the inte 
 rior were, in fact, received daily in Havana. The Delgado incident 
 was duplicated frequently, but the victims did not live to tell the tale. 
 
 Already there was a scarcity of horses in Cuba. General Weyler 
 issued a decree that all owners of horses must have them examined 
 by the government, so that all needed for the use of the troops might 
 be bought. There was a promise of fair and prompt payment. 
 Animals not fit for service were to be registered as worthless ; others 
 would either be taken or held subject to call, and branded to indicate 
 their class. Owners failing to comply were to be deemed " unfaith 
 ful " to their country. 
 
 The threat had a terrible meaning in the existing condition of 
 affairs, when executions of insurgents were too common to attract 
 more than passing notice. Several persons living in Havana, on 
 reading the orders, promptly decided to kill their riding horses to 
 prevent them falling into the hands of the Spaniards. 
 
 " That is the only sensible plan," remarked a prominent man. "We 
 don t want to help the enemy with animals. If the government took 
 our horses we would have a small claim, and little chance of payment. 
 We can t keep them safely, and the best way is to slaughter them," 
 
252 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 Orders were given to the army to kill all horses and cattle in the 
 country that could not be utilized, to prevent their possible use by 
 the insurgents. Cavalrymen, whose mounts became too jaded to 
 keep the line, must kill them. Passing troops were to use cattle for 
 rifle practice, and whenever they saw horses they were to corcpare 
 them with their own to see if an exchange was desirable. 
 
 Scarcity of food was reported everywhere in the interior of the 
 Island. The price of meat rose in Havana. Game, which formerly 
 abounded in the local market, could not be obtained, as there was no 
 one to shoot birds in the hills except the troops. The fish supply 
 continued good, although the fishermen were prohibited from going 
 on the water except between sunrise and sunset, for fear of commu 
 nicating with the insurgents. 
 
 Blood and Conflagration. 
 
 An interesting letter from General Gomez, the Cuban leader, con 
 cerning the war conditions on the Island, was received by President 
 Palma, of the Cuban Junta. It reads as follows : 
 
 " SAGUA, CUBA, March 19. 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND : The war continues more active and hard on 
 account of the fierce character which General Weyler has given to it. 
 
 " Our wounded are followed and assassinated cruelly ; he who has 
 the misfortune to fall into the hands of the Spanish troops, perishes 
 without fail. The peaceful country people only find death and dis 
 honor. 
 
 tl Cuba to-day, as in 1 868, only presents pools of blood dried by 
 conflagrations. Our enemies are burning the houses to deprive us, 
 according to them, of our quarters for Spring. We will never use 
 reprisals, for we understand that the revolution will never need to 
 triumph by being cruel and sanguinary. 
 
 "We will go on with this war, the ultimate result of which you 
 need not worry about with success for the arms of the republic. 
 We fight, when convenient to us, against an enemy tired out and 
 without faith. 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 253 
 
 " My plans are well understood by my subordinates and each one 
 knows what to do. Give us cartridges so that our soldiers can fight, 
 and you can depend that in the Spring campaign the enemy s army 
 will be greatly reduced, and it will be necessary for Spain to send 
 another army, and I do not know whether it would be rash to say 
 that perhaps Spain has not the money with which to do it. 
 
 " Everything that Spain orders and sends to this land, that she has 
 drenched with the blood of her own children, only serves to ruin her 
 power. And no man could be so well chosen as General Weyler, to 
 represent in these times and in America the Spain of Philip II. 
 
 " Much is said and written about the recognition of belligerency 
 by the American Government ; this would be very advantageous to 
 us, and is only doing justice, but as when we rose against tyranny, 
 we only counted on the strength of our arms and the firm resolution 
 of victory, we follow our march unconcerned, satisfied that what is 
 
 to happen will happen. 
 
 "Your friend, 
 
 t{ MAXIMO GOMEZ." 
 
 Maceo Discusses his Western Campaign. 
 
 A letter from General Antonio Maceo, the insurgent Cuban leader, 
 which showed his movements and the success met with, was received 
 by Cuban leaders at Washington. It was dated at Cabanas, March 
 21, and read as follows : 
 
 " You know by my previous letters that the triumphant arms of the 
 Republic were carried to the extreme western end of the Island. 
 Everything that we desired has been obtained. The revolution is 
 powerful in the provinces, which, as you know, were considered to be 
 bulwarks of Spanish sentiment. Even the most remote places in the 
 province of Pinar Del Rio responded admirably. 
 
 "ANTONIO MACEO." 
 
 Respecting the promises of Spain to institute reforms in Cuba, 
 hoping thereby to end the insurrection, T. Estrada Palma, Cuban 
 Delegate to the Government at Washington, said : 
 
254 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 f< The question of the supposed reforms is not a matter which at all 
 concerns those who have already established an independent govern 
 ment in Cuba and have resolved to shrink from no sacrifice of pro 
 perty or life in order to emancipate the whole Island from the Spanish 
 yoke. Spain must know by this time that while there is a single living 
 Cuban with dignity there will not be peace in Cuba nor even the 
 hope of it. 
 
 " If the right of thirteen British Colonies to rise in arms in order to 
 acquire their independence has never been questioned, will there be a 
 single citizen in this great republic who will doubt the justice, the 
 necessity in which the Cuban people find themselves of fighting until 
 they shall have overthrown Spanish oppression in their country and 
 formed themselves into a free republic ? 
 
 Must be Fought to the Bitter End. 
 
 " Experience has taught us that as a people we have nothing to 
 envy the Spaniards in fact we feel ourselves superior to them, and 
 from them we can expect no improvement, no better education. 
 
 " Let all know also that between the present revolution and the 
 government of Spain there is no possible arrangement, if not based 
 on the recognition of Cuban independence." 
 
 We cannot better close this tragic story of Cuba s gallant struggle 
 for independence than by quoting the words of one of her distin 
 guished sons : 
 
 "The population of the Island is, in round numbers, 1,600,000, of 
 which less than 200,000 are Spaniards, some 500,000 are colored 
 Cubans, and over 800,000 white Cubans. Of the Spaniards a small 
 but not an inconsiderable fraction, although not taking an active part 
 in the defense of our cause, sympathize with and are supporting it in 
 various ways. Of the Cubans, whether colored or white, all are in 
 sympathy with the revolution, with the exception of a few scattered 
 individuals who hold positions under the Spanish Government or are 
 engaged in enterprises which cannot thrive without it. All of the 
 Cubans who have had the means and the opportunity to join the 
 revolutionary army have done so, while those who have been com- 
 
UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 255 
 
 pelled for one reason or another to remain in the cities are co 
 operating to the best of their abilities. If the people of the small 
 section of the western part of the Island, which yet remains quiet, 
 were supplied with arms and ammunition they would all rise to a 
 man within twenty-four hours. 
 
 I 
 
 Spanish Threats. 
 
 " This revolution of the whole Cuban people against the Govern 
 ment of Spain is what the Spanish officials are pleased to describe as 
 a disturbance caused by a few adventurers, robbers, bandits, and 
 assassins ! But they have a purpose in so characterizing it, and it is 
 no other than to justify, in some way, the war of extermination which 
 the Prime Minister of Spain himself has declared will be waged by 
 his Government against the Cuban people ! They are not yet satis 
 fied with the rivers of human blood with which in times past they 
 inundated the fields of Italy, of the Low Countries, of our continent 
 of America, and only a few years ago, of Cuba itself! The Spanish 
 newspaper of Havana, El Pueblo, urges the Spanish soldiers to give 
 no quarter, to spare no one, to kill all, all without exception, until 
 they shall have torrents of Cuban blood in which to bathe them 
 selves 1 
 
 " It is well ! The Cubans accept the challenge, but they will not 
 imitate their tyrants and cover themselves with infamy by waging a 
 s.ivage war. The Cubans respect the lives of their Spanish prisoners, 
 they do not attack hospitals, and they cure and assist, with the same 
 c ire and solicitude with which they cure and assist their own, the 
 wounded Spaniards who may fall into their hands. They have done 
 ;so from the beginning of the war, and they will not change their 
 humane policy. 
 
 " The Spanish officials have also attempted to convince you that 
 the Cuban war is a war of races. Of what races ? Of the black 
 against the white ? It is not true, and the facts plainly show that 
 there is nothing of the kind. Nor is the war waged by Cubans 
 against the Spaniards as such. No. The war is waged against the 
 Government of Spain, and only against the Government of Spain and 
 
256 UNITED STATES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 the officials and a few monopolists who, under it, live and thrive upon 
 the substance of the Cubans. We have no ill feeling against the 
 thousands of Spaniards who industriously and honestly make their 
 living in Cuba. 
 
 " But with the Spanish Government we will make no peace, and we 
 will make no compromise. Under its rule there will J^e nothing for 
 our people but oppression and misery. For years and years the 
 Cuban people hive patiently suffered, and in the interest of the colony, 
 as well as in th<\ interest of the metropolis, have earnestly prayed for 
 reforms. Spain has not only turned a deaf ear to the prayers, but 
 instead of reforming the most glaring abuses has allowed them to 
 increase and flourish, until such a point has been reached that the 
 continuation of the Spanish rule means for the Cuban people utter 
 destruction." 
 
PART II. 
 
 History of Cuba and Spanish Misrule. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Early Colonists and Rulers. 
 
 CUBA, the finest and largest of the West India Islands, was 
 discovered b/ Columbus himself, on the 28th day of October, 
 1492, and was named by him Juana, in honor of Prince John, 
 the son of Ferdinand and Isabella, the sovereigns of Aragon and 
 Castile. 
 
 Upon the death of J^rdinand, the Island was called Fernandina. 
 It afterward received the name of Santiago, as a mark of reverence 
 for the patron saint of Spain, and still later, the inhabitants, to illustrate 
 their piety, gave it that of Ave Maria, in honor of the Holy Virgin. 
 
 Notwithstanding these several titles, the Island is still principally 
 known by its original Indian name of Cuba ; a name which it bore 
 when the great navigator first landed on its shores, and which in all 
 probability it is destined to retain. 
 
 With regard to the character of the aboriginal inhabitants of the 
 Island, it is universally admitted by all the Spanish authors who have 
 written on the subject, that they were disinterested and docile, gentle 
 and generous, and that they received the first discoverer, as well as 
 the conquerors, who followed in his track, with the most marked 
 attention and courtesy. At the same time they are represented as 
 being entirely given up to the enjoyment of those personal indul 
 gences, and all the listlessness and love of ease, which the climate 
 is supposed to provoke, and which is said to have amounted in the 
 17 257 
 
258 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 eyes of their European conquerors to positive cowardice and pusilla 
 nimity. 
 
 They seldom spoke until first addressed by the strangers, and then 
 with perfect modesty and respect. Their hospitality was unbounded ; 
 but they were unwilling to expose themselves to any personal fatigue 
 beyond what was strictly necessary for their subsistence. The culti 
 vation of the soil was confined, as Columbus had observed, to the 
 raising of yams, garbanzos, and maize, or Indian corn, but as hunts 
 men and fishermen they were exceedingly expert. 
 
 Their Costume and Customs. 
 
 Their habiliments were on the most limited scale, and their laws 
 and manners sanctioned the practice of polygamy. The use of iron 
 was totally unknown to them, but they supplied the want of it with 
 pointed shells, in constructing their weapons, and in fashioning their 
 implements for fishing and the chase. Their almost total want of 
 quadrupeds is worthy of notice. 
 
 Although the Island was divided into nine principalities, under nine 
 different caciques, all independent of each other, yet such was the 
 pacific disposition of the inhabitants that the most perfect tranquillity 
 prevailed throughout the Island at the time of the arrival of the in 
 vaders. The several governments were administered in the simplest 
 form, the will of the cacique being received as law by his subjects, 
 and the age he had attained being in general the measure of his in 
 fluence and authority, and of the reverence and respect with which 
 he was treated. Their religion was limited to a belief in the immor 
 tality of the soul, and to the existence of a beneficent Deity un Dio& 
 remunerador. 
 
 But their priests were cunning, superstitious, or fanatic, pretending 
 to intelligence with malignant spirits, and maintaining their influence 
 over the people by working on their fears, and practicing the 
 grossest and most ridiculous extravagances. No sanguinary sacri 
 fices were resorted to, however ; still less could the gentle race be 
 chargeable with the horrid practices of the savage anthropophagi ; 
 and, according to the earliest Spanish authorities, they distinguished 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 259 
 
 themselves beyond any other Indian nation by the readiness and 
 docility with which they received the doctrines of Christianity. 
 
 The town of Baracoa, which was called de la Asumcion, was the 
 first that was founded, and was for some time considered the capital, 
 until, in the year 1514, the whole of it had been overrun and 
 examined. In that year, the towns of Santiago and Trinidad, on the 
 southern side, were founded for the purpose of facilitating the com 
 munications of the new colonists with the Spanish inhabitants of 
 Jamaica. 
 
 Founding a New Town. 
 
 Near the centre of the Island also were established, soon after this 
 period, the towns of Bayamo, Puerto Principe, and Santi-Espiritus, 
 and that of Baracoa was considerably enlarged. In the sequel, as 
 there was no town toward the north, that of San Juan de los Reme 
 dies was founded; and on the 25th of July, 1515, at the place now 
 called Batabano, on the south side of the Island, was planted a town 
 with the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in deference to the 
 memory of the illustrious discoverer; but in the year 1519 this name 
 was transferred to the place where the capital now stands. 
 
 The leaning of the Spaniards toward the southern side of the 
 Island appears to have arisen from their previous possession oi 
 Jamaica and the Costa Firme ; as till then they had no idea of the 
 existence of the Floridas, or of New Spain ; the expedition for the 
 conquest of which, as well as the steps toward tht ir first discovery, 
 having been taken from the Island of Cuba. 
 
 The town of Baracoa, having first been raised to the dignity of a 
 city and a bishopric, was declared the capital of the Island in 1518, 
 and remained so till 1522, when both were transferred to Santiago 
 de Cuba. In 1538 the Havana, second city of the name, was sur 
 prised by a French privateer, who reduced it to ashes. This mis 
 fortune brought the Governor of the Island, Hernando de Soto, to the 
 spot, who lost no time in laying the foundation of the Castillo de la 
 Fuerza, one of the numerous fortresses which still exist for the 
 defence of the city. With this protection, combined with the advan 
 tageous geographical position of the harbor, the ships already pass- 
 
260 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 ing, charged with the riches of New Spain, on their way to the 
 Peninsula, were induced to call there for supplies of water and 
 provisions. 
 
 In this way the Havana began to rise in importance by insensible 
 degrees, insomuch that in 1549, on the arrival of a new Governor, 
 Gonzalez Perez de Angulo, he resolved on making it his place of 
 residence. His example was followed by subsequent governors, and 
 in this way the city, although without any royal or legal sanction, 
 came to be silently regarded as the capital of the Island, until in 
 1589 it was formally declared so by the peninsular government, at 
 the time of the nomination of the first Captain-General, El Maestre 
 de Campo, Juan de Tejada, who was positively directed to take up his 
 residence at the Havana. 
 
 Residence of Early Chiefs. 
 
 In the annals of the Island the names of the first Governors and 
 of their lieutenants have not been recorded with a degree of accuracy 
 that can be altogether depended on. All that is known with certainty 
 is, that the early chiefs resided at Santiago de Cuba, from its being 
 the place where the largest population was collected, from its prox 
 imity to Jamaica and St. Domingo, and from its being the seat of the 
 ecclesiastical jurisdiction. For the Havana and other towns of in> 
 ferior importance, lieutenants were appointed. 
 
 This system continued until the year 1538, when Hernando dcr 
 Soto, who, to the rank of Adelantado of the Floridas, added the office 
 of Governor of Cuba, having arrived at Santiago, passed a few days 
 there, and then proceeded to the continent. In his absence he left 
 the government of the Island in the hands of a lady, Dona Isabel de 
 Bobadilla, and gave her for a colleague, Don Juan de Rojas. This 
 Rojas had previously resided at the Havana, in quality of lieutenant- 
 governor; and it is from this date that the gradual transference of the 
 seat of power from Santiago to the Havana may be said to have 
 arisen. It was not till the year 1607 that the Island was divided into 
 two separate governments. 
 
 In 1545, Don Juan de Avila assumed the government, and to him 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 261 
 
 in 1547 succeeded Don Antonio de Chavez, to whom the Havana is 
 indebted for its first regular supply of water, bringing it from the 
 river called by the aborigines Casiguaguas, and by the Spaniards 
 Chorrera, a distance of two leagues from the city. At that period 
 the trade of the place was limited. The largest and wealthiest pro 
 prietors were mere breeders of cattle ; as yet agriculture was very lit 
 tle attended to, and any actual labor performed consisted in exploring 
 the neighborhood in pursuit of the precious metals. 
 
 Obtaining Supplies at Havana. 
 
 To this governor succeeded Dr. Gonzalo Perez de Angulo, whoj 
 according to the historian Urrutia, was the first who resided at the 
 Havana during the greater part of his administration. At this pe 
 riod the number of cattle and the practice of agriculture had so 
 much increased that the expeditions from the neighboring continent 
 obtained their supplies at the Havana, and from thence also large 
 quantities of provisions were sent to the Terra Firma. For some 
 time large profits were made by means of these exports, more espe 
 cially in the sale of horses for the troops ; but the continental settle 
 ments, having at length been able to provide for themselves, this 
 source of profit was dried up. 
 
 In the year 1554 the government was assumed by Don Diego de 
 Mazariegos, and, during his administration, the Havana was again 
 attacked and reduced to ashes by the French, notwithstanding the 
 protection supposed to be afforded by the Castillo de la Fuerza. 
 The other towns of the Island were also insulted, insomuch that the 
 bishop of the diocese was compelled to leave Santiago and take up 
 his residence at Bayamo, causing a serious misunderstanding be 
 tween the ecclesiastical authorities and the civil governor. 
 
 To Mazariegos, in 1565, succeeded Garcia Osorio, and to Osorio, 
 two years afterward, Don Pedro Melendez de Avilez, who at the 
 same time held the office of Adelantado of the Floridas, administer 
 ing the affairs of the Island for a number of years by means of a series 
 of lieutenant-governors. At this period, the hospital of San Juan 
 de Dios, and a church dedicated to San Cristobal, were erected at the 
 
262 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 Havana. This church was built on the spot now occupied oy the 
 residence of the captain-general. 
 
 Don Gabriel Montalvo was the successor of Melendez, and 
 assumed the government in 1576. In his time the Franciscan con 
 vent was erected, in spite of the opposition of the bishop ; and prepa 
 rations were made, by the building of suitable vessels, for the 
 extirpation of the pirates by whom the coasts of the Island were 
 infested. Don Francisco Carreno, the successor of Montalvo, 
 assumed the command in 1578. In his time the weights and mea 
 sures of the Island were regulated ; and vast quantities of timber 
 were shipped to the mother-country, to contribute toward the con 
 struction of the convent and palace of the Escurial. 
 
 Raids by Pirates. 
 
 During the administration of Don Caspar de Torres, the successor 
 of Carreno, who arrived in 1580, not only Cuba, but the neighboring 
 islands of Jamaica and St. Domingo, were more than ever annoyed 
 by piratical incursions. The expense occasioned by the attempts to 
 suppress them was so great that it became necessary to impose a 
 special tax, called la sisa de piragua, to cover ft. 
 
 At this period was begun the cultivation of tobacco and the sugar 
 cane, the labor of which was found to be too great for the indolent 
 aborigines, whose numbers had already been materially diminished 
 by the state of slavery to which they had been reduced. It was to 
 promote the production of these new luxuries that a royal license 
 was first obtained for importing negroes from the coast of Africa. 
 
 The continued presence and increasing numbers of the pirates 
 began to give a factitious importance to the castellanos of the fortress, 
 which protected the harbor of the Havana, and sheltered the lanclias 
 and piraguas and the guardacostas themselves. A military power 
 thus insensibly arose, which, coming into collision with that of the 
 civil governor, caused a great deal of disturbance and confusion. 
 
 The next governor, Don Gabriel de Lujan, who arrived in 1584, 
 ri tie to such z. serious rupture with Don Diego Fernandez de Qui- 
 nones, the Castellano de la Fuerza, that the real audiencia of the 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 263 
 
 district, at the instigation of Quinones, took it upon them to suspend 
 Don Gabriel from his administration of the government, but some 
 time afterward restored him. On the application of the Ayuntamiento, 
 the two offices were afterward combined and vested in the same indi 
 vidual. During Lujan s administration, several hostile demonstrations 
 were made against the Island ; but none of them were seriously 
 prosecuted. 
 
 The attacks of a diminutive enemy, the ant, became so alarming, 
 however, that it was thought necessary by the Cabildo, or chapter of 
 the diocese, to elect a new patron saint, and to confer that dignity on 
 San Marcial, the bishop agreeing to celebrate his fiesta, and keep his 
 day yearly, on the condition of his interceding for the extermination 
 of the hormigas and vivijaguas. 
 
 Two Famous Fortresses. 
 
 The successor of Lujan, Don Juan de Tejada, was the first gover- 
 lor who arrived with the rank of captain-general, in which were 
 included the same powers and jurisdiction enjoyed by the vireyes of 
 the continental possessions of the crown. Tejada was directed to 
 commence the construction of the two fortresses now known as the 
 Morro and the Punta, and for this purpose brought with him the 
 Engineer pon Juan Bautista Antoneti ; and he was authorized to 
 negotiate with the provinces of New Spain for obtaining contribu 
 tions by which to support the garrison, which at that time was limited 
 for all the three fortresses to three hundred men. 
 
 After the building of the Morro was begun, it is said that Antoneti, 
 having ascended the heights of the Cabana, remarked to those about 
 him, that from that point the city and the Morro itself would be 
 commanded. This opinion having been communicated to the govern 
 ment, the construction of the present fortress of the Cabanas was 
 immediately determined on. During Tejada s government the 
 Havana received the title of Ciudad ;\h.e Ayuntamiento was increased 
 to the number of twelve regidores ; and a coat of arms was given to 
 Jt by Phnip the Second, bearing on a blue field three castles argent, 
 in allusion to the Fuerza, the Morro, and the Punta, and a golden key 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 to signify that it was the key of the Indies ; the whole surmounted 
 by a crown. 
 
 Tejada was succeeded as captain-general in 1602 by Don Pedro 
 Valdes, who made strong representations to the court on the subject 
 of the excesses committed by the pirates, by whose incursions 
 Santiago had been almost depopulated. The bishop, on returning 
 there from Bayamo on a temporary visit, was seized, tied, stripped, 
 and carried off by the pirate Giron, and detained for eighty days on 
 board his vessel, until he was ransomed by the payment of two hun 
 dred ducats and five arrobas of beef by Don Gregorio Ramos* who, 
 after rescuing the bishop, succeeded in destroying the pirate. 
 
 A Subordinate Governor. 
 
 From the insecurity of Santiago, this bishop attempted, but with 
 out success, to establish his cathedral at the Havana. The supreme 
 government, however, to stay the progress of depopulation at San 
 tiago, resolved on establishing there a subordinate governor with the 
 rank otcapitan de guerra, and appointed to the office Don Juan de 
 Villaverde, the Castillo of the Morro, who was charged with the 
 defence of his new jurisdiction against the pirates. 
 
 The successor of Valdes was Don Gaspar Ruiz de Pereda in 1608 ; 
 and that of Pereda in 1616 was Don Sancho de Alquiza. This last 
 had been previously the Governor of Venezuela and Guiana, and he 
 is recorded to have applied himself with energy to the working of the 
 copper mines at Cob re in the neighborhood of Santiago; the super 
 intendence of which was for some time annexed to the office of cap 
 tain-general of the Havana, although it was afterward transferred to 
 the lieutenant-governor at Santiago. 
 
 The annual produce of that period was about 2000 quintals, and 
 the copper extracted is represented to have been of a quality superior 
 to anything then known in the foundries of Europe. Alquiza died 
 after having enjoyed his office only two years; and by a provision of 
 the real audiencia, he was succeeded in the temporary command by 
 Geronimo de Quero, the Castillo of the Morro, whose military 
 rank was that of sargento mayor. 
 
EARI.Y COLONISTS AND RULERS. 265 
 
 From this period till the year 1715, it appears that, in the nomina 
 tion of captains-general, a declaration was constantly introduced to 
 the effect that the castellanos of the Morro, on the death of the 
 captain-general, should succeed to the military command of the 
 Island; but since the year 1715 an officer has been specially named 
 with the rank of teniente rey or cabo-subalterno, whose functions acquire 
 an active character only on the death or incapacity of his chief. 
 
 Closing the Entrance to the Harbor. 
 
 Doctor Damian Velasquez de Contreras succeeded Alquiza in 
 1620, and Don Lorenzo de Cabrera, the next captain-general, was 
 appointed to the command in 1626. A charge was brought against 
 Cabrera, that he had sold a cargo of negroes in the Havana without 
 a royal license; which being backed by other complaints, the licen< 
 ciado Don Francisco de Prada was sent out to inquire into them, and 
 by him the captain-general was sent home to the Peninsula, when de 
 Prada assumed the civil and political jurisdiction, and assigned the 
 military command to Don Cristobal de Aranda, the alcaide of the 
 Morro. During the joint administration of de Prada and Aranda it 
 was resolved to shut up the entrance of the harbor by means of a 
 chain drawn across it, a resolution which is described by the historians 
 of the period as having been exceedingly extravagant and absurd. 
 
 The next captain-general was Don Juan Bitrian de Viamonte, who 
 began his administration in 1630, and projected the construction of 
 two strong towers, the one in Chorrera, and the other in Cojimar, but 
 the plan was not carried into effect until the year 1646. At this 
 period a certain good woman, known by the name of Magdalena de 
 Jesus, established a sort of female sanctuary, called a beaterio, which 
 gave rise to the establishment of the first female monastery of Santa 
 Clara. 
 
 Fears of an invasion of the Island by the Dutch now began to be 
 entertained in the Peninsula ; and as Viamonte s health was infirm, 
 he was removed to the presidency of St. Domingo; and, in 1634, 
 Don Francisco Riano y Gamboa was sent out to replace him. 
 Gamboa introduced important reforms in the collection of the 
 
266 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 revenue. He established a court of accounts at the Havana, to 
 which was afterward referred the examination of all public disburse 
 ments, not only for the Island of Cuba, but for Porto Rico, the 
 Floridas, and that portion of the Spanish navy called the windward 
 fleet, la Armada de Barlovcnto. 
 
 At first, a single accountant-general was named; but a second was 
 afterward added, with instructions to visit alternately the various 
 parts where the colonial revenue was collected or disbursed. Dur 
 ing the government of Gamboa, also, a commissioner of the Inquisi 
 tion came from Carthagena to reside in the Havana; to provide for 
 whose support one of the canons of the cathedral of Santiago was 
 suppressed. The bishops had for some time acquired a taste for 
 residing in the capital, and other members of the ecclesiastical 
 cabildo began to follow their example, soon degenerating into an 
 abuse which loudly called for a remedy. 
 
 Spanish Possessions in America Threatened. 
 
 The successor of Gamboa was Don Alvaro de Luna y Sarmiento, 
 who commenced his administration in 1639, and in the course of it 
 completed the castle of Chorrera, two leagues to leeward of the 
 Havana, and the Torreon de Cojimar, one league to windward. 
 
 In 1647, Sarmiento was succeeded by Don Diego de Villalva y 
 Toledo, who, in 1650, was replaced by Don Francisco Gelder. Dur 
 ing Gelder s administration, the establishment of the Commonwealth 
 in England gave rise to serious apprehensions for the safety of the 
 Spanish possessions in America; especially when it became known 
 that, in 1655, a squadron had sailed by order of the Protector, the 
 ostensible object of which was the reconciliation of the English colo 
 nies to the new form of government, but with the real design of cap 
 turing Jamaica. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to add, that this design was successfully 
 executed ; that the Spanish defenders of Jamaica were dispersed, and 
 the governor killed, and that many of the inhabitants removed in 
 consequence to Cuba. An attempt on the Havana was also made by 
 this expedition, but the assailants were successfully resisted. The 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 267 
 
 failure is ascribed by the Spaniards to a sort of miracle performed in 
 their favor. The invaders having landed on a very dark night, they 
 became so terrified, according to the Spanish authorities, by the noise 
 of the landcrabs and the flitting light of the fire-flies, which they took 
 for an enemy in ambuscade, that they fled to their ships in the 
 utmost disorder and confusion. 
 
 An Expedition that never Sailed. 
 
 The next captain-general was Don Juan Montano, who arrived in 
 1656. During his time the Spaniards of Jamaica continued to 
 defend themselves under two distinguished hacendados, Don Fran 
 cisco Proenza and Don Cristobal de Isasi ; who, for their exertions 
 in preserving the Island to the Spanish crown, received thanks and 
 honors from the court. Orders were also sent out to the other 
 Spanish settlements in America to lend their assistance to the 
 Jamaica loyalists ; and a strong expedition was prepared in the 
 Peninsula, having the same object in view. In the end, however, in 
 consequence of the sickness which prevailed on board the ships, the 
 expedition never sailed, and the Spaniards were compelled to evacu 
 ate the Island. 
 
 Montano ; having died within a year after his arrival, was succeeded 
 in the command, in 1658, by Don Juan de Salamanca, in whose time 
 the incursions of the pirates became more troublesome than ever, on 
 all the coasts of Spanish America. As many of them had the auda 
 city to sail under the flags of France and England, the court of Spain 
 addressed itself to these governments on the subject, and received for 
 answer that, having no countenance or authority from either, the 
 Spaniards were at liberty to deal with them as they thought fit. 
 
 At this period th : French, having established themselves in the 
 island of Tortuga, began from thence by slow degrees, first on hunt 
 ing parties, and afterward more permanently, to make encroachments 
 on the neighboring coast of the Island of St. Domingo ; until, in the 
 end, they had completely taken possession of the western part of it, 
 and created there a respectable colony. According to the Spanish 
 authorities, the French colonists of St. Domingo formed an alliance 
 
268 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 with the English in Jamaica, and, without the sanction of either of 
 their governments in Europe, made piratical incursions in the Span 
 ish territories, and at length became so formidable that the Spaniards 
 found it necessary to fortify their possessions, and to combine 
 together for their mutual protection. The most remarkable of these 
 piratical leaders was the Frenchman Lolonois and the celebrated 
 Morgan. 
 
 The Walls of Havana are Built. 
 
 In 1663 arrived as captain-general Don Rodrigo de Flores y 
 Aldana, who in the following year was relieved by Don Francisco 
 Orejon y Gaston, previously Governor of Gibraltar and Venezuela. 
 Fearing the neighborhood of the English in Jamaica, Gaston applied 
 himself to the construction of the walls of the Havana; and to meet 
 the expense he was authorized to levy half a real on each quarter 
 of an arroba of wine, nearly equal to a gallon, which might be sold 
 in the city; but this having given rise to complaints, the Spanish 
 government, by a royal cedula, directed that $20,000 a year should 
 be raised for the purpose in Mexico ; and that as much more should 
 be procured as the captain-general could extract by other means from 
 the inhabitants of the Havana. 
 
 The next Governor was Don Rodriguez de Ledesma, who assumed 
 his functions in 1670, and prosecuted the work of fortification with 
 the greatest ardor. He also prepared a naval armament for the pro 
 tection of the coast. It was at this time that the working of the cop 
 per mines near Santiago was abandoned, and that the reconstruction 
 of the cathedral in that city was begun ; but the greater part of the 
 slaves employed in the mines were sent to the Havana to work on 
 the fortifications. During Ledesma s administration, a French party 
 landed in the eastern part of the Island, to the number of 800, under 
 the command of one Franquinay, with the intention of plundering the 
 city of Santiago, but they withdrew without doing any damage, 
 alarmed, according to the Spanish accounts, by hearing the mere cry 
 of " al arma." 
 
 In 1675 the city of Santiago was destroyed by an earthquake, a 
 calamity from which the Havana and the western parts of the Island 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 269 
 
 appear to be exempt. Ledesma complained bitterly to his govern 
 ment that the English authorities in Jamaica countenanced and 
 encouraged the attacks of the pirates, and applied for leave to make 
 reprisals. He was succeeded by Don Jose Fernandez de Cordoba 
 Ponce de Leon, who began his administration in 1680, and continued 
 the work of fortification with energy. 
 
 In 1687 Ponce de Leon was replaced by Don Diego de Viana e 
 Hinojosa, and to him, in 1689, succeeded Don Severino de Manza- 
 neda y Salinas* during whose administration the city of Matanzas 
 was founded, the first lines of it having been traced on the loth of 
 October, 1693, in presence of the captain-general, and many other 
 persons of distinction. The etymology of the name Matanzas is 
 much disputed by the antiquarians of Cuba, some ascribing it to 
 the slaughter of Indians at the time of the conquest of the Island, 
 contending that the supposed Indian name Yumuri, that of one of 
 the two rivers between which the city stands, is in fact a synonym in 
 bad Spanish for this general massacre. 
 
 Only One Left to Tell the Tale. 
 
 Others contend, with equal pertinacity, that it was the natives who 
 killed the Spaniards, while passing from one side of the bay to the 
 other, having mutinied against their masters and used their oars suc 
 cessfully as weapons of offence. Seven of the Spaniards are said to 
 have attempted to escape, but were carried prisoners to a neighboring 
 Indian town, where they were all put to death except one, who 
 escaped to tell the tale of the Matanza. 
 
 The next captain-general was Don Diego de Cordoba Lazo de la 
 Vega; to him in 1702 succeeded Don Pedro Nicolas Benitez de 
 Lugo, who died soon after his arrival. The next captain-general was 
 Don Pedro Alvarez de Villarin, who arrived in 1706, and died the 
 same year. After him, in 1708, came the Marques de Casa Torres, 
 ex-governor of the Floridas, who, having had some dispute with the 
 auditor Don Jose Fernandez de Cordoba, was suspended from his 
 office by the real audiencia. 
 
 The foundling hospital, or Casa de Nines Espositos* vulgarly called 
 
270 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 La Cuna, was founded in 1711 by Don Fray Jeronimo de Valdes, an 
 institution which still exists, and, like that of St. Pierre in the Island 
 of Martinique, is only resorted to by the white inhabitants, the pre 
 sentation of a colored infant being a thing unknown. This fact, 
 whether it arise from the sense of shame being stronger in the white 
 mother, or from natural affection being stronger in the colored 
 mother, is not unworthy of investigation. 
 
 Don Vicente Raja arrived as captain-general in the year 1716, 
 bringing with him a royal cedula, declaring that in the event of his 
 absence, illness, or death, the civil and military government should 
 be transferred to the teniente rey ; in case of his absence, illness or 
 death, to the castellano del Morro ; and failing the castellano, to the 
 sergeant-major of the garrison ; and failing him, to the senior captain 
 of infantry, so as that in no case the civil and military jurisdictions 
 should ever afterward be divided. 
 
 Sent to Madrid in Chains. 
 
 In the following year Raja returned to Spain, and in 1718 Don 
 Gregorio Guazo arrived as his successor. Nothing material occurred 
 during his administration, and he was replaced in 1724 by Don 
 Dionisio Martinez de la Vega. In his time a serious difference arose 
 on the occasion of an appointment to the office of lieutenant-governor 
 of Santiago. On the loth of May, 1728, Lieutenant-Colonel Don 
 Juan del Hoyo took possession of the local government, and a few 
 months afterward a royal cedilla arrived prohibiting his admission. 
 On this the captain-general required his removal ; but the ayunta- 
 miento opposed it, saying it was one thing to remove an officer, and 
 another not to admit him. Lawyers were consulted on the point ; 
 and the Court of Chancery of the district was referred to, who 
 decided that the ayuntamiento were in the right, and the captain- 
 general in the wrong. 
 
 At this juncture the windward fleet, la Armado de Barlovento, arrived 
 under the command of Don Antonio de Escudero, who, in his zeal for 
 the royal service, and without any authority but that of force, laid 
 hold of Del Hoyo, removed him from his employment, and carried 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 271 
 
 him off to Vera Cruz. No sooner had he regained his liberty than 
 he returned to the Island ; and having visited the town of Puerto 
 Principe, which at that time formed part of his jurisdiction, the peo 
 pie rose against him, and having once more made him prisoner, sent 
 him in irons to the Havana, from whence the captain-general had him 
 carried to Madrid. 
 
 The next captain-general was Don Juan Francisco Guemes y 
 Horcasitas, who arrived in the year 1734, and to him, in 1746, suc 
 ceeded Don Juan Antonio Tineo y Fuertes, who died in the follow 
 ing year. He was the first captain-general who thought it necessary 
 to establish a separate hospital for the reception of dissolute and 
 incorrigible women; for which purpose the revenues of vacant 
 ecclesiastical offices were to be applied. 
 
 Capture of the City by the English. 
 
 The date of the termination of the government of Martinez has 
 not been very clearly defined ; he was succeeded provisionally by 
 Don Diego de Penalosa, as teniente rey de la plaza, and was replaced 
 in 1747 by Don Francisco Cagigal de la Vega, who had previously 
 been lieutenant-governor at Santiago. On leaving the command in 
 1760, the government was assumed provisionally by the Teniente 
 Rey Don Pedro Alonzo; and he was relieved, in 1761, by Don Juan 
 de Prado Porto Carrero, whose government was made so memorable 
 by the capture- of the city by the English. 
 
 The Habaneros themselves seemed desirous to commemorate the 
 event by retaining English names for the points of the coast where 
 the landing of the expedition was effected, and for the fortresses which 
 were occupied preparatory to the descent on the Morro. In the 
 Memorias de la Real Sociedad Patriotica there are also some interest 
 ing notices of the event. 
 
 The captain-general, according to some accounts, was apprised of 
 the fact that the English were preparing an expedition for the inva 
 sion of the Island ; but although he had made certain arrangements 
 for the reception of the enemy, it is said that he never seriously 
 believed that an invasion was about to take place. He made it his 
 
272 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 business, however, to ascertain what number of men might be relied 
 on for the defence of the Island; and even the proportion of slaves to 
 whom arms might be safely intrusted. Juntas were frequently 
 assembled for the discussion of these matters during the three months 
 which intervened between the first rumor of the invasion and the 
 actual descent of the enemy. 
 
 At length, on the 6th of June, 1762, when a fleet of at least 250 
 
 OLD CATHEDRAL AT HAVANA. 
 
 sail had been reported as off the coast, the captain-general still refused 
 to believe that this was the hostile expedition ; insisting that it must 
 be a homeward-bound convoy from Jamaica On the morning of 
 that day he is said to have gone over to the Morro for the purpose 
 of observing in person the movements of the fleet ; and when he found 
 that the garrison of the fortress had been called out under arms by 
 the teniente rey, Don Dionisio Soler, he expressed his disapprobation 
 of the proceeding declaring it to be imprudent, and desiring that the 
 troops might be sent back to their quarters. After mid- day, however, 
 he received notice from the Morro that the ships of war were approach 
 ing the coast, and appeared from their manoeuvres to be preparing to 
 effect a landing. 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 273 
 
 Confounded by his own previous incredulity, the governor at length 
 gave orders to prepare for a vigorous defence. The consternation 
 produced by the ringing of alarm bells and the moving of artillery 
 was extreme. Such of the inhabitants as possessed arms made haste 
 to put them in order, and those who were not so provided presented 
 themselves at thesata real to ask for them ; but there were only 3,500 
 muskets to be found, the greater part of them unfit for service, 
 together with a few carbines, sabres, and bayonets. These were soon 
 distributed ; but in the end a great number of people remained un 
 armed for the want of needful supplies. 
 
 A Formidable Expedition. 
 
 The juntas were again assembled, consisting of the captain-general, 
 the teniente rey, the marques del real transporte, general of marines, 
 and the commissary-general, Don Lorenzo Montalvo, to whom were 
 added the Conde de Superunda, as viceroy of Peru, and Major-General 
 Don Diego Tabares, as Governor of Carthagena, who happened to be 
 then at the Havana on their return to Europe. Orders were issued 
 by this junta to Colonel Don Carlos Caro to resist the landing of the 
 enemy on the beach of Cogimar and Bacuranao, which they seemed 
 to threaten ; adding to his own regiment, De Edimburgo, the rest of 
 the cavalry then in the city, together with several companies of the 
 infantry of the line, and a few lancers, amounting altogether to about 
 3,000 men. 
 
 The expedition sailed from Spithead on the 5th of March, 1762. 
 Its chief object was, after seizing on the French possessions in the 
 West Indies, to make a descent on the Havana, which was justly con 
 sidered as the principal key to the vast possessions of the Spanish 
 crown in the two great divisions of the American continent ; the pos 
 session of which would effectually interrupt all communication be 
 tween the Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico, and thereby give the 
 court of the Catholic king a distaste for the alliance with that of St. 
 Cloud. The first rendezvous of the forces to be combined with the 
 original expedition was at Martinique, and Sir James Douglas was 
 
 ordered to unite his squadron, stationed at Port Royal, Jamaica, with 
 
 18 * 
 
274 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 that of Sir George Pocock, at the Cape of St. Nicholas, in the Island 
 of St. Domingo. 
 
 From this point of union the expedition had the choice of two 
 courses in proceeding toward the Havana. That which would have 
 been the more easy of execution was to sail down the southern 
 side of the Island, and doubling the western cape, present itself before 
 the Havana. But as this would have occupied more time, which the 
 maintenance of secrecy rendered valuable, Sir George Pocock re 
 solved on following the shorter and more difficult as well as danger 
 ous course of the old Bahama channel, on the north side of the 
 Island. This resolution had the double effect of taking the enemy 
 unprepared, and of obstructing the only course by which the French 
 could send relief from St. Domingo. 
 
 On the 2/th of May the admiral hoisted his flag, and the whole 
 convoys, consisting of 200 vessels of all classes, were soon under 
 sail for the old Bahama passage. The " Alarm " and " Echo " frigates, 
 sent in advance, discovered, on the 2d of June, five ships of the enemy, 
 the frigate " Tetis," the sloop of war " Fenix," a J^rig, and two smaller 
 vessels. An engagement immediately took place, in the issue of 
 which one of the light vessels escaped, the other four being captured. 
 
 On the evening of the 5th the " Pan " of Matanzas was visible ; and 
 on the morning of the 6th, being then five leagues to the eastward of 
 the Havana, the necessary orders were issued for the commanders of 
 the boats of the squadron and the captains of the transports, with 
 regard to the debarkation of the troops. This duty was intrusted 
 to the Honorable Commodore Keppel, at whose disposal were placed 
 six ships of the line, several frigates, and the large boats of the 
 squadron. The admiral followed at two in the afternoon, with thir 
 teen ships of the line, two frigates, the bomb vessels of the expedi 
 tion, and thirty-six store-boats. On presenting himself at the mouth 
 of the harbor, for the double purpose of reconnoitering the enemy 
 and making the feint of an attack to cover the operations of Commo 
 dore Keppel, he ascertained that twelve ships of the line and a num 
 ber of merchant vessels were lying at anchor within it. 
 
 On the following morning the admiral prepared his launches for 
 
EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 275 
 
 landing a body of sailors and marines about four miles to the west 
 ward of the Havana. At the same time Lord Albemarle effected the 
 landing of the whole of the troops, without opposition, between the 
 rivers Bacuranao and Cogimar, about six miles from the Morr ). A 
 body of men having appeared on the beach, Commodore Keppel 
 directed the " Mercury " and " Bonnetta " corvettes to disperse them ; 
 but a much greater number having soon afterward presented them 
 selves with the evident intention of disputing the passage of the Rio 
 Cogimar with the main body of the expedition, Captain Hervey in the 
 " Dragon " was sent to bombard the fort, which afforded the enemy 
 protection, but which very soon surrendered, leaving a free passage 
 for the advance of the invaders. 
 
 Resistance to the Invasion. 
 
 From the prisoners taken on the 2d of June in the " Tetis " and 
 " Fenix," the presence of a naval force in the harbor became known 
 to the English, together with the fact that most of the enemy s ships 
 had completed their supplies of water, and were nearly ready for sea. 
 Till then the governor, as has been stated, was almost wholly unpre 
 pared. The first notice he had of the actual approach of the expe 
 dition was obtained from the crew of the small schooner, which 
 escaped from the pursuit of the " Alarm " and the " Echo." 
 
 As soon as he became convinced of the fact, the governor, as we 
 have seen, assembled a council of war, composed of the chief officers 
 under his command. At this junta de guerra the plan of defence 
 was arranged, and a firm resolution was taken to resist the invasion 
 to the last extremity. The defence of the Morro, on the possession 
 of which the fate of the Havana in a great measure depended, was 
 intrusted to Don Luis de Valesco, commander of the " Reyna " ship 
 of the line, to whose gallantry and perseverance Sir George Pocock, in 
 his subsequent report to the admiralty, pays a just tribute of com 
 mendation. His second in command, the Marques de Gonzales, 
 commander of the " Aquilon " ship of the line, followed in all respects 
 the example of Valesco, dying sword in hand in defence of his flag. 
 
 The defence of the Punta Castle was in like manner assigned to a 
 
276 EARLY COLONISTS AND RULERS. 
 
 naval officer, Don Manuel Briseno, who had a friend in the same 
 branch of the service for his second in command. This arrangement 
 gave deadly offence to the officers of the army, who thought them 
 selves unjustly superseded in the post of honor and of danger; but 
 it was urged in excuse, that naval officers were better acquainted than 
 those of the infantry or the cavalry with the use of artillery ; and as 
 the naval squadron had become useless by being locked up in the 
 harbor, this was the only way in which they could be advantageously 
 employed. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 War with Great Britain. 
 
 BEFORE the Governor could assemble the militia of the Island 
 under arms, he thought it necessary to declare war by procla 
 mation against Great Britain. When his whole force was at 
 length assembled, it was found in gross numbers greatly to exceed 
 that of the invaders. It consisted of nine squadrons of cavalry, in 
 cluding in all 810 men; the regiment of the Havana, 700; two bat 
 talions of the regiment de Espana, 1400; two battalions of the 
 regiment de Aragon, 1400; three companies of artillery, 300; seamen 
 and marines of the squadron, 9000; militia and people of color, 
 14,000 making a grand total of 27,610. 
 
 The greater part of the Spanish force was stationed in the town 
 of Guanabacao, on the side of the bay opposite to the Havana, be 
 tween the points where the invading forces had landed, in order to 
 prevent them from turning the head of the harbor and attacking the 
 city by land. The British force was divided into five brigades, 
 amounting, with detachments from Jamaica and North America, to a 
 total of 14,041 land forces. At daybreak, on the /th, the troops 
 were already on board the boats arranged in three divisions the 
 centre commanded by the Honorable Augustus Hervey ; the right 
 wing by Captains Barton and Drake ; and the left, by Captains 
 Arbuthnot and Jekyl. 
 
 The first brigade was also the first to land ; and as soon as the 
 troops had formed on the beach, Lord Albemarle took the com 
 mand, and marched in the direction of the city, which he did without 
 further molestation as soon as the Cogimar batteries had been 
 silenced. His Excellency established his headquarters in Cogimar 
 for the night ; the troops were served with rations under arms, and 
 several pickets were advanced to the eminences overlooking the 
 
 - ~ 877 
 
278 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 Havana. After a succession of attacks on the part of Lord Albe- 
 marle, and a continued bombardment of the castle, the Morro sur 
 rendered on the 3Oth of July, and the town itself on the I4th of 
 August, succeeding. 
 
 The spoils seized by the captors were of great value, and the dis 
 tribution was a subject of much discontent ; and it must be admitted 
 that the partition, which gave three or four pounds to a soldier or a 
 sailor, whose life was equally exposed with that of his superiors, and 
 ioo,ooo/. to an admiral or a commander-in-chief, was far from being 
 impartial. 
 
 Arrival of Troops. 
 
 The peace having been concluded in 1763, the Conde de Ricla 
 arrived at the Havana on the 3Oth of June, bringing the powers con 
 ferred by the treaty for the restoration of the British conquests in the 
 Island of .Cuba, and accompanied by General O Reilly, with four 
 ships of the line, a number of transports, and 2000 men for the 
 supply of the garrison. On their arrival they were received by the 
 English with every demonstration of respect. On the 7th of July 
 the keys of the city were formally delivered up to the Conde de 
 Ricla, on whom the government had been conferred, and the English 
 garrison was embarked on its return to Europe. 
 
 The restoration of the Island to the Spaniards is regarded by the 
 native writers as the true era from whence its aggrandizement and 
 prosperity are to be dated. It was during the administration of the 
 first governor that the new fortresses of San Carlos and Atares were 
 erected, and the enlargement and rebuilding of the Morro and the 
 Cabanas were begun. The old hospitals were placed on a better 
 footing, and new ones were built. The court of accounts, and the whole 
 department of finance, received a fresh impulse and a distinct form; 
 and an intendant was named, who, among other arrangements, for 
 the first time established the aduana, and created a custom-house 
 revenue, the duties having been first levied on the 1 5th of October, 
 1764. 
 
 The Conde de O Reilly, as inspector- general of the army, succeeded 
 in organizing and placing on a respectable footing the regular troops, 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 279 
 
 as well as the militia of the Island. The city of the Havana having 
 been divided into districts, the streets named, and the houses num 
 bered, the truth came to be known, that the capital contained 
 materials for the formation of a battalion of disciplined white militia. 
 Beginning with the formation of a single company, the governor 
 appointed lieutenants, sergeants, and corporals from the regular troops 
 of the garrison, and, after a personal inspection, he followed the same 
 course with the other companies. 
 
 New Battalions are Formed. 
 
 Adopting this principle in the other towns of the Island, he soon 
 succeeded in realizing his ideas, and creating a considerable force on 
 which the government had every reason to rely. When the two 
 white battalions of the Havana and Guanabacoa were completed, it 
 was still found that, with the addition of the stationary regiment of 
 regulars and the other troops of the garrison, there would not be a 
 sufficient force for the defence of the capital, so that the idea of 
 forming two other battalions presented itself, the one of blacks, the 
 other of people of color, and was immediately carried into effect. 
 
 Don Diego Manrique assumed the supreme command in 1765, but 
 died within a few months after his arrival. He was succeeded in 
 1766 by Don Antonio Maria Bucarelli, who prosecuted with energy 
 the construction of the fortifications begun by the Conde de Ricla. 
 Bucarely paid great attention to the due administration of justice, and 
 was distinguished by the affability of his manners, the facility he 
 afforded of access to his person, and the readiness with which he 
 heard and redressed the grievances of the people; making it a boast 
 that he had succeeded in adjusting differences and compromising 
 law suits which had been pending for forty years. 
 
 When afterward appointed viceroy of New Spain, the minister for 
 the department of the Indies announced to him, by command of the 
 king, as an unexampled occurrence, that during the whole period of 
 his administration not a single complaint against him had reached 
 the court of Madrid. Another of his merits with the people was the 
 gentleness and address with which he effected the expulsion of the 
 
280 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 Jesuits, who had come to the Island with Don Pedro Agustin Morel, 
 and had acquired there large possessions. The church attached to 
 their seminary is that which is now the cathedral of the Havana. 
 
 On the promotion of Bucarelli in 1771, the Marques de la Torre 
 was named his successor, and became one of the most popular 
 captains-general who have ever administered the government. He 
 was replaced in 1777 by Don Diego Jose Navarro, who introduced 
 great improvements in the administration of justice, and the police 
 of the tribunals, and in regulating the duties and functions of the 
 abogados, escribanos, procuradores, tasadores, and other officers and 
 dependents of the courts of law, in which the greatest abuses had 
 previously and have since prevailed. 
 
 Attempt to Recover the Floridas. 
 
 The base and deteriorated coin, which had been for some time in 
 circulation, was also called in and abolished in the time of Navarro. 
 In the course of the war which had again broken out between 
 England and Spain, an expedition was prepared at the Havana for 
 the recovery of the Floridas, which produced the surrender of Pen- 
 sacola, and the submission of the garrison. This gave rise to a 
 belief that the English would make reprisals on Cuba or Porto Rico, 
 and led to the dispatch of reinforcements on a large scale to the gar 
 rison of the Havana. 
 
 The peace of 1783 soon followed, on which Lord Rodney prepared 
 to return to England; and taking the Havana in his way, Prince 
 William Henry, afterward William IV., having obtained leave from 
 the admiral to go on shore, was so delighted with the city and the 
 entertainments that were offered him, that he remained there three 
 days, and did not return, if we may believe the Spanish writers, until 
 Lord Rodney sent to his royal highness to say, that if he did not re- 
 embark immediately, the squadron would set sail, and leave him 
 behind. The Spanish general of marines, Solano, is said to have 
 given the prince a breakfast which cost him $4000. 
 
 During the years which immediately succeeded the peace there 
 appear to have been other changes in the colonial government besides 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 281 
 
 those already noticed, beginning with Don Luis Gonzaga, followed by 
 the Conde de Galves, Don Bernardo Troncoso, Don Jose Espeleta, 
 and Don Domingo Ceballo. In the time of this first Espeleta there 
 was again a great outcry as to the number of lawyers in the colony, 
 and particularly at the Havana, where there were already no less 
 than eighty-five abogados, with an equally liberal proportion of the 
 inferior classes of the profession. 
 
 Steps were taken to prevent their increase, and a regulation was 
 enforced on the iQth of November, 1784, prohibiting the admission 
 of candidates and the immigration of professors of jurisprudence from 
 the other colonies ; and no lawyer who had studied his profession in 
 Spain was to be allowed to practice it in the courts of the Island 
 until six years at least after he had been called to the bar in the 
 Peninsula. 
 
 Brilliant Epoch, in Cuba s History. 
 
 Don Luis de las Casas arrived as captain-general in 1790, and the 
 period of his administration is represented by all Spanish writers as 
 a brilliant epoch in the history of the Island. To him it is indebted 
 for the institution of the Sociedad Patriotica, which has ever since 
 done so much to stimulate the activity and promote the improvement 
 of education, agriculture, and trade, as well as literature, science, and 
 the fine arts, combined with large and liberal views of public policy. 
 To Las Casas, also, is the Island indebted for the establishment of 
 the Casa de Beneficenda, having been begun by a voluntary subscrip 
 tion amounting to $36,000. The female department was at first a 
 separate institution, situated in the extra-mural portion of the city, 
 but was added to the other on the completion of the buildings in 
 1794. 
 
 In place of a monument to Las Casas, which he undoubtedly 
 deserved as much as any of his predecessors, an inscription has been 
 conspicuously engraved in the common hall of the school for boys, 
 declaring that on its erection it had been expressly dedicated to the 
 memory of the founder of the institution ; reminding the young 
 pupils that he had not only been the founder of the Casa de Bene- 
 ficencia, but of the first public library, and the first newspaper which 
 
282 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 had existed in the Island, and of the patriotic and economical society. 
 To increase the commercial prosperity of the Island he had the 
 sagacity to perceive that his object could not be better accomplished 
 than by removing, as far as his authority extended, all the trammels 
 imposed upon it by the old system of privilege and restriction. 
 During his administration, also, large sums were expended in the 
 construction of roads, especially the great Calzada del Horcon and 
 the Calzada de Guadalupe; but since then these highways have 
 fallen so completely out of repair, as for the greater part of the year 
 to have become next to impassable. 
 
 The Island Desolated by a Hurricane. 
 
 It was Las Casas, also, who introduced the culture of indigo ; and 
 during his time the long arrear of causes on the rolls of the courts 
 of justice was greatly reduced. The hurricane, which desolated the 
 Island on the 2ist and 22d of June, 1/91, afforded Las Casas a fresh 
 opportunity for displaying the great resources of his mind in the 
 promptitude with which he brought relief to the sufferers. In some 
 districts the sudden rise of water in the rivers was most extraordinary, 
 when the limited extent of land from sea to sea is considered. 
 
 On the bridge then just finished across the Rio del Calabazal the 
 water rose to the height of thirty-six feet above the parapets ; and in 
 the town of San Antonio, where the wells are sunk into the bed of 
 a subterraneous river, the water rushed up through the artificial 
 openings, and inundated the whole country. 
 
 The French Revolution having communicated its irresistible impulse 
 to the western parts of St. Domingo, the cabinet of Madrid took the 
 alarm, and from the Havana and Santiago, Vera Cruz, the Caracas, 
 Maracaybo, and Porto Rico, collected a force amounting altogether 
 to 6000 men, the object of which was to suppress the insurrection. 
 The sanguinary struggle which ensued, and the reverses which befell 
 the Spanish troops, belong to another place. Suffice it here to say, 
 by way of memorandum, that the interest of the Spanish Government 
 in the Island of St. Domingo was definitely terminated by the treaty 
 of Basilea soon afterward concluded with the French republic. 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 28 
 
 It was to the energetic measures of Las Casas, at the time of this 
 revolution in St. Domingo, that the Island of Cuba was indebted for 
 the uninterrupted maintenance of its tranquillity, in spite of the univer- 
 sal persuasion that a conspiracy had been formed at the instigation 
 of the French, among the free people of color, to provoke a similar 
 revolution in Cuba. 
 
 Important Changes and Benefits. 
 
 On the occasion of his leaving the Island in December, 1796, a 
 formal eulogium on his merits as Captain-General was recorded in 
 the archives of the Ayuntamiento of the Havana, in which are 
 enumerated the great benefits he had conferred on the community ; 
 among which the most prominent are the discouragement of gam 
 bling; the arrest of vagrants and vagabonds ; the clearing of the jails 
 of greater criminals, and the acceleration of the ends of justice in 
 civil causes ; the abandonment of a large portion of his own emolu 
 ments for the erection and support of the Casa de Beneficencia and 
 other charitable institutions ; the reduction and pacification of the 
 maroons of Santiago ; the suppression of the conspiracy among the 
 people of color; the prohibition of the introduction of foreign negroes 
 who had previously resided in other colonies, and the expulsion of 
 those who had arrived from St. Domingo ; the relief of the inhabi 
 tants from the clothing of the militia ; the paving of the streets of the 
 Havana ; the making and mending of roads ; the building of bridges, 
 and the construction of public walks and alamedas ; the erection of 
 a convent, a coliseum, a primary school, a school of chemistry, natu 
 ral philosophy, mathematics and botany ; the improvement of the 
 Plaza de Toros, and the rejection of the profit which his predecessors 
 had derived from the supply of provisions for the troops. 
 
 In this farewell eulogium he is also praised for the very question 
 able virtue of promoting the general prosperity by the copious intro 
 duction of Bozal negroes from the coast of Africa, which is stated to 
 have greatly extended the cultivation of the sugar-cane, the bread 
 fruit tree, the cinnamon-tree, and other exotic plants of inestimable 
 value. It is more easy to sympathize in the praise? bestowed upon 
 
284 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 him for the great hospitality he showed to the unfortunate refugees 
 from St. Domingo, and for the exertions he made and the liberality 
 he evinced in the institution of the Patriotic Society, the formation 
 of a public library, the publication of the Diario, and of the Guia de 
 For aster o$. 
 
 Las Casas, in 1796, was succeeded in the government by the Conde 
 de Santa Clara, whose noble and generous disposition, and the affa 
 bility of his manners, made the loss of his predecessor less sensibly 
 feit. It is admitted, however, that he gave no encouragement to 
 education, that he had no taste for letters, and that in his time the 
 social emulation which had previously prevailed sunk rapidly into 
 apathy and indifference. 
 
 A People of Dilatory Habits. 
 
 It is a singular illustration of the dilatory habits of the people, 
 and affords a sort of national characteristic, that for many years after 
 the formal cession to the French of all interest in St. Domingo, the 
 judges who exercised the supreme civil jurisdiction over the Island 
 of Cuba and other Spanish settlements continued to reside in the 
 ceded territory, so that, in consequence of the recommencement of 
 hostilities with England, all communication by sea was so interrupted 
 as to interpose an insurmountable barrier to the exercise of the right 
 of appeal, and to the ordinary administration of justice. The royal 
 cedula, for the removal of this tribunal to Puerto Principe, is dated 
 on the 22d of May, 1797 ; but it does not appear at what precise date 
 the actual translation took place. 
 
 Santa Clara was succeeded, in 1799, by the Marques de Someruelos, 
 whose administration continued for a much longer period than the 
 five years to which, by the practice, if not by a formal regulation cf 
 the Spanish government, the term of service of the captains-general 
 of the colonies has been usually limited. The public works which 
 serve to commemorate the administration of Someruelos are the old 
 theatre and the public cemetery ; the execution of which last was 
 confided to the bishop, who pursued the object with zeal, and the 
 work was completed on the 2d of February, 1806. 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 285 
 
 Its extent is not great, containing only 22,000 square yards ; but 
 the walls, the chapel, and the gateway, are on a scale which infers 
 the outlay of a large sum of money. The chapel is ornamented with 
 a painting in fresco representing the Resurrection, with the motto, 
 tl Ecce nunc in pulvere dormiam." Someruelos was thought by some 
 to be stern and severe toward the poorer classes of society, and to 
 reserve all his affability and condescension for the rich. On the 
 occasion, however, of the great fire of 1802, which destroyed the 
 populous suburb of Jesus Maria, leaving no less than 11,300 indivi 
 duals without a i oof to shelter them, the Marques, moved by their 
 distress, circumambulated the town, going actually from door to door 
 to petition for their relief. 
 
 Prospect of Another Invasion. 
 
 The belief again gained ground at the Havana, in 1807, that the 
 English government contemplated a descent on the Island; and 
 measures were taken in consequence to put it in a more respectable 
 state of defence, although, from want of funds in the treasury, and 
 the scarcity of indispensable supplies, the prospect of an invasion was 
 sufficiently gloomy. The militia and the troops of the garrison were 
 carefully drilled, and companies of volunteers were formed wherever 
 materials for them could be found. The French, also, not content 
 with mere preparations, made an actual descent on the Island, first 
 threatening Santiago, and afterward landing at Batabano. 
 
 The invaders consisted chiefly of refugees from St. Domingo ; and 
 their intention seems to have been to have taken possession with a 
 view to colonize and cultivate a portion of the unappropriated, or at 
 least unoccupied, territory on the south side of the Island, as their 
 countrymen had formerly done in St. Domingo. Without recurring 
 to actual force, the captain-general prevailed on them to take their 
 departure by a peaceful offer of the means of transit either to St. 
 Domingo or to France. 
 
 The news of the abduction, by Napoleon, of the royal family of 
 Spain reached the Havana by a private opportunity, at the moment 
 when the cabildo was in session, when every member of it took a 
 
286 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 solemn oath to preserve the Island for its lawful sovereign. The 
 official intelligence did not reach the city till the i/th of July, 1808; 
 when it was brought from Cadiz by the Intendant Don Juan de 
 Aguilar y Amat, who arrived in the American ship " Dispatch." 
 The colonial government immediately declared war against Napo 
 leon ; and on the 2Oth, King Ferdinand VII. was proclaimed with 
 general applause. The intelligence from Spain and the resolution of 
 the captain-general were immediately communicated to all the colo 
 nial authorities in Spanish America. 
 
 Pretensions Firmly Resisted. 
 
 The events in the Peninsula soon began to be felt at the Havana ; 
 but the demands of the French intruders for the recognition of their 
 authority were disregarded, and the public dispatches which came 
 from them were destroyed. The Infanta Dona Carlota made similar 
 pretensions, but these, like those of the French, were firmly resisted. 
 
 The foreign trade of the Island was reduced to such an extremity 
 by the events of the war, that the local authorities of the Havana, the 
 ayuntamiento, and the consulado, began seriously to deliberate on 
 the expediency of throwing the trade open, and admitting foreign 
 supplies on the same terms with those from the Peninsula. There 
 A^as some division of opinion; but the majority were for a free com 
 petition on an equal footing between the Spaniard and the foreigner, 
 on the ground that Spain alone was unable to purchase or consume 
 the enormous mass of produce then exported from the Island; and so 
 it was accordingly decided. 
 
 On the 2 1st and 22d of March, 1809, a serious disturbance arose, 
 the object of which was to invite the return of the French to the 
 Island ; but this popular movement, although considered dangerous 
 at the time, and viewed with alarm by the captain-general, was 
 speedily put down by the display of firmness and resolution on the 
 part of all who had anything to lose, and by the prompt offer of their 
 personal services for its suppression. Proclamations were issued, a 
 respectable force was collected, and the Marques de Someruelos pre 
 sented himself in person to endeavor to pacify the discontented. 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 287 
 
 Tranquillity was restored at the end of the second day, with the 
 loss of only two or three lives ; but not without the destruction of a 
 great deal of property. The French settlers in the rural districts 
 were, in this respect, the greatest sufferers ; and it had, in conse 
 quence, the effect of driving away several thousands of laborious and 
 intelligent colonists, who were already deeply interested in the pros 
 perity of the Island. 
 
 Soon after these events a young man arrived from the United 
 States, of whose proceedings and character, as an emissary of King 
 Joseph, the colonial government had been previously informed. 
 This unfortunate person, Don Manuel Aleman, was not even suffered 
 to land. The alguazils went on board ; took possession of his papers 
 and his person; a council of war was immediately assembled ; but his 
 fate was determined beforehand, and on the following morning, the 
 1 3th of July, 1810, he was brought out to the Campo de la Punta, 
 and hanged for his temerity. 
 
 The revolutionary proceedings in the continental provinces of 
 Spain were now in full career toward that independence of the mother- 
 country which they have since achieved. In the meantime, the 
 Island of Cuba enjoyed a degree of tranquillity quite remarkable 
 under the circumstances of the sister colonies. This state of things 
 was naturally, and not unjustly, ascribed to the political prudence and 
 sagacity of the Marques de Someruelos. The colonial authorities 
 petitioned the cabinet of Madrid for the farther prorogation of his 
 government beyond the term to which it had been already extended. 
 
 But the very fact of his having given so much satisfaction to the 
 colonists, if we may judge from experience elsewhere, was not likely 
 to operate with the government of the mother-country in deciding 
 on a farther extension of his stay. Instead of acceding to the 
 prayer of the municipal functionaries of the Havana, the government 
 of Madrid thought fit to mark its sense of the interference by in 
 stantly recalling the title of " Excellencia," which, on a former occa 
 sion, had been granted to the ayuntamiento as a special mark of the 
 royal favor, and of which they were not a little proud. 
 
 The western districts of the Island were visited, in 1810, by another 
 
288 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 of those tremendous hurricanes, which sweep away so much life and 
 property in these tropical regions. The city of the Havana was filled 
 with consternation and dismay ; the hopes of an abundant harvest 
 were disappointed ; in the harbor, so renowned for its security, the 
 ships of war were driven from their anchors, and no less than sixty 
 merchant vessels were destroyed. 
 
 In the time of Someruelos the Casa de Beneficencia was in dangel 
 of falling into decay ; but in consequence of his earnest intervention, 
 the Junta de Tabacos, which in Spain as in France is a royal mono 
 poly, consented to purchase 100 slaves, whose labor or whose wages 
 were to furnish funds for the benefit of the institution; thus by an 
 extraordinary perversion making the practice of cruelty and injustice 
 toward one portion of the human family contribute to a work of 
 charity in favor of another. The slaves were first employed in the 
 manufacture of cigars, but have latterly been hired out for daily 
 wages at whatever employment they could obtain. 
 
 Outbreak of a Negro Conspiracy. 
 
 A negro conspiracy broke out in 1812, which excited considerable 
 dlarm in the minds of the landed proprietors. That alarm was 
 attended with its usual consequences : The negro leader, Aponte, and 
 his associates were treated with unsparing severity, such as may be 
 supposed to have been dictated much more by the fears of \hz hac en- 
 dados, than by the strict justice of the case. 
 
 The successor of Someruelos was Don Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, 
 afterward Conde de Benadito, who arrived on the I4th of April, 1812 ; 
 and he, for the first time, combined the command of the naval force on 
 the station with the office of captain-general of the Island. This un 
 precedented combination arose from the fear of the authors of the 
 constitution of Cadiz, that their work and their representative would 
 not be well received in this aristocratical colony. His first duty on 
 his arrival was to proclaim the constitution ; and although it doubt 
 less excited an extraordinary sensation, it was not openly resisted. 
 
 The success of Apodaca in Cuba led to his promotion to the rank 
 of viceroy of Mexico; and on the ist of July, 1816, he was sue- 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 289 
 
 ceeded at the Havana by Lieutenant-General Don Jose Cienfuegos. 
 In his time the third census of the Island was accomplished. This 
 captain-general made himself exceedingly unpopular at the Havana 
 by the severe measures of police he proclaimed and enforced for the 
 suppression of projects of sedition, and for the preservation of the 
 public tranquillity. 
 
 He resorted to an expedient which in other great cities would 
 scarcely have become the subject of serious complaint he caused 
 the streets of the Havana to be lighted ; but this was only a part of 
 the proceeding to which the citizens objected. He insisted, also, on 
 closing up the public thoroughfares immediately after the conclusion 
 of the evening service in the churches ; thus from that early hour 
 confining the inhabitants to their own particular quarter of the city, 
 and giving rise to clamorous representations and to the very disturb 
 ances which it was the object of the captain-general to prevent. 
 
 Arrival of a Convoy of Troops. 
 
 Senor Cienfuegos was for some time disabled by personal infirmity 
 from the active administration of the government, and during that 
 period his functions were performed by Don Juan Maria Hechavarria, 
 as cabo subalterno ; but on the 2gth of August, 1819, he was finally 
 relieved by the arrival of his successor, Don Juan Manuel Cajigal, 
 in the Spanish ship of war " Sabina " with a convoy of troops for 
 the supply of the garrison. 
 
 The following year, 1820, from the events which took place in the 
 Peninsula, was another period of trial and difficulty for a captain- 
 general of the Havana ; but it is admitted by all parties that Cajigal 
 succeeded, by the prudence and delicacy of his conduct, in avoiding 
 the evils which might have been expected to arise from the difficult 
 and extraordinary circumstances in which he found himself placed. 
 
 The extreme affability of his manners, and the perfect readiness 
 with which he received and listened to all who desired to approach 
 him, conciliated universal good will ; and it appears that the high 
 estimation in which he was held by the inhabitants excited in his 
 breast a corresponding feeling, as, on the termination of his com- 
 
290 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 mand, he applied for and obtained the special grace from the king of 
 being permitted to take up his permanent abode in the Island ; and 
 having retired to the town of Guanabacoa, he died there some time 
 afterward, a simple but respected citizen. 
 
 The next captain-general was Don Nicolas Mahy, who arrived 
 from Bordeaux in the French frigate " Therese," on the 3d of March, 
 1821 ; but such was the turbulence which prevailed in these trouble 
 some times that he proved unequal to the task of controlling the 
 storm, and at length sunk under the difficulties which surrounded 
 him. He died on the i8th of July, 1822, but retained to the last 
 moment of his life the direct administration of the affairs of the 
 government. 
 
 Erection of a Famous Temple. 
 
 After his death the government was assumed provisionally by the 
 cabo subalterno, Don Sebastian Kindelan; and on the 2d of May, 
 1823, the new captain-general arrived, Don Francisco Dionisio Vives, 
 who was afterward raised to the dignity of Conde de Cuba. It was 
 in his time that the fourth and last census of the Island was accom 
 plished. It was under Vives, also, that the rural militia was organ 
 ized, and that the construction of the fortresses of Bahia-honda, 
 Mariel, Jaruco, and the Cabanas was begun or completed. It was he 
 who divided the Island into three military departments ; and it was 
 under his auspices that the temple was erected on the Plaza de Armas 
 of the Havana, on the very spot where, if tradition is to be believed, 
 the first Christian rite was performed in the New World. 
 
 It is doubtless with the view of adding to the solemnity of the 
 occasion that the temple is opened only once a year, on the anniver 
 sary of the day that Mass was first said there, in the presence of 
 Columbus, to return thanks to Heaven for the success which had 
 attended his enterprise. It was also in the time of Vives that the 
 two lunatic asylums, el Departamento de Dementes, were added to the 
 Casa de Beneficcncia ; and it is recorded of him that he never failed 
 to preside at the meetings of the institution, and to animate by his 
 presence the drooping zeal of his colleagues in the direction. 
 
 On the 1 5th of May, 1832, Don Mariano Roquefort took possession 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 291 
 
 of the government; and on the 1st of June, 1834, he was succeeded 
 by Don Miguel Tacon, whose administration terminated on the i6th 
 of April, 1838, when Don Joaquin de Espeleta, who had for some 
 time resided at the Havana with the rank of sub-inspector-general of 
 the troops, and second cabo subalterno, was promoted to the rank of 
 captain-general, not provisionally, as had been usual on former occa 
 sions, but como proprietaries to use a form of expression in constant 
 use, as applied to public offices in the language of Castile as well as 
 in that of France. 
 
 General Espeleta marked his career by a straightforward course, 
 strongly exemplified in his putting down all obnoxious and costly 
 practices to obtain licenses and passports, which were favored, both 
 by those preceding and succeeding him, from sordid and ignoble 
 motives. His uprightness could not, however, wash out the political 
 stain of his birth; for, by a mere chance, Espeleta was born at 
 Havana. He was consequently soon removed, and before the regular 
 term of five years, allotted to such offices in Spanish America. 
 
 Met by Opposition. 
 
 The Prince of Anglona, the next captain-general in order of time, 
 was a gentlemanly and courteous chief who, after one year s com 
 mand in 1841, left the charge of the Island to the noble-minded Don 
 Geronimo Valdez, a man whose whole life had evinced a consistent 
 love of liberty, scarcely ever met with in a Spanish soldier, for such 
 he was. Being informed that there was a conspiracy on foot, and 
 that many young men talked in a revolutionary strain, he answered: 
 " I have a powerful army at my command ; let the conspirators sally 
 forth, and I shall destroy them, but not before." 
 
 This liberality to the Cubans, and his conciliating course toward 
 the abolitionist Turnbull, who had landed at an unfortified part of the 
 Island, for some sinister purpose, among the blacks ; and more than 
 all, his disinterested and faithful observance of the treaties condemn 
 ing the African slave trade, brought on him the unrestrained attacks 
 of those engaged or concerned in it as capitalists or officials of gov 
 ernment. He was consequently hurried from his station in the most 
 
292 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 unceremonious manner, and the party who vainly endeavored to 
 injure his name, charging him with motives treasonable to Spain, 
 found in his successor a man better disposed to forward their selfish 
 and sordid purposes, though for the same reason equally calculated 
 to alienate the hearts of the inhabitants. 
 
 Valdez had the courage and honesty to issue, during his short com 
 mand, upward of a thousand grants of freedom illegally withheld by 
 his predecessors from so many Africans who, according to the treaty, 
 had become free. He left the Palace of the captains-general of Cuba 
 in the same high-minded poverty in which he had entered it. 
 
 In 1843, General Leopold O Donnell took the command of the 
 Island, and never was military despotism more successfully directed 
 to destroy popular franchises, to establish individual oppression 
 beyond the possibility of redress by altering existing institutions, 
 and eminently to satisfy the avaricious thirst of the captain-general 
 and his family and favorites. The bloody page of the negro insur 
 rection, reported in another part of this work, was the most prominent 
 feature of his governorship. 
 
 Strange Sources of Wealth. 
 
 At the close of one of General O Donnell s balls, his wife sent for 
 the baker who had supplied the entertainment, to come at 3 o clock 
 A. M., to take back the loaves not used ! The baker refused, saying 
 that he could not sell them except as stale bread, at a very reduced 
 price. To this she replied that she had sent for him at so early an 
 hour that he might have the chance of mixing it with the fresh bread 
 he was to send around to his customers that morning. She was 
 engaged in all kinds of profitable undertakings of the most obscure 
 and common pursuits in life ; monopolies of the most repugnant 
 character were introduced for her advantage, based on the un 
 bounded authority of a provincial tyrant. The cleansing of the sew 
 ers, and the locality fixed for the reception of the manure and dirt of 
 the city were among the many sources of wealth which she did not 
 scruple to turn to her advantage. 
 
 But nothing was so fruitful to this family of dealers, as the slave 
 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 293 
 
 trade which, it was publicly asserted, furnished emoluments even to 
 the daughter of the captain-general. O Donnell was part owner of 
 the marble quarries of the Isle of Pines, whither he, by his sole 
 authority, sent to labor a great number of suspected or accused per 
 sons, without judgment or sentence passed on them. The agency 
 for obtaining passports, and other services connected with govern 
 ment, as published in the Havana papers, exhibits a degree of immo 
 rality and defiance of public opinion hardly to be found in any 
 civilized country. 
 
 General Frederico Roncali, graced by one of the numerous titles 
 which Queen Christina has so profusedly and undeservedly bestowed 
 within a very recent period, took the command of the Island in 1848. 
 His ridiculous and perplexed action during the movement of the 
 Round Island expedition, shows how weak the strength of bayonets 
 is, where it is unsupported either by the confidence of the soldiery, or 
 by the love of the people for their rulers. 
 
 Spanish Despotism Doomed. 
 
 The idea of marching out 4000 men, and stationing them in the 
 central department of the Island, and announcing to the soldiers that 
 they were to receive double pay as soon as the enemy landed, 
 merely because 400 Americans had taken their abode in an island 
 700 miles off, is a tacit acknowledgment of the impending termina 
 tion of Spanish rule in Cuba that tottering column of European 
 despotism in America. General Roncali s incapacity was never 
 made more manifest, however, than in his management of the Rey 
 affair. Don Cirilo Villaverde, author of a novel entitled " Cecilia 
 Valdez," and other literary works, being accused of corresponding 
 with the editor of the Cuban paper called La Verdad, was confined to 
 the Havana prison during his trial, which he had no reason to expect 
 should be fair or favorable in its results to him. 
 
 While there, a fraudulent bankrupt, by name Fernandez, being on 
 the eve of escaping, through promises made to the jail-keeper Rey, 
 of sharing with him the imaginary spoils of his bankruptcy, Mr. Vil 
 laverde succeeded in availing himself of the same opportunity to fly, 
 
294 WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 and save himself, rather than trttet to his innocence or the irregular 
 ity and corruption of Spanish military justice. The result, fully 
 establishing the moral weakness of a government whose very agents 
 turn against it, served to excite the anger and spiteful revenge of 
 Roncali. 
 
 He therefore succeeded, through the consul at New Orleans, Don 
 Carlos Esparia, in abducting the jail-keeper, who was thereby des 
 tined to be severely punished, or generously rewarded should he act 
 as witness against such influential Creoles as were suspected of dis 
 satisfaction to the Spanish government. It is not necessary to add 
 anything further on this subject. The American public are suffi 
 ciently acquainted with the subsequent history of this ominous, sacri 
 legious and insulting act of the authorized menial of a European 
 monarch on the heretofore respected soil of America. 
 
 Whatever moral qualities and honest wishes some of the captains- 
 general may have possessed, they were compelled to follow out the 
 restrictions and spoliations commenced by Tacon. The path of 
 despotism, when justified by the national excuse of holding a distant 
 colony, must always be one of inevitable and progressive oppression. 
 
 The historical sketch of Cuba is here concluded. The next chap 
 ters are designed to furnish an absrtact of its political history, includ 
 ing a notice of a formidable insurrection, with an account of the 
 remarkable policy which has brought the Island to its present 
 miserable condition. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 The Tyrannical Rule of Spain. 
 
 PREVIOUS to the eighteenth century, the history of the Island 
 of Cuba is mostly occupied with accounts of the settlements 
 commenced by the first Governor, Diego Velasquez ; the 
 noble defence of the Cazique Athuei, who was burned alive by order 
 of the former; and the usual repartimientos or distribution of the 
 territory and Indians among the Spanish settlers, which, through 
 excess of labor, hastened the depopulation of the country. During 
 that early period is also noticed the sailing of expeditions to more 
 recently discovered and alluring regions ; the beginning of the 
 African slave trade, and the occasional descent and depredations of 
 the buccaneers. The latter were so bold, from the scant population 
 and absence of fortifications, that they carried off at one time the 
 venerable Bishop Cabezas Altanurano, and at another, the very bells 
 of the church and the cannons of the castle at Santiago. 
 
 Soon after the royal decree of 1530, liberating the native Indians, 
 the remnants of this unfortunate race appeared to have congregated 
 in towns such as Guanabacoa, Guaisabana, Ovejas, and Caneyes- 
 arriba, and to have applied their efforts to simple husbandry and 
 grazing. 
 
 But the advance of Cuba must have been extremely limited or 
 doubtful, since the Bishop Almendares estimated the population of 
 all the towns and cities in 1612 at 6,700 inhabitants. 
 
 The truth lies in the fact that, after having exhausted the Indian 
 population, the Island was only held as a military post on the way to 
 the mines of Mexico, with little else to occupy its reduced population 
 than the raising of cattle on lands not appropriated. Till the latter 
 years of the past century, commerce was not only confined to Spanish 
 merchantmen, but to the periodical voyage of the fleet belonging to 
 
 295 
 
296 TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 
 
 the privileged India Company. Foreign trade has only been author 
 ized in the present century, when the European wars, forcing the 
 Spanish flag from the seas, and the encroachment of contraband 
 trade, made it impossible to oppose it. 
 
 In the laws and municipal rights of Cuba, we notice the same in 
 dependent and liberal spirit which prevailed in all the settlements of 
 Spain among the Moors, or elsewhere, as far as the Spanish settlers 
 and their descendants were concerned. Thus in the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries, public assemblies of citizens were held to elect 
 the members of the corporations ; free and bold charges were made 
 and sustained against governors; and no taxation was permitted 
 which was not sanctioned by these bodies, who exercised the same 
 prerogatives in the Spanish peninsula, during the long suspension of 
 representative government. 
 
 Peculiar Notions and Prejudices. 
 
 As to the commercial restrictions which prevented the growth of 
 this beautiful garden of America, they did not originate in any right, 
 expressed or implied, to control the fate of Cuba, on the part of the 
 European provinces, but in the peculiar notions of the age on 
 matters of political economy. Equally injudicious was the system 
 observed in the internal trade and relations between the several 
 Spanish provinces themselves, whose wealth and physical advance 
 are to this day obstructed by antiquated prejudices. Aside, there 
 fore, from the measures adopted to nationalize the commerce and 
 trade of Cuba, or rather to direct their course by legislation, there 
 was not, until the last twenty years, any serious precedent or open 
 effort to justify a difference between the political rights of the Cubans 
 and the Spaniards on the soil of Cuba. 
 
 Were the conquest held as the foundation of such difference, the 
 privilege should certainly attach to the descendants of those who 
 shed their blood and used their means in the acquisition of the coun 
 try not to the emigration, much less to the salaried officers of the 
 government. 
 
 The recognition of the popular principle in the Sociedad Patriotica 
 
TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 297 
 
 and Consulado, established near the close of the eighteenth century, 
 and the vast influence derived therefrom, and which, in after times, 
 gave a liberal tinge to the local administration, is especially worthy 
 of notice. 
 
 Struggling for her own independence, and boldly confronting the 
 ambitious and mighty chieftain of the age, Spain, at the opening of the 
 nineteenth century, appeared in a noble attitude. Actuated by the 
 most sacred impulses of patriotism, and intensely engaged in the 
 wars and policy of Europe, she could not and did not refuse what 
 ever was requested by the Cuban assemblies. 
 
 Loyalty to the Mother Country. 
 
 Cuba, on her part, repaid the liberality of the mother-country by 
 an unwavering loyalty. Unseduced by the alluring prospect of inde 
 pendence, and undismayed by repeated invasions from foreign powers, 
 she shut her eyes to the former, and boldly resisted the latter, at the 
 liberal expense of the treasures of the Island, and the lives of the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 This brings us to a period marked by fluctuations in the political 
 history of Spain and her dependencies, and it is now to be seen what 
 were their effect upon Cuba. 
 
 The political changes adopted in Spain in 1812 and 1820 were 
 productive of similar changes in the Island ; and when in both 
 instances the constitution was proclaimed, the perpetual members of 
 the municipalities were at once deprived of office, and their success 
 ors elected by the people. The provincial assembly was called, and 
 held its sessions. The militia was organized ; the press made 
 entirely free, the verdict of a jury deciding actions for its abuses; and 
 the same courts of justice were in no instance to decide a case a sec 
 ond time. 
 
 But if the institution of the consulado was very beneficent during 
 Ferdinand s absolute sway, the ultra-popular grants of the constitu 
 tional system, which could hardly be exercised with quiet in Spain, 
 were ill-adapted to Cuba, though more advanced in civilization, 
 stained with all those vices that are the legitimate curse of a country 
 
298 TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 
 
 long under despotic sway. That system was so democratic that the 
 king was deprived of all political authority. No intermediate house 
 of nobility or senators tempered the enactments of a single elective 
 assembly. 
 
 This sudden change from an absolute government, with its usual 
 concomitant, a corrupt and debased public sentiment, to the full 
 enjoyment of republican privileges, served only to loosen all the ties 
 of decency and decorum throughout the Spanish community. Infi 
 delity resulted from it ; and that veil of respect for the religion of 
 their fathers, which had covered the deformity of such a state of 
 society, was imprudently thrown aside. As the natural consequence 
 of placing the instruments of freedom in the hands of an ignorant 
 multitude, their minds were filled with visions of that chimerical 
 equality which the world has never yet realized. 
 
 The Rich Arrayed Against the Poor. 
 
 The rich found themselves deprived of their accustomed influence, 
 and felt that there was little chance of obtaining justice from the 
 common people (in no place so formidable as in Cuba, from the 
 heterogeneous nature of the population), and who were now, in a 
 manner, arrayed against them throughout the land. They, of course, 
 eagerly wished the return of the old system of absolute rule. But 
 the proprietors only asked for the liberal policy which they had 
 enjoyed at the hands of the Spanish monarch; not, most surely, that 
 oppressive and nondescript government which, by separating the 
 interest of the country from that of her nearest rulers, and destroying 
 all means of redress or complaint, thrust the last offspring of Spain 
 into an abyss of bloodshed and ruin, during the disgusting exercise 
 of military rule, in punishing by the most arbitrary and cruel mea 
 sures, persons suspected of engaging in an apprehended servile insur 
 rection. 
 
 During the second period of democratic or what was called consti 
 tutional government, which commenced in 1820, the masonic socie 
 ties came into vogue as they did in the mother-country. They 
 adopted different plausible pretexts, though, to speak the truth, they 
 
TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 299 
 
 were little more than clubs for amusement and revelry. One of 
 them, called the "Soles de Bolivar" went so far as to discuss 
 whether, in case of a Colombian invasion, it would be more expedient 
 to avoid a collision in the presence of the slaves, by giving way 
 peaceably before the invading army. 
 
 Happily for Cuba, and certainly in consequence of the judicious 
 interference of the United States, which foresaw in the preservation 
 of its tranquillity the advantages of a fruitful commerce, the invasion 
 did not take place. The difficulty of annexation, from the lesser 
 influence the United States then possessed among nations and the 
 controlling importance of the shipping interest in our country, made 
 it unadvisable for Cuba to launch into a revolution unsustained, and 
 in this way to experience a severe scourge, which, at that time, would 
 have proved the principal if not the only fruits of independence to 
 the first generation of its recipients. Under any circumstances the 
 subsequent jealous policy of the Spanish government has been alto 
 gether unwarranted. 
 
 Schemes to Keep Cuba a Dependent Province. 
 
 A respectable portion of the old Spaniards residing in Cuba, were 
 themselves desirous of upholding the constitutional system in the 
 Island which they saw tottering in Spain. General Vives, who com 
 manded at that time, regarded the circumstance with anxious solici 
 tude, and very reasonably inferred that, if the constitution of 1812 
 was sustained in Cuba after the king s absolute power was acknowl 
 edged in Spain, the consequences would be fatal to its dependence, 
 however rational and honest the views of the constitutionalists might 
 be considered. 
 
 Hence his strenuous efforts in 1824, after the restoration of Ferdi 
 nand, to make the most of the wild and varying schemes which had 
 been proposed in the " Soles de Bolivar" under the democratic insti 
 tutions, and the relaxation of the reins of government. The greatly 
 reduced Spanish military force at that time in the Island, and the fact 
 that much of it consisted of regular regiments and native militia, are 
 sufficient proof that to the solid good sense of the inhabitants, rather 
 
300 TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 
 
 than any show of strength, should be attributed the immediate dis 
 appearance of those germs of disquietude. Not even the weakness of 
 General Kindelan could induce the planters to lose sight of their chief 
 interest. 
 
 Prosecutions and Imprisonments. 
 
 Though General Vives subsequently desired to impress the con 
 stitutional party with the idea that they might be carried farther than 
 they meant to go, and with that view took especial care that a well- 
 concerted scheme for throwing off the Spanish yoke should appear 
 to have been devised, it must be acknowledged that notwithstanding 
 he caused the prosecution and imprisonment of many individuals, 
 and occasionally the ruin and* misery of their families, he oftentimes 
 also interfered to mitigate the appalling and unavoidable excesses of 
 those menials of government who are every ready, under such cir 
 cumstances, to exceed the wishes of the leading statesmen, and to 
 make political difficulties subservient to the vilest purposes. That 
 which should have warned the Spanish ministry of the inexpediency of 
 establishing such inappropriate institutions, brought upon the Island 
 all its subsequent misfortunes; namely, the Royal Order of 1825. 
 
 By this order Cuba was placed under martial law; and the captain- 
 general was invested " with the whole extent of power granted to 
 governors of besieged towns." 
 
 The sad effects of this royal order, which the king only meant to 
 be observed temporarily, and under a strict responsibility, " le mas 
 estrecta responsibilidad," were not immediately felt. / Truth and 
 justice compel me to assert," says one of the most enlightened 
 Cubans, on being rejected from the Cortes, in common with all the 
 deputies from the province, " that notwithstanding the terrible 
 authority conferred on the captain-general by this royal order, Vives, 
 who then held that office, far from putting it in execution during 
 his long government, discovered that its application would be equally 
 disadvantageous to Cuba and Spain. Under a mild and conciliatory 
 policy this Island became the refuge of many unhappy prescripts, 
 who were expelled from the Peninsular territory by the arm of 
 tyranny." 
 
TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 301 
 
 The judicious administration of the Count Villanueva, which had 
 undoubtedly an influence materially advantageous to the country, was 
 likewise calculated to make every one forget the depressed political 
 condition to which the new law had reduced the inhabitants of Cuba. 
 Under its fearful and comprehensive provisos, since become the 
 scourge of the land, public bodies were respected. Some of them 
 constantly consulted together on grave subjects, such as the rural 
 and domestic police for the management of slaves, the imposition of 
 taxes and judiciary reform, and enjoyed the privilege of printing 
 their reports, without applying for the consent of the executive 
 officers ; and the press was moreover very far from being restricted 
 
 as it now is. 
 
 The Problem of Slavery. 
 
 As a proof that the political servitude created by the royal order 
 of 1825 was not intended to be permanent, an extract is made from 
 an article on the dangers of the slave trade, published in a periodical 
 of Havana, in 1832, under the despotic government of Ferdinand, 
 and seven years after issuing the royal order above referred to. 
 Immediately following a very precise detail of facts, of the numbers 
 of imported slaves, and of the relative position of the races, we read : 
 
 "Thus far we have only considered the power which has its origin 
 in the numbers of the colored population that surrounds us. What 
 a picture we might draw, if we were to portray this immense body 
 acting under the influence of political and moral causes, and present 
 ing a spectacle unknown in history ! We surely shall not do it. But 
 we should be guilty of moral treason to our country, if we were to 
 forget the efforts now making to effect a change in the condition of 
 the African race. 
 
 Philanthropic laws, enacted by some of the European nations, 
 associations of distinguished Englishmen, periodicals solely devoted 
 to this subject, eloquent parliamentary debates whose echoes are 
 constantly repeated on this side the Atlantic, bold exhortations from 
 the pulpits of religious sects, political principles which with lightning 
 rapidity are spreading in both hemispheres, and very recent commo 
 tions in several parts of the West Indies, everything is calculated to 
 
302 TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 
 
 awaken us from our profound slumber and remind us that we must 
 save our country. And should this our beloved mother ask us what 
 measures we have adopted to extricate her from her danger, what 
 would those who boast themselves her dutiful sons, answer ? 
 
 " The horrid traffic in human blood is carried on in defiance of the 
 laws, and men who assume the name of patriots, being no other thai\ 
 parricides, cover the land with shackled victims. And as if this were 
 not sufficiently fearful, with criminal apathy, Africans freed and 
 brought to this country by English policy, are permitted to reside in 
 our midst. How different the conduct of our neighbors the Ameri 
 cans ! 
 
 Political Situation in the United States. 
 
 "Notwithstanding the rapid increase of their country; notwithstand 
 ing the white has constantly been four-fifths more numerous than the 
 colored population, and have ten and a half millions to offset two 
 millions ; notwithstanding the importation of the latter is prohibited 
 from one end of the republic to the other, while European immigra 
 tion is immense ; notwithstanding the countries lying upon their 
 boundaries have no slaves to inspire dread, they organize associations, 
 raise funds, purchase lands in Africa, establish colonies, favor the 
 emigration of the colored population to them, increasing their exer 
 tions as the exigency may require, not faltering in their course, and 
 leaving- no expedient untried which shall prove them friends of 
 humanity and their country. Not satisfied with these general meas 
 ures, some states have adopted very thorough and efficient measures. 
 In December, 1831, Louisiana passed a law prohibiting importation 
 of slaves even from other states of the Union. 
 
 " Behold the movement of a great people, who would secure their 
 safety ! Behold the model you should imitate ! But we are told, 
 Your efforts are vain. You cannot justly reproach us. Our plan 
 tations need hands, and if we cannot obtain negroes, what shall we 
 do ? We are far from wishing to offend a class equally deserving 
 respect and esteem, including many we are happy to call friends. 
 We are habitually indulgent, and in no instance more so than in that 
 before us. The notions and examples to which they have been 
 
TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 303 
 
 accustomed, justify in a great measure the part they act, and an 
 immediate benefit and remote danger authorize in others a course of 
 conduct which we wish may never be generally and permanently 
 adopted. We would not rudely censure the motives of the planters. 
 
 " Our mission requires us only to remark, that it is necessary to 
 adopt some other plan, since the change in politics is inconsistent with 
 and hostile to the much longer continuance of the illicit traffic in 
 slaves. We all know that England has, both with selfish and humane 
 motives, made and is still making great efforts against it by means of 
 treaties. She is no longer the only power thus engaged, since France 
 is also taking her share in the enterprise. 
 
 " The United States will soon appear in the field to vindicate down 
 trodden humanity. They will adopt strong measures, and persever- 
 ingly pursue the pirate negro-dealer. Will he then escape the vigi 
 lance of enemies so active and powerful ? And even should some 
 be able to do so, how enormously expensive must their piracy be ! 
 It is demonstrable that the number of imported negroes being then 
 small, and their introduction subject to uncommon risks, their cost 
 would be so enhanced as to destroy the motive for preferring slave 
 labor. 
 
 " A proper regard to our true interests will lead us to consider 
 henceforth other means of supplying our wants, since our present 
 mode will ultimately paralyze our resources and be attended with 
 baneful consequences. The equal distribution of the two sexes in 
 the country, and an improved treatment of them, would alone be suf 
 ficient, not merely to prevent a diminution of their number, but greatly 
 to increase it. But the existing disproportion of the sexes forbids 
 our indulging in so pleasing a hope. We shall, however, do much to 
 effect our purposes by discontinuing certain practices, and adopting a 
 system more consonant to the good principles that should be our 
 guide. 
 
 " Would it not be advisable to try some experiments that we may 
 be able to compare the results of cultivating cane by slaves, with such 
 other method as we may find it expedient to adopt ? 
 
 " If the planters could realize the importance of these propositions 
 
304 TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 
 
 to their welfare, we should see them striving to promote the introduc 
 tion of white and the exclusion of colored hands. By forming asso 
 ciations, raising funds, and in various ways exerting themselves 
 vigorously in a cause so eminently patriotic, they would at once 
 overcome the obstacles to the introduction of white foreigners, and 
 induce their immigration by the guarantees of good laws and the 
 assured tranquillity of the country. 
 
 A Serious Emergency. 
 
 " We may be told that these are imaginary plans, and never to be 
 realized. We answer that they are essays, not difficult or expensive, 
 if undertaken, as we suggest, by a whole community. If we are not 
 disposed to make the voluntary trial now, the day is at hand when we 
 shall be obliged to attempt it, or abandon the cultivation of sugar. 
 The prudent mariner on a boisterous ocean prepares betimes for the 
 tempest and defies it. He who recklessly abandons himself to the 
 fury of the elements is likely to perish in the rage of the storm. 
 
 "How imprudent/ some may exclaim, how imprudent/ to pro 
 pose a subject which should be forever buried in lasting oblivion ! 
 Behold the general accusation raised against him who dares boldly 
 avow new opinions respecting these matters. Unfortunately there 
 is among us an opinion which insists that silence is the true policy. 
 All feel the evils which surround us, are acquainted with the dangers, 
 and wish to avoid them. Let a remedy be suggested and a thousand 
 confused voices are simultaneously raised ; and a significant and im 
 ploring Hush ! hush ! is heard on every side. 
 
 "Such infatuation resembles his who conceals the disease which is 
 hurrying him to speedy death, rather than hear its unpleasant history 
 and mode of cure, from his only hope, the physician s saving science. 
 Which betrays censurable apathy, he who obstinately rushes head 
 long to the brink of a mighty precipice, or he who gives the timely 
 warning to beware ? Who would not thus save a whole community 
 perhaps from frightful destruction ? If we knew most positively that 
 the disease were beyond all hopes of cure, the knowledge of the fact 
 would not stay the march of death, while it might serve but as a ter 
 rifying annunciation of his approach. 
 
TYRANNICAL RULE OF SPAIN. 305 
 
 " If, however, the sick man is endowed with a strong constitution, 
 that with timely prescription promises a probable return of health, it 
 would be unpardonable to act the part of a passive spectator. We 
 heed not that the selfish condemn, that the self-admiring wise cen 
 sure, or the parricidal accuse us. Reflections of a higher nature guide 
 us, and in the spirit of our responsible calling as a public writer, we 
 will never cease to cry aloud, Let us save our country let us save 
 our country ! 
 
 Nothing would more forcibly illustrate the rapid encroachment of 
 despotism in the Island than the publication of a document like the 
 above, or anything discreditable, or disparaging to the slave- dealers. 
 Whoever should dare make the experiment, would most certainly do 
 it at the risk of his life. Further comment on the progress of tyranny 
 is unnecessary. 
 
CHAPTER XXIIL 
 A Wily Old General. 
 
 NOT to lose sight of the order of events, it must be borne ic 
 mind that immediately after the overthrow of the constitu 
 tion, and precisely at the time the persecution for revolution 
 ary opinions commenced under the order of 1825, the country was 
 in its most flourishing and healthy period. The fruits of the several 
 acts for promoting the country s welfare and the development of its 
 resources, which owed their origin to corporations, before they had 
 lost their vitality, had been gathered. Moreover, the judicious and 
 liberal policy already described was continued by the intendant, who 
 could then act with great independence. As chief of the financial 
 department, the Count de Villanueva regulated the mode of keeping 
 accounts, corrected abuses, introduced greater simplicity in the col 
 lection of taxes, and established several facilities beneficial to the 
 merchants. 
 
 By means of his great influence at Madrid, he was enabled to 
 supersede the captain-general in the presidency of the consulado, and 
 directing the labors of that body, he made them subserve the develop 
 ment and improvement of the country. Availing himself of the 
 general wealth, and of the increasing agriculture of the Island, he 
 daringly taxed its products , and it is generally believed that it was 
 during his administration, taxes of various kinds were imposed for 
 the first time without the consent of those to be affected by them. 
 He represented " de facto " the people of Cuba ; was thechief fiscal 
 agent ; the friend and adviser of the captain-general ; the favorite of 
 Ferdinand s government. 
 
 A skillful and mighty authority like his could, at such a period, 
 draw abundant resources from the country for the metropolis, and 
 promote at the same time the interests of the former by reforming 
 
 806 
 
A WILY OLD GENERAL. 307 
 
 abuses. To both these objects were his exertions successfully 
 directed. To his discriminating judgment it was very evident that a 
 vast territory, capable of great agricultural production, could not 
 maintain its position, much less make progress, should its commerce 
 be again limited to the mother-country. He was aware that the 
 probable results of such limitation would be the total annihilation of 
 the surplus revenue, of which they were so desirous at court ; the 
 immediate paralysis of agriculture, the fountain of the Island s wealth; 
 and a very extensive contraband trade. 
 
 Public Improvements. 
 
 Villaneuva had the waters of the Husille brought into the city 
 by a well-devised though costly plan ; the roads near Havana maca 
 damized, and a mud-machine erected to clear the anchorage and 
 preserve the wharves. He established the more modern and rational 
 system "of selling at auction to the lowest bidder the performance of 
 various services, particularly for the government or the public. He 
 enlarged the Spanish navy from the navy-yard of Havana ; the 
 regular intercourse between the two countries by mail packets was 
 his suggestion, and the Guines railroad is a crowning, ever-memor 
 able and enduring monument of his enterprise and genius. 
 
 Amidst these improvements, beneficial to Spain and the Island, 
 the count was enabled to make frequent and heavy remittances to 
 the general treasury in Spain, which was so received by them that 
 the demands were gradually augmented without any regard to the 
 means of meeting them, and the inevitable consequence was the 
 sacrifice of the necessities of the Island to the urgency of their pay 
 ment. Thus it happened that the Bank of St. Ferdinand, the estab 
 lishment of which was one of the acts which do honor to Villanueva, 
 had no opportunity of doing any service to the public, as its capital 
 was specially sent for from Madrid. 
 
 In brief, Count Villanueva s administration can in no way be better 
 appreciated than by bearing in mind that whatever liberal and en 
 lightened views he carried into practical effect, he had nothing similar 
 to guide him or excite his emulation in all the Spanish territory. 
 
308 A WILY OLD GENERAL. 
 
 His power in Cuba was great, his influence in Madrid had no equal, 
 and his credit abroad was such that his promise and acceptance was 
 a source of revenue at court. The authority of the Captain-General 
 himself being eclipsed by his, it is certainly no matter of surprise that 
 public bodies and individuals should have sunk into insignificance. 
 
 It was in such a state of political weakness and general prosperity 
 that the enactment concerning the holding of property, which was 
 the first liberal act of Christina s regency, found Cuba. Under it the 
 inhabitants of the Island observed, as they always had done, the laws 
 promulgated in the mother country. A number of members were 
 added to the municipalities, equal to the number of hereditary mem 
 bers, and the former were by express proviso to be individuals who 
 were highest on the tax list. Thus formed, these corporations elected 
 the deputies who represented the interests of the Island at the Spanish 
 Congress. 
 
 Deprived of Deputies to Madrid. 
 
 This slight political change, which enabled the corporations of 
 Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Puerto Principe to name three depu 
 ties in the "estamentos " without other free institutions, was certainly 
 not calculated to alarm the royal authority, however jealous it might 
 be supposed. Three votes, more or less, could not of course cause 
 any uneasiness ; but it is ever the consequence of free institutions, in 
 just proportion to their worth, to diminish the importance of individ 
 uals. Here, then, was one of the causes of that strenuous opposition 
 so successfully exerted to deprive the Island of deputies to Madrid. 
 
 Such a refusal, where there is an immense amount of productive 
 capital to be benefited or injured, or destroyed by the enactments of 
 government, and where the colony is not even allowed delegates to 
 represent its interests at court, has no parallel in any civilized country 
 professing to approve of liberal institutions. 
 
 The Island was at that time governed by General Tacon, whose 
 short-sighted, narrow views, and jealous and weak mind, were joined 
 to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Never satiated with 
 power, it was through his influence that the wealthy portion of the 
 community was divested of the privileges conferred on them by the 
 
A WILY OLD GENERAL. 309 
 
 estatuto. He even deprived the old municipalities of Havana of the 
 faculty of naming the under-commissaries of police. 
 
 In his own immodest report of his reign, as it was justly termed, 
 he enumerated the very extensive and costly buildings and public 
 works he had constructed, and from the singular manner in which he 
 accounts for procuring the ordinary means, we must suppose he had 
 the power of working miracles. To sustain his absolute government 
 by trampling on every institution, was the necessary consequence of 
 his first violent and unjustifiable act. It was consequential upon his 
 own and his followers efforts. 
 
 Outrages on Personal Liberty. 
 
 For any power, any institution, not dependent on the palace of the 
 captain-general, might be the means of denouncing abuses, of expos 
 ing the real deformity of his and their pretended patriotism ; and 
 the numberless parasites whose interest ever was to blind the royal 
 eyes, magnified the virtues of their hero, while they were rapidly 
 accumulating fortunes at his side. In order to obtain credit in the 
 management of the police, he displayed a despotic and even brutal 
 activity in the mode of exacting from the under-officers, distributed 
 in the several wards of the city, under personal responsibility, the 
 apprehension and summary prosecution of criminals. They soon 
 found that there would be no complaint, provided they acted vigor 
 ously and brought up prisoners. So far from presuming their inno 
 cence, or requiring proof of their crimes, those who were once 
 arrested were put to the negative and difficult task of proving their 
 innocence. The more unwarrantable the acts of his subalterns the 
 more acceptable to him, since they, in his opinion, exhibited the 
 energy of his authority. They trembled in his presence, and left it 
 to persecute, to invent accusations, to imprison, and spread terror 
 and desolation among the families of the land ! 
 
 It is but just to add, that the banditti and thieves and professed 
 gamblers were terrified by his sweeping scythe, and became much 
 more modest than they had been during the brief government of the 
 weak and infirm General Roquefort, the predecessor of Tacon. The 
 
310 A WILY OLD GENERAL. 
 
 timid and short-sighted merchant who perceived this reform, did not 
 comprehend or appreciate the illegality of the system, nor its per 
 nicious effects on the future destinies of the country, and was the 
 first to justify the man who dared interpose himself between the 
 Spanish monarchs and their subjects, to silence every complaint of 
 the latter, and to say to the former, " You shall never hear the peti 
 tions of your American vassals contrary to my pleasure." 
 
 The political servitude at that moment implanted in the country 
 was new, and of course excited discontent, which was not unfrequently 
 vented in the random conversation of young men. 
 
 Poor Carlist Prisoners. 
 
 The consequence of all this was, a regular system of espionage. 
 The prisoners were distributed in the castles, because the jails were 
 insufficient to contain them. In the dungeons were lodged nearly six 
 hundred persons, the cause of whose detention nobody knew ; a fact 
 authentically proved by a casual circumstance. In the streets, in the 
 highways and fortresses, under a scorching sun, and during the 
 unhealthy season, the poor Carlist prisoners, having surrendered 
 themselves, trusting to the faith of liberals, were suffered to sicken 
 and sink miserably into a premature grave. 
 
 Let it not be supposed, however, that his political persecution was 
 confined to the enemies of the liberal institutions then existing in 
 Madrid. The contrary may be adduced from the inconsiderate pro 
 tection extended by him to the famous friar Cirilo Almeda, of whose 
 machinations he appeared to approve, and from the fact that events 
 favorable to the queen were at a certain period not permitted to 
 appear in the distorted press of Havana. 
 
 His creed was soon ascertained. He considered those whom he 
 thought likely to tear the veil from his tyranny, the veritable traitors, 
 the enemies of the throne, and the advocates of independence in 
 Cuba. He destroyed all freedom of discussion in the municipal 
 body, usurped its powers, and frightened away such members as he 
 thought would not bend sufficiently to his will. He constructed an 
 enormously high, massive, level road through the widest avenue of 
 
A WILY OLD GENERAL. 311 
 
 the city, which has since been removed, at the expense of the same 
 suffering community who had to pay for its erection, and to suffer its 
 unhealthy effects while it remained. 
 
 General Tacon moreover established a privileged market for selling 
 meat and fish, to the detriment of the public and the public revenue, 
 and for the profit of himself and his nearest friends. Among other 
 things it will there be seen how a man living at the table and board 
 of Tacon, was subsequently found to be interested in the contract 
 for the meat and fish market, without its being absolutely binding 
 on him to perform the condition of paying in his amount of 
 stock in order to be entitled to his share of the profits, which he 
 did nevertheless receive. 
 
 A System of Robbery. 
 
 It will likewise be found that the party to that contract was illegally 
 preferred to the more regular bidders. It may further be ascertained 
 from that work that when the contractors obtained the grant and 
 commenced exacting unauthorized fees, to the great injury of the 
 public, a suit was instituted to investigate and reform the abuse at 
 the tribunal of one of the alcaldes, and that the record was claimed 
 and taken possession of by Tacon, who was charged with causing it 
 to disappear, as it was stated in his successor General Espeleta s 
 official answer, that it was not to be found in the archives of the cap 
 tain-generalship. 
 
 Notwithstanding General Tacon s efforts at the first election under 
 the estatuto, the voice of his Excellency Don Juan Montalvo y Cas 
 tillo was raised in Madrid at the Cortes, and the misconduct of the 
 former partially exposed. As it continued, Messrs. Armas and Saco 
 were named for the second congress during his government, both 
 very enlightened and able men, well acquainted with the circum 
 stances, and friendly to the welfare of the Island, and as much 
 opposed to the ultra-liberal or revolutionary ideas as desirous of 
 removing from the Spanish peninsular government the shame and 
 discredit of such lawless proceedings on the part of the chief metro 
 politan authority. 
 
312 A WILY OLD GENERAL. 
 
 To discover imagined conspiracies, to commence suits blindly 
 approved by his assessor, to expatriate, to vex, to imprison the 
 citizens, these were Tacon s noble exploits. His artful reports found 
 credit at court. He was therefore continued in his government, and 
 the Spanish Cortes in 1836, by a majority exceeding thirteen votes, 
 shut their doors, which had always been opened to American repre 
 sentatives, against the deputies of the Island, then elected and at 
 Madrid. They were obliged to return without being allowed the 
 privilege of uttering their grievances. This was the single but serious 
 act of usurpation which robbed the descendants of the Island s con 
 querors of all interference in its administration and tributary system. 
 
 Some time after the oath to the constitution had been taken at 
 Madrid in 1837, the Spanish General Lorenzo, commanding in St. 
 Jago, encouraged by the encomiums and rewards conferred in former 
 times and in similar instances, on such authorities as first followed 
 the impulse given at the court of a political change, thought it his 
 duty to conform to the plan most approved by all parties, royalist or 
 liberal, viz. : to repeat the cry raised at the seat of government. 
 
 Brazen Display of Authority. 
 
 He therefore proclaimed the constitution. The wily old general 
 who had so successfully deprived the country of all representative or 
 delegate system, would not of course very quietly allow his fabric to 
 be leveled to the ground. He made an ostentatious display of his 
 authority, and though well satisfied of the pacific views of the eastern 
 part of the Island, insisted upon fitting out an expensive expedition, 
 which cost the inhabitants more than $500,000, and would have it 
 proceed, notwithstanding that the commissioners sent by Lorenzo 
 made a formal promise that the eastern part of the Island should pre 
 serve their system until the Queen decided, or would obey at once 
 Tacon s order to annul the constitution, provided an amnesty were 
 granted for the single act of proclaiming the same, their sole offence. 
 
 General Tacon again made use of his favorite weapon against the 
 Islanders, applying it to General Lorenzo and the intendant of 
 Havana, by perfidious suggestions calculated to impair their well- 
 
A WILY OLD GENERAL, 313 
 
 proven loyalty to their sovereign. Such improbable stories, the ill- 
 disguised animosity of his passionate language, the cognizance by 
 some impartial Peninsular tribunals of some of his grossly-imagined 
 plans of conspiracy, all had an influence to force the Spanish court 
 to acknowledge, without, for reasons of policy, publicly avowing it, 
 the irregular and disorderly course of Tacon s administration, and he 
 was removed from office. 
 
 The removal of General Tacon is said to have been effected by a 
 compromise between the ministry and Olivar, acting as agent for 
 Villaneuva, in which the rights of the Cubans were sacrificed to the 
 latter s personal ambition. It was then agreed that no political 
 assembly, or any rights whatever, should be allowed the Cubans, but 
 that Tacon should be removed. This discreditable compromise was 
 the undoubted origin of the immediate discontent and subsequent 
 rapid adoption of the principle of annexation through the Island. 
 Nothing was more efficient in drawing the mask from his face than 
 the unskillfulness of Joaquin Valdez, his standing conspiracy-witness 
 and confidential agent, who in framing one of his plans got into a 
 strange dilemma by apprehending the intendant of Cadiz, and other 
 respectable old Spaniards, supposed to be concerned in the plot. 
 
 It should be mentioned, to the honor of the Spanish name, that at 
 the subsequent sittings of the Cortes, and before the removal of 
 Tacon, as if the injuries which had been inflicted on Cuba called for 
 immediate redress, it was generally admitted as a matter of course, 
 what has since been artfully withdrawn from the sight of the con 
 gress, that the political condition of that distant colony should be 
 attended to and ameliorated without delay. 
 
 A generous and high-minded Spaniard, Don Antonio Benavide, 
 equally loyal to his country and desirous of the welfare of its inhabi 
 tants, clearly and ably insisted upon the adoption of any system in 
 lieu of the omnipotence of the Captain-General. But the zeal and 
 high sense of justice entertained by the congress could give no relief, 
 where the agents of the local government were active, and the 
 oppressed country had no delegates to maintain her rights. 
 
 The only result was a royal order authorizing Tacon to call a junta. 
 
314 A WILY OLD GENERAL. 
 
 which he took care should be formed to his liking generally, com 
 posed of authorities named by government, in its pay, with three or 
 four private individuals among the general s pliant tools. This junta 
 was to propose special laws for the government of the Island. The 
 consequence was exactly what might have been expected. The chief 
 soon perceived that, however yielding the members might be, they 
 must draw up some rules ostensibly to restrain his untamed will, or 
 excite the ridicule of even the Spanish court. 
 
 After calling together and dispersing them instantly, under a show 
 of separating them into committees, he rendered the whole attempt 
 inefficient, and feigning fear of danger from the plots of the white 
 population, caused every feeling of justice to Cuba to be forgotten in 
 Spain. The only proposition which seems to have transpired from 
 the sitting of that strange, transitory, and expensive junta, was to 
 make the Island a vice-royalty and Tacon vice-king. Ludicrous as 
 as it may appear, it is no less true. 
 
 Black Men in British Uniform. 
 
 Notwithstanding it was under free institutions that Spain granted 
 the establishment of the mixed Anglo-Spanish tribunal at Havana, 
 for the cognizance of prizes taken from the African trade, it was 
 when the public bodies of the Island were without sufficient energy 
 to raise their spontaneous protest on political questions, that the Cas- 
 tilian name was humbled by the floating fortress which the English 
 anchored in the port of Havana, as a rallying signal for the blacks, 
 openly and malignantly avowed, and sufficiently evident from the 
 fact that it was manned by black men in British uniform. 
 
 These soldiers, distributed in the heart of the city, the greater 
 number liberated from slave-ships by the tribunal, who both during 
 and subsequently to their apprenticeship were left in the country in 
 direct communication with their bond-brethren, were the first instru 
 ments of spreading discontent among the slave population. Very 
 far from independent, and from representing the interest of the 
 wealthy planters, must have been the public bodies of the Island, 
 who thus patiently saw the germs of violent insurrection sown broad- 
 
A WILY OLD GENERAL. 314 
 
 cast over the land, without most earnestly assailing the Spanish 
 ministry with their complaints. 
 
 It was not, however, until about the year 1835 that tht dispropor 
 tion of the races became alarming. In 1837 General Tacon received 
 an official communication from Madrid, enclosing a copy of a note 
 from the Spanish minister at Washington, containing a vivid picture 
 of the dangers to Cuba from the abolition efforts making in the 
 United States and generally all over the world. He who had heed 
 lessly given new life and development to the policy which Vives had 
 only partially unfolded, and which consisted in separating the old 
 Spaniards from the natives, was now made to feel that the co-opera 
 tion of the country s bourgeoisie, in all their united effort, was requi 
 site to oppose the encroachments of the abolitionists. 
 
 Immediate Danger. 
 
 The exposition of the minister at Washington, though abounding 
 with contradictory opinions, was, in the main, exact. It predicted 
 immediate danger. No public bodies existing which could be con 
 sidered as emanating even indirectly from the people, rich or poor, he 
 having discredited and crushed all such institutions, what could he 
 do ? He contrived to call a general meeting of the planters in the 
 city of Matanzas, whose very judicious report provided for domestic 
 and rural government, material defence, and funds to carry their plans 
 into effect. The colonization of the Island by white inhabitants, 
 which had been unlawfully terminated, was demanded by this meet 
 ing of planters, who also insisted upon the establishment of a rural 
 militia. 
 
 In consequence of these requisitions, their resolutions on the first 
 were not carried into execution. The immigration of whites has 
 been materially obstructed by an influential party, who consider it 
 hostile to the introduction of laborers more consonant to their taste 
 and interest. General Valdez was latterly named captain-general, an 
 honest and generous soldier, whose memory is still dear to the liberal 
 party in Spain, wearing many honorable marks of worth, grey in the 
 service of his country, but his capacity undoubtedly impaired by age, 
 
316 A WILY OLD GENERAL. 
 
 joined to a general ignorance of the colonies and of political affairs, 
 common to all the military as a class. 
 
 A person observing the progress of English pretensions respecting 
 Cuba, would certainly conclude that Lord Palmerston had himself 
 chosen such a man, who, though beyond the reach of bribery, and 
 incapable of willful wrong to his country, was, from his weakness, a 
 suitable and manageable instrument. Let it, however, be said in his 
 praise, that he had occasion to show that when the captain-general 
 should choose to put an end to the slave trade, it would be in his 
 power to do so. 
 
 Soon after his arrival, a series of by-laws made for the government 
 of the slaves was published, wherein, instead of providing for the real 
 circumstances of the occasion, the dominical rights of the master 
 were suddenly attacked, yet not so much, perhaps, by their positive 
 provisos, as by the appearance of interference at a period when the 
 restlessness and uneasiness of the blacks required measures of an 
 entirely contrary nature. The management of a slave country is 
 always a difficult matter. To avoid the commission of great errors, 
 in the condition of Cuba, would have been scarcely less than 
 miraculous. 
 
 The actual feelings of the blacks could not, with certainty, be 
 ascertained by individuals who had either recently arrived from 
 Spain, or never attended on the estates but for a few moments, or 
 during excursions of pleasure. Thus it happened, that many judi 
 cious planters, judging from the small and gradual changes in the 
 domestic life of the blacks, foresaw the coming storm for years, while 
 the government agent could not comprehend, and resolutely refuted, 
 such opinions as they thought unnecessarily alarming, and decidedly 
 against their interest in the African trade. 
 
 Mr. Turnbull, the English consul, who, from his European reputa 
 tion, would never have been allowed to occupy the post of consul at 
 Cuba, had the Cuban proprietors had an organ of complaint, other 
 than the government agents, concerted incendiary plots, and boldly 
 followed them, notwithstanding the timely interference of Garcia, one 
 of the governors of the city of Matanzas. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Record of Atrocious Deeds. 
 
 EVERAL incidents might be named, evident precursors of an 
 insurrection, which, for many years before the repeated 
 attempts, demanded a change in the system of the whole 
 Island ; a change which would have taken place under a government 
 having the means and disposition to ascertain the true state of things, 
 
 For the better understanding of the subject, it must be remem 
 bered that the ancient balance of influence established by the Spanish 
 law between the military class and the judicial or lettered part of the 
 community, had been altogether lost; the former having been 
 intrusted with every tjranch of the administration, even to the making 
 of by-laws for the black slave population, which was submitted to 
 the control of government agents, perhaps under the direction of 
 their allies, the slave-dealers. 
 
 At the same time an ominous policy commenced ; the colored 
 inhabitants were particularly favored ; had numerous meetings, called 
 cabildos, and enjoyed even greater privileges than the whites being 
 formed into military bodies for public defence, whereas the whites 
 could not form a militia for their own safety, even in moments of 
 pressing danger, and in those places where the disproportion of the 
 races was most frightful. 
 
 Laws were enacted purporting to alleviate the condition of the 
 slaves ; an apparent protection, calculated more to harass the owner 
 than to realize the improvement of the former, without any attempt 
 to instruct either. This was acompanied with the continuation of 
 the slave trade, and the barbarous political oppression of the native 
 Creoles, whose every thought was looked upon with jealous suspicion. 
 It seemed evident that the policy consisted in placing the lives and 
 property of the inhabitants of Cuba in such imminent danger as to 
 
 317 
 
318 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 choke any feeling of resentment respecting the political changes 
 which the Spanish government adopted for the exclusive advantage 
 of the metropolitan part of the community. 
 
 Thus was the dissatisfaction of the blacks fostered. How else can 
 be explained the cause of the progress made in the Island in that 
 respect, and not in those slave-holding countries which surround it, 
 and which, having a more frightful disproportion in numbers between 
 the races, and greater freedom in the press and institutions, were 
 withal enjoying comparative tranquillity ? 
 
 Threatened War of Races. 
 
 The bonds between master and slave were gradually severed ; the 
 affections destroyed ; the mutual relations of the races, for which the 
 Spaniards had been always distinguished, were broken ; and while 
 every one deprecated the perilous situation of the Cubans, the latter 
 continued unarmed; the slave trade augmented the causes of fear; 
 and no moral reform was adopted to soften the harsh features and 
 discordant views of the subjected or of the dominant race. It seemed 
 as if occasional ruptures, which should awaken the natives to a sense 
 of danger, were the most acceptable offering to the administration. 
 
 Such did come to pass from time to time ; what was the nature 
 of these disturbances can, perhaps, be best understood by the 
 following extract from the work of the Countess of Merlin, entitled 
 " The Slaves in the Spanish Colonies ; " who, though not a solid 
 writer, has a style which savors of her sex, and is quite entertaining. 
 She wrote somewhere about 1840: 
 
 " The suavity of manner of the Cuban toward his slave inspires 
 the latter with a respectful feeling, which is akin to worship : there is 
 no limit to this affection ; he would murder his master s enemy 
 publicly in the streets at mid-day, and would perish for his sake 
 under torture, without giving a wink. To the slave, his master is 
 his country and his family. The slave takes the family name of his 
 lord ; receives his children at their birth ; shares with them the food 
 which was prepared by nature in female breasts ; serves them in 
 humble adoration from earliest infancy. 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 " If the master is sick, the slave watches over him day and night ; 
 closes his eyes in death, and when this takes place, throws himself 
 sorrowfully on the ground, cries wofully, and with his nails rends his 
 own flesh in despair. But if a vindictive feeling is awakened in his 
 bosom, he recovers his natural ferocity ; he is equally ardent in his 
 hatred and in his love; but very seldom does it happen that his 
 master is the object of his revengeful fury. 
 
 " When an insurrection is not excited by foreigners (which, by the 
 by, is not often the case), the cause of it may be traced to violent 
 enmity toward the overseer. Here is a fact which proves the moral 
 influence of the masters over the minds of these savages. A few 
 months previous to my arrival, the blacks of the sugar estates of my 
 cousin, Don Rafael, became insurrected. The slaves lately imported 
 from Africa were mostly of the Luccoomee tribe, and therefore excel 
 lent workmen, but of a violent, unwieldly temper, and always ready 
 to hang themselves at the slightest opposition in their way. 
 
 Protected by Slaves. 
 
 " It was just after the bell had struck five, and the dawn of the 
 morning was scarcely visible. Don Rafael had gone over to another 
 of his estates, within half an hour before, leaving behind him, and 
 still in tranquil slumbers, his four children and his wife, who was in 
 a state of pregnancy. Of a sudden the latter awakes, terrified by 
 hideous cries, and the sound of hurried steps. She jumps affrighted 
 from her bed, and observes that all the negroes of the estate are 
 making their way to the house. She is instantly surrounded by her 
 children, weeping and crying at her side. 
 
 " Being attended solely by slaves, she thought herself inevitably 
 lost ; but scarcely had she time to canvass these ideas in her distracted 
 mind, when one of her negro girls came in, saying, c Child, your 
 bounty need have no fears ; we have fastened all the doors, and 
 Michael is gone for master. Her companions placed themselves on 
 all sides of their female owner, while the rebels advanced, tossing 
 from hand to hand among themselves, a bloody corpse, with cries as 
 awful as the hissing of the serpent in the desert. 
 
320 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 " The negro girls exclaimed, That s the overseer s body ! The 
 rebels were already at the door, when Pepilla (this is the name of the 
 lady), saw the carriage of her husband coming at full speed. That 
 sweet soul, who, until that moment, had valiantly awaited death, was 
 now overpowered at the sight of her husband coming unarmed 
 toward the infuriated mob, and she fainted. 
 
 " In the meantime, Rafael descends from the vehicle, places himself 
 in front of them, and with only one severe look, and a single sign oi 
 the hand, designates the purging house for them to go to. The slaves 
 suddenly become silent, abandon the dead body of their overseer, 
 and, with downcast faces, still holding their field-swords in their hands, 
 they turn round and enter where they had been ordered Well 
 might it be said, that they beheld in the man who stood before them 
 the exterminating angel. 
 
 A Last Effort for Life. 
 
 "Although the movement/ the countess continues, "had for a mo 
 ment subsided, Rafael, who was not aware of its cause, and feared the 
 results, selected the opportunity to hurry his family away from the 
 danger. The quitrin, or vehicle of the country, could not hold more 
 than two persons, and it would have been imprudent to wait till more 
 conveyances were in readiness. Pepilla and the children were placed 
 in it in the best possible manner; and they were on the point of start 
 ing, when a man, covered with wounds, with a haggard, death-like 
 look, approached the wheels of the quitrin, as if he meant to climb 
 by them. 
 
 " In his pale face the marks of despair and the symptoms of death 
 could be traced, and fear and bitter anguish were the feelings which 
 agitated his soul in the last moments of his life. He was the white 
 accountant, who had been nearly murdered by the blacks, and having 
 escaped from their ferocious hold, was making the last efforts to save 
 a mere breath of life. His cries, his prayers, were calculated to make 
 the heart faint. Rafael found himself in the cruel alternative of being 
 deaf to the request of a dying man, or throwing his bloody and ex 
 piring corpse over his children ; his pity conquered ; the accountant 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 321 
 
 was placed in the carriage as well as might be, and it moved away 
 from the spot. 
 
 " While this was passing on the estate of Rafael, the Marquis of 
 Cardenas, Pepilla s brother, whose plantations were two leagues off, 
 who had been apprised through a slave of the danger with which his 
 sister was threatened, hastened to her aid. On reaching the spot, he 
 noticed a number of rebels, who, impelled by a remnant of rage, or 
 the fear of punishment, were directing their course to the open plains, 
 searching for safety among runaway slaves. The Marquis of Carde 
 nas, whose sense of the danger of his sister had induced him to fly 
 to her help, had brought with him, in the hurry of the moment, no 
 one to guard his person except a single slave. 
 
 " Scarcely had the fugitive band perceived a white man, when they 
 went toward him. The marquis stopped his course and prepared to 
 meef" them; it was a useless temerity in him against such odds. Turn 
 ing his master s horse by the bridle, his own slave addressed him 
 thus : My master, let your bounty get away from here ; let me come 
 to an understanding with them. And he then whipped his master s 
 horse, which went off at a gallop. 
 
 Fell a Victim to his Devotedness. 
 
 " The valiant * JOSE, for his name is as worthy of being remembered 
 as that of a hero, went on toward the savage mob, so as to gain time 
 for his master to fly, and fell a victim to his devotedness, after re 
 ceiving thirty-six sword blows. This rising, which had not been pre 
 meditated, had no other consequences. It had originated in a severe 
 chastisement, inflicted by the overseer, which had prompted the rebels 
 to march toward the owner s dwelling, to expound their complaint. 
 They begged Rafael s pardon, which was granted, with the exception 
 of two or three, who were delivered over to the tribunals. A remark 
 able truth .of the love of the slaves toward their lord, is the fact of 
 their stopping, in the outset, the engine which was at the time grind 
 ing, and preventing the explosion which would otherwise have taken 
 place. 
 
 " Not only do the inhabitants of Cuba forward the emancipation of 
 21 
 
322 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 their slaves by procuring for them the means of gaining money, IrA 
 they often make the grant without any retribution. A service of im 
 portance, a mark of attachment, the act of nursing the master s child, 
 assiduous care during the last illness, or the priority of services of 
 an old member of the family, are all acts rewarded by the gift of 
 liberty. Sometimes the slave considers this benefit as a punishment, 
 and receives it weeping." 
 
 Anecdotes of Slaves. 
 
 These are very charming ideas. It is a pity that the countess 
 should, by entering continually in the field of romance, get so far 
 from the regions of truth. This remark, however, applies, in the 
 paragraphs quoted, only to the assertion that the slaves in any case 
 objected to being made free, or that such gifts were so common. 
 There are facts both pleasing to the philanthropist and worthy of 
 credit. The following, from the touching pen of the lady of Merlin, 
 afford a happy illustration of them : 
 
 " Though the slave enjoys the right of holding property, at his 
 death it passes to the master ; but if he leaves children, the proprietor 
 never deprives them of the inheritance. It sometimes happens that 
 the free negro makes his will in favor of his former master. Here is 
 an example. During the scourge of the cholera, an old woman was 
 attending the sick negroes of my brother. She had continued in his 
 service, although she had freed herself many years before. 
 
 " Being taken with the disease, she called my brother and said to 
 him : My master, I am going to die. These eighteen ounces of gold 
 are for your bounty ; this piece of money for my comrades ; and this 
 good old man, my husband, also, if your bounty will let him have an 
 ounce to help him on through life, it is well. The poor old woman 
 did not die, but had a most miraculous escape. 
 
 " I will refer to anothei anecdote, showing the lofty and delicate 
 feeling in the heart of a slave. The Count of Gibacoa owned a 
 slave, who, being desirous of ransoming himself, asked his master 
 how much he asked for him ? The answer was, Nothing ; thou art 
 free henceforth/ The negro was silent, looked at his master, wept, 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 323 
 
 and went off. A few hours afterward he returned, bringing with him 
 a fine bozal, or newly-imported African, whom he had purchased with 
 the sum intended for his freedom ; and he said to the count : My 
 master, your bounty had one slave before ; it has now two. 
 
 " The blacks become identified with the affairs of their masters, 
 and take part in their quarrels. The captain-general, Tacon, who, 
 during the time of his government in Cuba, performed some few 
 beneficent acts in this colony, but from his harsh and inflexible tem 
 per excited much ill-feeling, and took pleasure in humbling the 
 nobility by his despotism, had persecuted the Marquis of Casa Calvo, 
 who died while exiled. Some time afterward, and for the purpose of 
 a magnificent banquet, which Tacon was to give the latter, he solic 
 ited the more renowned cooks of the city ; but the best of them was 
 a slave to the Marchioness of Arcos, a daughter of the unfortunate 
 Casa Calvo, 
 
 Would not Accept Liberty. 
 
 " Dazzled by the very height of his station, the general imagined 
 that nothing would oppose his will ; and he asked the lady to allow 
 him the services of the cook ; but she, as might be expected, refused. 
 Mortified with the failure, the general offered the negro not only his 
 freedom, but an additional and abundant gift, should he choose to 
 enter his service; but the negro answered : Tell the governor that I 
 prefer slavery and poverty with my master to wealth and liberty with 
 out him. " 
 
 These acts, however, of devoted fidelity on the part of the slaves 
 are descriptive of a period in the history of the slavery of Cuba long 
 since passed. Though the romantic and very youthful heart of the 
 countess would have prolonged the dream, every one was soon 
 awakened to the sad reality which covered the land. 
 
 Not very far apart, in time, from the insurrection of Montalvo, 
 another took place somewhere near Aguacate. In 1842 there was 
 one in Martiaro, for the second time. On the last occasion the slaves 
 were made bold by the impunity which, through the deranged system 
 of justice, and the influence of their owners, had been obtained for 
 them previously. In the same year the captain of the district of 
 
324 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 Lagunillas found an incendiary proclamation, which had fallen from 
 the pocket of a foreign mulatto, who was employed as mason. A 
 monk appeared on an estate near Limonar, under pretence of request 
 ing alms for the Virgin, whose image he carried with him, and went 
 on prophesying to the blacks that on St. John s day they would 
 become free. 
 
 In July of the same year, the slaves of an estate near Bemba com 
 mitted several acts of insubordination, and murdered a neighbor. 
 An Italian hair-dresser was imprisoned in 1841 for receiving procla 
 mations of an incendiary nature. The negroes of Aldama, under 
 the very walls of Havana, refused to work, and claimed the right of 
 freedom. 
 
 In January, 1843, a colored man, suspected by his companions of 
 having revealed the particulars of the murder of an officer of govern 
 ment, by the name of Becerra, was assassinated by one of his own class, 
 who, being afterward taken, committed suicide in jail. In March, 
 1843, there happened at Bemba an insurrection of five hundred 
 negroes, belonging to the railroad company and others. Very soon 
 after, there was another movement on a large estate ; and before that 
 year closed it occurred a second time. Soon after the insurgents 
 made a formal rally, doing many bloody deeds, and murdering num 
 bers of the whites of different ages and sexes. 
 
 The above brief retrospective view of a few only of the principal 
 signs which were indicative of disquietude among the slave popula 
 tion is a very important part of Cuban history. The information re 
 ceived officially at Havana from the Spanish minister at Washington, 
 and through the court of Madrid, as far back as 1834, in which the 
 dangers which threatened the Island were fully shown, had been 
 altogether slighted. 
 
 So also were these events, though marked with blood, and showing 
 unequivocal symptoms of a coming storm. It gathered not in a single 
 day, but came gradually on; and the humble landholder was doomed 
 to see the clouds of destruction hanging over his property, amid the 
 general apathy of the officers of government, who alone were intrusted 
 with the care of that rn which they felt no interest 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 325 
 
 A rich planter having obtained, subsequently to the last bloody 
 J ,nsurrection of November, 1843, by means of a negro woman, and by 
 hiding himself during the night in the room where she slept with her 
 husband, the particulars of a plan of devastation and bloodshed so 
 extended as to make him shudder with horror, the local government^ 
 seemed at length to awake from a sleep fraught with such imminent 
 danger. 
 
 One of the immediate results was a meeting of the planters called 
 in the city of Matanzas for the third of December. The meeting was 
 held; a committee named to propose, on the seventeenth, a report 
 which report being unfavorable to the slave trade, the planters were 
 not allowed to meet again, and the military administration went 
 through those difficult circumstances, guided by its own incompetent 
 intelligence, or by the suggestions of the ignorant. 
 
 How did they act? What system did they adopt to quell the 
 general commotion among the colored population, which was so visi 
 ble to every eye ? The answer to these questions will be found in the 
 ungrateful task which it is here necessary to perform. 
 
 All Considered Criminals. 
 
 Under the impression derived from some testimony obtained by the 
 military tribunals, established for the occasion, and composed of 
 officers of inferior grade, it was supposed that the conspiracy framed 
 by the blacks comprehended every individual of that unfortunate 
 class. No one was excepted: every one must be guilty; and those 
 who would or could reveal nothing, were marked as the most criminal. 
 
 Acting upon this ground, a general investigation, or what was 
 called " expurgo" was ordered throughout the whole land, and 
 intrusted to the most ignorant officers, whose system of inquiry was 
 reduced to questions implying the answers required, and accompanied 
 by the most violent chastisement, often inflicted in such a manner as 
 sooner or later to produce death. Suggestions were made of the 
 utility of employing lawyers of eminent standing, whose ingenuity and 
 capacity would have advanced the proceedings efficiently; but noth 
 ing of the kind met a hearing. The following are a few of the 
 
326 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 atrocious acts which resulted from conferring judicial powers upon 
 military officers of an inferior class. 
 
 Under date of March 6th, 1844, the captain-general addressed a 
 letter to General Salas, who presided over the military tribunal 
 stationed in the interior, in answer to the dispatches of the latter, 
 consulting him as to the necessity of using violent means in the 
 prosecution of those free colored persons under indictment, who 
 should refuse to discover their associates, and setting forth the good 
 effects which those means had produced among the slaves. In this 
 letter his excellency authorized these same means to be employed 
 with the free colored population, and manifested his approbation of 
 their chastisement in the country where they should be taken, and of 
 the attendance of the officer, in order to certify the testimony ! 
 
 Brutal Exercise of Authority. 
 
 These officers, thus raised by a power above the laws, and above 
 the dominical rights of the owners of slaves, with very few excep 
 tions, exercised their authority in a manner the most sordid, brutal, 
 and sanguinary. Under the universal alarm raised, and extending 
 to every hut, whoever was bold enough to insinuate a doubt respect 
 ing facts revealed under the most atrocious tortures, was deemed an 
 abolitionist; although his interests and previous conduct presented a 
 much safer guarantee of his opinions than the trust which should be 
 placed in uneducated and hungry officers of the army. It was quite 
 common for the latter to demand and obtain money from the accused, 
 in order to save their lives, or their bodies from barbarous lashing. 
 
 One of these prosecuting attorneys, judges, and executioners, at 
 one and the same time, namely, Don Ramon Gonzales, ordered his 
 victims to be taken to a room which had been whitewashed, and the 
 walls of which were besmeared with blood and small pieces of flesh 
 from the wretches who had preceded them in this cruel treatment. 
 There stood a bloody ladder, where the accused were tied, with their 
 heads downward, and whether free or slave, if they would not avow 
 what the fiscal officer insinuated, were whipped to death by two stout 
 mulattoes selected for this purpose. They were scourged with 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 32V 
 
 leather straps, having at the end a small destructive button, made of 
 fine wire. 
 
 At the spot called the farm of Soto, were butchered in this manner 
 M. Ruiz, C. Tolon, George Blakely, and other freemen; and their 
 deaths were made to appear, by certificates from physicians, as hav 
 ing been caused by diarrhoea. This new minister of the law had 
 been formerly prosecuted for theft, extortion, and even deeper crimes, 
 committed while he commanded the criminals depot. 
 
 Inhuman Tortures. 
 
 Don Mariano F brought on himself the execration and 
 
 odium of the whole city of Matanzas for his barbarous treatment 
 of Andrew Dodge, a colored man, born free, who was generally 
 beloved and esteemed, and was the owner of considerable property. 
 He was tied to the ladder and flogged on three different occasions, 
 but never avowed what he was accused of; and finally he was executed, 
 in defiance even of those sanguinary laws of old, which instituted the 
 ordeal of torture in ages called barbarous. 
 
 He also caused a free negro, Pedro Nunez, to be tied hand-and-foot 
 and hung to the ceiling of the house, keeping him in this painful 
 position through the night, his body having been previously lacerated 
 by the whip. Again, by threatening to inflict punishment, he obtained 
 from the mulatto, Thomas Vargas, an affidavit against a man of the 
 same class, called Fonten. He used to visit Vargas at his dungeon 
 every day after sentence had been passed on him, to assure him 
 sportingly that he would not fail to receive four bullets through his 
 body. The prophecy was of course fulfilled. 
 
 Don Juan Costa, another of the acting officers, had likewise his 
 share in this work of accusation ; and there were, in the process of 
 his making, ninety-six certificates of an equal number of deaths of 
 the indicted during the investigation. Of these, forty-two were 
 freemen and fifty-four slaves. They all had died under the lash ; and 
 that you may judge of the intensity of their sufferings, I will record 
 what appears from the process, viz. : " Lorenzo Sanchez, imprisoned 
 on the first of April, died on the fourth ; Joseph Cavallero, imprisoned 
 
328 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS.. 
 
 on the fourth, died on the sixth ; John Austin Molino, imprisoned on 
 the ninth, died on the twelfth ; and so on through an infinite number. 
 Don Jose del Pozo punished a negro one hundred and ten years 
 old, who died at the Matanzas jail. Don Francisco Illas, the en 
 lightened and humane fiscal officer, who appears among those of his 
 class as if to redeem the Spanish name from the dark stain brought 
 upon it by his associates, was called to certify to the death of this old 
 man ; but he drew back horror-struck from the spot when he beheld 
 a man so worn by age, having his body cut into pieces by the pitiless 
 lash. The unfortunate victim had complained of the fiscal Pozo, accus 
 ing him of stealing from him forty-five dollars. Del Pozo, after in 
 flicting severe punishment, found sport in hanging the accused 
 victims on a tree, and then cutting the ropes to see them fall to the 
 ground in bunches. He had been a journeyman tailor at Havana. 
 
 A Savage Boast. 
 
 Don Ferdinand Percher presented his process, having seventy-two 
 certificates of deaths of prisoners during the prosecution ; twenty- 
 nine freemen and forty-three slaves. " I have one hundred prisoners 
 in souse," said he once, before a number of respectable citizens, " and 
 if one escapes I am willing to have him nailed to my forehead." 
 
 Don Leon Dulzaides, in July, 1844, had a free negro placed in the 
 jail in what is called " campaign stocks," which is a most distressing 
 position of the body, the arms being arranged so as to hold the legs ; 
 and thus placed, ordered him to be whipped unmercifully, until he 
 should confess. Another of the fiscals, who was acting in his official 
 character in the next room, was called by the cries of the victim, and 
 obtained for him a suspension of punishment. 
 
 Dulzaides demanded the punishment of death for twenty-seven 
 prisoners, but the council sentenced only two. During the reading of 
 the sentence, he used to ask money of such as were saved from death. 
 
 Seventy prisoners of Don Jyacinth died during the prosecution, 
 
 of whom thirty-five were freemen. This fiscal was suspended from 
 office. 
 
 Don Miguel Ballo de la Torre, being on the estate of Oviedo, ex- 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 329 
 
 torted from the negroes affidavits accusing their master, who, being 
 absent, was apprised through his administrator or econome, that he was 
 a lost man, but that the fiscal would save him, provided he paid two 
 hundred ounces of gold. The administrator wrote several letters on 
 the subject, which were handed to General Salas, president of the- 
 tribune, who wrote to the fiscal, ordering him not to continue the 
 prosecution on that estate. 
 
 Don Manuel Siburu, fiscal of the prosecution against the English 
 juid American machinists, had demanded in his accusation the sen 
 tence of death upon an Englishman named Elkins. The members 
 of the military tribunals, however, being intimidated by the con 
 sequences that might follow, and at the same time well aware that 
 the testimony had been extorted by the lash, consulted respecting the 
 case with General O Donnell. 
 
 What the Treaty Guaranteed. 
 
 The latter answered, that they should proceed from what they 
 found in the process, and look well to what they did ; which, as there 
 was no mention of the torture in the proceedings, meant that they 
 should crown by their sentence the system of barbarous cruelty com 
 menced by the fiscals. The consultation was repeated, and a similar 
 answer obtained. 
 
 At the same time, Mr. Crawford, the English consul at Havana, 
 officially informed the captain-general that he was aware that the 
 British Majesty s subjects were being indicted and judged at Matan- 
 zas in a manner different from that adopted toward Spanish subjects ; 
 that as the testimony had been obtained by forcible means, whatever 
 had been done was null ; that there existed a treaty between the two 
 nations, wherein it was stipulated that no Englishman should be 
 judged in the Spanish dominions by special tribunals or committees, 
 but by the regular order of the Spanish laws for Spaniards. 
 
 The consul was persevering in his demand, and the captain-gen 
 eral, embarrassed also by the consultations aforesaid, was obliged to 
 give up ; and he consequently ordered that the prosecutior. against 
 foreigners should be placed in the hands of Don Francisco Illas, to 
 
330 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 be made anew. This able officer soon perceived that nothing was to 
 be met with in what had been done but falsehood, infamy, and 
 calumny, disconnectedly thrown together by the stupid Siburu. 
 
 Within two months afterward the prisoners were declared inno 
 cent, and liberated. It was in the presence of this same Siburu, that 
 another of his prisoners, the aged and respectable mulatto, Ceballos, 
 well known and esteemed by the merchants of Havana, suddenly 
 expired on being shown the place of torture. 
 
 Shifting the G-uilt on Another. 
 
 Don Pedro Linares had three old Indians whipped in Cardenas, 
 two of whom died, who lived in that neighborhood, and had resided 
 on the Island since the acquisition of Florida by the United States, 
 whence they had come, from their attachment to the Spanish nation. 
 Don Pedro Acevedo, fiscal of the proceedings against the negroes on 
 the coffee estate of Domech, who had been accused of possessing 
 poison (which, by the by, was never found) for the purpose of killing 
 their master, so contrived it as to throw the guilt on a young 1 white 
 man, a native of the Canary Islands, aged between nineteen and 
 twenty-one, who was executed, declaring his innocence to the last 
 moment of his life. On being exhorted by the priest to pardon his 
 enemies, he complied with the request, excepting the fiscal, Acevedo, 
 whom he could not pardon. 
 
 Don Pedro Llanes, another of the fiscals, filled up the measure of 
 his crimes, which cried so loudly for punishment, that he was at 
 length accused of numberless robberies, extortions of money, and all 
 kinds of wickedness, and at last was stopped in his dark career, and 
 imprisoned in the Havana jail. There, under the stingings of con 
 science, he placed in the hands of General O Donnell two hundred 
 and fifty ounces of gold, which had been the fruits of his rapacity ; 
 and soon after committed suicide by cutting his throat. Don Manuel 
 Mata, lieutenant-colonel of the Carlist ranks in 1834, another of the 
 fiscals, was imprisoned at Havana for excesses and robberies com 
 mitted in his official character during these disgraceful proceedings,. 
 
 The remaining fiscals, Gala, Gherci, Flores Apodaca, Cruces, 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 331 
 
 Custardoz, Marcotegui, Maso, Llorens, Sanchez, Rosquin, Baltanas, 
 Alvarez Murillo, and Domenech, traversed the country in every direc 
 tion, and strictly obeyed the orders they had received ; some whip 
 ping or torturing free colored or slave individuals, and extorting false 
 testimony and accusations, and others seizing horses, cattle, furniture, 
 and whatever was owned by the free colored persons, all which they 
 sold and converted into cash. It is hardly necessary to say, that the 
 fiscals took from their victims every cent which they possessed. 
 
 It is but justice to add, that the fiscals named Mendoza, Arango, 
 and Illas are honorable exceptions to this host of miscreants. Signor 
 Illas, above all, has called forth the approbation of all the feeling part 
 of the community, and of the friends of justice and humanity, for his 
 able, judicious, disinterested, and impartial conduct and deportment 
 in the cases of the French coffee-planters and the English and Ameri 
 can machinists, as well as of all who fell under his control. 
 
 Prisoners Sentenced to Death. 
 
 In the cases under the direction of the fiscal Ballo, this officer did 
 not demand that sentence of death should be pronounced on any of 
 his prisoners ; the tribunal nevertheless sentenced two. The fiscal 
 Lara demanded death for only one, and the tribunal sentenced four. 
 The sergeant intrusted with the custody of the prisoners in the mili 
 tary jail at Matanzas is said to have collected twenty thousand dol 
 lars in cash for prison-fees and other arbitrary charges exacted from 
 the prisoners. 
 
 In the city of Matanzas, the general persecution of the colored 
 race was converted by the fiscals into means of gratifying their lewd 
 passions upon the distracted daughters, wives, and sisters of their 
 male victims. So far did they carry their barefaced impudence, that 
 a ball was given by several of the fiscals, and attended by the con 
 sulting lawyer of the military tribunal, where none but women of 
 color appeared. At a late hour of the night, the doors were closed ; 
 and all the inmates being in a state of disgraceful nudity, one can 
 imagine what scenes of revelry and debauch followed. 
 
 Acts of such low and stupid infamy serve to show how the several 
 
332 RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 
 
 channels of civilization are interwoven, and how easy it is for man, 
 when once authorized to trample on any of the salutary restraints of 
 society, to mock and despise whatever comes in the way of his most 
 sensual appetites. 
 
 And now, in order justly to estimate the trust placed in the hands 
 of these agents of military justice, the nature of their duties should 
 be stated. They had separately the jurisdiction of a tribunal, with 
 power to imprison and. call before them whomsoever they would 
 interrogate. The testimony which they obtained was received pri 
 vately, no one being present except the fiscal and the witness. The 
 fiscal would write down and sign the declaration, the blacks and- the 
 majority of witnesses knowing neither how to read nor write. 
 
 A Mockery of Justice. 
 
 Not even the notary, who is required to be present at the affidavits 
 before the ordinary tribunals, appeared on these occasions to check 
 the arbitrary, malicious, or blind impressions of the fiscal. Officers 
 of the army were named to act as counsel for the individuals indicted, 
 whether colored or white, free or bondsmen. These counselors, 
 incapable through lack of talent or learning, were not allowed to read 
 the proceedings regarding the persons whom they were to defend. 
 All the instruction they had must be derived from a hasty and gene 
 ral abstract of facts made by the same fiscal, whose last duty was to 
 demand the sentence which, in his opinion, should be imposed on the 
 criminal. 
 
 Too much blame should not be attributed to the chief who, com 
 manding the Island at this delicate period, could not be approached 
 by the wisdom and intelligence of the land. The invariable and 
 jealous policy which, for many years, has directed the administration 
 of Cuba, drew away from the absolute military authority whatever 
 was enlightened and spirited. Men of vulgar habits and little edu 
 cation were the natural upholders of a barbarous system ; and it was 
 not easy to find officers of superior worth to act under a cruel im 
 pulse, and to execute sanguinary orders ; so that this strange course 
 was unavoidably placed in the most incapable or polluted hands. 
 
RECORD OF ATROCIOUS DEEDS. 333 
 
 With regard to the truth of the conspiracy, and whatever ground 
 it originally had, it has been so much embroiled and connected with 
 incoherent, false, and improbable testimony, adduced by the fear of 
 punishment, that a general opinion is fast gaining ground at the 
 present day that it never existed, and that the few reports and- con 
 versations of a rebellious nature, mentioned with some plausibility in 
 the course of the investigations, are the constant and latent workings 
 of the slaves, which, in all ages, have accompanied the institution of 
 slavery. This would be a difficult matter to decide. 
 
 The events which preceded the general and scourging inquisition, 
 together with the simultaneous and visible impudence of the free 
 colored race, were certain indications of a disturbed state of mind in 
 at least some sections of the country. On the other hand, the indict 
 ments followed up by different fiscals, and the use of the torture 
 without obtaining satisfactory evidence to dispel all manner of doubt 
 as to the existence of a plot, speak against its credibility. It can also 
 be alleged that the very ignorance of the prosecutors, and the irreg 
 ularity of their mode of procedure, were calculated to hinder the 
 discovery of a plot, without deciding that it had positively no 
 foundation. 
 
 It is more likely that the conspiracy was in its infancy ; and that 
 when the avenging storm which swept over the land was heard from 
 afar, it increased the number of the discontented, who, through 
 despair, prepared for some last acts of devastation and blood. There 
 is one painful reflection, which fixes itself upon the considerate ob 
 server of events. While foreigners, after long delay, obtained a 
 hearing of their Cases, and after being paraded through the country, 
 tied hand-and-foot on horseback, and kept in a filthy dungeon, were 
 declared innocent, the white Creoles, who had been imprisoned with 
 equal injustice, remained still incarcerated, and their cases undecided, 
 because they had no consul to claim for them the rights of civilized 
 man ! 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 Story of Marti, the Smuggler. 
 
 ONE of the most successful villains whose story will be written 
 in history, is a man named Marti, as well known in Cuba as 
 the person of the Governor-General himself. Formerly he 
 was notorious as a smuggler and half pirate on the coast of the 
 Island, being a daring and accomplished leader of reckless men. At 
 one time he bore the title of King of the Isle of Pines, where was 
 his principal rendezvous, and from whence he dispatched his vessels, 
 small, fleet crafts, to operate in the neighboring waters. 
 
 When Tacon landed on the Island, and became Governor-General, 
 he found the revenue laws in a sad condition, as well as the internal 
 regulations of the Island. As already stated, Tacon governed Cuba 
 four years, from 1834 to 1838. The Spanish marine sent out 
 to regulate the maritime matters of the Island, lay idly in port, 
 the officers passing their time on shore, or in giving balls and 
 dances on the decks of their vessels. Tacon saw that one of the 
 first moves for him to make was to suppress the smuggling upon the 
 coast, at all hazards ; and to this end he set himself directly to work. 
 The maritime force at his command was at once detailed upon this 
 service, and they coasted night and day, but without the least success 
 against the smugglers. In vain were all the vigilance and activity of 
 Tacon and his agents they accomplished nothing. 
 
 At last, finding that all his expeditions against them failed, partly 
 from the adroitness and bravery of the smugglers, and partly from 
 the want of pilots among the shoals. and rocks they had frequented, a 
 large and tempting reward was offered to any one of them who would 
 desert from his comrades and act in this capacity in behalf of the 
 Government. 
 
 At the same time, a double sum, most princely in amount, was 
 334 
 
MARTI, THE SMUGGLER. 335 
 
 offered for the person of one Marti, dead or alive, who was known to 
 be the leader of the lawless rovers who thus defied the Government. 
 These rewards were freely promulgated, and posted so as to reach 
 the ears and eyes of those whom they concerned ; but even these 
 seemed to produce no effect, and the Government officers were at a 
 loss how to proceed in the matter. 
 
 A Mysterious Figure. 
 
 It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, some three or four months 
 subsequent to the issuing of these placards announcing the rewards 
 referred to, when two sentinels were pacing backwards and forwards 
 before the main entrance to the Governor s palace, just opposite the 
 grand plaza. A little before midnight, a man, wrapped in a cloak, 
 was watching them from behind the statue of Ferdinand, near the 
 fountain, and, after observing that the two soldiers acting as sentinels 
 paced their brief walk so as to meet each other, and then turn their 
 backs as they separated, leaving a brief moment in the interval when 
 the eyes of both were turned away from the entrance they were 
 placed to guard, seemed to calculate upon passing them unobserved. 
 
 It was an exceedingly delicate manoeuvre, and required great care 
 and dexterity to effect it ; but, at last, it was adroitly done, and the 
 stranger sprang lightly through the entrance, secreting himself 
 behind one of the pillars in the inner court of the palace. The senti 
 nels paced on undisturbed. 
 
 The figure which had thus stealthily effected an entrance, now 
 sought the broad stairs that led to the Governor s suite of apartments, 
 with a confidence that evinced a perfect knowledge of the place. A 
 second guard-post was to be passed at the head of the stairs ; but, 
 assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military 
 salute and pressed forward, as though there was not the most distant 
 question of his right so to do ; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the 
 guard s mind, he boldly entered the Governor s reception-room un 
 challenged, and closed the door behind him. 
 
 In a large easy-chair sat the commander-in-chief, busily engaged 
 in writing, but alone. An expression of undisguised satisfaction 
 
336 MARTI, THE SMUGGLER 
 
 passed across the weather-beaten countenance of the new-comer al 
 this state of affairs, as he coolly cast off his cloak and tossed it over 
 his arm, and then proceeded to wipe the perspiration from his face. 
 The Governor, looking up with surprise, fixed his keen eyes upon 
 the intruder. 
 
 " Who enters here, unannounced, at this hour? " he asked, sternly 
 while he regarded the stranger earnestly. 
 
 " One who has information of value for the governor-general. Yoi 
 are Tacon, I suppose ?" 
 
 " I am. What would you with me ? or, rather, how did you pass 
 my guard unchallenged?" 
 
 " Of that anon. Excellency, you have offered a handsome reward 
 for information concerning the rovers of the gulf?" 
 
 " Ha ! yes. What of them ?" said Tacon, with undisguised interest. 
 
 " Excellency, I must speak with caution," continued the new 
 comer ; " otherwise I may condemn and sacrifice myself." 
 
 " You have naught to fear on that head. The offer of reward for 
 evidence against the scapegraces also vouchsafes a pardon to the 
 informant. You may speak on, without fear for yourself, even 
 though you may be one of the very confederation itself." 
 
 " You offer a reward, also, in addition, for the discovery of Marti 
 Captain Marti, of the smugglers do you not?" 
 
 " We do, and will gladly make good the promise of reward for any 
 and all information upon the subject," replied Tacon. 
 
 " First, Excellency, do you give me your knightly word that you 
 will grant a free pardon to me, if I reveal all that you require to 
 know, even embracing the most secret hiding-places of the rovers ?" 
 
 " I pledge you my word of honor," said the commander. 
 
 " No matter how heinous in the sight of the law my offences may 
 have been, still you will pardon me, under the king s seal ?" 
 
 " I will, if you reveal truly and to any good purpose," answered 
 Tacon, weighing in his mind the purpose of all this precaution. 
 
 " Even if I were a leader among the rovers, myself?" 
 
 The governor hesitated for a moment, canvassing in a single 
 glance the subject before him, and then said : 
 
MARTI, THE SMUGGLER. 837 
 
 " Even then, be you whom you may ; if you are able and will hon 
 estly pilot our ships and reveal the secrets of Marti and his followers, 
 you shall be rewarded as our proffer sets forth, and yourself receive a 
 free pardon." 
 
 " Excellency, I think I know your character well enough to trust 
 you, else I should not have ventured here." 
 
 " Speak, then ; my time is precious," was the impatient reply of 
 Tacon. 
 
 " Then, Excellency, the man for whom you have offered the largest 
 reward, dead or alive, is now before you ! " 
 
 "And you are " 
 
 " Marti ! " 
 
 The governor-general drew back in astonishment, and cast his eyes 
 towards a brace of pistols that lay within reach of his right hand ; 
 but it was only for a single moment, when he again assumed entire 
 self-control, and said: 
 
 " I shall keep my promise,_sir, provided you are faithful, though 
 the laws call loudly for your punishment, and even now you are in 
 my power. To insure your faithfulness, you must remain at present 
 under guard." Saying which, he rang a silver bell by his side, and 
 issued a verbal order to the attendant who answered it. Immediately 
 after, the officer of the watch entered, and Marti was placed in con 
 finement, with orders to render him comfortable until he was sent for. 
 His name remaine" 1 a secret with the commander; and thus the night 
 scene closed. 
 
 The Smuggler Kept his Word. 
 
 On the following day, one of the men-of-war that lay idly beneath 
 the guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the utmost 
 activity, and, before noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing 
 out into the gulf stream. Marti, the smuggler, was on board, as her 
 pilot; and faithfully did he guide the ship, on the discharge of his 
 treacherous business, among the shoals and bays of the coast for 
 nearly a month, revealing every secret haunt of the rovers, exposing 
 their most valuable depots and well-selected rendezvous ; and many 
 a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. 
 22 
 
338 MARTI, THE SMUGGLER. 
 
 The amount of money and property thus secured was very great; 
 and Marti returned with the ship to claim his reward from the gover 
 nor-general, who, well satisfied with the manner in which the rascal 
 had fulfilled his agreement, and betrayed those comrades who were 
 too faithful to be tempted to treachery themselves, summoned Marti 
 before him. 
 
 " As you have faithfully performed your part of our agreement," 
 said the governor-general, " I am now prepared to comply with the 
 articles on my part. In this package you will find a free and uncon 
 ditional pardon for all your past offences against the laws. And here 
 is an order on the treasury for " 
 
 He Controlled the Fish Market. 
 
 " Excellency, excuse me. The pardon I gladly receive. As tc 
 the sum of money you propose to give to me, let me make you u 
 proposition. Retain the money ; and, in place of it, guarantee to me 
 the right to fish in the neighborhood of the city, and "declare the 
 trade in fish contraband to all except my agents. This will richly 
 repay me, and I will erect a public market of stone at my own 
 expense, which shall be an ornament to the city, and which at the 
 expiration of a specified number of years shall revert to the govern 
 ment, with all right and title to the fishery." 
 
 Tacon was pleased at the idea of a superb fish-market, which should 
 eventually revert to the government, and also at the idea of saving 
 the large sum of money covered by the promised reward. The 
 singular proposition of the smuggler was duly considered and acceded 
 to, and Marti was declared in legal form to possess for the future sole 
 right to fish in the neighborhood of the city, or to sell the article in 
 any form, and he at once assumed the rights that the order guaran 
 teed to him. 
 
 Having in his roving life learned all the best fishing-grounds, he 
 furnished the city bountifully with the article, and reaped yearly an 
 immense profit, until, at the close of the period for which the monop 
 oly was granted, he was the richest man on the Island. According 
 tc the agreement, the fine market and its privilege reverted to the 
 
MARTI, THE SMUGGLER. 339 
 
 government at the time specified, and the monopoly has ever since 
 been rigorously enforced. 
 
 Marti, now possessed of immense wealth, looked about him, to see 
 in what way he could most profitably invest it to insure a handsome 
 and sure return. The idea struck him if he could obtain the monop 
 oly of theatricals in Havana on some such conditions as he had done 
 that of the right to fish off its shores, he could still further increase 
 his ill-gotten wealth. He obtained the monopoly, on condition that 
 he should erect one of the largest and finest theatres in the world, 
 which he did, locating the same just outside the city walls. 
 
 Many romantic stories are told of Marti ; but the one we have 
 related is the only one that is authenticated. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 The Conspiracy of Lopez. 
 
 THE result of the movement in the western department 
 under Tacon, showed the Cubans that they had nothing to 
 hope from Spain, while the cruelties of General O Donneli 
 increased the great discontent and despair of the people. They now 
 became satisfied that the hope of legal reform was but a chimera ; 
 and a portion of the liberal party, seeing no issue from their insuffer 
 able position but that of revolution, boldly advocated the intervention 
 of arms. In 1848 a conspiracy was formed in Cienfuegos and 
 Trinidad, with the purpose of throwing off the Spanish yoke ; but it 
 was soon discovered and crushed by the imprisonment of various 
 individuals in the central department. 
 
 The principal leader in this movement was General Narciso Lopez, 
 who succeeded in effecting his escape to the United States, where he im 
 mediately placed himself in communication with several influential 
 and liberal Creoles, voluntary and involuntary exiles, and established 
 a correspondence with the remnant of the liberal party yet at liberty 
 on the Island, at the same time being aided in his plans by American 
 sympathy. The result of the deliberations of himself, his correspond 
 ents and associates, was to try by the chances of war for the liberation 
 of Cuba. 
 
 Many of the leading patriots of the Island undoubtedly believed 
 that the government of the United States would second their efforts, 
 if they should decide to unite themselves to our republic, and boldly 
 raise the banner of annexation. A portion of the Cuban liberals 
 adopted the motto, " Legal Reform or Independence ; " and these two 
 factions of the patriots did not henceforth act in perfect concert with 
 each other a most fatal error to the interests of both. Time and 
 circumstances favored the war and annexation party ; the people 
 
 MI 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 341 
 
 were more than ever discontented with a government which so 
 oppressed them by a military despotism, and by the enormous 
 weight of the unjust taxation levied upon them. We may here 
 remark that the increase of the public revenue, in the midst of so 
 many elements of destruction and ruin, can only be explained by the 
 facility with which the captain-general and royal stewards of the 
 Island invented and arranged taxes, at their pleasure, and without a 
 shadow of propriety, or even precedent. 
 
 The colored population of the Island, both slaves and free, hated 
 the Spaniards, for good reasons. The war party, moreover, reckoned 
 on the genius of a leader (Lopez), " the first lance of Spain," trained 
 to arms, equal in talents to any of the Spanish generals, and beloved 
 by the Spanish troops, as well as by the Cuban population ; and they 
 relied, also, as we have said, on the sympathy and ultimate aid of the 
 United States government. 
 
 Many False Reports. 
 
 It is undoubtedly true that interested parties in this country, 
 prompted by mercenary motives, increased this latter delusion by 
 false reports; while the Cuban conspirators, in turn, buoyed up the 
 hopes of their friends in the United States, by glowing accounts of 
 the patriotic spirit of the Creoles, and the extent of the preparations 
 they were making for a successful revolt. 
 
 General Lopez was actively arranging the means for an invasion, 
 when, in 1849, tne United States government threw terror into the 
 ranks of the filibusters, by announcing its determination to enforce 
 the sacredness of treaty stipulations. This, for a time, frustrated the 
 intended invasion. 
 
 In 1850 Lopez succeeded in effecting his first descent upon the 
 Island. Having succeeded in baffling the vigilance of the United 
 States government, an expedition, consisting of six hundred and 
 fifty-two men, was embarked on board two sailing-vessels and the 
 steamer " Creole," which conveyed the general and his staff In the 
 beginning of July the sailing-vessels left New Orleans, with orders 
 to anchor at Contoy, one of the Mugeres Islands, on the coast of 
 
342 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 Yucatan ; the general followed, on the " Creole," on the /th. At the 
 time when the troops were embarked on the " Creole " at Contoy, 
 fifty-two of the number, who had been deceived as to the nature of the 
 expedition, refused to follow the general, and were left on the island, 
 with the intention of returning to the United States in the two 
 schooners. 
 
 General Lopez, after gaining some information from a fisherman 
 he encountered, resolved to land at Cardenas, on the northern coast 
 of the Island, a hundred and twenty miles east of Havana. He cal 
 culated that he could surprise and master the garrison before the 
 Captain-General could possibly obtain intelligence of his departure 
 from New Orleans. His plan was to master the town, secure the 
 authorities, intimidate the Spaniards, and then, sustained by the 
 moral influence of victory, proceed to Matanzas by railroad. 
 
 War-Ships Hastily Despatched. 
 
 Roncali, the Captain-General, having received intelligence of the 
 landing at Contoy, dispatched several ships-of-war in that direction, 
 to seize upon the general and his followers. The latter, however, 
 escaped the snare, and effected his landing on the ipth. The garri 
 son rushed to arms, and, while a portion of the troops, after immaterial 
 loss, retired in good order to the suburbs, another, under the com 
 mand of Governor Ceruti, intrenched themselves in the government 
 house, nd gave battle to the invaders. 
 
 After a sharp skirmish, the building being set on fire, they surren 
 dered ; the Governor and two or three officers were made prisoners, 
 and the soldiers consented to join the revolutionary colors ! Mean 
 while,, l body of one hundred invaders seized upon the railroad station. 
 The engines were fired up, and the trains made ready to transport 
 the iuvading column to Matanzas. 
 
 But now came a pause. General Lopez, seeing that the native 
 population did not respond to his appeal, knew that as soon as the 
 news of the taking of Cardenas should be circulated he would be in 
 a very critical situation. In fact, the Governor of Matanzas was soon 
 on tb* march, at the head of five hundred men. General Armero 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 343 
 
 sailed from Havana in the " Pizarro/ with a thousand infantry, while 
 two thousand five hundred picked troops, under the command of 
 General Count de Mirasol, were sent from Havana by the railroad. 
 
 Lopez saw that it would be madness to await the attack of these for 
 midable columns, unsupported save by his own immediate followers, 
 and accordingly issued his orders for the reembarkation of his band, 
 yet without relinquishing the idea of landing on some more favorable 
 point of the Island. 
 
 That portion of the garrison which, in the beginning of the affair, 
 had retreated to the suburbs, finding itself reinforced by a detachment 
 of cavalry, attempted to cut off the retreat of the invading general ; 
 but the deadly fire of the latter s reserve decimated the horse, and the 
 infantry, dismayed at their destruction, took to rapid flight. The 
 " Creole " accordingly left the port without molestation, and before 
 the arrival of the government steam-frigate " Pizarro." 
 
 The Spanish prisoners were landed at Cayo de Piedras, and then 
 Lopez, discovering the " Pizarro " in the distance, made for the 
 American continent, where the steamer was abandoned. General 
 Lopez was arrested by the authorities of Savannah, but liberated 
 again, in deference to the public clamor. The " Creole " was seized, 
 confiscated and sold. The invaders disbanded ; and thus this enter 
 prise terminated. 
 
 A less enterprising and determined spirit than that of General 
 Lopez would have been completely broken by the failure of his first 
 attempts, the inactivity of the Cubans, the hostility of the American 
 government, and the formidable forces and preparations of the Span 
 ish officials. 
 
 He believed, however, that the Cubans were ripe for revolt ; that 
 public opinion in the United States would nullify the action of the 
 Federal government; and that, if he could once gain a foothold in the 
 Island, the Spanish troops would desert in such numbers to his ban 
 ners that the preponderance of power would soon be upon his side ; 
 and, with these views, he once more busied himself, with unremitting 
 industry, to form another expedition. 
 
 Meanwhile, the daring attack upon Cardenas, while it demon- 
 
344 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 strated the determination of the invading party, caused great anxiety 
 in the mind of General Roncali. True, he had at his disposal an 
 army of more than twenty thousand regular troops ; but he was by 
 no means sure of their loyalty, and he therefore determined to raise a 
 local militia; but, as he suffered only Spaniards to enlist in it, he 
 aroused the jealousy of the Cuban-born inhabitants, and thus swelled 
 the force of opposition against the government. General Lopez was 
 informed of this fact, and based new hopes upon the circumstance. 
 
 The Tyranny Continued. 
 
 The Spanish government, having recalled Roncali, appointed Don 
 Jose de la Concha Captain-General of the Island, and the severity of 
 his sway reminded the inhabitants of the iron rule of Tacon. It was 
 during his administration that Lopez effected his second landing at 
 Playitas, sixty miles west of Havana. Several partial insurrections, 
 which had preceded this event, easily suppressed, as it appears, by 
 the Spanish government, but exaggerated in the accounts dispatched 
 to the friends of Cuba in the United States, inflamed the zeal of 
 Lopez, and made him believe that the time for a successful invasion 
 had at length arrived. The following is from a narrative of one of 
 the invaders : " The general showed me much of his correspondence 
 from the Island. It represented a pervading anxiety for his arrival, 
 on the part of the Creole population. His presence alone, to head 
 the insurrection, which would then become general, was all they 
 called for ; his presence and a supply of arms, of which they were 
 totally destitute. The risings already made were highly colored in 
 some of the communications addressed to him from sources of 
 unquestionable sincerity." 
 
 He was so confident, at one time, of the determination and ability 
 of the Cubans alone to secure their independence, that he wished to 
 embark without any force, and throw himself among them. It was 
 this confidence that led him to embark with only four hundred ill- 
 armed men on board the little steamer " Pampero," on the 2d of 
 August, 1851. This force consisted mostly of Americans, but 
 embraced forty-nine Cubans in its ranks, with several German and 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 345 
 
 Hungarian officers ; among the latter, General Pragay, one of the 
 heroes of the Hungarian revolution, who was second in command to 
 General Lopez on this occasion. 
 
 Many of the foreign officers spoke little, if any, English, and 
 mutual jealousies and insubordinations soon manifested themselves 
 in the little band. They were composed of fierce spirits, and had 
 come together without any previous drilling or knowledge of each 
 other. It was not the intention of the commander-in-chief to sail 
 direct for Cuba, but to go to the neighborhood of St. John s river, 
 Florida, and get a supply of artillery, ammunition, extra arms, etc. 
 
 The Invaders Effect a Landing. 
 
 He then proposed to land somewhere in the central department, 
 where he thought he could get a footing, and rally a formidable force, 
 before the government troops could reach him. But, when five days 
 out, Lopez discovered that the lt Pampero" was short of coal ; as no 
 time could be spared to remedy this deficiency, he resolved to effect 
 a landing at once, and send back the " Pampero " for reinforcements 
 and supplies. 
 
 At Key West he obtained favorable intelligence from Cuba, which 
 confirmed his previous plans. He learned that a large portion of the 
 troops had been sent to the eastern department ; and he accordingly 
 steered for Bahia Honda (deep bay). The current of the gulf, acting 
 while the machinery of the boat was temporarily stopped for repairs, 
 and the variation of the compass in the neighborhood of so many 
 arms, caused the steamer to run out of her course on the night of the 
 loth ; and when the morning broke, the invaders found themselves 
 heading for the narrow entrance of the harbor of Havana ! 
 
 The course of the steamer was instantly altered ; but all on board 
 momentarily expected the apparition of a war steamer from the 
 channel between the Morro and the Punta. It appeared, afterwards, 
 that the " Pampero " was signalized as a strange steamer, but not 
 reported as suspicious until evening. The " Pampero " then made for 
 the bay of Cabanas; but, just as she was turning into the entrance, a 
 Spanish frigate and sloop-of-war were seen at anchor, the first of 
 
346 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 which immediately gave chase; but, the wind falling, the frigate gave 
 it up, and returned to the bay to send intelligence of the expedition 
 to Havana. 
 
 The landing was finally effected at midnight, between the i ith and 
 1 2th of August, and the steamer was immediately sent off to the 
 United States for further reinforcements. As it was necessary to 
 obtain transportation for the baggage, General Lopez resolved to 
 leave Colonel Crittenden with one hundred and twenty men to guard 
 it, and with the remainder of the expedition to push on to Las Poza^j, 
 a village about ten miles distant, whence he could send back carts 
 and horses to receive it. Among the baggage were four barrels of 
 powder, two of cartridges, the officers effects, including the arms of 
 the general, and the flag of the expedition. From the powder and 
 arms they should not have separated, but have divided that, against 
 contingency. 
 
 The Invasion a Failure. 
 
 In the meantime, seven picked companies of Spanish troops of the 
 line had been landed at Bahia Honda, which force was strengthened 
 by contingents drawn from the neighborhood. The march of the 
 invading band to Las Pozas was straggling and irregular. On reach 
 ing the village, they found it deserted by the inhabitants. A few 
 carts were procured and sent back to Crittenden, that he might 
 advance with the baggage. 
 
 Lopez here learned from a countryman of the preparations making 
 to attack him. It was no portion of his plan to bring the men into 
 action with regular troops, in their present undisciplined state; he 
 proposed rather to take a strong position in the mountains, and there 
 plant his standard as a rallying-point, and await the rising of the 
 Cubans, and the return of the " Pampero " with reinforcements for 
 active operations. 
 
 A-s soon as Lopez learned the news from Bahia Honda, he dis 
 patched a peremptory order to Crittenden to hasten up with the rear 
 guard, abandoning the heavy baggage, but bringing off the cartridges 
 and papers of the expedition. But the fatal delay of Crittenden 
 separated him forever from the main body, only a small detachment of 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 347 
 
 his comrades (under Captain Kelly) ever reaching it. The next day, 
 while breakfast was being prepared for them, the soldiers of the ex 
 pedition were suddenly informed, by a volley from one of the houses 
 of the village, that the Spanish troops were upon them. 
 
 A Spirited Battle. 
 
 They flew to arms at once, and the Cuban company dislodged the 
 vanguard of the enemy, who had fired, at the point of the bayonet, 
 their captain, Oberto, receiving his death-wound in the spirited affair. 
 General Enna, a brave officer, in command of the Spanish troops, 
 made two charges in column on the centre of the invaders line, but 
 was repulsed by that deadly fire which is the preeminent characteristic 
 of American troops. Four men alone escaped from the company 
 heading the first column, and seventeen from that forming the advance 
 of the second column of attack. The Spaniards were seized with a 
 panic, and fled. 
 
 Lopez s force in this action amounted to about two hundred and 
 eighty men ; the Spaniards had more than eight hundred. The total 
 loss of the former, in killed and wounded, was thirty-five ; that of the 
 latter about two hundred men killed, and a large number wounded ! 
 The invaders landed with about eighty rounds of cartridges each ; 
 the Spanish dead supplied them with about twelve thousand more ; 
 and a further supply was subsequently obtained at Las Frias ; the 
 ammunition left with Crittenden was never recovered. In the battle 
 of Las Pozas, General Enna s horse was shot under him, and his second 
 in command killed. The invaders lost Colonel Downman, a brave 
 American officer ; while General Pragay was wounded, and afterwards 
 died in consequence. 
 
 Though the invaders fired well and did terrible execution, they 
 could not be prevailed upon to charge the enemy, and gave great 
 trouble to the officers by their insubordination. The night after the 
 battle, Captain Kelly came up with forty men, and announced that the 
 Spanish troops had succeeded in dividing the rear-guard, and that the 
 situation of Crittenden was unknown. It was not until some days 
 afterwards that it was ascertained that Crittenden s party, attempting 
 
348 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 to leave the Island in launches, had been made prisoners by a Spanish 
 man-of-war. They were taken to Havana, and brutally shot at the 
 Castle of Atares. 
 
 About two o clock on the i/j-th of August, the expedition resumed 
 its march for the interior, leaving behind their wounded, who were 
 afterwards killed and mutilated by the Spaniards. The second action 
 with the Spanish troops occurred at the coffee-plantation of Las 
 Frias, General Enna attacking with four howitzers, one hundred and 
 twenty cavalry, and twelve hundred infantry. 
 
 Wandering in the Mountains. 
 
 The Spanish general attacked with his cavalry, but they were met 
 by a deadly fire, thrown into utter confusion, and forced to retreat, 
 carrying off the general mortally wounded. The panic of the cavalry 
 communicated itself to the infantry, and the result was a complete 
 rout. This was the work of about two hundred muskets, for many 
 of Lopez s men had thrown away their arms on the long and toil 
 some march. 
 
 The expedition, however, was too weak to profit by their desperate 
 successes, and had no means of following up these victories. Plung 
 ing into the mountains, they wandered about for days, drenched with, 
 rain, destitute of food or proper clothing, until despair at last seized 
 them. They separated from each other, a few steadfast comrades 
 remaining by their leader. In the neighborhood of San Cristobal, 
 Lopez finally surrendered to a party of pursuers. He was treated 
 with every indignity by his captors, though he submitted to every 
 thing with courage and serenity. He was taken in a steamer from 
 Mariel to Havana. 
 
 Arrived here, he earnestly desired to obtain an interview with 
 Concha, who had been an old companion-in-arms with him in Spain ; 
 not that he expected pardon at his hands, but hoping to obtain a 
 change in the manner of his death. His soul shrank from the infa 
 mous garrote, and he aspired to the indulgence of the cuatro tiros 
 (four shots). 
 
 Both the interview and the indulgence were refused, and he was 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 349 
 
 executed on the first of September, at seven o clock in the morning, 
 in the Punta, by that mode of punishment which the Spaniards esteem 
 the most infamous of all. When he landed at Bahia Honda, he 
 stooped and kissed the earth, with the fond salutation, " Querida 
 Cuba " (dear Cuba) ! And his last words, pronounced in a tone of deep 
 tenderness, were, " Muero par mi amada Cuba (I die for my beloved 
 Cuba). 
 
 General Lopez was born in Venezuela, South America, in 1798; 
 and hence, at the time of his execution, must have been about fifty- 
 two years of age. He early became an adopted citizen of Cuba, and 
 espoused one of its daughters. 
 
 The remainder of the prisoners who fell into the hands of the 
 authorities were sent to the Moorish fortress of Ceuta; but Spain 
 seems to have been ashamed of the massacre of Atares, and atoned 
 for the ferocity of her colonial officials by leniency towards the mis 
 guided men of the expedition, granting them a pardon. 
 
 Cause of the Conspiracy. 
 
 This uprising, or rather attempt at revolution, was all due to the 
 despotic policy pursued by Spain. It is impossible to conceive of 
 any degree of loyalty that would be proof against the unparalleled 
 burthens and atrocious system by which the mother country has ever 
 loaded and weighed down her western colonists. They must be 
 either more or less than men if they still cherish attachment to a 
 foreign throne under such circumstances. But the fact simply is, 
 the Creoles of Cuba are neither angels nor brutes; they are, it is true, 
 a long-suffering and somewhat indolent people, lacking in a great 
 degree the stern qualities of the Anglo-Saxon and the Anglo-Norman 
 races, but nevertheless intelligent, if wanting culture, and not without 
 those noble aspirations for independence and freedom, destitute of 
 which they would cease to be men, justly forfeiting all claim to our 
 sympathy and consideration. 
 
 During the brief intervals in which a liberal spirit was manifested 
 towards the colony by the home government, the Cubans gave proof 
 of talent and energy, which, had they been permitted to attain their 
 
350 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 full development, would have given them a highly honorable name 
 and distinguished character. When the field for genius was com 
 paratively clear, Cuba produced more than one statesman and man of 
 science, who would have done honor to a more favored land. 
 
 But these cheering rays of light were soon extinguished, and the 
 fluctuating policy of Spain settled down into the rayless and brutal 
 despotism which has become its normal condition, and a double dark 
 ness closed upon the political and intellectual prospects of Cuba. 
 But the people are not, and have not been, the supine and idle victims 
 of tyranny which Spain depicts them. The reader will remember the 
 several times they have attempted, manacled as they are, to free their 
 limbs from the chains that bind them. It is insulting and idle to say 
 that they might have been free if they had earnestly desired and 
 mad~ the effort for freedom. 
 
 Parallel Cases in History. 
 
 Who can say what would have been the result of our own struggle 
 for independence, if Great Britain, at the outset, had been as well 
 prepared for resistance as Spain has always been in Cuba? Who 
 can say how long and painful would have been the struggle, if one of 
 the most powerful military nations of Europe had not listened to our 
 despairing appeal, and thrown the weight of her gold and her arms 
 into the scale against our great enemy ? 
 
 When we see how as we do clearly in a single night the well- 
 contrived schemes of an adroit and unprincipled knave enslaved a 
 brilliant and war-like people, like the French, who had more than 
 once tasted the fruits of republican glory and liberty, who had borne 
 their free flag in triumph over more than half of Europe, we can 
 understand why the Cubans, overawed from the very outset, by the 
 presence of a force vastly greater in proportion than that which 
 enslaved France, have been unable to achieve their deliverance. 
 
 Nay, more when we consider the system pursued by the govern 
 ment of the Island, the impossibility of forming assemblages, and of 
 concerting action, the presence of troops and spies everywhere, the 
 compulsory silence of the press the violation of the sanctity of cor- 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ, 351 
 
 respondence we can only wonder that any effort has been made, any 
 step taken in that fatal pathway of revolution which leads imallibly 
 to the garrote. 
 
 If Cuba lies at present under the armed heel of despotism, we may 
 be sure that the anguish of her sons is keenly aggravated by their 
 perfect understanding of our own liberal institutions, and an earnest, 
 if fruitless, desire to participate in their enjoyment. It is beyond the 
 power of the Spanish government to keep the people of the Island in 
 a state of complete darkness, as it seems to desire to do. The young 
 men of Cuba educated at our colleges and schools, the visitors from 
 the United States, and American merchants established on the Island, 
 are all so many apostles of republicanism, and propagandists of 
 treason and rebellion. 
 
 They Only Await the Opportunity. 
 
 Nor can the captains-general with all their vigilance exclude what 
 they are pleased to call incendiary newspapers and documents from 
 pretty extensive circulation among the " ever faithful." That liberal 
 ideas and hatred of Spanish despotism are widely entertained among 
 the Cubans is a fact no one who has passed a brief period among 
 them can truthfully deny. They await only the means and the oppor 
 tunity to rise in rebellion against Spain. We are too far distant to 
 see more than the light smoke, but those who have trodden the soil 
 of Cuba have sounded the depths of the volcano. 
 
 The history of the unfortunate Lopez expedition proves nothing 
 contrary to this. The force under Lopez afforded too weak a nucleus, 
 was too hastily thrown upon the Island, too ill prepared, and too 
 untimely attacked, to enable the native patriots to rally round its 
 standard, and thus to second the efforts of the invaders. With no 
 ammunition nor arms to spare, recruits would have only added to the 
 embarrassment of the adventurers. 
 
 Yet had Lopez been joined by the brave but unfortunate Critten- 
 den, with what arms and ammunition he possessed, had he gained 
 some fastness where he could have been disciplining his command, 
 nntil further aid arrived, the adventure might have had a very differ- 
 
352 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 ent termination from what we have recorded in an early chapter of 
 this book. 
 
 Disastrous as was the result of the Lopez expedition, it nevertne- 
 less proved two important facts : first, the bravery of the Cubans, a. 
 small company of whom drove the enemy at the point of the 
 bayonet ; and, .secondly, the inefficiency of Spanish troops when 
 opposed by resolute men. If a large force of picked Spanish troops 
 were decimated and routed in two actions, by a handful of ill-armed 
 and undisciplined men, taken by surprise, we are justified in believ 
 ing that if an effective force of ten thousand men, comprising the 
 several arms of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, had been thrown into 
 the Island, they would have carried all before them. With such a 
 body of men to rally upon, the Cubans would have risen in the 
 departments of the Island, and her best transatlantic jewel would have 
 been torn fom the diadem of Spain. 
 
 American Sympathy for Cuba. 
 
 That the Spanish government lived in constant dread of a renewal 
 of the efforts on the part of Americans and exiled Cubans to aid the 
 disaffected people of the Island in throwing off its odious yoke, is a 
 notorious fact, and there were evidences in the conduct of its 
 officials towards those of this government that it regarded the latter 
 as secretly favoring such illegal action. Yet the steps taken by our 
 government to crush any such attempts were decided enough to 
 satisfy any but a jealous and unreasonable power. 
 
 President Fillmore, in his memorable proclamation, said, Such 
 expeditions can only be regarded as adventures for plunder and 
 robbery," and declaring Americans who engaged in them outlaws, 
 informed them that " they would forfeit their claim to the protection 
 of this government, or any interference in their behalf, no matter to 
 what extremity they might be reduced in consequence of their illegal 
 conduct." In accordance with this declaration, the brave Crittenden 
 and his men were allowed to be shot at Atares, though they were not 
 taken with arms in their hands, had abandoned the expedition, and 
 were seeking to escape from the Island. 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 353 
 
 In a similar spirit President Pierce alluded to our relations with 
 Spain in his inaugural address, in the following explicit terms : 
 " Indeed it is not to be disguised that our attitude as a nation, and 
 our position on the globe, render the acquisition of certain posses 
 sions, not within our jurisdiction, eminently important, if not, in the 
 future, essential for the preservation of the rights of commerce and 
 the peace of the world. Should they be obtained, it will be through 
 no grasping spirit, but with a view to obvious national interest and 
 security, and in a manner entirely consistent with the strictest ob 
 servance of national faith." 
 
 Honorable Attitude of our Government. 
 
 A subsequent proclamation, emanating from the same source, and 
 warning our citizens of the consequences of engaging in an invasion 
 of the Island, also attested the determination to maintain the integrity 
 of our relations with an allied power. 
 
 No candid student of the history of our relations with Spain can 
 fail to be impressed by the frank and honorable attitude of our gov 
 ernment, or to contrast its acts with those of the Spanish officials of 
 Cuba. A history of the commercial intercourse of our citizens with 
 the Island would be a history of petty and also serious annoyances 
 and grievances to which they have been subjected for a series of years 
 by the Spanish officials, increasing in magnitude as the latter have 
 witnessed the forbearance and magnanimity of our government. 
 
 Not an American merchant or captain, who had dealings with Cuba, 
 but could furnish his list of insults and outrages, some in the shape 
 of illegal extortions and delays, others merely gratuitous ebullitions 
 of spite and malice dictated by a hatred of our country and its citi 
 zens. Instances of outrage so flagrant occurred, that the executive 
 felt bound to call the attention of Congress to them in a message, in 
 which he pointed out the great evil which lay at the bottom, and also 
 the remedy. 
 
 " The offending party," he said, " is at our doors with large power 
 for aggression, but none, it is alleged, for reparation. The source of 
 redress is in another hemisphere ; and the answers to our just com- 
 23 
 
354 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 plaints, made to the home government, are but the repetition of 
 excuses rendered by inferior officials to the superiors, in reply to the 
 representations of misconduct. In giving extraordinary power to 
 them, she owes it to justice, and to her friendly relations to this gov 
 ernment, to guard with great vigilance against the exorbitant exercise 
 of these powers, and in case of injuries to provide for prompt redress." 
 It is very clear that if, in such cases as the seizure of a vessel and 
 her cargo by the port officers at Havana, for an alleged violation of 
 revenue laws, or even port usages, redress, in case of official miscon 
 duct, could only be had by reference to the home government in 
 another part of the world, our trade with Cuba would be completely 
 paralyzed. The delay and difficulty in obtaining such redress, in too 
 many cases, prompted extortion on the one hand, and acquiescence 
 to injustice on the other. 
 
 Seizure of American Vessels. 
 
 In 1851 two American vessels were seized off Yucatan by the 
 Spanish authorities on suspicion of being engaged in the Lopez ex 
 pedition ; in the same year the steamship " Falcon " was wantonly 
 fired upon by a Spanish government vessel ; in 1852 the American 
 mail bags were forcibly opened, and their contents examined by order 
 of the Captain-General; the "Crescent City" was not allowed to land 
 her passengers and mails, simply because the purser, Smith, was 
 obnoxious to the government of the Island. 
 
 The " Black Warrior," fired into on one voyage, was seized for a 
 violation of a custom-house form. More than once, on specious pre 
 texts, were American sailors taken from American vessels and 
 thrown into Spanish prisons. In short, the insults offered by Span 
 ish officials to our flag so multiplied that the popular indignation in 
 the country reached an alarming height. 
 
 It is difficult for a republic and a despotism, situated like the 
 United States and Cuba, to live on neighborly terms ; and to control 
 the indignation of the citizens of the former, proud and high-spirited, 
 conscious of giving no offence, and yet subjected to repeated insults, 
 is a task almost too great for the most adroit and pacific administra- 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 355 
 
 tion. Had she possessed more foresight and less pride, Spain would 
 have long since sold the Island to the United States, and thereby 
 have relieved herself of a weighty care and a most dangerous prop 
 erty. 
 
 "So far from being really injured by the loss of the Island," said 
 Hon. Edward Everett, in his able and well-known letter to the Brit 
 ish minister rejecting the proposition for the tripartite convention, 
 " there is no doubt that, were it peacefully transferred to the United 
 States, a prosperous commerce between Cuba and Spain, resulting 
 from ancient associations and common language and tastes, would be 
 far more productive than the best-contrived system of colonial taxa 
 tion. Such, notoriously, has been the result to Great Britain of the 
 establishment of the independence of the United States." 
 
 Bold Utterances in Congress. 
 
 The following remarks are quoted from a conservative speech of 
 Mr. Latham, then member of Congress from California. They pre 
 sent, with emphasis, some of the points we have lightly touched upon. 
 
 " I admit that our relations with Spain, growing out of that Island 
 (Cuba), are of an extremely delicate nature; that the fate of that 
 Island, its misgovernment, its proximity to our shores, and the par 
 ticular institutions established upon it, are of vast importance to the 
 peace and security of this country; and that the utmost vigilance in 
 regard to it is not only demanded by prudence, but aa act of 
 imperative duty on the part of our government. The Island of Cuba 
 commands, in a measure, the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 " In case of a maritime war, in which the United States may be 
 engaged, its possession by the enemy might become a source of infi 
 nite annoyance to us, crippling our shipping, threatening the great 
 emporium of our southern commerce, and exposing our whole 
 southern coast, from the capes of Florida to the mouth of the Rio 
 Grande, to the enemy s cruisers. The geographical position of 
 Cuba is such that we cannot, without a total disregard to our own 
 safety, permit it to pass into the hands of any first-class power ; nay, 
 that it would be extremely imprudent to allow it to pass even into 
 
356 THE CONSPIRACY OF LOPEZ. 
 
 the hands of a power of the second rank, possessed of energy and 
 capacity for expansion." 
 
 " Rich in soil, salubrious in climate, varied in productions, the 
 home of commerce," said the Hon. O. R. Singleton, of Mississippi, 
 " Cuba seems to have been formed to become the very button on 
 Fortune s cap. Washed by the Gulf-stream on half her borders, 
 with the Mississippi pouring out its rich treasures on one side, and 
 the Amazon, destined to become a cornucopia/ on the other, with 
 the ports of Havana and Matanzas on the north, and the Isle of 
 Pines and St. Jago de Cuba on the south, Nature has written upon 
 her, in legible characters, a destiny far above that of a subjugated 
 province of a rotten European dynasty. 
 
 " Her home is in the bosom of the North American confederacy. 
 Like a lost Pleiad, she may wander on for a few months or years in 
 lawless, chaotic confusion ; but, ultimately, the laws of nature and of 
 nations will vindicate themselves, and she will assume her true social 
 and political condition, despite the diplomacy of statesmen, the 
 trickery of knaves, or the frowns of tyrants. 
 
 " Cuba will be free. The spirit is abroad among her people ; and, 
 although they dare not give utterance to their thoughts, lest some 
 treacherous breeze should bear them to a tyrant s ears, still they think 
 and feel, and will act when the proper time shall arrive. The few 
 who have dared to do or die have fallen, and their blood still marks 
 the spot where they fell. Such has been the case in all great revolu 
 tionary struggles. Those who lead the van must expect a sharp en 
 counter before they break through the serried hosts of tyranny, and 
 many a good man falls upon the threshold of the temple. 
 
 " But freedom s battle once begun, 
 Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son, 
 Though baffled oft, is always won. " 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 The Bitter Ten- Years War. 
 
 SOON after the events narrated in the preceding chapter a 
 Reformist party sprang up, desirous of coming to a settlement 
 which should insure the rights of the colony without impair 
 ing the interests of Spain, and after protracted efforts this party suc 
 ceeded in obtaining an inquiry at Madrid on the reforms needed by 
 Cuba ; but the only alteration decreed was that of a new system of 
 taxation, more depressive than the former. Great sympathy had 
 long been shown for the Cubans by the people of the United States, 
 and in 1848 President Polk had gone the length of proposing through 
 the American ambassador at Madrid a transference of the Island to 
 the United States for a sum of $1,000,000. 
 
 A similar proposal was made ten years afterwards in the Senate 
 the sum suggested being $30,000,000 but after debate it was with 
 drawn. When the Spanish revolution of 1868 broke out the ad 
 vanced party in Cuba at once matured their plans for the liberation 
 of the Island from the military despotism of Spain, rose in arms at 
 Yara in the district of Bayamo, and made a declaration of independ 
 ence, dated at Manzanillo, on the loth of October of that year. This 
 insurrection soon assumed formidable dimensions in the eastern por 
 tion of the Island ; on the i8th of October the town of Bayamo was 
 taken, and on the 28th the jurisdiction of Holguin rose in arms. 
 
 Early in November the patriots defeated a force which had been 
 sent against them from Santiago de Cuba, and the greater number of 
 the Spanish-American republics hastened to recognize the Cubans as 
 belligerents. During subsequent years, in spite of the large and 
 continued increase of the number of troops sent from Spain- and 
 organized by the Spanish authorities in the Island, the yearly cam 
 paigns up to the present time have shown that in the eastern interioi 
 
 867 
 
358 THE BITTER TEN-YEARS WAR. 
 
 the Cuban patriots are practically invincible, and that by maintaining 
 a guerrilla warfare they can attack and harass and even defeat their 
 enemies who may be bold enough to act on the aggressive. 
 
 In the long war above referred to, the insurgents were nevei 
 accorded belligerent rights by any power strong enough to take 
 Spain by the throat and force her to conduct operations under the 
 reasonable humanities of modern war. The peculiar form of Cuba 
 renders the control of every port easy to the Spanish navy ; and 
 although battles were won and campaigns steadily conducted for ten 
 years by the insurgents, the United States government chose to close 
 its eyes to the truth. The real facts were, not that a state of war was 
 not fully demonstrated, but the " Alabama " claims were in the air, and 
 we were ready first to turn our backs on Cuba in order not to 
 prejudice our money case against England, and after the payment of 
 the award, the precedent was still too fresh. 
 
 Balmaceda s Proclamation. 
 
 The South American republics which recognized Cuban belli 
 gerency were powerless, and Europe remained indifferent. Thus 
 Spain, left unrestrained by foreign powers, worked her will with a 
 cynical frankness that laid bare her full savagery. The war having 
 begun, General Count Balmaceda published the following proclama 
 tion : 
 
 " Inhabitants of the country ! The reinforcements of troops that 
 I have been waiting for have arrived ; with them I shall give protec 
 tion to the good, and punish promptly those that still remain in 
 rebellion against the government of the metropolis. 
 
 " You know that I have pardoned those who have fought us with 
 arms ; that your wives, mothers, and sisters have found in me the 
 unexpected protection that you have refused them. You know, also, 
 that many of those we have pardoned have turned against us again. 
 
 " Before such ingratitude, such villainy, it is not possible for me to 
 be the man that I have been ; there is no longer a place for a falsified 
 neutrality ; he that is not for me is against me ; and that my soldiers 
 may know how to distinguish, you hear the order they carry ; 
 
THE BITTER TEN- YEARS WAR. 359 
 
 " 1st. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away 
 from his habitation (finca), and who does not prove a justified motive 
 therefor, will be shot. 
 
 " 2d. Every habitation unoccupied will be burned by the troops. 
 
 " 3d. Every habitation from which does not float a white flag, as a 
 signal that its occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. 
 
 " Women that are not living at their own homes, or at the houses 
 of their relatives, will collect in the town of Jiguani, or Bayamo, 
 where maintenance will be provided. Those who do not present 
 themselves will be conducted forcibly. 
 
 " The foregoing determinations will commence to take effect on the 
 14th of the present month. 
 
 " EL CONDE DE BALMACEDA. 
 
 " Bayamo, April 4, 1869." 
 
 Tyrants Quoting the Bible. 
 
 Spanish tyrants are always deeply Christian, so that it can hardly 
 be supposed that Balmaceda, in using solemn words of the Saviour, 
 did so unconscious that the source of his phrase is the source of 
 divine compassion to men. 
 
 A month later, Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, correctly branded 
 this proclamation as " infamous," and wrote in a letter to Sefior Lopez 
 Roberts (Spanish Minister to the United States) : 
 
 " In the interest of Christian civilization and common humanity, I 
 hope that this document is a forgery. If it indeed be genuine, the 
 President instructs me in the most forcible manner to protest against 
 such mode of warfare." 
 
 We have not forgotten the wanton butchery of Americans in the 
 " Virginius " affair. It remains of value as a proved example with 
 out which we should be slow to believe that Spanish generals habit 
 ually shot insurgents captured in battle, as in fact they did. A pub 
 lished record of the Spanish barbarities of the war gives in detail a 
 list of 2,927 " Martyrs to Liberty," political prisoners executed 
 during the war, and of 4,672 captured insurgents whose fate has 
 never been made known. There were 13,000 confiscations of estates, 
 
360 THE BITTER TEN- YEARS WAR. 
 
 1,000 being those of ladies whose only crime was the love of Cuban 
 liberty. 
 
 The experience of American newspaper correspondents, like 
 O Kelly, in rebel camps and Spanish prisons, confirms the revolting 
 character of the Spanish conduct of the war ; and there are extant 
 letters of Spanish officers which throw gleams of light into the dark 
 ness of the period. A specimen or two are enough. 
 
 Last Words for Ouba. 
 
 Jesus Rivocoba, under date of September 4, 1869, writes: 
 
 " We captured seventeen, thirteen of whom were shot outright ; on 
 dying they shouted, Hurrah for Free Cuba, hurrah for Independ 
 ence. A mulatto said, Hurrah for Cespedes. On the following 
 day we killed a Cuban officer and another man. Among the thirteen 
 that we shot the first day were found three sons and their father ; the 
 father witnessed the execution of his sons without even changing 
 color, and when his turn came he said he died for the independence 
 of his country. On coming back we brought along with us three 
 carts filled with women and children, the families of those we had 
 shot ; and they asked us to shoot them, because they would rather 
 die than live among Spaniards." 
 
 Pedro Fardon, another officer, who entered perfectly into the spirit 
 of the service he honored, writes on September 22, 1869 : 
 
 " Not a single Cuban will remain in this Island, because we shoot 
 all those we find in the fields, on the farms, and in every hovel." 
 
 And again, on the same day, the same officer sends the following 
 good news to his old father : 
 
 " We do not leave a creature alive where we pass, be it man or 
 animal. If we find cows, we kill them ; if horses, ditto ; if hogs, 
 ditto ; men, women, or children, ditto ; as to the houses, we burn 
 them : so every one receives his due, the men in balls, the animals 
 in bayonet-thrusts. The Island will remain a desert." 
 
 Balmaceda himself paid a visit to the plantation home of the Mora 
 family, and, there being no male patriots on whom to wreak his lust 
 for blood, butchered and burned the sisters Mora and left their home 
 
THE BITTER TEN- YEARS WAR. 361 
 
 in ashes. A mere enumeration of authentic cases of Spanish inhu 
 manity in the last insurrection would fill volumes and exhibit one of 
 the blackest episodes of history. 
 
 The following paragraphs are from an able article by Mr. Clarence 
 King, on the question, " Shall Cuba be Free ? " and published in 
 " The Forum " : 
 
 " In Spanish character survives a continuous trait of the Pagan 
 cruelty of Rome, reinforced and raised to fiendish intensity by the 
 teachings of the Inquisition. Had the United States, by one stroke 
 of her pen, recognized Cuban belligerency, as was her moral duty, 
 all the Caligula-Torquemada atrocities would have been stopped, and 
 the war for freedom gone on to victory unstained by the blood of 
 women and children. President Grant lost this noblest opportunity 
 of his civil career by miserable anxiety about the Alabama claims. 
 
 Willing to Stake Everything. 
 
 " Cubans are under no delusion as to the fateful step they have 
 taken ; the men who survived the scourge of the ten-years war, in 
 rushing to arms again, act in full consciousness of what they are 
 doing, and willingly face the cruel odds. If this were a first effort to 
 acquire freedom it might be attributed to the over-confident enthusi 
 asm of a brave people inexperienced in war and its train of suffering 
 and grief, and ignorant of the combination of money, material, and 
 men their enemy can hurl against her. 
 
 " But these are the very people who half a generation ago fought 
 ten years, and felt the shock of 200,000 Spanish soldiers, and suffered 
 as no modern combatants have done. They enter this war as bravely 
 as before, but with eyes open and with memory loaded down with 
 visions of agony and blood. Of that adoration of liberty which is 
 the only sure foundation of modern representative government, this 
 insurrection is as pure and lofty an example as the course of human 
 history can show. 
 
 " That all the material advantages of war are against them can 
 easily be seen. In the first place, Cuba is a long, narrow Island 
 about seven hundred miles in east-and-west extent, by a north-and* 
 
362 THE BITTER TEN-YEARS WAR. 
 
 south breadth of twenty-one to one hundred and twenty miles It 
 possesses a truly remarkable series of great and small harbors : the 
 more important ones roomy and landlocked, like those of Havana, 
 Cienfuegos, Santiago, and others of the type ; and the small but often 
 admirable ones strung at short intervals along the whole 2,000 miles 
 of sea-coast. The greater harbors are fortified. 
 
 " Spain has a respectable navy, and has, in fact, occupied all the 
 chief and several of the small harbors with fifteen vessels of war. She 
 has, besides, a fleet of light-draught gunboats, partly in use and partly 
 under contract on the Clyde, and soon to be available for cruising 
 perpetually along the short intervals of shore between the various 
 harbors which are occupied by larger war-vessels. In her centuries 
 of neglect of useful public works in Cuba she has built practically no 
 wagon-roads, so that if the insurgents possessed artillery, which they 
 cannot obtain, they could not, save by an almost superhuman effort, 
 move it to concentration for the capture of one of the ports. 
 
 Harbors Blockaded. 
 
 " Spain, on the other hand, holds the few rudimentary roads within 
 the theatre of war, and whatever use of field guns is possible is there 
 fore for Spain alone. Not only is every important harbor under 
 effective blockade against insurgent people and freight, but it is 
 a secure base of supplies. Practically seventy miles would be a 
 maximum distance for any considerable operation from a safely- 
 maintained even an unthreatened base, and the average cannot be 
 above fifty miles. 
 
 " Spain therefore begins her campaign to quell the Cubans with a 
 cordon of impregnable bases, to which at all times she has unre 
 stricted access by a sea on which not a single Cuban flag floats, 
 except on some hovering, unarmed sea-tug or timid blockade-runner 
 which avoids the ports and creeps in under cover of darkness to bring 
 a handful of patriots or some boxes of arms. By means of this com 
 plete chain of fortified and occupied harbors, Spain can pour in the 
 whole resources of the nation in men, supplies, and munitions, without 
 3 moment s interruption or a shadow of danger. These resources are 
 
THE BITTER TEN-YEARS WAR. 363 
 
 a peninsula population of 17,000,000 to draw from, and a standing 
 army, which, on a peace basis, carries 115,735 men, and reaches in 
 nominal war resource something more than 1,000,000. 
 
 " Financial advantage is also wholly with Spain. Although bent 
 under a debt of over a thousand millions of dollars, and her fiscal 
 affairs in such wretched condition that there has been no parliamen 
 tary endorsement of expenditures since 1865-67, and the Tribunal of 
 Accounts has not dared to publish the national books since 1869, 
 nevertheless Spain is a nation still possessing the shattered remnants 
 of a public credit. 
 
 " She can vote bonds, and there is even yet a price at which they 
 can be sold. Her soldiery face death with courage, in spite of 
 Napier s epigram that " Spaniards are brave behind walls, cowards in 
 the field, and robbers always," their conduct in action in Cuba dis 
 proving the middle term of an otherwise correct characterization. 
 
 "The Spanish Military Gazette gives the figures of the national 
 forces in Cuba as follows : 60,000 regulars, the chief part of which 
 are infantry, but including cavalry, 2,596; artillery, 621; engineers, 
 415; public-order officers, 676; civil guards, 4,400 ; marines, 2,700; 
 guerrillas, 1,152; the whole under one captain-general, seven division 
 generals, one auditor, one military intendant, one sanitary inspector, 
 and the usual complement of staff and line officers. Besides this 
 there are about 40,000 Cuban militia recruited from the loyal classes 
 and used chiefly for garrison purposes. There are fifteen warships 
 and nineteen vessels in purchase. 
 
 "All Cuba has a population of about 1,600,000, of which more 
 than half are in garrison cities and regions so overawed by the power 
 of Spain that they cannot successfully rise until the national forces 
 are shattered in the field. Of the portion in revolt (about two-thirds 
 of the area and one-third of the population) it is probable that of the 
 total number of a sex, age and physical condition to bear arms, the 
 figure would not exceed the actual peace force of the Spanish army, 
 to say nothing of the 17,000,000 which the enemy have to draw 
 upon. 
 
 " Impoverished by centuries of financial oppression, the Cuban 
 
364 THE BITTER TEN-YEARS WAS.. 
 
 patriots are poor, their slender resources are the sum of innumerable 
 small contributions. Few in number, empty of purse, they stand 
 within this tight-drawn ring of Spanish fire. Cut off from any but 
 dangerous and clandestine introduction of arms and medicines ; lack 
 ing supplies to form a base ; with not a cent to pay a single soldier 
 or officer of their little army ; with only a skeleton medical corps, 
 in short, almost nothing to make war with, these brave souls are 
 facing, not death only, but Spanish death. 
 
 One Great Graveyard. 
 
 "The region under revolution is one great graveyard of those 
 fallen in the ten years revolt, yet Cubans are undaunted by the num 
 bers or resources of their foe. Beside this far-reaching patience of 
 valor a single act of heroism like Thermopylae is pastime ; compared 
 with the raggedness, hunger, and privation which Cubans bravely 
 choose to accept, Valley Forge was a garden party. For ten years 
 these same men with the same slender resources held the arms and 
 pride of Spain at bay, and then capitulated to promises which were 
 made only to be broken. 
 
 " Of Spain the insurgents have no fear ; but if the United States 
 rigorously prevents the shipment of arms and munitions from our 
 shore, we can discourage, we can delay the triumph of patriotism, but 
 in the end we cannot prevent it. In this war, or the next, or the 
 next, Cuba will be free. Although these men are our near neigh 
 bors, although we are to them the chosen people who have won inde 
 pendence and grown great in freedom, yet they have never made the 
 slightest appeal to us for active aid in their struggle. 
 
 " They expect no good-Samaritan offices. They look for no gal 
 lant American Lafayette to draw sword for them and share the pen 
 ury and hardships of their camps. They ask nothing. But I happen 
 to know that they are at a loss to comprehend how a great people to 
 whom Heaven has granted the victorious liberty for which they are 
 fighting and dying, should let months pass in cold half-silence, with 
 out one ringing God-speed ! to cheer them on into battle. 
 
 * "ft is doubtless explicable enough that a people whose own busj- 
 
THE BITTER TEN- YEARS WAR. 365 
 
 ness is so essentially materialistic as ours, and who mind it so ab- 
 sorbedly, should remain carelessly ignorant of the real Cuban ques 
 tion and the moral attitude of the Island people ; but is it fair, is it 
 generous, is it worthy of the real blood of freedom that still flows 
 from the big American heart? Already a change is coming, and 
 isolated expressions of genuine sympathy are becoming frequent. 
 The time will come, and that not long hence, when the voice of 
 America will ring out clear and true. 
 
 " The Cuban war hangs before us an issue which we cannot 
 evade. Either we must stand as the friend of Spain, and, by our 
 thorough prevention of the shipment of war supplies to the insur 
 gents, aid and countenance the Spanish efforts to conquer Cuba into 
 continued sorrow, or we must befriend Cuba in her heroic battle to 
 throw off a mediaeval yoke. Let us not deceive ourselves ! Spain 
 alone cannot conquer Cuba ; she proved that in ten years of misera 
 ble failure. If we prevent the sending of munitions to Cuba, and 
 continue to allow Spain to buy ships and arms and ammunition here, 
 it is we who will conquer Cuba, not Spain. It is we who will crush 
 liberty! 
 
 " To secure victory for Cuba it is necessary for us, in my opinion, 
 to take but a single step ; that is, to recognize her belligerency ; she 
 will do all the rest. That step the government will doubtless hesitate 
 to take at the present state of the struggle, because as yet the insur 
 gents have neither instituted a government nor established a capital. 
 In the last insurrection they did both, besides maintaining a state of 
 war for ten years. 
 
 * That a state of war exists is virtually admitted by the proclama 
 tion of Governor-General Campos, who in addition to the army under 
 his command, consisting of about 60,000 regulars and 40,000 militia, 
 calls for heavy reinforcements, and the Spanish war office has been 
 obliged to order out the first class of reserves. Moreover, a com- 
 mander-in-chief routed in battle and fleeing, his rear-guard fighting 
 bravely all the way into Bayamo/ to use his own words, connotes 
 nothing less than war. 
 
 " When the Cuban government is set up, as it soon will be, we 
 
366 THE BITTER TEN- YEARS WAR. 
 
 shall have equally as good international authority and precedent to 
 recognize a state of war in the Island as Spain did for our own Con 
 federate insurgents forty days after the shot on Fort Sumter. We 
 can return to her, in the interests of liberty, the compliment she then 
 paid us in behalf of slavery. The justice will be poetic. With all 
 possible decorum, with a politeness above criticism, with a firmness 
 wholly irresistible, we should assist Spain out of Cuba and out of the 
 hemisphere as effectually as Lincoln and Seward did the French 
 invaders of Mexico in the sixties. 
 
 " Moreover, according to American precedent, neither a state of 
 hostilities nor the setting up of a civil or military organization is 
 positively necessary to entitle a people to belligerent rights ; for 
 before either of these conditions was established in 1838, we went so 
 far as to issue a proclamation for prevention of unlawful interference 
 in the civil war in Canada. 
 
 " Our record toward Spain is clear. We heartily approved when 
 George Canning invoked the Holy Alliance to prevent her from re 
 covering her American provinces, and in 1825 we refused to guaran 
 tee her perpetual possession of Cuba in exchange for commercial 
 concessions to ourselves. 
 
 " Our obligations to her are measured by an easily terminable 
 treaty, which, however, while in force, in no way prevents us from 
 recognizing Cuba s belligerency. Is it difficult for us to decide 
 between free Cuba and tyrant Spain ? Why not fling overboard 
 Spain and give Cuba the aid which she needs, and which our treaty 
 with. Spain cannot prevent ? Which cause is morally right ? which 
 is manly? which is American?" 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Butchery of the Crew of the " Virginius." 
 
 ONE of the most cold-blooded massacres on record was that of 
 the crew of the " Virginius," a ship that was rendering aid to 
 the insurgents and was captured by the Spanish. Nothing in 
 all the annals of crime, not even excepting the bloody and savage mas 
 sacres of Armenia, was more brutal or inhuman than this wholesale 
 slaughter of the gallant captain, officers and crew of that ill-fated 
 vessel. Even though forfeiting their lives, the manner in which they 
 were executed shocked the civilized world. After the first firing 
 some were left still alive, yet writhing in the throes of death. These 
 in some instances had the muzzles of guns rammed into their mouths 
 and their heads were blown off. 
 
 With such an inhuman record, and many others to match it in the 
 long ages of Spanish barbarities in Cuba, it is not strange that both 
 the sympathy and the indignation of the American people have, from 
 time to time, been aroused to the highest pitch, and it is only by 
 national forbearance, unjustified as many believe, that Cuba has not 
 been snatched from the grasp of her tormentor. The following is the 
 full and tragic story of the butchery of the crew of the " Virginius." 
 
 In 1873 American sympathy for the Cuban struggle for freedom 
 ran high, and we were apparently near war with Spain. To go further 
 back, twenty years before there had been a proposition for the United 
 States to buy Cuba, and it had been haughtily if not contemptuously 
 rejected by Spain. That proposition was the outgrowth of the desire 
 of the Southern political leaders to increase the slave territory and 
 strengthen the pro-slavery representation in Congress by the manu^ 
 facture of the new States carved out of the Island of Cuba. 
 
 In 1873 the situation had changed for the better in the United 
 States as well as in Cuba. The United States had repudiated slavery 
 
 867 
 
368 THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 
 
 America s sympathy with Cuba s aspirations for independence, and 
 their desire for the acquisition of Cuba, so far as such desire existed, 
 was sincere, and inspired by lofty if not wholly disinterested impulses. 
 This sympathy animated the American people without regard to 
 partisan affiliations and without accruing benefit to either of the great 
 political parties at -the expense of the other. Singularly enough 
 and the fact is now generally forgotten Spain was at that time a re 
 public under Emilio Castelar. 
 
 Unfounded Hopes. 
 
 Americans believed that the leopard was going to change its spots. 
 They were urged to wait ; that once peace was restored Cuba would 
 share the enlightenment that had begun to shed its beams over Spain 
 and her possessions. All Castelar s eloquence and sophistry were 
 employed in the effort to impress this view upon those in authority 
 in Washington, and not without effect. 
 
 But Cubans resident in this country, especially in New York and 
 other coast cities, nearly all of them naturalized, and all of them 
 rich, thought they knew Spain as well as Castelar, and took no stock 
 in her conversion to republican principles, much less in her willing 
 ness either under a republican or monarchical form of government, to 
 do anything for Cuba in the way of loosening the ties binding 
 her like whip-cords, not like ties of affection, to the mother country. 
 
 They encouraged their brethren in chains to revolt. They sent 
 money and men and arms for the reinforcement of the revolutionists. 
 Filibustering expeditions were common. One of the best ships en 
 gaged in these expeditions was the " Virginius," flying the Ameri 
 can flag, commanded by Captain Frey, of New Orleans, an American 
 citizen and a veteran of our civil war, and manned in part by Ameri 
 can and British sailors. The " Virginius " slipped in and out of 
 Cuban harbors with wonderful success ; but the pitcher went to the 
 well once too often. 
 
 In October, 1873, the "Virginius " was captured in neutral waters, 
 near the British Island of Jamaica, towed into Santiago de Cuba, 
 declared a pirate and fifty-two of the officers and crew were executed 
 
THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 369 
 
 against the protest of the United States Consul. The whole thing 
 was irregular. A fraudulent use was made of the Stars and Stripes, 
 and the flag could afford the ship no protection. International law 
 had been set at naught by capturing the ship in neutral waters, and 
 in executing the captured, some of whom were naturalized citizens oi 
 the United States. 
 
 The incident served to inform the world of the wholesale, lawless 
 butchery going on in Cuba, and distinguished by Spain as legitimate 
 war. The four principal officers, Gen. Washington Ryan, Varona, 
 Jesus del Sol and Pedro Cespedes, were marched to the slaughter 
 house of Santiago de Cuba and murdered. They were in irons 
 when they were marched against the low, square structure of adobe. 
 Fifteen feet above them the red tile roof projected. At their feet 
 there was a ditch to catch rain-drops. 
 
 Shocking Barbarities. 
 
 They were made to kneel, facing the wall. The wall above them 
 was pitted deep with the bullets that flew over their heads. As they 
 fell into the ditch the cavalry rode over their warm bodies, and 
 military wagons crunched and slipped on the bodies. Negroes cut 
 off their heads and carried them on pikes through the city, and the 
 mutilated bodies were dumped into a pit of quicklime. 
 
 The North American continent thrilled with indignation in view of 
 this outrage. The press voiced the demand of the people for 
 apology, indemnity, revenge and the recognition of the Cubans, un 
 organized as they were, as belligerents. The government seemed to 
 share the popular feeling to a considerable degree. War between 
 Spain and the Jnited States seemed to be imminent and unavoidable. 
 
 Our poor little navy, consisting of wooden vessels of antiquated 
 models and of ironclads dusty from disuse, was patched up as quickly 
 as possible and ordered to rendezvous at Key West, whence it might 
 descend upon Cuba in a night. Admiral Scott commanded the 
 North Atlantic Squadron, such as it was. The flagship was the old 
 " Worcester," Capt. W. D. Whiting. The " Wyoming " was there 
 under Commander Cushing, and the " Juniata," under Lieut.-Com- 
 24 
 
370 THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERS 
 
 mander Merriman. Capt. Jouett commanded the side-wheeler 
 " Powhatan," with the " Ossipee," the " Pawnee " and some others, 
 eleven or twelve in all. The dispatch boats were the " Pinta," Capt. 
 Gorringe (afterward of " Obelisk " celebrity) ; the " Dispatch," Capt 
 Frederick Rodgers, and the " Fortune," Lieut.-Commander F. M t 
 Green. Then there were the ironclads which came very near swamp 
 ing on their tedious cruise down the coast. 
 
 Only for a Bluff. 
 
 These war vessels, insignificant as they appear in retrospect and 
 unformidable as they must have looked then in the eyes of naval 
 experts, made a very pretty and warlike show as they lay at anchor 
 in the harbor of Key West, and if they had put in an appearance 
 promptly at Havana would have commanded some respect from the 
 expected enemy. But a half bluff is worse than no bluff at all. 
 
 It was soon apparent that the government at Washington did not 
 mean business any farther than requiring the surrender of the 
 " Virginius," and of the surviving members of her crew, and an in 
 demnity, trivial in amount, for the blood of those American citizens 
 whose nationality could be proved beyond peradventure. The State 
 Department did not share the belligerent disposition of the Navy 
 Department. Secretary Fish was able, patriotic and incorruptible, 
 but somehow or other the legal representatives of the Spanish 
 Government managed to block the way, and Spanish diplomacy, then 
 as now, was plausible and resourceful. 
 
 Whatever the cause, the naval display at Key West was feeble and 
 ineffective. Our flagship, at least, like the British fl.i^ship, should 
 have gone to Havana. As a matter of fact, Admiral Scott had to 
 make an excuse and get express authority to send over a dispatch 
 boat, and was dependent upon the newspaper correspondents, or one 
 of them, for news of what was going on in his immediate front. 
 
 From the versatile pen of Major Moses P. Handy we quote a 
 graphic description of the bloody tragedy : 
 
 " There was as much newspaper enterprise then as now, although 
 you may not think so. Every New York journal sent corre- 
 
THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 371 
 
 spondents to the front. The New York Herald was represented 
 at first at Key West by W. B. Stephens and Karl Case, who were 
 reinforced by James A. Cowardin and Modoc Fox, and finally by 
 J. A. McGahan, one of the most famous of war correspondents, who 
 came from the European station on one of our men-of-war, and 
 Julius Chambers. The Tribune bureau was in my charge, and 
 we also had Ralph Keeler at Santiago de Cuba and W. P. Sullivan, 
 now a New York broker, at Havana. McGahan, Stephens, Cowardin, 
 Case and Fox are now dead. 
 
 Rivalry to get the News. 
 
 " The race between the correspondents for news was very hot. 
 Every man as the representative of his newspaper was on his mettle, 
 and enterprise was at a premium. McGahan had the advantage of 
 being ward-room guest on a man-of-war. Fox was paymaster s yeo 
 man on the Pinta, the fastest boat in the navy. When we learned 
 that the Virginius was to be surrendered we all realized that that 
 event would end the campaign. The point then was to be in at the 
 death, and to obtain the best if not the exclusive story of the cere 
 mony and attendant circumstances. The lips of the government 
 officials were sealed as to the time and place appointed. 
 
 " In fact the programme was arranged at Washington by the Sec 
 retary of State and the Spanish Minister and communicated con 
 fidentially to Admiral Scott. However, I managed to get at the 
 secret, and, thus armed, stowed away on the Dispatch, which 
 was the vessel appointed to receive the surrender. Captain Rodgers 
 commanded the Dispatch/ but the receiving officer was Captain 
 Whiting. The fleet captain and the other officers of the detail were 
 Lieutenant Adolph Marix, Master George A. Calhoun and Assistant 
 Engineer N. H. Lambdin. With them were thirty-nine sailor men 
 from the Pawnee/ who were to man the surrendered vessel as a 
 prize crew. All of these people except Captain Whiting were 
 ignorant of their instructions, not even knowing their destination, and 
 the pilot taken aboard before leaving Key West had sealed orders. 
 
 " We left Key West on a Sunday night at 10 o clock, We were in 
 
372 THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 
 
 the open sea before I ventured to make my appearance on deck, pre 
 sent myself to the officers, declare myself a stowaway, and verify my 
 information as to their mission. The next morning at 10 o clock the 
 blue hills of the Cuban coast rose above the horizon and the bow of 
 the Dispatch was directed toward Bahia Honda, the obscure little 
 port selected for the function. 
 
 " It was about noon when we passed an old fort called Murillo, 
 commanding the entrance to the harbor. Speed was then slackened, 
 and the vessel crept cautiously along the narrow, but clearly marked 
 channel, which leads to the smooth water where the Virginius was 
 supposed to be lying. 
 
 Raising the Stars and Stripes. 
 
 " As soon as the Dispatch was sighted from the shore, the Span 
 ish flag, bearing the crown, notwithstanding the republic abolishing 
 that monarchical emblem, was flung to the breeze. We discovered a 
 black side-wheel steamship lying about a mile beyond the fort. It 
 was the Virginius. No other craft, except two or three coasting 
 steamers, or fishing smacks, was then visible, and it was not until 
 we were about to come to anchor that we discerned a Spanish sloop- 
 of-war lying close under the shore, about two and a half miles away. 
 
 " Very soon a boat from the Spanish man-of-war came alongside 
 of the Virginius, and immediately the Stars and Stripes were raised 
 by Spanish hands, and again floated over the vessel which carried 
 Ryan and his unfortunate comrades to their death. At the same 
 moment we saw, by the aid of field-glasses, another boat let down 
 from the Spanish vessel. It proved to be the captain s gig, and 
 brought to the Dispatch a naval officer in full uniform, who proved 
 to be Senor de la Camera, of the Spanish sloop-of war Favorita. 
 He stepped briskly forward, and was met at the gangway by Captain 
 Rodgers and Captain Whiting. 
 
 " After an exchange of courteous salutations, Commander de la 
 Camera remarked that he had received a copy of the protocol pro 
 viding for the surrender of the Virginius/ and that the surrender 
 might now be considered to have taken place. Captain Whiting 
 
THE " VIRGINIUS BUTCHERY. 373 
 
 replied that under his instructions the following day was named for 
 the surrender, and that he could not receive it until that time. Mean 
 while he would thank the Spanish officer to continue in possession. 
 Nine o clock on Tuesday morning was then agreed upon as the hour, 
 and after informing the American officer that there was coal enough 
 on board of the Virginius to last six days, salutes were exchanged 
 and the Spanish officer retired. 
 
 " The next morning, half an hour ahead of time, the gig of the 
 Favorita came over to the Virginius/ It contained oarsmen and 
 a single officer. As the latter stepped on deck a petty officer and 
 half a dozen men, who had stood watch on the * Virginius during 
 the night, went over the side and remained in a dingy awaiting orders. 
 At 9 precisely by the bells the American flag again flew to the flag 
 staff of the Virginius, and at the same moment a boat containing 
 Capt. Whiting and Lieut. Marix put away from the Dispatch. As 
 they ascended the accommodation ladder of the Virginius the 
 single man on deck, who proved to be Senor de la Camera, advanced 
 and made a courteous salute. 
 
 Account of the Surrender. 
 
 " The officers then read their respective instructions, and Capt. de 
 la Camera remarked that in obedience to the requirements of the 
 government and in execution of the provisions of the protocol, he 
 had the honor to turn over the steamer Virginius to the American 
 authorities. Capt. Whiting accepted, and, learning that a receipt was 
 required, gave one in due form. A word or two more was spoken, 
 and the Spaniard stepped over the side, signalled to his oarsmen, and 
 in ten minutes was again upon the deck of his own vessel. Beside 
 the surrendering and receipting officers, I was the only witness of the 
 ceremony. 
 
 " While the Spanish officer was courtesy itself, we were all im 
 pressed with the fact that the ceremony was lacking in dignity, and 
 that the Spaniards had purposely made that lack as conspicuous 
 as they dared. It appeared that the Virginius was towed 
 to Havana by the first-class man-of-war Isabel la Catolica/ the 
 
374 THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 
 
 commander of which retired immediately and left the surrender to be 
 made by the commander of the Favorita/ which had been in the 
 vicinity of Bahia Honda for several months engaged in surveying 
 duty. The surrender should have taken place either at Santiago de 
 Cuba or at Havana, and a Spanish officer of like rank with Capt. 
 Whiting should have discharged the duty. 
 
 Bad Condition of the Vessel. 
 
 " A quick survey by our officers showed the Virginius to be in 
 a most filthy condition. She was stripped of almost everything 
 moveable save a few vermin, which haunted the mattresses and cush 
 ions in cabin and staterooms, and half a dozen casks of water. The 
 decks were caked with dirt, and nuisances recently committed, com 
 bined with mold and decomposition, caused a foul stench in the fore 
 castle and below the hatches. In the cabin, however, the odor of 
 carbolic acid gave evidence that an attempt had been made to make 
 that part of the vessel habitable for the temporary custodians of the 
 ship. 
 
 " Our officers were reluctant to put the men into the dirty fore 
 castle and stowed them away into hardly more agreeable quarters 
 afforded by the staterooms of Ryan and his butchered companions. 
 Some attempt seemed to have been made, as shown by the engineer 
 ing survey, to repair the machinery, but a few hours work put the 
 engines in workable order. The ship was leaking considerably and 
 the pumps had to be kept going constantly to keep the water down. 
 After a few hours oi hard work we got under way, but had only gone 
 200 yards when the engines suddenly refused to do duty, and it 
 became necessary for the Dispatch to take us in tow. 
 
 " As we passed the fort at the entrance to the harbor the Spanish 
 flag was rather defiantly displayed by that antiquated apology for a 
 fortification, and there was no salute for the American flag, either 
 from the fort or the surrendering sloop-of-war. 
 
 " We had a hard time that night those of us who were aboard 
 the Virginius. It seemed hardly possible that we could keep 
 afloat until morning. During the night the navy tug * Fortune/ 
 
THE " VIRGINIUS " BUTCHERY. 375 
 
 from Key West, met us and remained with the convoy. At noon the 
 next day, when we were about thirty miles south-southeast of Dry 
 Tortugas, the vessels separated, the Virginius and Dispatch 
 going to Tortugas and the Fortune returning, with me as a soli 
 tary passenger, to Key West whence I had the honor of reporting 
 the news to the Admiral. 
 
 Cheers from Excited Spaniards. 
 
 " It was the general opinion among the naval officers that the 
 Sania had endeavored to belittle the whole proceeding by smug 
 gling the Virginius out of Havana, by selecting an obscure harbor 
 not a port of entry as the place of surrender and by turning the duty 
 of surrender over to a surveying sloop, while the Tornado, which 
 made the capture, lay in the harbor of Havana and the Isabel la 
 Catolica, which had been selected as convoy, steamed back to 
 Havana under cover of the night. The American officers and 
 American residents in Cuba and Key West agreed that our govern 
 ment ought to have required that the Virginius should be sur 
 rendered with all the released prisoners on board either at Santiago 
 de Cuba, where the Tornado brought in her ill-gotten prey and 
 where the inhuman butcheries were committed, or in Havana where 
 she was afterward taken in triumph and greeted with the cheers of 
 the excited Spaniards over the humiliation of the Americans. 
 
 "An attempt was made to take the Virginius to some northern 
 port, but the old hulk was not equal to the journey. On the way 
 no pumping or caulking could stop her leaks, and she foundered in 
 mid-ocean. The government had been puzzled to know what dis 
 position to make of her, and there was great relief in official circles 
 to know that she was out of the way. 
 
 " The surrender of the surviving prisoners of the massacre took 
 place in the course of time at Santiago, owing more to British insist 
 ence than to our feeble representations. As to the fifty-three who 
 were killed, Spain never gave us any real satisfaction. For a long 
 time the Madrid government unblushingly denied that there had 
 been any killing, and when forced to acknowledge the fact, they put 
 
376 THE "VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 
 
 us off with preposterous excuses. Butcher Borrel/ by whose 
 orders the outrage was perpetrated, was considered at Madrid to 
 have been justified by circumstances. It was pretended that orders 
 to suspend the execution of Ryan and his associates were unfortu 
 nately received too late, owing to interruption of telegraph lines by 
 the insurgents to whose broad and bleeding shoulders an attempt 
 was thus made to shift the responsibility. 
 
 Butcher Borrel Promoted. 
 
 " There was a nominal repudiation of Borrel s act and a promise 
 was made to inflict punishment upon those who have offended ; 
 but no punishment was inflicted upon anybody. The Spanish Govern 
 ment, with characteristic double dealing, resorted to procrastination, 
 prevarication and trickery, and thus gained time until new issues 
 effaced in the American mind the memory of old wrongs unavenged. 
 Instead of being degraded Borrel was promoted. Never to this day 
 has there been any adequate atonement by Spain, much less an 
 apology or expression of regret for the Virginius massacre. 
 
 " Newspaper correspondents having figured in this sketch, I cannot 
 close it without referring to the fate of one of my colleagues whose 
 death undoubtedly lies at the door of the Spaniards. Ralph Keeler 
 was his name. He was more magazinist than newspaper man, and 
 had achieved reputation by his stories of actual experiences in vaga 
 bondage, written, I think, for the Atlantic Monthly. We all ex 
 pected great things of him as a war correspondent. 
 
 "After the surrender of the Virginius/ he was expected to cover 
 the surrender of the prisoners, but having some misgivings as to 
 whether he would understand what was required to get ahead in the 
 dispatch of the news to New York, I laid plans to cover any default 
 by securing a report from another source. My misgivings had more 
 substantial foundation than I knew, for poor Keeler was probably 
 dead at the moment when his instructions were filed in the telegraph 
 office. 
 
 " He disappeared as effectually as if the earth had opened and 
 swallowed him. How, why or when he died his friends never knew. 
 
THE VIRGINIUS" BUTCHERY. 377 
 
 It is believed, however, that he was another victim of the hatred 
 which in those days inflamed the Spanish breast against every citizen 
 of the United States. Circumstantial evidence indicated that he was 
 assassinated by Spanish volunteers, and I have always thought of my 
 genial and gifted colleague as one of the murdered Americans now 
 vaguely remembered as the victims of the Spanish bloodthirstiness 
 in the matter of the unavenged Virginius incident." 
 
PART III. 
 
 Picturesque Cuba: "- 
 Manners and Customs of the People. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 First Impressions of the Island. 
 
 CUBA ! Beautiful " Queen of the Antilles," the land of .he cocoa 
 and the palm of the golden banana and the luscious orange 
 well may the hearts of thy sons and the dark, lustrous eyes 
 of thy maidens glow and glisten with pride at the praises of thy 
 sunny Isle ! How few Americans there are who have formed any 
 correct conception of " Life in the Tropics ! " To the generality of 
 us, Cuba suggests the idea of heat and yellow fever, of venomous 
 reptiles and insects, slaves and sugar, oranges and ever-blooming 
 flowers an idea in a great degree erroneous. 
 
 Few, indeed, can realize that, leaving the snow-clad hills of New 
 York harbor in the depth of winter, in three and a half or four days 
 they will be sailing over the placid waters of the bay of Havana, 
 under a tropic sun, which even in mid-winter rivals that of our own 
 land in its season of dog-day heat, and will see around them the 
 verdure-clad hills, with the graceful palm and cocoa-tree clear against 
 the pure blue sky of the beautiful Isle, so truly called " the giost 
 precious jewel of the Spanish crown." 
 
 Yet there are many Americans who, each year, either for purposes 
 
 of health, business, or pleasure, flock to Havana, all glad to avoid the 
 
 inclement weather of the icy north ; and even with all their traveling 
 
 it is difficult to get any reliable information as to what preparations 
 
 378 
 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 379 
 
 one needs to make before starting; unless, indeed, some of one s 
 acquaintances have been there, and even then it is very limited. 
 
 To him, therefore, who has any intention of making a visit to the 
 Island of Cuba with the purpose of staying there some time, of travel 
 ing over the Island, and of really enjoying its beautiful scenery, its 
 oddities of manners and customs, or even of trying its numerous 
 medicinal waters, we recommend to pick up a little Spanish, even if 
 it be only enough to ask for something to eat, to give directions 
 about luggage and such other every-day necessities as occur to 
 the traveler in any land. 
 
 Not Great Travelers. 
 
 The Cubans themselves are not a traveling people, and, to use the 
 words of one of their own authors, " have little fancy for traveling, 
 be it on account of the bad roads, that now are disappearing with the 
 advent of steamboats and railroads, or be it from the love with which 
 the localities where we are born and pass the first years of our 
 infancy inspire us, where exist our interests, and where gather 
 round our sweetest memories. 
 
 Few foreigners go much away from Havana or Matanzas, or per 
 haps Cardenas, and the people have not yet learned the necessities of 
 those who travel for curiosity or health ; and therefore to us, accus 
 tomed as we are to have our traveling made easy, many things will 
 seem hard, uncomfortable, and strange, unless one is able by a few 
 words of Spanish to smooth away the rough peculiarities of places 
 and people not accustomed to a traveling public. 
 
 And yet, with all the inconveniences and peculiarities that the 
 traveler experiences after leaving Havana, he is compensated for all 
 of these by the perfect novelty of the sights and scenery he meets 
 with, and by the extreme change in the manner of life, he is accus 
 tomed to, although he may leave behind him some greater con 
 veniences in quitting the prominent places like Havana and Matan 
 zas, where, after the novelty of the streets, the architecture of the 
 houses, and the odd appearance of the stores, etc., are worn off, he is 
 reminded of the city life of his own land constantly. The social life 
 
380 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 of the better classes is much the same, the world over ; they eat, and 
 drink, and visit pretty much as they do in all the great capitals of the 
 world. 
 
 But it is in such towns as Trinidad and Santiago de Cuba, and in 
 such pretty villages as Giiines, San Antonio, and Guanajay, or among 
 the coffee places of the Vuelta Abajo, and the sugar estates of the 
 Vuelta Arriba, that the stranger sees the original habits aud customs 
 of a people who are always loth to change ; and it has been truly 
 said that Cuba is more Spanish than Spain ; for here it is out of the 
 world, in some degree, while there effort is made to keep up with 
 the new ideas of the day. 
 
 Cuban Hospitality. 
 
 A more kind-hearted, hospitable people than the Cubans, partic 
 ularly to " Los Americanos," it would be difficult to find ; no trouble 
 is too great for them if you can make them comprehend the purpose 
 of what you desire ; and the " oiling of the palm " is just as effectual 
 amongst these primitive peope of the interior as in more civilized 
 lands. Many of the people speak English, a great many French, 
 which, in fact, is the household language in some parts of the Island, 
 and many of the young men one finds have been regularly educated 
 in the United States. 
 
 In arranging money matters, unless one is very extravagant indeed 
 in his daily expenditures, five dollars gold per day is a very fair 
 allowance for ordinary expenses while on the Island for simply living 
 and traveling ; while, of course, if one desires to be extravagant or 
 make purchases, there are just as many ways of getting rid of 
 money as in other places. 
 
 The provision for these expenses can best be made by a letter oj 
 credit. As exchange on London is generally at a premium in 
 Havana, a bill of exchange even up to ninety days on some well- 
 known house can be disposed of to advantage ; as, however, there is 
 not the same system of banking in Havana as there is with us, the 
 best arrangement for the general traveler is to take a letter of credit 
 on some well-known house in Havana. He will then only have to 
 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 381 
 
 pay for money as he uses it, he has no trouble in carrying money 
 with him, and such houses will furnish letters of credit to other parts 
 of the Island, which is a great convenience. 
 
 An amount of silver in ten-cent pieces, which pass readily as the 
 " real sencilla," say from twenty to fifty dollars 7 worth, will be 
 found very convenient for the thousand and one daily expenses of 
 the traveler, small change being scarce. Other silver coin it is not 
 advisable to take, since our twenty-five cent pieces pass for only 
 twenty cents {peseta), and the half dollars (inedio peso) for only forty 
 cents. American gold passes readily, being generally at a premium 
 of seven or eight per cent. ; and if you can supply yourself with the 
 Spanish doubloons at their intrinsic value of sixteen dollars, they 
 will pass for seventeen dollars in Cuba, as that is their value fixed by 
 the government to keep the coin in the country. 
 
 Letters of Introduction. 
 
 Letters of introduction to business men in Havana are really not 
 worth the paper they are written on, no matter by whom written, or 
 in whose favor given ; for the merchants receive such hosts of them 
 that it would be impossible, even had they the inclination, to show 
 attentions to the bearers. Many amusing incidents we could give of 
 persons with really strong letters, presenting the same under the 
 impression that at least some ordinary civility would be shown them, 
 when on the contrary they were astonished by the very blunt ques 
 tion addressed to them, without preface, of " Well, what do you 
 want?" 
 
 Letters to planters or citizens will be found very useful and are 
 generally well and politely received, particularly those to the owners 
 of sugar and coffee estates, than whom a more hospitable, kindly 
 people it is hard to find. They are generally very glad indeed to 
 entertain you at their places, if they themselves are living there ; or 
 if not, and you desire to visit a sugar estate, are kind enough to for 
 ward you, with a letter, to the administrator of the estate, who con 
 stantly lives upon it, and will take good care of you. 
 
 Clothing for a stay on the Island needs to be of the very lightest 
 
382 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 summer kind ; and one can wear, almost without intermission, linen 
 clothes, or a light suit of summer woolens. The nights during the 
 winter months are quite cool and agreeable for sleep, but the middle 
 of the day is always warm, the average temperature in Havana being 
 about eighty degrees. Clothing, particularly linens, of all kinds can 
 be purchased, of the best kinds and makes, in Havana, and at very 
 reasonable prices ; and there are certain styles of dresses that can be 
 much better purchased there than at home, some of them being made 
 specially for the Cuban market. 
 
 A suggestion, prompted by experience, we would here make to 
 any one intending to leave the traveled routes (as in fact it applies as 
 well to the towns, where they have no baggage carts), and that is to 
 have one s baggage in the shape of good-sized valises (maletas), for 
 these can be easily handled, can even be put in the car with the 
 owner, and, in the country, strapped on the back of mules or horses, 
 which is the common mode of transportation the people are familiar 
 with. 
 
 Singular Beds and Mattresses. 
 
 If the traveler is an invalid, and proposes to go to other places 
 than Havana and Matanzas, it will be well to provide himself with 
 an air-pillow, and, if he cannot sleep on a somewhat hard bed, an air- 
 mattress also. Few of the hotels even in Havana are provided with 
 mattresses to the beds, and the pillows are generally stuffed with hard 
 cotton or hair, the beds being a simple sacking bottom, covered with 
 a linen sheet. This may seem, at first, a great hardship, accustomed 
 as we are to our patent spring-mattresses ; but they are much cooler 
 and, after a little experience, as comfortable for that climate as are 
 mattresses. 
 
 Half a dozen towels will not be found amiss, as at some of the 
 smaller places the supply is somewhat short. And in speaking of 
 invalids who are very far gone with any organic disease, very few 
 indeed are ever very much benefited by a stay on the Island, any more 
 than that they avoid the inclemencies and changes of a northern 
 winter ; though there are cases in which some wonderful cures have 
 been effected, particularly in the Island of Pines. 
 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 383 
 
 For the overworked man of business, however, the debilitated or 
 weakly person, or one whose system has from some cause or other 
 become reduced, the climate and scenes of Cuba will work wonders : 
 and all such cases generally go back at the end of the winter com 
 pletely restored. But the poor consumptive, who has left it till it is 
 too late for anything in this world to do him good, only comes out 
 here to have his high hopes entirely dispelled, particularly when he 
 finds so many of the ordinary comforts to which he is accustomed, 
 and which are so necessary to the invalid, entirely unheard of. 
 
 It is safe for the stranger to visit the Island any time after Decem 
 ber, though January and February are the gay months, and he can 
 remain until even the first of June, though in May they have it very 
 hot indeed, and also some little fever amongst the shipping. If it is 
 necessary for the invalid to leave home in October, before the winter 
 of the north sets in, he can visit the Island with safety, but will find 
 it pleasanter to go directly to some of the " places of recreo" as they 
 are called, near the city, which are simply pretty villages, such as 
 Guines, Marianao, and Puentes Grandes, where good accommodations 
 can always be had. 
 
 Merry Christmas. 
 
 There is, however, not much to be done or seen before January, if 
 one wants to make simply a pleasure trip of it ; for at Christmas 
 almost all the families visit their estates and distribute presents to the 
 hands, making a week s regular holiday of it; after which the grind 
 ing season begins on the sugar plantations, and the business of the 
 town becomes quick and active. Carnival season, the week before 
 Lent, is the jolly season of the year, when everybody gives up to 
 the spirit of pure enjoyment and mischief: and it is then the 
 Habafieros are seen unbending from their usually dignified manner, 
 and giving loose rein to their tastes for balls, masks and spectacles. 
 
 Holy Week, the closing of the Lenten season, has also its attrac 
 tions in a country so thoroughly Romanistic as Cuba ; and the pro 
 cessions and ceremonies of the church, some of which are carried on 
 with great solemnity and splendor, will interest the Protestant 
 traveler. 
 
384 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 Many persons make the trip to Havana and back solely for the sea 
 voyage, from which they derive great benefit, simply staying over one 
 steamer. We have known business men in New York, who would 
 not tear themselves away until actually sent away by their doctors, 
 take the voyage out, remain ten days in Havana, and return 
 thoroughly recuperated men so wonderful is the effect of the sea air 
 in the Gulf Stream, and the immense let-up afforded by the entire 
 change of customs, scenes and language at Havana. 
 
 As the steamers are large and well patronized, their accommoda 
 tions are of the very best class, and one is always sure to find plea 
 sant company on board with whom to while away agreeably the short 
 passage of even four days. 
 
 " We left behind the painted buoy 
 
 That tossed at the harbor-mouth ; 
 And madly danced our hearts with joy, 
 
 As fast we fleeted to the South. 
 How fresh was every sight and sound 
 
 On open main or winding shore ! 
 We knew the merry world was round, 
 
 And we might sail forever more. 
 
 Warm broke the breeze against the brow, 
 
 Dry sang the tackle, sang the sail ; 
 The lady s head upon the prow 
 
 Caught the shrill salt, and sheered the gale. 
 The broad seas swelled to meet the keel, 
 
 And swept behind ; so swift the run, 
 We felt the good ship shake and reel, 
 
 We seemed to sail into the sun." 
 
 "Will make Cuba in the morning, sir," says the captain; and so 
 we stroll forward to watch the porpoises as they race along with the 
 steamer through the blue water, or amuse ourselves watching the 
 tiny mariner, the nautilus, as it floats lightly on the wave. With 
 night comes the never-failing pleasure of leaning over the vessel s 
 stern with some charming fair one, watching the ever-sparkling 
 beauties of the phosphorescent light in the vessel s wake, and enjoy 
 ing that indescribable pleasure of a tropical night at sea. 
 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 385 
 
 " Cuba is in sight, sir; can see it through your window," says the 
 steward, rousing you up on the morning of the fourth day out ; and, 
 turning over in your berth, there, sure enough, are seen the hills of 
 Cuba, and the indistinct outlines of the Morro Castle looking, as 
 you see them through your window, like some beautiful painting to 
 which the oval of the dead-eye forms a frame. 
 
 We are fortunate in arriving so opportunely, for, had we arrived 
 the previous evening after sundown, though it were still daylight, we 
 would have been compelled to lie outside all night, as no vessels are 
 allowed to enter after evening gun-fire, at sundown. There are the 
 signals flying in the morning breeze from the watch-tower of the 
 grim Morro Castle ; and as we approach more nearly, we distinguish 
 our dear old bunting, rivaling with its stars and stripes even the 
 bright sky and sparkling waves. 
 
 First View of Havana. 
 
 And now we have before us a full view of Havana and its sur 
 roundings the Morro Castle to the left ; to the right, the city, with 
 the fort of La Punta (historic, too) on its extreme point the white, 
 blue, and yellow-colored houses, with their red-tiled roofs, looking 
 fresh and bright in this breezy January morning. 
 
 Still later, we are passing within easy stone-throw of the grim- 
 looking Morro, from whose frowning battlements the sentry hails as 
 we go swiftly by ; there, to the left, the white walls on the abrupt hills 
 of the Cabanas fortifications ; to the right, again, the bay side-walls of 
 the city, with the roofs of houses and towers of churches piled up in 
 close proximity; and there, fresh and green, like an oasis in the des 
 ert of stone houses, the small but pretty Cortina de Valdes, looking 
 so invitingly cool in the shade of its trees ; some of the other Paseos 
 in the outer portion of the city being marked out by the long, regu 
 lar rows of green trees that stretch away until they are lost in the 
 distant buildings. 
 
 How one s heart leaps at such a quaint, novel scene as this ! 
 Havana, around whose walls cluster so many memories of the once 
 haughty Spanish Dons, whose foundation dates back nearly two cen- 
 25 
 
386 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 turies before our own noble country was settled; what visions of 
 gold-laden ships, of wild, reckless, murderov^ freebooters, expeditions 
 of gallant early adventurers and discoverers, and more lately the 
 realization of numerous passages of Irving s and Prescott s glowing 
 descriptions, come flooding upon one as he sees for the first time this 
 apparently beautiful city ! 
 
 Still swiftly gliding on up the bay, passing as we go the Spanish 
 men-of-war and vessels of all nations sailing in and out, we see to 
 great advantage this far-famed beautiful bay ; a turn to the right, and 
 we see the long line of covered wharves, with the shipping of the 
 world lying side by side, waiting the completion of their cargoes ; to 
 the left, the white walls of still another fort the Casa Blanca that 
 commands the city, and farther on in front of us we see the little 
 town of Regla, with its immense warehouses of solid stone and cor 
 rugated iron for storing the sugar of the Island, as substantial and 
 handsome in their structure as any the world can show. And now 
 we are at anchor. 
 
 The custom-house officers come on board, and the steamer is sur 
 rounded by a perfect fleet of small boats, that are a cross between a 
 market-wagon and a scow, from which rush a horde of hotel-run 
 ners, all expatiating upon the merits of their particular hotels, some 
 of them in the most amusing broken English. 
 
 These boats, by-the-by, are afloat what the " volante " is ashore ; 
 and the traveler must needs use many of them if he wishes to see 
 anything of the bay and surroundings of Plavana. Small boats are 
 not allowed to carry more than five passengers, or the large ones ten ! 
 " From ten and a half o clock at night until the firing of the signal 
 gun at daybreak in the morning, no boats will be allowed to pass in 
 the bay." The traveler is, however, on all long trips, advised to 
 make a bargain with the boatman, using care that he is not over 
 charged. 
 
 Having made up our mind before leaving the steamer as to which 
 hotel we propose to patronize, we point out our baggage to the 
 runner of that hotel, who will take charge of it, and we shall have no 
 further trouble about it, except to pass it at the custom-house on 
 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 387 
 
 landing. The runner has also a boat, into which we go, and have no 
 trouble about fares, the which are settled for, and with the baggage 
 charges will be found in his hotel bill " all right." 
 
 Now comes the fun. The passengers crowd into the little boats, 
 a pile of baggage is stowed forward, the sail is set and away skims 
 the little tub to the custom-house, each one trying to get there first. 
 Arrived there, the voyager has his first experience of a Cosas de Cuba 
 in the shape of a stalwart negro who takes a trunk, no matter how 
 large, from the boat, places it on his head, and in the most nonchalant 
 manner walks off with it to the examining office as though it were a 
 trifle instead of a trunk on his brain, if he has any at all of that 
 organ. The officers are very easy and polite ; n their examination of 
 baggage, passing everything almost with a merely nominal examina 
 tion, particularly if the keys are politely and readily produced. 
 
 Hacks and Hotels. 
 
 And now we are in Havana, arid free to go wh^re we like, notwith 
 standing those two military statues at the door, who look at us so 
 fiercely as we go by. Outside the custom-house will be found hacks, 
 which for twenty cents will carry the traveler where he wants to go. 
 
 But here we are at our hotel, and plenty of hotels there are to 
 satisfy every taste and purse, though somewhat different from our 
 great caravansaries. The ease and comforts (or lack of such, as we 
 know them) of one of the hotels are most acceptable with their cafe 
 con Icche or chocolate at early morning, their eleven o clock breakfast 
 of luscious fruits and cool salads, and their abundant and pleasant 
 dinners at five or six o clock. 
 
 After dinner comes the delicious drive on the " Paseo," where 
 magnificent equipages, lovely women, and well-dressed men, added 
 to the beautiful surroundings of stately, graceful palms, and avenues 
 of tropical trees, make up a scene that will vie with anything the 
 world can show, the day ending, maybe, by a charming stroll in the 
 magnificent grounds of " El Jardin Botanico," at the Governor- 
 General s, where, at no expense, and without let or hindrance, one 
 can wander for hours at a time through a garden that in its luxuriant 
 
388 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 magnificence of trees, fruits and flowers rivals anything the eye ha^ 
 ever seen in America. 
 
 " Cafe, solo o con leche ? " (coffee with or without milk) is about the 
 first thing one hears of a morning in a Spanish hotel, as " Boots " puts 
 his head in at the door to make the inquiry ; and as, to make use of a 
 common expression, "you pay your money and you have your 
 choice," you will very quickly decide, if you want to get into Cuban 
 ways, to have it thus early in the morning con leche. Our reasons for 
 thb are that in Cuba the custom is, on first rising, to take only a cup 
 of coffee or chocolate, with a bit of dry toast or roll, which satisfies 
 the appetite until the regular breakfast-hour of nine, ten, or eleven 
 o clock ; and experience has taught that coffee with milk on an empty 
 stomach is better than the coffee without (or cafe noir\ which is best 
 as a digestor after meals. Fruit, also, in the morning on rising is 
 used, and is very palatable ; but a little experience will show that 
 the Cuban fashion of beginning the breakfast with fruit is best 
 
 Excellent Restaurants. 
 
 Havana, city as it is of quite two hundred and fifty thousand inhab 
 itants, with abundance of travel at certain seasons of the year, does 
 not boast of one first-class hotel, as we understand the word, though 
 there are several where the traveler, if he is not too particular, can be 
 tolerably comfortable. There is no giving the reason for this the 
 fact is so, and though there are numbers of excellent restaurants kept 
 by Spaniards and French, yet there are but few hotels kept by those 
 people that are more than passable. 
 
 The city is large, there are constant arrivals of people from other 
 portions of the Island, and in the winter season there are crowds of 
 travelers from abroad ; and yet, if you discuss the matter with a 
 Cuban, he will only shrug his shoulders, and remark, " It won t pay." 
 
 But what more can be expected from a city that does not 
 possess a chimney in its whole vast extent of private dwellings? 
 Who ever heard even of a house without a chimney? They don t 
 need them here, you say ? Well, how do you account, then, for the 
 absence of the other things ? you can t say they don t need them. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 Curious Sights in Havana. 
 
 TO see the curiosities of Havana and its neighborhood properly, 
 there is necessarily involved, in addition to a large expendi 
 ture of shoe-leather, much expenditure of rcales and pesetas 
 in cab hire. -Although there are few passenger railways in Havana, 
 yet from the abundance of all kinds of public vehicles it can not be 
 said that they are missed much, since, if it is desired to go to any 
 particular spot, all that is necessary is to wait in front of your hotel 
 or at the corner of the street, and inside of three minutes you will 
 have your choice of perhaps a dozen vehicles, that are constantly 
 passing in every direction, and which, for twenty cents, will carry 
 you to any part of the city. 
 
 These comprise various kinds and styles ; but the one most in use 
 to-day, and the latest novelty, is the " Victoria," a very comfortable 
 four-wheeled affair, with seats for two, and in front a seat upon the 
 box for the driver of the one horse required to draw it. All of these 
 vehicles are the property of a few owners. 
 
 Such is the constant busy travel, that there is always a great 
 demand for them, even at what would seem a high price, in com 
 parison with what the caleseros (drivers) are allowed to charge the 
 passengers ; and yet the owners could rent out a greater number 
 still, each driver, at that rate, making from two to four dollars per day. 
 
 Wherever you go in the city, you see a constant stream of these 
 carriages going in every direction, without and with occupants ; those 
 that are not occupied have a little tin sign hanging over the box, 
 " Se alquila " (to hire). One of the owners of a line of these car 
 nages had made over $100,000, and was desirous of selling out and 
 going back to his belle France, whence he originally came. 
 
 Although the popular name of the " volante " has made it familial 
 
 389 
 
390 
 
 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 
 
 OLD VOLANTE. 
 
 even to the foreign mind, there is in fact a great mistake about that 
 conveyance since the volante proper was a different affair in times 
 gone by, and is to-day, from what is now called volante, which in 
 truth is really the " quitrin." The old volante is now almost extinct, 
 or used simply by some business man to drive to and from his place 
 
 of business, or is found in a very 
 dilapidated state in some of the 
 interior towns of the Island. 
 
 It, like the volante vulgar, is a 
 two-wheeled affair, with long shafts, 
 which rest upon the horse or mule, 
 upon whose back sits the driver in 
 a clumsily-made big saddle. The 
 shafts have one end resting upon the axle, the other upon the horse, 
 on the same principle as the poles of the old-fashioned litter; and the 
 volante body is also on the same 
 principle, being with its huge leather 
 springs, constantly in motion from 
 side to side. The main difference 
 between the two vehicles is, that the 
 old volante does not lower its top, 
 which is permanent, while the vo 
 lante or quitrin of to-day permits of 
 the top being lowered or raised at 
 pleasure a very great improvement and convenience. 
 
 As public vehicles in Havana, these are fast giving entire place to 
 the carriage and the Victoria ; but the private quitrin is, and always 
 will be, one of the cosas de Cuba, for it is the only vehicle used on the 
 bad roads by the families in going to and from their places, while in 
 the city it is splendidly adorned and decorated with silver-platings 
 and rich stuffs the most elegant and handsome affair in which the 
 Senoritas can take their airings, and show off their handsome persons. 
 It is amusing sometimes to see these long-poled conveyances 
 attempt to turn one of the corners in the usually narrow streets of the 
 old town. It is a matter of considerable difficulty, the horse and 
 
 VOLANTE AS IT IS. 
 
CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 391 
 
 rider appearing as though they would have to enter some store- door 
 to get out of the way of the volante behind it, and is the occasion of 
 much hard swearing. A few years ago the volante was the only con 
 veyance seen ; and now, on the contrary, one sees carriages of all 
 kinds and styles, of as fine and striking appearance as anything in 
 Central Park. 
 
 But the volante or quitrin of the livery-stable is, par excellence, 
 another affair, as any one will find out to his cost who orders one 
 innocently from the stable without inquiring its expense. When, 
 however, he sees it drive up with two fine horses, the calesero in a 
 stunning red livery, covered with gold lace, high boots coming almost 
 up to his waist, and the horses decked out in harness that reflects the 
 sun from a hundred silver-plated buckles, rings, and knobs, he begins 
 to have a glimmering that this is going to cost something, and must 
 " be settled " for. 
 
 Different Kinds of Vehicles. 
 
 On the public stands can also be had two-horse carriages, usually 
 very comfortable barouches, and used generally for a party of four or 
 five for a drive on the Paseo. The livery-stables, also, furnish very 
 handsome carriages of the same kind, which, with the two- horse 
 volantes, can be had at all times by applying at the hotels, as they 
 generally have some particular stable at which they get carriages. 
 The prices are in all cases quite high enough. 
 
 An American traveler in Cuba relates the following incident : 
 " Cabmen appear to be the same the world over ; and I shall not soon 
 forget an amusing episode that took place on our first departure from 
 Havana. One of these fellows, of an early morning, had carried us 
 to the depot, and upon settling with him I gave him double fare in 
 consideration of his putting our trunks in his wagon. This was a 
 proceeding so unusual, that he immediately thought I must be a 
 novice indeed, and demanded double the fare already paid him. I 
 politely declined to comply with his request, on the ground that I 
 had already paid him double ; whereupon he stormed and swore that 
 he was being robbed, very much to our amusement and that of the 
 
392 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 
 
 bystanders. I could not resist laughing in the fellow s face at his cool 
 impudence, which aggravated him so much that he thrust the fare 
 back into my hand, vowing he would take nothing. 
 
 " I thanked him very kindly, and, with the utmost gravity, told 
 him I would drink his health, and raising my hat to him, politely 
 bade him good-by ; and, showing my ticket, was about entering the 
 cars, when the fellow was so taken aback at this peculiar way of 
 meeting him, that he rushed at me, holding out his hand, and 
 remarked, Ah, you are an American ; give me what you please ! 
 upon which I returned him his gift, and left him with a smile upon 
 his countenance, and the remark, A pleasant journey to you, sir ; 
 when, had you seen him five minutes previously, raving and lament 
 ing, you would have truly thought he really meant what he said." 
 
 In the Public Markets. 
 
 It is always a matter of interest to the traveler in any land to know 
 how and from where the supplies of food for the people generally 
 come ; and this is best seen by a visit to the public market-place, 
 where not only the material with which they are fed can be seen, but 
 a great deal may be learned of the manners and habits of a certain 
 class of the people themselves. Therefore, as fruit is said to be best 
 in these warm climates before breakfast, we will stroll down to the 
 markets, and while doing a little inspection duty, make an investment 
 in some of the fruits of the country. 
 
 The most convenient one inside the city is that of the <l Mercado 
 de Cristina," in the Plaza Vieja, situated at the corner of Teniente 
 Rey street and San Ygnacio. Here, in the centre of a hollow square, 
 the sides of which are formed of ranges of stores of all classes, faced 
 by an arcade, is one of the great marts for the sale of vegetables, 
 fruits and meats for the supply of the city. It is a large stone build 
 ing apparently, though really a simple quadrangle, open to the sky, 
 occupying the whole of a square, and was erected in 1836, during 
 Tacon s administration. 
 
 The arcade of stores is filled with shops of all kinds, but princi 
 pally occupied in the sale of such " notions " as will please the country 
 
CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 393 
 
 people or the negroes, while the Plaza is filled with immense piles of 
 onions, and cabbages, and sweet potatoes, which are the principal 
 productions of the Island in the vegetable way ; and there are smaller 
 piles of oranges, green mangos, pine-apples, and other tropic fruits, 
 new in name and appearance ; clusters of the plantain, or banana, as 
 we call it, of various colors, and pyramids of the green cocoa fruit 
 meet the eye at every turn, all presided over by dusky negroes in all 
 varieties of costume, or swarthy Cubans, the native country people. 
 These come in from the surrounding country with their products, 
 raised upon the small estancia in the neighborhood of the city. Here 
 and there, too, may be seen the patient donkey, with his load of green 
 fodder, giving comic life to the scene. 
 
 Wholesome Vegetables. 
 
 The plantain, of which we see such large quantities exposed, is the 
 vegetable upon which the lower classes depend for food, and which 
 is cooked in various ways; and with the " tasajo" (jerked beef, or 
 fish), constitutes the diet of the poor. Of the many delightful vege 
 tables that grow in such abundance in our summer season, there is 
 not a single one to be seen. Of berries of any kind there is not one 
 raised upon the Island, owing to the great heat, which burns them up, 
 it is said. The market presents a very different appearance from one 
 of ours, with its profusion of everything arranged in the tidy-looking 
 stalls, and presided over by clean-looking vendors. 
 
 Here it is very different ; a great proportion of the market people 
 are negroes, most of whom are free, and such a chattering as they 
 keep up, particularly the women, who are scolding, laughing, or rail 
 ing at each other in the most deafening way. It is very amusing to 
 walk along in front of the little tables, or more usually the piles of 
 fruit on the ground, and buy some of the queer-looking fruits you 
 see, and which are totally unheard of by the names which the negroes 
 give them, many of them, nevertheless, being quite palatable. 
 
 The little banana and the orange are, however, the most agreeable 
 of all, tasting very pleasant and cool in the early morning before 
 one s breakfast; but there are others that are very luscious when 
 
394 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 
 
 eaten perfectly ripe and in season, and which the market people will 
 gladly tell you all about, as soon as they find you are a stranger, 
 particularly an " Americano." 
 
 The choicest of these, after the luscious pine-apple, orange, and 
 banana, are the delicious " anon^ the " zapote" and the " mamey 
 Colorado" the latter sometimes called " angels sweetmeats ;" any of 
 which, if they happen to be in season, will please the palate of the 
 stranger, if he is fond of rich, luscious fruits ; many persons find them 
 too rich and sweet. 
 
 Having heard so much of the milk of the cocoanut when drank 
 fresh from the green fruit, you seize this opportunity to get a new 
 experience of a cosas de Cuba ; and, negotiating for a good large one, 
 for which you pay un media (five cents), the negro takes a huge sharp 
 knife, and slices off the top of the fruit, in which he punches a hole 
 from which you are to drink. Seizing it with both hands, you raise 
 it to your mouth like a water-jar, and empty the contents, as you 
 think, down your throat ; and sweet, cool, and pleasant it certainly is to 
 the palate, only this is rather an awkward and inconvenient way of 
 drinking it, as you find on examining your shirt front, which has 
 received a good share of the contents. 
 
 A much more convenient way is to carry the green cocoanut to 
 one s hotel, and there, pouring out the milk into a big glass, add 
 plenty of ice and a little brandy, and it makes a delicious drink 
 sweet and wholesome pronounced capital as a diuretic. 
 
 Strolling through the market, one sees every variety of Cuban 
 peasant and negro many of the latter coming into town only to 
 bring a small quantity of the sugar-cane, which is bought and eaten 
 by the people with great zest. Then, in going through the stores 
 surrounding the market, one sees innumerable strange sights and 
 articles, a busy throng of buyers and sellers of all kinds of merchan 
 dise, of oddities and antiquities of architecture; and, perhaps, heard 
 above all the din and bustle, are the loud nasal tones of the lottery- 
 ticket vender, calling out in his protracted high key the number of 
 tfie tickets he has for sale. 
 
 From here we will stroll over to the fish market, or " Pescaderia," 
 
CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 395 
 
 as it is called, and see another cosas de Cuba. This is situated over 
 on the other side of the town, on the bay side, and we reach it by 
 going directly along the street Mercaderes, on the lower side of this 
 market, which conies out directly opposite the fish-market, in Empe- 
 drado street. 
 
 It is a well-built stone building, with the lower portion open 
 on the side facing the street, and supported by pillared arches, 
 which give the place somewhat the appearance of an arcade. 
 In the interior, as permanent structures, in lieu of tables, are square 
 stone forms with tiled tops, upon which the fish, fresh from the sea, 
 are exposed for sale, and which are of great variety, many of them 
 resembling ours such as the flounder, and bass, and one something 
 like the blue-fish. All the fish on the coast are very fine, with 
 some few exceptions, as the pez espada, gato, picua, and some 
 others that have the peculiarity of making persons sick, or poisoning 
 those that eat of them. 
 
 The Lively Shark. 
 
 Of all the many species (and there are said to be one hundred 
 species and more), the pargo and the rabi-rubia are the best, being 
 somewhat scarce, except during the prevalence of north winds in 
 the winter season, when they sell as low as twelve cents per pound. 
 The shark, small and large, in pieces or whole, may also be seen 
 here for sale, under its name of " tiburon? the which abounds in 
 these waters, and from it is extracted the oil. It is very fierce, and 
 many accidents happen each year from persons recklessly going in 
 to bathe in some of the bays frequented by these creatures, who 
 attack the swimmers without hesitation, and gobble a leg or arm, or 
 maybe the whole person ; the little ones, that are called " cazones," 
 are eaten. 
 
 Their fish are not all brought from along the coast, but many of 
 the larger fishermen have properties on the coast of Yucatan, and 
 bring the fish from there, as also from Florida and the Tortugas. 
 Generally, however, the first come from the coast in the neighbor 
 hood, many being caught just off the bay. 
 
396 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 
 
 At the little village of Chorrera, directly on the coast and about 
 two miles from Havana, is, however, the great fishing place for this 
 district, and one can go out any time, taking the passenger (horse) 
 cars at the station opposite the Tacon theatre, and going out there. 
 The cars leave every hour, take about half an hour to go, and return 
 the following hour ; fare twenty cents. On the way out, the traveler 
 passes through a portion of the city he is not otherwise likely to see. 
 that is parallel with the coast, passing by, also, the large charitable 
 institution, the Real Casa de Beneficencia, at the corner of the street 
 Belascoin. 
 
 A Large Donation. 
 
 This is a flourishing institution, being an asylum for destitute 
 orphans and the prevention of vagrancy, by putting all vagrants 
 therein. It was established during the time of Las Casas, in 1790-96, 
 and in 1802 enjoyed the protection of the Marquis-Governor 
 Someruelos, who at one donation bestowed twenty-five thousand 
 dollars. It is a fine, large building, and has beautiful grounds. 
 
 The village of Chorrera itself is a small place, celebrated as being 
 the first site of Havana, and as being the place where the English 
 attacked and landed, the commanding officer of the fort or castle 
 blowing it up and retiring. There is now a queer-looking tower, 
 with portcullis, still there for protection, though the Fort Principe 
 commands the place. 
 
 It is rare indeed that a meal in Cuba is served without fish, for even 
 in the interior some of the streams are abundantly supplied. It is 
 stated by one of the old authors that that was the reason all the set 
 tlements were located on the coast of Cuba by the early inhabitants, 
 in order to be convenient to the supplies of fish. 
 
 In connection with the inhabitants of the deep, there is one that 
 they have in Cuba, known as the manati, a species of sea-hog, some 
 what resembling those met with in Florida different from the sea- 
 calf or cow that frequents the mouth of the rivers, and even mounts 
 up on the earth. From its flesh they make tasajo, its oil is useful and 
 medicinal, and from its skin canes are made that are very beautiful, 
 but very expensive. 
 
CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 397 
 
 Of the shell-fish there is a great variety, amongst them the 
 lobster, the craw-fish, and (best of all) the shrimp, both salt and fresh 
 water, which is par excellence the most delicious thing they have on 
 the Island, being as tender and resembling the white meat of the 
 crab. They are eaten simply boiled, and served cold with a little 
 salt, or made into a delicious salad. Some of them are quite large, 
 and resemble a lobster-claw, are considered very wholesome, and used 
 in great profusion all over the Island. Camarones, bear in mind, is 
 the name for them in Cuba, and they are identically the same as those 
 we have south. 
 
 The Cuban oysters are quite small, and it would take a dozen of 
 them to make one of our noble York river oysters or chincoteagues ; 
 but they are nevertheless very good, being very appetizing, eaten at 
 breakfast, as they have the briny and somewhat coppery taste of the 
 French oyster. 
 
 Fish and Fishermen. 
 
 To finish up the morning s walk before breakfast, let us take a 
 Victoria out to the other market of Tacon unless, indeed, you want 
 to turn the corner here, go up those old stone steps, and take a stroll 
 along the Paseo de Valdes, which is cool and shady at this hour in 
 the morning. Then, too, perhaps, at this end near the steps, we may 
 see some odd kind of fish we have not seen in the markets, for this 
 is also frequented at times by fishermen, who do a small trade with 
 the negroes, cutting up the small fish, even into quarters and halves, 
 to sell to those villainous, filthy-looking negroes, who are probably 
 too lazy to work to buy themselves better food. 
 
 On our way out, since it is a fine, breezy morning, and the sea is 
 coming in heavily, we will pass by the Puerta de la Punta, and see 
 the surf beating on the rocks in a most beautiful, violent way, dash 
 ing the spray high in air. This is always the case after a norther; 
 and it is a most attractive sight, either after or during one of these 
 blows, to come out here on the point and see the ocean worked up 
 into a state of fury, entirely different from its usually calm, placid 
 appearance ; and here, just outside the gate, is always to be seen a 
 lively party in that cove-like place with the gravelly shore for here 
 
398 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 
 
 gather, of a morning, sometimes as many as a dozen or more negro 
 drivers, with their two and three horses each, and entirely naked, 
 except a short pair of pants. 
 
 They swim the animals into the salt water, which is most ex 
 cellent for them. It is a jolly sight, when the sea is rough, to see 
 these fellows, laughing, shouting and singing, enjoying their bath on 
 horseback, the sea breaking clean over them at times, and the horses 
 bracing themselves against the shock with their hind quarters to the 
 waves. 
 
 The odd-looking building you see in the background is the old 
 Bateria de la Punta, and the end of the new building is part of the 
 government ordnance shed ; the circular-looking iron affairs scattered 
 along the shore being the old-fashioned sugar-pans. 
 
 Special Types of Cubans. 
 
 And now for the Plaza de Vapor, which is a market very similar 
 to that of Cristina, known more generally as " Mercado de Tacon." 
 It is situated at the corner of Galiano and Reina streets, or calzadas, 
 the name generally given to fine, wide streets like avenues. This 
 market is rather better in appearance than the others, being elevated 
 some distance above the ground, and is two stories in height, with 
 very good-sized stores around its four sides, with the portico facing 
 on the street, the market itself being inside the square. 
 
 Here we have the opportunity of seeing to advantage special types 
 of the lower class of Cubans, countrymen as well as citizens. Here, 
 for example, is the malojero, who comes from some distance in the 
 country simply to bring that load of maloja that he has on the back 
 of his horse, and which is the product of an inferior kind of corn that 
 does not run to seed, and is raised with so little trouble that these 
 lazy fellows prefer to let it grow on their places rather than trouble 
 themselves to plant crops that require cultivation and attention. 
 
 The giiajiro, or small property-owner from the country, is also 
 seen here in his glory, with his varied stock of produce seeking a 
 market. There is rather greater profusion of fruit here, but the meat 
 carts with their uninviting loads are in appearance bad enough to 
 
CURIOUS SIGHTS IN HAVANA. 399 
 
 take one s appetite away, as he sees these sides and quarters swinging 
 to and fro, or piled up one upon the other in these small carts which 
 bring the beef from the mataderos on the outskirts of town, no 
 butchering being allowed within the city limits. 
 
 The shops, and in fact the whole market, present the same general 
 appearance as the others ; if you see one you see them all, with, per 
 haps, this difference that there is always a great variety in the 
 colored human nature, which at times presents itself very grotesquely 
 to one s notice. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Famous Localities and Buildings. 
 
 ONE of the best and pleasantest ways of getting an idea o: 
 Havana within the walls, and particularly that portion of it 
 lying on the water side, is to hire a carriage by the hour, 
 and start early in the morning, or, if more convenient, after an early 
 dinner in the afternoon, when the sun is sufficiently down to make 
 it cool. 
 
 There is always this advantage in going anywhere within the old 
 city in the afternoon that almost the entire general buisness of the 
 city is confined to this portion of it ; and as most of the mercantile 
 houses do no business after four or five o clock, that portion of the 
 city at the water side does not present as lively an appearance as in 
 the early hours of the morning, when the business community, taking 
 advantage of the freshness and coolness, attend to most of their busi 
 ness out doors and upon the quays, which thereby present a much 
 more stirring and active picture to the stranger. On the contrary, 
 outside the walls in the afternoon all is life, fashion, and pleasure. 
 
 We direct the driver to enter the city by the extreme north gate, 
 known as La Puerta de la Punta, which is the entrance at the extreme 
 e^nd of the city on the bay, and where commenced the walls of the 
 old city, which are here entered by an ordinary stone arch, some 
 twenty-four feet long, the sides of which were casemates for storing 
 artillery implements, etc., while the top of it formed a battery en bar 
 bette, with terreplain, stone rampart, and a slope leading up from the 
 ground ; while mounted for defence were some half-dozen rusty, old- 
 fashioned carronades that would be no earthly use in case of need, 
 across from it can be seen the Morro. 
 
 Inside the gate and extending along the street, parallel with the 
 water, quite up to the Maestranza, is a stone covered way, with a 
 400 
 
FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 401 
 
 stone parapet to serve as breastworks in case of need. Outside the 
 gate and to the left is the landing quay, or the point used for landing 
 and embarking timber, horses, etc., and a good place whence to start 
 for the Morro Castle, there always being a boat or two there. Con 
 tinuing down Cuba street, we come to a fine, large building on the 
 left hand, evidently a modern affair, built of brown stone, and several 
 stories in height. 
 
 Here are the offices and officers quarters, and in fact the head 
 quarters of the artillery, known as the " Maestranza," or Parque de 
 Artilleria. Keeping on down past the building, we come to the street 
 Chacon, turning into which to the left we can go inside the arsenal 
 belonging to the Maestranza, where is a large supply of ordnance of 
 various kinds, and a number of old bronze cannon, bearing some very 
 antique inscriptions and strange names, such as the " Peacemaker," 
 the " Thunderer," etc. 
 
 Stone Seats and Delightful Breezes. 
 
 Immediately opposite to this is the entrance to the Paseo de Valdez, 
 which extends along the bay side to Empedrado street. We direct 
 the carriage to meet us .at the other end, and then find it pleasant to 
 stroll down the walk. Though the Paseo is not now in the best 
 order, it has still a pretty row of trees, stone seats, and always a 
 delightful breeze, and commands a fine view of the fortifications across 
 the bay. 
 
 At the entrance there is a sort of an arch and fountain erected, 
 which, though now in sad repair, has been in its day quite handsome, 
 and, as its tablet informs us, was erected by the corps of Royal Engi 
 neers, in 1843, the slab upon which is the inscription being marble 
 from the Isle of Pines, and on the top of which are grouped different 
 symbols of the military and particularly the engineer profession. 
 Here, of an early morning, it is pleasant to stroll, if you have nothing 
 better to do, and hear the music of the military bands performing 
 inside the walls of the Cabanas opposite, and which comes softly and 
 pleasantly mingling with the breeze of the ocean, which is only a short 
 distance off. 
 
 a 
 
402 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 Entering the carriage, we drive through the street Tacon, passing 
 the Pescaderia and the Intendencia, which is directly in front of La 
 Fuerza, the oldest fort in the city, and around which cluster many 
 traditions of antiquity, of assaults and defences, and attacks of pirates 
 and enemies. Desiring to enter and see it, we pass around into 
 the barrack yard on O Reilly street, and are permitted to go 
 through it. It is still a star-shaped bastioned fort, having a good 
 line of fire upon the entrance and the bay, and having fine, large 
 quarters near it for the troops. 
 
 An Ancient Fort. 
 
 This old fort dates back as far as the time of Fernando de Soto, 
 the conqueror of Florida and discoverer of the Mississippi, who, being 
 governor of the Island, gave orders to the engineer, Captain Aceituno, 
 to build, in 1538, this fort, allowing for the purpose the sum of $4,000, 
 the which was paid by the inhabitants of Havana and Santiago de 
 Cuba, for the purpose of having a fortified place on this side the Island. 
 It was completed six or seven years after it was commenced. At the 
 beginning, it was simply a quadrilateral of walls of double thickness, 
 twenty-five yards high, with arched or casemated terreplains, and a 
 bastion in each angle, the whole encompassed by a foss. In subse 
 quent years, it has suffered various reforms, but still is of the general 
 form as when first erected. 
 
 The portcullis and the barracks of the troops were erected in 1718 
 by Don Guazo, the then Governor-General. De Soto s wife, it is said, 
 died here, after waiting many years for news of her gallant husband. 
 The statue on the top of the castle is that of an Indian, who (so runs 
 the legend) was the first to receive Columbus on landing. Opposite 
 is the public square, known as the Plaza de Armas, and on the west 
 side of that is the residence of the Captain-General of the Island. 
 The large building adjoining the squaie of La Fuerza is the head 
 quarters of the military governor of the city, the official who grants 
 permission to visit the Morro Castle and Cabanas, at the written 
 request of the consul. 
 
 The sentries and guards on duty are worth* of a little attention 
 
FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 403 
 
 from those fond of military matters. They are generally picked men, 
 whose "get up 7 is quite unimpeachable when on duty during the 
 day, being clad in a uniform of pure white, with trappings, " neat and 
 gay " of red cloth, and who, in their comfortable linens, look " natty " 
 and soldierly. 
 
 Passing around the square to the lower or east side, we come to 
 what is known as " El Templete " (little temple), at the corner of 
 Ena Street. Tradition relates that in 1519, on the removal of the 
 city to its present site, there was celebrated under an old ceiba tree 
 the first mass in commemoration of this event ; and upon this same 
 spot was erected, in 1828, the present temple to perpetuate it. It is 
 a substantial stone building, not very large, erected in imitation of a 
 Grecian temple, with a portico and pillars, standing some distance 
 back from the street, from which it is protected by iron railings con 
 nected with heavy stone columns, the whole resting upon a solid 
 base of stone. Within this railing stands the stone column that 
 marks the spot where the old tree grew. 
 
 A Celebrated Hostelry. 
 
 As we enter the square of San Francisco, the old yellow building 
 at the left-hand corner is the former " Hotel Almy," probably one of 
 the most celebrated in its day of any in the city. It was there that. 
 Dr. Kane, the arctic explorer, died, the hotel occupying the second 
 story over the warehouse. On the opposite side of the Plaza, the 
 antique, worn-looking building is the old church of San Francisco, 
 which has had its formerly sacred halls turned into a custom-house 
 store-room. This old church, it is said, was in its day the best 
 church in the city. It was consecrated in 1737, and shut in 1843. 
 Its tower to-day is the most elevated one in the city, the immense 
 weight of which is supported upon the arches of the principal door 
 way. 
 
 It is a singular-looking old building, and has undergone some 
 changes since its occupation for business purposes. The towers have 
 been despoiled of their bells, and an additional door knocked in its 
 side. The front of the church, in the narrow street Officios, cannot 
 
404 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 be seen to advantage ; but in the niches, of which there are two, one 
 on each side of the front, there are queer old statues, in stone, of 
 monks, one of whom, from his peculiarity of attire, is readily per 
 ceived to be a Franciscan. 
 
 As one looks at these hard old boys, that have stood here for so 
 many ages, he is struck with the thought of what capital sentries they 
 have made. Posted, each one of them in his niche, like a sentinel in 
 his sentry-box, they have stood here, doing that which they were 
 placed here to do, without any relief ever passing around in so many 
 years to make a change for them. 
 
 " These Stolid Old Fellows." 
 
 There they have stood, year after year aye, scores upon scores of 
 years, too and seen these portals, that once swung back only for the 
 entrance of the devout and prayerful, open for the entrance of the 
 worldly, with their bales of goods ; there, calm and immovable, they 
 have seen the busy throngs of ages past go by, and yet still they 
 stand impassive and inanimate as in days of yore, as the busy throng 
 of to-day still goes by, many of whom, throwing but a casual glance 
 at these stolid old fellows, perhaps know not, and care less, that this 
 was the first place where their mothers mothers knelt and prayed. 
 
 Though the world has changed, though governor after governor 
 has come and gone, though the small group of houses that once was 
 the original town has grown into a vast assemblage of what is now a 
 fine city, though other churches have been erected aye, even amid 
 the roar of the tempest and the lashing of the stormy waves which in 
 the wild fury of a tropical storm have dashed almost to their very 
 feet there they stand still, not a muscle changed or a position 
 altered since they were first posted in their stony guard-houses, on 
 guard. 
 
 Passing through the handsome iron gateway which separates the 
 square from the quay, you enter upon the landing, known as the 
 " Caballeria," being a portion of the continuous wharves that extend 
 from the Castillo La Fuerza to the marine barracks and quarters, and 
 the whole of which is devoted to shipping purposes. Here, any 
 
FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 405 
 
 morning, you will find a busy throng of merchants, clerks, etc., talk 
 ing, and smoking, and driving their bargains for this is, in fact, the 
 Exchange while the active portion of the business is done by 
 sturdy negroes and swarthy laborers of many climes. 
 
 The whole series of quays is covered so completely with roofs that 
 one may walk a considerable distance free from exposure to the sun, 
 amusing oneself in examining the variety of vessels of which there 
 are crowds, side by side from every nation in the world. 
 
 In this ocean-loving city of Havana, boatmen take the place of the 
 persistent cabmen who assail one the moment of coming from a 
 depot. Here, the moment you put your foot upon the quay, every 
 boatman imagines you must want a boat, and a crowd gathers round 
 you immediately, each vociferating the name of his boat, and you 
 have considerable difficulty in getting away from the swarthy, pirati 
 cal-looking fellows who cease not to accost you with " Quiere bote, 
 Senor?" all desirous of securing you for a paseo on the water. 
 
 A Gorgeous Boat. 
 
 And now we are catching the s fresh breezes from the bay on the 
 Quay de Machina, or machine wharf, which is the landing used for 
 the men-of-war, and is, in fact, a naval storehouse on a small scale. 
 The objects that will probably interest the stranger here are the state 
 barge of the Captain-General, a very large and gorgeous affair of a 
 boat, as also the very diminutive garden, about the dimensions of a 
 good-sized parlor, seeming to be made simply to see how small a 
 garden can be. 
 
 It is quite pretty, though, with miniature walks, shrubbery, and 
 flowers, and also a fountain containing gold arid silver fish, the whole 
 affair being surrounded by an iron railing, and guarded by some 
 nautical individual, who takes great delight in showing you through, 
 particularly if one tips him a trifle. 
 
 Just beyond the quay of the Machina are the ferries for crossing 
 over the bay to the little village of Regla, where are the wonderfully 
 large storehouses for storing the sugar; also, the depot of the 
 railroad for Matanzas and for Guanabacoa. 
 
406 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 The boats run every five minutes to the other side, the fare upon 
 which is ten cents each way. They are exceedingly well-built boats, 
 having all been made in the United States (as in fact are nearly all 
 the steamboats in Cuban waters), and are kept in very good order, 
 more so than most of our ferry lines. If one has nothing better to 
 do of a morning, it is quite a refreshing trip to go and return on one 
 of these boats, since there is a fine view of the different portions of 
 the bay, the shipping and the city; add to which there is always a 
 fine breeze felt on them when in motion. 
 
 Stretching from these ferries, almost continuously, are what are 
 known as paseos, or promenades. They are a species of boulevard, in 
 fact, running parallel with the bay, laid out in trees and a well-made 
 walk, with solid stone wall, erected at the water side, and fountains 
 and stone benches scattered at intervals throughout their length, some 
 of the former being very pretty and tasteful in their designs. 
 
 Stone Fountain with Military Trophies. 
 
 The first and most imposing of these paseos is that of the " Alameda 
 de Paula," erected, in 1802, by the Marquis-Governor Someruelos. 
 It is also called Salon O Donnell (after the marshal of that name, who 
 was inspector of the Island), and is situated between the quay De Luz 
 and the bastion of " Paula," overlooking the bay. It has seats of 
 stone, trees on the land side, and a breastwork on the water side 
 formed of a balustrade composed of plaster concrete, with ornaments 
 of the same, alternated by iron railings. In the middle there is a 
 semi-circular glorieta, or stone look-out, furnished with seats, behind 
 which is a handsome stone fountain, having in its centre a marble 
 column with military trophies and national symbols in very good 
 taste. 
 
 Next to this one is that of the " Paseo de Roncali," from which one 
 has a fine view of the upper part of the bay, with the castle of Atares 
 in the background, and fine views of the surrounding country. This 
 is a beautiful place of a moonlight night to get a view of the bay, but 
 is not much frequented. This castle of Atares that you see in the 
 centre of the bay is said to be the one where young Crittenden and 
 
FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 407 
 
 his fifty fellow-prisoners all young men from the United States, who 
 had come out in the Lopez expedition had been captured, and were 
 there shot, being brought out, twelve at a time, compelled to kneel 
 down, six at a time, in front of the other six, and thus were all 
 gradually murdered. 
 
 Protest by the English Consul. 
 
 A noble story is related of old Mr. Crawford, the then English 
 consul, who, disgusted as every one else was by the inaction of our 
 consul, Mr. Owens, when seeing these poor fellows shot down, went 
 to the authorities, and told them that these massacres must cease; 
 that, though these men were Americans and filibusters, they were 
 yet human beings, belonging to the Anglo-Saxon race ; and that, if 
 the shooting did not cease, he would throw the English flag over 
 them on the score of humanity. All honor to such a noble, brave 
 spirit ! And we are glad to say it was appreciated by the Americans 
 living at the port at the time, for they presented him with a handsome 
 set of silver. 
 
 As a matter of curiosity, to see what is understood by a navy-yard 
 in Juba, it is well to pay the "Arsenal " a visit, where is at once the 
 naval dock, navy and store yard, situated at the extreme southwestern 
 corner of the town, just outside the walls where they commence at 
 the water side. It is entered from the city by the Puerta del Arsenal, 
 and, with its pretty officers quarters and green trees, looks quite 
 attractive from the outside. 
 
 At present it certainly does not amount to a great deal, though it 
 has ship-houses, docks, machine-shops, and other things peculiar to 
 naval construction. In days past, however, the arsenal of Havana 
 was very celebrated. In 1722 they began building vessels of war, 
 and quite a large number were built ; and the vessels obtained such 
 a good reputation from the excellent quality of wood used that an 
 arsenal was, in 1728, regularly constructed, and finished in 1734. 
 
 Cannon were also cast, at one time, of bronze, the copper being 
 furnished on the Island from the Cobre mines ; but everything in this 
 way seems to be at a stand-still, the yard deserted, and no work of 
 
408 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 any important nature being carried on. The dock is capable of dock 
 ing a vessel of one thousand tons, and their engine is of only twenty 
 horse-power. Everything is very different from the bustle and life 
 and extent of our navy-yards. 
 
 Guards Mounted at the Gates. 
 
 And now we will finish up our morning by returning by the way 
 of " Los Ejidos," a street running inside and parallel to the old walls. 
 Here were some of the most interesting features about Havana, giv 
 ing it that old air of walled antiquity, and offering some attractions to 
 the student of history in the events so closely connected with their 
 construction. Some are still standing, in tolerably good order, 
 though they all have a somewhat dilapidated look, and are all to be 
 torn down. A good smart cannonade would knock them to pieces 
 very quickly. 
 
 They are of not much use now, for they may be said to be in the 
 very heart of the city, and would be of no avail in a strong attack 
 against the city, as a city, except as a dernier resort for a small body 
 of men. Guards are, however, still mounted at some of the gates, 
 and cannon yet frown from the grass-grown battlements ; and the 
 moat, with time and indifference, has become filled with all manner 
 of structures even truck gardens being laid out in some of them. 
 
 These gates and walls used to be of great interest to most travelers, 
 as they were for so many, many years, connected with the history of 
 the old city of Havana ; and though as walls they no longer stand, 
 yet the expression has become so familiarized that one still hears " in 
 side the walls " and " outside the walls " freely used. 
 
 As portions of these walls are still in existence, and the trenches 
 also, with their nondescript appearance, it may not be amiss to give 
 here some historical facts pertaining to them. 
 
 Some of the gates were constructed with an eye to architectural 
 beauty originally, but are now among the memories of the past. 
 The best of them was the Puerta de Tierra, near the Ursulinos con 
 vent, on Sol street, which still looks well, and had a somewhat 
 imposing design. The gates of Monserrate were probably more 
 
FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 409 
 
 used than any other of the gates, there being two of them one of 
 egress, and the other ingress, for the busiest streets of Obispo and 
 O Reilly. 
 
 As early as 1589, under the superintendence of the Governor and 
 engineers Lejada and Antonelli, these walls were traced out, destined 
 to take an important part in the defense of the town from the 
 repeated attacks of the pirates, and have lasted nearly three centuries. 
 
 If the old adage be true, that " the nearer the church the farther 
 from God," then we fear much the people of Havana have no hope of 
 future salvation ; for to almost every square in the old city, within 
 the walls, there seems to be a church of some kind, to many of which 
 are attached religious societies or organizations. 
 
 Priests with Three-cornered Hats. 
 
 The priesthood and the church have probably a greater share in 
 the life of the Cubans, particularly with the female portion, than any 
 thing else that goes to make up the sum of their simple daily life ; 
 and as one strolls along the street, he is met at almost every turn by 
 some priest of some particular order, either in shovel or three-cor 
 nered hats, or, perhaps, like a stout old Franciscan whose vows 
 prevent him from having anything comfortable in this world forced 
 by the heat of the sun to forget his resolution of baring his head to 
 the elements, and sporting an enormous palm-leaf, that answers the 
 purposes of both hat and umbrella. 
 
 The superior authority of the secular portion of the Cuban Church 
 is the Captain-General, as Vice Royal Patron, and as his deputy in 
 the Arch-bishopric of Cuba, the Commanding General of the Eastern 
 Department. There are attached to the church a number of digni 
 taries of different grades, all drawing salaries in proportion to their 
 rank ; while the government of the church is divided into four 
 vicarages and forty-one parishes, the grand Cathedral being situated 
 in the town of Santiago de Cuba. Besides the churches actual, 
 there are a number of convents, monasteries, etc., belonging to the 
 different orders of St. Domingo, San Francisco, Jesuits, San Agus- 
 tin, etc., etc. 
 
410 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS, 
 
 The Cuban Church, in comparison with that of other countries, is 
 said to be poor, especially in the Arch-bishopric, the temples needing 
 the magnificence and those church ornaments that the traveler on the 
 continent of Europe admires so much. Notwithstanding, in some 
 of the principal towns there are a few imposing structures, interest 
 ing from their great antiquity and ancient style of architecture, while 
 upon special occasions the services carried on are tolerably rich and 
 imposing. 
 
 The first church that the traveler from any land (and particularly 
 we Americans) will desire to visit, is the Cathedral, not from any 
 great beauty of itself though it is perhaps the most interesting 
 church edifice in the city of Havana but since within its walls lies 
 ensconced beneath a simple slab all that remains of him who gave 
 to the world, from his combined wisdom and courage, not only a. 
 new continent, but also a new theory of a world Columbus. 
 
 Magnificent Old Church. 
 
 This old church, now the most magnificent one in the city, is very 
 odd indeed, seen from the outside. Constructed of a peculiar col 
 ored brown stone, now blackened by age, it has no great beauty in its 
 exterior architectural design; but yet, with its two queer old towers, 
 its fa9ade of pillars, niches, cornices, and mouldings, it is a striking 
 looking edifice. It was erected in 1724, for a college of Jesuits, who 
 at the time occupied the site where now is the Palace of the Captain- 
 General. It is composed of the church edifice itself and the capa 
 cious buildings adjoining for the use of the priests of the order. 
 
 It was, in November, 1789, constituted into a cathedral; has one 
 large doorway in the centre, and two smaller ones, one on each side 
 of that, with a solid stone piazza, reached by short flights of stone 
 steps, at its front. There is also a side entrance by means of a stone 
 court, on the other side of which are the dormitories of the priests. 
 
 The church is shown to strangers at any hour of the day, by in 
 quiring of any of the priests you meet in the courtyard, and it is also 
 open every morning and evening for Mass; though it is best seen in 
 the morning, when the soft sunlight comes into the building, giving 
 
FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 411 
 
 good effect to the shadows and shades of the massive pillars and 
 arches ; while the kneeling devotees serve to illustrate the great size 
 of the structure by comparison. 
 
 The grand altar is very handsome, as is also the choir in the rear. 
 The carving of the stalls is exceedingly fine, being done in polished 
 mahogany, in very light and graceful designs. At intervals around 
 the church are several very beautiful al 
 tars, formed with solid pillars of mahoga 
 ny and cornices and moulding of the same 
 material, richly gilt upon the most promi 
 nent parts. Each one of these altars is 
 devoted to some particular saint, and 
 boasts of some very good altar-pieces, 
 copies of Raphael, Murillo, etc. 
 
 The grand object of interest, however, 
 is the " Tomb of Columbus ; " and it is 
 astonishing how many people there are 
 who come to Havanathat are ignorant of 
 the remains of Columbus being in the 
 precinsts of Havana having been trans 
 ferred from the place of his death. 
 
 History tells us that Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, on 
 Ascension-day, the 2Oth of May, 1506; that his body was deposited 
 in the convent of San Francisco, and his obsequies celebrated wth 
 funeral pomp in that city. His remains were afterwards transported, 
 in 1513, to the Carthusian Monastery of Seville, known as " Las 
 Cuevas," where they erected a handsome monument to him, by com 
 mand of Ferdinand and Isabella, with the simple inscription, borne 
 upon his shield, of 
 
 A CASTILE Y LEON, 
 
 NUEVO MUNDO DIO COLON. 
 
 In the year 1536, his body and that of his son Diego were re 
 moved to the city of St. Domingo, in the Island of Hayti, and in 
 terred at the principal chapel. But they were not permitted to rest 
 
 TOMB OF COLUMBUS. 
 
412 FAMOUS LOCALITIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 even there ; for, on the 1 5th of January, 1796, they were brought to 
 Havana, and interred in their present tomb, amidst grand and impos 
 ing ceremonies, participated in by the army, navy, and church officials, 
 and an immense concourse of spectators. To use the words of a 
 Spanish author: "Havana wept with joy, admiration, and gratitude 
 at seeing enter within its precincts, in order to guard them forever, 
 the ashes of Cristobal Colon." 
 
 The ashes, it is understood, were deposited in an urn, which was 
 placed in a niche in the wall, at the entrance and to the left of the 
 chancel of the cathedral. Over this has been placed a slab of stone, 
 elaborately carved, in a stone frame, and representing the bust of 
 Columbus in the costume of the time, a wreath of laurel around his 
 head, and symbolical emblems at the foot of the medallion, upon 
 which is inscribed, in Castilian : 
 
 "Oh, rest them, image of the great Colon, 
 Thousand centuries remain, guarded in the urn, 
 And in the remembrance of our nation. 
 
 Well may the question be asked : Where, then, were all the muses 
 when they inscribed such lines as these ? 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Celebrated Avenues and Gardens. 
 
 FOR a simple drive outside the walls, on the Paseo, in order to 
 see and be seen, the afternoon hour of five or six o clock is 
 decidedly the best ; but for combining pleasure with the busi 
 ness of sight-seeing, the cool, breezy hours of early morning are best, 
 even though one does not then expect the pleasure of seeing the 
 bright-eyed occupants of the elegant quitrin on his journey. 
 
 The driver is directed to start irom the end of the Prado, which 
 opens directly upon the sea, with the Morro Castle opposite, on the 
 other side of the entrance, while close at hand is the queer old fort 
 of La Punta, originally a bastioned, star-shaped fort, now somewhat 
 rambling in its form. This is, also, one of the antiquities of Havana; 
 for on the very spot where it now stands landed the pirate, Robert 
 Baal, when he attacked and burned the city, in 1543. San Salvador 
 de la Punta, which is its original name, was begun at the same time 
 as the Morro, and by the same engineers, in 1-589, and finished in 1597- 
 
 To the left of the Prado, directly on the sea, can be seen the various 
 sea baths. Now facing toward the city, we begin our journey down 
 the street Prado, or Paseo Isabel, a wide, capacious street, arranged 
 as a boulevard, with rows of trees in the centre, beneath which are, 
 at intervals, stone seats, and a promenade for foot-passengers, and on 
 each side of this, again, the drives for carriages. The sides of the 
 street are occupied by rows of fine buildings private dwellings, 
 many of them with pillared porticoes, and tasty fronts of white or 
 blue. This drive was first begun in 17/1, and in 1772 was first 
 opened. In 1/97, under Santa Clara, it was extended, and several 
 fountains erected upon it, and in Tacon s administration it received 
 some improvements. 
 
 After leaving the Punta, the first building that we notice is the 
 
 41! 
 
414 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 
 
 large yellow one to the left hand, occupying a whole square. It is 
 the Royal Prison, and general headquarters of the council singular 
 combination the front on the Paseo being used as quarters and 
 offices, while the rear part, facing towards the walls, is the public 
 prison for malefactors. 
 
 This was also erected in 17/1, and is in the form of a hollow square, 
 the courtyard of which is used by the prisoners for exercise ; and 
 they can be seen any day through the iron-grated gates or windows 
 as well also as much of the prison as one wants to see. The student 
 of physiognomy will find some interesting subjects at these windows 
 any day, about twelve o clock, when the prisoners are sometimes 
 allowed to receive, through the gratings, packages from their friends, 
 being first inspected by the sentries always on guard in the narrow, 
 barred passages which separate the outer and inner world. 
 
 Where Lopez Met his Death. 
 
 The large open space beside the dungeon is used as a parade- 
 ground; and it was here that the unfortunate Lopez met his death, 
 dying like a brave man, after the unfortunate expedition, which, 
 induced by the promises of the Creoles, he had conducted to Cuba, 
 and in which he was defeated. Here, as already stated, in the { res- 
 ence of a vast body of troops, on the 1st of September, 1851, he was 
 garroted, his last words being : " I die for my beloved Cuba." . 
 
 Scattered along the Paseo, at different intervals, are various foun 
 tains of stone and marble, many of them of very handsome des. gn, 
 and a few cf them of some antiquity, though nearly all of them 
 appear to be d;y. On the right-hand side of the Prado is the Gym 
 nasium and Fencing School, where is the best gymnasium in the city, 
 with a very excellent instructor in calisthenics and dumb-bell exer 
 cise, as well also as a good French master-at-arms. The Cubans 
 are, many of them, very fine gymnasts; and of a morning, from seven 
 to nine, there is generally a very good class exercising under the 
 supervision of the instructor. 
 
 To the left is the theatre of Villa Nueva, a rather poor affair, and 
 used mostly as a French theatre, or for the smaller Spanish dramatic 
 
CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 415 
 
 companies. It is built of wood, principally, and never seems to be 
 well filled. It has now become a historical place, from the fact that 
 it was here the troops fired on the audience while attending a repre 
 sentation, during the ten years war. 
 
 On the Prado, opposite the gates of Monserrate, is what is known 
 as the " Parque de Isabel," a portion of the street being laid out with 
 grass-plots, gravel-walks, trees, and handsome iron settees, while in 
 the centre is a marble statue of Isabel II. 
 
 The Field of Mars. 
 
 On the Paseo is the large square known as the " Campo de Marte," 
 or field of Mars, where the troops are generally in the habit of exer 
 cising early in the morning, or during the winter about two o clock 
 in the day. It is a square somewhat in the form of a trapezium, with 
 its longest side about two hundred and twenty-five yards in length, 
 and surrounded by an iron railing upon a base of stone, combined 
 with pillars of stone at regular intervals, and upon the top of each 
 one of which is an iron bomb-shell, of large size, by way of orna 
 ments. 
 
 It has four principal entrances, closed by iron gates, upon the top 
 of the posts of which are placed bronze mortars ; and as the columns 
 are large and well built, the gates have a good effect. They are 
 called after the distinguished men who bore the names of Colon, 
 Cortes, Pizarro, and Tacon, the latter being the founder of the square, 
 which at various times has suffered considerable damage from the 
 tornadoes. It is now repaired and beautified. 
 
 Directly opposite the square, in the centre of the Paseo, is the 
 beautiful Glorieta, and fountain of India, surrounded by noble palmas 
 reales. The fountain is a work of considerable beauty, carved out 
 of Carrara marble, and erected at the expense of the Count of Villa 
 Nueva. It is one of the most beautiful of the public fountains, and 
 does equal credit to the taste and heart of the patriotic citizen who 
 erected it. 
 
 Nearly opposite the fountain, on a small paseo leading from the 
 Prado. is the Circus, and on the other side of the Campo de Marte 
 
416 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 
 
 is the magnificent private residence, or in fact palace, of the Aldama 
 family, which was one of the richest in Cuba, and owned a number 
 of the finest sugar estates in the Island, but since confiscated, owing 
 to the family having interested themselves in the rebellion of 1868. 
 
 The Queen s Street is a fine wide street, upon which there is gen 
 erally seen more life of an afternoon than on any other, although on 
 some portions of it the buildings are not so fine as in the other 
 streets. At its junction with the Paseo Tacon, there commences one 
 of the prettiest drives about the city, having double rows of trees, 
 with a promenade for foot passengers, and a fine, wide carriage-drive, 
 which is the fashionable one of an afternoon, and where splendid 
 equipages may be seen to advantage. At different intervals along 
 this Paseo there are fountains erected, statues, and glorietas ; and of 
 a fine day, with its beautiful women, elegant equipages, and long rows 
 of shady trees, it presents a perspective and near view perfectly 
 charming. 
 
 Beautiful Botanical Gardens. 
 
 Nearly at the end of the Paseo is a fine gateway, giving entrance 
 to the beautiful gardens known as the Botanical Gardens {Jardin 
 Botanico), and adjoining which are also the beautiful gardens belong 
 ing to the country place (Quintd] of the Captain-General, known as 
 " Los Molinos." These are all so very beautiful and interesting that 
 the stranger will, if he have time, want to pay them several visits, 
 both morning and evening, as they offer more attractions than any 
 public place pertaining to Havana. Even in the middle of the day, 
 when it is too hot to go anywhere else, this is a cool, pleasant, shady 
 place, in which to pass the midday hours. They are open day and 
 night, and any one is allowed to enter and stroll through the beauti 
 ful walks, shaded and surrounded by most exquisite tropical flowers, 
 shrubs, and trees. 
 
 Nothing can be more delightful, of a warm morning or evening, 
 than a saunter through these magnificent grounds, rivaling in their 
 beauty, luxuriance, and novelty any garden that we have in the 
 United States. The best plan, on a casual visit, is to leave your 
 carriage at the entrance of the Botanical Gardens, and direct the 
 
CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 417 
 
 driver to meet you at the entrance to the Quinta, some distance 
 above ; and you can then, after strolling through the gardens, pass 
 into those of the Captain-General, and, enjoying them, sally out by 
 the magnificent Avenue of Palms that leads from the gateway to the 
 house. In the Botanical Gardens there are specimens of almost every 
 tropical plant, and directly in the centre is a large stone basin, filled 
 with the finest water-lilies, and in the middle of that a rustic fountain, 
 made of shells. 
 
 Lovers Romantic Walk. 
 
 Passing from these gardens, you enter those belonging to the 
 Quinta, which are somewhat larger, and contain some very beauti 
 ful walks, one of which, nearly one hundred yards long, is as com 
 plete a lovers walk as the most ardent pair could desire. It is 
 formed of the rose of the Pacific Ocean, growing to a good height, 
 and covered with flowers of a light pink color, the bushes forming z, 
 handsome green and fragrant arch over the head of the pedestrian. 
 
 There is an artificial fountain or cascade, formed, also, by permitting 
 the waters of a small creek to pass over artificial rocks, which form 
 underneath a damp and, it must be said, unattractive cavern ; while 
 the waters are carried off by a canal, upon the surface of which 
 rest the pleasure-boats of his Excellency, the banks being shaded by 
 the overhanging trees, and inhabited by some curious breeds of 
 ducks. An aviary or two there are also, filled with some species of 
 doves of different kinds, while in the centre of the gardens stands 
 the comfortable house of the Captain-General,, and the buildings per 
 taining thereto. 
 
 The avenues of palms in these gardens will strike the visitor with 
 astonishment, as something surpassingly graceful, beautiful, and 
 majestic ; while he can study to advantage the cocoa and plantain 
 trees, with which the gardens are filled. The whole place would 
 be perfect in itself, in the way of a garden, were it not that it has been 
 necessary to run a railroad through the middle of it, the noise from 
 the passing trains of which breaks at times inharmoniously upon the 
 ear as one saunters enjoyingly through the fragrant and otherwise 
 quiet paths. 
 
418 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 
 
 The gardens seem to be divided off under different names, as may 
 be seen by the sign-boards, at different places, designating the gar 
 dens of San Antonio, the Queen, the Wood of the Princess. A 
 military guard is in and about the gardens all the time. It has been 
 the custom for the Captains-General to spend their summers here ; 
 but it having got abroad that the place was unhealthy, it has not been 
 so often occupied lately, the Governors going out to Marianao or 
 Puentes Grandes. Be that as it may, it is a lovely spot for the 
 stranger, on his winter visit, to stroll into and pass his time agreeably, 
 whether sauntering through the shady walks with some lady friend, 
 or smoking his fragrant Havana beneath the stately palms. 
 
 View of the Surrounding Country. 
 
 From these gardens, if the traveler is anxious for exercise, he can 
 mount up to the fort upon the hill, known as the " Principe," whence 
 there is a good view of the surrounding country, always provided the 
 sentry will allow him to pass. The fort itself is small, though some 
 what old, having been built, in 1763, for the protection of the village 
 and bay of Chorrera. 
 
 Leaving now the Quinta, we have a very pretty view of the contin 
 uation of the Paseo, with its rows of trees that shade the road so 
 nicely, and which have attained such a luxuriant growth that it 
 makes this, with reason, one of the most charming portions of the 
 afternoon drive of the Habaneros. Turning again into a fine, wide 
 avenue, known as the " Calzada de la Infanta," we drive over to a 
 long, handsome street, known as " El Cerro " (the hill), and leading 
 out to a little village of that name. It is a very handsome street, 
 about three miles long, lined on each side with the beautiful and 
 comfortable residences of the fashionable and wealthy, for whom this 
 with its surroundings is the principal place of residence, particularly 
 in the summer. 
 
 Here is an ample field for the study of tropic architecture, hardly 
 any two houses being alike, yet all with the same general plan, very 
 different indeed from our ideas of comfort, and yet probably the best 
 plan that can be adopted for this climate. Not only on the " Cerro/ 
 
CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 4U 
 
 but everywhere in the cities, is the stranger struck by the peculiari 
 ties of this Cuban architecture, with its enormous windows, without a 
 particle of glass, but grated with strong iron bars, the single story of 
 height, the tremendous doorways, their massive doors studded, many 
 of them, with numerous brass knobs and decorations, all bearing the 
 appearance of having been built for defence from outside attack. 
 
 Houses of Singular Construction. 
 
 Upon the Cerro, the houses are modernized somewhat, having 
 their stables and carriages in their rear, and in front stone piazzas, 
 elevated some distance above the level of the street. Passages are 
 not at all frequent in the houses, and the principal entrance opens 
 directly into large and cool halls, which are in fact rooms and fur 
 nished as such, laid with marble-tiled floors, and connected with th? 
 rooms beyond by large archways. 
 
 These halls are usually the dining-rooms, where always there is a 
 breeze from the open courtyard or through the wide sala, or parlor, 
 at the entrance ; the whole being devoid of curtains, and exposed to 
 the eye or curiosity of every passerby. The ceilings are uncom 
 monly high, and the houses are, without exception, open on the 
 interior side to the patio, or courtyard, which affords, even of the. 
 warmest days, a chance for some air. 
 
 This patio takes with those in the cities the place of our gardens ; 
 all the rooms open to it, and where there is a second story, a gallery 
 runs around the entire square, having either blinds or fancy-colored 
 awnings for protection from the sun s rays, which have full scope in 
 the open centre of the square. 
 
 This secures a free circulation of air, a shady place in which to sit 
 or walk, and very often, when the patio is laid out with walks, flow 
 ers, fountains, and orange, pomegranate, or mignonette trees, a 
 charming place in which to dream one s idle hours away. 
 
 Here are also to be seen some superb specimens of the cactus, 
 which in Cuba grows to an immense size, and possesses great 
 strength, for a plant of this kind, in its branches, some of which will 
 bear a man seated on them. In the trenches around Havana are 
 
420 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 
 
 also other fine specimens, which have a very odd appearance at times 
 from the large quantities of fine dust that settle on them. On out 
 return, we pass through the " Calzada Galiano," one of the finest 
 streets in the city, and always having new charms, with its width, pil 
 lared porticoes, and regular architecture, to say nothing of the con 
 stant life there visible. 
 
 The great charm of Cuba for the traveler from the United States is 
 the entire change of appearance of matters and things from what he 
 is accustomed to. From the time of landing at Havana, with one s 
 mind filled with the Spanish life as described in Irving s " Alhambra " 
 and " Granada," or as written in Prescott s works, there is an 
 additional pleasure of seeing, verified with one s own eyes, those 
 peculiarities of houses, climate, and people, described somewhat in 
 those works. 
 
 Charm and Novelty Everywhere. 
 
 From the moment of entering the bay of Havana, where one sees 
 the city before him, with all its oddities of colors, and shapes, and 
 styles of its walls, with an occasional palm or cocoa tree to give a 
 marked type to its appearance, to the time of turning his back upon 
 the luxuriant Coffee Mountains of the east, or sugar-cane clad 
 prairies of the valleys, there is one constant charm of novelty, and 
 very often ridiculously so. 
 
 The first thing that strikes the novice, in wandering through the 
 old town of Havana, is the solidity of the buildings and the narrow 
 ness of the streets, the smallness of the sidewalks of which will 
 cause him at first some considerable annoyance in stepping off into, 
 perhaps, the muddy street, for the purpose of giving the " right of 
 way " to some pedestrian who is keeping to the right, " as the law 
 directs ; " or, when disgusted with the constant getting out of the 
 way, he takes to the middle of the street, and is suddenly punched 
 in the ribs by the shafts of some volante, whose driver has gauged 
 his pulling up so nicely that he just avoids running over you. 
 
 Then the houses, hardly ever more than one story high never 
 more than two with their tremendous doors and windows ; when, if 
 the door is open, you see a handsome flight of stone steps, perhaps, 
 
CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 421 
 
 leading to the upper story, the walls all gaily painted in white and 
 blue, or yellow ; the entrance probably taken up with a gorgeous 
 quitrin, or, perhaps, a handsome carriage, according as to whether the 
 family are wealthy, and occupy the whole house, or only well-off, and 
 keep the upper stories, renting out the lower ones, which are probably 
 filled with merchandise. Notice, now, this great door to the large 
 and showy mansion. It is shut ; but see how resplendent it is with 
 brass decorations, latches, hinges, door-plates, or studded with 
 quaintly-shaped brass-headed bolts, with shining handles. 
 
 Is it wonderful that an American, with his national character for 
 impudence, should follow in the steps of the courtly and stately 
 Spaniard, when he sees a pair of lovely eyes peeping at him from 
 behind the curtain of the barred window, and, doffing his hat, should 
 exclaim, with antique gallantry, "Sefiorita, I put myself at your feet," 
 or "the surprising beauty of your lovely eyes will not permit .of my 
 passing by, Senorita, without doing them homage ? " grateful if he 
 is rewarded, as he always will be, by bright glances from the dark- 
 haired damsel, who, with a stately smile, utters her " Gracias Serior" 
 in return for what she deems only due tribute. 
 
 Peculiar Types of Character. 
 
 Here s a contrast! Now mark that great negro, with his ridiculous- 
 looking wheelbarrow, appearing as though it had come out of the 
 ark, such is the simplicity of its construction ; the negro himself, 
 without head-covering, with as little clothing as the law allows (if 
 there is any law in such matters), generally ragged pants, and a por 
 tion of a shirt only. 
 
 Here we are in the ever-busy street O Reilly, which, like Obispo 
 or Ricla, one never gets tired of wandering in. Do not imagine for 
 a moment, if you want to find any particular store, that you must 
 ask for Mr. Smith s or Mr. Jones s establishment; oh, no, these 
 people do not generally travel under their own names ; but, like a 
 hotel, stick up something that is unique, expressive, or easily re 
 membered. As a consequence, you have " The Nymphs," " The 
 Looking Glass," " The Little Isabel," the " Green Cross," which you 
 
422 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 
 
 see gets its name from the big Maltese cross, built into the wall of 
 that corner store, and hundreds of other funny, curious, and expres 
 sive names. 
 
 Just look down that street, this hot February day. See those fancy- 
 colored awnings, stretching across all the way down, to keep the warm 
 sun away from our heads ; those handsome shop windows, or the 
 stores themselves, in fact, with their shelves almost upon the street, 
 
 PINE-APPLE PLANTATION. 
 
 all reminding one of the descriptions of Eastern bazaars, were it not 
 that the well-dressed men that are scattered through the non-coated, 
 cool-looking people, show the presence, in a civilized land, of capital 
 tailor s work. 
 
 And now, while intent upon the sights, you hear a shout of " Cut- 
 dado! cuidado!" (take care), behind you, and jumping out of the 
 way, in the expectation that your last hour is come, you are convulsed 
 with laughter at the cause of your alarm, in a most ridiculously small 
 donkey pulling a big cart, while upon the back of the donkey, per 
 haps, are piled a dozen folded blankets or cloths ; upon, top of which, 
 again, is a great cumbersome saddle, big enough and heavy enough 
 for a French cuirassier. 
 
CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 423 
 
 Poor little donkey ! He has just twice as much load as is neces 
 sary to carry, but the plucky little fellow goes sturdily along as if it 
 was all right. Now, turning a corner, we are suddenly taken aback 
 by a negro girl, with a white child in her arms, out for an airing, we 
 suppose, from the nature of the apparel, which consists of just the 
 amount of hair usually found on the heads of children, and which 
 probably the novice thinks is a little too airy for the public streets of 
 a city like Havana. 
 
 Only his Head to be Seen. 
 
 " Halloa ! what s up now, in this narrow street we are going 
 through ? " you will ask, as, looking ahead, you see it completely 
 stopped up with a mass of green vegetable matter that is coming 
 down on you with hardly any perceptible propelling aid ; however, 
 now it is near ; you descry the long-eared head of a small donkey, 
 or perhaps a Cuban horse, almost buried under a load of green fodder, 
 piled upon and beside him in such manner that nothing is to be seen 
 except the head and feet of the little fellow, who, while thus buried, 
 has not even the satisfaction of a quiet little chew of the material 
 that surrounds him, for his mouth is muzzled up in a curiously netted 
 muzzle of twine. 
 
 This fodder constitutes, with corn, the only food given to horses in 
 Havana, and is all brought in from the surrounding country on the 
 backs of mules, sometimes ten or twelve in number, strung together 
 like a lot of beads, head and tail. No oats are raised, or grain of any 
 kind, in the Island, except the small sweet ears of Indian corn which 
 is grown everywhere, and the stalks of which, with the tender tops of 
 the sugar-cane, make up the only food to be had for horses. 
 
 There s another fellow bawling out at this early hour something 
 he calls " leche t leche ; " and which we find to be milk he is carrying 
 around in those immense tin cans, stuck away in the straw or palm 
 panniers hanging over his horse s back, and which, with the hot sun 
 and the motion, would soon get churned to butter, or rather oil, the 
 Batter being the way they use it on the Island. 
 
 Again is heard a peculiar clattering, as if crockery was being 
 
424 CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 
 
 hardly dealt with, and which is found to proceed from the hands of a 
 peripatetic " Chinois," who takes to the street for a market for his 
 wares. Here he is, now, a regular thorough-going " John China 
 man," who, after having served out his time as a Coolie on perhaps 
 some large sugar estate, has become imbued with the ambitious 
 desire of being a merchant, and no longer remaining in his hard 
 working way of life as a " trabajador " in the hot sugar fields. 
 
 Having saved sufficient money from his hard earnings, or, what is 
 more likely, made his capital by gambling with his more verdant and 
 less fortunate fellows, he has started in trade, with a bamboo yoke 
 carried over his shoulders, and pendant from the ends of which hang 
 two large, round baskets, filled with crockery of all kinds. 
 
 Clad in thin, wide pantaloons, a blue dungaree shirt, with a broad 
 palm-leaf hat on his head, and his feet thrust into loose, heelless 
 slippers, he perambulates the streets, seeking to tempt the cautious 
 housewife into purchasing something of him not by the dulcet 
 sounds of his voice (which sounds like a turkey-gobbler), but by the 
 insinuating music of the wares themselves, emitted in a peculiar 
 sound and way by the half-dozen saucers he carries in his hand, and 
 which he is constantly throwing up gently, and letting them fall one 
 upon the other with a sharp, continuous, rattling sound that will 
 bring the indolent housewife quickly to the window, if she wants 
 anything in that line. No danger of his breaking them in this way 
 of making himself known, for the Chinese are celebrated for their 
 sleight of hand, and this is evidence of it. 
 
 Now we hear the fruit-venders crying out their wares, as they 
 walk beside their pannier-loaded horses. " Naranjas, naranjas, 
 dulces " (oranges, sweet oranges), he cries ; which, in the season pro 
 per for them, you can buy of him, the largest and ripest kind, for a 
 peseta (twenty cents) the dozen, or less, as well as other fruits of 
 the country. Although the oranges are ripe all the year round, there 
 seems to be a profusion of them in the early Spring months, unless, 
 as is the case some years, they are somewhat scarce from the torna 
 does having destroyed many of the trees. 
 
 Look at this ridiculous sight, that fellow, a poultry-dealer, going 
 
CELEBRATED AVENUES AND GARDENS. 425 
 
 up the street there ahead of us, mounted upon his donkey, his feet 
 projecting out in front, while he is high up on the pack that holds his 
 large, square panniers of chickens, which he has brought in from the 
 country to dispose of, and which he carries safely in the baskets, 
 corded over the tops with a net work, or more frequently a cloth, the 
 polios sticking forth their heads from time to time, and doubtless 
 wondering, as they keep up their cachinating, why their master is 
 thus treating them to this morning s paseo. 
 
 Now we meet a " dulce " seller. As a general thing they are neat- 
 looking mulatto women, rather better attired than most of the 
 colored women one meets in the street. They carry a basket on the 
 arm, or perhaps upon the head, while in their hands they have a 
 waiter, with all sorts of sweetmeats, mostly, however, the preserved 
 fruits of the country, and which are very delicious, indeed, much 
 affected by ladies. 
 
 We need not have any hesitation in buying from these women, as 
 they usually are sent out by private families, the female members of 
 which make these dulccs for their living, the saleswoman often being 
 the only property they own, and having no other way (or, perhaps, 
 too proud, if they have) of gaining a livelihood. 
 
 Here is something that won t strike you quite so agreeably. Did 
 you ever see anything more disgusting than that great negro wench, 
 a large clothes-basket on her head, a colossal cigar sticking out 
 from between her thick lips, while she walks along, majestically 
 trailing an ill-fitting, loose dress (probably the only article of apparel 
 she has on) after her slip-shod strides ? She puts on airs, occa 
 sionally, if you scold her for spoiling your clothes, that you have 
 rashly trusted her to wash for you. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Sugar-making in Cuba. 
 
 A BOOK on the Island of Cuba without a chapter on sugar-mak 
 ing would hardly be complete. TG :he cultivation of the 
 cane is also added, on the same place where the cane is 
 raised, and by the same proprietor, the manufacture of sugar, such 
 places being called in the Cuban dialect ingenios, or sugar estates, the 
 carrying on of which requires a large amount of capital, a great 
 degree of intelligence, and much mechanical skill. 
 
 These ingenios vary in size from five hundred to ten thousand 
 acres, though the results of their crops are not always in proportion 
 to the number of their acres, that depending more particularly upon 
 the nature of the soil of the particular locality in which they are situ 
 ated, and the degree of intelligence and amount of labor with which 
 they are worked. Each one of the ingemes is, in some degree, like a 
 small village, or, as with the larger ones, quite a town, in which are 
 substantial edifices, numerous dwellings, and expensive machinery, 
 together with a large number of inhabitants, the different officials 
 necessary for their government and management representing the 
 civil officers, except with, perhaps, greater power. 
 
 The buildings upon a first-class sugar estate are generally a dwell 
 ing-house (casa de vivienda\ which, from its size, style, and cost, 
 might sometimes be called a palace, some of them having, in addition 
 to numerous other conveniences, small chapels in which to celebrate 
 the religious services of the estate, the dwelling being occupied by 
 the owner and his family, if living on the estate ; if not, by the admin- 
 istrador, who is charged with the care and management of the estate 
 in the absence of the owner, and who, in fact, may be said to be the 
 man of the place. 
 
 There is also the house occupied by the mayoral, as he is called 
 the chief of the negro laborers, whose business it is to follow the 
 426 
 
SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 427 
 
 laborers to the field to see that they do their work properly, and that 
 sufficient amount of cane is cut to keep the mill constantly supplied 
 with material to grind ; in fact he has a general supervision of all the 
 agricultural duties of the estate, receiving his orders only from the 
 owner or administrador , as the case may be. The may or ales are gen 
 erally very ordinary men, of no education, the intelligence they pos 
 sess being simply that gained by long experience in this kind of 
 business. 
 
 The maqidnista, or engineer, is really the most important man 
 upon the place, as upon him depend the grinding of the cane and the 
 care of the mill and its machinery that it is kept in good and run 
 ning order, so that no delay may take place in the grinding season. 
 His quarters are generally in some part of the mill, where he man 
 ages to be pretty comfortable. 
 
 American Engineers. 
 
 These engineers are mostly young Americans, with now and then 
 an Englishman or a German ; but the Americans are much preferred 
 on account of their superior intelligence and assiduous attention to 
 their business. Their pay is from one thousand two hundred to two 
 thousand five hundred dollars for the grinding season, which begins 
 about December and ends nearly always in or before June, most of 
 the engineers going over to the States to pass the summer, or, as 
 they express it, " to have a good time." 
 
 The Hospital is always an important building on these places, as it 
 is the only place where the sick can be treated and properly taken 
 care of. It is usually arranged with a great deal of care and neat 
 ness, the building being divided off into different wards for men and 
 women, and also for contagious diseases ; it is generally in charge of 
 a hospital steward, who has quite an apothecary shop in his charge, 
 and who receives his instructions from the attending physician, who 
 also attends a number of the estates in the same locality, visiting each 
 one generally every day, and receiving compensation at so much per 
 year. As a matter of simple economy, to say nothing of charity, the 
 invalids get the best of treatment, and are not sent back to work 
 
428 
 
 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 until they are completely restored, though while convalescing they 
 are required to do light work, such as making baskets, hats, etc. 
 
 The Nursery is also quite an important place, and is highly amus 
 ing to visit, for here the future hopes of the plantation are cared for. 
 These little black, naked sinners, running and tumbling over each 
 other in great glee, are generally kept in a large room, with rows 
 of cradles or cribs on each side, in which each little one is kept at 
 
 INTERIOR OF A SUGAR-MILL. 
 
 night, the old women who are too feeble to work any longer being 
 retained as nurses in charge, while the mothers of the little ones are 
 out at work in the fields, being allowed, two or three times a day, to 
 return and suckle such infants as need the mother s milk. 
 
 It is very amusing to enter one of these nurseries when the children 
 are being fed, and see their gambols and antics, and the expression of 
 the little ones eyes as they see the white master, as he is called, and 
 with whom they keep on friendly terms, enter their quarters. They 
 all appear to be happy and jolly, and make as much noise and have 
 as much fun as would satisfy any " radical " in the States. Poor 
 things, they happily know nothing of the hard lot in store for them. 
 
SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 429 
 
 But the most important of all the buildings is, of course, the Sugar- 
 mill, which generally consists of the engine-house, where is all the 
 machinery and power for grinding, boiling and working the cane and 
 juice, and the purging and drying-houses. The engine-house is gen 
 erally an extremely large roof, supported by pillars and posts, and 
 entirely open on all sides in fact, nothing more than a very well 
 constructed shed to keep off the sun and rain, the floor being mostly 
 paved with brick, and the stairways leading from one portion of the 
 building to another being of solid stone. In fact, one of these mills 
 of the first class is a very handsome affair everything about it, the 
 engines and the machinery being kept in the most scrupulously clean 
 order, equal to a man-of-war. 
 
 How the Employees Live. 
 
 On the larger places there are generally what are called barracoons, 
 or quarters for the workmen. They are large buildings, constructed of 
 stone, in the form of a quadrangle, on the inner side of which are the 
 rooms for the negroes, to which there is only one main entrance ; 
 this is shut at night when the hands are all in. 
 
 On the outside, and much better built, there are rooms occupied 
 by the different white men connected with the place and not other 
 wise provided for ; probably, also, a long row of stables for the many 
 horses usually kept upon places of this kind, and of which there is no 
 lack, either for work or play. 
 
 On other places, again, the negroes live in bohios, or huts some 
 few constructed of stone, but most of them simply log or cane huts, 
 of the most ordinary description, thatched with palm-leaf or grass, 
 and making no attempt at comfort, but simply serving as shelters 
 from the rain. In the Southern States the miserable habitations 
 called cabins are bad enough ; but these are worse ; though, to be 
 sure, in a climate like this it does not matter much about shelter 
 all one wants is shade. 
 
 The Purging-house is generally of very great extent, being two 
 stones high, and of great length. The floor of the upper story is 
 simply a series of strong frames, with apertures for placing in them 
 
430 
 
 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 the Iwrmas, funnel-shaped cylinders of tin or sheet- iron, into which 
 is put the molasses to drain into troughs beneath. One side of this 
 house is open, in order to permit the gavetas, or large boxes upon 
 wheels, into which are put the forms of sugar, to be run in and out 
 conveniently. In these boxes, which are immensely large, the sugar 
 
 SECTION OF PURGING-HOUSE. 
 
 in forms is broken up and exposed to the air and sun, for the purpose 
 of thoroughly drying it. 
 
 The number of these hormas is something wonderful, there being in 
 some of the houses as many as twenty thousand. Beneath the upper 
 floor are a number of troughs, each trough having a slant to a main 
 trough. Over the minor troughs are the mouths of the aforesaid 
 funnels, which permit the molasses draining from the pans of sugar 
 above to run into the troughs, which again convey it to large vats or 
 hogsheads, called bocoyes, each of which holds from twelve to fifteen 
 hundred gallons. It is in this process that they make the distinction 
 of the different sugars bianco, or white ; quebrado, or broken ; and 
 the common, dark-colored sugar called Cucurucho* 
 
SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 431 
 
 In making these three qualities of sugar, a layer of moist earth or 
 clay is placed upon the top of the pans of crystallized syrup, from 
 which the moisture, draining constantly through, carries off all the 
 imperfections, leaving the pans full of dry sugar in the form of solid 
 cases, and generally of three colors ; that nearest the top, pure white; 
 next below that, the discolored ; and at the bottom of that, the moist 
 or dark colored. 
 
 If, however, it is desired to make only a moscabado sugar, which is 
 of a rich brown color, and does not require the same time or pains 
 as the finer qualities, the syrup is simply put in the large hogsheads, 
 before described, and allowed to drain off in the natural way without 
 the process of " claying " it, as it is called. This, of course, makes 
 more sugar of an average inferior grade, which weighs more, having 
 the molasses in it ; and this is the sugar generally preferred by sugar 
 refiners. 
 
 Various Workshops. 
 
 Besides the above, other buildings there are, of different kinds, 
 necessary to large establishments like these, such as cooper, carpen 
 ter, and blacksmith shops; while there are also, on the best estates, 
 gas works, at which is manufactured the gas with which the mill and 
 buildings are illuminated, it being found much cheaper and cleaner 
 to manufacture and use gas than oil. 
 
 Of the persons directly in charge of making the sugar there are 
 one or two upon each place whose business it is to see to the boiling 
 and refining of the sugar, and who are known as sugar-makers, 
 receiving for their services from eight hundred to one thousand 
 dollars each per annum. 
 
 It is calculated that to every one thousand boxes of sugar, con 
 sisting of four hundred pounds each, it is necessary to have from 
 fifty to seventy-five hands; for, of course, the greater supply of labor 
 there is, the better are the chances of making the sugar of superior 
 quality. Of these laborers the larger proportion are negroes, while 
 upon nearly every place there are more or less Chinese or Coolies, 
 all of whom are divided into classes and divisions, according to the 
 labor for which they are desired. 
 
432 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 Guardianes, or guardians, are stationed in smart huts at the entrances 
 to the estates, and act as porters, though their lodges are nothing 
 more, usually, than a simple shelter hut, of grass or palm-leaf, the 
 occupants being generally old men unfit for hard labor. Firemen 
 attend to keeping up the furnace fires, which are generally placed in 
 a cavity, or sort of cellar in the ground, upon one side of the mill 
 there being left a large space in front of the furnaces into which the 
 carts, upon backing up to its edge, empty their loads of mashed 
 cane, the only fuel used to generate steam. These carts are rude, 
 rough affairs, invariably drawn by either one or two yoke of oxen. 
 
 The Bill of Fare. 
 
 The bulk of the hands used in the general operations of the place, 
 cutting cane, plowing, etc., are known as the gente, or "people." 
 They are pretty well taken care of as regards food, at least in quantity 
 if not in quality ; they get tasajo, or dried beef, boniatos, or sweet 
 potatoes, rice, and plantains which answer for bread, and of which 
 they are very fond, eating them either roasted or fried. 
 
 The clothing they wear is limited, not only in quality, but quantity, 
 the children usually going about stark naked the women with only a 
 calico dress on, and the men wearing only their pants. It is rather 
 a novel sight, at the eleven o clock halt from work, to see these peo 
 ple gathering for their rations. 
 
 Attached to every estate is \hepotrero, or corral, where are herded 
 the cattle used in doing the hauling on the place, and also those in 
 tended for supplying the hands with meat. 
 
 Of the cane itself there are several species known in Cuba. The 
 criolla, or native cane, is the oldest known, being that brought to 
 Spain by Columbus, on his second voyage, from the Canaries, but is 
 thin, poor, and not very juicy ; that of Otaheite, which is large, thick, 
 and preferred by the sugar-makers, being introduced into the Island 
 in 1795 I ^at of the Cristallina, last introduced, and cultivated by 
 many us preferable to that of Otaheite, a cartful of which will give a 
 pan and a half of dry sugar, amounting to about sixty pounds. 
 
 The height Stained by the cane, averaging as it does six or eight 
 
SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 433 
 
 feet, and sometimes reaching twenty, the length of joint, the color, 
 and many other particulars, vary with different species, with the 
 character of the soil, and with the mode of culture adopted. The 
 stems are divided by prominent annular joints into short lengths 
 from each joint of which there sprout long, narrow leaves, which, as 
 the canes approach maturity, drop off from the lower joints. 
 
 The outer part of the cane is hard and brittle, but the inner con 
 sists of a soft pith containing the sweet juice, which is elaborated 
 separately in each joint. This is very nutritious, and is eaten in 
 large quantities by the negroes, who in their leisure moments are 
 generally supplied with a piece at which they constantly suck, hav 
 ing prepared it by stripping off the outer skin, which leaves in a good 
 piece of cane almost a solid lump of sugar. 
 
 The cane is propagated by slips or cuttings, consisting of the top 
 of the cane with two or three of the upper joints, the leaves being 
 stripped off These are planted, either in holes dug by hand or in 
 trenches formed by a plough, about eight or twelve inches deep, the 
 earth being banked up upon the margin, and well manured; two or 
 more slips are laid longitudinally at the bottom of each hole, and 
 covered with earth from the banks to the depth of one or two inches. 
 
 In about a fortnight the sprouts appear a little above the earth, and 
 then a little more earth from the bank is put in the hole, and as the 
 plants continue to grow, the earth is occasionally filled in a little at a 
 time, until, after four or five months, the holes are entirely filled up. 
 
 The planting takes place in the intervals of the rainy season, 
 which commences regularly in June, and lasts until October or 
 November, the cutting taking place immediately after the Christmas 
 holidays, and continuing on up to May, even, in some cases. 
 
 The maturity of the cane is indicated by the skin becoming dry, 
 smooth, and brittle, by the cane becoming heavy, the pith gray, 
 approaching to brown, and the juice sweet and glutinous. It is 
 usual to raise several crops in successive years from the same roots, 
 the plan, I believe, being to plant about one-third of the grounds 
 every year. 
 
 When the cane is ripe for cutting, the mill is put in complete run- 
 28 
 
434 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 ning order, and the hands, under the charge of the mayoral, proceed 
 to the field of now green cane, each negro man, woman, or child 
 armed with a machete t or knife of peculiar construction, something 
 like a butcher s cleaver, and very strong and sharp. Spreading them 
 selves out over the field, they begin the cutting of the cane, first by 
 one cut at the top, which takes off the long leaves and that part of 
 the cane which is worthless, except as it is used for food for the 
 cattle ; a second cut is then given as near the root as possible, the 
 cane falling carelessly to the ground, from which it is gathered as 
 wanted. 
 
 A Lively Scene. 
 
 A field in the cutting season presents a lively sight, with its three 
 or four hundred laborers superintended by the mayoral on horseback, 
 its carpet of cut cane, and its long lines of slowly-moving carts, with 
 their noisy drivers, while the sea of standing cane, sometimes extenc2- 
 ing for miles and miles, is stirred by the gentle breeze into waves of 
 undulating green. 
 
 The carts being now piled up with the cane, and the fodder left 
 upon the ground to be carried off another time, they drive back in a 
 long line to the mill, where they empty the cane under a large shed, 
 close to that portion of the mill wherein is the crusher. 
 
 This pile of carie generally becomes immense, as the carts keep 
 continually bringing it in faster than the mill can grind during the 
 day; and at night, work in the field, as a general thing, ceases a 
 portion of the hands going in the early part of the evening to get 
 their rest, while the others keep feeding the cane to the mill. 
 Towards morning, when the stock on hand gets low, the negroes are 
 called up, and sent out to the field to keep up the supply of cut cane, 
 the engine never ceasing to run night or day, unless in case of acci 
 dent, during the whole of the grinding season. 
 
 The cane being deposited under the shed at the mill in sufficient 
 quantities, the engine is started, and the machinery put in motion. 
 The cane is then thrown by the hands upon an endless inclined flexi 
 ble conductor, formed of strips of wood and links of chain, which. 
 being constantly in motion, and passing round a cylinder near r 
 
SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 crushers, throws the cane into their jaws, by which the juice is com 
 pletely pressed out of it, and passes in a continuous stream into the 
 troughs beneath, while the refuse cane is carried out on the other 
 side into a wooden trough, from which it is taken by hand, placed in 
 carts, and carried off to the furnaces. 
 
 These crushers, or maquinas de moler, as they are called, consist of 
 three immensely large, solid, iron rollers, placed horizontally, revolv 
 ing, one above and two beneath, in a kind of pyramidal form, the 
 opening between the upper and first lower one being larger than that 
 between the upper and second lower one, in order to form more of a 
 mouth with which to draw in the cane from the feeder. 
 
 The juice, as it now runs out in a liquid state, is an opaque fluid, of 
 a dull gray or olive-green color, of a sweet, pleasant taste, and is 
 known by the name of guarapo. It is quite thick, and holds in sus 
 pension particles of the cane and refuse, which are separated from it 
 by filtration. This liquid is so exceedingly fermentable that it is 
 necessary to clarify it immediately. It runs from the mill by means 
 of troughs or conductors, passing in its course into pans of copper, 
 pierced with holes like a cullender, through which the liquor runs, 
 leaving its refuse matter on the surface to be disposed of by a man 
 constantly in attendance for the purpose. 
 
 It is then forced, by means of pumps, into large tanks, from which 
 it is conveyed by a trough to the clarifiers, which are large kettles 
 heated by steam. In these, defecation takes place, the process being 
 assisted by four or five ounces of lime to every four hundred and 
 fifty gallons of boiling liquid contained in each kettle. Sometimes 
 more lime is required, this depending entirely upon the density of the 
 juice. 
 
 In connection with these vats, which are known as clarifiers, there 
 is generally used a test paper, by which the juice is tested as it 
 comes from the mill, to ascertain the amount of acidity in it. This 
 is a simple chemically-prepared paper, of a blue color, which, on 
 being put into the liquid, turns to a red color, more or less intense 
 according to the degree of acidity in the juice. 
 
 From the clarifiers, the juice, after settling, is filtered through vats, 
 
436 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 filled nearly up to the top with bone-black, which is usually used two 
 or three times, or until the juice changes color or does not run off 
 well. The length of time which the bone-black is used is the real 
 secret of the difference in some sugars ; and, as proof of this, on the 
 estates where the finest sugars are made, the bone-black is changed 
 every eight hours ; while on the estates where the poorest sugar is 
 made, it is changed only once in two or three days. 
 
 From these clarifying vats there are three copper troughs, one 
 for molasses, one for cane-juice, and one for syrups. From these 
 three troughs as many pipes lead to large tanks, which are simply 
 receptacles for the material accumulating. From these tanks, again, 
 the liquor is conveyed to the vacuum-pans, the principle of latent 
 heat being made use of to evaporate the cane-juice. 
 
 These vacuum-pans are three in number, the first of which is for 
 juice, the second for syrup, and the third a strike-pan, as it is called. 
 The vacuum-pan consists of a close copper vessel, perfectly air tight, 
 the middle portion cylindrical, and from six to seven feet in diam 
 eter, the upper portion convex or dome-shaped, and the bottom also 
 convex, but less so than the top. The bottom of the pan is double, 
 the cavity between the inner and outer bottom forming a receptacle 
 for steam; and there is also a coiled steam-pipe just over the upper 
 bottom. There is one pipe of communication with the vessel of clar 
 ified syrup, one with the vessel which is to receive the crystallized 
 sugar, and one with an air-pump, and there are numerous valves, 
 gauges, etc. 
 
 In using the pan, a quantity of liquid sugar is admitted, and the 
 air-pump is set to work to exhaust all the air from the pan in order 
 that the contents may boil at a low temperature. To enable the per 
 son who superintends the process to ascertain when the syrup is 
 sufficiently evaporated, the pan is supplied with a very ingenious 
 appendage called the proof-stick, by which a little of the sugar can 
 be taken out, and its state ascertained by the touch. Some of the 
 pans have a small glass window, through which can be seen the liquid 
 in a boiling state. 
 
 The clarified juice from the tank before mentioned is pumped into 
 
SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 437 
 
 the first pan, from the first into the second, it having 1 now become 
 syrup of twenty-eight degrees density ; thence it is pumped into 
 syrup clarifiers, then skimmed, then run again through filters of 
 bone-black ; out of these filters it goes to the syrup-trough, and 
 thence to the syrup-tank before mentioned. 
 
 It is now ready for the third or strike-pan, being drawn up by the 
 vacuum at the option of the sugar-maker, and when the pan is full, it 
 is discharged by a valve into the strike-heater, a double-bottomed 
 kettle with a sufficient amount of steam to keep the sugar warm, and 
 create a certain degree of crystallization ; from this it goes into 
 the moulds, or hormas t before described. 
 
 Common Grades of Sugar. 
 
 These moulds are then run on small railway trucks into the purg- 
 ing-house, and then through the different finishing processes before 
 described. The molasses that drains off in the purging-house is 
 afterwards re-boiled and made into a common grade of sugar, known 
 as molasses-sugar. The best molasses comes from the nioscabado 
 sugar, since it has not passed through so many purifying operations, 
 and, therefore, has more saccharine matter in it. 
 
 The sugar being thoroughly dried, sorted, and pulverized, is car 
 ried into the packing-room, where, ranged upon a slightly elevated 
 frame, are the empty packing-boxes, capable of holding four hundred 
 pounds each. These are filled with the loose sugar, a gang of 
 negroes or coolies range themselves on each side of the rows, with 
 broad, heavy packing-sticks in their hands, and thus all together they 
 pound away, keeping time with their strokes, and making music with 
 their voices. This seems to be a very primitive way of packing 
 the sugar, taking as it does so much time ; but no other plan has 
 ever been successfully tried. 
 
 The sugar being now tightly packed in the boxes, the latter are 
 closed up and strapped with narrow strips of raw hide, and are then 
 shipped to market. 
 
 The foregoing process of sugar-making differs, of course, in some 
 respects, on different estates ; but the general method is the same, the 
 
438 SUGAR-MAKING IN CUBA. 
 
 differences being generally due to some variation in the kind of 
 machinery, some of the manufacturers, for instance, still clinging to 
 the old-fashioned method of boiling the sugar in open pans, which 
 of course allows a great deal of valuable matter to escape ; others 
 not going through so much of the refining process with the crop. 
 
 In concluding this chapter, it may interest the reader to know that 
 sugar-making was first tried in Cuba as far back as 1535, when a 
 grant of land was made for that purpose on what is now known as 
 the Cerro, near Havana, though good authorities state that it was in 
 Havana itself, and at Regla, on the other side of the bay, in 1598, 
 that really paying sugar estates were established. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 Description of Far- Famed Matanzas. 
 
 OF all the towns in the Island of Cuba visited by travelers^ 
 Matanzas is the one that gives entire satisfaction to the gener 
 ality of visitors. Built with regularity and in good style, it lies 
 prettily at the foot of surrounding hills, on the shore of the beautiful 
 bay of Matanzas, while through its limits run two small rivers, which 
 empty into the bay and serve to give additional character and beauty 
 to the place. Away from the grand rush of travel that fills up Havana 
 in the winter, Matanzas gets a smaller share of attention which, from 
 its many attractions, it more richly merits than almost any place upon 
 the Island. 
 
 The inhabitants are polished and hospitable, and there is great 
 wealth amongst them, while the women are remarkably pretty 
 (naturally). These things, with the natural beauties of the city, make 
 it the pleasantest place for an invalid, or any one desiring to pass 
 several months on the Island without traveling. 
 
 Matanzas, now the second city of the Island in riches and com 
 merce, is situated at the depth of the bay of the same name, formed 
 by an arm of the sea, into which empty the waters of the rivers San 
 Juan and Yumuri. The city proper is bounded on the north by the 
 river Yumuri, and on the south by that of San Juan, while on the 
 east side are the brilliant waters of the noble bay. 
 
 It is said that the town is built upon the sight of a former Indian 
 village, known by the early discoverers by its original appellation of 
 " Yucayo." Some thirty families, having emigrated from the Canary 
 Isles, located themselves upon the spot, or in the neighborhood ; for 
 Manzaneda, to effect a settlement, had purchased from Charles II. 
 about one hundred and fifty acres of land, with the adjoining corral 
 (a cattle-field), known as Matanzas, which signifies " slaughter-pen. 1 
 
 489 
 
440 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 The same name is retained to-day, with the addition of those of its 
 patron saints, San Severino and San Carlos. 
 
 The above regular settlement took place on the loth day of October, 
 1693, which was on a Saturday, and on Sunday, Bishop Compostello 
 arrived. On Monday, the ground having been previously marked 
 out, he laid the first stone for the future church or cathedral, with the 
 celebration of a grand Mass; at the same time were traced the lines 
 of the castle, known as San Carlos, still standing as a fort upon the 
 Punta Gorda. 
 
 Like many of the towns of the Island, Matanzas was threatened at 
 various times by attack from buccaneers and enemies, and has even 
 had naval engagements off its harbor ; but its most serious loss was 
 in 1845, when there took place, in the month of June, a great confla 
 gration, which destroyed over two million dollars worth of property. 
 
 Handsome Houses and Stores. 
 
 It is now, however, a pretty, well-built city, with a really fine 
 public square the Plaza de Armas which is prettily laid out with 
 walks, shrubbery, and flowers, with a fine statue of Ferdinand VII. 
 in the centre. On the east side are the residence and offices of the 
 commandante t while on the other three sides are well-built, handsome 
 houses and stores, with one or two cafes, the whole having a very fine 
 appearance. 
 
 There is only one church, a large antique-looking old building, re 
 markable for nothing except the rough architectural beauties of its 
 towers, particularly the taller one of the two, which has some con 
 siderable height. There is a fine new theatre, the handsomest on the 
 Island ; also a number of public buildings, none of which are re 
 markable in any way. 
 
 That portion of the town lying to the south of the river San Juan 
 is known as " Pueblo Nuevo," in which is situated the railroad depot, 
 and in its outskirts several beautiful country places, the river being 
 crossed by well-built bridges of solid stone. On the other side of 
 the river Yumuri, this portion of the town is known as Versailles, 
 reaching to the very foot of the hill, known as the " Cumbre," from 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 44i 
 
 the summit of which is seen the beautiful valley of the Yumuri; 
 while on the hills facing the bay stand the military hospital and the 
 barracks of Santa Isabel, capable of containing over fifteen hundred 
 men. Close to it, on the extreme edge of the bay, is the beautiful 
 paseo of Versailles, the favorite drive of the inhabitants, of an evening. 
 At the end of the paseo is the small castle and fort of San Severino. 
 The object of greatest attraction, however, to the passing traveler 
 are the " Caves of Beliamar," situated to the south-east of the city, 
 about two and a half miles, and reached by a very pleasant hour s 
 drive, a portion of the way being by the sea-side. This trip is usually 
 made in the early morning, though it is a pretty drive at any hour, 
 and the caves are worth going to see several times. 
 
 Resembling Scenes in Venice. 
 
 Having ordered your volante (if only gentlemen are in the party, 
 go on horseback) the night previous, you will find, at six o clock in 
 the morning, waiting your coming, a two-horse volante and driver; 
 for which you will be charged about six dollars and thirty-seven cents 
 for the excursion. On the way out, you cross the stone bridge over 
 the San Juan, known as the " Belen Bridge," and pass through the 
 town beyond, known as " New Town." These rivers running 
 through the city in this way give it a particularly Venetian appear 
 ance, and views taken from one or two blocks upon the river bank 
 might be readily mistaken for scenes in Venice. 
 
 In the new town there is a handsome street that the traveler should 
 direct his driver to go through en route to the cave ; it is called the 
 " Calzada de Esteban," and contains together, in one block, a col 
 lection of private dwelling-houses, the newest, most tasteful and beau 
 tiful seen in Cuba. The houses are large, beautifully built, with very 
 imposing and handsome pillared fronts and porticoes, generally with 
 large and luxuriantly-flowering gardens, while the combination of 
 iron-railing of pretty designs, with stone pillars and bases, gives a 
 most charming effect. 
 
 There will, also, be noticed here the happy use made of prettily- 
 colored tiles in the formation of terraces (if we may so call them) to 
 
442 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 the fronts of the piazzas. There is a pleasing effect to this style of 
 architecture in Cuba, when, if the same style were adopted with us, 
 it would be pronounced too gaudy, or ginger-bread looking ; while 
 here, from the peculiar climate, where the sky is always so beautifully 
 blue, and the sun brightly hot, the high colors used in architecture 
 seem in harmony with those of nature. 
 
 Leaving now the town behind us, and passing by some straggling 
 houses, we come out by the side of the bay, whose emerald-green 
 waters wash gently the sandy shore, and from whose blue distance 
 come the cooling ocean breezes of early morning ; while across the 
 bay are the verdure-clad hills that over-top the valley of lovely 
 Yumuri ; the picture being completed on our right hand by green 
 banks and hills, overshadowed by the tall and graceful palm, or the 
 fan-like branches of the cocoanut tree. 
 
 Entrance to the Cave. 
 
 Turning off from the sea-side, and winding up a rugged and stony 
 road, some distance up the hills, upon the top of the plateau, we come 
 to the " Cave House," a large frame building erected over the entrance 
 to the cave, and containing the visitors register, as also numerous 
 specimens of the crystal formations of the cave. In the centre of the 
 building is the stairway leading into the entrance of the cave. 
 
 We would advise all visitors to the cave to divest themselves of 
 any superfluous clothing in the way of coats, shawls, vests, etc., which 
 they can leave in charge of the attendant ; for the atmosphere inside 
 is quite warm, and, with the exercise, gets to be, before coming out, 
 quite oppressive. 
 
 Well, we pay our dollar each ; the muchacho takes his one candle, 
 and, following him, we descend the stairs into the cave. After a few 
 paces, we cross a small wooden bridge, and find ourselves in the 
 " Gothic Temple." Even in the obscure light (though in this par 
 ticular place one or two lanterns are hung up) one can see that it is 
 very, very beautiful, with its millions of crystals, its thousand weird 
 forms, and gloomy corners. When the candle is placed behind some 
 of the columns or projecting crystals, their transparency produces a 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. .443 
 
 most lovely effect, their colors varying from the purest white to 
 amber and the most tender of rose tints. 
 
 This temple is quite two hundred feet long, and about seventy 
 wide, and is about one hundred and fifty feet from the entrance of 
 the cave ; and while it far surpasses in richness and splendor the 
 temple of the same name in the Mammoth Cave, it does not equal it 
 in size or solemn grandeur, though, as far as the ease and comfort 
 with which the cave is seen, it is far ahead of the Kentucky cave, as 
 the proprietor has had enterprise enough to make strong bridges, 
 plank walks, and, when necessary, strong iron-railings for protection 
 from slipping. 
 
 "A Dream of Fairyland." 
 
 The Mammoth Cave leaves upon the mind an impression of 
 solemn, gloomy grandeur, and one peoples it with gnomes and 
 demons. This cave is a dream of fairy-land, with its sprites and 
 lovely fairies keeping gay revel to soft music ; and one almost expects 
 to see shooting from the crystal shadows some lovely Undine or 
 beauteous na iad. One becomes thus dreamy under the influences of 
 the names of some of the most striking places, many of which, the 
 muchacho says, " some call one thing and some another ; " for every 
 pillar has its great name as " Columbus Mantle," and every mass is 
 likened unto the " Guardian Spirit," or more sacred " Altar," while 
 without the " Cloak of the Virgin " it would not be a Cuban cave. 
 
 This " Fuente de Nieve" (fountain of snow) is one of the loveliest 
 portions and most striking objects in the cave ; but it contains attrac 
 tions enough to bring one here again and again, when he can get the 
 chance. The cave is thus far opened about three miles in extent, 
 and its greatest depth below the surface of the earth is five hundred 
 feet. It has been opened about twenty years, having been first dis 
 covered in an accidental way, by one of the workmen of Senor Don 
 Manuel Santos Parga, who, while working near by, saw his lever 
 sink through the hole which proved to be the entrance to the cave. 
 " Who has not seen the Caves of Bellamar has not seen Cuba" 
 
 The views of the valley of the Yumuri should by all means be 
 
444 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 seen both at sunrise and sunset This excursion should be made on 
 horseback, by young people, as it is a beautiful road of an afternoon, 
 winding up the hill, the town being left behind until it becomes only 
 a confused mass of buildings in the distance ; while to the right 
 hand is the bay with its shipping and forts, and beyond, the hazy 
 landscape ; and after a short ride, a full and splendid view of the 
 ocean breaks upon you. The ascent is a steep one, though over a 
 very fair road, particularly for horses, and the change in the atmos 
 phere can be noticed almost immediately after the first turn on the 
 hill, while before the return at night it is quite cold, so that a shawl 
 will not be amiss for lady travelers. 
 
 The Far-famed Yumuri. 
 
 After about an hour and a half continuous ascent, the road sud 
 denly winds around the brink of a grassy precipice, and there, spread 
 out at one s feet, lies the far famed, poetically described, beautiful 
 valley of the Yumuri, with its patches of green and gold, and its 
 groups in twos and threes of graceful waving palm-trees, while 
 meandering through its grassy banks is the little stream of Yumuri, 
 looking like a silver ribband, except where, here and there, its waters 
 are golden-hued from the setting sun ; and over all these hangs that 
 air of perfect stillness that grand, quiet solitude which one often 
 realizes amid such noble expanses of nature as this. 
 
 All travelers are in the habit of stopping to see a sugar-house in 
 the vicinity, and get a view from the top of the dwelling. One can 
 get a general idea of sugar-making, though on a very small scale ; 
 or he can taste the boiling guarapo (sugar-juice) from the trough, 
 and, if he is consumptive, " sniff" the odors of the boiling sugar, said 
 to be so beneficial to weak lungs. 
 
 Says a traveler : " Our interview with the little black nifios was 
 highly amusing. On entering the court-yard of the negro quarters, 
 a dozen little black imps, of all ages and sexes and sizes, perfectly 
 naked, rushed towards us, and crossing their arms upon their breasts, 
 fell upon their knees before us, and jabbered and muttered, out of 
 which could be distinguished, " Master, master, give us thy blessing," 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 445 
 
 which we interpreted to mean " tin ;" whereupon we scattered sundry 
 medios amongst them. Hey ! presto ! what a change ! The little 
 black devils fell over one another, fought, tugged, and scrambled to 
 secure a prize ; while any one who had been lucky enough to obtain 
 a coin, marched off in a state of dignified delight, his distended little 
 stomach going before him like a small beer-barrel, while the owner 
 of it kept shouting out, Medio, yo tengo medio (five cents, I have five 
 cents)." 
 
 Sublime Scenery. 
 
 There is another view of this charming valley of the Yumuri to 
 the west of the town, out over the hills, known as the " Abra de 
 Yumuri," or " Boca," as it is sometimes called. The view is of 
 the whole valley, from the left bank of the river, with the grand, 
 majestic opening in the rocks, as though they had been s indered 
 expressly to let the river through. 
 
 From the top of the hill can be seen the picturesque towers of the 
 city, and the waters of the bay, with all its shipping displayed therein : 
 while in the background, towards the south, are seen the distant hills 
 that extend from the hill of San Juan to those of Camarioca, looking 
 like blue clouds against the roseate sky. 
 
 The livery stables of Matanzas furnish very fair teams, and the 
 saddle-horses are also very good; they can be had by ordering them 
 at your hotel. Ladies who are not accustomed to riding much will 
 find riding the Cuban ponies a very easy affair indeed ; for their gait 
 is a species of amble whatl&ve call racking and our fair novices in 
 equestrianism pronounce it " divine." 
 
 Securing a stylish turn-out, about six o clock in the evening, we 
 will drive down to El Paseo, which is on the extreme edge of that 
 portion of the city known as Versailles, and immediately on the 
 shore of the bay, whence come, morning and evening, the delightful 
 sea-breezes which everybody comes down here to get. 
 
 This paseo is a pretty drive, about half a mile long, and beyond it 
 a road of about the same length to the castle. It is laid out with 
 gravel-walks, rows of trees, and a stone parapet, with iron-gates at 
 
446 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 each end of the drive ; and if the stranger wants to see the beauty 
 and fashion of Matanzas, it is here that he can do so, particularly on 
 Sunday afternoon that being the great day. Quite as many elegant 
 equipages can here be seen, in proportion to the population and size 
 of the place, as in Havana. 
 
 Starting from the front gate, they drive the whole length of the 
 paseo, turning at the other end and retracing their course ; and this 
 they do for an hour or more at a time, until there is a perfect string 
 of carriages following one another around and around. Towards 
 eight o clock, if it is the night of the retreta (always Sunday), when 
 the band plays at the Plaza, most of the carriages file off to that 
 square. 
 
 Grotesque Street Scenes. 
 
 One of the most delightful pleasures in Matanzas is that of the 
 bath at the Ojo de Agua (eye of water), where, on the bank of the 
 Yumuri River, some springs of pure, cool water burst forth, and 
 many of the young men walk out in the fresh mornings, and get a dip. 
 
 The reader will be interested in the following description by a 
 tourist in Cuba: 
 
 " It was our good fortune to be in Matanzas during the last three 
 days of the Carnival ; and while the whole time was occupied by 
 noisy processions and grotesque street masqueraders, the crowning 
 ceremonies were on the last Sunday night ; then the whole town used 
 every effort to wind up the season in z.fcu de joie of pleasure and 
 amusement. In almost every town of any importance there is an 
 association of the young men, generally known as * El Liceo, 
 organized for artistic and literary purposes, and for social recreation. 
 
 * A fine large building is generally occupied by the association, 
 with ample space for theatrical representations, balls, etc. ; in addition 
 to which there are billiard-rooms, and reading-rooms, adorned, 
 probably, with fine paintings. In Matanzas, this association is known 
 as El Liceo Artistico y Literario de Matanzas/ and is a particularly 
 fine one, being composed of the Mite of the city, with a fine large 
 house, to which they made an addition by purchasing the Club/ 
 beautifully situated upon the Plaza. 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 447 
 
 " Thanks to our letter of introduction, we were, through the kind 
 offices of members, permitted to enjoy the pleasures of their grand 
 ball, called the Pifiata/ which was indeed a very fine affair, attended 
 by the beauty and fashion of Matanzas. The ball commenced at the 
 sensible hour of eight o clock in the evening; and at entering, each 
 one was required to give up his ticket to a committee of managers., 
 who thus had a kind of general inspection of all those admitted. 
 
 " Passing through the main hall, which was ablaze with light 
 reflected from the highly colored walls and polished marble floor, we 
 entered a Sala de reception which, even at this early hour, was quite 
 full, and which opened into the ball-room. Dear me, what a sight 
 it was ! Such crowds of beautiful women, such pretty dresses, such 
 elegant coiffures, in which, from the abundance of the raven tresses 
 of the Senoras, no rats or mice were necessary at least, I don t 
 ^hink there were; but then we men are so innocent ! I do not think 
 I ever saw so many beautiful women together. 
 
 Great Array of Female Beauties. 
 
 " The ball-room was a long, large hall, at the other end of which 
 was a pretty stage, for theatrical representations ; on each side of the 
 room was an arched colonnade, over which were the galleries, where 
 the bands were posted. Ranged in doubled rows of chairs the full 
 length of the room, in front of the colonnade, sat hundreds of dark- 
 eyed angels calm, dignified, and appearing, most of them, to be 
 mere lookers-on; not a black coat among them. All of these, with 
 the exception of a few courageous ones that were facing all this 
 beauty, were huddled together at the other end of the room, wanting 
 the courage (it could not be the inclination) to pay their respects to 
 las Senoritas. 
 
 " What is exactly the trouble in Cuba between the gentlemen and 
 the ladies I have never been able quite to understand. The men are 
 polished and gentlemanly, as a general thing sufficiently intelli 
 gent, apparently ; while the ladies are dignified and pretty. And 
 yet I have never seen that appearance of easy and pleasant inter 
 course between the sexes which makes our society so charming. 
 
448 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 " I am inclined to believe that it is the fault of custom, in a great 
 degree, which surrounds women in Cuba with etiquette, iron bars, 
 and formality. This would seem to apply to the natives only ; for 
 nothing can be kinder, more friendly, and courteous than the man 
 ners of the Cuban ladies to strangers, at least, judging from what is 
 seen. It may be as a lady with whom I was arguing the point said : 
 It is very different with strangers, Senor, and particularly with the 
 Americans, who are celebrated for their chivalric gallantry to ladies. 
 Now, I call that a very pretty national compliment. 
 
 " Taking the arm of my friend, we walk up and down to see, as he 
 expresses it, who there is to be presented to ; and faith, if beauty is 
 to be the test, it would seem to be a hard matter to make up one s 
 mind, there is so much of it ; but after a turn or two around the room, 
 this form is gone through with, and one begins to feel at home and 
 ready to enjoy one s self. 
 
 " When one finds ladies (and there are numbers) who have been 
 educated abroad, either in the United States or Europe, he finds them 
 highly accomplished and entertaining. Several that I had the plea 
 sure of meeting on this and other occasions spoke French perfectly, 
 some English, and one or two both of these in addition to their 
 native tongue. 
 
 " But let us return to the ball, which is all this time going on with 
 great eclat. It opens with the advent upon the stage of a dozen or 
 more young men, under the direction of a leader, in some fancy cos 
 tume very handsomely made, who, after making their bow to the 
 audience, go through some novel kind of dance. The performers 
 take this means of filling up the intervals of the general dance, and 
 amusing the audience." 
 
 Galops, quadrilles, and waltzes are on the programme ; but the pre 
 vailing dance here, as everywhere on the Island, is, or used to be, the 
 Creole dance or waltz called " La Lanza " a quiet, graceful dance, 
 and the only one which, owing to the heat of the climate, can be en 
 joyed with any degree of comfort. The following description of the 
 dance, written by a Cuban author, gives the best idea of it : 
 
 " Though there are known and executed in the Island all the 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 449 
 
 modern dances, yet preponderating over them and eclipsing them all 
 is the irresistible Danza Criolla true Cuban specialty. It is nothing 
 else than the old-fashioned Spanish contra dance, modified by the 
 warm and voluptuous character of the tropical climate. Its music 
 is of a peculiar style so much so, that any one who has not heard it 
 played by one already initiated in its mysteries, will attempt in vain 
 to play it, though he may have it perfectly written before him. 
 
 Pretty and Amusing Ceremony. 
 
 " It is now getting late, and the rooms are terribly warm ; the fans 
 of the long rows of lovely sitters, who have not moved out of their 
 places the whole evening, keep up a constant flutter, and one begins 
 to sigh for a breath of fresh air, and relief from the discomforts of a 
 full-dress suit ; but the grand affair of the evening is yet to come off, 
 we are told, and so we linger on, and are finally rewarded by the 
 grand ceremony of the Pinata, from which the ball takes its name. 
 
 " This word I can hardly give the meaning of as applied to this 
 ceremony, which consists in having pendant from the ceiling a form 
 of ribbands and flowers, the ribbands numbered and hanging from 
 the flowers, the rights to pull which are drawn like prizes in a lottery. 
 Of these ribbands, one is fastened to a beautiful crown of flowers, 
 which, when the ribband to which it is attached is pulled, falls into 
 the hands of the lucky person, who has then the privilege of crown 
 ing any lady he may deem worthy of the honor, Queen of the Ball, 
 to whom every one is obliged to yield obedience, homage, and admi 
 ration. There is, also, the same opportunity afforded to the ladies to 
 crown a king. The whole ceremony is pretty, and creates much 
 merriment and amusement. 
 
 " This ceremony over, at midnight we sally out into the open air. 
 But what a sight greets us there ! Lights blaze in such profusion 
 that it seems more than day ; music and dancing are everywhere ; 
 soflgs, deviltry, and mirth have taken complete possession of the 
 pla.ce ; while people of all ages, sexes, and colors are mixed together, 
 in what seems inextricable confusion, intent upon having a good time 
 in the open air, while their masters and betters are doing the same 
 
450 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 thing under cover. This is a Carnival sight indeed, and only to be 
 seen in a tropical climate. 
 
 " Some one suggests that we go down to the theatre, as the fun 
 only commences there after midnight ; and so we go there, passing a 
 soldier or two on guard, to see a new phase of life in the form of a 
 mascara, or ball of the lower class, known as the Cuna, where peo 
 ple of all colors and sexes go who are not required to show certifi 
 cates of character (and could not do it if they were) other than 3 
 golden dollar, which is taken at the door. 
 
 A Hilarious Crowd. 
 
 " Truly it is a mob indeed a dancing, noisy, masked mob, who, 
 amidst shouts, the din of music, and the shuffling of feet, are going 
 through all the figures of the danza criolla, most of which are en 
 tirely unknown to its more refined female admirers. Keep your 
 hand on your pocket-book, my friend, and cover up your watch- 
 chain with your coat, as you go through the crowd ; and more than 
 all, don t tread on any one s toes, unless you are prepared to hit out 
 quickly. 7 
 
 If, while at Matanzas, the traveler wishes to visit a Cuban watering- 
 place the Cuban Saratoga, in fact it can be easily done, any day, 
 by taking a ticket for Madruga. Now, unless indeed thou art an 
 invalid, troubled with partial paralysis, stiffened with rheumatism, or 
 suffering from some other unfortunate malady, think not of going 
 there, even if thou feelest for a moment the growing influence of a 
 Cuban s description of the waters and place. 
 
 Madruga is a small village, to the south-west of Matanzas, about 
 two hours ride by railroad, and can be easily reached twice a day, 
 being on the direct road to Havana, by way of the long route. 
 Madruga is simply a watering-place, and as such is celebrated for its 
 mineral springs, which are certainly very beneficial vind wonderful, 
 if all the accounts be true that are given of then,. The season 
 begins for the fashionable world about the middle of April, though 
 the baths are taken all the year round by the villagers and strangers. 
 
 The hotels are not by any means first-class, anc* are entirely dif- 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 45} 
 
 ferent from anything we are accustomed to ; but any one desiring 
 particularly to try the waters, can make himself pretty comfortable. 
 Though there are some inducements on the score of health that 
 might tempt one to make a prolonged visit, yet we advise all those 
 who have any thoughts of staying there to run down from Matanzas 
 before moving their baggage, just to " look before they leap." 
 
 The village itself is an ordinary country village, the principal part 
 of it being around the Plaza, and is situated on high ground, in a 
 beautiful rolling country, celebrated for being remarkably healthy. 
 Its public buildings are confined to one small, neat church, in addi 
 tion to the baths, which are all public. These are the property of 
 the town, having been presented to it by Don Jose O Farrell, Gover 
 nor-General in 1820, on condition that the town should keep them in 
 order and have them in charge. They are in direct charge of the 
 captain of the district, and are kept in repair by the contributions of 
 the people of the village, who find it to their interest to attract 
 strangers to their town. 
 
 The baths are all more or less impregnated with sulphur, some 
 iron and magnesia, and some potassa, and are said to be sovereign 
 cures for rheumatism, paralysis, weakness of the stomach, scrofula, 
 and some other complaints. 
 
 The baths are very pleasant to take, the water being rather cold. 
 They are taken early in the morning, and then, after the siesta, in the 
 middle of the day, a glass or two of the water being drank after each 
 bath. Invalids from all parts of the Island come here, and it is not 
 a very pleasant sight to go into the bath-room, sometimes, and have 
 the eye displeased and the mind shocked by the cases of paralysis, 
 rheumatism, etc., that are there presented. 
 
 With a jolly party, one can have a pretty good time at Madruga 
 bathing, riding on horseback, and walking to the tops of the 
 neighboring hills, from which fine views may be had. The view of 
 the " Valley of Glory," from the top of the hill " Cupey," is very 
 fine, as are also some of the other views, and the change of tempera 
 ture from the country below is very agreeable. 
 
 Far as the eye can reach are seen the waving fields of sugar-cane, 
 
452 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 darkened here anvS there by patches of woods or clumps of palms ; 
 while in the foreground are the tall, white chimneys of the sugar- 
 mills belching forth their black smoke. In the distance there is just 
 the faintest glimpse of the hazy sea, the distant mountains and hills 
 seeming to fade quite away into it. 
 
 Mode of Conducting Funerals. 
 
 One sees a good deal of primitive life in a village like this, off of 
 the main route of travel, and away from the " grand world " influ 
 ences. Observe the method of conducting funerals. First come the 
 small boys, with white linen gowns over their clothes, short enough 
 to display their ragged pants and dirty boots, the boy in the centre 
 bearing a tall pole, upon the top of which is a silver cross partially 
 draped, while each of the other boys carries a tall candlestick. 
 
 Behind them comes the priest, in shabby attire, in one hand his 
 prayer-book, from which he is chanting from time to time, while in 
 the other hand, the sun being hot, he holds an open umbrella ; behind 
 him, again, comes tottering along a venerable old man, personating 
 whilom the acolyth, the bell-ringer, the sacristan, or other church 
 functionary, as may be necessary, and now croning out in his dreary 
 voice, as he goes swinging the burning censer, the second to the 
 chants of the priest. The coffin then makes its appearance, formed 
 of rough boards, but covered with black paper-muslin, and borne 
 upon the shoulders of four of the villagers, a crowd of whom, all 
 uncovered, bring up the rear. 
 
 Here, as in all other Catholic countries, the spectators uncover 
 their heads at the passing of the funeral cortege. At the church are 
 further ceremonies of reading prayers, burning candles, and sprink 
 ling the coffin with holy water ; after which the priest goes his way, 
 and the procession take up the line of march for the new-made grave 
 in the dilapidated and neglected cemetery, where the coffin is depos 
 ited without further ceremony. No females are present during the 
 whole affair. 
 
 This humble funeral is a very different affair from what one could 
 see in the larger cities, and particularly Havana, with its ostentatious 
 
FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 453 
 
 display of the corpse upon a sumptuous catafalque or under a crystal 
 urn, its crying and screaming women, its long line of carriages, and 
 its various ceremonies, arranged and provided for by a " funeral 
 agency." 
 
 A family in mourning in Cuba not only dress in dark clothes upon 
 which there is no lustre, but they keep the windows of the house 
 shut for six months ; in fact, by an ordinance of the government, it is 
 now prohibited to display the corpse to the public through the open 
 windows, as was formerly done, both they and the doors being now 
 required to be shut. 
 
 An Attractive Village. 
 
 The traveler can leave Madruga for Havana or Matanzas, passing 
 on his way to Havana the beautiful little village of Giiines, where 
 many people stay during the hot season. There is no particular 
 attraction here, except that the village is pretty, and the country 
 around attractive, there being some pretty rides and drives, and the 
 horses being very good. The road to Havana runs through a very 
 beautiful country, amid lovely scenery, and is a very pleasant ride. 
 
 Near to Matanzas, on the road to Bemba, is a very pretty little 
 town, known as Limonar, one of the pleasantest places on the Island, 
 and most desirable for the invalid, as the air is fresh and very invig 
 orating. From there, one can drive over to the baths of sulphur, at 
 San Miguel, which, in the early spring months, are well patronized 
 by the people of the district. 
 
 From Matanzas, there are a great many pretty drives to neighbor 
 ing places, where lovely views can always be had ; and it is as much 
 owing to this fact as to the pleasant society of the town that Matan 
 zas is so popular a place with the stranger. 
 
 After Yumuri, one of the most extended and pleasing views is 
 that from the Hill of Paradise, looking down into the Valley of the 
 Magdalen. A picture, vast and interesting, is offered to the eye of 
 the spectator by this magnificent panorama. 
 
 Imagine a space some fifteen miles long, surrounded by hazy 
 mountains, in a country slightly rolling with verdure-clad hills, which 
 
454 FAR-FAMED MATANZAS. 
 
 serve as points for the eye to rest on ; graceful groups of palms and 
 other trees, and the picturesque edifices of an immense number of 
 ingenios ; the whole limited in the distance by the city of Matanzas 
 the bay with its shipping ; beyond which is seen the almost atmos 
 pheric sea uniting with the azure sky. 
 
 If the traveler, being at Matanzas, desires to visit Cardenas or 
 Sagua la Grande (and he will do neither, if he takes our advice, 
 unless business compels him), he has the choice of two routes by 
 cars or by steamboats. This latter, however, we will not take into 
 consideration the boats being small and dirty, and irregular in their 
 trips. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 A Quaint Old Town. 
 
 WHAT a glorious morning it is, as we come in sight of the 
 superb Bay of Nuevitas ! the very perfection of a May 
 day ; but such a May-day as few northern eyes have ever 
 seen, wJth the brightness of the verdure, and the purity of the won 
 drous atmosphere and sky. And then the water it is so hard to 
 resist the temptation of its sparkling clearness and depth, and of its 
 Deductively cool appearance, and not make a dash overboard. 
 
 Irving, in describing the feelings of Columbus on arriving off this 
 very spot, says : " Columbus was struck with its magnitude and the 
 grandeur of its features ; its high and airy mountains, which reminded 
 him of those of Sicily ; its fertile valleys, and long, sweeping plains, 
 watered by noble rivers ; its stately forests, its bold promontories, 
 and stretching headlands, which melted away into the remotest dis 
 tances." 
 
 But we have entered the bay, which gradually opens out into an 
 immense land-locked sheet of water. On its extreme southern side 
 lies the small town of Nuevitas itself, with its few white-walled houses 
 glaring in the morning sun. The bay is said to be the second one 
 in size on the Island, containing within its area a space of fifty-seven 
 square miles, though its depth is not very great. 
 
 On the I4th of November, 1492, Columbus anchored in this bay, 
 to which he gave the name of Puerto Principe, erecting a cross upon 
 a neighboring height in token of possession, and passing a number 
 of days in exploring the collection of beautiful islands in the vicinity, 
 since known as " El Jardin del Rey," or the King s Garden. This, 
 it is said, was the foundation of the town of Nuevitas, which was 
 originally known as Santa Maria ; but it was not until 1513 that a 
 permanent settlement was made under Diego Velasquez, when the 
 
 455 
 
456 A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 
 
 principal town was removed to the Indian village Caonao, and soon 
 afterwards to the town of Camaguey, now known by its name of 
 Puerto Principe. Nuevitas, a town of about six thousand inhabitants, 
 gets its importance simply from the fact that it is the port of entry 
 for the city of Puerto Principe, situated in the interior, at forty-five 
 miles distance. 
 
 As a modern town, it made its commencement in 1819, under the 
 name of San Fernando de Nuevitas. It is a growing little place, and 
 is becoming the depot of shipment of a good deal of the sugar and 
 molasses of the neighborhood, as well as of large quantities of hides. 
 
 Sponge and Turtle-fishing. 
 
 There is also an interesting branch of commerce pursued here, 
 though not amounting to a very large trade. This is the sponge 
 and turtle-fishing, carried on by almost an entirely distinct set of 
 people from those ashore. The sponges are those mostly used on 
 the Island, and a rough calculation estimates the annual production 
 at one hundred thousand dozen, worth one dollar per dozen, which 
 is quite a business for a people who carry it on as they do. 
 
 The turtle-shell is prepared usually for export, the meat being sent 
 to the markets of the vicinity in which the turtles are caught. It is 
 quite an amusing sight to see the habitations of these people, dotting 
 some portions of the bay, and, as it is almost perpetual summer, their 
 life is not a very unpleasant one. 
 
 Puerto Principe is connected with Nuevitas by a railroad forty-five 
 miles long, and is, probably, the oldest, quaintest town on the Island 
 in fact, it may be said to be a finished town, as the world has gone 
 on so fast that the place seems a million years old, and, from its style 
 of dress, a visitor might think he was put back almost to the days of 
 Colon. 
 
 The road to the town runs through a fine, rolling country, afford 
 ing many beautiful views, and, from the hills around the place itself, 
 not only the town, but the neighboring country, can be seen to 
 advantage. But may heaven help you, O stranger ! if you wander 
 to Puerto Principe without having some friends to depend upon ; for 
 
A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 457 
 
 it is sadly deficient in hotels. It is, probably, for this reason that the 
 Cubans, as a people, are so hospitable that they will not allow thei> 
 friends to go to hotels, and even to strangers who have been pre 
 sented to them they insist on showing this attention. 
 
 Lest we be misunderstood in relation to this matter, we wish to 
 say that it is the custom in Cuba for one friend visiting the town of 
 another friend to stay with him at his house, the kindness being re 
 turned as occasion demands ; and no one having the slightest claim 
 to a courtesy of this kind need hesitate to accept it, either on the 
 plantations or in the interior towns. This can be done without fear 
 of disturbing the hospitable household of the host, for he gives you 
 what he has himself, and, as a general thing, every one in Cuba lives 
 in a free, open-handed way, with abundance of rooms, servants, and 
 an extremely profuse table. 
 
 Cuban Hospitality. 
 
 In many cases, too, it is as much a kindness to the giver of the 
 invitation to accept it as for him to extend it, for the simple reason 
 that there is not much travel or intercourse on the Island, and the 
 stranger, whether from some other part of the Island or from abroad, 
 has news to impart, a novelty to give, or business to transact with his 
 host. The stranger may be sure the courtesy is sincere when ex 
 tended with, " Frankly, Senor, I wish you to stay with me, and I 
 shall order your baggage to my house." 
 
 Santa Maria del Puerto Principe is situated in the heart of the 
 grazing country, from which business it derives its importance. Its 
 streets are narrow and tortuous, many of them entirely unpaved and 
 without sidewalks ; its buildings comprise several queer old churches, 
 various convents, large quarters for the troops, a tolerable theatre, 
 and a fine lot of public buildings for government officers. The gene 
 ral style of architecture, though Cuban, offers many peculiarities to 
 the artist or antiquarian. 
 
 This town has always been looked upon with suspicion by the au 
 thorities on account of the strong proclivities its people had for insur 
 rection ; and its sons have had a greater or smaller share in almost 
 
458 A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 
 
 every revolution that has taken place in the Island. It has received 
 its baptism of blood in the cause of liberty for " free Cuba," having 
 sustained a siege, been attacked, and almost starved out. 
 
 Although there is not much in the actual town to occupy the trav 
 eler, the surrounding country affords fine opportunities for studying 
 some peculiarities of the Island not so advantageously seen elsewhere 
 as here. First among these are the potreros. 
 
 Potrero, in the Castilian, really means a horse-herd, a pasture-farm; 
 but in the Cuban dialect, it has a somewhat different meaning. In 
 the early days of Cuba when land was plenty and the government 
 liberal in the disposition of it, they called all grounds or properties, 
 whether belonging to the crown or to private persons, used for the 
 purpose of sheep-folds or cattle herding, haciendas or hatos. 
 
 A Cuban Stock-farm. 
 
 These were large extents of ground, of circular form, with a radius 
 of over nine thousand yards, the centre of which only was marked 
 out, where the pens and buildings were usually erected. The corral 
 was also a circular tract, one quarter the above size, that is to say, 
 with a radius of four thousand five hundred yards, intended for the 
 care of smaller cattle, sheep, pigs, etc. its centre being also marked 
 by the hog-pen, or the fences of the sheep-folds. 
 
 Owing to the difficulty of always laying out the exact lines 
 (caused by the location of woods), the surveyors adopted the method 
 of describing polygons, with a large number of sides, each of which 
 was equivalent to so many yards. The spaces left between these 
 polygons, almost circular, were considered as the property of the 
 crown, and were known as realengos. 
 
 But as time advanced, and the government kept on increasing these 
 gifts, without any particular reference to the line of demarcation in 
 the land, many centres of the new farms or folds were fixed in such 
 a manner that, in drawing their boundary-lines according to their 
 radii, they cut those already established, one new circle falling within 
 an old one, creating thereby inextricable confusion, which ended in 
 every man going to law with his neighbor about the boundary-lines; 
 
A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 459 
 
 and from this came the belief that every Cuban had a farm and a 
 lawsuit. 
 
 Many of these tracts were then, by the decision of the court > 
 divided, and afterwards, by the will of their owners, sub-divided into 
 small lots, appropriated for the various uses of cultivating grain, 
 raising cattle and fruits, while others were again cut up and laid out 
 in town lots. Out of these divisions came all the different rural 
 establishments known as cattle farms, farms proper, and small truck- 
 gardens, and which, under various names, bother the stranger or the 
 student of Cuban life. 
 
 The largest of all the above is the potrero, where cattle are raised, 
 fed, and looked after with care ; while in the corrales they are left to 
 run wild in every direction, getting water from the running brooks, 
 and only attended to, from time to time, by the keepers. But the 
 potreros are large places, encircled by walls of stone piled up, or 
 stone-fences. Not only the cattle of the place are taken care of, but 
 those also belonging to neighboring ingenios, or farms, are fed and 
 attended to. 
 
 The raising of cattle is a very profitable business indeed, particu 
 larly as no attention is paid to the fattening of beef, but the cattle 
 are sold just as they are thought to be fit for market. The con 
 sequence is, that it is rare indeed that a piece of beef fit to roast is 
 seen at least as we know it. 
 
 It is a great sight to see these immense herds of cattle, scattered 
 over extensive plains, with here and there large clumps of palm or 
 cocoa trees affording shade, while, at regular intervals, long stone 
 walls serve to separate the herds. Many of the fiercest bulls used in 
 the bull-ring come from this district; and when so noted upon the 
 play-bills, an audience is sure to be attracted by the superior " sport " 
 they offer. 
 
 Valuing the cattle at the lowest prices, and calculating from various 
 reports as to the number of such on the Island, it is estimated there 
 is represented, by the stock of these cattle-places and at the sugar 
 and coffee estates and smaller farms, a capital of twenty-one millions 
 of dollars. This is exclusive of horses and mules, too, of which 
 
460 A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 
 
 there are large numbers raised upon the Island, the value of which k 
 estimated at two millions of dollars. 
 
 At one time, camels were introduced into the Island, in the hope 
 that they would answer the purposes of transportation ; but they did 
 not do well, for, strange to say, the smallest insect, the nigua, that 
 buries itself in the feet and there procreates, utterly ruined all of them. 
 
 At almost all of these places, the beef is cured by putting it, salted, 
 in the sun, and it then is known as tasajo (jerked beef) ; and prepared 
 in this way, it will keep for two or three weeks, being used princi 
 pally for home consumption, that which is prepared for market 
 requiring more curing. This is the great article of food amongst the 
 masses of the population, and is found sometimes even upon the 
 table of the better class, when no strangers are present. Large 
 quantities of the hides of the cattle are exported, while the bones 
 are made into "bone-black," of which immense quantities are 
 required by the sugar manufacture of the Island. 
 
 Unique Breed of Horses. 
 
 From Puerto Principe come, also, some of the finest horses raised 
 on the Island. The Cuban horse is not supposed to be a native 
 either of the Island or of these climes in fact, if we believe the 
 accounts of the early discoverers, the animal was not known upon 
 this continent; for, in every case when the natives first saw a horse, 
 they were struck dumb with astonishment, showing that they had 
 never seen one before. 
 
 It is, therefore, suspected that the Cuban horse of to-day, peculiar 
 breed as it is, is simply the result of some of the Spanish stock trans 
 ferred to the Island and affected by the peculiarities of the climate in 
 its breeding. At all events, it is a fine animal now, with a short, 
 stout, well-built body, neat, clear limbs, fine, intelligent eyes, with a 
 gait for long journeys under the saddle not to be surpassed. These 
 horses have sturdy necks, heavy manes, and thick tails, and, seen on 
 the plains, where they are raised, and before being handled and 
 dressed, they present a very rough and wild appearance. Their gait 
 Js something peculiar, it would seem, to themselves; and on a well- 
 
A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 461 
 
 broken horse the greatest novice in the art of riding need not hesitate 
 to mount. 
 
 The marcha, or fast walk, is simply the easiest gate in the way of 
 a walk ; and el paso, or the rapid gait of the horse, is something like 
 the movement of our pacing horses, or, as they call it in the Southern 
 States, a single-footed rack, only it is a great deal more easy. Some 
 of the horses have a movement so gentle that a rider can carry a full 
 glass of water without spilling. It is for this reason that the Cuban 
 horses are so much admired by lady travelers fond of horseback 
 riding, for they can ride miles and miles without experiencing the 
 slightest fatigue. 
 
 If we were to tell all the wonderful stories about the performances 
 of these horses, the reader would be incredulous ; but this we can 
 say, that, day after day, the Cuban horse will journey from forty-five 
 to sixty miles without showing the slightest sign of giving out, and 
 on forced rides, seventy to eighty miles is no unusual occurrence. 
 
 Plaited Tails and Fancy Ribbands. 
 
 The price varies, according to circumstances, and it is amusing to 
 see with what care those owned by wealthy people are treated. 
 Owing to the sticky nature of the mud of the country roads, it has 
 been the custom to plait the tails of all the horses (the end being 
 fastened to a ring in the cantle of the saddle), and to crop the manes. 
 But in the cities, especially, is great display made in plaiting the tail 
 with fancy ribbands, and the mane is trimmed with mathematical pre 
 cision. 
 
 Judging from experience, we should say that all Cuban horses were 
 good, even-tempered animals. The Cubans explain this by saying 
 that the horse is one of the family, as in town he is kept in some por 
 tion of the patio, usually near the kitchen, and in the country he is 
 treated with even more familiarity. 
 
 One of the first things in a Cuban house that strikes the stranger 
 with its novelty is the guava with cheese, which may mean either 
 guava jelly or marmalade ; and from this universal custom, one wishes 
 to know what is this guava they make so much use of ; and as Puerto 
 
4G2 A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 
 
 Principe is a place noted for its manufacture, we will give here a de 
 scription of it. 
 
 In some of the towns of Cuba, such as Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba, 
 and Puerto Principe there is a class of women remarkable for their 
 beauty, whose race it would be hard for the stranger to tell, with any 
 degree of certainty some appearing even lighter in color than Cubans; 
 others, again, like the far-famed octaroons of Louisiana ; and still 
 others, of the light mulatto order all resembling each other, how 
 ever, in the wonderful blackness and brilliancy of their eyes, the jet of 
 their hair, and a certain indescribable grace of outline and movement 
 of figure, having in it a dash of that voluptuous languor that we 
 believe peculiar to the Orient. 
 
 Makers of Sweetmeats. 
 
 Who they are, and what their fathers and mothers have been, it 
 would be hard to say. Some of them, however, claim to have 
 11 gentle blood " running in their veins, and, if appearances are worth 
 anything, with good reason. Be that as it may, they are the seam 
 stresses, very often the lady s maids, but more frequently the manu 
 facturers of the delicious preserve known as " Jalea " and " Pasta de 
 Guayaba" 
 
 The dulce or sweetmeat of guava, then, is of two kinds, the jelly, 
 a pure, translucent, garnet-colored substance, similar to our currant- 
 jelly ; and the marmalade, an opaque, soft substance, similar to good 
 quince marmalade, and of about the same color, or darker. 
 
 Both of these are made from the same fruit, though prepared in a 
 different way ; and there are also two kinds of the fruit, one known 
 as the guayaba del Peru, which is very scarce, and the other, guayabas 
 cotorreras, the common red apple-bearing tree, which is the one most 
 found in Cuba ; the fruit of the former being of a greenish color in 
 the inside, while that of the latter is either red, yellow, or white. 
 
 The fruit is small and edible, having a fragrant but peculiar odor, 
 and a sweetish taste ; and the making of the jelly is an extremely 
 simple operation, as follows : The fruit is cut in halves, and separated 
 from the seeds; then gently stewed; then the sugar, thoroughly boiled 
 
A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 463 
 
 to a syrup, is cleared. The guava is now strained through a bag, 
 and the juice only being united with the syrup, it is all boiled until 
 it reaches a proper state of consistency, when it is taken out, put 
 into moulds of the different-sized boxes required, and allowed to cool 
 and get firm, when it is placed in long, shallow boxes of various 
 sizes, lined with paper, then closed up, papered to keep out the air, 
 and labeled for market. 
 
 A Rare Delicacy. 
 
 The paste is made in the same way, except that only the seeds are 
 taken out, and the whole fruit incorporated with the syrup is used to 
 make the marmalade, which by many is considered the richer for that 
 reason. To any who have ever tasted the guava jelly it needs no 
 recommendation ; but to those who have not, and who wish a " new 
 sensation," we advise them to try it, being careful, however, to buy 
 the small, flat boxes, which are the best, the round boxes usually 
 being filled with very poor stuff. Large quantities of this sweet 
 meat are exported each year, and there are many manufactories of it 
 in Havana; the best, however, comes from Puerto Principe and 
 Trinidad. 
 
 Hot as it may be in Cuba, there is some way of keeping cool. 
 You can get up in the morning, when the breeze is always fresh and 
 strong, transact your business, and return to your breakfast, where, 
 in some sweet-si idling, flowered court-yard, you can, by keeping 
 quiet, and, with the aid of refreshing drinks, keep cool. The after 
 noons bring the delicious sea-breeze, that carries with it new life for 
 the paseo, or the music in the evening. But your landlady cautions 
 you, as you sit in your room, looking out upon the blue sea, where 
 lies, far away, your northern home, " Not to make any ?oise." You 
 ask: "Why?" 
 
 " Because there is a poor, sick stranger in the next room." 
 
 " Is he very sick ? " 
 
 " Yes, but he will go away in a day or two." 
 
 " What s the matter with him ? " 
 
 " He has a very bad case of yellow fever." 
 
464 A QUAINT OLD TOWN. 
 
 Notwithstanding you are told that you are not a fit subject for 
 the fever that there is no danger, you think it just as well to antici 
 pate your neighbor s departure, particularly as Havana is no longer 
 the gay place it was early in the winter. The opera season is over, 
 the circus is closed, and even the bull-fights offer no attraction. The 
 hotels, where once during the past months it was a hard matter to get 
 lodging-room, are now dull and deserted, and the long, gaunt faces 
 and bearded chins of Americans are no longer seen in the cool pre 
 cincts of the Louvre, sipping their cobblers or cold rum-punches. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 Here and There in Cuba. 
 
 IF the traveler in Cuba desires to see its most beautiful portions, 
 and also some of its prettiest, quietest towns, he will do well to 
 
 make a trip along the south coast, from Batabano to Santiago 
 de Cuba, stopping at Trinidad, and, if he likes, taking the steamer at 
 Santiago home to the States. Or if he desires to visit the British 
 West Indies, he can do so by means of the French steamers running 
 from that place. 
 
 The trip is a very enjoyable one, even for ladies, the boats are large 
 and fine, and the accommodations on board them excellent ; the voy 
 age is as pleasant and beautiful as a summer trip on the Hudson, or 
 as a sail on Lake George, the sea being generally as calm as a lake. 
 With a good party and plenty of light reading it is as agreeable a trip 
 as can be taken. 
 
 Leaving Havana at 5.45 in the morning, the traveler reaches 
 Batabano at 8 o clock, and goes immediately on board one of the 
 steamers lying at the wharf; and he should immediately see the 
 cabin-boy and make his choice of a stateroom, which should always 
 be taken in the upper cabin, if one can get it there. An eye after 
 one s baggage will not be amiss now, for they do sometimes make 
 mistakes. 
 
 And now we are afloat and have time to look about us, and we 
 already feel quite at home from finding the boat and machinery are 
 c< Yankee notions," being made either in New York or Philadelphia, 
 while the cheerful looks and courteous manners of the passengers 
 demonstrate that we are in good company. Acquaintance will be 
 easy if the traveler is able to speak any Spanish ; if not, all he has to 
 do is to look pleasant, like the rest of the people, and watch his 
 chance of finding some one who speaks English, and who will be 
 
 30 40f> 
 
466 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 delighted to explain to the stranger, in his own tongue, the beauties 
 of the Cuban shore. 
 
 Ten o clock, and there goes the breakfast bell. No hurry, gentle 
 men, everybody is provided for, and there is none of that scrambling 
 and struggling for a seat at the table, so disgraceful to us Americans 
 on our boats ; no, everything here is quiet and orderly, and ladies go 
 leisurely to their table in the upper cabin, and the men to theirs 
 arranged in a cool place on the main deck. 
 
 Now you will want your Spanish bill of fare, for the table is boun 
 tifully supplied with the best of food cooked in the best Spanish 
 fashion, while there is an ample supply of ice and vino Catalan to wash 
 it down with ; don t hurry, either, my friend, these people don t pro 
 pose to make a labor of what should always be a pleasure. 
 
 Bold Coast and Rocky Islands. 
 
 The coast for some distance after leaving Batabano is quite low, 
 and generally marshy ; but, on nearing Cienfuegos, it gets higher and 
 even mountainous. To the right, some distance from the coast, and 
 inside of which the steamer always keeps on her passage, are low 
 keys or rocky islets, known as Los Jardines, and likely to prove very 
 dangerous to the navigator, if not acquainted with their locality. 
 
 Many of the passengers, after breakfast, seat themselves at a table 
 with the game called " Loto," at which they all gamble more or less. 
 Even the chambermaid is a party to the gambling speculation, for 
 she goes about the boat offering you a ticket in a raffle for a gold 
 watch, or something else, and finding as many purchasers among the 
 ladies as among the men. And so the day slips round, and we have 
 the beauties of a moonlight night in a tropic sea, which add vastly 
 to our pleasure before turning in for the night into our cane-bottomed 
 berth, over which is simply thrown a sheet a capital idea for boats 
 in warm weather, for such beds, being cool and quite elastic, are most 
 comfortable. 
 
 We arrive off the harbor of Cienfuegos some time during the 
 night, but as vessels are not allowed to enter any of the ports of the 
 Island at night, particularly during war times, we have to wait until 
 

 
 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 467 
 
 daybreak, when we get under weigh and enter that beautiful port by 
 the light of the rising sun. The bay is a very extensive one, the en 
 trance itself being quite narrow, with a lighthouse on the extreme 
 point, and stone forts upon the adjacent hills at the mouth, none of 
 which appear to be very strong. 
 
 Anchorage for Large Vessels. 
 
 The bay has anchorage for vessels of the largest class, while the 
 high hills that surround it afford ample shelter from any stormy winds 
 that may blow. It was this bay that Columbus visited on his first 
 voyage, and Padre las Casas, in speaking of it, calls it the most mag 
 nificent port in the world, comprising within its shores six square 
 leagues. Herrera, also, describing the port and bay of Cienfuegos, 
 as seen by Ocampo in a voyage round the Island, says : " There was 
 Ocampo very much at his ease, well served by the Indians with an 
 infinite number of partridges, like those of Castile, except some 
 what smaller. He had also abundance of fish (lisas, skate). They 
 took them from this natural fish-pond, where there were millions 
 of them just as safe as if they were in a tank attached to one s 
 home." 
 
 The steamer reaches the wharf about six o clock, and, as she re 
 mains until eleven, the traveler has ample time to go ashore and see 
 the town or try the excellent oysters, of which they have large quan 
 tities. Probably no place on the Island offers greater advantages for 
 seeing sugar-making in its most favorable aspects than Cienfuegos, as 
 it is surrounded by an immense cane-growing district, with some of 
 the best estates on the Island. 
 
 Still, keeping close to the coast, we begin to see some of its moun 
 tainous beauties ; for, sailing within a mile or two of the shore, we 
 have a constantly changing panorama of green hills, that come down 
 to the very water s edge, while, in the distance, they stretch away 
 until some of their tops appear to be holding up the heavens. 
 
 We know not if Tennyson was ever in the tropics in person, but 
 he must have been there in mind when he wrote, as though filled 
 with their ardor : 
 
4(58 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 " Oh, hundred shores of happy climes, 
 
 How swiftly streamed ye by the bark ! 
 At times the whole sea burned ; at times, 
 
 With wakes of fire we tore the dark ; 
 At times a craven craft would shoot 
 
 From heavens hid in fairy bowers, 
 With naked limbs and flowers and fruit, 
 
 But we nor paused for fruits nor flowers/ 
 
 Breaking in upon our romantic musings comes the sound of the 
 hand-bell, and we wonder what it can be for. Our late breakfast was 
 over only an hour or so ago. It cannot be anything to eat ; no, 
 innocents, it is only something to drink, in the shape of frescos, 
 which may be made either of lemons or oranges, placed nice and 
 cold, in large pitchers, for you to help yourself to at discretion. 
 
 Small Hands and Ruby Lips. 
 
 It is an attractive sight to see these pretty Cuban women sipping 
 their frescos, holding the glasses to their ruby lips with the smallest 
 hands imaginable; while, perhaps, peeping out from beneath their 
 dresses, are the tiny feet for which they are celebrated, evidently 
 never intended by nature to walk on. " To be sure " (we think we 
 hear some uncharitable lady reader say), " if I made as little use of 
 my hands and feet as they do, I could have such trifling appendages." 
 Nevertheless, they are very pretty, and we think most of the 
 Senoritas are positively aware of the fact, from the way they display 
 them. 
 
 About four o clock in the afternoon, we arrive in sight of those 
 high and beautiful mountains of Trinidad, a continuation and part of 
 the range which we have been seeing all day, known as the " Guana- 
 huya ; " and, at last, we see Trinidad beautiful Trinidad on this 
 balmy south coast, which, seen from some distance out at sea, looks, 
 as it lies far up the mountain side, its white walls glistening in the 
 golden light, like a babe nestling on its mother s breast. It takes 
 some time to get up to its port, for in front of the bay there is a large 
 narrow point of land, which, with the main land, forms the bay and 
 port of Casilda. 
 
HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 469 
 
 Reaching this, we steam around the point, and then, retracing our 
 course in the direction from which we have come, we see, upon the 
 shore of this beautiful bay, the little village of Casilda, which is the 
 port of entrance for Trinidad. There are two other ports of entrance, 
 though not in use that of " La Boca," to the south-west, where 
 empties the river Tayabo, and that of the river Muse, to the south 
 east. 
 
 The anchorage in the bay is not a very good one, as the water is 
 so shallow that it necessitates the loading of vessels by lighters, 
 unless they happen to be quite small. The town has quite an ex 
 tensive series of wharves and warehouses, the principal portion of the 
 shipping business being done down here, though the town itself is a 
 straggling village, with a few large warehouses and the depot of the 
 railroad which connects it with Trinidad. 
 
 A Hotel in Trinidad. 
 
 If the traveler can find a volante, we would advise him to take 
 that and ride up, unless the cars are ready to start, for sometimes 
 there is a delay of several hours after the arrival of the boat, before 
 the train gets off, and as the distance is only three miles, over a good 
 road, with beautiful views, it is quite as pleasant to go in a volante as 
 in the cars, though somewhat more expensive. It is an ascent all 
 the way. 
 
 One is not very greatly struck with the appearance of the town of 
 Trinidad upon getting out at the depot, for the streets lying immedi 
 ately in its neighborhood are anything but attractive, though they 
 are rather antique and rugged, looking as if you had come to some 
 third-rate village. 
 
 One has to look out now for his own baggage, engaging a cart to 
 carry it, and seeing himself that it is put upon the cart, which is then 
 driven to the designated hotel. Generally there is not much choice 
 of hotels in Trinidad, and the best way is to examine all of them that 
 are tolerable enough to go to, before deciding. 
 
 Says a traveler, speaking of a large boarding-house : " Our first 
 experience there was very amusing. After securing our room, we 
 
470 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 ordered the waiter to provide us a dinner, hot, good, and as quickly 
 as possible, which instructions were received with a frequent St, 
 Se or, warm and quickly, Senor. A few minutes finds us seated at 
 table, and prepared to enjoy the said dinner. 
 
 " Serve the soup, waiter/ 
 
 "There is none, Senor; there is theatre to-night, sir/ 
 
 " We try the fish. Why, confound it, this fish is as cold as a stone. 
 
 " Yes, Senor, do you go to the theatre to-night? 
 
 " Hang the theatre, we want dinner ! What else have you ?* 
 
 " Salad and meat, Senor/ 
 
 " We try the oil ; it is bad. The meat turns out to be pork. Wfe 
 are hungrily, furiously angry by this time, and, jumping up from the 
 table, we ask if we can have a dinner or not. 
 
 " But, Senor, I am going to the theatre to-night ;, are you not 
 going? 
 
 " Hang the theatre! we roared, thinking the man was crazy, 
 bring out our baggage and (in a theatrical manner) we will go 
 hence/ 
 
 "Waiter (humbly, but sullenly): If the gentlemen will wait I will 
 warm the fish, and give them some good oil. I have some most 
 splendid boiled ham, with some fine fruit ; and if the gentlemen will 
 have patience till to-morrow, they shall live like lords/ 
 
 " We relent, having no other place to go to, and make a tolerably 
 fair meal, but the climax was reached next morning, when, having 
 had an elegant breakfast, at which mine host was present, I remarked 
 to him, We are glad to see that you do have good meals here some 
 times ; our dinner of yesterday was a disgrace to your house, sir/ 
 
 " Yes, he replied, very coolly, I know it was, it was that boy s 
 fault (pointing to the waiter); he wanted to go to the theatre on a 
 free ticket/ 
 
 " The waiter makes some deprecatory remark. 
 
 " You lie, scoundrel, said the old man, with much vim, I heard 
 you/ 
 
 " Why, where were you ? I asked, rather astonished that, as he 
 had heard the row, he had not made his appearance. 
 
HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 471 
 
 " In the room there, lying down/ 
 
 " Well, why did you not come out and attend to your guests ? 
 
 " * No valia la pena (it wasn t worth while), in a perfectly innocent 
 manner ; < the boy wanted to go to the theatre. " 
 
 Trinidad de Cuba is a pretty, rambling, hilly town, of about fifteen 
 thousand inhabitants, situated on the side of the mountain of the Vijia 
 (watch tower), and elevated about four hundred feet above the level 
 of the sea, from which it is distant some six miles, and from Havana, 
 by land, about two hundred and seventy miles. 
 
 A Fertile Country with Grand Scenery. 
 
 Exposed to the combined breezes of sea and mountain, with a most 
 delicious climate, it is reputed to be the healthiest town upon the 
 Island, while, from its beautiful situation in a rich and fertile country, 
 its exquisitely grand and extended views, the beauty of its lovely 
 maidens, and the general hospitality of its inhabitants, it would be, 
 were there only a good hotel, the most attractive town upon the 
 Island for the sojourn of the invalid traveler. Here one can find 
 quiet, kindness, and every inducement for taking pleasant exercise in 
 the way of walks, rides and drives. 
 
 Historically, we don t know that it has much to interest the general 
 traveler, and yet it was here that that " gay Lothario," gallant adven 
 turer, and sagacious but cruel conqueror, Hernan Cortez, came 
 after parting with his uncertain employer and governor, Velasquez, 
 of whom he took " French leave/ with all the vessels and men fitted 
 out for the conquest of Mexico; here it was, too, that he added 
 means and men to that same expedition, the history of which seems, 
 at the present reading, like some wondrous fairy tale. 
 
 Trinidad is also one of the oldest towns on the Island, having been 
 settled by Diego Velasquez in 1513, and suffered in its earlier days, 
 like many other Cuban towns, from various attacks of pirates and 
 enemies, one of which was made, in 1702, by the English corsair 
 Grant, who, with three hundred men, invaded the town, and made 
 good his retreat, without suffering for his intrepidity. The bay of 
 Casilda is also famous as being the battle-ground of three British 
 
472 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 men-of-war with the Spaniards, under Don Luis Bassecourt, whose 
 command consisted of militia and a few veteran pickets; but the 
 English were compelled, nothwithstanding, to withdraw after three 
 days fighting. 
 
 The streets of the city are, with some exceptions, narrow and tor 
 tuous, and many of those upon the edge of the town entirely unpaved, 
 while the houses in the best streets are generally comfortable, well- 
 built, stone houses, some of which are really magnificent private 
 edifices. 
 
 Peculiarities of the Houses. 
 
 The houses of Trinidad differ from those in Havana in not having 
 dividing walls to separate the dining room and the saloon, but in 
 their place they have, generally, open stone arches, which, while sepa 
 rating the apartments in some degree, yet add to their beauty and 
 comfort by permitting a free circulation of air and affording a charm 
 ing prospective of marble floors, mirrored arches, and richly fur 
 nished rooms. Some of the streets are quite odd in their appear 
 ance, with their rough tiled houses, their narrow pavements, and the 
 funny names which are seen, just as in Havana, stuck up over the 
 store doors. 
 
 The " Campo de Marte " is a fine large place at the southeast end 
 of the town, with barracks and drill-grounds for the troops. But the 
 plaza, par excellence, of Trinidad, and in fact of all Cuba, for it is cer 
 tainly a most gracefully beautiful square, is known as the " Plaza de 
 Carillo," situated nearly in the centre of the town, and opposite 
 which is the governor s house. 
 
 The square is most beautifully laid out, with vines and shrubbery 
 shading the stone walks, on either side of which is a profusion of 
 flowers, while in the centre of the square there is erected a graceful 
 dome-like arbor, completely covered with flowering vines. Extend 
 ing around the square is a broad stone paseo, which is separated 
 from the main garden by a tasty iron railing, and from the street by a 
 stone base. A profusion of gas-lights are ranged at intervals around 
 the square, which at night, when illuminated, have a most beautiful 
 effect. 
 
HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 473 
 
 The square is always open, but the retreta is only about three 
 times a week, one of those times being Sunday. On such occasions 
 the plaza is brilliantly lighted, and the music, the soft breezes, and 
 the delicious fragrance of the flowers, are enjoyed by throngs of "fair 
 women and brave men." The Vijia is probably the greatest attrac 
 tion to the town proper, for no matter how often we go up, there is 
 always some new beauty discovered, either in land, or sea, or sky. 
 It is very easily reached on horseback, to its very top ; is a pleasant 
 walk before breakfast, or can be easily gained by elderly people in a 
 volante, which can go nearly to the top. No one, however, can be 
 said to have seen La Vijia who has not visited it both at sunrise and 
 sunset; let us try it. 
 
 Scene of Wonderful Beauty. 
 
 It is a fine bracing morning, and, having had our bath and coffee, 
 we sally out at the door of our hotel, and find in the dusky morning 
 (it is not yet daybreak) our horses, ordered the previous evening, 
 awaiting our coming ; they are not " much," but they will do to carry 
 us up the hill. So, mounting, we wind through various streets of the 
 upper town, and come out at last by the rustic road leading past the 
 military hospital, which is about half-way up the mountain. 
 
 Leaving these below us, we strike a rough, steep road, ascending 
 which we get far above the town, and begin to take in something of 
 the vast scene, which at this early hour of the morning is somewhat 
 indistinct. Higher and higher we go at a slow pace, until at last we 
 reach the top, where is a small house or hut in which lives the signal 
 man, and in front of which is the mast where signals are made to the 
 town below, of any approaching vessels. Here we leave our horses, 
 and on foot proceed by a path leading beyond the house, that takes 
 us to the very summit. 
 
 What a scene bursts upon us here ! We seem to be on a high 
 point, around which are vast seas of mist and vapor, that, floating far 
 below us, look like grand lakes, while some, not so distant, are yet 
 more opaque, resembling solid fields of cotton ; but now over the 
 distant eastern hills, the first rays of the rising sun begin to shed 
 
474 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 their light, and, gradually getting higher and higher, the orb of day 
 rises, in all its magnificence of blazing golden glory, over the top of 
 the neighboring mountain. 
 
 The scene now rapidly changes, the vast bodies of vapor that hung 
 like a pall over the whole face of the lower valley, are now rapidly dis 
 solved by the warm rays of the risen sun, and then we have unfolded 
 to our astonished vision, piece by piece, the loveliest bits of hill and 
 dale, of fields of waving cane, as bright and green as the emerald 
 water of the ocean itself. The neighboring hills, too, in their glitter 
 ing and verdure-clad robes, deign to appear, one by one, gorgeously 
 gilded by the morning sun. 
 
 Turning to the south we have the town and the country between 
 it and the sea clearly defined, while beyond is the sea itself extend 
 ing its blue waters until lost in the hazy clouds of the distant heavens ; 
 and this scene is not the same with every morning, for there is always 
 some difference of light and atmosphere that gives a changing beauty 
 to the views. 
 
 Magnificent Sunset View. 
 
 The scene is changed ; it is now the evening hour of sunset, and 
 seated upon the rocks we gaze at the same scenes in a different light. 
 Everything is quiet and peaceful not a sound is heard from the 
 great world below. We see the people moving like mere specks in 
 the streets of the town even the trains of cars, winding swiftly over 
 the long black trail, look like small boxes endowed with some super 
 natural power of motion, for we hear no noise of engines. 
 
 We look up the valley, and from clumps of green foliage shoot up 
 here and there the tall white chimneys of the sugar mills, puffing out 
 their black smoke, which rises in clouds, higher and higher until it 
 vanishes away into air ; the little stream that wanders between its 
 wooded banks looks, as we catch a glimpse of it here and there, like 
 a silver ribband. And then the sea, too, as blue as blue can be, with 
 not a perceptible ripple on its surface, but quiet as a lake, while a 
 white sail here and there seems to make a boundary between sea and 
 sky, which latter is assuming all those beautiful golden crimson tints 
 
HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 475 
 
 peculiar to a tropical sunset, and yet so beautifully graduated one 
 into the other that it is hard to say where the blue leaves off and the 
 gold and grander tints begin. 
 
 But hark, even now there is a sound a quiet soft musical sound 
 that comes stealing up the valley as the sun is slowly going down, 
 and which truly harmonizes with the scene, the vesper bell. How 
 apropos the lines of Byron to such a scene, and such an hour as this : 
 
 " Sweet hour of twilight ! 
 
 Soft hour which wakes the wish and melts the heart 
 Of those who sail the seas, on the first day 
 When they from their sweet friends are torn apart ; 
 Or, fills with love the pilgrim on his way, 
 As the far bell of vesper makes him start, 
 Seeming to weep the dying day s decay. 
 Is this a fancy which our reason scorns ? 
 Ah ! surely nothing dies but something mourns. * 
 
 There, far down in these peaceful valleys, that look so calm and 
 still, and which even seem to fill one s breast with prophetic sadness, 
 have taken place some sharp, fierce struggles where a little band of 
 patriots, badly armed and equipped, but with stout hearts, in a good 
 cause, have essayed to plant firmly the flag of freedom. Now for 
 ward, now backward, sometimes in good success up to the very foot 
 of the hill of Trinidad they have pressed, and yet again been forced 
 back amidst the shades of these palmy groves, or the shelter of the 
 waving cane. These grand old hills have witnessed horrid deeds of 
 cruelty in the beautiful plains below, which rival in brutality and 
 bloodthirstiness any that the page of history yet can show. 
 
 On the other side of the valley, the highest peak which the 
 traveler is able to see, and one whose top is frequently hidden in 
 fleecy clouds, is the " Pico de Potrerillo," one of the highest moun 
 tains in Cuba, being some three thousand odd feet above the level 
 of the sea. It is said that the view from there is even more grand 
 and extensive than that from the Vijia, but it is a long ride, and 
 involves the necessity of staying in its neighborhood over night. 
 
 The drive to the " Loma del Puerto " is a very beautiful one that 
 
476 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 should be taken by every traveler at Trinidad, presenting, as it does, 
 grand and beautiful views of the hill " Del Puerto " and a portion of 
 the valley. 
 
 This valley is said to be the most beautiful of the Island seen from 
 this side, as there one sees the beautiful perspective of mountains, 
 that rise to good height at the depth of the valley, and towering 
 above which is seen the " Pico de Potrerillo. Within the bound 
 aries of the valley there are no less than fifty ingenios, some of them 
 of the finest class. It is watered by a number of beautiful streams, 
 two of which, the Ay and the Agabama, unite and form the river Ma- 
 nati, which empties into the sea to the east of Casilda, and which is 
 navigable some seven miles, and by which the planters send their 
 sugar and molasses to the shipping points. 
 
 Mineral Springs. 
 
 In this same river of Ay there are sulphurous mineral springs, the 
 water being delicious to drink ; and in the centre of the valley, and 
 on its banks, is a village of the same name as the river, prettily 
 situated in a grove of trees in fact, the whole of the valley is one 
 scene of beauty. The railroad from the Casilda runs through the 
 valley some distance, and if the time-table is so arranged that the 
 traveler can go from Trinidad in the morning and return in the even 
 ing, he will be delighted with his trip. 
 
 On the way back from the Loma del Puerto, the tourist can visit 
 the magnificent place of Recreo, " Quinta," or country house of the 
 Cantero family, which is situated a short distance from the town, at 
 the head of the beautiful valley, and at the foot of the mountains, 
 which rise up behind it forming a majestic background to the lovely 
 beauties of the place. It is a lovely walk to this estate of an early 
 morning from Trinidad, and one can go in and walk around these 
 beautiful grounds with constant and renewed pleasure. 
 
 In the north of the town is the barranca, as it is called a place of 
 very rapid descent, leading from the town down into the valley, the 
 road being dug out of the side of the hill and paved with stone as 
 far down as the bank of the river Tayabo, which flows by the town 
 
HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 477 
 
 at this point. Here the washerwomen have established their city 
 laundry, as it may be called, and a ridiculous and not very decent 
 sight it is of a wash-day to see men and women, many entirely naked, 
 seated upon the rocks or half immersed in the water, washing, slash 
 ing and pounding the clothes with pieces of stone, and if the traveler 
 has been unfortunate enough to trust any of them with his wardrobe, 
 he will learn to his cost with what effect. 
 
 This barranca is also a lovely stroll of an evening, when the sha 
 dows of night are stealing over the quiet hills and valley below, giv 
 ing them a peculiarly quiet and sombre hue. 
 
 The Public Buildings. 
 
 There are several public buildings and churches in the town of 
 Trinidad, which offer nothing in particular to the traveler, except it 
 may be the extreme filthiness of the hospital for women and children, 
 and the dreary jail-like appearance of the care el or dungeon; while of 
 the churches, the only one of any size is that of San Francisco. The 
 church of Santa Anna is small and old, and Paula, at the Plaza de 
 Carillo, not much better. 
 
 On Palm Sunday, doors and windows are decorated with the 
 graceful branches of the mz/palm, and it is a great day with church 
 and state, the morning Mass being celebrated with great pomp at the 
 church of San FranciscOc The governor and staff, in full uniform, 
 the town council in sombre full dress, the officers of the troops 
 stationed in the town, " pipe-clayed and mustache waxed," are all 
 there to assist. 
 
 Trinidad, in the winter or gay season, is a very hospitable, pleasant 
 place for the stranger. Almost every night there is a ball or party, 
 and in the daytime there are frequent excursions made up the before 
 mentioned lovely valley. There is no pleasanter place to spend a 
 winter in than Trinidad de Cuba, and any traveler not caring to travel 
 over the Island, but who wants quiet, rest, and pleasant enjoyment, 
 should winter there. 
 
 And now the boat is in, and will start in a few hours. We order 
 our volante, make our preparations and bidding adieu to our kind 
 
478 HERE AND THERE IN CUBA. 
 
 friends after giving a knuckle-breaking shake of the hand to the jolly 
 old landlord, we turn our backs upon the varied attractions of this 
 city, carrying away with us a lively memory of its beautiful scenes, 
 lovely women and hospitable people, the delightful ride down the 
 mountain forming a fitting close to our exceedingly pleasant stay in 
 Trinidad. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 Life in the Coffee Mountains. 
 
 A TRAVELER who is familiar with every part of Cuba, fur 
 nishes the following interesting account of the cultivation of 
 the coffee plant, which furnishes one of the chief exports of 
 the Island : 
 
 " Our horses are all saddled and bridled, and the party, consisting 
 of five persons, is ready to mount. Our cigars are lighted, and, 
 mounting the sturdy beasts that have some work in prospect, we ride 
 off in the fine bracing air fresh from the mountains. 
 
 " My future host, like most of the inhabitants of this section of the 
 country, was a descendant of the old original French settlers, 
 refugees from the terrible massacres of St. Domingo, who, coming to 
 the Island of Cuba, settled themselves, as much as possible, in their 
 old occupations of sugar-making and coffee-growing. French, there 
 fore, by birth, educated in the United States from a boy, and living 
 constantly amongst Spaniards, he had the happy faculty of being able 
 to speak either French, English, or Spanish, as a mother-tongue, in 
 addition to which he spoke the Creole dialect a compound of vile 
 French and some little Spanish, which is the usual language of the 
 negroes and the plantation. 
 
 " A young Englishman, amusing himself and at the same time 
 making money by traveling all over the world as a photographer, 
 was one of our number, while two Cuban planters, one of them a 
 nephew of our host, made up the party. 
 
 " We rode through some lovely valleys, covered with sugar-cane, 
 and then, striking the hills, began the ascent of those mountains 
 known as the Yateras/ which appeared quite near to the village of 
 Catalina when we started, but now seemed to recede almost as we 
 advanced. Our journey was to be about eighteen miles in extent, 
 
 479 
 
480 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 continually ascending until we should reach the very summit of the 
 mountains, where the finest coffee grows, and which is now known as 
 the coffee district. 
 
 " Gradually getting to the foot of the hills, and then ascending 
 them for some time, we begin to take in the beauties of our road and 
 the advantages of our position. We have left now the flat country 
 behind us, and are coming into clumps of forests, with occasionally a 
 hacienda, or farm, and now and then a small coffee place, and at last 
 we strike the steep mountain path. 
 
 Beauties of Mountain and Landscape. 
 
 " Now, turning in our saddles, we begin to see the magnificent 
 beauties of the landscape. Far above us, the wild, high mountains 
 are raising their forest-clothed crests, while around is a broken coun 
 try of hills with small valleys in their midst, and far away, below us, 
 we catch glimpses through the turnings of the road of the level 
 green plain of the earth below. Mossy rocks, strange trees, beautiful 
 ferns, and curious hanging vines, or graceful festoons of moss we see 
 upon either side of the road, and here and there a wax-like looking 
 tree pushes out to our view from the thick roadside foliage the 
 golden but bitter fruit of the wild orange, which tempts us in vain. 
 
 " Occasionally we hear shouts from some of the invisible laby 
 rinths of roads followed by the head of some coffee-laden mule 
 emerging around the curve, and, perhaps, succeeded by twenty or 
 thirty others, all with their loads of coffee following their leader, to 
 whom they are attached head and tail, down to the village. 
 
 " The air is pure and dry, about the temperature of that of the 
 White Mountains in summer, with that peculiar feeling of rarity and 
 lightness so agreeable to breathe in. Our journey is enlivened by 
 pleasant converse and these beautiful scenes, varied by occasionally 
 meeting some very gentlemanly French planters on their way down ; 
 
 and at last we begin to near the summit, when Mr. L , my host, 
 
 tells me to prepare myself for the most beautiful view I have seen. 
 
 " A little incredulous, after seeing Trinidad, I prepare myself to 
 enjoy, perhaps, some wild or extensive view ; when, upon turning a 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 481 
 
 high, rocky point in the road, we have presented to our view nearly 
 such a scene as Church has endeavored to depict in his Heart of 
 the Andes, though here, of course, there are no mountains so high. 
 Farther than eye can pierce extends the wonderful distance in this 
 view of the Plain of Guantanamo, where sea and sky appear to 
 fade away into fairy mist before meeting each other. We see a vast 
 plain of cane-fields, which at this distance appear as simple pastures, 
 while farther away the strong light of early morning gives the appear 
 ance of lakes of silver. Near us and above us rise the majestic hills, 
 covered with innumerable gigantic forest trees. 
 
 " Now we come in sight of our destination, which we see, as the 
 road skirts around the mountain, to be a lovely place, nestling in the 
 shadow of the great hills behind it, while in front is a lovely valley, 
 teeming with the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics. 
 
 " At the cross-roads we bid good-by to our planter friends, promis- 
 mg to pay them a visit, and putting spurs to our horses, we gallop up 
 between the walls of the secadcros (coffee dryers) to the door of mine 
 host, where, dismounting, we are cordially and pleasantly received by 
 Madame and her two beautiful children, of whom, with my usual 
 penchant for handsome children, horses, and dogs, I became very 
 fond. 
 
 A Danish Custom. 
 
 " There is a good old custom amongst the Danes, I believe, that 
 when the first toast is drunk, it is to the roof of the house which 
 covers every one in it meaning thereby that it is all one family 
 strangers included. This same custom might appropriately be kept 
 up amongst the French coffee-planters of the mountains; for when 
 you take your seat at the table, you are immediately installed as one 
 of the family circle. 
 
 " And how, O reader ! can I adequately describe to you that most 
 delicious life in those lofty mountains ? the pure air, the morning 
 rides, the beautiful effects of nature, which were impressed indelibly 
 on my memory by my ever unsatisfactory attempts to transfer their 
 loveliness to my sketch-book. Let us try a day or two together, and 
 see if we can form an idea of this life, so pure, so fresh, so natural. 
 31 
 
482 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 " Rising at six o clock, we all meet around the family board, where, 
 each one takes his simple cup of coffee, with, perhaps, a biscuit, the 
 children being supplied with milk. The gentlemen then mount their 
 horses, the little ones go off with their governess, and we leave 
 Madame in charge of the establishment, while we gallop off to ride 
 over the place and see the hands at work in the coffee groves, or, 
 perhaps, making a new road, or clearing off the timber of the forests 
 for a new coffee-field. 
 
 "Try to imagine any beautiful mountains that you have ever been 
 on, covered with woods, two or three thousand feet above the sea, 
 with a temperature always the same the year round, the road dug out 
 of the very mountain side, the vegetation as luxuriant as it is possi 
 ble to be, with vines, ferns, wild orange trees, and shrubs, from the 
 branches of which moss hangs down in graceful festoons ; and more 
 than all, the wonderful, curious parasites, which, graceful and beauti 
 ful as they are, carry certain death to any forest denizen they twine 
 their arms around. Here is one called the cupeyj taken in one of 
 the paths in the Calderones mountains. 
 
 Trees Squeezed to Death. 
 
 " It is a parasite which entwines itself around the ceiba, or other 
 tree, and in course of time entirely kills it. It originates on the tree 
 itself, and throws its roots downwards, which, in the course of their 
 growth, entwine the tree in such a manner that eventually its trunk 
 is compressed as if in a vice, and life very soon becomes extinct. 
 The parasite, with its roots continually descending, takes strong hold 
 in the ground. Sometimes, however, it shares the fate of the tree 
 whose death it has caused, inasmuch as when the original tree dies, 
 the strength of the parasite has not been sufficiently matured to sup 
 port its own weight alone, and it therefore falls to the ground with 
 its victim. 
 
 " There is a great number of curious smaller plants, some of which 
 we know, others that we never heard of before fit studies for the 
 botanist. Here is the ladies collar an herb with a large leaf, shaped 
 like the old style of collars worn by ladies, from which it gets its 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 483 
 
 flame. There is the old familiar plant of the castor oil, of which we 
 as children have no pleasant recollections. 
 
 " This grows in great quantities all over these mountains, and is 
 prepared by the superannuated negro women, who select the beans 
 and clean them ready for extracting the oil. I was very much 
 amused with an old woman, perfectly blind, who seemed to pick out 
 the perfect and imperfect seeds with the greatest facility, while she sat 
 croning over her task on the stone floor of the coffee-dryer. 
 
 " Still wandering along, we come out upon an opening in the woods, 
 and, looking down, we see the new fields being prepared for coffee ; 
 which is simply done by cutting down the timber upon the side of a 
 hill favorably situated, and burning off the brush. The seed is put 
 in with those of the plantain, the cacao, or the palm, and left to 
 grow. One of these fields looks exactly like one of our western 
 clearings. 
 
 " Let us turn now into this grassy path that looks as if it would 
 bury itself deep in the woods ; a step or two more, and just look at 
 that ! what a curious combination of strange trees, warm sunlight, 
 and graceful foliage ! 
 
 " One tree quite common throughout the Island is a species of 
 parasite, somewhat peculiar even for a tropical country, known as the 
 jaguey ; it has the same peculiarities as the cupey, but with the excep 
 tion that after its roots take hold in the ground they unite and form one 
 trunk of many pillars, becoming a sturdy tree, while the original tree 
 dies out and decays" leaving a hollow space in the centre of the para 
 site. In this it only follows the usual fate of this variety of trees as 
 observed elsewhere. 
 
 " It is supposed the origin of these parasites is from the ordure of 
 the birds who carry the seed and deposit it in the tree, where it 
 appears to take root in the branches as a simple vine, gradually 
 assuming size and strength, until finally it causes the death of its host. 
 Usually, every morning, I visited with my host some neighboring 
 estates, where we were always cordially received and welcomed, and 
 immediately the disposition of the house was put at my service by 
 *.he courtly owners. 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 " At eleven o clock, breakfast was served, which was the same sub 
 stantial meal as in the low country, except there was a greater variety 
 of fine vegetables yams, potatoes of various kinds, delicious water- 
 cresses fresh from the cool brooks, and several that we are not 
 acquainted with, such as the apio and the yuca, the latter one of the 
 most useful plants on the Island, of which there are four classes 
 known, but only two are indigenous to, and used on, the Island. 
 From this they make the cassava bread, and it is generally used 
 boiled as an esculent; starch is also made from it in large quantities. 
 
 " The chayote, which, cooked in a certain way, is as good an imitation 
 of apple-sauce as can be made, is an odd-looking fruit, resembling a 
 big, rugged pear, growing on a vine which is very tender and grace 
 ful, and when twining itself around some cacao or plantain tree, has a 
 very pretty appearance. 
 
 A Curious Fruit. 
 
 " The mamey is also a curious fruit, of a peculiar shape, like a 
 large sweet potato, with a rusty brown skin, which, when cut in two, 
 displays one long, milky-white seed, and surrounding it the rich, 
 reddish-brown color of the fruit, resembling a nutmeg-melon. To 
 my taste it is too sickish, having no juice, but being of a dead-ripe 
 flavor. 
 
 " Here in the mountains I found that siesta-taking, after breakfast, 
 prevailed, notwithstanding the fact that, even in the middle of the day, 
 the sun is not too hot to go out in, except in the depth of summer. 
 In lieu of my siesta, while the rest of the household were dozing, I 
 would frequently stroll off on foot, somewhere in the vicinity of the 
 house, to sketch, always being sure, when seated on some log or 
 rock, of having the companionship of one of the many beautiful 
 lizards that abounded, and that were so tame that they ran all about 
 me, being perfectly harmless, too. 
 
 " One little fellow amused me very much. I had taken up a com 
 fortable position, with my back against a cocoa-nut tree, when this 
 little fellow came running down the tree and looked over my 
 shoulders, apparently with the greatest eye to criticism. I turned 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 485 
 
 my head to watch him better, but, as he did not seem to mind me, 
 and kept perfectly quiet, I took him, with his bright, knowing look. 
 Some of these lizards are perfectly beautiful, with their exceeding 
 brilliancy of color, those with stripes of green and black across their 
 back, and with little jet eyes, being charmingly pretty. 
 
 " The chameleon, that we have heard so much about ; it was not my 
 good fortune to meet the whole time I was on the Island. I was 
 struck with the entire absence, also, of venomous insects and reptiles. 
 The worst thing they have is the scorpion, whose bite, though not 
 considered dangerous, is very painful. 
 
 Troublesome Insect. 
 
 " The jigger, as it is vulgarly called, is an insect that often occa 
 sions more trouble to strangers than anything else, being a small 
 insect that gets under the toe-nails, and, if not taken out, makes its 
 nest, inflames the foot, and causes much pain ; it can then only be 
 removed with the knife. 
 
 " Monte de Verde is, probably, the finest estate in this section of 
 the country, being a very large and well-regulated property, situated 
 in a lovely valley, amidst surrounding hills. The house is large and 
 handsome, with a beautiful flower-garden in its rear. The fruit and 
 vegetable-gardens are very large and very fine ; and some attempts 
 have been made to cultivate the strawberry, this being the only por 
 tion of the Island where that berry is found. Here among the 
 mountains it grows wild, though never very large. In fact, there 
 are no berries such as we have, upon the Island, as far as my experi 
 ence goes. 
 
 " The loveliest place that I saw was the one known as the 
 Orangeries, which, high up among the mountains, was itself built 
 upon a plateau, from whence an ascent to the top of the still higher 
 hills was made. It was a fine stone house, built something in the 
 style of some of the Swiss chalets, and finished in its interior with 
 the beautiful polished wood of the country. It commands a splendid 
 view of the adjacent mountains and the valley beneath. 
 
 " Some of the roads around these different estates were very iovely. 
 
486 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The light fell upon them, tempered by the thick, screening branches 
 of the fragrant orange plants, the lovely jessamine, or the delicate 
 heliotrope ; while hanging temptingly within one s reach was the 
 large and brilliant-looking pomegranate, which here grows to a size 
 as large as the orange 
 
 " To the naturalist, the botanist, or the artist, this section of coun 
 try offers every inducement for a visit. Rare plants, curious insects, 
 and superb and novel views meet one at every step. At the same 
 house with me was stopping Mr. Cleinwerche, a Prussian artist of 
 great talent, who had passed some time in various parts of the 
 Island, painting its striking scenes, which he informed me surpassed 
 any he had ever seen in the many lands in which he had traveled. 
 
 Delightful Excursions. 
 
 " Our afternoon rides were here always as agreeable as those of 
 the morning ; in fact there was no time during the day that it was not 
 cool enough to exercise, either on foot or on horseback ; and many 
 were the rides we had to the house of some neighbor, where, stop 
 ping to dine, perhaps, we returned in the evening over mountain 
 paths made bright for us by the rays of the moon, which added new 
 beauties to the scene ; or, if the moon did not favor us, there was 
 always the bright peripatetic candle-bearer, the cucullo} by whose 
 brilliant light one can not only walk, but even read. 
 
 " This insect is about the size of our roach, and has somewhat its 
 appearance, being perfectly black, with two small, bright eyes in the 
 back of its long head, on each side of which extend two small, sharp 
 horns, or feelers. These two eyes, in connection with another in the 
 point of its breast, are the live orbs that give out the bright light, the 
 three together, when the insect has its wings spread, appearing in the 
 dark nights as one brilliant, by the light of which one can see to read 
 a letter. 
 
 " They are used, it is said, by anxious lovers, at their stolen noc 
 turnal rendezvous ; and it may be for this reason they are such great 
 favorites with the ladies, who wear them in their belts, their hair, and 
 under their thin, gauzy dresses, which they wear of an evening ; the 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 effect, as may be imagined, is as novel as it is beautiful. In some 
 parts of the Island they also make pets of them, by keeping them in 
 little cages, feeding them on sugar-cane, and bathing them ! 
 
 " A wonderful natural curiosity I saw here, also, in the form of 
 vegetable lace, made from the bark of a tree called guana A small 
 piece of this, not larger than one s thumb, is taken, a thin slice cut 
 from it and moistened in water ; after which the women pull it with 
 their hands, first one way and then the other, until it opens out into, 
 apparently, the finest threads, looking exactly like the best mull. 
 The ladies take this, embroider it, put an edging of real lace on it, 
 and wear it for neckerchiefs. 
 
 Flower of Holy Week. 
 
 " There is one flower I was particularly struck with, known as the 
 Flor de Pascua/ as well from its profusion as its great beauty. This 
 is the special flower of Holy Week, from which it receives its name, 
 from the fact that about this season it comes out in all its brilliancy 
 of color. It is a simple bush, with the leaves growing in graceful 
 clusters, which then become of a bright vermilion color ; while the 
 flower itself is of a most delicate cup or vase-like form (something in 
 the shape of an Etruscan vase), the colors upon which are a most 
 delicate gradation from white to rich pink. It has also the most ex 
 quisitely formed stamens. I have seen it but once in our hot-houses. 
 
 "I must confess to being disappointed in the number of birds of 
 Cuba, or else I was not very fortunate in seeing them during my stay. 
 At all events, I remarked frequently, in the woods, the absence of 
 those sweet-singing birds so numerous with us ; and as I have read 
 so much and heard so much of the brilliant plumage of the birds of 
 the tropics, I was disappointed in not seeing them. Chirping-birds 
 abound, and the most brilliant bird I saw was the tocorroro, a bird 
 belonging to the woodpecker tribe. 
 
 " In the country beyond these mountains of the Yateras, which is 
 still a wilderness, there are, I am told, a great many attractions for 
 the scientific man, in the large numbers of strange birds, insects, and 
 reptiles* 
 
488 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 " It was the last of April before I left the Coffee Mountains, and 
 the rainy season, as they call it, had then set in. This only added to 
 my pleasure ; for the rain, as far as I saw it, consisted of a splendid 
 shower either once or twice a day, which had the effect of making 
 the air even more bracing than before. Sometimes, in the middle of 
 the day, it would rain for a couple of hours as though the very flood 
 gates of heaven had broken open, and then, having exhausted itself, 
 it would clear up, the sun would come out in new glory, and we 
 would have a most beautiful afternoon and evening. 
 
 " For the invalid traveler I can imagine no more perfect country or 
 life than that of the Coffee Mountains of the Yateras. Breathing 
 the purest of air, living luxuriously upon the astonishing profusion 
 of natural supplies, enjoying a climate that from day to day and 
 week to week does not vary a degree, and experiencing the exhilar 
 ating and invigorating effects of the constant exercise on fine horses 
 that becomes a daily habit, the sick man needs to despair indeed if 
 he is not recuperated by such a life as this. Unfortunately, unless he 
 is recommended to some of the hospitable people of that section, 
 there is no means of living, unless, indeed, he has a taste for camp 
 ing out/ which, amid such scenes and in a climate like this, would be 
 no hardship. 
 
 " If, in some happy day for the Cubans, their Island shall be blessed 
 with a more liberal government and a more tolerant religion, which 
 will be followed by a strong tide of emigration, these hills, mountains 
 and valleys of the Calderones and Yateras will be the chosen spots 
 of the Island ; for here, with comparatively little expense and less 
 trouble, can be made the most beautiful homes in the world for those 
 fond of rural life and the beauties of nature. 
 
 " As for me, the benefit I derived in health and strength, and the 
 great pleasure I experienced from a short sojourn amidst the scenes 
 and the people of the Yateras, have given me memories never to be 
 forgotten, and I shall ever treasure them up as we treasure the fairy 
 visions of our youth." 
 
 How few of us, as we sit in our cozy dining-rooms after dinner, of 
 a cold winter s day, sipping our coffee, think or know of the trouble, 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 489 
 
 the time, and the labor that is taken, far off under the hot sun of the 
 tropics, to give us that little cupful of mahogany-looking fluid ; of 
 the sweat and the toil of its cultivation ; of the processes, machinery, 
 and journeys necessary before it comes to us ! Few of us know 
 whether it grows like corn on ?. cob, or beans in a pod ; and few 
 there are who will not be astonished when told that it grows and 
 looks on the tree very much like a cherry. 
 
 The Coffee District. 
 
 Although coffee is now grown, more or less, all over the Island of 
 Cuba, and at one time was as largely cultivated in the valleys and 
 plains as is at present the sugar-cane, yet now the portion of the 
 Island where most of the coffee-raising is done is in the district and 
 near the town of Cuba, and in the jurisdiction of Guantanamo. Land 
 in this portion of the Island has been so cheap that planters have 
 found it to their interest, as their old places became worn out, to sell 
 them, and come with their means to these beautiful hills, where the 
 climate was healthy, the crop of coffee better, and the land to be had 
 for a song. 
 
 In addition to this, coffee culture, for various reasons, has in some 
 degree declined, principally owing, it is said, to the United States 
 placing an almost prohibitory tariff on Cuban coffee in favor of Brazil, 
 which empire receives our flour and grain at a nominal tariff, while 
 in Cuba there has been always a tax upon our exports of that kind. 
 Be this as it may, it is certain that many of those who formerly 
 planted coffee now make sugar, partly because they can use their 
 large number of hands to greater advantage, and partly because, 
 owing to the uncertainty of the coffee crop, the price has varied from 
 three to thirty dollars per hundred pounds. 
 
 The cafetales most noted for their richness and for the excellency 
 of the fruit, one finds in the range of mountains known as the Sierra 
 Maestra, vicinity of Cuba, in the Vuelta Abajo, and in the districts of 
 Alquizar and San Marcos. From the fact that these latter are old 
 places, that have been established a long time, they are possessed of 
 all that degree of elegance and magnificence for which they are origi- 
 
490 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 nally celebrated; nevertheless, the mountains of Guantanamo are 
 now considered the coffee regions of Cuba, and there the cultivation 
 is on the increase, while in other places it has decreased rapidly. 
 
 After the ingenios, the cafetales are the most extensive agricultural 
 establishments carried on in Cuba the latter exceeding the former 
 generally in their handsome appearance and care. Their size varies 
 Trom one hundred to one thousand acres, or even more in the moun 
 tains, The number of hands employed in the low country is as high 
 as one hundred, but generally averages to every one thousand acres 
 about fifty or sixty negroes. 
 
 How Coffee was Introduced. 
 
 The first coffee plantation was established in 1748, the seeds being 
 brought from Santo Domingo by one Don Jos6 Gelabert, of whom it 
 is related that it was his intention when he came to make only a gar 
 den. He established himself at a short distance from Havana, but 
 the cultivation of coffee did not really commence until the arrival of 
 the French from Santo Domingo, about 1795. 
 
 In addition to the cultivation of coffee, large amounts of rice, plan 
 tains, potatoes, cacao or chocolate, and all kinds of fruit are raised ; 
 the seeds being planted in the same fields with the coffee, in order 
 that the trees may eventually afford the shade which the coffee plant 
 requires. ^\\z guarda rayos, or roads that lead up to the dwellings, 
 are generally shaded by these plants, or by long rows of palm or 
 cocoa, and in some cases a beautiful, graceful species of poplar, all of 
 which form very charming avenues or drives. 
 
 The cafetal has also its batey, or square, like the ingenio, formed by 
 the different buildings, which latter are not generally so extensive as 
 on the sugar-estates, consisting of the dwelling-house, the store 
 houses, the stone terraces for drying the coffee, the stables, the negro 
 quarters, and the coffee-house where the fruit is prepared, this being 
 generally the largest of the structures. The number of subordinates 
 required is small from the small number of hands employed ; and 
 although there are sometimes administrators to the cafctales, in gen 
 eral they are managed by the proprietor with the assistance of the 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 491 
 
 mayoral, who may be white, but who is generally the most intelligent 
 negro on the place. 
 
 It is computed by some authorities that, in good seasons, a crop is 
 produced in about the following proportions : To every two hundred 
 and sixty-four acres, two hundred thousand trees can be planted, 
 which will produce, on an average, sixty-two thousand five hundred 
 pounds of coffee, which, at the rate of twenty-five dollars per bag of 
 one hundred pounds, will give the nice little return of fifteen thou 
 sand dollars for the cultivation of over two hundred and sixty-four 
 acres. From that, of course, have to be deducted the expenses, 
 which vary according to locality and circumstances, or the number of 
 hands employed. 
 
 Description of the Plant. 
 
 In the past few years, owing to the gradually increasing scarcity of 
 negroes, many improvements have been made in the use of labor- 
 saving machines, some of which are worked by steam-power in lieu 
 of the old-fashioned way of working by water-power. 
 
 Coffee is an evergreen shrub, with oblong, pulpy berries, which are 
 at first green, then bright red, and afterwards purple. That portion 
 of it used as the coffee of commerce, and which, when ground and 
 boiled, we drink, is a secretion formed in the interior of the seed, 
 and enveloping the embryo plant, for whose support it is destined 
 when it first begins to germinate. It is raised from the seed when 
 green or dried in the air, and then planted in the ground, where it is 
 left to grow for forty days, at which time the shoot appears, if the 
 weather is favorable. 
 
 The number of seeds planted in one hole is ten or a dozen, the 
 holes being made with a knife or pointed iron. These are made in 
 regular rows, being carefully marked out, with a space of four inches 
 between each plant, and four and a half inches between each row. 
 The shoots having begun to appear and gain size, are carefully and 
 regularly weeded, about once a month, for two years ; at the end of 
 which time those plants that have attained to the height of thirty 
 inches are cropped. At the end of the third year, they begin bear 
 
492 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 ing in small quantities ; at the end of the fourth year, they are in 
 full bearing, and continue giving good crops, if the land is good, for 
 twenty-five or thirty years ; at the end of the sixth or seventh year, 
 they require pruning ; and after ten years, they only bear good crops 
 every alternate year. 
 
 At the end of February, the bearing plants begin to blossom, and 
 in cold places, even as late as March and April, continuing even up 
 to June. Now is the time to see a coffee place in its beauty. Far as 
 the eye can reach, is one vast sea of green, wax-like looking leaves, 
 upon bushes the branches of which are now in their luxuriant growth, 
 mingling one with another ; and scattered over this sea of green are 
 the beautiful white blossoms, looking at a distance, like millions of 
 snow-drops, or, on being closely examined, resembling a most delicate 
 Maltese cross of milky wax. In bunches, as they cluster thick around 
 the stem, they resemble the flower of the jessamine, possibly even more 
 
 delicate. 
 
 Clusters of Red and Golden Fruit. 
 
 It is hard to conceive anything more beautiful, particularly if look 
 ing over head, you see the banana tree, with its clusters of green and 
 red and golden fruit peeping out from their large, green leaves. At 
 the end of each bunch there is a curiously formed, acorn-shaped, and 
 regal purple-colored bud or blossom. Add to this sight the red, 
 yellow, and purple fruit of the cacao, and the rosy-cheeked pome 
 granate, and you have an idea of this land, flowing with milk and 
 honey the milk, if you desire it, being found in the clusters of green 
 cocoa-nuts that hang far above your head. 
 
 The coffee-blossom remains in flower about two days, and then are 
 formed the berries, the size of gun-shot, until at maturity they attain 
 the size and appearance of very small cherries, or, to be more exact, 
 cranberries. This maturity is attained usually by the month of 
 September, and the picking season then begins, although it is now 
 the rainy season. As the berries are ripening all the time, the pick 
 ing season lasts as late as November sometimes. If the months of 
 July and August are dry months, with no rain, the berries become 
 scorched with the hot sun. Coffee is a fruit which requires a genial 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 493 
 
 but even temperature, there being hardly any possibility of its having 
 too much rain. 
 
 The picking is done by the hands on the place men, women and 
 children all going through the rows, each one with two bags and a 
 basket (according to the capability of the hand), which they are re 
 quired to fill during the day with the round, rich, red berry. Each of 
 these berries contains two seeds, side by side. The bags being filled 
 are brought to the house on the backs of mules, and there received 
 by the overseer, who measures the fruit for the purpose of seeing how 
 much each negro has picked, and whether he has performed his pro 
 per amount of labor. 
 
 The best trees yield half a pound, but the average is a quarter of a 
 pound per tree. The berries are now ready for the pulping-mill, 
 which is a large wooden wheel, set vertically in a circular canal with 
 ribbed or clinker-built wooden sides, in which are placed the berries 
 for the purpose of having the rind taken off, the operation being per 
 formed by the wheel, which is worked either by steam or water-power, 
 passing over them. This apparatus generally occupies the lower floor 
 of the coffee-house, usually a large frame or stone building. 
 
 The Pulp in Ferment. 
 
 The pulp is now placed in a large, dry, stone basin, of about the 
 form and size of a small swimming bath, and allowed to remain there 
 and ferment for twelve hours, for the pupose of more completely 
 separating the rind and the beans ; water is then let into the basin, 
 and all the gum, which is a sort of slimy, mucous matter that in the 
 old process deteriorated the coffee, is washed off. 
 
 Then the coffee is taken out of the water and placed in the 
 secaderos, where the berries are spread out to dry in the warm rays 
 of the sun, which they do in from seven to nine days, if there is no 
 rain. These secaderos, or drying-floors, are large stone basins, quad 
 rangular in shape, about fifty or sixty feet long by twenty or thirty 
 feet wide, arranged in a sort of terrace, side by side, and sometimes 
 a dozen in number, the brow of the hill on which the dwellings 
 stand being usually selected to build them upon. They are about 
 
494 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 three feet from the ground, built of stone, with plastered floors hav 
 ing an inclination from the centre to the sides, to drain off the water 
 in case of rain, they being entirely uncovered, but having a stone 
 wall around them about a foot high. 
 
 Should it come on to rain while the berries are thus exposed, they 
 are hurriedly swept up into large heaps in the centre, and over them 
 ; s placed a sort of covering similar to a small wigwam, made of 
 thatch or palm leaves, and impervious to water, there being two 
 handles to lift them by. The moment it ceases to rain, the berries 
 are spread out again until thoroughly dry. They are covered in the 
 same way at night to protect them from the dew. 
 
 Each berry now resembles a round bean, or the kernel of a small 
 hazel nut, having its exterior pellicle quite dry and dark-colored, in 
 which state it is placed away in the store-house until the whole crop 
 is gathered, each batch of green fruit undergoing the same process as 
 fast as it comes in. 
 
 Ready for the Market. 
 
 Now the preparing of the fruit for market takes place, the first 
 operation of which is placing the dry berries again in the pulping- 
 mill, the wheel of which, being put in motion, cracks off the dry skin, 
 and the two grains of coffee fall out, just of the shape in which we 
 see them for sale ; thence, it is put in the fanning-mill, identically the 
 same as that used by our farmers to separate the grain from the chaff. 
 
 Being now free from all extraneous substances, the beans are placed 
 again in the pulping-mill for the purpose of being polished, or col 
 ored ; for think not, O reader, that coffee comes to us of its natural 
 color without a little " doctoring; " as to every thousand pounds of 
 grain there is added half an ounce of lampblack, and the wheel now 
 travels over and over it, until it assumes the fine green color it has 
 when we get it. This is called the polishing process, and some 
 planters use for the operation charcoal made of cedar-wood ; others, 
 again, use soapstone and powdered white lead, according to the shade 
 they wish to give it. For the European market, the latter is used, 
 which gives the coffee a dark-grey color. 
 
LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 495 
 
 Now it is ready for the sorting-room, in which there is a circular 
 sieve with several compartments of different-sized wire, which, 
 worked by machinery, revolves. From the room above, and directly 
 over the sieve, there is a wooden box or pipe, leading down into a 
 wooden funnel-shaped reservoir, for the purpose of conducting the 
 grain from the room into the sieve, the quantity being governed by a 
 wooden stopper in the side of the trough. The grain, being placed in 
 this reservoir, runs slowly into the revolving cylinder through an 
 opening in its first compartment, and from thence into the others, 
 being assorted in its passage through the different-sized wires of the 
 sieves into three kinds. 
 
 Different Qualities. 
 
 El caracolillo is the small round coffee, one grain of which only is 
 found in each berry, and resembles the celebrated Arabian coffee, 
 " Mocha," from which it also takes its name. This is the most 
 prized, bringing usually a dollar or two extra per bag ; its flavor is 
 not really better than that of other coffee, except that the grain, 
 being smaller and round, is more easily and thoroughly roasted ; the 
 bean also presents a much better appearance to the purchaser. 
 
 This small grain, strange to say, is supposed to be a disease in the 
 coffee, as, generally from want of rain, or from some freak of nature, 
 the grain appears in this stunted form. Great care is used in sorting 
 so as to secure the best of coffee, free from dirt, pebbles, and decayed 
 berries. This is done by the negro women picking over all the cof 
 fee. They are arranged on two sides of a long table, in a well- 
 lighted room, used expressly for this purpose. 
 
 It is quite a novel sight to see twenty or thirty of these women in 
 their oddities of dress, or even the scarcity of it, picking away from 
 the great piles of beans before them, and filling huge baskets with 
 the bright green grain, keeping up all the time a monotonous chant 
 ing, in which each one takes a part, interrupted now and then by a 
 stranger, whose advent is an era in the lives of these out-of-the- world 
 people, and who immediately address him with : " Da me medio, mai 
 tre " (give me five cents, master). 
 
496 LIFE IN THE COFFEE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The second quality of coffee, called el primer, or lavado (first or 
 washed), is that of which the largest quantities are made, being the 
 coffee in its usual size, of two grains to the berry, sound and large. 
 The third quality is the poorer or refuse coffee, the most of which is 
 retained upon the place and used or sold at a low price for domestic 
 consumption. The fine Caracolillo coffee is very carefully re-sifted 
 and picked over by some specially skillful hand. 
 
 The coffee, being now ready for market, is placed in strong canvas 
 bags, in which we see it, and each one of which contains about one 
 hundred and seven pounds. It is then forwarded to the commission 
 merchant in the town, to be sold for account of the owner, or is 
 sometimes bought outright by the merchants. 
 
 The transporting of the coffee to market is a business of itself, and 
 is generally carried on by some native Indian, the owner of large num 
 bers of mules, though on some of the estates where horses are plenty 
 the proprietors send down their own trains. These consist of from a 
 dozen to thirty or forty horses or mules, which have upon their backs 
 the most old-fashioned, useless packs that can be made, being simply 
 huge walls of straw, sometimes covered with canvas, rarely leather, 
 roughly put together, and retained upon the horses by girths and 
 ropes, or canvas breeching, which sometimes are fancifully decorated 
 with fringe, as is also the head stall, particularly of the leader, who 
 has also a string of bells upon his neck, in Spanish muleteer fashion. 
 Upon there rude pack-saddles the coffee is strapped, a bag on each 
 side, c ver which a cloth or matting of the palm is thrown, to keep it 
 from the rain. Each train is now arranged with the head of one 
 horse tied to the tail of the one in front of him, the guide and his 
 assistant mount their horses, and the train is started down the moun 
 tain to the village. 
 
 It is quite a novel as well as pretty sight to see these trains taking 
 their way down the hill-side ; the long line of mules, with their 
 curious burdens, winding in and out of the romantic road, the gay 
 appearance of the leader, the musical sound of his bells, and the 
 shouts of the mulzteros, all serve to make up a picture strange and 
 interesting. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 Rural Life and Customs. 
 
 " XT O traveler," says N. P. Willis, " except for some special or 
 
 ^^ overruling reason, leaves willingly Havana;" but as we 
 like contrast, and are fond of seeking the Cosas de Cuba, 
 both of town and country, we seek the contrast, as Baron Humboldt 
 writes it, that " one encounters in leaving the capital (Havana), for 
 the country, and exchanging its civilization, partial and local, for the 
 simplicity of manners and customs that reigns in the isolated farms 
 and little villages of the Island." 
 
 Besides this, for an invalid traveler who has been passing all his 
 winter in the tropics it is not wise, even if safe, to go north until the 
 chill of winter days is there thoroughly thawed from the atmosphere 
 by the genial rays of an early June sun ; and as Havana has no 
 longer attractions for us out of season, we turn to the country. 
 
 There is much pleasure, too, in wandering about among some of 
 these little villages in the bright, hot days of the Cuban spring, when 
 the early rains for an hour or two each day only serve to brighten up 
 the landscape and freshen the air a little. Making, therefore, our 
 headquarters in such places as Giiines, where there are tolerable 
 accommodations, and where such lovely views of the valley of Giiines 
 are afforded from the " Hill of Fire," we run out to San Antonio or 
 Marianao, where we get a sea breath, with a whiff of ocean, fresh and 
 strong, or even to Mariel or Cabanas, twenty-five miles along the 
 coast. 
 
 There is the pueblo of San Cristobal, too, in the Vuelta Abajo, in 
 a beautiful country, easily accessible by railroad, and at a short dis 
 tance from which are the romantic Falls of the Rosario. This, too, 
 is the district sanctified in the cause of freedom by the struggles and 
 final capture of Lopez, in his unsuccessful attempt at revolution, his 
 32 497 
 
493 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 fate being sealed almost within sight of this beautiful cascade ; for, 
 having had an engagement with the Spanish troops, he with seven 
 companions fled, when they fell into the power of a party of sixteen 
 of the peasants of that section, and being sent up to Havana, were 
 there garroted. 
 
 In another chapter there has been given an account of the manner 
 in which the subdivisions of land in Cuba obtained their names, and 
 it only remains now to speak specially of one of these, first of 
 which is the " Estancia," the most humble of the rural properties, 
 but nevertheless the one that produces or can produce the best returns 
 to its cultivator. Situated in the vicinity of the cities or of the large 
 villages, its purpose is to raise for their markets garden stuff, small 
 meats, fruits, chickens, eggs, milk, cheese, and other articles of gen 
 eral and necessary consumption ; also forage, or fodder rather, for 
 the horses maintained in the towns. 
 
 Antiquated Farming. 
 
 The size of these places varies from a dozen acres to one hundred 
 and twenty-five, many of them being cultivated by tenants only, who 
 pay a rent of about two hundred dollars per year for thirty or forty 
 acres. This system of farming, so opposed to the real advancement 
 of agriculture, and the indolence natural to the laborers accustomed 
 to expect from the fertility of the soil what their labor ought at least 
 to assist in bringing forth, keep these places in a state of backward 
 ness. Only a small part is devoted to garden stuff, which requires 
 care, while not much more is put in melons, plantains, and potatoes, 
 more than one-half usually being sown with maloja, a kind of corn, 
 which grows without giving good grain, and is cut green for the fod 
 der of animals which prefer it to any other kind of grass food. -;.* 
 
 The fruit-trees are not renewed, and the principal care of the 
 estanciero y or farmer, is the raising of chickens and cows; and it is 
 from this reason, in part, that there is a scarcity of garden sturf 
 and fruits in the local markets a scarcity that is augmented when 
 they cheapen the other products, and when the crop of beans, onions, 
 potatoes, peas, etc., does not amount to the smallest part of the 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 499 
 
 quantity consumed, although the towns are surrounded by innumer 
 able acres of uselessly fertile land. 
 
 In many of these estancias the cultivation of the soil is abandoned 
 for the business of lime-burning and the raising of sufficient fodder 
 for the oxen that draw the lime to market. The dwelling-houses on 
 these places are small and of moderate expense in construction, and 
 the number of negroes does not exceed, on the best of these places, 
 five negroes to every forty or fifty acres, the land being worth about 
 sixty dollars per acre. 
 
 A Succulent Vegetable. 
 
 The sweet-potato is the principal vegetable raised on these estan 
 cias, and is mostly of two kinds the white and yellow. It is similar 
 to ours, and is eaten in the same way, and is produced all the year 
 round. The white (or Irish) potato is not raised on the Island in any 
 quantity, being poor and small; large quantities are, therefore, im 
 ported. 
 
 " El name" is the tuber, solid and heavy, juicy, white or yellow, 
 and very nutritious, being stewed with meat. This name is given it 
 by the negroes, though its Indian name is " aje" It weighs five or 
 six pounds, and has even been known to weigh as much as twenty- 
 five pounds. The negroes prefer it to any other vegetable, making 
 several dishes from it by compounding it with other things. It is of 
 somewhat the same nature as the yam. 
 
 Platanos are raised also in large quantities. On all these places 
 are raised lettuce, cabbage, and many nutritious seeds, most of which 
 flourish the year round. Where the estancia is large, and managed 
 with judgment, there are a great many fruits of various kinds raised; 
 but it would be hard to find in the whole Island an orchard, such as 
 we understand one to be. Our system of intelligent gardening, farm 
 ing, and fruit-raising would prove very profitable ; for the whole 
 Island is a perfect garden naturally, and with very little attention, 
 almost everything grows in abundance. 
 
 Gardening as a business does not seem as yet to be followed by 
 the Cubans, and the only flower-gardens that one sees are those 
 
500 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 attached to private houses, or, occasionally, small ones near the 
 towns. Some of these private gardens are remarkably beautiful, laid 
 out with great taste, and presenting, when they are confined simply 
 to flowers, a most brilliant appearance with their very highly colored 
 plants. At Marianao, Matanzas, and around Havana, one sees these 
 in perfection ; but the most lovely gardens, combined with fruits, are 
 those attached to fine sugar-estates, if we except such as the Cantero 
 gardens, at Trinidad, and the public gardens on the paseo Tacon. 
 
 The Bee Industry. 
 
 Upon the fincas, or small country places, attention is paid more 
 particularly to raising and keeping bees, from which large quantities 
 of wax and honey are produced, the former being quite an import 
 ant article of export. There are two kinds of bees used on the Island, 
 the comuu, or exotic, brought from Florida, and the sriolla, or 
 native bee. The little honey produced by the latter is used by the 
 Cubans for medicinal purposes, the dark-colored wax, under the 
 name of " virgin wax," serving as lights for the poor of the country. 
 
 The imported bee creates one of the principal sources of rural 
 riches, as its products are exported in considerable quantities, its 
 honey even being sent abroad, while the white and yellow wax pro 
 duced are well-known articles of commerce ; in addition to which, 
 large quantities are retained for domestic use in the churches, at 
 funerals, etc. 
 
 In a district where these rural places are of a good class, and 
 potreros are found, it is pleasant to mount one s horse, and ride round 
 amongst them, as the owners, particularly of the better class, are 
 quite intelligent about their own business, and always kind to the 
 stranger ; having, notwithstanding their rustic life, a certain air of 
 easy politeness, peculiar to the people of the Latin race. And almost 
 the first thing you are asked, even in the humblest of these finca 
 residences, is, " Quiere cafe, Senor?" (Will you have coffee, sir), of 
 which beverage these people are very fond. The houses are often 
 very humble affairs indeed, as regards material, though they may be 
 ample in number of rooms, with numerous outbuildings. 
 
COCOANUT TREE. 
 
 It has a cylindrical stem, about one and one-half feet in diameter, 
 and from sixty to ninety feet high, with many rings marking the places 
 of former leaves, a cluster oY leaves at the top, generally curving down 
 ward, and from ten to fifteen feet in length. 
 
THE TRAVELLER S PALM. 
 
 This is a fine specimen of one variety of the palm. It is easy to 
 understand how it obtains its name, as the engraving represents travellers 
 enjoying its grateful shade. 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 501 
 
 They are usually composed of one story, roughly constructed of 
 poles, palm-leaves, and thatch, put together in such a way as to be 
 impervious to rain, yet light enough to admit plenty of air, especially 
 as the doors, if there are any, always stand open. A living-room, 
 with a sleeping-room or two, all on the same floor, which is often of 
 earth, make up the main building, while a simple roof connects it 
 with an outbuilding, where is the kitchen, in which are performed the 
 household and other duties of the women. 
 
 Many of these women, be it said to their credit, are more indus 
 trious than the men, as they attend to their domestic duties, often 
 weave cotton cloth for home consumption from the small amount of 
 cotton raised, and have a general superintendence over the place. 
 Cotton, by-the-by, though it cannot be said to be one of the products 
 of the Island, does grow in sufficient quantity to manufacture out of 
 it a rough kind of cloth, used by the country people. Every attempt 
 to cultivate it systematically has been a failure ; and yet in the Coffee 
 Mountains one may see beautiful cotton growing wild, in small lots, 
 but the moment it is attended to and looked after, strange to say, it 
 ceases to flourish. 
 
 It is upon these rural places also that the Cascarilla cosmetic 
 powder, so great a favorite with Cuban ladies, is prepared from the 
 egg-shells ; and the extent to which this is used may be imagined, 
 when it is estimated that there are over one hundred thousand pounds 
 consumed every year. 
 
 The last of the rural places we are called upon to notice is the 
 " Hacienda de Crianza," or sitio y as it is called an uncultivated, un 
 enclosed place, where the cattle are allowed to run wild, unattended 
 except by the montero, who goes about on foot, or the half-savage 
 sabanero, who, being mounted, rides in amongst the herd. Their 
 united business is to scour the fields every day, and pick out the new 
 born calves, with their mothers, and take care of them for fifteen. or 
 twenty days at the houses or sheds ; to see if there are any dead 
 animals, or to pick out those ready to send to market or kill for con 
 sumption. 
 
 "The rural population of the Island," says a Cuban author, "has 
 
502 RURUL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 rusticity, but not that boasted simplicity of the European laborer. 
 Our guajiro (countryman) is astute though frank, boastful though 
 brave, and superstitious if not religious. His ruling passions are 
 gambling (particularly at cock-fights, of which he is very fond), and 
 coffee, which he drinks at all hours ; his favorite food, pork and the 
 platano, usually roasted." 
 
 His costume consists of a pair of loose pantaloons, girdled at the 
 waist with a bit of leather, a shirt of fancy-colored linen, a handker 
 chief of silk or cotton tied around his neck, or, more frequently, 
 about his head, upon which is a broad-brimmed hat of yarey a 
 species of common palm-leaf while his usually bare feet are thrust 
 into common leather pumps or slippers. Rarely does he wear a 
 coat, even if he owns one, and his shirt is worn more generally 
 outside than inside his pants. 
 
 Takes Life Easy. 
 
 He never works regularly, nor does much else than direct the cul 
 tivation of his property, look after the cattle, or, perhaps, act as carter 
 or teamster. Sometimes he may plow, or sow a little grain, or even 
 pick fruit ; but if he employs negroes he makes them do the work. 
 Sometimes he does a little trading on his own account, and may, 
 perhaps, keep a sort of country-store and tavern, if his place is on a 
 public road. He travels on horseback, armed invariably with the 
 machete, and often carrying a sun-umbrella, taking care to stop at 
 every tavern on the road, where he is ready to talk with any one he 
 meets, or accept an invitation to drink. 
 
 La guajira (country woman) is not so talkative as the husband, 
 particularly with strangers, to whom her partially Castilian blood 
 makes her, at first, ceremonious and dignified, even rising to receive 
 them. She can mount a horse, though she usually rides with her 
 husband, sitting in front of him, upon the neck of the horse almost, 
 while his right arm encircles her. She dresses in the most simple 
 manner (often a little too much so) in a camison, or frock, with a 
 kerchief around her neck ; seldom wearing stockings, except on state 
 occasions of a ball, visit, etc., her head often being covered with a 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 503 
 
 huge straw hat when she moves about, but otherwise dressed with 
 the utmost care to display to advantage her superb hair. 
 
 These country people all have manners and customs peculiar to 
 themselves, even their food being different from that of the cities ; and 
 it is amongst them one can study the Cuban cuisine. They have but 
 two meals a day, always accompanied by coffee, which they also take 
 on rising in the morning, at night-time, and at any hour of the day 
 they fancy, or may have a guest. Civilization has found its way 
 even to the homes of these simple people ; and, on the richer and 
 larger places, English beer is now generally used, and to strangers 
 even champagne is presented. 
 
 Entertaining Guests. 
 
 So natural a custom is it with these hospitable country people to 
 entertain the guest, that, does he happen to be present when a meal 
 is announced, he is not even honored with an invitation, but he is 
 expected, as the most natural thing in the world, to seat himself at 
 the table and partake of their food, whatever it may be. To refuse 
 to do so, unless he has the excuse to make that he has lately eaten, 
 would be considered an offense. As the service of the table, in most 
 of the cities, at all the hotels, and many of the best private houses 
 partakes of the nature of French cooking, it is only in the rural parts 
 one can see the bonafide Cuban dishes. 
 
 The daily meals of the more humble farmers consist of fried pork 
 and boiled rice in the morning, and, in lieu of bread, the roasted 
 plantain. At dinner, they make use of cow-beef, jerked beef, birds, 
 and roasted pig ; but usually this meal consists of roasted plantains, 
 and the national dish of ajiaco, or what we should call an Irish stew. 
 This dish is to the Island what olla podrida is to Spain. It is com 
 posed of fresh meat, either beef or pork dried meat of either all 
 sorts of vegetables, young corn, and green plantains. It is made 
 with plenty of broth, thickened with a farinaceous root known as 
 malanga, and has also some lemon-juice squeezed into it. It is 
 toothsome, cheap, and nutritious quite equal to the French pot 
 au feu, 
 
504 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 Boiled rice is never dispensed with at any meal, and the cooking 
 of it is understood to perfection. It is used mixed in all their stews, 
 or with a simple sauce of tomatoes. El aporreado is made of half 
 raw meat, dressed with water, vinegar, salt, etc., which operation is 
 known as perdigar (or stewing in an earthen pan) ; then mashed and 
 stirred together, it is fried slightly in a sauce of lard, tomatoes, garlic, 
 onions, and peppers. Hashes are always good upon the Island town 
 or country even if one does not know who made them. The tasajo 
 brujo, or jerked beef bewitched, so called from the fact that it giows 
 so much larger in cooking, is the dish found almost everywhere, and 
 cooked in many ways. 
 
 Amusements of Country People. 
 
 It is almost always a savory dish the traveler need not be afraid 
 of, particularly if he has had army experience. There are some 
 other dishes, but with the knowledge of the above the stranger will 
 be safe to accept an invitation to dine with any of the hacendados > 
 and it will also be seen that Cuban cookery is not such a fearful thing 
 as we have been led to believe ; for little or no oil is used, and the 
 small quantity of garlic used is so disguised in other things that few 
 people could tell it. These country folks also have their special 
 amusements as well as cookery. First upon the list stand the cock 
 fights. 
 
 Every village, or pueblo, has a patron saint, for whom there is a 
 special dia de fiesta, which all the villagers and people in the vicinity 
 celebrate with masses, etc, at the village church, and afterwards by 
 games, dancing, and sports, the women taking part also as spectators 
 if in no other way. But usually they are divided into two parties, 
 each party being distinguished by the color of the ribbon it wears, 
 and which gives its name to the band. 
 
 Each party elects a queen, chosen for her grace, beauty, or good 
 style, and the admirers of each are known as vassals, and they give 
 their presence to the amusement going on. When the performers 
 belonging to one party or the other are successful, the vanquished 
 party with its queen and vassals has to render homage to the rival 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 505 
 
 queen. The goose-fight is another one of their sports, and a very 
 cruel one it is ; for in a plaza or smooth field two forked poles are set 
 up, and from one to the other a rope is stretched ; in the middle of 
 this a live goose is hung, firmly tied by the feet. 
 
 The place is now filled with spectators, while five, ten, or fifteen 
 mounted guajiros pass at full gallop in front of the goose, and 
 attempt to seize the head, which has been well greased, and separate 
 it from the body in their full career. Of course many unsuccessful 
 attempts are made, and the bird usually dies before the efforts are 
 successful, but he who succeeds in this glorious attempt is declared 
 victor. 
 
 Feasts and Celebrations. 
 
 Las loas (or prologues) are practiced in the country villages in 
 their religious feasts and civil celebrations, as processions of the 
 Holy Virgin or the Patron Saint, etc. A little girl, dressed (or 
 undressed) as an image, is conducted, publicly, in a small cart pro 
 fusely decorated with banners, flowers, and branches ; before her, 
 march on horseback four or six men, in costumes of Indians, and 
 behind, others clad as Moors. A band plays, and the procession, 
 which is composed of almost all the people of the village, when 
 arrived at the appointed place stops, and the child stands up and 
 recites or declaims her loa, a composition appropriate to the subject 
 of the celebration. 
 
 Altares de Cruz the custom of forming altars in the houses in the 
 first days of May, in order to celebrate the invention of the Holy 
 Cross, is preserved very generally in the interior of the Island, but 
 with a character almost entirely profane. The altar is erected mod 
 estly in a sleeping-room of the house, on the 3d of May, or day of 
 Santa Cruz, and on every day of the first nine, the guests gather 
 before it, to dance, sing, play, and eat and drink at times. On the 
 first night, the master of the house delivers a branch of flowers to the 
 guest that he chooses, and the latter contracts, in receiving it, the 
 obligation to re-form the altar, and pay the expenses of the next 
 night s entertainment, he himself taking the name of the godfather. 
 
 The second night arrived, the godfather or godmother renews this 
 
506 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 performance of the branch upon another victim, and it thus happens 
 that each altar has a new godfather for each night, and as every one 
 endeavors to do better than his predecessor, it happens that the last 
 night winds up the festival with a superb supper and a full orchestra. 
 
 Mamarrachos is the name given to the individuals on horseback, 
 who, in a great part of the Vuelta Arriba, ride, masked and gro 
 tesquely costumed, through the streets, during the Carnival or other 
 seasons of merry-making. Surprise parties are very numerous, not 
 only amongst the country people, but at the watering-places during 
 the season. 
 
 The country dances, however, are something especially peculiar, 
 many old-fashioned customs and figures being retained, although the 
 usual waltzes and contra-dances are danced, too, while the former are 
 less formal, being the social meetings of intimate friends or neigh 
 bors. 
 
 . The especial dance is the one known as the zapateo, and is peculiar 
 to this Island. It is danced to the music of the harp, the guitar, or 
 the songs of the guajiros, by both women and men, and has a good 
 many peculiar figures, the principal object appearing to be for the 
 women to see how many men they can tire out, as they give every 
 now and then a signal to their vis & vis " to leave," when he is 
 replaced by another. A low humming or singing is kept up by 
 those present, broken every now and then by the loud plaudits of the 
 spectators at the success of some dancer. 
 
 In many sections of the country one still finds sugar estates, 
 almost as they were originally, in the possession of owners of mode 
 rate means and little intelligence, who have not availed themselves of 
 the advantages afforded by improved machinery and scientific modes 
 of making sugar. 
 
 Some of the places, agaii., are so poor in soil and product, having 
 been worked for so many years without intermission, that the owners 
 do not deem it worth while, even if they can afford the outlay, to put 
 up new- mills and machinery, much preferring to try new land. 
 Still, the country is improving in its agricultural pursuits of all kinds, 
 though in none has it made such rapid strides as in sugar-making. 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 507 
 
 Cuba is divided, rather indefinitely, into two unequal portions 
 the " Vuelta Arriba," or higher valley, and the " Vuelta Abajo," or 
 lower valley. General usage seems to settle the point, that the 
 "Vuelta Abajo" is all that fertile low country lying to the west of 
 Havana ; at all events, it is only from that section that the true " Vuelta 
 Abajo " tobacco comes, and it is also there that one finds not only 
 sugar but coffee-growing estates. 
 
 Beautiful Section of Country. 
 
 Guanajay is a small and prettily-situated village on the grand mail 
 route, that runs through the " Vuelta Abajo." The town lies in the 
 heart of a beautiful section of country, some twelve miles from the 
 sea. To the north of it, between it and the sea, are any number oi 
 fine, large sugar estates, beautifully situated in a rolling country, 
 which extends to the very borders of the ocean, upon which, and 
 within a short drive, are the towns of Mariel and Cabanas, upon bays 
 of the same names. 
 
 The best properties known as vegas, or tobacco farms, are com 
 prised \n a narrow area in the south-west part of the Island, about 
 twenty-seven leagues long by about seven broad, shut in on the north 
 by mountains, and on the south-west by the ocean, Pinar del Rio 
 being the principal point in the district. 
 
 These vegas are found generally on the margins of rivers, or in 
 low, moist localities, their ordinary size amounting to about thirty- 
 three acres of our measurement. The half of this is also most fre 
 quently devoted to the raising of the banana, which may be said to 
 be the bread of the lower classes. A few other small vegetables are 
 raised. 
 
 The usual buildings upon such places are a dwelling-house, a dry 
 ing-house, a few sheds for cattle, and, perhaps, a small hut or two. 
 made in the rudest manner, for the shelter of the hands, who, upon 
 some of the very -largest places, number twenty or thirty, though not 
 always negroes for this portion of the labor of the Island seems to 
 be performed by the lower classes of whites. Some of the places 
 that are large have a mayoral, as he is called, a man whose business 
 
508 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 it is to look after the negroes, and direct the agricultural labors ; but, 
 as a general thing, the planter, who is not always the owner of the 
 property, but simply the lessee, lives upon, directs, and governs the 
 place. 
 
 Guided by the results of a long experience, transmitted from his 
 ancestors (says a Spanish author), the farmer knows, without being 
 able to explain himself, the means of augmenting or diminishing the 
 strength or mildness of the tobacco. His right hand, as if guided by 
 an instinct, foresees what buds it is necessary to take off in order to put 
 a limit to the increase or height, and what amount of trimming is 
 necessary to give a chance to the proper quantity of leaves. But the 
 principal care, and that which occupies him in his waking hours, is 
 the extermination of the voracious insects that persecute the plant. 
 One called cachaga domesticates itself at the foot of the leaves ; the 
 verde, on the under side of the leaves ; the rosquilla, in the heart of 
 the plant ; all of them doing more or less damage. 
 
 Fighting a Plague. 
 
 The planter passes entire nights, provided with lights, cleaning the 
 buds just opening, of these destructive insects. He has even to carry 
 on a war with still worse enemies a species of large, native ants, 
 that are to the tobacco what the locust is to the wheat. This plague 
 is so great at times, that prayers and special adoration are offered up 
 to San Marcial to intercede against the plague of ants. 
 
 Tobacco of the best quality, such as is produced in the choice vegas 
 of the " Vuelta Abajo," is known by its even tint of rich dark brown 
 and freedom from stains, burning freely, when made into cigars, with 
 a brown or white ash, which will remain as such on the cigar, some 
 times, till it is half smoked, without falling off. 
 
 The city of Havana has the honor of being the first place in which 
 tobacco was grown. Its culture commenced in 1580, there being 
 nothing heard of the now-famed "Vuelta Abajo" until 1790. This cul 
 ture is one that has increased very rapidly in the Island ; it being 
 stated upon good authority that, in 1 827, there were only five thous 
 and five hundred and thirty -four tobacco farms, while in 1846 there 
 
CONZALO deQUESADA 
 
 Charge d Affaires of the Republic of Cuba, at Washington, D. C. 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 509 
 
 were more than nine thousand, and in 1859 som e ten thousand, 
 which shows a very rapid increase indeed ; and it is now estimated 
 that the tobacco crop alone of the small portion of the Island under 
 cultivation is worth from eighteen to twenty millions of dollars 
 annually. 
 
 Thirty-three acres of ground produce about nine thousand pounds 
 of tobacco. From these figures, taking the bale at one hundred 
 pounds, and the average price of the tobacco at twenty dollars per 
 , bale (though this is a low estimate, for the crops of some of the vegas 
 are sold as high, sometimes, as four hundred dollars per bale), an ap 
 proximate idea may be formed of the profit of a large plantation, in a 
 good year, when the crops are satisfactory. 
 
 Thrifty Palm-trees. 
 
 The volante with three horses shows a peculiarity of fashionable 
 volante-riding in the country ; the calesero riding one horse and 
 guiding the other two, the three being harnessed abreast; the 
 Sefioras, meanwhile, reclining at their ease, escorted by their mounted 
 attendant. 
 
 The palm-tree is probably the most useful if not the most beautiful 
 tree in the Island of Cuba, and is found in every portion of it, giving 
 at once character and beauty to the scenery ; and that known as the 
 palma real (royal) is only one of the twenty- two varieties which are 
 enumerated in this majestic family of the tropics. Its feathers or 
 branches fall airily and gracefully from the top of a cylindrical irunk 
 of fifteen or twenty yards in height ; in the centre of the branches is 
 the heart or bud of the plant, elevating itself perpendicularly, with 
 its needle-point like a lightning-rod. 
 
 This heart, enveloped in wrappers of tender white leaves, makes a 
 most nourishing and delicious salad ; it is also boiled like cauliflower, 
 and served with a delicate white sauce. In either way it is a very 
 agreeable esculent for the table. The branches, numbering from 
 twenty to twenty-two, are secured to the trunk by a large exfoliated 
 capping, and between each scale there starts out one of the feathers 
 or branches. At the foot of these burst little buds, which open into 
 
510 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 delicate bunches of small flowers, followed by the fruit or seed, which 
 is used as nourishment for the herds of hogs on the breeding-farms ; 
 it is also used as a substitute for coffee amongst the poor people of 
 some portions of the Island. 
 
 The trunk of the palm is a cylinder or tube, filled with milky 
 fibres, which, torn off in long strips from top to bottom, are dried, and 
 make a narrow, thin kind of board, with which the peasants form 
 the walls of their rustic habitations ; while the branches serve as 
 roofs or covering to their lightly constructed houses ; though for 
 this latter purpose are also used the leaves of nearly all the palms. 
 
 The leaves serve for roofs and for lining the walls of the huts, and 
 for general purposes of shelter for the country people of Cuba ; 
 while they are used also as wrappers for bales of tobacco and other 
 materials. Torn into narrow shreds, they answer for tying packages 
 in lieu of twine. 
 
 El yarey is another of the palms that merits especial mention ; for 
 from it they make the excellent palm-leaf hats that are commonly 
 worn on the Island amongst the country people and the villagers, 
 the manufacture of which constitutes one branch of industry amongst 
 the women, and for which they get from one to two dollars per hat. 
 
 Famous Watering-Place. 
 
 If there happens to be a party of friends together they can make 
 the trip to San Diego, and pass some weeks there agreeably enough, 
 taking care, however, to carry with them some light reading, of which 
 none can be had either in Spanish or English, in the town. The 
 country around is quite picturesque, and, like almost all parts of 
 Cuba, beautiful in the novel character of its scenery and vegetation, 
 while there are numerous objects of interest to visit in the neighbor 
 hood. Of course, in a place like this, if the traveler can speak no 
 Spanish, he is thrown entirely upon his own resources, unless, indeed, 
 he makes, as he is likely to do, the acquaintance of persons who can 
 speak English. 
 
 One of the excursions which can be made in the neighborhood, is 
 that to the " Arcos de Caiguanabo/ which is the official name given 
 
RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 511 
 
 to the " doors " or caves formed by the river San Diego, passing 
 through a peculiar natural formation of rocks, a magnificent and im 
 posing arch divided by a grand pillar, the arch being about one hun 
 dred feet wide, one hundred feet long, and sixty feet high, the river 
 running quietly beneath it. 
 
 Beneath this portal, and on a level with the river, upon its right 
 bank is the first cave, the entrance to which is straight and stony, 
 and suddenly opens into a large chamber filled with quantities of 
 stalactites, or specimens of concrete petrifactions ; columns large and 
 small, and, in fact, a thousand figures of fantastic and capricious 
 shapes, which a fertile imagination can liken to a number of things. 
 This saloon receives the light by two apertures that permit also of 
 exit on both sides of the hili. 
 
 A Journey to the Caves. 
 
 Beyond the arch, and reached by a narrow path made at the foot 
 of the range of hills, for a short distance, is the second cave, which 
 presents the same characteristics as the first. From this cave there 
 is a descent, when, following the base of the hills for the distance o. 
 about one hundred and eighty feet, another ascent is made by a path 
 to the third cave, called the " Cathedral," to enter which it is neces 
 sary to have torches, as the light penetrates no farther than the en 
 trance. The dimensions of this chamber are larger than those of 
 the others. The world-wide custom of inscribing names is here 
 noticed. 
 
 The journey to these caves is made mostly on horseback, and it is 
 quite the fashion to come out on breakfast picnics here amid these wild 
 and picturesque scenes. Those who have been fortunate enough to 
 visit the caves of Bellamar, near Matanzas, will not appreciate these 
 so much. 
 
 The cave of " Taita Domingo," said to be the identical cave inhab 
 ited by that hardly-treated but diseased negro who discovered the 
 baths, is to the northeast of the town, and is a large gloomy cavern 
 not yet explored. With a good guide and much labor the traveler 
 can also make the ascent to the top of the " Loma de la Guira," from 
 
512 RURAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 which can be had a fine view of the surrounding country, and the 
 north and south seas ; the former about eighteen miles distant, and 
 the latter about twenty-five. 
 
 A walk or ride up to the " Casita de la Loma," or as it is more 
 properly called, " Hermosa Vista " (beautiful view), which is the hill 
 seen to the north from the Plaza of Isabel II., is good exercise and 
 pleasant occupation. 
 
 In addition to the shooting, which can be had in the mountains 
 there are the usual diversions in the way of balls and dancing, at 
 which there are frequently present very pretty girls, whilst for those 
 whose taste runs that way there are occasional " cock-fights." 
 
 In returning from San Diego, it is more convenient to return by 
 the western railroad. This can be very pleasantly and quickly 
 accomplished by taking a horse or volante to San Cristobal and the 
 cars from that place. 
 
Distinguished Cuban Patriots: 
 
 The Founders of Liberty. 
 
 BY GONZALO DE QUESADA, 
 CHARGE D AFFAIRES OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA. . 
 
 N* > c>ne man can be said to be the author of a revolution, which 
 is a complex result of many heterogeneous elements. 
 
 The Cuban revolution, more than the work of any one 
 man or of any group of patriots, is the natural consequence of the 
 secular and unique policy of spoliation of the mother country. Like 
 a torrent and this popular and unanimous uprising is an irresistible 
 one this revolution has been growing in magnitude and power as 
 years of constant oppression, deluded hopes, and repeated mockery 
 have passed ; its turbulent waters, at times in apparent serenity, now 
 sweep to the sea, from the gray peaks, crowned with blue, of Santi 
 ago and Pinar del Rio, over the eternal green meadows and poetic 
 palm-groves of the Central Provinces to-day in imposing desola 
 tion overwhelming the tottering ruins of mediaeval despotisms, the 
 institutions of slavery and immorality. 
 
 And when the inexhaustible Cuban fields, purer and more fertile 
 by this necessary commotion, shall teem again with the undulating 
 foliage of the canes, when our vegas and cafetals shall blossom as 
 they never did before, with their snowy flowers, and our gorgeous 
 birds shall in delightful harmony intone the hymn of love and 
 remembrance for the heroes who have fallen ; when the black clouds 
 of the blessed hurricane shall have disappeared, there shall rise on 
 his gigantic pedestal of copper and iron mountains, illumined by the 
 sun of liberty, in proud contemplation of his people, happy and 
 redeemed, the sublime figure of the truest and bravest of patriots 
 of the Cuban genius Jose Marti. 
 
 If ever there was a directing hand in a revolution it was that of 
 33 513 
 
514 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 Jose Marti in the Cuban. He had calculated the time when the 
 tempest would break forth, and had prepared the conditions so that 
 the torrent would not find any obstacles in its way ; he had prophe 
 sied its march and triumph. The originality of this extraordinary 
 man consisted in this intuition, in this ability to forecast the events 
 which were to follow with such mathematical exactness. 
 
 His life is like the symbol of his country s history ; in his diverse 
 and versatile accomplishments, in the salient virtues of his character, 
 he embodied those of his native land ; even in his glorious death and 
 his immortality we see the future of Cuba which must give even her 
 blood to conquer her deserved place among the great. 
 
 A Noble Patriot. 
 
 Marti was born when Cuba was still under the painful impression 
 of the execution of Lopez and Aguero, two years before the liberal 
 Catalan Pinto was garroted for aspiring to Cuba s independence. Of 
 Spanish parents, Marti was animated, always, as are all the Spaniards 
 and Cubans who fight to-day for the tri-color flag, by the highest 
 aims ; he did not and could not hate the Spaniards as individuals ; he 
 wanted Cuba for all the honest inhabitants of the Island ; he would 
 sever the connections between an old country, incapable by its con 
 stitution and traditions to understand modern life and to keep pace 
 with civilization, and a new country situated in the very heart of a 
 continent devoted to progress and freedom. 
 
 He would drive from the victim the vampire which has for five 
 centuries sucked her best blood ; he would make Cuba independent 
 of Spain ; he would not exterminate his ancestors, as {he ancestors 
 would exterminate his children ; he would constitute a nation of 
 cordiality, of enterprise ; father and child reconciled under a gener 
 ous regime ; the laboring peasant of Spain, employing his energies 
 in a better work than butchering his cousins, and his cousins dignified 
 and raised to freemen ; where all, whatever be their race, creed or 
 nationality, could live in peace and prosperity. 
 
 From his Valencian father, an officer in the Spanish army, there 
 came to Marti that decision and bravery which stood by him in many 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 515 
 
 a dark hour of his existence ; from his mother he inherited that 
 tenacity and virtue which overcame all the difficulties of his life, 
 filled with agony and almost a constant struggle from his childhood 
 to his early grave. 
 
 Born in the Capital, where vice finds an easier hold, Marti saw 
 with his own eyes the subtle plans of Spain to enervate the Cuban 
 youth by offering all the facilities of prostitution, and at the same 
 time undermining his manhood by gambling in all its forms : the 
 Royal lottery which Spain authorizes because she derives from it a 
 large income, the Monte, the Chinese dens, the cock-pits ; by tempt 
 ing him with voluptuous music and dance ; by discouraging every 
 legitimate pastime, anything that could strengthen or elevate him ; 
 and Marti s life was the immaculate example, in his school and col 
 lege days and in his subsequent career, of virility and virtue. 
 
 Story of His Early Life. 
 
 His early years were passed in the country, where he acquired that 
 love of nature which afterwards was revealed in his poetry; he was a 
 precocious child whom it was impossible to keep away from books ; 
 many a time he was surprised in the stillness of the night by his 
 parents, who looked with disfavor on his literary proclivities, reading 
 by the light of the moon or by the phosphorescence of the Cocuyos, 
 fire beetles, a stray volume of Dumas "The Three Musketeers, 5 or 
 an old edition of the Quixote or some sonnets of Fray Luis de Leon. 
 
 Thus his inclinations for the romantic, as well as for the highest 
 models, commenced when he could hardly spell ; his first verses were 
 his first punishments ; he was to be a clerk and not a poet, and he was 
 chastised ; but his imagination, his love of the beautiful, his exquisite 
 taste afterwards gave remarkable fruits. 
 
 The family, which was well-to-do, was forced to come to Havana. 
 Marti, from his open-air surroundings, was now to become, not yet 
 thirteen years of age, an office boy, thrown into the company of an 
 arrogant and stupid Spanish shop-keeper and of vulgar emigrants, 
 who looked on the little Creole with disdain and jealousy. The boy 
 mastered arithmetic wonderfully, and in a few weeks he was keeping 
 
516 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 the books of the firm ; he was doing all the work, while the relatives 
 and friends of the foreign proprietor were getting all the benefits of 
 his industry. 
 
 But the lad was of steel ; he was helping his family, the father was 
 yielding slowly ; he had consented to his going, after business hours, 
 to the school of Mendive, the famous Cuban poet. Marti did not 
 complain ; the old booksellers had become his friends ; they would 
 allow him to handle the old tomes and the new volumes, which it was 
 his custom to care for as if they were human beings, and would won 
 der at the brawny youngster, who would devour a work standing in 
 front of those cases which were his only temptations. Marti was 
 happy because an old wig-maker, seeing his fondness for the drama, 
 would send him with the blonde tresses for the leading lady, or the 
 fierce mustachios for the villain, and there behind the scenes he could 
 follow the plays and comedies, which years afterwards he could 
 repeat from memory. 
 
 Thrown into Prison. 
 
 There sprung up between Marti and his master, Mendive, a most 
 loyal friendship; Marti afterwards became his favorite pupil, the 
 manager of the school, and in 1869, when the delicate poet was con 
 fined to prison for his political opinions, it was the tender regard for 
 his necessities, the devotion with which Marti attended to his family 
 and the gentleness and constant affection of the grateful boy, which 
 consoled the venerable educator in his hours of trial. 
 
 It was shortly afterwards that the martyrdom of Jose Marti com 
 menced. He was sixteen, when he published his first clandestine 
 newspaper, in Havana, in favor of the revolution; for this, for his 
 essay of a tragedy in which he symbolized the Cuban struggle, and 
 for his disinterested action of claiming, in order to save a friend, the 
 authorship of an article against the Government, he was thrown into 
 prison, the first reward of the Cuban for his love of Country ! 
 
 So proud was he that he refused from his parents, Spanish, who 
 did not sympathize with his ideas, any aid ; so rebel was he that he 
 would not let his mother ask for pardon in his name ! On being 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 517 
 
 exiled to Spain, he fearlessly exposed before the metropolis, without 
 complaining of his own experiences, the horrors that he had seen 
 committed : the old men bastinadoed to death, the innocent chMdren 
 wounded by the swords, the contemptible vices fomented by their 
 keepers, the men who died for want of food, the sick agonizing, i&. 
 the midst of the laughter of their tormentors. 
 
 All this he put into pages which are to-day just as true as they 
 were a quarter of a century ago, and which would constitute by them 
 selves a catalogue of crime sufficient to call forth the indignation of 
 civilized people. The remedy which he then asked for these abuses, 
 moved not by the love for his compatriots, but by his pity for human 
 beings, is still forthcoming ; the same atrocities depicted, the same 
 terrible deeds are of daily occurrence in the same blood-stained Morro, 
 in the unhealthy Cabanas, in the overcrowded and filthy jails. 
 
 A Brilliant Scholar. 
 
 By dint of perseverance, with his once robust health shattered by 
 the twelve months spent in physical and moral torture, supporting 
 himself by the few lessons which he gave, he conquered from an 
 adverse faculty at Saragossa, desirous of his failure, first his degree 
 of Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, and very soon after that of Bache 
 lor of Laws. 
 
 He went to Madrid ; in the very Capital he drew that touching 
 invitation to prayer for the souls of the eight students shot in Havana 
 in 1871, and on the morning of that anniversary there was no church 
 or public building in the Spanish metropolis, on which the tremen 
 dous accusation was not affixed; this was the courageous act of the 
 few surviving companions and of Jose Marti. 
 
 When the Republic was established, a Republic which proved 
 better than anything else the incapacity of the Spaniards to govern 
 themselves, Marti raised his voice against an impossible declaration 
 of the Cubans in favor of the Spanish Republic, which was aimed to 
 weaken the Cuban Revolution. For seven hours the young orator, 
 with wonderful eloquence and convincing logic, thwarted the plans of 
 the enemies of the war. The museums where he studied art, and 
 
518 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 the theatre of which he was so fond, were the only amusements 
 which his hard and reduced life permitted. 
 
 He*was more than a friend to the Cuban young men studying in 
 the universities, an adviser who practiced what he preached, a 
 quiz-master, a nurse and a faithful companion. Many a one to-day 
 recalls the abnegation with which he cared for them when ill, how he 
 would scold them when they left their books, how he established a 
 lodge for the Cubans, in which night classes were given to the 
 children of Madrid. Many a physician and lawyer to-day earns his 
 living with the diploma that Jose Marti made them obtain ! 
 
 Preparing for a New Uprising. 
 
 In 1873, he escaped and went to Mexico, where he called his 
 family to his side and worked for their support. He is remembered 
 there by the brilliancy of his journalism, by the refined talent which 
 he showed in the drama, by his feeling verses and by his magnificent 
 orations. Unwilling to accept any Government position which 
 would prevent him from working for the interests of Cuba, he never 
 theless accepted the representation of the workingmen in a labor 
 congress. 
 
 He now visited Central America. In Guatemala he became Pro 
 fessor of Philosophy in the University and wrote a historical drama 
 on the independence of that section of America. 
 
 When peace was signed at " El Zanjon," he returned to Havana. 
 He knew that this was only a temporary armistice ; that the Cubans 
 had been duped ; that the war would be kindled again ; that it was 
 necessary to commence on the morrow of the defeat, to accumu 
 late the elements for an uprising which was sooner or later to come. 
 His voice rang with clarion tones in the literary societies; he refused 
 to enter the Home Rule Party, knowing how futile would be its 
 efforts, and on becoming known that if sent to the Spanish Cortes, 
 he would demand for the good of Spain as much as for the Island, 
 their complete separation, his name was withdrawn from the list of 
 candidates ; nevertheless there were then men in the Province of 
 Santiago de Cuba who would only cast their votes for him. 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 519 
 
 Marti became the centre of the new conspiracy ; General Blanco, 
 seeing the danger of having such a man within the Island, sent him 
 to Spain in confinement ; from there he escaped by way of France and 
 arrived in New York City, where with General Calixto Garcia he 
 prepared a new invasion of the Island. After its failure he went to 
 Venezuela, where he devoted himself to teaching and to newspaper 
 work ; but not submitting to the exigencies of Guzman, he returned 
 to New York City, where he established himself definitely in 1880, 
 until, in the month of January, 1895, he left on his last voyage. 
 
 In these fifteen years the amount of his labors was marvelous ; his 
 unequaled activity exerted itself in many walks ; but whether as a 
 teacher, a poet, an author, a diplomat or an orator, all converged to 
 place the cause of Cuba before the world, and to acquire sympathies 
 for her impending revolution. 
 
 Masterly Essays and Orations. 
 
 In the " Hour " he wrote, in his then quaint English, delicious 
 articles on art, and that generous American, Mr. Charles A. Dana, 
 patronized him, offering him the columns of his paper, where he 
 wrote memorable articles on art and literature. 
 
 His labor as a correspondent for South and Central American 
 newspapers is a complete review of all the contemporaneous events 
 in the United States. These articles, when collected into a book, 
 will form one of the most profound, entertaining and just studies oi 
 this country. But Marti, in the midst of this work with which he 
 earned his bread, had time to write the tenderest thoughts in poetry to 
 his child, to publish, in some lines which he entitled " Simple Verses/* 
 the decisive moments of his life, and in his oratory and prose of fire, 
 brilliant with images and filigree composition, he put all that colos 
 sal mind of his, with its new and high ideas, and his soul as grand, as 
 brave as his imagination was vivid and rich. 
 
 The Spanish-American Republics vied with each other to do him 
 honor and to offer him a permanent home, but he lived not for posi 
 tion or wealth, but for his country ; and this man, who had been poor 
 all his life, when he was rewarded by Argentina and Uruguay with 
 
520 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 their consulates, which allowed him to live more comfortably, to 
 give more time to the colored Cubans whom he used to teach in a 
 small room in an out-of-the-way street of New York City, and to be 
 still more charitable and kind to those who would never go away 
 from his door unaided, when Marti was the official representative 
 of those Republics, and it was necessary to either give up his welfare 
 or his convictions as a Cuban, then this great man preferred to re 
 main with his only means of livelihood, which was a class in a night- 
 school, than to cease being a patriot. 
 
 Revolution in the Air. 
 
 His pure, his sincere, his noble life was indeed devoted to Cuba. 
 For her he had suffered imprisonment and banishment ; now he was 
 to commence the final labor of bringing together the Cubans within 
 the Island and abroad, organized in such a manner that when the 
 hour arrived for the uprising the soldiers of freedom would not want 
 the arms with which to make effective their enthusiasm. . Marti had 
 an exquisite nervous temperament, and had at the same time that 
 rarer quality of being able to bridle his impulses, and the even more 
 difficult gift of knowing how long to wait and when to strike. In 
 three years he put in tangible shape what he had been preparing for 
 so many. And it was time, because the people of Cuba had now 
 reached the point which Marti had foretold, when the Home Rule 
 Party could no longer restrain the natural indignation of a long- 
 deceived country ; when the veterans of the last revolution were pre 
 paring their arms ; when the youth of this generation vigorous and 
 determined were already exercising themselves for the battle of the 
 future ; when there floated over the Island the soul of that protest, 
 which was now again to drench with blood the most unfortunate, the 
 most martyrized of American lands. 
 
 Marti was ready. While others hoped and waited with their arms 
 crossed, the visionary, the lunatic, as he was called by some of his 
 skeptical countrymen, had done the work for all. He had estab 
 lished the Cuban Revolutionary Party upon whose bases and by 
 laws he had united all the Cuban Revolutionary elements ; he had 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 521 
 
 collected slowly but surely the money with which to make the first 
 stand. 
 
 At his words, as of an apostle, the heroes of the last decade had 
 answered that when the moment came their places would not be va 
 cant ; the loved leaders who more than once had led them to victory, 
 did not shrink from this new proof of their loyalty to the cause ; the 
 gray-haired General-in-Chief felt that he could still mount with dash 
 his war charger ; his brave lieutenants, the bronzed giants of the 
 East ; the old companions of hardships, of victory and of hope, all 
 responded. 
 
 Marti may not have made the Revolution, but he was the one who, 
 thoroughly disinterested, brought together in a sublime embrace those 
 of yesterday and to-day, those who wield the sword without which no 
 nation can attain its independence, and those who will make the 
 laws, without which no independence can be maintained nor the 
 Republic founded. 
 
 Still Enthusiastic for Freedom, 
 
 The temporary drawback that he received when the vessels in 
 which he was to take the arms and the leaders to Cuba were cap 
 tured, could not discourage his stout heart. The day he saw all his 
 plans fall to the ground, through treachery or cowardice, on that 
 day when he was so great in his suffering, he turned to the only 
 friends in whom he confided, to the venerable Tomas Estrada Palma, 
 to his faithful " brother," Benjamin J. Guerra, to whom this revolu 
 tion owes so much, to Horatio S. Rubens, the distinguished Ameri 
 can lawyer, who has been the truest ally of Cuba, and to myself, his 
 " son," and only asked, full of emotion : " Do you have faith in me 
 still ? Will you help me again ?" 
 
 When I asked in his name these very questions, six weeks after 
 wards, to the thousands of our countrymen who had already contri 
 buted so liberally to the party, the answer was unanimous and effec 
 tive. Marti, who had left for Santo Domingo, with Generals Collazo 
 and Jose M. Rodriguez, to see General Gomez and inform him of the 
 condition of affairs, found on his arrival there that the Cubans loved 
 
522 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 him more than ever; that they had absolute confidence in his words ; 
 that they would continue to support him ; that they gave him the 
 funds with which to go with the Commander-in-Chief to the Island. 
 
 The Island, surprised as well as Spain, at the magnitude of the 
 plans of Marti, ripe and impatient, was clamoring for the word. 
 When the letters of Marti, which I took to Key West, and from there 
 were sent by a trusted messenger across, were received in Cuba, 
 Generals Gomez and Marti were getting ready for their departure. In 
 those last days when Marti was with me, in January of 1895, I saw 
 him in another light, so different from the others before, and the man 
 grew in grandeur ; indeed, it could be said of him, that to know him 
 was to appreciate him, to know him well was to love him forever. 
 
 And it could not be his enthusiasm of a believer, nor his dreams as 
 patriot, nor his eloquence, nor his constant and unobtrusive teaching 
 tvhich drew those who were around him more closely to his heart. 
 No ; those were times of doubt, of discouragement and of defeat, and 
 yet who could fail to admire that man who would not leave his friends 
 alone in trouble, in Florida, but would rush to share with them their 
 sadness ? 
 
 His Love for Cuba. 
 
 Who does not admire this man when you see him ? Who would 
 not feel his heart ache when at night, after the day s worry and work, 
 he would try to rest? His fertile brain was no more under the con 
 trol of his strong will, and he gave vent to those rending wails in 
 which he exclaimed, " The traitor, how he struck the bosom of Cuba! " 
 Only then, in that kind of somnolence, did I ever here him complain. 
 
 The last two weeks of his life in New York he passed at my house, 
 unknown, only to his few trusted friends. In the midst of the blow 
 no one caressed my little child with such softness ; no cavalier could 
 be more polite to the ladies ; no one more mindful of the comforts of 
 others. In the evening, he, whose thoughts were only in Cuba and 
 was fretting under the delay, would read to them in his melodious 
 and sonorous voice the superb lines in which he has translated Moore s 
 " Lalla Rookh," and then he would prepare the chocolate ; while he 
 waited for the milk to boil he would read Franklin s autobiography. 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 523 
 
 The remembrance of his last farewell on board of the steamer, of 
 his kiss of good-bye, open now the fountains of my heart. Marti 
 was to enter in the last phase of his varied and splendid career. 
 Only one thing could be said of him he had not proved his valor 
 in the field ; he had never fought with rifle or sword. 
 
 In a small schooner, on the first of April, Marti, General Gomez, 
 Generals Angel Guerra, Paquito Borrero, Cesar Salas and a domini- 
 can, Marcos Rosario, left from a desert shore on the frontier of 
 Hayti. The passages were filled with men of war ; the Spanish Con 
 suls were advised of their movements ; the captain was a scoundrel ; 
 he brought them to Inagua, where the crew at the instigation of the 
 mate deserted ; it was impossible to obtain any seamen ; the Cubans 
 were trapped in the arid Island ; they could not possibly reach Cuba, 
 and Cuba was desperate, expecting their promised coming. 
 
 Landed by Night. 
 
 When General Gomez was writing, " I have lost all hope !" Marti 
 had made arrangements with a steamer that took them to Hayti ; 
 here they had to hide, for fear of arrest by the authorities ; another 
 vessel took them there. On the night of the nth of April, the six 
 men, in a row-boat, were placed on the coast of Cuba. They rowed 
 with all their life ; the lady hands of Marti directed one of the oars ; 
 in a short time they landed ; Marti had kept his word ; he had prac 
 ticed what he preached ; he was in his place ! 
 
 His letters describing the landing ; the welcome which the 
 Cuban forces in that section gave him; his appointment as Major 
 General of the army; his excursion through the East; his judgment 
 of men and things ; his faithful pictures of nature, are literary gems. 
 Wherever he went he was received with admiration and love; 
 in his excursions through the East he met with enthusiastic recep 
 tions, and with demonstrations of warm affection. Marti spoke to 
 the assembled patriots ; his orations were now short harangues, full 
 of that irresistible magnetism that swayed the masses ; they were 
 like the sparks of the clashing of the machete and the sabre ; 
 they were delivered from the saddle of battle to the defenders of 
 
524 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 liberty ; they are engraved in the minds of those legions never to 
 be forgotten. 
 
 The statesman now revealed himself. On leaving Santo Domingo 
 he gave to Cuba his famous declaration of principles of the revolu 
 tion, dated at Monte Christi, on the 25th of March ; in paragraphs 
 in which every phrase is packed with ideas, in a massive language, 
 he proclaimed the ability of the Cubans to carry on the war, their 
 capacity for creating a stable government the day after the victory, 
 the antagonism between the mother country and the colony, due to 
 their peculiar relations, the belief and proof that in Cuba there could 
 neither be * military despotism nor a war of races, the assurance that 
 the Spaniard would find in the Cuban not an enemy, but a friend, and 
 the determination of the patriots to renew the war, with its conse 
 quent sufferings and miseries, not for a mere dream or poetic aspira 
 tion of independence, but because the dignity and salvation of the 
 country demanded it, and because the Cubans were convinced, after 
 years of patient and useless waiting, that only by fire and sword 
 could the happiness and freedom of the Island be obtained. 
 
 Concealed in a Hut. 
 
 In the month and a half that he breathed the invigorating air of 
 our republic, Marti spent most of his time, while not on the inarch, 
 in the humble hut of the peasant, writing on a board of palm those 
 decrees calling the resident Spaniards to help make the nationality of 
 their children, promising that the property of friends and neutrals 
 would be protected ; and above all the one prescribing that any one 
 presenting himself to any Cuban chief with any proposition of peace, 
 other than that based on absolute independence, should be sum 
 marily tried as a traitor. His last public utterances, embodied in a 
 lengthy and lucid document, appealing to the justice of republicans 
 and of America, was published in the United States on the iQth of 
 May, the very day when the prime founder of Cuba was sealing his 
 words with his blood, when Jose Marti was dying like a soldier! 
 
 " Under the palms, on a white steed, with my face to the sun," as 
 he wished it, he fell. There, where our only majestic river, the 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 525 
 
 Cauto, opens its arms, where from the rising ground, the valleys, like 
 a motherly bosom, invite the eternal rest, canopied by a gray firma 
 ment, there, where the world seems to dilate, Jose Marti battled for 
 the last time against Spanish tyranny. 
 
 The Cuban troops had just heard his words of faith; the moun 
 tains still echoed with the applause ; now he was to march West to 
 fan the embers into a conflagration in the Central provinces, to 
 establish the Civil Government. But the enemy has been advised by 
 a spy of the presence of the Cubans ; the camp appears surrounded ; 
 the Commander-in-Chief mounts hurriedly and goes to the front ; he 
 is followed by his gallant lieutenants. Gomez tells Marti to wait for 
 his return. Jose Marti is not the man to remain quiet while others 
 fight and are in danger. " A Major-General in the Cuban Army can 
 not stay behind." 
 
 A Martyr to Freedom. 
 
 While Gomez is attacking one of the flanks of the Spaniards which 
 is completely broken, General Jose Marti advances with a few fol 
 lowers by another road ; he charges ; his spirited horse carries him 
 ahead of his men ; it is his first engagement, it is his last victory ; he 
 rolls from his horse, fallen, wounded ; his breast is riddled with 
 bullets ; the murderous lead entering under his chin has disfigured 
 the firm mouth ; the heavy mustache is burnt ; his golden tongue is 
 forever silent ! 
 
 Let us hope that it is false that he was picked up by his enemies, 
 unconscious, but still with life, and that they cruelly ended his 
 existence. Let us hope that it is false, for the honor of those officers 
 who barefacedly appropriated his ring and his time-piece and who 
 did not respect even the papers which he had next to his bleeding 
 heart ! 
 
 To expose the deformed mass of human flesh, in order to terrorize 
 his countrymen and to hypocritically speak before his corpse is not 
 chivalry. Real chivalry cannot exist in men who desecrate and 
 plunder the body of the generous opponent ! 
 
 The cemetery of the City of Santiago, in the Eastern end of Cuba, 
 
526 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 is the depository of the mortal remains of Jose Marti, born in 
 Havana, in the Western end of Cuba ; but over all the Island there 
 palpitates with the same patriotism and fervor to-day as a year ago, 
 as it will while a single Cuban lives, the spiritual Jose Marti, who 
 guides, from above, our armies to victory ; who consoles the suffer 
 ing, the exiled, the orphan, the widow ; who watches with unceasing 
 vigilance for the welfare of his children ; who welcomes his brothers- 
 in-arms who have joined him in the heaven of immortality I Jose 
 Marti, oh father ! you live in us, you can only die when, consumed by 
 the flames or submerged in the waves, Cuba shall be no more ! 
 
 General Maximo Gomez. 
 
 Who is this wiry man, tall, sun-burnt by twenty years of fighting, 
 with gray hair, mustache and imperial ; who, alone in his tent, leans 
 his well-formed head on his hands, resting on the handle of his erect 
 sword ? Who is this warrior who has given orders that no one shall 
 enter his pavilion while he laments the loss of his friend ? It is the 
 dominican, it is the Cuban General-in-Chief, Maximo Gomez. More 
 distressed by the loss of Marti than by his wounds, he prefers to 
 grieve alone for his noble companion. Suddenly he rises; he gives 
 orders to his aids, he is on the march again to the West ; the way to 
 do honor to the memory of the illustrious Cuban is to continue and 
 finish the work. 
 
 Gomez rides silently for many days ; his officers do not speak to 
 him ; they know that he is thinking of the blow which will prevent 
 Spain from taking moral advantage of the death of Marti. With his 
 eyes of an eagle he chooses the direction ; with the cunningness of 
 the fox he covers his tracks ; when the Spaniards are announcing his 
 death and the end of the revolution, the veteran General sends his 
 horse across the river Jobabo ; he is in Puerto Principe ; he has 
 caught Martinez Campos napping ; two days afterwards he embraces 
 again the grand old man of Cuba, Salvador Cismeros Betancourt, the 
 ex-Marquis of Santa Lucia ; the veterans flock to his standard ; it is 
 here that his renowned exploits of Las Guasimas, Naranjo, La Sacra 
 and Palo Seco took place ; it is here that he will mature his plans. 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 527 
 
 When his old companions of sixteen years ago surround him in 
 the starred evenings to hear him speak in his charming manner, he 
 becomes reminiscent; he tells them how, when he sheathed the 
 sword, he went away without a dollar to Panama with his Cuban 
 >vife and his Cuban children ; " one of them will soon be fighting by 
 my side," he exclaimed with pride; how he struggled with the fevers, 
 how he wandered striving hard to make ends meet in Central 
 America, Jamaica and Santo Domingo. 
 
 But he does not say that he has abandoned his plantation, that he 
 has left his family to the care of his sons ; he does not tell how his 
 wife prefers to live poorly from their work rather than accept from 
 the grateful Cubans any money which " can be employed in buying 
 war material ; " he never relates the abnegation of that model home 
 and when he is through his peregrinations hebrusquely says : "and I 
 am here again." " When I gave up in 1868 my uniform and rank as 
 Major of the Spanish Army, it was because I knew that if I kept 
 them I would have some clay to meet my own children in the field 
 and combat against their just desire for liberty. Now, with my many 
 years, I have come to lead and counsel the new generation to 
 ultimate victory." 
 
 Iron Hand and Velvet Glove. 
 
 It is that confidence in the cause he defends which has made the 
 rigid disciplinarian the idol of his soldiers ; it is that generosity with 
 which he has served Cuba which had conquered for him their eternal 
 gratitude. He who has refused to preside over the destinies of his 
 native land because that of his adoption is not free, is well worthy of 
 being considered, as every native of the Island considers him, as the 
 very best of Cubans. 
 
 General Gomez s reputation does not merely rest as a fortunate 
 guerrilla chief; he is a tactician capable of planning an intricate cam 
 paign and of organizing large bodies of troops which he can manage 
 with consummate ability. But General Gomez believes in attaining 
 the end with the means at his disposal, and he is to be praised for 
 that patience with which he has waited, and waits, until his raw 
 
528 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 troops are organized, and until he has equipped them with arms cap 
 tured hrom the enemy. 
 
 He is fond of sudden surprises which yield him excellent results. 
 In a circular operation which he made in Puerto Principe he collected 
 enough weapons for his Camagueyan cavalry ; yet these brilliant 
 coups which make him dangerous are apparently followed by periods 
 of inaction; for almost three months during the summer of 1895, he 
 seems to have retired from active work, but when he had finished his 
 calculations, he mounted his horse, and, together with General 
 Antonio Maceo, paraded through Puerto Principe, Santa Clara and 
 Matanzas and encamped within sight of the Morro Castle light 
 house ! 
 
 Right, and Then Goes Ahead. 
 
 So well measured and disposed were his steps, that one hundred 
 thousand Spanish soldiers were impotent to detain him. He seldom 
 promises to do anything or prophesy, but when he does one or the 
 other he keeps his word ; he does not brag nor exaggerate like his 
 opponents, but once he makes up his mind that a certain course is 
 right he pursues it to the end. 
 
 Spain must be deprived of resources to carry on the war ; the only 
 way to do it is by preventing the sugar crops from being harvested ; 
 the Government relies on his military arm for the enforcement of the 
 order, and General Gomez, who is the first to obey and swear alle 
 giance to the civil authorities, refuses every and all advances, sternly 
 follows the instructions, whether it be foe or friend who complains, 
 and proves with his army that the Cuban Republic is the supreme 
 law of the land because it has power to see that its decrees are com 
 plied with ! And yet not one prisoner has been killed by the army 
 under him ! not even when his men are butchered ! 
 
 The affectionate interest that he takes in his soldiers is proverbial; 
 he eats what they eat ; and he sleeps where they sleep. Of his mar 
 velous energy and tireless physique, these thousand of miles which 
 he has traversed on horseback, fighting wherever the enemy would 
 dare to stand, are abundant proof that all the stories of his failing 
 health are as false as the calumny that he is a condotierri, like the 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 529 
 
 paid Generals of Spain, who come to the Island to make hay while 
 the sun shines, and who return to Spain, as more than fifty have 
 already done, as soon as by a mere scratch, or a run, or a massacre 
 of defenseless country people, they are promoted or obtain a pen 
 sioned cross. 
 
 The horses that are killed under the firm stirrup of the veteran 
 warrior, and the wounds which he receives, charging always at the 
 head of his dashing staff, only have as rewards the blessings of a 
 people, which when emancipated will call him the Liberator of Cuba ! 
 
 General Antonio Maceo. 
 
 He is a lion; and he is unconquerable. And he is the favorite child 
 of fortune. He is a mulatto and commenced life as a donkey-driver, 
 By his courage, coolness, military subordination and talents he rose 
 from the ranks to a Major- General in the last war. His worth must 
 indeed be indisputable, when against all possible drawbacks he rose 
 to s-uch high command ; the favorite disciple of Gomez, he is the 
 Lieutenant-General of the Cuban Army. The Spanish use his name 
 to prove that this is a war headed by negroes and of race tendencies. 
 
 It is well that they should thus revenge themselves from their 
 feared foe ; it is easier than to face him like the brave Spanish Gen 
 eral Santoscildes, and to be killed ; it is far better to remain like 
 Weyler in the comfortable palace, protected by thousands of soldiers 
 and Krupp guns, than to be carried away on a litter, disguised, as 
 " our glorious " Martinez Campos was at Bayamo, to save himself 
 from being captured, or to retreat in a panic at the second trial in 
 Caliseo ; it is safer than to be wounded as General Cornell was in the 
 breast, or have the leg bored as General Luque, or be in peril of 
 drowning as Col. Devos was by being whipped into the sea ! That 
 is the " mulatto," as they contemptuously refer to him, their terror 
 and constant nightmare. 
 
 Antonio Maceo is not only a lucky fighter he is a tenacious ad 
 versary who can never be bought. I said he was a lion, and I recall 
 him now in the arena of Cuba, in his Eastern mountains as the Coli 
 seum, for eleven months after the treaty of peace holding out with a 
 34 
 
530 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 thousand faithful against thirty thousand soldiers, against all Spain, 
 And I said he was unconquerable, for the lion did not surrender ; he 
 made no terms with the master ; the master was satisfied to let him 
 go in peace. 
 
 With Gomez he attempted to initiate another movement in 1884; 
 the time was not ripe when Marti went to see him at Costa Rica, 
 where he was trying to develop a great colony ; he found him willing 
 and anxious. With his fearless brother Jose and the lamented Flor 
 Crombet, he landed in April, 1895, in Baracoa. Hosts went to 
 receive him; he was again in the arena ; but now the spectators were 
 his allies, and the old master, Martinez Campos, was the one who went, 
 not with honors as did Maceo, but disgraced, discouraged, defeated ! 
 
 In these years of exile, General Antonio Maceo has traveled ex 
 tensively, has mastered several languages, has studied the military 
 theories, which he has already applied ; has attained an enviable de 
 gree of culture and writes in a most concise and elegant style. He 
 is a self-made man; a self-made great man. His herculean figure has 
 been the centre of attraction of this revolution ; around him the best 
 families of Cuba fight ; he has been the scourge of the Spaniard, the 
 support of the revolution, and the patriot army honors him. 
 
 Generals Calixto Garcia, Serafin Sanchez, Francisco Car- 
 rillo and Jose Maria Rodriguez. 
 
 Cuba has many other distinguished leaders, who, if the misfortunes 
 of war should deprive her of the great commanders, would take their 
 places and go on with the campaign where it was left by them. 
 Garcia, Sanchez, Carrillo and Rodriguez are veterans of the last revo- 
 tion and are identified with the present plans. Their names are a 
 guarantee of their devotion and a convincing proof that the families 
 of position and respect are as much interested in the success of the 
 war as the masses of the people. 
 
 GENERAL CALIXTO GARCIA, for seven years, to 1875, was the Chief 
 of the Eastern Department ; under him, the Maceos and the expert 
 General Rabi, learned the art of war. 
 
 He was fond of large engagements and of attacking the important 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 531 
 
 towns. At a critical period of the revolution, by a series of rapid and 
 succsssful operations around Holguin, Jiguani and Manzanillo, where 
 he is the idol, he did a great deal to restore the morale to the forces. 
 Surprised and surrounded by a Spanish column, with only his escort, 
 the victor of Los Melones fought desperately until he saw that he 
 could not escape ; then he placed the muzzle of his revolver under his 
 chin and discharged the last chamber the bullet came out between 
 the eyebrows. 
 
 For many months he hung between life and death, but finally 
 recovered. He was sent to Spain as a prisoner of war; in 1879, after 
 the peace, he came to New York City, from where he took a small 
 expedition to Cuba in the hope of renewing the struggle. He arrived 
 too late ; without any response he gave up, so as to save his few sur 
 viving companions. Banished again to Spain, he supported his family 
 by giving lessons his refined education alone saving him from 
 hunger. A believer in Marti, he placed himself under his orders. 
 Near the close of 1895, evading the Spanish authorities, he escaped to 
 France, and from there came to this country. 
 
 He Outlives Shipwreck. 
 
 Various attempts were made to send him to the Cuban army ; that 
 of the " Hawkins," sunk by paid hands of Spain, which declared that 
 General Garcia would never reach the Island. In the terrible ship 
 wreck, in which ten lives were sacrificed by Spanish criminality, the 
 figure of the chief stood out magnificently, washed by the furious 
 waves ; he stood on the bridge, tall, massive, with his fair face in its 
 frame of silvery hair and beard, and in tones which were heard above 
 the rumbling of the sea and the whistling wind, he said : " My boys, 
 it is the same to perish here as there, it is for Cuba ! " 
 
 But he was not to perish ; after another attempt, in which he was 
 arrested, he arrived in Cuba on the 25th of March, with his eldest 
 son by his side. 
 
 GENERAL SERAFIN SANCHEZ is from Sancti Spiritus; of portly 
 appearance, of serene valor, an organizer, and a man of intelligence 
 and education ; he is at the same time a man on whom the new 
 
532 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 republic can count for its definite order and progress. His life in 
 its activities is an example of what all these soldiers will do when 
 Cuba is free. Like some of the others, he became a planter first, and 
 afterwards was employed in the cigar factories of Key West ; he did 
 not dishonor himself by that ; he preferred to earn his living rather 
 than to receive it from his compatriots. In the prime of his life ; from 
 him, as well as from Carrillo and Rodriguez, much is to be expected 
 in this war. 
 
 Skillful Commanders. 
 
 CARRILLO AND RODRIGUEZ. By an association of ideas easily ex 
 plained, it is difficult to speak of one without thinking of the other ; 
 yet the first was born in Remedies, and the other in Santiago. Be 
 sides being contemporaneous, their only resemblance, physically, is 
 that they are both short of stature and wear a beard like Stonewall 
 Jackson, in common with whom they have many traits. Carrillo is 
 stout, with a round head, prematurely bald, a high forehead, soft blue 
 eyes, a perfect nose, a small mouth, a pronounced blonde beard and a 
 magnificent manly face. 
 
 Mayia, as his friends call Rodriguez, has a long head, thick black 
 hair and beard, tinned with white here and there : the narrow fore- 
 
 " o 
 
 head broadens ; the gray eyes sparkle ; the nose is of a decided tem 
 per ; his body is thin, almost emaciated ; he walks painfully, his knee 
 cap was shattered by a bullet at the charge in which he covered him 
 self with laurels at Naranjo ; he has never since recovered the full use 
 of his leg; and he fought four years in that condition, and when 
 Gomez remonstrated that he could not bring with him an invalid, the 
 subordinate hardly controlled himself, but said, sadly: " General, if 
 you do not take me, I will die ; if you do not give me the means, I 
 will go across in a boat." The General sent him as his personal 
 representative when the preparations were being made; after the 
 failure he returned to Santo Domingo, and landed finally in Cuba! 
 
 Carrillo and Rodriguez are the best cavalry leaders of Cuba ; they 
 are aggressive, honest, of the best military schools of Cuba ; they are 
 adored by the rank and file. It is such men on whom the new 
 generation counts for the final triumph ; while they live, others will 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 533 
 
 try to imitate them, and as General Gomez, speaking of the death of 
 Marti and Borrero, said truthfully : " Do not despair, many will have 
 to fall ; I and perhaps some of my lieutenants will not reach the end 
 of the journey, but there will be plenty who will take our places and 
 reach the goal of our ambition ! " 
 
 Salvador Cisneros Betancourt. 
 
 The "grand old man" of Cuba! There is no bluer blood in Spain 
 than his ; his estates, ruined now by confiscation and destruction, 
 were once of the most extensive of the Island ; a Cisneros and a 
 Quesada ceded to the Government the land on which is situated the 
 port of Santa Cruz in Puerto Principe. But the ex-Marquis of Santa 
 Lucia is nobler by his deeds than by his title and escutcheons. Of 
 the seventy years he has lived, fifty have been devoted to the cause of 
 liberty in his country. He came to Philadelphia when a boy and 
 graduated as a Civil Engineer, the first in his class ; few equal him in 
 mathematics. 
 
 In the United States he learned to love as all of us the institu 
 tions which give every one his due and foster the advancement of the 
 people s interest. His mind, not brilliant, but a persistent, quiet and 
 deep one, has been as steadfast in its convictions as his heart, 
 generous to the point of prodigality. El Lugareno, his relative, 
 Gaspar Betancourt Cisneros, who sowed the seeds in Puerto Principe, 
 found in the young man an ardent devotee. 
 
 Returning to his native city, he was the promoter of all that could 
 advance the material, intellectual or political prosperity of his coun 
 trymen ; he founded radical newspapers, contributing sharp articles 
 against the abuses of the authorities ; of the Lyceums he was a 
 powerful factor; of the fairs, where the improvement of the cattle 
 industries and agricultural products was encouraged, he was one of 
 the founders ; he was a benefactor. 
 
 In every separatist movement he can be found until the present ; 
 his motto seems to be, If you fail, try again. On account of the 
 attempts in 1848, he was banished ; when he came back he conspired 
 year after year, until, in 1867, the work commenced to be shaped: 
 
534 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 again he wielded the pen. He created the Revolutionary Committee 
 of Camaguey, of which he was the moving spirit. He traveled from 
 place to place bringing together the conspirators, and when on the 
 4th of November, 1868, Camaguey answered the call, the Marquis 
 led the seventy-two young men who first defied the Government. 
 
 He is not a soldier, and yet as a member of the Assembly, as Presi 
 dent of the Republic, he has gone into the thickest of the fight ; col 
 lecting the arms left by the enemy, or picking up and caring for the 
 wounded ; it is unknown that he has ever shot a cartridge ; he has 
 the highest valor; without firing he receives with imperturbable cool 
 ness the enemy s fusillade ; he was wounded in the arm in the attack 
 of Pinto. 
 
 A Wise Statesman. 
 
 But if he is not a military chief, he is one of the corner-stones of 
 the Republic ; for he jealously provides that the civil power shall 
 have its place in the embryo constitution of Cuba. In the last revo 
 lution, as in this, he insisted on having the law paramount to the 
 sword ; he is conducting the Ship of State so that in the future there 
 can never be dictators in the Island or military oligarchies, but a real 
 democracy and a republic in fact, and not in name only. 
 
 He is inflexible. After the peace he came to this country ; his 
 life was a hard fight against misery ; stooped already by hardships 
 and age, he could be seen in summer with his winter coat from 
 which he had removed the lining; he would exist on one meal a day, 
 and not very nutritious at that, but he was too proud to accept 
 charity, not because of himself, but because of his Cuba! 
 
 In those days of despair, when only a few would meet in a lowly 
 hall to honor the memories of the heroes, he used to take me, a child 
 then, he who had lost all his children and would place me by his 
 side on the wooden benches, and his bony hands would pat me 
 kindly on the shoulders, and he would say in his peculiar voice : 
 " Hear, do not allow the happiness of the American people and their 
 liberty which you enjoy, make you forget that you do not deserve 
 them until you have acquired them by your own effort ; hear well 
 and be a Cuban." 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 535 
 
 When he went back to Puerto Principe, after the last hopes of a new 
 uprising had failed in 1885, the Marquis (that is the way we affection 
 ately called him in the army) gave up his magnificent house, now 
 the Spanish Casino; divided into colonies his estates in Las Minas 
 for the use of the veterans, would not enter any political party, and 
 when a negro captain died, a Cuban soldier noted for his devotion 
 and gallantry, and it was fitting that he should have a tomb worthy 
 of his merits, it was the carriage of Cisneros that was at the head of 
 the funeral ; he helped to place the casket of the humble negro by the 
 side of those of his titled ancestors, in the niche of the Marquises of 
 Santa Lucia! 
 
 When, in 1893, he was written to, he answered that they could 
 always count upon Camaguey, but that there were no arms. This 
 was the reason why this province did not respond until June, and 
 then it was with machetes only, and very few cartridges. The vener 
 able Marquis was the first to unfurl again the flag in Puerto Principe. 
 
 The Government Well Organized. 
 
 Devoting all his energies to the formation of the Civil Government, 
 postponed on account of the death of Jose Marti, delegates from all 
 the provinces met at Jimaguayu under his chairmanship, and drew 
 the provisional constitution ; while at the same time, leaving the 
 military all liberty of action, it subordinates it to the civil delegates 
 of the people, who elect all the officers of the Republic for two years. 
 
 An indefatigable organizer, he has extended the civil machinery all 
 over the portions of the Island in control of the Cubans ; by a system 
 of prefectures regulated by wise rules, the army always finds horses 
 and food on its marches ; those who do not bear arms are employed 
 in farming and manufacturing ; a complete system of post-offices is 
 in operation throughout the Island; taxes are collected ; civil mar 
 riage determines the relations of the sexes ; the citizen is taught to 
 respect the civil functionaries, and to see them respected by the 
 military chiefs, and while the sword and the torch destroy and purify 
 the existing germs of corruption and colonial despotism, the country 
 is being prepared for a natural evolution into the life of a modern and 
 
536 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 orderly nation, without the necessity of passing through periods of 
 struggle and doubt, of disquiet, or temporary anarchy. 
 
 It is well to do away with the rotten elements, but it is the work 
 of the statesman to put in their place the solid and healthy founda 
 tions for the future. Such is the ambition and endeavor of the Presi 
 dent of the Provisional Government of Cuba, Salvador Cisneros 
 Betancourt. 
 
 Tomas Estrada Palma. 
 
 The Cuban Revolution is not only fought in Cuba; it is fought all 
 over the world, and especially in the United States. The Spanish 
 domination in America would cease the day when Madrid would be 
 cut off from Havana ; on the supply of arms and ammunition which 
 reaches the patriots, depends the rapid termination of the unequal 
 war. The representative of the Cuban Republic abroad is the col 
 laborator of most importance perhaps. 
 
 Spain must be met wherever she has her agents ; her lies and 
 detractions, propagated in press and book to dishonor the Cuban 
 cause, must be answered ; her detectives must be fooled, and war 
 material, a legitimate merchandise, must be sent to Cuba, to the 
 thousands of men who are clamoring for it ; to those patriots who 
 shed tears when they see that one ship has not brought enough for 
 all. The duel between Spain and Cuba is also an economic war; 
 wherever and whenever Spain has to spend her last millions, there 
 the battle is being waged. Every day that passes is a victory won 
 by the Cubans, for it represents so many hundred thousands of 
 dollars to the Royal Treasury, which Spain must borrow. 
 
 Her children, she does not mind if they are killed; she can replace 
 them from the poor peasantry of her deserted and impoverished 
 fields; but a dollar a dollar is one more piled to her enormous 
 debt ; with every one spent it is harder to get the loan of another. 
 So every spy, every cable, every secret service abroad, is an uncon 
 scious contributor to the bankruptcy of Spain, and Cuba s independ 
 ence. This is a duel in which the Spaniards, to win, must spend 
 money, and the Cubans use their brains. 
 
 No better man could have been chosen by the Cubans abroad to 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 537 
 
 succeed Jose Marti, than the tried patriot, Tomas Estrada Palma. 
 This selection was so ratified by the unanimous appointment he 
 received from the Constituent Assembly, as Delegate Plenipotentiary 
 of the Cuban Republic in foreign countries ; that is to say, the Gov 
 ernment gave him the amplest powers. Only on a man of the history 
 of Palma could such a confidence be conferred; but the Cubans who 
 knew well his past history, and the Americans who have learned to 
 love him in Central Valley, New York, are proud and satisfied that 
 the selection should have fallen on him. 
 
 Palma unites with the fervor of the first apostles of Cuban liberty 
 of whom he was one the mature deliberation of the man who by 
 experience knows why the last revolution did not succeed ; and his 
 labor has been directed to see that no division may arise between the 
 Cubans who are fighting in the field and the Cubans abroad, who 
 should be an auxiliary wing of the army of liberation ; and he has 
 with consummate skill softened the natural antagonisms among men, 
 overcome difficulties and brought together all the Cubans to a com 
 mon labor. While there existst his union, equal to the one in the 
 ranks, the Cuban cause is invincible. While Tomas Estrada Palma 
 remains in his present position, his name is the guarantee of such 
 
 union. 
 
 A Self-sacrificing Patriot. 
 
 The disinterestedness with which he serves his country in this 
 epoch is more to be admired than when he abandoned, young then, 
 his vast estate ; when he made his house the meeting-place for the 
 conspirators ; when he, the only son and heir, gave up all for his 
 Cuba. And he did not only suffer in those years when the fortitude 
 of constitutions, not as frail as his, was vanquished by the miseries of 
 war, but he received the cruelest of wounds. 
 
 Since then there is a tinge of sadness in his eyes. His mother 
 was, for his sake, a victim of Spanish brutality ; she could not part 
 from the only consolation of her life ; she followed him to the rebel 
 woods ; sick and an invalid she was made a prisoner ; her captors 
 dragged the unfortunate woman through the road inhumanly ; she 
 died of their ill-treatment ! 
 
538 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 Tomas Estrada for many a month bowed his head in silent despair; 
 but when Spanish soldiers were captured, he was the first to intercede 
 in their behalf; he would not insult his mother s saintly memory, her 
 virtue, her martyrdom, by revenge. They say that to-day the vener 
 able patrician keeps next to his heart a little wallet, with relics of his 
 mother s love, his treasures ; when he needs encouragement, he thinks 
 of her ; he reverently kisses the time-worn trinkets ; he sheds tears 
 and is comforted and strengthened. 
 
 Independence First, then Peace. 
 
 With the same constancy Palma loves his Cuba ; had he not been 
 captured, perhaps the Spaniards never would have had a chance to 
 present propositions of peace ; it was this little man, who, previous to 
 his Presidency, when Secretary of State, drew the " Sportuno decree," 
 .e -enacted by Marti and Gomez, incorporated in another form in Arti 
 cle X. of the present Constitution : " No peace but on the basis of 
 independence." Inflexible in its compliance, a relative of his was 
 the first to suffer its consequences, for bringing other propositions ; 
 he was tried and executed ; with Palma there are no relatives or 
 influences that can make him waver ; his conscience is his only 
 counsellor. 
 
 Sent to Spain, he was confined in a castle until the end of the war. 
 Palma refused all aid that the Government offered him ; when the 
 census was being taken he was asked his occupation. " President of 
 the Republic of Cuba," he answered proudly ; thrice, and each time 
 to a higher officer, the prisoner answered, " President of the Republic 
 of Cuba/ They could not persuade him to change his reply, either 
 by coaxing or threats ! While the Prime Minister at Madrid was 
 expecting him to confer as to the best way of dealing with separatism 
 in the Island, and to offer him a fine position in the Cuban adminis 
 tration, Tomas Estrada Palma was crossing the frontier to France in 
 a third-class coach, with hardly enough money to reach Paris. 
 
 In Honduras, where he found the affectionate companion of his 
 home, he was made Postmaster-General of the Republic, and com 
 menced his pedagogic career, to which he was, by hii kindness and 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 539 
 
 patience, more inclined than to the tricks and aggressiveness of the 
 profession of the law. 
 
 By dint of economy and perseverance he realized finally his dream: 
 the establishment of a school for Spanish Americans and Cuban 
 children in the United States, where they would be educated in the 
 midst of liberty, and see how the people govern themselves; would 
 be taught letters, as well as the love for agricultural work, and where 
 they would not lose their home customs or their veneration for the 
 fatherland. 
 
 To contemplate him there in the picturesque valley, with the 
 mountains surrounding it, in his spacious and neat home, with his 
 pupils, to whom he is an elder brother, rising with the sun, overseeing 
 the tasks of his employees, alert, benevolent, advising with paternal 
 solicitude, teaching with amiability and clearness, nursing his wards 
 and caring for them with as much interest as for his own dear ones, 
 is to believe in the existence in this world of virtue and perfection. 
 
 No Glory but that of Sacrifice. 
 
 And from this model home, from his school, from his family that 
 he adores, from his orchards, from his cows, from his lake, from tran 
 quillity and happiness, his countrymen called him to enter the turmoil 
 of revolutionary agitation, to become the bull s eye of the enemy, to 
 worry, to incessant work night and day, to the grave responsibilities 
 of a position fraught with unavoidable difficulties and with no glory 
 but that of sacrifice. Estrada Palma accepted it, and he did it con 
 scious of the obstacles in the way, of the hard road which he had to 
 travel. But could it be worse than the one which led his friend Marti 
 to martyrdom and the one of his sweet, magnanimous mother ? 
 
 For the first days he groped his way as if studying the situation; 
 the office full of envious people was not the quiet school-room with 
 the smiles of his scholars; the buzz of the city, the nervous life, the 
 unrest, the agitation took him by surprise ; but his wonderful adapt 
 ability vanquished everything; soon he had mastered the details of 
 the vast and complicated labor ; he was again not the schoolmaster, 
 but the same executive officer of twenty years ago ! 
 
540 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 An able judge of men, his initial steps were to carefully choose his 
 coadjutors. In Benjamin Guerra, he found a treasurer of that integ 
 rity which is Palma s essential requisite ; struggling people are always 
 poor, but they have sufficient if their savings are defended ; and not- 
 one cent of Cuba s money is spent but in forwarding its cause. 
 Guerra s face has much of the determination of the mastiff, and he 
 watches the money of the patriots with such tact and fidelity that he 
 has been repeatedly elected unanimously to his high position of trust. 
 Benjamin J. Guerra is besides a man of cool and wise counsel, whose 
 opinions carry weight, not only by his patriotic history, but by the 
 moderation and conservatism of his tendencies. 
 
 All in the Service of Liberty. 
 
 Mr. Palma has also had the happy faculty of not removing those 
 who have done good service or shown themselves fitted for their 
 positions. Horatio S. Rubens had been the legal adviser of Marti, 
 who implicitly confided in the young lawyer ; Palma kept, him by his 
 side. In this revolution the Americans have not as yet occupied in 
 the Cuban Army the commands which Jordan, Reeves, Johnston and 
 Humphries did in the last; but this American, Rubens, has done so 
 much for the success of the independence of the Island, that his 
 name, cherished by Generals, cheered by the soldiers, dear to the 
 Cubans abroad, will occupy one of the most brilliant pages in the 
 history of Cuba. He has given up his future for liberty ; he has 
 placed his legal talent at the service of the patriots. 
 
 Emileo Nunez, who has well earned his title of General, by his 
 successful landing of arms in Cuba ; Joaquin Castillo, who has helped 
 him ; Dr. Juan Guiteras, a scientific glory of America and a proved 
 patriot, have all contributed to Palma s success. Palma has accom 
 plished more than his predecessors in 1868-78; he has landed more 
 cargoes of war material ; he has floated a loan, aided by Ponce dc 
 Leon, Zaldo, Zayas, active and distinguished Cubans ; and he has 
 obtained from the American people, through both Houses of Con 
 gress, the declaration of sympathy, its opinion that the Cubans are 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 541 
 
 entitled to belligerency, and that the United States desire the inde 
 pendence of the Island. 
 
 What more could be expected in a year ? And Tomas Estrada 
 Palma has done this in his quiet, unassuming way, without flattering 
 anybody, without the dignity of his country suffering. The follow 
 ing address will give an idea of the stand Palma has taken in this 
 revolution : 
 
 " To THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES : 
 
 " The persistency with which the American press has, during the 
 last few days, been treating of supposed administrative reforms to be 
 introduced in Cuba by the Government of Spain compels me to 
 request the publication of the following declarations which I make in 
 behalf of my Government, of the army of liberation of Cuba, and of 
 the Cuban Revolutionary Party. 
 
 Not Reforms but Independence. 
 
 " The question of the proposed reforms is not a matter which at 
 all concerns those who have already established an independent gov 
 ernment in Cuba and have resolved to shrink from no sacrifice of 
 property or life in order to emancipate the whole Island from the 
 Spanish yoke. If the Spanish residents of the Island, who are 
 favored by the Spanish Government with all sorts of privileges and 
 monopolies, and if the handful of Cubans, too pusillanimous or too 
 proud to acknowledge their error, or a few foreigners guided only by 
 selfish interests, are satisfied that Cuba should remain under Spanish 
 domination, we, who fight under the flag of the solitary star, we, who 
 already constitute the Republic of Cuba, and belong to a free people 
 with its own Government and its own laws, are firmly resolved to 
 listen to io compromise and to treat with Spain on the basis of 
 absolute independence for Cuba. 
 
 " If Spain has power to exterminate us, then let her convert the 
 Island into a vast cemetery ; if she has not, and wishes to terminate 
 the war before the whole country is reduced to ashes, then let her 
 adopt the only measure that will put an end to it and recognize our 
 
542 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 independence. Spain must know by this time that while there is a 
 single living Cuban with dignity and there are many thousands 
 of them there will not be peace in Cuba, nor even the hope of it. 
 
 "All good causes must finally triumph, and ours is a good cause. 
 It is the cause of justice treated with contempt, of right suppressed 
 by force, and of the dignity of a people offended to the last degree. 
 
 " We Cubans have a thousandfold more reason in our endeavors to 
 free ourselves from the Spanish yoke than the people of the thirteen 
 colonies had when, in 1776, they rose in arms against the British 
 Government. 
 
 The American Revolution and the Cuban. 
 
 " The people of these colonies were in full enjoyment of all the 
 rights of man ; they had liberty of conscience, freedom of speech, 
 liberty of the press, the right of public meeting, and the right of free 
 locomotion ; they elected those who governed them, they made their 
 own laws, and, in fact, enjoyed the blessings of self-government 
 They were not under the sway of a Captain-General with arbitrary 
 powers, who, at his will, could imprison them, deport them to penal 
 colonies, or order their execution, even without the semblance of a 
 court-martial. They did not have to pay a permanent army and 
 navy that they might be kept in subjection, nor to feed a swarm of 
 hungry employees yearly sent over from the metropolis, to prey upon 
 the country. 
 
 " They were never subjected to a stupid and crushing customs 
 tariff which compelled them to go to the home markets for millions 
 of merchandise annually which they could buy much cheaper else 
 where ; they were never compelled to cover a budget of $26,000,000 
 or $30,000,000 a year without the consent of the taxpayers, and for 
 the purpose of defraying the expenses of the army and navy of the 
 oppressor, to pay the salaries of thousands of worthless European 
 employees, the whole interest on a debt not incurred by the colony, 
 and other expenditures from which the Island received no benefit 
 whatever; for out of all those millions only the paltry sum of 
 $700,000 was apparently applied for works of internal improvement, 
 
THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 545 
 
 and one-half of which invariably went into the pockets of the Spanish 
 employees. 
 
 " We have thrown ourselves into the struggle advisedly and 
 deliberately ; we knew what we would have to face, and we decided 
 unflinchingly to persevere until we should emancipate ourselves from 
 the Spanish Government. And we know that we are able to do it, 
 as we know that we are competent to govern ourselves. 
 
 Capable of Managing Organizations. 
 
 " Among other proofs which could be adduced of the capacity of 
 the Cuban white and colored to rule themselves is the strong organi 
 zation of the Cuban revolutionary party in America. It is composed 
 of more than 20,000 Cubans living in different countries of the New 
 World, and formed into clubs, the members of which yearly elect 
 their leader. This organization has an existence of over five years, 
 during which every member has strictly discharged his duties, has 
 respected, without any interruption, the regulations, and obeyed the 
 elected delegate loyally and faithfully. Among the members of the 
 clubs there are several Spaniards, who enjoy the same rights as the 
 Cubans, and who live with them in fraternal harmony. 
 
 " This fact, and those of the many Spaniards incorporated into our 
 army, fully demonstrate that our revolution is not the result of 
 personal hatred, but an uprising inspired only by the natural love 
 of liberty and free institutions. The war in Cuba has for its only 
 object the overthrow of Spanish power, and to establish an inde 
 pendent republic, under whose beneficent laws the Spaniards may 
 continue to live side by side with the Cubans as members of the same 
 community and citizens of the same nation. This is our programme, 
 and we strictly adhere to it. 
 
 " The revolution is powerful and deeply rooted in the hearts of the 
 Cuban people, and there is no Spanish power no power in the world 
 that can stop its march. The war, since General Weyler took 
 command of the Spanish army, has assumed a cruel character; his 
 troops shoot the Cuban prisoners, pursue and kill the sick and 
 wounded, assassinate the unarmed, and burn their houses. The 
 
544 THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY. 
 
 Cuban troops, on their part, destroy, as a war measure, the machinery 
 and buildings of the sugar plantations, and are firmly resolved not to 
 leave one stone upon another during their campaign. 
 
 " Let those who can put an end to this war reflect that our liberty 
 is being gained with the blood of thousands of Cuban victims, among 
 whom is numbered Jose Marti, the apostle and martyr of our revo 
 lution. Let them consider that, before the sacred memory of this 
 new redeemer, there is not a single Cuban who will withdraw from 
 the work of emancipation without feeling ashamed of abandoning 
 the flag which, on the 24th of February, was raised by the beloved 
 master. 
 
 "It is time for the Cuban people to satisfy their just desire for a 
 place among the free nations of the world, and let them not be accused 
 if, to accomplish their noble purpose, they are obliged to reduce to 
 ashes the Cuban land. T. ESTRADA PALM A." 
 
 Like Franklin, Palma puts his faith in the justice of his cause rather 
 than in the pomp of language, or on the show of dress. He always 
 dresses in black ; he uses neither the silk hat nor the evening dress ; 
 he wears no jewels; his fourteen-year old boy is by his side, that he 
 may accompany him ; he always finds time, as did Lord Nelson in 
 the midst of the perils of the sea and vicissitudes of combat, to write 
 to his lady ; every night he kisses the sacred wallet ! 
 
 Noble and pure soul ! Of such are the founders of Cuba s liberty. 
 
 GONZALO DE QUESADA. 
 
Appendix. 
 
 Latest Events in the Cuban Revolution, including 
 Military Operations, Battles, Secret Expedi 
 tions and Arrests of American Citizens. 
 
 r THHE next event of importance following the history of the Cuban 
 A conflict narrated in the first part of this volume, was the arrest 
 at Havana of Rev. Alberto J. Diaz, a Baptist missionary and a citizen 
 of the United States. Subsequently, at a public meeting in Philadel 
 phia, Mr. Diaz told a dramatic story of escape from military death in 
 Cuba, of the cunning and brutality of the Spanish General Weyler 
 and his fear of the United States. 
 
 Dr. Diaz and his brother were imprisoned in Cuba for preaching 
 civil and religious liberty, and were only saved from death by the 
 services of a member of his church disguised as a Spanish sentry. In 
 Havana the members of the church, founded under the auspices of 
 the Southern Baptist Missionary Society, were divided in sympathy 
 between the Spanish and insurgents. Dr. Diaz preached true liberty 
 to both factions alike, and although often warned against it he per 
 sisted in expounding the doctrines of liberty and claimed the right 
 of uttering his honest sentiments. 
 
 Said he, " About three o clock one morning I was aroused by a 
 knock at the door of my house, and when I opened it I saw some 
 fifty or sixty Spanish soldiers, with their guns leveled at me. I quickly 
 shut the door and talked through it. The captain said he must search 
 the house, and I consented to let three men come in. They spent 
 seven hours looking through two trunks full of sermons and other 
 papers, and when the search was completed they had found no incrimi 
 nating documents." 
 
 35 545 
 
546 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 Not notified, the soldiers led Dr. Diaz and his brother away to the 
 prison cell in the now famous Morro Castle. They were placed face 
 to a wall with sentinels all about them. For twenty-four hours they 
 sat there without eating, for they were afraid to eat lest their food had 
 been poisoned, as it had often been before. Finding that they did 
 not eat, the soldiers allowed the doctor s wife to send in their meals. 
 
 One day Dr. Diaz saw two black coffins and saw all arrangements 
 for his execution and supposed that day was his last on earth. Feel 
 ing that death was so near he laid aside prison rules and talked with 
 his brother, and the two men sang hymns until they lay down for 
 what they believed would be their last sleep. 
 
 A Secret Telegram. 
 
 " But," says Dr. Diaz, " I was not quite asleep when I was startled 
 by some one kissing my hand. I started up, but a finger was laid on 
 my lips as a signal for quiet. A soldier was by my side sobbing bit 
 terly. At last he whispered, Don t you know me ? I belong to 
 your church. " Bending low the Doctor recognized the soldier, who 
 then said : " You are to die to-morrow, is there anything I can do ? " 
 Dr. Diaz asked for pencil and paper and wrote a telegram, " Diaz in 
 jail ; about to be executed," and directed it to the President of the 
 Southern Baptist Missionary Society, in Atlanta. The sentry promised 
 to smuggle the telegram through, and he succeeded. Just what repiy 
 was received Dr. Diaz did not say, but following the receipt of the 
 message the prisoners were allowed everything but their liberty. 
 
 Dr. Diaz wrote another telegram to Secretary of State Olney, slat 
 ing the conditions of his imprisonment, and that he was an American 
 citizen, but it was returned and reported that Weyler had said : " If 
 that telegram is sent it will involve us in war with the United States/* 
 
 Dr. Diaz told the messenger the message must be smuggled over 
 to Key West. Soldiers were everywhere, and the messenger retreated, 
 but later gave the telegram to two men who were not known, and 
 they were allowed to go on board the steamer. The messenger 
 wanted to send a message of his own and went on board the boat atul 
 was searched, but nothing found on him. When the boat was out >* 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 54V 
 
 sight he told the Spaniards that the message was on the steamer 
 bound for Key West. 
 
 The news was carried to General Weyler, who immediately antici 
 pated the demand and telegraphed to Washington : " Diaz released." 
 Forthwith Dr. Diaz was released and went directly to his church, 
 where a monster prayer-meeting was held. The next day General 
 Weyler ordered Diaz, his brother and family to leave Cuba on the 
 next steamer. Dr. Diaz could not leave and went fishing until the 
 boat left and then had to wait for three days. By this time all ar 
 rangements were completed and the whole family left for the United 
 States. The story created great interest and the congregation con 
 gratulated him on his marvelous escape from death. 
 
 General Lee Sent to Cuba. 
 
 In April, 1896, a change of consuls at Havana excited comment. 
 The appointment of General Fitzhugh Lee to succeed Consul General 
 Williams, was regarded by Americans as well as by the authorities at 
 the Palace, as an adroit way of sending a military commissioner from 
 the States to Cuba. When there was an intimation that Mr. Cleve 
 land contemplated sending a commissioner to learn officially what 
 was going on, the officials at Madrid said very plainly that no military 
 or other commission would be accepted by them, or permitted to pry 
 into affairs in Cuba. There was, therefore, some curiosity as to how 
 General Lee would be received, and as to what facilities would be 
 accorded him for learning what was transpiring outside of the city of 
 Havana. The American residents of Havana welcomed General Lee 
 with open arms. The following is a summing up of the situation on 
 May ist, by a press correspondent: 
 
 " Three conclusions force themselves upon me as the result of 
 observation of the progress of the revolution in Cuba. The insurgents 
 are making a remarkably good fight. Spain has demonstrated her 
 inability to put them down, and Cuba is surely slipping away from 
 Spain. When I left Havana a week ago, the insurrection was more 
 formidable, and apparently more promising of success, than at any 
 time in the fourteen months since the Cubans rose against Spain. 
 
548 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 " Before the arrival of General Weyler, correspondents were per 
 mitted to accompany Spanish columns. Since the enemy has grown 
 from scattered bands to organized and fairly-well armed and drilled 
 columns it is a matter of life and death for a correspondent to penetrate 
 the rebel lines. I have had experience with four Captains-General 
 Calleja, Campos, Marin and Weyler. The last is the only one of them 
 who made the life of a war correspondent burdensome. Polite in his 
 reception of all Americans, yet he had a way of impressing upon a 
 correspondent, without putting it into words, that it would conduce 
 to his personal safety to make a practice of reporting nothing but 
 Spanish official news. 
 
 " As these fail to mention a single insurgent success from the be 
 ginning, and are a record of many Spanish victories, which exist on 
 paper only, the correspondent who accepts them at face value beguiles 
 his readers. If the affair at Guatao was a battle and not a butchery, 
 why were two correspondents thrown into Morro Castle, charged with 
 having visited the place, which is only twelve miles from Havana? 
 Every effort is made to keep the world in darkness as to what is being 
 done in Cuba. Every cable despatch is carefully edited before it can 
 be transmitted. Everything unfavorable to Spain or favorable to the 
 Cuban cause is eliminated. The mails are searched to prevent news 
 paper correspondence being sent off. But with all these precautions 
 the truth cannot be suppressed. 
 
 Spain s Immense Army. 
 
 "Spain has sent 140,000 regulars and 60,000 volunteers have been 
 raised in *Se cities of the Island. The latter are used almost entirely 
 for home defence. Of the regulars approximately 25,000 have suc 
 cumbed to bullets and disease during the year, 15,000 are in the hos 
 pitals or have been relieved from duty, and about 100,000 are available 
 for active operations. 
 
 "The establishment of the latest trocha, that between Mariel and 
 Majana, absorbs 30,000 regulars for the defence of the line. There 
 are about 10,000 regulars divided into flying columns of 1,500 to 2,000 
 men -each, operating aggressively against Maceo just west of the trocha 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 549 
 
 in Pinar del Rio, and in all of the other provinces there are not more 
 than 15,000 troops in the field against the enemy. 
 
 " Gomez, Lacret, Jose Maceo, Calixto Garcia and other insurgent 
 leaders with large forces are unopposed. The number of insurgents 
 under arms is now fully 45,000. Spaniards say that Cubans will not 
 fight, but I have seen many trainloads of wounded Spanish soldiers 
 brought into Havana and other cities, and American planters declare 
 that the Cubans are reckless under fire. 
 
 " The entire interior of the Island is either in actual possession of 
 insurgents or is in sympathy with them. In the large cities are many 
 men who are thoroughly in sympathy with the insurgent cause. In 
 the early days of the war the better class of Cubans declared the 
 rising to be premature. Within three months there has been a deci 
 ded change of opinion. Sons of leading families, and in some cases, 
 heads of families themselves, have joined the insurgents. A g-entle- 
 man, who owns a sugar plantation worth $2,000,000, said to me re 
 cently that he had become convinced that Cuba must be free or 
 annexed to the United States, or every planter on the Island would 
 be ruined. 
 
 Cruelty of the Spanish Commanders. 
 
 " The rabid Spaniards are the ones who forced the recall of General 
 Martinez Campos. They have recently attacked General Weyler, 
 accusing him of being as lenient as Campos. The General has been 
 between two fires ever since he took command. He has endeavored 
 to satisfy Spaniards and at the same time avoid bringing down the 
 wrath of the United States on his head. He has succeeded in both 
 fairly well." 
 
 The correspondent then gives details of acts of cruelty charged 
 against Spanish commanders which have been reported from time to 
 time. He continues : 
 
 "The ultra-Spaniards urge General Weyler to do more of this kind 
 of work. They declare without hesitancy that all Cubans should be 
 exterminated. They urge Spanish merchants to discharge their 
 Cuban clerks and employ Spaniards. They look upon Cuba as a 
 place to be plucked, and would drive every native from the Island and 
 
550 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 confiscate his property for themselves. These Spaniards are the 
 dominant faction at present, but they are only a small minority in 
 Cuba. The more liberal Spaniards and those with property interests 
 at stake have different views." 
 
 The reader will be interested in a detailed account of the capture 
 of the filibustering schooner " Competitor " by a Spanish gunboat. 
 Several aboard the captured vessel claimed American citizenship, and 
 among them were those who declared they were on lawful business 
 and were not in any sense aiding the insurgents. 
 
 General Weyler was much pleased at the capture. He embraced 
 Commander Butron, of the gunboat " Mensagera," and presented him 
 with the cross Maria Cristina. Commander Butron said the papers 
 seized were very valuable. Among them were letters to Maceo, cir 
 culars, many flags and other things besides the arms. The expedi 
 tion started three times from Key West. Dr. Vedia, the Key West 
 newspaper correspondent, was on board in all the attempts, and once 
 was kept at sea twenty days. 
 
 Story of the Capture. 
 
 Commander Butron s story of the capture is as follows : " The 
 Mensagera was directed to watch the coast between Cayo Julia and 
 Morrillo, about one hundred miles. It was heard on the afternoon of 
 April 25, that a suspicious schooner had been seen near Quebrados de 
 Uvas. The gunboat followed and found the Competitor. The 
 usual signals were made, but the schooner tried to get closer in 
 shore so as to land a rapid fire-gun. 
 
 "The Mensagera was then moved forward and fired a shot, which 
 struck the schooner and exploded a box of cartridges which the 
 men were trying to take ashore. Several occupants of the schooner 
 became alarmed, and threw themselves into the water, fearing an ex 
 plosion of dynamite. The gunboat s crew seized rifles and began 
 shooting, killing three men. Several others reached shore. 
 
 " Three men were aboard the schooner when it was overhauled, 
 and they surrendered without resistance. Among them was Owen 
 Milton, editor of the Key West Mosquito. Sailors were sent ashore 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 551 
 
 to capture the arms landed. In a skirmish two men, supposed to be 
 filibusters, and a horse were killed. They secured several abandoned 
 cases of cartridges. A body of insurgents had come to watch the 
 landing of the boat s crew. The Mensagera came to Havana with 
 the arms and prisoners, who were very seasick. The schooner was 
 towed to Havana by the gunboat Vicente Yanez. It is regarded as 
 an object of great curiosity by the crowds. It had the Spanish flag 
 floating when captured. It is a neat, strong boat, and looks fast. 
 One of the prisoners captured steadily refuses to give his name/ 
 
 Trial of the Prisoners. 
 
 A despatch from Havana under date of May 8th, was as follows : 
 
 " The court opened at the Arsenal. The prisoners were Alfredo 
 Laborde, born in New Orleans ; Owen Milton, of Kansas ; William 
 Kinlea, an Englishman, and Elias Vedia and Teodoro Dela Maza, 
 both Cubans. Captain Ruiz acted as president of the court, which 
 consisted of nine other military and naval officers. The trial of the 
 five filibusters captured aboard the Competitor was proceeded with 
 against the formal protest presented by Consul General Williams, 
 who declared that the trial was illegal and in violation of the treaty 
 between Spain and the United States. 
 
 "The prisoners were not served with a copy of the charges against 
 them and were not allowed to select their own counsel, but were 
 represented by a naval officer appointed by the government. They 
 were not permited to call witnesses for their defence, the prosecution 
 calling all the witnesses. Owen Milton, of Kansas, testified through 
 an interpreter that he came on the expedition only in order to corres 
 pond for a newspaper. William Kinlea, when called, was in his 
 shirt sleeves. He arose and said in English, I do not recognize 
 your authority and appeal for protection to the American and English 
 consuls. " 
 
 A few days later it was announced from Madrid that the Spanish 
 and American Governments had arrived at an amicable understanding 
 regarding the trial of the prisoners, who would be tried again, this 
 time by a civil court under the provisions of the existing treaties 
 
552 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 between the two countries. The prompt action of our Government 
 undoubtedly saved the lives of several, if not all, of the prisoners. 
 Early in May the Spaniards succeeded in capturing Cacarajicara, 
 Maceo s fort in the western mountains, being led by General Inclan. 
 The insurgents made an attack upon the Spanish artillerymen with 
 their machetes, but were driven back from the cannon forty feet by a 
 wall of troops. A tall, bearded man, stick in hand, urged the insur 
 gents to fall on the Spaniards, but they refused and retreated. 
 
 Hand to Hand Fighting. 
 
 A bayonet charge was then ordered and the soldiers patriotically 
 rushed into the ditch, driving out the insurgents. One of those who 
 defended the fort and who fled with the others was a woman. The 
 defence is said to have been conducted by Maceo, Socarras and 
 Quintin Bandera. The return march was very difficult, the enemy 
 being scattered all through the hills and firing from every point. 
 The progress was slow on account of the wounded soldiers. The 
 official report says 2,000 Spanish and 6,000 to 8,000 insurgents were 
 engaged in all. Socarras is said to have been gravely wounded in 
 the face. A ball struck Pilar Rojas in the stomach, seriously 
 wounding him. General Inclan made an address, thanking his 
 soldiers for their valor, which, he said, " deserves a place in the best 
 pages of Spanish history." 
 
 The situation in Cuba in the middle of July is fully stated by a 
 pjess correspondent, who furnished, among other accounts of impor 
 tant events, the details of the death of General Jose Maceo, brother of 
 the famous General Antonio Maceo, and himself a dashing leader 
 scarcely less renowned than his illustrious brother. 
 
 " I went out," says the correspondent, " with General Agustin 
 Cebreco on June 20, and arrived the next day at the Aguacate estate 
 by the Cauto River, where we pitched our camp. We started out the 
 next day and marched to San Luis, where we met General Jose 
 Maceo s forces, who were returning from conveying the war material 
 landed from the steamer Three Friends 
 
 " I met Colonel Rafael Pqrtuondo, who was the leader of the expe- 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 553 
 
 dition. It was the largest ever brought to Cuba, and according to 
 Portuondo himself there were seventy men. The expedition left 
 Jacksonville on the 23d of May, and consisted of the following : 
 1,052 rifles, 24 cases of hardware, 200 suits of clothes, 200 ham 
 mocks, 525,000 cartridges, 2 rapid-fire guns, 800 shells, 1,000 dyna 
 mite shells, 1,000,000 dynamite caps and one ton of medical stores, 
 presented to the Cubans by an American wholesale drug firm. There 
 was enough morphine and quinine for an army. There were also 
 200 Mauser rifles of French make, which have a longer range than 
 the German gun. 
 
 " The Three Friends effected a landing at a place called Bacunao, 
 between Santiago de Cuba and Guanbanamo on May 30, at dawn. 
 It took two and a half hours to send everything ashore ; it took 
 three hours more to hide it in a place of safety. Members of the 
 expedition then started out in search of the Cuban forces, but none 
 were found in the neighborhood until six days later. 
 
 " Jose Maceo and 2,000 men passed near the place and were noti 
 fied of the landing Colonel Portuondo is a lawyer of Santiago de 
 Cuba, who rose in arms last February. He was elected later Secre 
 tary of Foreign Relations and was afterward sent by the government 
 on a mission to Washington. He has been successful in all his un 
 dertakings. 
 
 Some Incidents of the March. 
 
 "The day before we met Jose Maceo,. 250 of his men met 102 
 Spaniards and fought them, killing twenty-five of their number and 
 capturing twenty-six horses. On June 23, 1 went with 1,800 men of 
 Maceo and Cebreco s commands to forage in the Spanish cultivated 
 zone near the Santa Anna estate. The soldiers in the fort at this 
 place fled from the Cubans when they approached. Not one shot 
 was fired at us. We also visited a coffee plantation owned by a 
 Frenchman named Benjamin Cagnet, who tried to be friendly toward 
 us and render us some assistance. 
 
 " We encamped that night in the town of Cauto Abajo, which is 
 now in ashes. On June 24th, St. John s Day, Jose Maceo s army 
 had marched through the camp, where the following generals ha<l 
 
554 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 pitched their tents : Agustin Cebreco, Periquito Perez, Serafin San 
 chez, Matias Vegas and Higinio Vasquez. We started for Canasta 
 the next day, where a meeting was to take place between the Cuban 
 forces from the Western and Eastern departments. The place is on 
 the Cauto River, where there is plenty to eat and drink for men and 
 horses. 
 
 Successful Assault on a Gunboat. 
 
 " The condition of the roads was so bad on going to the meeting 
 place that many horses were left stuck in the mud and others died 
 from exhaustion. The mules are more suitable for the Cuban roads 
 in the rainy season. Maceo employed three hundred mules in trans 
 porting Portuondo s expedition. June 26 we reached Canasta, after 
 five hours march from San Felipe, where we encamped last night. 
 Here we met Major General Jesus Rabi, with 1,700 men, cavalry and 
 infantry. He had been waiting for us one day. The following day 
 all the troops were formed on parade and the arms and ammunition 
 were distributed among them. 
 
 " General Rabi told me some interesting details about the capture 
 of the gunboat Belico by General Rios. The Spanish gunboat was 
 steaming up the Cauto River, carrying provisions and ammunition for 
 the garrison in Bayamo. The Cubans in large numbers assaulted 
 the gunboat in the narrowest part of the river and wounded the com 
 mander in the breast. He surrendered, and the crew were made 
 prisoners. The captain was afterward released, and is now nursing 
 his wound in Bayamo. 
 
 " Rabi is a tall, well-built man, in complexion like an Arab. His 
 beard, like his hair, jet black. He is reputed as a brave and dashing 
 officer. He is liked by all who come in contact with him. He is a 
 veteran of the Ten Years War, and is so kind in nature that all the 
 Spaniards who desert the Spanish ranks seek him. He has more 
 than five hundred Spaniards in his ranks. He rose in arms in Feb 
 ruary last with 300 men in his native place, Santa Rita, Santiago 
 province. 
 
 " On the same day he entered Jiguani and captured Baire, where his 
 ranks swelled to three thousand men. At Cacao he defeated the 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 555 
 
 Spaniards and captured 2OO rifles and 1 1 5 prisoners. The Spaniards 
 say he was born in Spain. 
 
 " On June 28, 800 men from the eastern army were sent out to 
 join the army which is to go as reinforcements to the western end of 
 the Island. The next day General Serafin Sanchez left for Las Villas 
 with the reinforcements. General Rabi went toward Tunas, where he 
 will meet Calixto Garcia and Maximo Gomez, Jose Maceo, Periquito 
 Perez, Matias Vegas and Higinio Vasquez. 
 
 " It is surprising to see so many lawyers, doctors, merchants, stu 
 dents and others, who a year ago were working at their offices, now 
 turned into soldiers for the cause of freedom. Early in the morning, 
 June 30, we were informed that the enemy was coming toward us. 
 Our men were aching for a fight, but no enemy made its appearance. 
 
 " Reveille was sounded at 3 A. M. on July I, and camp was struck 
 at once. We marched all day until the afternoon, when we halted at a 
 place called Curia, where we had our mess of plantains and yuca root. 
 Our men captured at this place a Spanish courier bearing important 
 dispatches. 
 
 Hurrying for Life to the Woods. 
 
 " We started after mess and halted for the night at a place known 
 as El Hondon. When I awoke on July 2 I found my leg was con 
 siderably swollen from a wound I inflicted on myself in jumping a 
 barbed wire fence. It had become inflamed in walking six miles in 
 the scorching sun. As I found it utterly impossible for me to move 
 on I was ordered by General Maceo to remain at a prefect s house, 
 on the road, where the inmates said they would look after me. An 
 officer of the general staff, however, was detailed to see that I was 
 duly cared for. The army surgeon, Porfirio Valiente, of General 
 Maceo s staff, dressed my wound and I was left at the house of the 
 prefect. The Cuban forces continued on their march. 
 
 "Soon after they had gone a courier from the main body rushed 
 into the house and directed me to run for safety into the woods 
 near by, as a body of guerrillas would probably pass the place where I 
 was and might do harm to me and the other inmates of the prefect s 
 house, who were men unable to fight, and women. 
 
556 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 " The prefect, an old man, at once sounded the alarm, and every 
 body in the neighborhood rushed for the nearest woods. While I 
 was hiding my personal effects near the house, a volley from the ap 
 proaching guerrilla band warned me to run for my life. At the same 
 time that the Spaniards rushed toward the house a body of Cuban 
 cavalry, which had been ordered to protect it, charged them from an 
 opposite direction, and, as I had no time to lose on account of my 
 disabled condition, I started for the woods, guided by a young girl, a 
 daughter of the prefect, who took me by a narrow path in the woods 
 to the rebel camp, where there were about thirty families. 
 
 " From the hiding-place we could hear the firing and even the 
 voices of the combatants. Shortly afterward it began to rain copi 
 ously and the firing ceased. I spent the night in the woods. 
 
 The Spanish Troops Retreat. 
 
 " Early on July 3 I went to the prefect s house. Couriers had 
 been sent in all directions searching for me. At the house I was told 
 that the affair of the previous day had been only a skirmish ; that the 
 Spaniards had withdrawn as soon as they noticed there was resist 
 ance shown them. When they found that General Maceo was wait 
 ing to give them battle they changed their course and went to the 
 town of Songo, which is fortified. 
 
 " Going over the ground where the fighting had taken place, the 
 previous day, it was found that there were five dead horses, one be 
 longing to an officer, who left his pearl-handled revolver by the 
 horse s side. Pools of blood were seen all around, and the body of 
 a dead Spanish soldier was found in the tall grass. The Spaniards 
 loss cannot be estimated, but, judging by the pools of blood, they 
 had many dead and wounded. The Cubans lost Major Jose Ines 
 Echevarria, and a sergeant killed and three privates wounded. 
 
 " General Maceo was in ambush three miles away from the place 
 and had placed two rapid-fire guns in commanding positions, but the 
 enemy changed front and evaded the encounter. He sent several 
 detachments of his men after the Spaniards, who harassed their 
 column as they retreated to Songo. On July 4, which marks Amcri- 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 557 
 
 can Independence, all was joy in camp at dawn and sadness at night. 
 Maceo s forces, which kept hunting for the Spaniards, were informed 
 while halting at the Triunfo estate, owned by an American Mr. 
 Whiting that two Spanish columns were encamped at Loma del 
 Gato, near the town of Cristo. Maceo at once ordered his men to 
 move in that direction. 
 
 " When General Maceo reached the place the Spaniards were en 
 gaged in burning all the houses by the roadside. Maceo charged 
 them with his own body guard and part of General Cebreco s 
 cavalry. The Spanish cavalry fled before the Cuban horsemen s 
 charge. The Spaniards then began to work two rapid-fire guns. 
 
 " Maceo s intentions were to carry the enemy s position by assault, 
 and he charged several times, hewing down many of his opponents 
 at each cavalry onslaught. During one of the charges Maceo, who 
 was riding a superb white horse, was struck in the head by a bullet, 
 which lodged in his brain. He was taken down from his horse by one 
 of his aides, while the fight continued under the direction of General 
 
 Cebreco. 
 
 Death of General Jose Maceo. 
 
 " Maceo was taken into the town of Ti Arriba, which was held by 
 the Cubans. He died shortly afterward, without uttering a word. 
 The General died as he often said he would like to die, fighting for 
 Cuban freedom. General Periquito Perez was by the side of Maceo 
 until the end. The Spaniards retired into the town of Cristo, carry 
 ing many wounded. The Spanish loss was undoubtedly heavy. The 
 Cubans lost, beside General Maceo, three privates killed and twenty- 
 four wounded. 
 
 " Maceo s death has exasperated his men so much that they are 
 fretting to meet the Spaniards again to avenge their commander s 
 fate. I learned that a fierce fight had taken place near Mayari some 
 days ago. Generals Maximo Gomez and Calixto Garcia are coming 
 toward us, and General Rabi would meet them. It was expected that, 
 combining their forces, they will strike a heavy blow at some import 
 ant place. The Spaniards tried to move this morning toward the 
 point where we were encamped, but a section of cavalry from Las 
 
558 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 Villas on their way to meet us met them, and, after a skirmish, drove 
 them back to their fortified town." 
 
 Similar operations, involving skirmishes without decisive results, 
 were carried on notwithstanding the rainy season and the outbreak of 
 yellow fever. The insurgents continued to receive arms and ammu 
 nition from secret expeditions sent out from various parts of the 
 United States. The Spanish Government more than intimated that 
 our Government at Washington was not exercising all possible vigi 
 lance to prevent filibustering expeditions, which, it was maintained by 
 our officials at Washington, was a groundless charge. 
 
 A great stir was caused at Madrid on October i/th, by the state 
 ment in a dispatch from Washington that President Cleveland in 
 tended to intervene in Cuba in a manner tantamount to the recogni 
 tion of the independence of the insurgents. The Impartial, a semi 
 official journal at Madrid, commenting on the report, declared that 
 Spain ought to demand a full explanation of the Washington Gov 
 ernment. 
 
 Anger in Madrid. 
 
 " She cannot brook such a threat over her head," continued the 
 Impartial, " even for a single day. By what right do the United States 
 define the time for Spain to settle a question of her internal adminis 
 tration ? It must be affirmed before the whole world that the Amer 
 ican Government cannot impose any sort of terms upon us." 
 
 After denouncing the United States " fictional neutrality," the Im 
 partial concluded as follows : 
 
 " The conduct of the United States will arouse general indignation. 
 If Spain should remain alone in a conflict with the United States, 
 Spaniards by their own efforts will know how to mark the difference 
 between the noble defenders of their own property and the vile traf 
 fickers at Washington." 
 
 Such expressions were not calculated to cement more closely the 
 bonds of peace between the two nations. The resolutions in the 
 platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties expressing strong 
 sympathy with the Cubans in their conflict, still further irritated the 
 Spanish Government and pointed to a possible rupture between the 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 555 
 
 two nations. Mr. Cleveland was plainly resolved to take no notice of 
 the angry mutterings of thoughtless partizans. His policy was non 
 interference, equal justice to all and a peaceful attitude on the part of 
 our Foreign Office. Such an attitude would be approved after the 
 clamor of the hour had subsided. 
 
 With the election of Mr. McKinley fresh alarm was felt in Spain 
 and new hope among the friends of Cuba. Would belligerent rights 
 be granted to the insurgents? Would there be a formal and authori 
 tative expression of the sympathy of the American people for the 
 gallant patriots struggling for life and liberty against the tyranny and 
 oppression of Spain ? It was conceded to be more likely that active 
 measures in behalf of Cuba would be adopted and vigorously enforced 
 under the new administration. It was possible that Mr. McKinley 
 would adopt a policy intended to secure to Cuba freedom and inde 
 pendence. Spain was stirred to a half desperation and the patriot 
 army of Cuba nerved itself afresh for the sword and victory. 
 
 News from the Battle-field. 
 
 Under the most recent advices, a close observer of Cuban affairs 
 makes the following statement of the situation : 
 
 " The Cubans can continue to use the fight-when-you-please tac 
 tics that have enabled them to carry the revolution through the 750 
 miles of narrow Cuba against Spanish masses, which, if not so large, 
 were even better equipped with railroads, telephone and telegraph 
 lines than are the Weyler hosts to-day. 
 
 " Spain has 200,000 troops in Cuba. Two-thirds of them are 
 needed to guard the fortified towns and the trocha. The other third 
 form General Weyler s army of operations, of 50,000 men, picked 
 troops, guerrillas, regular cavalry, infantry and mountain artillery. 
 This force cannot well be increased in numbers without large rein 
 forcements from Spain, for to withdraw or to weaken a single garri 
 son means the destroying of a town by the Cubans and the loss to 
 Spain of a stronghold, a storehouse and a base of possible operations. 
 
 " The trocha garrisons might be brought into active service with 
 out weakening Spain s chances, but the trocha idea seems to fill 
 
660 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 such a large part of the Spanish military brain that it is not likely to 
 be done. The Cuban leaders, too, may be relied upon to keep up a 
 vast amount of demonstration near these alleged military strong 
 lines to foster the Spanish notion that 50,000 useless trocha soldiers 
 are useful. Of Spain s 50,000 soldiers now available for active duty 
 30,000 are now being sent against Maceo s mountains in Eastern 
 Pinar del Rio, just west of the Mariel (Weyler s) trocha. The other 
 2O ; ooo are scattered. 
 
 Odds in Favor of the Insurgents. 
 
 " Weyler has taken the field. His forces are near the Rubi Moun 
 tains. He cannot hope to win, even should Maceo be killed, for then 
 the Cuban army would merely split up, would be all the harder to 
 catch and would occupy the province. The war would only last the 
 longer. It is likely that Maceo will have an easy time of it shortly. 
 Unless Weyler deserts his Eastern trocha or abandons many towns, 
 he must move most of his force out of Pinar del Rio province, across 
 the Mariel trocha and into East Central Cuba to use them against the 
 westward movement in three columns of General Gomez, whose ad 
 vance guard is already in Matanzas province. 
 
 " Even should Weyler abandon the eastern trocha, collect all his 
 available scattered columns and immediately mass 80,000 men against 
 Maceo, it is not at all likely that he would crush, or even corner and 
 starve out the Cuban General, such are the wonderful strategic advan 
 tages of Cuba s Western wooded mountains. Weyler may even mass 
 this number of men against Gomez. This move would seem equally 
 unavailing, for last year he tried it without success with over 125,000 
 men and with railroads, telephones and telegraphs at his disposal. 
 
 " The Cuban farmers have stuck to their fields despite positive 
 orders to leave them for Spain s fortified towns, and they have not 
 even been intimidated by wholesale butcheries in stopping their all- 
 important service to their brethren in arms. 1 
 
GENERAL ANTONIO MACEO. 
 
 LOSELY following the events narrated in the foregoing pages, 
 came reports of the death of the renowned Cuban leader, 
 General Antonio Maceo. The death of the brother of this 
 famous chieftain has already been recorded. Each was a tower of 
 strength to the cause of independence in Cuba, and with their death 
 it was believed in Spanish circles that a fatal blow had been struck to 
 the cause of the insurgents. 
 
 It is not surprising that there was great joy both in Havana and 
 in Madrid when it was reported that Antonio Maceo had fallen on 
 the field of battle. The report was, however, received with reserve, 
 as this was the sixth time in which he had been reported killed. His 
 ability to rise from death appeared to be like that of the fabled Phoenix, 
 which sprang from its own ashes, and spread its wings with renewed 
 youth and vigor. Soon the question agitated two continents, " Is 
 Maceo really dead ? " The public mind was in a state of uncertainty, 
 and eagerly awaited confirmation or denial of the news. 
 
 In forty-eight hours it was stated by the representatives of the re 
 public of Cuba, that Maceo had been foully assassinated, and circum 
 stantial details were reported. It was affirmed that he had been lured 
 into ambush under pretense of discussing with him terms of peace, 
 and in open violation of the laws of civilized warfare, his flag of truce 
 had been disregarded, and he had been slain by the foulest treachery. 
 It was declared that the physician on his staff, Dr. Zertucha, was a 
 prime mover in the intrigue that cost Maceo his life. 
 
 Conflicting Reports. 
 
 It was not long before reports came that the great leader was still 
 alive, and although he had disappeared from the scene of his recent 
 operations, he was still at the head of his troops, and was dealing 
 sturdy blows at the forces of General Weyler. That he had lost his 
 life seemed to be confirmed by a letter purporting to have been writ 
 ten by young Gomez, son of General Maximo Gomez, chief in com 
 mand of the insurgents. The body of young Gomez was found with 
 that of Maceo, and the letter stated that he had taken his own life 
 36 561 
 
562 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 rather than be separated from the slain body of his leader. Various 
 documents were also said to have been found which proved that one 
 of the bodies found was that of General Maceo. Still, many Cuban 
 sympathizers throughout the country refused to believe he had met 
 his death. 
 
 The following despatch, in detail confirmatory of his previous 
 advices, was received by the Spanish Minister DeLome, at Wash 
 ington, from the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs at Madrid : 
 
 " The insurgent leader, Antonio Maceo, realizing the impossibility 
 of remaining in Pinar Del Rio Province, and being constantly pur 
 sued by Spanish columns, crossed the trocha on the 4th instant. He 
 was at the head of over two thousand men, whom he had recruited 
 from the local bands of the western part of the Province of Havana, 
 when he was overtaken by Major Cirujeda s column, 350 men strong. 
 Maceo s forces were routed, the leader being killed in the engage 
 ment, and Maximo Gomez s son committing suicide after being 
 wounded. 
 
 "The corpses have been identified, and their clothing, arms, and 
 the documents found in their possession were taken by the Spaniards. 
 The remainder of the brave band dispersed in consequence of this 
 brilliant victory of our troops." 
 
 Details of Maceo s Death. 
 
 This intelligence was supplemented by a trustworthy despatch 
 from Havana, as follows : 
 
 " The confident claim of tne Spanish official:; that they have abundant 
 proof of the death of Antonio Maceo and his young aide, Francisco 
 Gomez, son of Maximo Gomez, continues. The details which are 
 announced, however, of the facts relied upon for the identification of 
 the two Cubans have caused an undercurrent of doubt in this city. 
 
 " Major Cirujeda, who commanded the Spanish forces in the 
 engagement at Punta Brava, and whose troops discovered the two 
 bodies and gave the evidence of identification, has consented to be 
 interviewed on the circumstances of the case. He said to a news 
 paper correspondent that when the insurgents were routed it was 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA, 563 
 
 evident that the body of the chief was abandoned on the field. The 
 Spanish column, without stopping to explore the field, went in hot 
 pursuit of the insurgents, and followed them for a mile or more. 
 Meantime young Gomez is supposed to have committed suicide by 
 Maceo s side. While the troops were returning to Guatao, after the 
 pursuit had ceased, various guerrillas belonging to Major Cirujeda s 
 command, went over the field where the rout of the insurgents had 
 occurred, and searched the bodies remaining there for anything of 
 importance. 
 
 " The body of Maceo/ Major Cirujeda continued, was relieved 
 of a ring, clothing, etc. The guerrillas who performed the act were 
 at the time quite unaware that the body was that of Maceo. In fact, 
 little attention was paid to the identity of the bodies. It was already 
 dark on the field, and it was raining also. Various other bodies were 
 also searched. 
 
 Indignities Offered to the Slain. 
 
 "It was an adjutant, according to Major Cirujeda s further state 
 ment, who insisted that the above-mentioned body and the other, 
 which was lying by its side, were evidently of importance, and that they 
 must not be left thus without identification. * The two bodies were, 
 therefore, tied by the feet to the tails of some horses, Major Cirujeda 
 went on to relate, and thus dragged over the ground, the intention 
 being to carry them to town for identification. But, after proceeding 
 for a while, the horses became tired with their burden, and the bodies 
 were therefore cut loose and left in the road. 
 
 " When the troops reached Guatao Major Cirujeda proceeded to 
 read the documents which had been found upon the bodies. They 
 included a letter addressed to Dear Panchot, and signed M. 
 Gomez, a diary of Maceo s operations from November 28 to Decem 
 ber 7 and a note in pencil, found on the body of the younger man, 
 saying he died rather than abandon the body of his general. 
 
 " The undershirt and socks on the body of the elder man were 
 marked with the initials A. M./ and a ring on the finger contained 
 the engraved inscription, Antonio y Maria. After reading these 
 
564 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 documents Major Cirujeda says he became convinced that the bodies 
 which the troops had abandoned were those of Antonio Maceo and 
 the young Gomez. But it was then too late to return and recover 
 them. Major Cirujeda, however, expresses the firm conviction that 
 they were those of Maceo and Gomez s son. 
 
 " With the insurgents in the battle, Major Cirujeda says, was a beau 
 tiful Amazon about 22 years of age, who urged the rebels a la 
 machete/ but at the same time interposed to prevent the killing of 
 the prisoners. Major Cirujeda has taken charge of the objects found 
 on the body said to be that of Maceo for further examination. There 
 were a gold watch, a splendid pair of cuff buttons made by Moreau 
 Torin, Paris, with five-pointed stars on them and enclosed in a big 
 strapped leather case, a hunting knife with an ebony handle and gold 
 mounted, and a good waterproof coat. All of these were taken from 
 the body by the scout Santa Ana. It is thus seen that there has been 
 no actual identification of the bodies themselves, the conviction as to 
 identity resting upon the evidence of documents and articles found 
 upon them. 
 
 A Most Striking Character. 
 
 "There is no doubt, however, of the assurance of the general public 
 here that Maceo is dead. It is pointed out that he met his death in 
 a manner similar to that of Jose Marti and Zyas. His loss is con 
 sidered as the heaviest blow the revolution has received, and it is felt 
 that his continued life was all that could save the insurgent move 
 ment. He was the most striking personal character of the outbreak. 
 
 " Major Cirujeda telegraphed to headquarters that after the battle 
 at Punta Brava he had been obliged to abandon the bodies which in 
 the course of a reconnoissance his troops had discovered to be the 
 bodies of Maceo and Francisco Gomez. The guide of the column 
 said that the body looked like Maceo. Some one standing by ob 
 served that Maceo was in Pinar del Rio, but it is nevertheless believed 
 that the bodies were those of the Cuban leaders. The bugler of the 
 battalion of San Quentin was taking away from the fallen Cuban a 
 ring, when he found that he was still alive. He thereupon killed 
 him with the machete. The insurgents, upon noting the small force 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 665 
 
 of the reconnoitering party, rushed in with a large number on the 
 troops and succeeded in carrying away the body said to be Maceo s, 
 but without securing any of the jewels and papers which had been 
 found upon it. 
 
 " Major Cirujeda, in order not to abandon his dead and wounded, 
 was compelled to retreat to Punta Brava. At Punta Brava the sol 
 diers delivered the jewels and documents which they had found with 
 the two bodies and then the chief of the column became convinced 
 of the death of Maceo." 
 
 Following is a copy of the letter written in pencil which was 
 found on the body of the youth supposed to be Francisco Gomez : 
 
 " Dear Mamma, Papa, Dear Brothers : I die at my post. I did not 
 want to abandon the body of General Maceo, and I stayed with him. 
 I was wounded in two places, and as I did not fall into the hands of 
 the enemy I have killed myself. I am dying. I die pleased at being 
 in the defense of the Cuban cause. I wait for you in the other 
 world. Your son, " FRANCISCO GOMEZ. 
 
 " Torro in San Domingo." 
 
 (" Friends or foes, please transmit to its destination, as requested 
 by one dead.") 
 
 Ovation to General Weyler. 
 
 General Weyler, who was absent from Havana when Maceo s death 
 was reported, immediately returned, arriving at half-past five in the 
 afternoon. He rode into the city on horseback, accompanied by two 
 squadrons of cavalry. His coming had been made known to the 
 public, and large crowds gathered to welcome him. He was given a 
 popular ovation from the time he reached the city limits until he ar 
 rived at the Palace. At some places along his route girls strewed 
 flowers in his pathway, and he was in other ways treated as a popular 
 hero. 
 
 Calle Obispo, Calle O Reilly, the other streets in the vicinity of the 
 Palace, and the Plaza de Armas were jammed with people, who en 
 thusiastically cheered the Captain- General as he rode along. When 
 he arrived near the Palace the enthusiastic crowd surrounded him, 
 
566 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 despite the military, and he was compelled to stop his horse in order 
 not to ride down his admirers, who greeted him with all manner of 
 loyal cries. A passage-way was finally opened, and General Weyler 
 proceeded to the Palace. Shortly after he had entered the building 
 he appeared upon a balcony, and was greeted with the most tumul 
 tuous cheering. 
 
 Rejoicings at Havana. 
 
 The city at night presented a most animated aspect, reflecting the 
 joy felt by the Spaniards because of Maceo s death and General Wey- 
 ler s triumph over the insurgents in the western province. Casa 
 Blanca, the little village under the walls of the Cabala fortress, and 
 Regla, on the southern side of the bay, held little demonstrations of 
 their own in honor of the victorious return of General Weyler. 
 
 Further details of General Maceo s untimely death were soon after 
 received, and were as follows : 
 
 Dr. Maximo Zertucha, formerly the physician of Antonio Maceo, 
 the second in command of the insurgent forces, who, after the death 
 of Maceo, surrendered to General Tort, at San Felipe, was inter 
 viewed by a reporter of La Lucha, one of the leading newspapers of 
 Havana. Dr. Zertucha said that Maceo intended to attempt to cross 
 the trocha on December 3, but was prevented by sickness from doing 
 so. On the next day, however, it was announced that he would not 
 march across the trocha with his men, but would go by water around 
 the end of the trocha and meet an insurgent force on the Havana side 
 of the line. Two boats were accordingly prepared, they being painted 
 black in order to prevent their being seen, and the oars were muffled 
 so they could not be heard while playing in the row-locks. At night 
 Maceo and twenty-six men embarked in the boats, and passed in 
 front of the town of Mariel, at the northern extremity of the western 
 trocha, without being seen by any of the Spanish sentries there 
 abouts. The insurgent leader, Miro, and several other commanders, 
 accompanied Maceo. The short voyage was accomplished without 
 the slightest mishap, and the insurgent party landed at the point 
 selected without being discovered. 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 567 
 
 When, on December 4, the engagement took place between the in 
 surgents and Major Cirujeda s command, Maceo was encamped with 
 2,000 men. When the Spanish force appeared, Maceo divided his 
 men into two wings, his intention being to surround the Spanish col 
 umn. He remained alone with his staff for a moment, watching the 
 fighting, and exclaimed, " This goes well." 
 
 Shortly afterwards he was hit by two bullets, one striking him on 
 the chin, breaking hi3 jaw and passing out at the junction of the 
 neck and shoulder, and the other striking him in the abdomen. 
 Either wound would have caused death, and the insurgent leader ex 
 pired in a short time. 
 
 Maceo s Body Recovered. 
 
 The insurgents who were righting desperately against the Spanish 
 attack, were panic-stricken when they heard of the death of their 
 chief. They fled in disorder, not making any attempt then to take 
 Maceo s body with them. The Spaniards then returned to Punta 
 Brava with their dead and wounded. When the field was clear some 
 of the insurgents returned and carried Maceo s body off with them. 
 Dr. Zertucha said that he did not know where the remains were 
 buried, and thus far the search made by the Spaniards has proved 
 fruitless. 
 
 From other accounts it appears that Maceo and his staff were en 
 camped in the hills and expecting the arrival of Cuban reinforce 
 ments under Brigadier-General Sanchez and others, ordered by Gen 
 eral Aguirre to receive and escort the noted Pinar del Rio chief to 
 the east. Major Cirujeda was totally ignorant of Maceo s presence 
 in the district, believing him to be still west of the trocha. But 
 learning that a Spanish fort, on the San Pedro had been fired upon 
 that morning by insurgents, he started out on a reconnoitering tour 
 at the head of a remnant of the San Quentin battalion, accompanied 
 by a force of local guerrillas under Captain Peral. The latter s men 
 were dressed in a manner very similar to that of the insurgent troops, 
 and they marched in the vanguard of the Spanish column. 
 
 Mistaking these for Sanchez s vanguard, challenges having been 
 
668 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 made and countersigns given satisfactorily, Maceo, surrounded by 
 members of his staff and a handful of followers, advanced with all 
 confidence to meet his friends, when the guerrillas received them with 
 a rifle volley. Maceo fell at the first fire, his men, temporarily dis 
 concerted with surprise, retiring by the flanks. Young Gomez, though 
 he had been previously wounded at the trocha and still had his arm 
 in a sling, assisted, as the engagement became general, in dragging 
 his chief to a place of temporary safety on the grass, and remained 
 by his side until, realizing that they had been abandoned, Gomez 
 wrote the note to his parents, which has been previously referred to, 
 and then committed suicide by shooting himself with a revolver. 
 
 "I Die for Cuba and Independence." 
 
 After the fight the Spanish scout, Santa Ana, accompanied by the 
 bugler of the San Quentin battalion, while reconnoitering the field in 
 quest of documents and other objects of importance or value, ran 
 upon the body of Maceo, who was still alive. As the bugler pulled 
 the ring from his finger, Maceo asked in an agonized tone if they 
 were Spaniards or Cubans. 
 
 " Spaniards," said the bugler, and he raised his machete as the dy 
 ing chief said : " I die for Cuba and independence." 
 
 As the knife came down, almost severing the victim s head from 
 his body, the scout, interposing, remarked : " That man resembles 
 Maceo." {t Impossible," responded the bugler. " Maceo is in Pinar 
 del Rio." 
 
 The scout insisted that at least it was a chief of some importance, 
 and, tying the body by the feet to his horse s tail, he proceeded. 
 Meanwhile, the insurgents, learning that their chief s body was in 
 Spanish hands, and being evidently reinforced, rallied and made a new 
 attack and succeeded in recovering the body. The Spanish officers, 
 unaware of its importance, cut it loose as an unnecessary impediment 
 
 It thus seems that Major Cirujeda did not know that his forces had 
 encountered and killed Maceo till after reaching Guatao at nightfall 
 and reading the documents, etc. The full statements of Dr. Zertucha 
 were not allowed to be telegraphed even to Madrid. 
 
General Antonio Maceo. 
 
 BY GONZALO DE QUESADA, 
 Charge D Affaires of the Republic of Cuba. 
 
 THERE is one dark day that will be forever remembered 
 by the Cubans. On that day fell General Antonio Maceo. 
 The life of this hero was cut short by treachery in the moments 
 in which he was to astonish the world by a most brilliant blow to 
 Spanish domination an attack on the suburbs of Havana. 
 
 Antonio Maceo was the son of Mariana Grajales, who will go to 
 posterity for having given fourteen children to the cause of liberty. 
 His father was Marcos Maceo, a cattle-driver. He was born in San 
 tiago de Cuba on the I4th of July, 1848, the anniversary of the fall 
 of the Bastile. When the revolution of Yara broke out Antonio was 
 a stalwart youth, who had followed his father s occupation, and re 
 vealed already the qualities which afterwards made him famous 
 sagacity and fearlessness. Some days after the outbreak, Marcos 
 assembled his children. His house had been burned ; his family had 
 been ill-treated by the Spaniards ; his native land was in arms against 
 the tyrant. His own children and his step-sons took the oath of 
 fighting to the last for Cuba s independence, and not one failed to 
 keep the word ! 
 
 In the first engagement Antonio, a private, so distinguished him 
 self in the front rank of the patriots that General Donato Marniol 
 congratulated him. Without ever enjoying a furlough, without hav 
 ing been reprimanded, without any favoritism, he rose by sheer merit 
 to the highest rank in the Army of the Republic. His twenty-four 
 scars and three bullets in his body were the best testimonies of his 
 invaluable services to his country. He fought those ten years like a 
 lion. His deeds read like a novel or the feats of some superhuman 
 being. The bullets seemed to caress him, but never to wish him 
 much harm. 
 
 569 
 
570 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 When the treaty of El Zanjon was signed, while the Cubans were 
 being duped by Spanish promises of reforms, General Antonio Maceo 
 remained firm, with some hundreds of his loyal followers. The bat 
 talion of San Quintin curiously enough the one which twenty years 
 after killed him was decimated in two days of constant firing. The 
 Spaniards reported that when Maceo charged he would cry out to 
 the Spanish officers : " This is the way the brave of San Ulpiano 
 surrender ! " 
 
 Defied the Forces of Spain. 
 
 All efforts to induce him to capitulate were useless. He protested 
 at the famous Baragua against the compact entered into ; he fought 
 four months alone against all the forces of Spain, in the midst of his 
 indifferent compatriots. The Spanish commander attempted to pro 
 pose money to him. Maceo answered to the Spanish Brigadier- 
 General Fuenks : " You take advantage of the distance and the slight 
 acquaintance there exists between us to offend my honor in a way I 
 shall never forget. Do the Spanish believe that men who fight for a 
 principle and military glory, who respect their reputation and honor, 
 can sell themselves when they have the hope yet of saving their prin 
 ciples, or to die in the attempt without degrading themselves ? No 
 men who, like me, fight for the sacred cause of liberty will break 
 their weapons when they are impotent to win before degrading 
 themselves." 
 
 And when, finally, he left for Jamaica to see if he could obtain new 
 means for the war, with his faithful companion, General Ruis Rivera, 
 a man of the same temper, he wrote : " I did not submit to the treaty 
 nor to the terrible situation. I left because my friends deceived me 
 with a commission, when, in reality, they wished to save my life." 
 
 Maceo, during the peace, traveled in several South American coun 
 tries ; in Honduras he held an important government position ; in 
 Costa Rica he devoted himself to the establishment of a tobacco col 
 ony, aided by the government. During these years he studied lan 
 guages, tactics, strategy, and was a devourer of the best literature ; 
 but never for one moment did he give up his ideal, not even when he 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 571 
 
 enjoyed the blessings of the happiest of companionship with his wife, 
 the virtuous and patriotic Maria Cabral. 
 
 In 1884, with General Gomez, he tried to renew the war, but the 
 country was not ready yet; in 1890 he went to Havana and Santiago 
 de Cuba, and was preparing to rebel, when he was banished. He then 
 returned to Central America, where, in July, 1893, Marti conferred 
 with him. Maceo commenced immediately to prepare for the coming 
 revolution. The following year the Spaniards tried to assassinate 
 him in San Jose, Costa Rica. On leaving the theatre the Cubans and 
 Spaniards clashed ; General Maceo was assisting a lady who had 
 fainted ; a treacherous Spaniard fired his revolver at the general s 
 back, and the bullet he then received he carried with him to the day 
 of his death. 
 
 On the 3ist day of March, 1895, he landed at Duaba, on the north 
 ern coast of Baracoa, with a few followers. As soon as he met peo 
 ple he sent a despatch to the Spanish commander : " Maceo is here." 
 The Spanish troops were defeated in the first engagement, but they 
 sent thousands after him ; they thought they had him caught; he was 
 reported killed and buried. Finally, after a series of hardships, and 
 suffering enough to discourage any other mortal, he joined the 
 nucleus of the Cuban army ; two weeks afterwards his presence alone 
 in the Island had increased the army in the Eastern Department to 
 seven thousand men ; when Marti and Gomez met him they were 
 organized and ready for ten years of war, if necessary. 
 
 His Brilliant Victories. 
 
 The story of his exploits during this Revolution are current history : 
 he fought Marshal Martinez Campos at Peralejos, inflicting a tre 
 mendous defeat on the Spaniards, in which General Santosceldes was 
 killed; he was General Gomez s coadjutor in the great invasion of the 
 Western provinces, defeating Martinez Campos again at Coliseo, Gen 
 erals Cornell, Lugue, Echague, and whipping Colonel Deods to the sea. 
 
 After reaching the westernmost part of the Island, Mantua, he re 
 turned to the provinces of Havana and Matanzas. General Weyler, hav 
 ing proclaimed the pacification of Havana and Pinar del Rio in order 
 
572 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 to influence the action of both houses at Washington, General Maceo 
 retraced his steps and again entered Pinar del Rio. Then he became 
 the central figure of the revolution ; the eyes of the world were all 
 fixed on this giant, who defied the whole power of Spain and her best 
 generals with a few thousands of patriots ; the military trocha con 
 structed to keep him from returning to Havana, killed as many thou 
 sands of Spanish soldiers as the total of Maceo s army ; every time a 
 Spanish column dared attack him it was destroyed, leaving hundreds 
 of arms in Maceo s possession. 
 
 A Victim of Treason. 
 
 Finally, Weyler decided to take the field against him, but Weyler 
 returned to Havana without finding the astute Cuban, who would not 
 give battle except when he was sure of victory. The clamor of Spain 
 and the requests of her ministers forced Weyler to again go in his 
 quest. Maceo, who had thoroughly organized his forces in the prov 
 inces, and had under him General Ruis Rivera, in whom he absolutely 
 confided, resolved to discredit General Weyler completely ; he would 
 cross the so-called impenetrable trocha, would appear in Havana, burn 
 the outskirts, and then join General Gomez for the winter campaign. 
 General Weyler would be looking for him among the hills, and the 
 authorities at Madrid would say that Maceo had burned Mariana. 
 
 He crossed the line on the 4th of December; on the 5th he cele 
 brated the event, on the 6th and 7th he was joined by Cuban forces 
 of Havana province, about four hundred in number. As yet the 
 Spaniards were not aware of his crossing ; here the work of treason 
 commenced ; to all appearances the man in whom he had entire con 
 fidence, his physician, Dr. Zertucha, communicated to the Spaniards 
 the news and details of where General Maceo would be ; in those 
 days desertions had occurred from the Spanish ranks ; it was easy to 
 simulate a Cuban force with Spanish regulars. 
 
 General Maceo was marching with his men on the yth, when they 
 met Major Cirujeda with six hundred of the San Quintin regiment, 
 famous for its killing of pacificos ; at first General Maceo took them 
 to be Cubans ; soon was the error discovered. A fierce battle fol* 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 573 
 
 lowed, General Maceo commanding the centre ; the outlook was so 
 bright that General Maceo exclaimed, " This goes well." To decide 
 the engagement, he charged, his machete on high, at the head of his 
 staff, as he had done a hundred times before. Fifty paces from the 
 enemy a terrific volley laid him low, with the valiant Francisco 
 Gomez, the son of the general-in-chief. Only General Miro escaped, 
 wounded. 
 
 The Spaniards, defeated, were forced to retreat to Punta Brava; 
 the Cubans recovered the body, which they secretly buried. This is 
 the story from the best sources in the absence of official reports. 
 Thus died the wonderful mulatto, the most illustrious, perhaps, of his 
 race, superior to Toussaint L Ouverture. His public life was conse 
 crated to liberty ; he knew no vice or mean action ; he would not 
 permit any around him. When he landed, he was told there were no 
 arms. " I will get them with my machete," he answered, and he left 
 5,000 to his country, conquered by the power of his arm. 
 
 He was modest : when some young flatterer told him : t( You are 
 by right the general-in-chief, because you were the last to surrender 
 in the last war," he replied, " My sword can never compare with 
 that of General Maximo Gomez." He was a man of lofty ideal : 
 when the Spanish press propagated the calumny that he was aiming 
 at a colored republic, he sent me word to then and always assert over 
 my signature that : " General Maceo is neither black nor white ; he 
 is a Cuban." That is the man, a Cuban, and for that reason it is fit 
 ting that General Miro should have saturated his handkerchief with 
 the blood of the patriot, so that he could show it to his countrymen 
 as the symbol of sacrifice, and that it may serve to keep them alive 
 to their duty of dying like the hero, Antonio Maceo, who never sur 
 rendered to the Spanish tyrant ! 
 
574 
 
Description of the Famous Trocha Inhuman Treat 
 ment of American Citizens Consul-General 
 Lee s Prompt and Resolute Action. 
 
 THE peculiar methods of warfare adopted by the Cuban insurgents 
 led General Weyler to construct his famous barricade, known 
 as the trocha. It has not been the plan of the Cuban army 
 ever to risk a great battle against the immense army of Spain, for the 
 reason that they were much fewer in number, and for a long time were 
 but poorly equipped with arms and ammunition. Still, with their cav 
 alry and scattered bands, they were able to occupy a large part of the 
 Island, and even to threaten the city of Havana. General Weyler s 
 plan was to construct a trocha, extending from a point on the North 
 coast to the Southern coast, thus dividing a small part of the Island 
 from the remainder. The Western section, known as the Province of 
 Pinar del Rio, could then, it was thought, be pacified, and the insur 
 gents driven out. It would be impossible for them to pass the trocha, 
 and they could be pursued and captured. The reader will be inter 
 ested in a description of this formidable barricade. 
 
 The trocha is a cleared space, 150 to 200 yards wide, which 
 stretches through what is apparently an impassable jungle for 50 
 miles. The trees, which have been cut down in clearing this passage 
 way, have been piled up at each side of the cleared space and laid in 
 parallel rows, forming a barrier of tree trunks and roots and branches 
 higher than a man s head. It would take a man some time to pick 
 his way over these barriers, and a horse could no more do it than it 
 could cross a jam of floating logs in a river. The object was to 
 make the obstacles insurmountable to the insurgent cavalry, and to 
 armed bodies of infantry, presenting an effectual check upon the trans 
 portation of artillery, and in fact upon all their offensive movements. 
 Between, the fallen trees lies the single track of the military rail 
 road, and on one side of that are the line of forts, and a few feet 
 
 575 
 
576 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 beyond them a maze of barbed wire. Beyond the barbed wire again 
 is the other barrier of fallen trees, and the jungle. In its unfinished 
 state, this is not an insurmountable barricade. Gomez crossed it by 
 daylight with 600 men, and with but the loss of 27 killed, and as 
 many wounded. Where it has been completed, it is almost impos 
 sible to cross it, except at the sacrifice of a great loss of life. 
 
 Three Styles of Forts. 
 
 The forts are of three kinds. They are best described as the forts, 
 the block-houses and the little forts. A big fort consists of two 
 stories, with a cellar below, and a watch-tower above. It is made of 
 stone and adobe, and it is painted a glaring white. One of these is 
 placed at intervals of every half mile along the trocha, and on a clear 
 day the sentry in the watch-tower of each can see the three forts on 
 his either side. 
 
 Midway between the big forts, at a distance of a quarter of a mile 
 from each, is a block-house of two stories, with the upper story of 
 wood, overhanging the lower foundation of mud. These are placed 
 at right angles to the railroad, instead of facing it, as do the forts. 
 
 Between each block-house and each fort are three little forts of 
 mud and planks, surrounded by a ditch. They look something like 
 a farmer s ice-house, as we see them at home, and they are about as 
 hot inside as the other is cold. They hold five men, and are within 
 hailing distance of one another. Back of them are three rows of stout 
 wooden stakes, with barbed wire stretching from one row to the other, 
 interlacing and crossing and running in and out above and below, 
 like an intricate cats cradle of wire. 
 
 A Barbed- Wire Barricade. 
 
 One can judge how closely knit it is by the fact that to every twelve 
 yards of posts there are 450 yards of barbed fencing. The forts are 
 most completely equipped in their way, and twelve men in the jungle 
 would find it quite easy to keep twelve men securely imprisoned in 
 one of them for an indefinite length of time. 
 
 The walls are about twelve feet high with a cellar below and a vault 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 577 
 
 above the cellar. The roof of the vault forms a platform, around 
 which the four walls rise to the height of a man s shoulder. There 
 are loopholes for rifles in the sides of the vault and where the platform 
 joins the walls. These latter allow the men in the fort to fire down 
 almost directly upon the head of any one who might rush up close to 
 the wall of the fort, and where, without these holes in the floor, it 
 would be impossible to fire on him except by leaning far over the 
 rampart. 
 
 Above the platform is an iron or zinc roof, supported by iron 
 pillars, and in the centre of this is the watch-tower. The only 
 approach to the fort is by a movable ladder, which hangs over the 
 side like the gangway of a ship of war and which can be raised by 
 those on the inside by means of a rope suspended over a wheel in 
 the roof. The opening in the wall at the head of the ladder is closed 
 at the time of an attack by an iron platform, to which the ladder 
 leads, and which also can be raised by a pulley. The Spanish hope 
 to have calcium lights in the watch-towers of the forts with sufficient 
 power to throw a search-light over a quarter of a mile, or to the next 
 block-house, and so light the trocha by night as well as day. With 
 their immense army it would not be difficult to do this. 
 
 Bomb Death Traps. 
 
 As a further protection against the insurgents the Spaniards have 
 distributed a number of bombs along the trocha. These are placed 
 at those points in the trocha where the jungle is less thickly grown, 
 and where the insurgents might be expected to pass. Each bomb is 
 fitted with an explosive cap, and five or six wires are attached to this 
 and staked down on the ground. Any one stumbling over one of 
 these wires explodes the bomb and throws a charge of broken iron 
 to a distance of fifty feet. This, in brief, was General Weyler s 
 scheme for preventing the insurgents roaming at will from one end of 
 the Island to the other, but to make the plan effective he would have 
 to construct several trochas, which would be an almost impossible 
 task. The length of time required for constructing the trocha, and 
 87 
 
578 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 the necessity of watching it at every point, has led military officers 
 to doubt whether the barricade does not cost more than it is worth. 
 
 Outrages Upon American Citizens. 
 
 Much excitement was caused throughout the United States by Wey- 
 ler s imprisonment of American citizens, alleging that they were 
 giving aid and encouragement to the Cuban forces. One of the 
 prisoners, whose case excited universal interest, was Dr. Ricardo 
 Ruiz, who, it was reported, had been murdered in a dungeon at Guana- 
 bacoa. He was for five years a resident of Philadelphia, having come 
 from Cuba in* 1875, at the time when the former war was rendering 
 the Island a place almost uninhabitable, bringing with him letters of 
 introduction from well-known parties in Cuba. He studied dentistry, 
 and in 1878 obtained a diploma from the Pennsylvania College of 
 Dental Surgery. After having practiced his profession for two years 
 he returned to Cuba, but previous to this, after five years residence 
 in the United States, he secured naturalization papers and became an 
 American citizen. He settled in Guanabacoa as a dentist, and mar 
 ried a lady to whom he had been engaged before leaving the Island. 
 All accounts go to show that he was a man of peaceable disposition. 
 
 He was arrested and confined in prison on suspicion of sympathiz 
 ing with the insurgents, where he remained two years, when his 
 death was reported. It was claimed by his friends that he had died 
 from violence, and that his imprisonment was illegal, as he had never 
 had an impartial trial. These reports created indignation in the 
 United States, which the Spanish authorities endeavored to allay by 
 affirming that an examination after death showed that Dr. Ruiz died 
 from natural causes. 
 
 The Case of Julio Sanguilly. 
 
 Almost immediately came a report that another American citi 
 zen had been sentenced to imprisonment for life, and that, too, in 
 direct violation of our treaty with Spain, which has been in operation 
 for a hundred years, and therefore has all the sanction of time-hon 
 ored precedent. This treaty specifies the tribunal before which a 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 579 
 
 person charged with treason shall be tried, and it was maintained that 
 the provisions of the compact had been unjustly set aside through the 
 operation of martial law, by which General Weyler was attempting to 
 govern Cuba. 
 
 The Committee on Foreign Relations in the United States Senate 
 passed a resolution demanding the immediate release of Julio San- 
 guilly, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment. Hot words 
 were uttered on the floor of the Senate, and much bitter feeling was 
 engendered in the debate which followed the introduction of the reso 
 lution. Notwithstanding the request from the State Department to 
 suspend action in the case for a few days, the Senators took the 
 question in their own hands and proceeded to act. A multitude of 
 eager listeners were present. 
 
 The United States Humiliated. 
 
 Senator Daniel, of Virginia, took the floor in behalf of the 
 adoption of the resolution. He said: "Two years ago yesterday 
 Julio Sanguilly, an American citizen, was thrown into prison. Two 
 years have gone by, and this government has done practically nothing 
 for this citizen. Great Britain would have released him as soon as 
 one of her battleships could reach Havana. He has been brutally 
 treated and condemned on unsworn testimony before military tribu 
 nals. This country and all civilization have been disgraced by 
 the treatment meted out to this unfortunate man. Every citizen of 
 this country would have patriotically applauded the President if he 
 had sent a fleet of American battleships and compelled the release of 
 this American citizen, whose country has been insulted by the treat 
 ment accorded to him and to our representative in Cuba." 
 
 Senator Gray, of Delaware, said he was informed that Sanguilly s 
 counsel had withdrawn his appeal to Madrid in order to facilitate his 
 release. Thereupon, with increased force and manifestly increased 
 anger, Senator Daniel said: " If that is true, it is a humiliation to the 
 United States that one of her citizens has been compelled by sickness 
 and poverty, and delay on the part of this government, to withdraw 
 his appeal for justice, in order to secure his release from prison. It 
 
580 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 means that he has concluded that the United States has abandoned 
 her citizen, her legal child, and that he despairs of justice. His ap 
 peal should not be withdrawn. The people of this country should 
 compel his unconditional release." 
 
 It was at this point that Senator Frye, of Maine, electrified the 
 Senate by saying : " If Sanguilly s counsel has withdrawn the appeal 
 of his client, he has done an unjust act which is inexcusable. For, 
 by that withdrawal, he leaves Sanguilly a convicted criminal, liable to 
 imprisonment for life, and surrenders for Sanguilly and for his family 
 all claims for damages against Spain. He surrenders all that Spain 
 has contended for. Here, we are contending that Sanguilly has been 
 unjustly treated, and that all international law has been violated in 
 his case, when his discouraged counsel withdraws his appeal for jus 
 tice. If I had my way, a ship of war would start immediately to 
 Havana and deliver him." 
 
 The outbreak in the galleries was such as has not been paralleled 
 in years. They were filled with Daughters of the American Revolu 
 tion, and they would not be quieted. Messengers and doorkeepers 
 warned them, and finally had to force some of them into their seats 
 that order might be restored. Their strong sympathy for Cuba was 
 much in evidence. 
 
 News of Sanguilly s Release. 
 
 Later in the day it was announced that the government at Madrid, 
 concluding that discretion was sometimes better than valor, had 
 ordered General Weyler to release Sanguilly. This had a tendency 
 to somewhat allay the excitement, yet a very uneasy feeling and 
 excited state of the public mind was apparent, which a breath might 
 inflame into a wild burst of indignation. 
 
 General Sanguilly soon arrived at Key West. He was made a 
 cripple by the former war, and he now appeared to be in an enfeebled 
 condition. Before he descended the gang-plank he was lifted up on 
 the shoulders of friends and conveyed to a carriage. In reply to a 
 request for a speech, he said he was too fatigued after a rough sea 
 voyage, but thanked his countrymen for the hearty welcome accorded, 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 581 
 
 which he did not take for himself, but, he said, as an evidence of the 
 loyalty to the cause dear to the heart of every Cuban. 
 
 On March 1st the President transmitted to Congress important 
 dispatches from Consul-General Lee, including telegrams relating to 
 the case of Charles Scott. These awakened unusual interest in the 
 
 Senate. 
 
 On February 2Oth Mr. Lee telegraphed as follows to the State De 
 partment : " Charles Scott, a citizen of the United States, arrested at 
 Regla. No charge given. He has been without communication in 
 jail at Havana 264 hours. I cannot stand another Ruiz murder, and 
 have demanded his release. How many war vessels at Key West or 
 within reach, and will they be ordered here at once if necessary to 
 sustain demand?" 
 
 General Lee Threatens to Leave Havana. 
 
 On the 23d General Lee said in a cable message: "Situation sim 
 ple. Experience at Guanabacoa made it my duty to demand, before 
 too late, that another American who has been incommunicado (with 
 out communication with friends) 264 hours, be released from said 
 incommunicado, and did so in courteous terms. If you support it 
 and Scott is so released, the trouble will terminate. If you do not I 
 must depart. All others arrested with Scott have been put in com 
 munication. Why should the only American in the lot not be? He 
 has been incommunicado now 338 hours." 
 
 Later on the same day, the 23d Feb., Mr. Lee wired : " Demand 
 complied with. Scott released from incommunicado to-day, on de 
 mand, after fourteen days solitary confinement in cell five feet by 
 eleven, damp, water on bottom of cell. Not allowed anything to sleep 
 on or chair. Was charged with having Cuban postage stamps in the 
 house. Scott says he went always twelve hours without water ; once 
 two days. He was employee of the American Gas Company." 
 
 General Lee s determination to see that every American citizen in 
 Cuba should have his rights fully protected, met with a hearty re 
 sponse from all classes of the American people. 
 
582 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 General Weyler s Career. 
 
 General Valeriano Weyler was appointed Captain-General of Cuba 
 to succeed General Martinez Campos in January, 1896. He arrived 
 in Havana February loth, and took the oath of office the following 
 day. In November he took the field against Maceo. He learned 
 that General Maceo was in the western part of Pinar del Rio. Spanish 
 journals were quite certain that the Cuban leader was in a trap from 
 which escape was impossible. General Weyler marched his troops 
 into the province to entrap Maceo. Other forces were concentrated 
 in the vicinity of the military line of Mariel and the Batabano Rail 
 road. The Spanish general, however, paid no attention to Gomez, 
 the rebel commander-in-chief, who was in the province of Havana. 
 
 Ten desperate engagements were fought in the space of fifteen 
 days after the actual beginning of the campaign, and in none did the 
 Spanish gain an advantage. After the battle of Neuva Empressa the 
 Cuban leader had little difficulty in moving his men wherever he 
 desired. The Spaniards were left in the rear, and Maceo again 
 entered Havana province, crossing in his route the western trocha 
 near Quivicar. This crossing was made in full view of a large 
 Spanish column stationed there to intercept Maceo. 
 
 After a succession of operations in which General Weyler was not 
 successful in pacifying the western provinces, the rainy season stopped 
 further progress in the work of conquering the rebellion. Then 
 began on the part of the Spanish Government a wonderful movement 
 of reinforcements to the Spanish coast, and as soon as a propitious 
 season arrived these were despatched across the ocean to Cuba. 
 
 With the troops already in the field in the Island the force at 
 General Weyler s command at the opening of the fall campaign of 
 1896-7 was not short of two hundred thousand men. Then General 
 Weyler decided to take the field in person. It was said at the time 
 that he had been ordered to do so by the Spanish Government. 
 This, however, was denied. General Weyler preceded toward the 
 mountainous region of Pinar del Rio. He made his headquarters 
 near the line of the main railway from Havana to Pinar del Rio city. 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 583 
 
 Thence he sent out columns to search for the rebels, but he was not 
 successful in finding them in force, nor did he fight any decisive 
 engagement. 
 
 While he was in the west Maceo met his death at the hands of 
 Spanish troops under Major Cirujada. When General Weyler finally 
 gave up active operations and seated himself in the palace at Havana 
 he announced that Pinar del Rio was practically free from rebel bands. 
 It was officially announced by General Weyler on January n, that 
 three provinces were practically pacified, and then, by a seeming para 
 dox, he took the field again on January 19. The bulletins issued from 
 the Palace announced sweeping victories for the Spanish in Matanzas 
 and the other provinces which he had declared pacified, showing that 
 the insurgents there were still active. 
 
 The last personal campaign, like the first, was one of destruction, 
 and the torch played an important part. When the Captain-General 
 left Havana, he did so with the avowed intention of meeting General 
 Gomez in Matanzas, but there was no engagement of consequence. 
 Gomez eluded the Spanish forces, which outnumbered his own by 
 several thousand, and there were only a few skirmishes. In all of 
 these the officials in the Palace in Havana claimed victories for Spain^ 
 with heavy losses to the insurgents. 
 
 General Ruis Rivera. 
 
 This veteran, who succeeded General Antonio Maceo in the com 
 mand of the Cuban forces in the province of Pinar del Rio, was born 
 in Puerto Rico in 1847. General Rivera is the son of a wealthy 
 Spanish family; his father was a Spanish colonel. Young Rivera 
 was sent to Spain to be educated as a lawyer. When the revolution 
 of 1868 broke out, he was studying law in Barcelona; he gave up his 
 college career and sailed for Cuba. 
 
 Rivera fought valiantly; he displayed at the head of his troops 
 remarkable ability. When the ten years were ended, in 1878, he stood 
 out with Maceo in his refusal to accept the terms of the treaty. He 
 left the Island without surrendering, and before going he handed his 
 machete to Col. Figueredo, his faithful friend, with this injunction : 
 
584 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 " This is my true weapon. If I ever return to Cuba to fight for her 
 freedom, you shall return it to me. If you ever fight with it, and are 
 forced to surrender or leave the fields of Cuba, break it in twain and 
 bury it. Let it never fall into the hands of the enemy." 
 
 Rivera saw the war renewed sixteen years after; as soon as he 
 was called to his post he left Honduras, where he was prosperous in 
 business; he took an expedition to Maceo, which materially strength 
 ened the patriots in the west. His long experience and his splendid 
 qualifications have made him conspicuous. He is a man of great 
 personal magnetism, and a natural successor to his life-long com 
 panion, General Antonio Maceo. 
 
 The Brave General Captured. 
 
 It was the fate of General Rivera soon to be captured, the story of 
 which is dramatic. General Hernandez Velasco left San Cristobal 
 under secret orders at noon March 1 8th, with the Castillo Reina 
 battalion and two field pieces and pitched his camp amid the Brujito 
 Hills. The insurgents attacked the regulars from the very outset of 
 the advance. The Spanish column marched upon Perico Pozo, 
 where General Ruiz Rivera awaited them in a strongly entrenched 
 position. The result of the engagement that ensued was the defeat 
 of the insurgents and the capture of General Rivera. 
 
 Rivera opened fire immediately on seeing the head of the column. 
 Colonel Jose Roco advanced with the extreme vanguard, Major 
 Sanchez Bernal leading another division under the protection of 
 artillery, which shelled the trenches held by Rivera, who was already 
 wounded in the thigh. 
 
 One company of the cavalry galloped forward, capturing the 
 trenches and seizing as prisoners five men who lay severely mutilated 
 by the shells. Colonel Bacallao, on learning that Rivera had been 
 wounded, hurried to the trenches and begged the soldiers not to kill 
 him. Rivera and Colonel Bacallao were taken into the presence of 
 General Velasco, who shook hands with Rivera and introduced him 
 to the officers of his staff, giving instructions that the first thing to 
 be done was to give him surgical relief. Lieutenant Terry and 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 585 
 
 Colonel Bacallao were also wounded in a fight at the same place on 
 March I5th. 
 
 The Castillo battalion secured important documents as well as the 
 arms and money of General Ruiz Rivera. The money consisted 
 mostly of American gold coin. A number of splendid watches were 
 left with General Velasco. The villagers of San Cristobal, who went 
 out to receive the small column of Spanish troops, enthusiastically 
 cheered the victors. 
 
 He was Accorded the Honors of War. 
 
 General Rivera, who remained quietly in prison, eulogized the 
 escort of Spanish soldiers. He said the troops treated him with the 
 greatest consideration. He also said the families of the insurgents 
 in the camp of the Cubans were in a critical situation. They suffered 
 greatly from hunger, and were compelled to go out in search of 
 vegetables whenever it was possible to avoid the Spanish troops. The 
 insurgents were well supplied with meat, but had no spices. 
 
 General Rivera would say nothing concerning the war or Cuban 
 political matters. When asked his name by General Velasco, Rivera 
 replied, and made the following request : 
 
 " Give me the honors of war and stretch out to me your hand." 
 
 Rivera afterward conversed with some of the chief officers, and 
 offered them tips for services rendered. Velasco, noticing this, said: 
 " Soldiers need not money, but honor, which they have." 
 
 One of the shells exploded in the insurgent camp, wounding many 
 members of Rivera s staff. Rivera himself received a Mauser ball, 
 which caused three serious wounds in the thigh. The moment the 
 Spanish infantry entered the trenches Colonel Bacallao raised General 
 Rivera on his shoulders as if to carry him off. After his capture General 
 Rivera, speaking of the Spanish soldiery, said: "They have treated 
 me very carefully." He complained much of the pain of his wounds. 
 
 Captain-General Weyler received the news of Rivera s capture at 
 Cienfuegos, where the intelligence was loudly cheered. The Captain- 
 General was described as " satisfied " with the result, and received 
 cablegrams of congratulations from the Spanish Minister of War and 
 
586 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 the Spanish Premier, who congratulated him in the name of the 
 Queen of Spain. Lieutenant Henry Terry died from his wounds. 
 He was a naturalized American. 
 
 President McKinley on the Cuban Situation. 
 
 The long-standing case of Cuba again came to the front in the 
 United States Senate on May 17. President McKinley gave the first 
 indication of his policy by a special message asking Congress to 
 appropriate $50,000 for the relief of suffering Americans in Cuba. 
 The President s message read thus : 
 
 " Official information from our Consuls in Cuba establishes the fact 
 that a large number of American citizens in the island are in a state 
 of destitution, suffering for want of food and medicines. This applies 
 particularly to the rural districts of the central and eastern parts. 
 
 " The agricultural classes have been forced from their farms into 
 the nearest towns where they are without work or money. The 
 local authorities of the several towns, however kindly disposed, are 
 unable to relieve the needs of their own people, and are altogether 
 powerless to help our citizens. The latest report of Consul-General 
 Lee estimates that 600 to 800 are without means of support. I have 
 assured him that provision would be made at once to relieve them. 
 To that end I recommend that Congress make an appropriation of 
 not less than $50,000, to be immediately available for use under the 
 direction of the Secretary of State. 
 
 " It is desirable that a part of the sum which may be appropriated 
 by Congress should, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, also 
 be used for the transportation of American citizens who, desiring to 
 return to the United States, are without means to do so." 
 
 The public interest in the subject was shown by the great crowds 
 which besieged the galleries throughout the day. Among the occu 
 pants of the diplomatic gallery were Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British 
 Ambassador, and Minister Hatch, of Hawaii, and in the reserved gal 
 lery were General Dan Sickles, ex-United States Minister to Spain. 
 Neither the Spanish Legation nor the Cuban Bureau in Washington 
 was represented in the galleries, so far as could be observed. 
 
588 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 Two phases of the subject were presented. First came the ques 
 tion of relief to destitute and starving Americans in Cuba. This 
 was presented in the President s message as soon as the session 
 opened. Immediately following the reading of the message, Mr. 
 Davis, chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations, presented a 
 favorable report on the joint resolution originally introduced by Mr. 
 Gallinger, appropriating $50,000 for the relief of American citizens 
 in Cuba. There was only one brief speech from Mr. Gallinger 
 and then the resolution went through by unanimous vote, there being 
 no response to the call for nays. It took exactly eighteen minutes 
 for the reading of the message, the presentation of the committee 
 report, the brief speech and the final passage of the resolution. 
 
 A New Departure. 
 
 In the House of Representatives the resolution was passed without 
 dissent. 
 
 Speaking of the President s message, one of our leading journals 
 commented as follows : " It is an essentially new departure in inter 
 national affairs, and it is in order for the sticklers for precedent to 
 enter fussy protestation, as they did in connection with the Venezu 
 elan question, against the Monroe doctrine, declaring that it was not 
 to be found in the code of international law. It is certainly very 
 unusual, if not unprecedented, for the Government to make a relief 
 appropriation for its own people in some foreign land. The truth is, 
 this Cuban situation is wholly exceptional. Here is a little island in 
 a state of civil war. It is largely a sectional war, one part of the 
 island being in possession of one of the belligerents and the other 
 section in the possession of the other belligerent. 
 
 " Several hundreds of our American citizens are in that section of 
 the island occupied by Spanish armies, and are suffering, in common 
 with the Cubans themselves, from a deliberate policy of starvation. 
 Weyler is trying to conquer by famine. That is his fixed purpose, 
 and, from the nature of the case, no discrimination is made between 
 Spanish subjects in rebellion and American citizens sojourning in the 
 island. If the policy of starvation can not be maintained without 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 689 
 
 this indiscrimination, then so much the worse for Weyler and his 
 policy. Congress has only to make the appropriation asked for, and 
 the relief will go forward, without regard to any collateral conse 
 quences." 
 
 The second phase of the Cuban subject came up in the Senate 
 when the Morgan resolution, declaring that a state of war exists in 
 Cuba, was taken up. Mr. Wellington, the new senator from Mary 
 land, came forward for his initial speech in the Senate, making a vig 
 orous protest against the resolution, on the ground that it threatened 
 war with Spain. He said the first duty of Congress was to pass the 
 tariff bill. The senator condemned "jingoism," and gave his indorse 
 ment to President Cleveland s conservatism on the Cuban question. 
 
 Warm Words in Behalf of Cuba. 
 
 Senator Daniel, of Virginia, said the senator from Maryland (Wel 
 lington) had " taken a shot at creation " while presumably discussing 
 the pending resolution. He had gone into the tariff, currency, the 
 late and the present administrations in their various ramifications. 
 Mr. Daniel asserted that the Maryland senator entirely misappre 
 hended the resolution in declaring that it involved hostility to Spain. 
 In sarcastic tones Mr. Daniel referred to Mr. Wellington s statement 
 that some debt of gratitude existed because Spain had produced a 
 Christopher Columbus. " It were better had there been no Colum 
 bus," said Mr. Daniel, " if America was to continue a savagery that 
 prevailed here before the country was discovered." The senator then 
 took up the legal questions involved in the recognition of belligerency. 
 
 After concluding his legal argument on the powers of Congress 
 and the President, Mr. Daniel branched to the general subject of 
 Cuba, and again aroused the keenest attention by his vigorous words. 
 The diplomacy of Spain had succeeded for two and one-half years, 
 he said, in blinding American diplomacy in the belief that war did 
 not exist in Cuba. But the world knew that war existed there, high 
 handed, red-handed, bloody, cruel war. It is a war in which Spain 
 employs more troops than England employed in seeking to put down 
 the American revolution. 
 
590 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 And yet senators were met with the statement that a recognition 
 of a state of war in Cuba would be inimical to Spain. He denied 
 that the recognition of an existing fact could be construed as a hos 
 tile act, but in any event the fact should be recognized and the great 
 influence of the United States thrown toward the cause of civilized 
 and Christian usage. It might subject some American vessels to 
 search, but this would be a small matter compared with the results 
 achieved. It might give Spain a right to blockade Cuba, but in that 
 Spain would suffer more than the United States. 
 
 A Calamity Greater than War. 
 
 " It is said this means war," continued Mr. Daniel. " I deny it. 
 If Spain should declare war against us because we recognized the 
 belligerency of her former subjects, who had carried on a war for two 
 and one-half years, she would have an unjust cause of complaint and 
 war against us, and we will have a just cause of complaint and war 
 against her. I do not wish to see the American people involved in 
 war. I look upon war as one of the greatest calamities that can befall 
 a people. But it is a greater calamity for the high public spirit of a 
 great nation to be so deadened that it can look upon murder and 
 arson and pillage with indifference and for the public spirit of that 
 nation to be so dead as to delay one instant in doing an act of justice 
 because of fear of war." 
 
 During the debate Senator Mason, of Illinois, made a bold, patri 
 otic and eloquent speech, denouncing Spanish atrocities in Cuba. 
 The inhuman barbarities inflicted upon innocent people, the savage 
 attacks made upon them and their expulsion from their own homes, 
 condemned to suffering and starvation, were depicted in burning 
 language. Among other things he said: " Here is the proof in the 
 communication of the President, stating that 800 citizens of the 
 United States have been driven from their homes, and are destitute. 
 Who forced them there? Was it the Insurgents? Then, there is 
 war in Cuba. Was it the Spaniards ? Then, if there is no war, there 
 ought to be, and with us. Eight hundred Americans driven from 
 home starving, and still some senators say it is not much of a war." 
 
LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 591 
 
 Again and again the galleries broke into loud applause as the 
 sturdy Senator expressed in eloquent terms the feeling of the Ameri 
 can people. The excitement was at white heat; handkerchiefs 
 waved ; cheers burst forth that could not be repressed. 
 
 Senator Foraker, of Ohio, produced an unpublished letter of Secre 
 tary Olney, addressed to the Spanish government in April, 1896, in 
 which the President offered to Spain the mediation of the United 
 States to bring the war to a close, which was firmly refused by the 
 Spanish government, who stated, through their minister at Washing 
 ton, that there was no effectual way to pacify the Cubans except 
 upon the condition that they should first submit to the mother 
 country. 
 
 The Morgan Resolution. 
 
 Mr. Foraker s speech was delivered with much warmth and earnest 
 ness. Several of his well-rounded periods, in which sympathy was 
 expressed with the struggling Cubans, and in which the cruelties and 
 barbarities of the Spanish military forces were denounced, called 
 forth demonstrations from the galleries. 
 
 The Morgan resolution declared : " That a condition of public war 
 exists between the Government of Spain and the Government pro 
 claimed and for some time maintained by force of arms by the people 
 of Cuba, and that the United States of America shall maintain a strict 
 neutrality between the contending parties, according to each all the 
 rights of belligerents in the ports and territory of the United 
 States." 
 
 The resolution received in its favor the votes of 1 8 Republicans, 
 19 Democrats, and 4 Populists; 12 Republicans and 2 Democrats 
 voted against it a total vote of 41 to 14. 
 
 Early in May President McKinley sent Hon. W. J. Calhoun, of 
 Illinois, as a special commissioner to Cuba, who was charged pri 
 marily with helping Consul-General Lee to investigate the circum 
 stances surrounding the death of Dr. Albert Ruiz in a Spanish prison. 
 The Spanish government was represented by Dr. Congosto, Spanish 
 Consul at Philadelphia. Under date of May 28th a reliable corres 
 pondent in Cuba made public the following communication : 
 
592 LATEST EVENTS IN CUBA. 
 
 " There will be trouble over the Ruiz investigation. In fact, there 
 has been trouble already. It will be set down in the future as an 
 irritant in the relations between Spain and the United States, whereas 
 President McKinley built hope of another kind upon it. 
 
 " In ten days the joint commission, of which General Lee and Dr. 
 Congosto are the heads, has had exactly one session, which had little 
 result beyond showing General Lee and Mr. Calhoun how little they 
 might expect. 
 
 " The delay has been caused by Dr. Congosto on the flimsiest pre 
 text, and the Spanish representative, too, by talking recklessly about 
 General Lee, and other Consuls came within an ace of being told 
 that the American representatives would have nothing more to do 
 with him personally and officially. 
 
 Dr. Ruiz in His Cell. 
 
 " Ruiz died, according to the surgeons, from congestion of the 
 brain, caused by a blow or blows. When General Lee and Mr. Cal 
 houn visited the jail in Guanabacoa, they were shown the cell in 
 which the Spanish say that Ruiz died. 
 
 " The guard explained to General Lee and Mr. Calhoun that he 
 heard thumping on the inside of the door, and when he opened it 
 and went in, Ruiz was running at the heavy door and butting it with 
 his head. 
 
 " Ruiz had only one wound on the top of his head. Had he butted 
 this door, as the jailor says he did, his scalp must necessarily have 
 been lacerated in several places. 
 
 " The American representatives have decided that they will not ask 
 a single question of the guards if they are called, feeling it absurd to 
 waste time on them under the circumstances. Dr. Congosto has 
 been told plainly that from all that is known the testimony of these 
 men would not be received in any court in the United States, unless 
 they were prisoners and chose to speak in their own defence. 
 
 " The Americans asked for the official record of the arrest of Ruiz 
 and the charges made against him. Dr. Congosto said that the 
 record was in Madrid. It has not been furnished." 
 
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