  BY A. D. HALL logo NEW YORK STREET & SMITH, Publishers Copyrighted
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| CHAPTER | PAGE. | |
| I. | —Discovery and Early History | 7 |
| II. | —The British Occupation—Spain's Gratitude | 19 |
| III. | —Cuba's Early Struggles for Liberty | 30 |
| IV. | —The Ten Years' War | 43 |
| V. | —The Virginius Embroglio | 59 |
| VI. | —Again Spain's Perfidy | 67 |
| VII. | —Some Cuban Heroes | 73 |
| VIII. | —Cuban Tactics | 84 |
| IX. | —Weyler the Butcher | 92 |
| X. | —The Crime of the Century | 102 |
| XI. | —Two Methods of Warfare; The Spanish and the Cuban | 110 |
| XII. | —The Butcher's Campaign | 122 |
| XIII. | —America's Charity and Spain's Diplomacy | 132 |
| XIV. | —The Last Days of Peace | 144 |
| XV. | —The Topography and Resources of Cuba | 154 |
| XVI. | —What Will the Future Be? | 170 |
CUBA
ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY.
"The goodliest land that eye ever saw, the sweetest thing in the world."
Such was Columbus' opinion of Cuba, just after he first beheld it, and, after the lapse of four hundred years, the words, making due allowance for the hyperbole of enthusiasm, still hold good. And this, too, in spite of all the trials and tribulations which the fair "Pearl of the Antilles" has been forced to undergo at the hands of her greedy and inhuman masters.
The eyes of all the world are now upon this indescribably beautiful and fertile country. Like Andromeda, she has been shuddering and gasping in the power of a monster, but at last a Perseus has come to her rescue. Somewhat tardily perhaps the United States, united now in every meaning of the word, has from pure philanthropy embraced her cause—the United States whose watchword, with a sturdy hatred of the oppressor, has ever been and always will be "freedom." The star of hope, symbolized by the lone star upon the Cuban flag, and so long concealed by gloomy, threatening clouds,
The island of Cuba, the largest and richest of the West Indian Islands, and up to the present the most important of Spain's colonial possessions, not so vast as they once were but still of no inconsiderable value, was discovered by Columbus during his first voyage to the far west.
For many centuries, even back to the time of Solomon, the chief object of explorers had been a discovery of a passage to India and the fabulous wealth of the East. In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo, the famous Venetian explorer, went far beyond any of his predecessors and succeeded in reaching Pekin. He also heard of another empire which was called Zipangri, the same that we now know as Japan. When he returned and published what we are sorry to say was none too veracious an account, Polo being only too ready to draw upon his imagination, other nations were fired by emulation.
The Portuguese were the first to achieve any positive result. Early in the fifteenth century, inspired by an able and enterprising sovereign, they doubled Cape Non, discovered Madeira, occupied the Azores and reached the Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. In 1486, Bartholomew Diaz sighted the Cape of Good Hope, which some ten years later Vasco da Gama, the most famous of all Portuguese explorers, rounded, and then proceeded some distance toward India.
It was after hearing the wonderful tales of these explorers that Columbus became inspired with the idea of sailing westward on the unknown waters, expecting thus to reach India. After untold discouragements, and finally by the generosity of Queen Isabella, who was brought to believe in his conjectures, he set sail from Palos, August 3, 1492, with three small vessels manned by about ninety sailors. The following 12th of October he first sighted the western hemisphere, which, however, he thought to be Asia, and by the way, lived and died in that belief. This land was one of the Bahama Islands, called by the natives Guanahani, but christened by Columbus as San Salvador. It is now known as Cat Island.
The 28th of the same month Columbus discovered Cuba, entering the mouth of a river in what he believed to be that "great land," of which he had heard so much.
From the very beginning, it was as it has existed to the present day—the Spaniards looked for gold and were determined to exploit their new possessions to the very last peseta that could be wrung from them.
The island was first called Juana, in honor of Prince John, son of Ferdinand and Isabella; but, after Ferdinand's death, it received the name of Fernandina. Subsequently, it was designated, after Spain's patron saint, Santiago, and still later Ave Maria, in honor of the Virgin.
Finally it received its present name, the one originally bestowed upon it by the natives. Cuba means "the
At first, however, the answers received in Cuba in reply to the questions of her discoverers as to the existence of gold were not satisfactory. It seemed as if this ne plus ultra to the Spaniards was to be found in a neighboring and larger island, which has been known by the various names of Hayti, Hispaniola and Santo Domingo. The prospect of enrichment here was so inviting that the first settlement of Spain in the New World was made in Hayti.
The aborigines seem to have made no resistance to the coming among them of a new race of people. They were apparently peaceful and kindly, dwelling in a state of happy tranquillity among themselves.
Their character is best demonstrated by an extract from a letter written by Columbus to their Catholic majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella:
"The king having been informed of our misfortune expressed great grief for our loss and immediately sent aboard all the people in the place in many large canoes; we soon unloaded the ship of everything that was upon deck, as the king gave us great assistance; he himself, with his brothers and relations, took all possible care that everything should be properly done, both aboard and on shore. And, from time to time, he sent some of his relations weeping, to beg of me not to be dejected, for he would give me all that he had. I can assure your highnesses that so much care would not have been taken in securing our effects in any part of Spain, as all our
Strange and far from pleasant reading this in the light of future events. By so-called savages the invading Spaniards were treated with the utmost kindness and courtesy, while many generations later the descendants of these same Spaniards, on this same island, visited nothing but cruelty and oppression upon those unfortunates who after all were of their own flesh and blood.
As has been said, the first settlement of the Spaniards was made on the island of Hayti. But the dreams of enormous revenue were not realized, in spite of the fact
After its discovery, Cuba was twice visited by Columbus, in April, 1494, and again in 1502, but these visits do not seem to have been productive of any particular results.
It was not until 1511 that the Spaniards thought it worth while to colonize Cuba, and only then because they believed that they had exhausted the resources of Hayti, in other words, that that particular orange had been sucked dry.
Therefore they sent a band of three hundred men under Diego Velasquez, who had accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, to make a settlement on the island.
Velasquez and his companions found the natives peaceful and happy, ruled over by nine independent chiefs. They met with but little resistance, and that little was easily overcome. Soon the weak and guileless Indians were completely subjugated.
There was one instance which it is well worth while to relate here as showing the Spanish character, which
There was one native chief, a refugee from Hayti, named Hatuey, who had had previous dealings with the Spaniards, and knew what was to be expected from them. He had strongly opposed their invasion, was captured, and sentenced to be burned alive at the stake. As the flames curled about him, a Franciscan monk held up a crucifix before him, urging him to abjure the impotent gods of his ancestors and embrace Christianity.
Hatuey, knowing well that his conversion would not save him from a horrible death, and remembering all the atrocities he had seen committed, asked where Heaven was and if there were many Spaniards there.
"A great many of then," answered the monk.
"Then," cried Hatuey, "I will not go to a place where I may meet one of that accursed race. I prefer to go elsewhere."
Hatuey's death ended all rebellion, if struggling for one's rights can be rebellion, and the iron hand of tyranny, whose grasp has never since been relaxed, closed firmly upon the beautiful island.
Three hundred of the natives were given as slaves to each Spaniard, but, as in Hayti, it was found that they were not strong enough for the enormous tasks their masters would have imposed upon them. So negro slaves were imported from the mother country, and their descendants remained in the bonds of serfdom for centuries.
The first permanent settlement was made at Santiago de Cuba, on the Southeastern coast, the scene of Admiral Sampson's recent brilliant achievements, and this was for a long time the capital of the colony. Then came Trinidad, and in 1515 a town was started called San Cristoval de la Habana, which name was transferred four years later to the present capital, the first named place being rechristened Batabana.
The natives were treated with the utmost cruelty, so cruelly, in fact, that they were practically exterminated. Only a comparatively few years after the settlement of the island there were scarcely any of them left. The result of this short sighted policy on the part of Spain was that agriculture declined to an enormous extent, and Cuba became virtually a pastoral country.
In 1537, the king appointed as captain-general Hernando de Soto, the picturesque adventurer, who was afterwards famous as the discoverer of the Mississippi and for his romantic search for the fountain of eternal youth.
All powers, both civil and military, were vested in the captain-general, the title bestowed upon the governors, although many of them were civilians.
Shortly after this appointment, Havana was reduced to ashes by a French privateer, and De Soto built for the city's protection the Castillo de la Fuerza, a fortress which still exists. But this precaution proved ineffectual, as in 1554, the city which had gained considerably in importance, as it had now become the capital, was again attacked and partially destroyed by the French.
The discovery of Mexico and other countries drew away from the island the majority of its working population, and the government passed a law imposing the penalty of death upon all who left it.
Spain also imposed the heaviest trade restrictions upon Cuba. It was exploited in every direction for the benefit of the mother country and to the exclusion of every one else. All foreigners, and even Spaniards not natives of Castile, were prohibited from trading with the island or settling in it.
The consequence was that the increase of population was slow, the introduction of negroes, whose labor was most essential for prosperity, was gradual, and the progress and growth of the island were almost stopped.
Moreover, Spain was ruler of the greater part of the Atlantic, and a most despotic ruler she proved herself to be. Numerous tales are told of the atrocities committed upon navigators, especially those of England.
When Cromwell, who caused many liberal ideas to be introduced into England, tried to induce Spain to abolish the Inquisition and to allow the free navigation of the Atlantic, the Spanish ambassador replied:
"For my master to relinquish those prerogatives would be the same as to put out both his eyes."
One instance of Spain's cruelty, for which, however, she suffered a well-merited retribution, may be related here. In 1564, a party of French Huguenots settled in Florida near the mouth of the river St. John. A certain
Hampered and oppressed as they were, deprived of a free and convenient market for the produce of the soil by reason of the monopolies imposed by the mother country, it is not strange that the Cubans had recourse to smuggling, and this was especially the case after the British conquest of Jamaica in 1655. So universal did the practice become, that when Captain-General Valdez arrived, he found that nearly all the Havanese were guilty of the crime of illicit trading, the punishment of which was death. At the suggestion of Valdez, a ship was freighted with presents for the king, and sent to Spain with a petition for pardon, which was finally granted.
But the whole of Europe was against Spain in her arrogant assumption of the suzerainty of the New World. Especially were her pretensions condemned and resisted by the English, French, Portuguese and Dutch, all of whom were engaged in colonizing different portions of America. Then arose a body of men, who were
Hayti, as has already been intimated, had been almost depopulated by the oppressive colonial policy of Spain. The island had become the home of immense herds of wild cattle, and it was the custom of the smugglers to stop there to provision their ships.
The natives, which were still left, had learned to be skilled in preserving the meat by means of fire and smoke, and they called their kilns "boucans." The smugglers, besides obtaining what they desired for their own use of this preserved meat, established an extensive illicit trade in it. Hence, they obtained the name of buccaneers.
Spanish monopolies were the pest of every port in the New World, and mariners of the western waters were filled with a detestation, quite natural, of everything Spanish.
Gradually, the ranks of the buccaneers were recruited. They were given assistance and encouragement, direct and indirect, by other nations, even in some cases being furnished with letters-of-marque and reprisal as privateers.
The commerce of Spain had been gradually dwindling since the defeat of the so-called Invincible Armada, and the buccaneers commenced now to seize the returning treasure ships and to plunder the seaboard cities of Cuba and other Spanish possessions.
Even Havana itself was not spared by them.
The buccaneers, indefensible though many of their actions were, had a great influence upon the power and colonial tactics of Spain.
Beyond this, they opened the eyes of the world to the rottenness of the whole system of Spanish government and commerce in America, and undoubtedly did much to build up the West Indian possessions of England, France and Holland.
It is curious to note here the career of one of their most famous leaders, an Englishman named Morgan. He was barbarous in the extreme and returned from many expeditions laden with spoil. But, finally, he went to Jamaica, turned respectable and was made deputy-governor of the island. He died, by favor of Charles II., the "gallant" Sir Henry Morgan.
But in 1697, the European powers generally condemned the buccaneers.
In spite of the lessons they had received, and the universal protest of other nations, the Spaniards, obstinate then as ever, refused to change their policy. They persisted in closing the magnificent harbors of Cuba to the commerce of the rest of the world, and that, too, when Spain could not begin to use the products of the island. Still she could not and would not allow one bit of gold to slip from between her fingers. She has always held on with eager greed to all that she could lay her hands on. It is certainly food for the unrestrained laughter of gods and men that she has recently been sneering at the United States as a nation of traders and money grubbers.
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION—SPAIN'S GRATITUDE.
In the early years of the eighteenth century, Cuba was more or less at peace, that is so far as Spain, a degenerate mother of a far more honorable daughter, would allow her to be at peace, and she increased in population, and, to a certain extent, in material prosperity.
But in 1717, a revolt broke out, a revolt which was thoroughly justified.
Spain felt that the agricultural wealth of the island was increasing, and she desired for herself practically the whole of the advantages which accrued from it.
Therefore, she demanded a royal monopoly of the tobacco trade. This demand was strenuously and bitterly opposed by the Cubans.
The Captain-General, Raja, was obliged to flee, but finally the trouble was ended, and Spain, by might far rather than by right, had her way. The monopoly was established.
But the oppressive government led to another uprising in 1723, which again was quickly quelled. Twelve of the leaders were hanged by Guazo, who was at that time the captain-general.
Twice, therefore, did the one who was in the wrong conquer, simply from the possession of superior force.
It is said that the mills of God grind slowly, but
Richard Le Galliene, to-day, toward the end of the nineteenth century, speaks in clarion tones, as follows:
| "Spain is an ancient dragon, |
| That too long hath curled |
| Its coils of blood and darkness |
| About the new-born world. |
| Think of the Inquisition |
| Think of the Netherlands! |
| Yea! think of all Spain's bloody deeds |
| In many times and lands. |
| And let no feeble pity |
| Your sacred arms restrain; |
| This is God's mighty moment |
| To make an end of Spain." |
About this time, that is, from 1724 to 1747, Cuba, chiefly, if not almost entirely, at Havana, became a ship building centre, of course, once more, at least for a time, to the advantage of Spain. In all, there were constructed some one hundred and twenty-five vessels, carrying amongst them four thousand guns. These ships comprised six ships of the line, twenty-one of seventy to eighty guns each, twenty-six of fifty to sixty guns, fourteen frigates of thirty to forty guns and fifty-eight smaller vessels.
But then Spain became jealous—imagine a parent jealous of the success of its child!—and the ship-building industry was peremptorily stopped. During the present century, in Cuba only the machinery of one steamer, the Saqua, has been constructed, and two
What a commentary on the dominating and destructive policy—self-destructive policy, too—of Spain!
In 1739, there arose in England a popular excitement for a war against Spain. One of the chief incidents which led to this was an episode which caused Thomas Carlyle to call the strife that followed "The War of Jenkins' Ear."
The English had persisted in maintaining a trade with Cuba in spite of Spain's prohibition.
A certain Captain Jenkins, who was in command of an English merchantman, was captured by a Spanish cruiser. His ship was subjected to search, and he himself, according to his own declaration, put to the torture. The Spaniards, however, could find little or nothing of which to convict him, and, irritated at this they committed a most foolish act, a deed of childish vengeance. They cut off one of his ears and told him to take it back to England and show it to the king.
Jenkins preserved his mutilated ear in a bottle of spirits, and, in due course of time, appeared himself before the House of Commons and exhibited it to that body.
The excitement ensuing upon the proof of this outrage to a British subject beggars description.
Walpole was at that time prime minister, and, although essentially a man of peace, he found it impossible to stem the tide, and public sentiment compelled him to declare war against Spain.
This war, however, was productive of but little result one way or the other.
But before long another struggle ensued, which was far more reaching in its consequences.
In 1756, what is known in history as the Seven Years War, broke out. This seems to have been a mere struggle for territory, and, besides a duel between France and England, involved Austria, with its allies, France, Russia and the German princes against the new kingdom of Prussia.
This naturally led to an alliance between England and Prussia.
Towards the end of the war, early in 1762, hostilities were declared against Spain.
An English fleet and army, under Lord Albemarle, were sent to Cuba. The former consisted of more than two hundred vessels of all classes, and the latter of fourteen thousand and forty-one men.
The opposing Spanish force numbered twenty-seven thousand six hundred and ten men.
With the English, were a large number of Americans, some of whom figured later more or less prominently in the war of the Revolution. Israel Putnam, the hero of the breakneck ride at Horseneck, and General Lyman, under whom Putnam eventually served, were among these, as was also Lawrence Washington, a brother of "The Father of His Country."
By the way, the American loss in Cuba during this campaign was heavy. Very few, either officers or men, ever returned home. Most of those who were spared by
May this experience of our forefathers in the last century not be repeated in the persons of our brothers of the present!
The defense of Havana was excessively obstinate, and the Cuban volunteers covered themselves with glory.
But, in spite of the superior force of the Spanish, the English were finally successful.
Taking all things into consideration, it was a wonderful feat of arms, one of which only the Anglo-Saxon race is capable.
Nevertheless, it was only after a prolonged struggle that the victory was complete.
At last, on the 30th of July, Morro Castle surrendered, and about two weeks afterward, the city of Havana capitulated.
The spoil divided among the captors amounted to about four million seven hundred thousand dollars.
The English remained in possession of Cuba for something like six mouths, and during that time instituted many important and far-reaching reforms, so much so in fact that when the Spaniards regained possession, they found it very difficult to re-establish their former restrictive and tyrannous system.
For instance, the sanitary condition of Havana, which was atrocious even in those comparatively primitive days of hygiene, was vastly improved. All over the island, roads were opened. During the time of the English
The commerce of the island improved to a remarkable extent, and for the first time the sugar industry began to be productive.
If the British had remained in possession of Cuba, it is probable that that unhappy island would have been spared much of its misery and would have been as contented, prosperous and loyal as Canada is to-day.
It really seemed as if an era of prosperity had begun, when by the treaty of Paris, in February, 1763, most of the conquests made during the Seven Years' War were restored to their original owners, and among them unfortunately in the light of both past and future events, Cuba to the misrule of the Spaniards.
England, however, was eminently the gainer by this treaty, as she received from France all the territory formerly claimed by the latter east of the Mississippi, together with Prince Edward's Island, Cape Breton, St. Vincent, Dominica, Minorca and Tobago. In return for Cuba, Spain ceded to England Florida, while the Spanish government received Louisiana from France. On the other hand, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Pondicherry and Goree were returned to France.
It was impossible for the Spanish to undo in a day all the good that the English rule, short though it was, had accomplished.
Moreover, it was more than fortunate for Cuba that there followed not long after two governors of more
The first of these governors, or to give them their rightful title, captain-generals, was Luis de Las Casas, who was appointed in 1790.
Now, for the first time in her history, Cuba really made rapid progress in commercial prosperity as well as in public improvements. Las Casas developed all branches of industry, allowed the establishment of newspapers, and gave his aid to the patriotic societies.
He also introduced the culture of indigo, removed as far as his powers permitted the old trammels, which an iniquitous system had placed upon trade, and made noble efforts to bring about the emancipation of the enslaved Indian natives.
His attitude toward the newly established republic of the United States was most generous, and this helped largely to develop the industry of the island.
By his judicious administration, the tranquillity of Cuba remained undisturbed during the time of the rebellion in Hayti, and this in face of the fact that strenuous efforts were made by the French, to form a conspiracy and bring about an uprising among the free people of color in Cuba.
Another thing that will redound forever to the credit of Las Casas and which should make his memory beloved by all Americans—it was through his efforts that the body of Columbus was removed from Hayti where it had
In 1796, Las Casas was succeeded by another just and philanthropic governor, the Count of Santa Clara. The latter greatly improved the fortifications which then guarded the island and constructed a large number of others, among them the Bateria de Santa Clara, just outside Havana, and named in his honor.
It was undoubtedly due in a very great measure to the kindly policies of these two noble and far seeing men that Cuba at that time became confirmed in her allegiance to the mother country; and had they been followed by men of equal calibre of both mind and heart, it is more than probable that the history of Cuba would have been devoid of stirring events. For, as the old saying has it: "Happy nations have no history."
In 1795 a number of French emigrants arrived from San Domingo, and proved a valuable acquisition.
In 1802, a disastrous fire occurred in a suburb of Havana, called Jesu Maria, and over eleven thousand four hundred people were rendered destitute and homeless.
About this time, the star of Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest of heroes or the greatest of adventurers, according to the point of view, was in the ascendant. Almost without exception there was not a country in Europe that had not felt the weight of his heavy hand, and, to all intents and purposes, he was the master of the continent.
Spain was by no means to escape his greed for conquest and power.
Her country was overrun and ravaged by his victorious armies. Her reigning family was driven away. Napoleon deposed the descendant of a long line of Bourbons, Ferdinand VII., and placed his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte, upon the throne.
Then the attitude and the action of Cuba were superb. Her loyalty was unwavering. Every member of the provincial council declared his fidelity to the old dynasty, and took an oath to defend and preserve the island for its legitimate sovereign.
More than this—the Cubans followed this declaration up by deeds, which ever speak louder than mere words. They made numerous voluntary subscriptions, they published vehement pamphlets, and they sent their sons to fight and shed their blood for the agonized mother country.
For this, Cuba received the title of "The Ever Faithful Isle," by which it has been known ever since.
A very pretty compliment truly! But let us see in what other and more substantial ways was Cuba's magnificent fidelity rewarded.
The answer is as brief as it is true. In no way whatever.
Many promises were made at the time by the Provisional Government at Seville, chief among them being that all Spanish subjects everywhere should have equal rights. But not one of these promises was ever kept.
On the contrary, it was not long before the oppression became greater than ever. There were deprivation of
Clothed as they were with the powers of an Oriental despot, most of the captain-generals from Spain covered themselves with infamy, the office as a rule having been sought (and this was distinctly realized by the Spanish government) only as an end and means to acquire a personal fortune.
To realize the practically absolute authority given to the captain-generals, it is only necessary to read the royal decree promulgated after Joseph Bonaparte had been deposed and the Bourbon king, Ferdinand, restored to the throne.
A portion of this amazing document is as follows:
"His majesty, the king our Lord, desiring to obviate the inconveniences that might, in extraordinary cases, result from a division of command, and from the interferences and prerogatives of the respective officers: for the important end of preserving in that precious island his legitimate sovereign authority and the public tranquility, through proper means, has resolved, in accordance with the opinion of his council of ministers, to give to your excellency the fullest authority, bestowing upon you all the powers which by the royal ordinances are granted to the governors of besieged cities. In consequence of this his majesty gives to your excellency the most ample and unbounded power, not only to send away from the island any persons in office, whatever
For over one hundred and seventy years these orders have received little or no change, and they still remain practically the supreme law of Cuba.
This was the way that magnanimous, grateful, chivalrous Spain began to reward "The Ever Faithful Isle" for its unparalleled loyalty and devotion.
And Heaven save the mark! this was only the beginning.
"That precious island," says the royal decree. Precious! There was never a truer word spoken. For Spain has always loved Cuba with a fanatical, gloating passion, as the fox loves the goose, as Midas loved gold, and as in the case of Midas, this love has eventually led to her destruction.
CUBA'S EARLY STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY.
It was in 1813 that the Bonapartist regime came to an end in Spain, and Ferdinand VII. reascended the throne. In the very beginning he paid no attention to the Constitution; he dissolved the Cortes and did his best to make his monarchy an absolute one.
Again, as has been said, Cuba felt the yoke of his despotism, all previous promises, when the aid of the island was to his advantage, being as completely ignored as if they had never been made.
In Spanish America, revolutionary movements had been begun some three years before, and after stubborn warfare, Buenos Ayres, Venezuela and Peru finally succeeded in obtaining complete independence from Spanish authority.
From all these countries, swarms of Spanish loyalists made their way to Cuba, and were ordered to be maintained at the expense of the island.
Spain also desired to make of Cuba a military station, whence she could direct operations in her efforts to reconquer the new republic. This plan was vehemently opposed by the Cubans.
Discontent rapidly fomented and increased throughout the island. Numerous secret political societies were formed, and there arose two great opposing factions, the
In 1821, Hayti declared its independence of Spain, and in the same year Florida passed into the possession of the United States.
Both these events increased the feeling of unrest and discontent in Cuba, and this was further augmented by the establishment of a permanent military commission, which took cognizance of even ordinary offenses, but particularly of all offenses against disloyalty.
An attempt at revolution, the purpose being the establishment of a republic, was made in 1823 by the "Soles de Bolivar" association. It was arranged that uprisings should take place simultaneously in several of the Cuban cities, but the plans became known to the government and the intended revolution was nipped in the bud, all the leaders being arrested and imprisoned the very day on which it had been arranged to declare independence.
In 1826 Cuban refugees in Mexico and in some of the South American republics planned an invasion of Cuba to be led by Simon Bolivar, the great liberator of Colombia, but it came to nothing, owing to the impossibility of securing adequate support both of men and money.
A year or two later these same men attempted another uprising in the interests of greater privileges and freedom.
This invasion, however, also proved abortive, owing chiefly to the determined opposition displayed by the slave-holders both in the United States and Cuba. The ringleaders were captured and severely punished by the Spanish authorities.
The struggles for freedom had attracted the attention of the people of the United States and were viewed by them with ever-increasing interest and sympathy.
After the acquisition of Florida, the future of the island of Cuba became of more or less importance to the people of the United States and has remained so to the present day. As President Cleveland said in his message of December, 1896: "It is so near to us as to be hardly separated from our own territory." The truth of this is apparent when it is remembered that the straits of Florida can be crossed by steamer in five hours.
It began to be feared that Cuba might fall into the hands of England or France and the governments of those countries as well as that of Spain were informed that such a disposition of it would never be consented to. Its position at the entrance of the gulf of Mexico could not be disregarded. The American government declared its willingness that it should remain a Spanish colony, but stated it would never permit it to become the colony of another country.
In 1825 Spain made a proposition that, in consideration
One of the most important consequences of Spain's efforts to regain possession of the South American republics, the independence of which had been recognized by the United States, was the formulation of what has since been known as the "Monroe Doctrine." In his message of December 2, 1823, President Monroe promulgated the policy of neither entangling ourselves in the broils of Europe, nor suffering the powers of the old world to interfere with the affairs of the new. He further declared that any attempt on the part of the European powers "to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere" would be regarded by the United States as "dangerous to our peace and safety," and would accordingly be opposed.
Although since then there has been more or less friction with England over the Monroe doctrine, at that time she greatly aided in its becoming established as a feature of international law, and strengthened the position of the United States, by her recognition of the South American republics.
The Spanish slave code, by which the slave trade, which had formerly been a monopoly, was made free, had given a great stimulus to the importation of slaves. It was almost brought to an end, however, by the energetic efforts of Captain-General Valdez. But the increased
In 1844 there occurred an uprising which was more serious than any which had preceded it. The slaves on the sugar plantations in the neighborhood of Matanzas were suspected of being about to revolt. There was no real proof of this, and in order to obtain evidence a large number of slaves were tortured. It was evident that Spain was still ready, if in her opinion occasion required it, to have recourse to the barbarities of the old Inquisitorial days. By evidence manufactured by such outrageous methods, one thousand three hundred and forty-six persons were tried and convicted, of whom seventy-eight were shot, and the others punished with more or less severity. Of those declared guilty, fourteen were white, one thousand two hundred and forty-two free colored persons, and fifty-nine slaves.
The project of annexation to the United States was first mooted in 1848, after the proclamation of the French republic. The people of the slave States, in view of the increasing population and the anti-slavery feeling of the North and West were beginning to feel alarmed as to the safety of the "peculiar institution," and there was a strong sentiment among them in favor of annexing Cuba and dividing it up into slave states. President
The next conspiracy, rebellion or revolution (it has been called by all these names according to the point of view and the sympathies of those speaking or writing of it) broke out in 1848. It was headed by Narciso Lopez, who was a native of Venezuela, but who had served in the Spanish army, and had attained therein the rank of major-general.
This was of considerable more importance than any of the outbreaks that had preceded it.
The first attempt of Lopez at an insurrectionary movement was made in the centre of the island. It proved to be unsuccessful, but Lopez, with many of his adherents, managed to escape and reached New York, where there were a large number of his sympathizers.
Lopez represented the majority of the Cuban population as dissatisfied with Spanish rule, and eager for revolt and annexation to the United States.
In 1849, with a party small in numbers, he attempted to return to Cuba, but the United States authorities prevented him accomplishing his purpose.
He was undaunted by failure, however, and the following year, he succeeded in effecting another organization and sailed from New Orleans on the steamer Pampero, with a force which has been variously estimated
The second in command was W. S. Crittenden, a gallant young Kentuckian, who was a graduate of West Point, and who had earned his title of colonel in the Mexican war.
They landed at Morillo in the Vuelta Abajo. Here the forces were divided; one hundred and thirty under Crittenden remained to guard the supplies, while Lopez with the rest pushed on into the interior.
There had been no disguise in the United States as to the object of this expedition. Details in regard to it had been freely and recklessly published, and there is a lesson to be learned even from this comparatively trivial attempt to obtain freedom as to a proper censorship of the press in time of warfare.
The Spanish government was fully informed beforehand as to all the little army's probable movements. The consequence was that Lopez was surrounded and his whole force captured by the Spanish.
The expected uprising of the Cuban people, by the way, had not taken place.
Hearing no news of his superior officer, Crittenden at first made a desperate attempt to escape by sea, but, being frustrated in this, he took refuge in the woods.
At last he and his little force, now reduced to fifty men, were forced to capitulate.
The United States Consul was asked to interfere in the case of Crittenden, but refused to do so. It was said at the time that there were two reasons for this: First,
The trial, if trial it can be called, and condemnation followed with the utmost, almost criminal, celerity.
In batches of six, Crittenden and his fifty brave surviving comrades were shot beneath the walls of the fortress of Alara.
When the Spaniards ordered Crittenden, as was the custom, to kneel with his back to the firing party, the heroic young Kentuckian responded:
"No! I will stand facing them! I kneel only to my God!"
It is stated that the bodies of the victims were mutilated in a horrible manner.
There was no inconsiderable number of Cubans who sympathized with Lopez, but, held as they were under a stern leash, they did not dare to intercede for him.
He was garroted at Havana, being refused the honorable death of a soldier. Some others of his comrades were shot, but most of them were transported for life.
The sad fate of Crittenden aroused the greatest indignation and bitterness in the United States, but the tenets of international law forbade anything to be done in the case.
During the administration of President Pierce, there occurred an incident which threatened at one time to lead to hostilities, and which was one of the first of
This was the firing on the American steamer, Black Warrior, by a Spanish man-of-war.
The Black Warrior was a steamer owned in New York, and plying regularly between that city and Mobile. It was her custom both on her outward and homeward bound trips to touch always at Havana. The custom laws were then very stringent, and she ought each time to have exhibited a manifest of her cargo. But still this was totally unnecessary, as no portion of her cargo was ever put off at Havana.
She was therefore entered and cleared under the technical term of "in ballast." This was done nearly thirty times with full knowledge and consent of the Spanish revenue officers; and, moreover the proceeding was in accordance with a general order of the Cuban authorities.
But in February, 1850, the steamer was stopped and fired upon in the harbor of Havana. The charge brought against her was that she had an undeclared cargo on board. This cargo was confiscated, and a fine of twice its value imposed. The commander of the vessel, Captain Bullock, refused to pay the fine, and declared that the whole proceeding was "violent, wrongful and in bad faith."
But, obtaining no redress, he hauled down his colors, and, carrying them away with him, left the vessel as a Spanish capture. With his crew and passengers, he
The latter preferred a claim for indemnity of three hundred thousand dollars. After a tedious delay of five years, this sum was paid, and so the matter ended.
The affair of the Black Warrior was one of the cases that led to the celebrated Ostend Conference.
This conference was held in 1854 at Ostend and Aix-la-Chapelle by Messrs. Buchanan, Mason and Soule, United States ministers at London, Paris and Madrid, and resulted in what is known as the Ostend manifesto.
The principal points of this manifesto were as follows:
"The United States ought if possible to purchase Cuba with as little delay as possible.
"The probability is great that the government and Cortes of Spain will prove willing to sell it because this would essentially promote the highest and best interests of the Spanish people.
"The Union can never enjoy repose nor possess reliable securities as long as Cuba is not embraced within its boundaries.
"The intercourse which its proximity to our coast begets and encourages between them (the inhabitants of Cuba) and the citizens of the United States has, in the progress of time, so united their interests and blended their fortunes that they now look upon each other as if they were one people and had but one destiny.
"The system of immigration and labor lately organized within the limits of the island, and the tyranny and
"Cuba has thus become to us an unceasing danger, and a permanent cause for anxiety and alarm.
"Should Spain reject the present golden opportunity for developing her resources and removing her financial embarrassments, it may never come again.
"Extreme oppression, it is now universally admitted, justifies any people in endeavoring to free themselves from the yoke of their oppressors. The sufferings which the corrupt, arbitrary and unrelenting local administration necessarily entails upon the inhabitants of Cuba cannot fail to stimulate and keep alive that spirit of resistance and revolution against Spain which has of late years been so often manifested. In this condition of affairs it is vain to expect that the sympathies of the people of the United States will not be warmly enlisted in favor of their oppressed neighbors.
"The United States has never acquired a foot of territory except by fair purchase, or, as in the case of Texas, upon the free and voluntary application of the people of that independent State, who desired to blend their destinies with our own.
"It is certain that, should the Cubans themselves organize an insurrection against the Spanish government, no human power could, in our opinion, prevent the people and government of the United States from taking part in such a civil war in support of their neighbors and friends."
We have quoted thus largely from the Ostend manifesto, because it seems to us, with one exception, to be so pertinent to the present status of affairs.
The one exception is: We no longer desire the annexation of Cuba. The present war is a holy war. It has been entered into wholly and entirely from motives of philanthropy, to give to a suffering and downtrodden people the blessings of freedom which we ourselves enjoy.
Moreover, the manifesto clearly shows that the causes of Cuban uprising are of no recent date; and that, before the United States rose in its wrath, it was patient and long-suffering.
Although the Senate debated the questions raised by the manifesto for a long time, nothing resulted from the deliberations.
Questions of extraordinary moment were arising in our own country, from which terrible results were to ensue, and for the time being, indeed for years to come, everything else sank into insignificance.
Meantime, the question of independence was still being agitated in Cuba.
General Jose de la Concha, in anticipation of a rising of the Creole population threatened to turn the island into an African dependency. He formed and drilled black troops, armed the native born Spaniards and disarmed the Cubans. Everything was got in readiness for a desperate defense. The Cuban junta in New York had enlisted a large body of men and had made ready for an invasion. Under the circumstances, however,
Then ensued a period of comparative quiet, but the party of independence was only awaiting an opportunity to strike.
Long before this, Spain had entered upon the downward path. "A whale stranded upon the coast of Europe," some one designated her. She had been accumulating a debt against her, a debt which can never be repaid.
And she has no one to blame for her wretched feeble, exhausted condition but herself—her own obstinacy, selfishness and perversity.
Truly, Spain has changed but little, and that only in certain outward aspects, since the time of Torquemada and the Inquisition. She is the one nation of Europe that civilization does not seem to have reached.
The magnificent legacy left her by her famous son, Christopher Columbus, has been gradually dissipated; the last beautiful jewel in the crown of her colonial possessions, the "Pearl of the Antilles" is about to be wrested from her.
Her case is indeed a pitiable one, and yet sympathy is arrested when we remember that her reward to Columbus for his magnificent achievements was to cover his reputation with obloquy and load his person with chains.
THE TEN YEARS' WAR.
For about fourteen years after 1854, the outbreaks in Cuba were infrequent, and of little or no moment. To all intents and purposes, the island was in a state of tranquility.
In September, 1868, a revolution broke out in the mother country, the result of which was that Queen Isabella was deposed from the throne and forced to flee the country.
This time Cuba did not proclaim her loyalty to the Bourbon dynasty, as she had done some sixty years before. She had learned her lesson. She knew now how Spanish sovereigns rewarded loyalty, and the fall of Isabella, instead of inspiring the Cubans with sympathy, caused them to rush into a revolution, an action which, paradoxical as it may seem, was somewhat precipitate, although long contemplated.
All Cuba had been eagerly looking forward to the inauguration of political reforms, or to an attempt to shake of the pressing yoke of Spain. At first it was thought that the new government would ameliorate the condition of Cuba, and so change affairs that the island might remain contentedly connected with a country of which she had so long formed a part.
But these hopes were soon dissipated, and the advanced
A declaration of Cuban independence was issued at Manzanillo in October, 1868, by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, a lawyer of Bayamo.
This declaration began as follows:
"As Spain has many a time promised us Cubans to respect our rights, without having fulfilled her promises; as she continues to tax us heavily, and by so doing is likely to destroy our wealth; as we are in danger of losing our property, our lives and our honor under further Spanish dominion, therefore, etc., etc."
Thus was inaugurated what was destined to prove the most protracted and successful attempt at Cuban freedom, up to that time.
It is certain that the grievances of the islanders were many, and this was even recognized to a certain extent in Spain itself.
In a speech delivered by one of the Cuban deputies to the Cortes in 1866 occurs this passage:
"I foresee a catastrophe near at hand, in case Spain persists in remaining deaf to the just reclamations of the Cubans. Look at the old colonies of the American continent. All have ended in conquering their independence. Let Spain not forget the lesson; let the government be just to the colonies that remain. Thus she will consolidate her dominion over people who only aspire to be good sons of a worthy mother, but who are not willing to live as slaves under the sceptre of a tyrant."
In 1868 the annual revenue exacted from Cuba by Spain was in the neighborhood of twenty-six million dollars; and plans were in progress by which even this great revenue was to be largely increased. Not one penny of this was applied to Cuba's advantage. On the contrary, it was expended in a manner which was simply maddening to the Cubans.
The officials of the island, be it understood, were invariably Spaniards. The captain-general received a salary of fifty thousand dollars a year; at this time, this sum was twice as much as that paid to the President of the United States. The provincial governors obtained twelve thousand dollars each, while the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and the Bishop of Havana were paid eighteen thousand dollars apiece. In addition to these large salaries, there were perquisites which probably amounted to as much again.
Even the lowest offices were filled by friends of Spanish politicians. These officials had no sympathy with Cuba, and cared nothing for her welfare, save in so far as they were enabled to fill their own pockets.
The stealing in the custom houses was enormous. It has been estimated at over fifty per cent of the gross receipts. Every possible penny was forced from the native planters under the guise of taxes and also by the most flagrant blackmail.
By a system of differential duties, Spain still managed to retain a monopoly of the trade to Cuba while the colonists were forced to pay the highest possible rates for all they received from the mother country.
The rates of postage were absurdly outrageous. For instance there was an extra charge for delivery. When a native Cuban received a prepaid letter at his own door, he was obliged to pay thirty-seven and a half cents additional postage.
The taxes on flour were so high that wheaten bread ceased to be an article of ordinary diet. The annual consumption of bread in Spain was four hundred pounds for each person, while in Cuba, it was only fifty-three pounds, nine ounces. In fact, all the necessaries of life were burdened with most iniquitous taxation.
Then again there was the interest on the national debt. While the Spaniards paid three dollars and twenty-three cents per capita, six dollars and thirty-nine cents, nearly double, was exacted from the Cubans.
All these were the chief causes of the revolution which began in 1868, and many of them still existed a few years ago and led to the last revolution. By the way, there is but little chance but that it will prove the last, bringing as its consequence, what has been struggled for so long—the freedom of Cuba.
The standard of revolt in the Ten Years War, as has been stated, was raised by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. He was well known as an able lawyer and a wealthy planter. In the very beginning, he was unfortunately forced to take action before he had intended to do so, by reason of news of the projected outbreak reaching the authorities in Havana.
A letter carrier, who from his actions gave rise to suspicions, was detained at Cespedes' sugar plantation,
With this information, immediate action became necessary. Cespedes deemed it expedient to strike at once, and with only two hundred poorly equipped men, he commenced the campaign at Yara.
This place was defended by a Spanish force too strong for the insurgents. But Cespedes was not long in attracting to himself a most respectable following.
At the end of a few weeks he found himself at the head of fifteen thousand men. The little army, however, was anything but well provided with arms and ammunition. Among them were many of Cespedes' former slaves whom the general promptly liberated.
Attacks were made on Las Tunas, Cauto Embarcardero, Jiguana, La Guisa, El Datil and Santa Rita, in almost every case victory remaining with the insurgents.
On the 15th of October it was decided to attack Bayamo, an important town of ten thousand inhabitants. On the 18th the town was captured. The governor, with a small body of men, shut himself up in the fort, but a few days after was forced to capitulate.
For the relief of Bayamo, a Spanish force under Colonel Quiros, numbering, besides cavalry and artillery, about eight hundred infantry, started out from Santiago de Cuba, but was defeated and driven back to Santiago with heavy losses.
The Spanish general, Count Valmaseda, was sent from Havana into the insurrectionary district, but was attacked
Afterwards Valmaseda, who had increased his force to four thousand men, marched on Bayamo. He received a severe check at Saladillo, but eventually succeeded in crossing the Cauto. The Cubans saw the hopelessness of defending the place against such superior numbers, and, rather than have it fall into the hands of the enemy, burned the city.
In December, General Quesada, who afterward played a most prominent part in the war, landed a cargo of arms and took command of the army at Camarguey.
Before the close of the year, Spain, realizing how desperate was to be the struggle, had under arms nearly forty thousand troops which had been sent from Europe, besides twelve thousand guerillas recruited on the island and some forty thousand volunteers organized for the defense of the cities. These latter were in many respects analogous to the National Guard of the United States. They were raised from Spanish immigrants, between whom and the native Cubans have always existed a bitter enmity and jealousy.
In the spring of 1869, the revolutionists drew up a constitution, which provided for a republican form of government, an elective president and vice-president, a cabinet and a single legislative chamber. It also made a declaration in favor of the immediate abolition of slavery. Cespedes was elected president and Francisco Aquilero vice-president.
It is said that at the beginning of the war, before being
Valmaseda, the Spanish general, in April, 1869, issued the following proclamation, which speaks for itself:
"Inhabitants of the country! The re-enforcements of troops that I have been waiting for have arrived; with them I shall give protection 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 that 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 I have pardoned have turned against us again.
"Before such ingratitude, such villainy, it is not possible for me to be the man 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 orders they carry:
1st. Every man, from the age of fifteen years, upward, found away from his habitation and not proving a justified motive therefor, will be shot.
2d. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops.
3d. Every habitation from which does not float a
"Women that are not living at their own homes, or at the house of their relatives, will collect in the town of Jiguana or Bayamo, where maintenance will be provided. Those who do not present themselves will be conducted forcibly."
The second paragraph was flagrantly untrue. Those who had fought against the Spaniards had not been pardoned. On the contrary, they had been put to death. Fearful atrocities had been committed in Havana and elsewhere. To cite only a few instances: The shooting of men, women and children at the Villanuesa Theatre, at the Louvre, and at the sack of Aldama's house.
Valmaseda's proclamation raised a storm of protest from all civilized nations, and the Spaniards, stiff and unbending, never wavered, but the policy embodied in Valmaseda's proclamation remained their tactics until the end of the war.
The United States was especially roused and disgusted. Secretary Fish, in a letter to Mr. Hale, then Minister to Spain, protested "against the infamous proclamation of general, the Count of Valmaseda."
Even a Havanese paper is quoted as declaring that,
"Said proclamation does not even reach what is required by the necessities of war in the most civilized nations."
The revolutionists were victorious in almost every engagement for the first two years, although their losses were by no means inconsiderable.
It has even been acknowledged recently by a representative of Spain to the United States that the greater and better part of the Cubans were in sympathy with the insurrection. This opinion appeared in a statement made by Senor De Lome (whose reputation among Americans is now somewhat unsavory) in the New York Herald of February 23, 1896.
The Cubans were recognized as belligerents by Chili, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Columbia and Mexico.
There were two important expeditions of assistance sent to the Cubans in the early part of the war. One was under the command of Rafael Quesada, and, in addition to men, brought arms and ammunition, of which the insurgents were sadly in need. The other was under General Thomas Jordan, a West Point graduate and an ex-officer in the Confederate service. By the way, the South, with its well-known chivalry, has always evinced warm sympathy for the unfortunate Cubans. To their glory be it spoken and remembered!
Quesada managed to reach the interior without resistance. But Jordan, with only one hundred and seventy-five men, but carrying arms and ammunition for two thousand six hundred men, besides several pieces of artillery, was attacked at Camalito and again at El Ramon; he succeeded in repulsing the enemy and reaching his destination.
Soon after, as General Quesada demanded extraordinary powers, he was deposed by the Cuban congress, and General Jordan was appointed commander-in-chief in his stead.
In August, 1870, the United States government offered to Spain their good offices for a settlement of the strife. Mr. Fish, who was then secretary of State, proposed terms for the cession of the island to the Cubans, but the offer was declined. This is only one of the many times when Spain, in her suicidal policy, has refused to listen to reason.
About this time the volunteers expelled General Dulce, and General de Rodas was sent from Spain to replace him with a re-enforcement of thirty thousand men.
General de Rodas, however, remained in command only about six months, he in his turn being replaced by Valmaseda, again at the dictation of the volunteers.
Speaking of these volunteers, who it will be remembered were recruited from Spanish immigrants and who were peculiarly obnoxious to Cubans of all classes, it will not be out of place to relate here an act of wanton cruelty upon their part.
This took place in the autumn of 1871. One of the volunteers had died, and his body had been placed in a public tomb in Havana. Later it was discovered that the tomb had been defaced, by some inscription placed upon it, no more, no less. Suspicion fell upon the students of the university. The volunteers made a complaint and forty-three of the young students were arrested and tried for the misdemeanor. An officer of the regular Spanish army volunteered to defend them, and through his efforts, they were acquitted.
This verdict did not satisfy the volunteers, however.
The day after the court-martial (?) fifteen hundred volunteers turned out under arms and executed the eight boys.
This incident filled the whole of the United States with horror and indignation. The action was censured by the Spanish Cortes, but the matter ended there. No attempt whatever was made to punish the offenders.
The insurgents waged an active warfare until the spring of 1871. They had at that time a force of about fifty thousand men, but they were badly armed and poorly supplied with necessities of all sorts. The resources of the Spaniards were infinitely greater. About this time the Cuban soldiers who had been fighting in the district of Camaguey signified a desire to surrender and cease the conflict, provided their lives were spared. The proposition was accepted. Their commander, General Agramonte refused to yield, and he was left with only about thirty-five men who remained loyal to him. He formed a body of cavalry, and continued fighting for some two years longer, when he was killed on the field of battle.
In January, 1873, the Edinburg Review contained a very strong article on the condition of affairs in Cuba, in the course of which it said:
"It is well known that Spain governs Cuba with an iron and blood-stained hand. The former holds the latter deprived of political, civil and religious liberty. Hence the unfortunate Cubans being illegally prosecuted and sent into exile, or executed by military commissions in time of peace; hence their being kept from public meeting, and forbidden to speak or write on affairs of State; hence their remonstrances against the evils that afflict them being looked on as the proceedings of rebels, from the fact that they are bound to keep silence and obey; hence the never-ending plague of hungry officials from Spain, to devour the product of their industry and labor; hence their exclusion from public stations, and want of opportunity to fit themselves for the art of government; hence the restrictions to which public instruction with them is subjected, in order to keep them so ignorant as not to be able to know and enforce their rights in any shape or form whatever; hence the navy and the standing army, which are kept in their country at an enormous expenditure from their own wealth, to make them bend their knees and submit their necks to the iron yoke that disgraces them; hence the grinding taxation under which they labor, and which would make them all perish in misery but for the marvelous fertility of their soil."
In July, 1873, Pieltain, then captain-general, sent an envoy to President Cespedes to offer peace on condition
In December of the same year, Cespedes was deposed by the Cuban Congress, and Salvador Cisneros elected in his place. The latter was a scion of the old Spanish nobility who renounced his titles and had his estates confiscated when he joined the revolution. He was and is distinguished for his patriotism, intelligence and nobility of character. It was his daughter, Evangelina Cisneros, who was rescued from the horrors of a Spanish dungeon by Americans, and brought to the United States.
After his retirement, Cespedes was found by the Spaniards, and put to death, according to their usual policy: "Slay and spare not."
The war dragged on, being more a guerrilla warfare than anything else. The losses were heavy on both sides. There is no data from which to obtain the losses of the Cubans, but the records in the War Office at Madrid show the total deaths in the Spanish land forces for the ten years to have been over eighty thousand. Spain had sent to Cuba one hundred and forty-five thousand men, and her best generals, but while they kept the insurgents in check they were unable to subdue them. The condition of the island was deplorable, her trade had greatly decreased and her crops were ruined.
For years there had been a constant waste of men and money, with no perceptible gain on either side.
By 1878, both parties were heartily weary of the struggle and ready to compromise.
General Martinez de Campos was then in command of the Spanish forces, and he opened negotiations with the Cuban leader, Maximo Gomez, the same who was destined later to attain even more prominence. Gomez listened to what was proposed, and after certain deliberations, terms of peace were concluded in February, 1878, by the treaty of El Zanjon.
This treaty guaranteed Cuba representation in the Spanish Cortes, granted a free pardon to all who had taken part directly or indirectly, in the revolution, and permitted all those who wished to do so to leave the island.
At first glance these terms seem fair. But, as we shall see later, Spain in this case as in all others was true to herself, that is, false to every promise she made.
THE VIRGINIUS EMBROGLIO.
There was one event of the ten years' war which deserves to be treated somewhat in detail, as the universal excitement in the United States caused by the affair for a time appeared to make a war between the United States and Spain inevitable. And the Cubans hoped that this occurrence would lead to the immediate expulsion of the Spaniards from Cuba.
The hopes thus raised, however, were doomed to meet with disappointment, as the diplomatic negotiations opened between the United States and Spain led to a peaceable settlement of the whole difficulty.
The trouble was this: On the 31st of October, 1873, the Virginius, a ship sailing under the American flag, was captured on the high seas, near Jamaica, by the Spanish steamer Tornado, on the ground that it intended to land men and arms in Cuba for the insurgent army.
The Virginius was a steamer which was built in England during the civil war, and was used as a blockade-runner. She was captured and brought to the Washington Navy Yard. There she was sold at auction. The purchaser was one John F. Patterson, who took an oath that he was a citizen of the United States. On the 26th of September, 1870, the Virginius was registered in the custom house of New York.
As all the requisites of the statute were fulfilled in her behalf, she cleared in the usual way for Curacoa, and sailed early in September for that port.
It was discovered a good many years after that Patterson was not the real owner of the vessel, but that, as a matter of fact, the money for her purchase had been furnished by Cuban sympathizers, and that she was virtually controlled by them.
From the day of her clearance in New York, she certainly did not return within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
Nevertheless, she preserved her American papers, and whenever she entered foreign ports, she made it a practice to put forth a claim to American nationality, which claim was always recognized by the authorities in those ports.
There is no evidence whatever to show that she committed any overt act, or did anything that was contrary to international law.
She cleared from Kingston, Jamaica, on the 23rd of October, 1873, for Costa Rica.
As President Grant said in his message to Congress, January 5th, 1874, she was under the flag of the United States, and she would appear to have had, as against all powers except the United States, the right to fly that flag and to claim its protection as enjoyed by all regularly documented vessels registered as part of our commercial marine.
Still quoting President Grant, no state of war existed conferring upon a maritime power the right to molest
If the papers of the Virginius were irregular or fraudulent, and frankly they probably were, the offense was one against the laws of the United States, justifiable only in their tribunals. However, to return to facts, on the morning of the 31st of October, the Virginius was seen cruising near the coast of Cuba. She was chased by the Spanish man-of-war Tornado, captured, and brought into the harbor of Santiago de Cuba on the following day.
One hundred and fifty-five persons were on board, many of whom bore Spanish names. This was made a great point of by the Spanish authorities, although as a matter of fact it proved nothing.
This action was not only in violation of international law, but it was in direct contravention of the provisions of the treaty of 1795.
Mr. E. G. Schmitt was at that time the American vice-consul at Santiago, and he lost no time in demanding
Mr. Schmitt was treated with the utmost discourtesy by the authorities, who practically told him that they would admit of no interference on his part, and insisted that all on board the Virginius were pirates and would be dealt with as such.
And indeed they were.
The Virginius was brought into Santiago late in the afternoon of the first of November, and a court-martial was convened the next morning to try the prisoners.
Within a week fifty-three men had received the semblance of a trial and had been shot.
Meanwhile England, who even her worst enemies cannot deny, is always on the side of humanity, intervened.
Reports of the barbarous proceedings had reached Jamaica, and H. M. S. Niobe, under the command of Sir Lambton Lorraine, was dispatched to Santiago with instructions to stop the massacre.
The Niobe arrived at Santiago on the eighth, and Lorraine threatened to bombard the town unless the executions were immediately stopped.
This threat evidently frightened the bloodthirsty governor, for no more shooting took place.
It was a noble act on the part of Sir Lambton Lorraine, and the American public appreciated it. On his way home to England, he stopped in New York. It was proposed
President Grant, through General Daniel E. Sickles, who then represented the United States at Madrid, directed that a demand should be made upon Spain for the restoration of the Virginius, for the return of the survivors to the protection of the United States, for a salute to the flag, and for the punishment of the offending parties.
When the news of the massacre reached Washington, the Secretary of State telegraphed Minister Sickles:
"Accounts have been received from Havana of the execution of the captain and thirty-six of the crew and eighteen others. If true, General Sickles will protest against the act as brutal and barbarous, and ample reparation will be demanded."
Minister Sickles replied:
"President Castelar received these observations with his usual kindness, and told me confidentially that at seven o'clock in the morning, as soon as he read the telegram from Cuba, and without reference to any international question, for that indeed had not occurred to him, he at once sent a message to the captain-general, admonishing him that the death penalty must not be imposed upon any non-combatant, without the previous approval
About that time, a writer of some celebrity, who was also a war correspondent, named Ralph Keeler, mysteriously disappeared. Although it was never proven, there is little doubt but that he was assassinated by the Spaniards.
Then, as now, there was an intense hatred in the Spanish breast against every citizen of the United States.
As Murat Halstead expresses it, there seemed to be a blood madness in the air.
Mr. Halstead, by the way, tells an anecdote of a madman, who seized a rifle with sabre attached and assaulted a young man who had asked him an innocent question. He knocked him down and stabbed him to death with a bayonet, sticking it through him a score of times as he cried:
"Cable my country that I have killed a rebel!"
The murderer was adjudged insane. Further comment is unnecessary.
To return to the controversy over the Virginius between the United States and Spain.
General Sickles, as he had been instructed, made a solemn protest against the barbarities perpetrated at Santiago.
The Spanish Minister of State replied in a rather ill-humored way, and amongst other things, he said that the protest of America was rejected with serene energy.
This somewhat ridiculous expression gave General Sickles a chance to rejoin, which he did, as follows:
"And if at last under the good auspices of Senor Carvajal, with the aid of that serenity that is unmoved by slaughter, and that energy that rejects the voice of humanity, which even the humblest may utter and the most powerful cannot hush, this government is successful in restoring order and peace and liberty where hitherto, and now, all is tumult and conflict and despotism, the fame of the achievement, not confined to Spain, will reach the continents beyond the seas and gladden the hearts of millions who believe that the new world discovered by Columbus is the home of freemen and not that of slaves."
About this time, Spain asked the good offices of England as an intervener, but to his glory be it spoken and to the nation which he represented, Lord Granville declined, "unless on the basis of ample reparation made to the United States."
Spain continued to dilly-dally and evade the question of her responsibility.
On the 25th of November Mr. Fish telegraphed to Minister Sickles:
"If no accommodation is reached by the close of to-morrow, leave. If a proposition is submitted, you will refer it to Washington, and defer action."
This was just after Minister Sickles had informed the authorities at Washington that Lord Granville regarded the reparation demanded as just and moderate.
On the 26th, however, just as the American minister
This proposition was virtually that the Virginius and the survivors should be given up, but the salute was to be dispensed with, in case Spain satisfied the United States within a certain time that the Virginius had no right to carry the flag.
After considerable correspondence an arrangement was finally arrived at, Spain further agreeing to proceed against those who had offended the sovereignty of the United States, or who had violated their treaty rights.
In his message, President Grant says:
"The surrender of the vessel and the survivors to the jurisdiction of the tribunals of the United States was an admission of the principles upon which our demand had been founded. I therefore had no hesitation in agreeing to the arrangement which was moderate and just, and calculated to cement the good relations which have so long existed between Spain and the United States."
The following words, spoken by Secretary Fish to Admiral Polo, in an interview during the progress of the negotiations, are worthy to be quoted:
"I decline to submit to arbitration the question of an indignity to the flag. I am willing to submit all questions which are properly subjects of reference."
On the 16th of December the Virginius, with the American flag flying, was delivered to the United States at Bahia Honda.
The vessel was unseaworthy. Her engines were out of
About eighty thousand dollars were paid by Spain as compensation to the families of the American and British victims who perished at Santiago. But no punishment was ever visited upon the governor who ordered the executions. There was a tremendous amount of feeling aroused in the United States over the Virginius affair, and the government was severely criticized and censured for not avenging the inhuman butcheries and the insults to the flag.
But it must be remembered that the government had a very hard task to deal with. There was little or no doubt but that the Virginius, at the time of her capture was intended for an unlawful enterprise, in spite of Captain Fry's words in a letter to his wife just before his execution:
"There is to be a fearful sacrifice of life from the Virginius, and, as I think, a needless one, as the poor people are unconscious of crime and even of their fate up to now. I hope God will forgive me, if I am to blame for it."
The clamor of the American people for revenge was fiery in its intensity, but the government did not yield to it, in which it was right. There has been more than one time in our history when if public opinion had been
Murat Halstead sums up the whole matter in a clear and just manner. He says in his admirable book, "The Story of Cuba:"
"It is not, we must say, a correct use of words to say that the United States was degraded by the Virginius incident. In proportion as nations are great and dignified, they must at least obey their own laws and treaties. When Grant was President of the United States and Castelar was President of Spain, there was a reckless adventure and shocking massacre, but we were not degraded because we did not indulge in a policy of vengeance."
AGAIN SPAIN'S PERFIDY.
Before proceeding further, it is necessary to call attention to one very important matter which was the direct result of the Ten Years' War. If the insurgents accomplished nothing else, they may well be proud of this achievement.
Their own freedom they failed to obtain, but they were the cause of freedom being bestowed upon others.
We refer to the manumission of the slaves.
The Spanish slave code, promulgated in 1789, is admitted everywhere to have been very humane in its character. So much so that when Trinidad came into the possession of the English, the anti-slavery party resisted successfully the attempt of the planters of that island to have the Spanish law replaced by the British.
Once again, however, were the words of Spain falsified by her deeds. Spanish diplomacy up to the present day has only been another name for lies. For, notwithstanding the mildness of the code, its provisions were constantly and glaringly violated.
In 1840, a writer, who had personal knowledge of the affairs of Cuba, declared that slavery in Cuba was more destructive to human life, more pernicious to society, degrading to the slave and debasing to the master, more fatal to health and happiness than in any other slave-holding country on the face of the habitable globe.
It was in Cuba that the slaves were subjected to the coarsest fare and the most exhausting and unremitting toil. A portion of their number was even absolutely destroyed every year by the slow torture of overwork and insufficient sleep and rest.
In 1792 the slave population of the island was estimated at eighty-four thousand; in 1817, one hundred and seventy-nine thousand; in 1827, two hundred and eighty-six thousand; in 1843, four hundred and thirty-six thousand; in 1867, three hundred and seventy-nine thousand, five hundred and twenty-three, and in 1873, five hundred thousand, or about one-third of the entire population.
In 1870, two years after the beginning of the war, in which the colored people, both free and slaves, took a prominent part, the Spanish legislature passed an act, providing that every slave who had then passed, or should thereafter pass, the age of sixty should be at once free, and that all yet unborn children of slaves should also be free. The latter, however, were to be maintained at the expense of the proprietors up to their eighteenth year, and during that time to be kept as apprentices at such work as was suitable to their age. Slavery was absolutely abolished in Cuba in 1886. Spain was therefore the last civilized country to cling to this vestige of barbarism, and she probably would not have abandoned it then had she not been impelled to by force and her self-interest.
After the treaty of El Zanjon, it was supposed by the Cubans, and rightly too, had they been dealing with an
The treaty, in the first place, guaranteed Cuba representation in the Cortes in Madrid. This was kept to the letter, but the spirit was abominably lacking.
The Peninsulars, that is, the Spaniards in Cuba, obtained complete control of the polls, and, by unparalleled frauds, always managed to elect a majority of the deputies. The deputies, purporting to come from Cuba, might just as well have been appointed by the Spanish crown.
In other and plainer words, Cuba had no representation whatever in the Cortes.
The cities of Cuba were hopelessly in debt and they were not able to provide money for any municipal services.
There were no funds to keep up the schools, and in consequence they were closed.
As for hospitals and asylums, they scarcely existed. There was only one asylum for the insane in all the island, and that was wretchedly managed. This asylum was in Havana. Elsewhere, the insane were confined in the cells of jails.
The public debt of Spain was something enormous, and Cuba was forced to pay a part of the interest on this which was out of all proportion.
Perez Castaneda spoke of this in the Spanish Cortes in the following terms:
"The debt of Cuba was created in 1864 by a simple issue of three million dollars, and it now amounts to the
Again, Senor Robledo, in a debate at Madrid, after speaking of the fearful abuses existent in the government of Havana, said:
"I do not intend to read the whole of the report; but I must put the House in possession of one fact. To what do these defalcations amount? They amount to twenty-two million, eight hundred and eleven thousand, five hundred and sixteen dollars. Did not the government know this? What has been done?"
In 1895 it was alleged that the custom house frauds in Cuba, since the end of the Ten Years War, amounted to over one hundred millions of dollars. It is enough to make one hold one's breath in horror. And, remember well, there was absolutely no redress for the suffering Cubans by peaceful means.
One more quotation. Rafael de Eslara of Havana, when speaking of the misery of the island, thus summed up the situation:
"Granted the correctness of the points which I have just presented, it seems to be self-evident that a curse is pressing upon Cuba, condemning her to witness her own disintegration, and converting her into a prey for the operation of those swarms of vampires that are so cruelly devouring us, deaf to the voice of conscience, if
Taxation on all sides was enormous, the two chief products of the island, sugar and tobacco, suffering the most. While other countries gave encouragement to their colonies, Spain did everything she could to discourage her well-beloved "Ever Faithful Isle."
The Cuban planter had to struggle along with a heavy tax on his crop, an enormous duty on his machinery, and an additional duty at the port of destination.
America once rose in wrath against unjust taxation, but her grievances were as nothing in comparison with those of—we had almost written—her sister republic. May the inadvertency prove a prophecy!
To show how the products of Cuba, under this ghastly extortion have declined, we make the following statement, based on the most reliable statistics.
In 1880 Cuba furnished twenty-five per cent. of all the sugar of the world. In 1895 this had declined to ten and a half per cent. In 1889, the export of cigars rated at forty dollars per one thousand amounted to ten millions, nineteen thousand and forty dollars. In 1894 it was five millions, three hundred and sixty-eight thousand, four hundred dollars, a loss of nearly one-half in five years.
Then besides all this, Cuba had to pay the high salaries of the horde of Spanish officials, nothing of which accrued to her advantage.
There can be no doubt but that the treaty of El Zanjon was a cheat, and its administration a gigantic scandal.
Can any fair-minded person think then that the Cubans were wrong, when driven to the wall, oppressed beyond measure, goaded to madness by an inhuman master, they broke out once again into open revolt, determined this time to fight to the death or to obtain their freedom?
SOME CUBAN HEROES.
Although the natural resources of Cuba are remarkable, as will be demonstrated later, and more than sufficient for all her people, a large number of Cubans have, either of their own free will or by force become exiles.
Besides over forty thousand in the United States, there are a large number in the islands under British control, as well as throughout the West Indies and in the South American republics.
It is perfectly natural that these exiles should feel the deepest interest in their native land, and although Spain has complained frequently of being menaced from beyond her borders, what else could she expect after the way in which she treated these exiled sons of hers? Besides she has had no just cause for grievance, as the right for foreign countries to furnish asylums to political offenders has been recognized from time immemorial, and, unless some overt act be committed, there can be no responsibility on the part of such foreign countries.
Enough perhaps has been said to show that the Cubans had every reason to once again rise in revolt, but in order that there may be no doubt as to the justice of their cause, let us recapitulate:
Spain has invariably drawn from the island all that could be squeezed out of it.
In spite of her protests she has never done anything for Cuba, all her aim being to replenish her own exhausted treasury and to enrich the functionaries of the Spanish government.
While Cuba is a producing country, she has been refused the right to dispose of her produce to other countries except at ruinous rates, in spite of the fact that Spain herself could not begin to consume all that Cuba had to offer. The market of the island, by the way, from the very nature of things, is the United States, and not Spain.
The rules which limit importation have been most rigid. For instance, American flour cannot enter Cuba free of duty, while it enters as a free product into Spain.
Spain has governed Cuba with a most arbitrary hand. The island has had nothing whatever to say as to the management of its own affairs.
The Cubans have purposely been kept in a state of ignorance, the system of education amounting practically to nothing.
The Spaniards have never kept one promise made, but after each promise have increased their oppression and tyranny.
In 1894 Senor Sagasta laid before the Cortes a project for reform in Cuba; but the sense of this project was confused in the extreme; there was little hope that a reform planned with such little method could meet with any degree of successful realization. In fact there was little or no possibility that the abuses under which the island groaned would be removed.
At last patience ceased to be a virtue. The present rising in Cuba was begun toward the close of 1894. The leader was Jose Marti, a poet and orator, who was then in New York. He at the outset, was the very soul of the revolutionary movement, and he held in his hands the threads of the conspiracy.
He was a man of charming and captivating personality, strong in his own convictions and devoted body, heart and soul to the interests of his country.
He was the son of a Spanish colonel and when quite young was condemned, for what reason has never been known, to ten years imprisonment in Havana. Afterwards, he was sentenced to the galleys for life.
When the amnesty was declared, after the Ten Years War, he was given back his freedom, but his resentment still continued and he vowed his life to obtaining the liberty of Cuba.
He went first to Central America, and afterwards took up his residence in the United States.
Everywhere he preached what he considered a holy war. Here and there he gathered together contributions, which he sent to Cuba for the secret purchase of arms and ammunition. He met with many rebuffs and disappointments, but not for one moment did he doubt the justice of his cause or its ultimate success. He was not a visionary man, but there were those even among the ones he had won over by his impassioned words who looked upon him as the victim of hallucinations. That this was not true, the events of the past few years have fully proven.
Marti organized his first expedition in New York, and set sail for Cuba with three vessels, the Lagonda, the Amadis and the Baracoa, containing men and war materials. This expedition was stopped, however, by the United States authorities.
Later, Marti joined Gomez, Cromlet, Cebreco and the Maceo brothers, all of whom had fought in the Ten Years War, at Santo Domingo, which was Gomez' home.
Some description of these men, all of whom have done magnificent work for the freedom of their country, may not be out of place.
Maximo Gomez is about seventy-five years of age, and he may perhaps be termed the "Washington" of the fight for liberty. It will be remembered that he was a leader in the Ten Years War. He is a man of excellent judgment, and, in spite of his years, of marvelous mental and physical activity. No better man could the insurgents have selected as their general-in-chief.
Flor Cromlet was a guerilla of unquestioned valor, who lost his life early in the campaign, but his name will live in the annals of free and independent Cuba. His mother was a mulatto, but his father was a Spaniard.
The Maceo brothers have been particularly distinguished. They were born of colored parents, and were of the type of the mulatto. Both were men of indomitable courage. Antonio Maceo was born at Santiago de Cuba in 1848. At the beginning of the Ten Years War, he was a mule driver, and could neither read nor write. He was one of the first to enlist in the Cuban army, and
He was exiled and then travelled through America, studying constantly and ever endeavoring to improve himself. Here was a poor, obscure, descendant of slaves who by sheer perseverance, of course coupled with natural ability, afterward held the armies of a great nation at bay.
Antonio Maceo was killed in Havana province in 1896, probably through the treachery of one of his followers, and his brother died, but not until both had accomplished wonderful deeds of valor. It is a pity that they could not have lived to see the results of their unselfish patriotism.
Another mulatto who has won fame in the cause of "Free Cuba" is Augustin Cebreco.
The "Marion of Cuba," as he was called, Nestor Aranguren, must not be forgotten. He was at the head of a little band of men, all members of the best Havana families and graduates of the university. He was very much like the "Swamp Fox" of our Revolution in the way he would undertake some daring raid, and then
The rest were allowed to go free.
To one of the Spaniards who were on the train, Aranguren said:
"If Spain should grant a generous and liberal autonomy, peace is not only possible, but probable; but, if she should persevere in her false colors, she will not regain control of this island, until every true soldier of Cuba is dead, and that will take a long time."
The ill-fated Aranguren died at the age of twenty-four.
It was not until May, 1895, that Marti and the other leaders thought it wise to go to Cuba. When they reached there, they found that the insurgents had already commenced the rebellion and had even gained some ground.
At first the Spanish authorities looked upon the insurrection as a trivial matter, nothing more serious than a negro riot.
They believed that it would be speedily suppressed as Spain had then in the island an army of nineteen thousand
In addition to this, many men, who afterward were among the leaders of the insurgent party expressed their unqualified disapproval of the movement. And in this, they were undoubtedly sincere, as they had not the slightest idea that it could succeed.
The general lack of sympathy and the universal criticism that met the little band of revolutionists unquestionably contributed much toward the relaxation of the vigilance of the government.
But the government was soon to be undeceived. The insurrection became a very serious matter indeed. The insurgents pursued very much the same tactics that they had followed in the Ten Years War, that is, they would seldom risk an open battle, and the Spaniards could gain but little ground against the guerilla methods of their opponents.
The Cubans were very badly equipped; in fact they had scarcely any war material whatever. They began by appropriating indiscriminately any fire arms wherever they could find them, from the repeating rifle to the shot gun with the ramrod. Many of them were armed only with revolvers, and the majority of them had simply the "machete," a knife about nineteen inches in length.
Recruits constantly came to their ranks, however, and it was not long before they numbered over six thousand.
A political crisis now took place in Spain, and the conservative party came into power. Premier Canovas then appointed as governor-general of Cuba, Martinez Campos, who had been so successful, by diplomacy rather than by anything else, in ending the Ten Years War.
He landed at Guantanamo, and before visiting Havana, he issued the most elaborate instructions to every department of the military service, which now had been largely reinforced.
In the early part of the war, a great misfortune befell the Cubans, and that was in the loss of their beloved leader, Jose Marti.
On the 18th of May, a part of the insurgent army camped upon the plains of Dos Rios, where they learned that the enemy was in the neighborhood, in safety, protected by a fort.
The insurgents numbered about seven hundred cavalrymen, under the command of Marti and Gomez.
The next morning they came upon the Spanish outpost. Gomez, who has always shown himself to be a prudent general, thought it would be wiser not to risk a battle, but to continue their route, as the object of the expedition was not skirmishing, but to attempt to penetrate into the Province of Puerto Principe.
But Jose Marti, in his fiery enthusiasm longed to fall upon the enemy; he declared that not to do so would be dishonor. Gomez yielded.
Marti was mounted upon a very spirited horse. He was told that it was unmanageable, but he would not listen to reason. Crying, "Come on, my children!" and
Before this onslaught, the Spaniards retreated, but in good order. Gomez cried to his troops to rally, but Marti, dragged on by his horse which he was unable to control, disappeared among the ranks of the enemy. He received a bullet above the left eye, another in the throat, and several bayonet thrusts in the body.
Led by Gomez, who was heart broken at the fate of his old companion and friend, the insurgents charged upon the Spaniards, but it was of no avail. The latter retained possession of the corpse of the gallant soldier, whose only fault was a too reckless bravery.
And now it is a pleasure to be able to recount one noble act on the part of the Spaniards, perhaps the only one in the whole course of the war.
General Campos, who was a just and honorable man, ordered the body of the illustrious patriot to receive decent burial, and one of the Spanish officers even pronounced a sort of eulogy over the remains.
There was a report that Gomez had also been killed, but this was a mistake. About a mouth afterward he crossed the trocha and entered the province of Puerto Principe, more commonly known as the Camaguey.
The trocha, by the way, was an invention of Campos in the preceding war, and was found to be of great value. It was practically a line of forts extending across the island between the provinces of Puerto Principe and Santa Clara, and it was intended that the insurgents should not be allowed to cross this line. Other trochas
An assembly, composed of representatives of all the bands that were under arms, met and elected the officers of the revolutionary government.
Salvador Cisneros, otherwise known as the Marquis of Santa Lucia, was elected president, the same office he had filled during the Ten Years War.
The other officers were:
Vice-President, Bartolomeo Maso.
Secretary of State, Rafael Portuondo y Tamayo.
Secretary of War, Carlos Roloff.
Secretary of the Treasury, Severo Pina.
General-in-Chief, Maximo Gomez.
Lieutenant-General, Antonio Maceo.
Afterwards, at another election, as officers, according to the Cuban constitution, only serve two years, there were replaced by the following:
President, Bartolomeo Maso. Vice-President, Mendez Capote.
Secretary of State, Andres Moreno de la Torres.
Secretary of War, Jose B. Alemon.
Secretary of the Treasury, Ernesto Fons Sterling.
Maximo Gomez still remained general-in-chief.
Gomez and Campos were now pitted once more against each other, as they had been in the previous war.
Both men issued orders to their respective commands.
Gomez ordered the Cubans to attack the small Spanish
On his part, Campos issued the following commands:
Several regiments to protect the sugar estates; other detachments to be placed along the railroads, and on every train in motion; to attack always, unless the enemy's numbers were three to one; all rebels, except officers, who surrendered, to be allowed to go free and unmolested; convoys of provisions to be sent to such towns as needed them.
Everything was now in readiness for a fierce campaign, and one that threatened to be protracted. It was not long before operations commenced in earnest.
CUBAN TACTICS.
There was one incident which occurred in the early part of the disturbances which caused a certain amount of excitement in the United States, as it was thought that it would prove to be a repetition of the Virginius affair.
On the 8th of March, 1895, the ship Allianca was bound from Colon to New York. She was following the usual track of vessels near the Cuban shore. But, outside the three mile limit, she was fired upon by a Spanish gunboat. President Cleveland declared this to be an unwarrantable interference by Spain with passing American ships. Protest was promptly made by the United States against this act as not being justified by a state of war; nor permissible in respect of a vessel on the usual paths of commerce, nor tolerable in view of the wanton peril occasioned to innocent life and property. This act was disavowed by Spain, with full expression of regret, and with an assurance that there should not be again such just cause for complaint. The offending officer was deposed from his command. All this was eminently satisfactory, and the United States took no further action in the matter.
The chief battle of the campaign, while Campos still remained governor-general, was that fought at Bayamo,
The Spanish forces numbered some five thousand men, while the Cubans had not much more than half that number. It was the Spanish strategy, however, to divide their men into detachments, and the Cubans were quick to take advantage of this. The fight was a long and bloody affair, but finally the victory, although not pronounced, remained with the Cubans.
The Spanish forces were more or less demoralized, and their loses were heavy. Thirteen Spanish officers were killed, while the Cubans lost two colonels. The Cubans admitted that fifty of their number were killed or disabled, but they claimed that the loss of the Spaniards was over three hundred.
It is impossible to tell much from the Spanish accounts, as they were far from being complete and were highly colored. It has been the same way in the present war, as witness the laughable "one mule" report, with which all are familiar.
In this engagement, General Santocildes was killed. It is said that Santocildes sacrificed his own life to save that of his friend and superior, Campos.
There are two very different stories told of the attitude of Antonio Maceo toward Campos in this battle. One is to the effect that he did not know that Campos was commanding in person, but when he was told of it the following day, he said:
"Had I known it, I would have sacrificed five hundred more of my men, and I would have taken him dead or alive! Thus with one blow I would have ended the war."
The other is quite different, and has been very generally believed amongst the Cubans. It is to the effect that, during the fight, Maceo recognized Campos, and, pointing him out to his men, ordered them not to harm him, as he was a soldier who made war honorably.
Murat Halstead relates two incidents of the battle of Bayamo, which, however, he declares must be taken with a large grain of salt. One, which comes from an insurgent authority is as follows:
"Campos only saved himself by a ruse. Taking advantage of the Cubans' well-known respect for the wounded, he had himself placed in a covered stretcher, which they allowed to pass, without looking inside the cover. When outside of the Cuban lines he was obliged to walk on foot to Bayamo, through six miles of by-paths, under cover of the darkness, only accompanied by a colored guide."
The other tells that a son of Campos, who was a lieutenant, was captured, but released with a friendly message to his father, who of course, was expected to follow so admirable an example.
Whether these anecdotes are true or not, one thing is certain. After the battle, Maceo collected the wounded, whom the Spaniards left upon the field in their retreat, and treated them in the most humane manner possible. He wrote to Campos the following letter:
"To His Excellency, the General Martinez Campos:
"Dear Sir—Anxious to give careful and efficient attendance to the wounded Spanish soldiers that your troops left behind on the battle-field, I have ordered that they be lodged in the houses of the Cuban families that live nearest to the battle-ground, until you send for them.
"With my assurance that the forces you may send to escort them back will not meet any hostile demonstrations from my soldiers, I have the honor to be, sir,
"Yours respectfully,
"Antonio Maceo."
While Maceo was thus maneuvering in the eastern part of the island, the general-in-chief, Maximo Gomez, was fighting in Camaguey. The population in the provinces of Puerto Principe and Santiago de Cuba had risen almost to a man, and the movement was well under way in the province of Santa Clara.
Several encounters took place, the most important being the attack upon the little city of Cascorro, which Gomez succeeded in capturing. He found there a large quantity of arms and ammunition, of which the Cubans were greatly in need.
Gomez proved himself quite as magnanimous as Maceo. The wounded were all cared for to the best of his ability, and the prisoners were returned to the Spanish leaders. This example, however, seems to have been utterly lost upon the Spaniards.
The insurgent forces, under Gomez, were at this time divided into six portions, operating in the six provinces,
In August, 1895, Maceo joined his chief at a place called Jimaguaya, where Gomez had called to him a large proportion of the Cuban forces, which numbered at that time about thirty thousand.
And against these undisciplined soldiers was arrayed a regular army of over eighty-five thousand men, not counting the armed volunteers.
The odds were terribly against the Cubans, but Gomez and Maceo were confident of success.
It should be mentioned here that there were quite a number of women fighting under Maceo, and these women did heroic service. In fact, the Cuban women have given innumerable proofs of their devotion, body and soul, to the cause of "Cuba Libre."
Gomez' objective point was Havana, and between Jimaguaya and Havana, there were over fifty thousand Spanish soldiers.
When Gomez started, he had about twelve thousand men, which he divided into three columns. He was quite well aware that the fighting must be of the guerilla stamp. In fact, it was the only species of warfare possible.
He therefore instructed his lieutenants to have recourse to strategy, to foil the enemy at every point. The one object was to reach Havana.
"In the event of a forced battle," he said finally, "overthrow them! Pass over them and on to Havana!"
The march was begun, the instructions being followed to the letter. Actual combat was everywhere avoided. The Spanish papers constantly had reports like this: "After a few shots the rebels ran away." They did not understand that this was exactly Gomez' tactics, and he was succeeding, too.
Every day the insurgents advanced further and further west. At the end of a fortnight they reached the trocha of Jaruco, which had been constructed in the centre of the island. This trocha was occupied by a large and important Spanish force.
Gomez ordered Maceo to make a feigned attack upon the northern portion of the trocha. The Spaniards rushed there in a body, and Gomez, who had counted upon this very thing, crossed the southern part, which was left unprotected, without striking a blow.
As soon as Maceo knew that Gomez had passed over in safety, he immediately disappeared with his men, and soon after managed to rejoin his chief.
It was a very clever ruse, and Campos, whose headquarters were then in Santa Clara realized that he had been outgeneralled. He ordered a hurried march to Cienfuegos, and there took command.
The evasive movements of the insurgents continued, and again and again was Campos outflanked.
With but little difficulty the Cubans crossed two other trochas, and finally entered the Province of Matanzas, which Campos had felt positive could never be invaded; the Spaniards meanwhile constantly retreating, nearer and nearer to the capital.
At last, Campos determined to force an open conflict. He told his lieutenants where they were to meet him.
This was in December, 1895.
Campos lay in wait for Maceo's forces at a point between Coliseo and Lumidero.
It seemed at first as if the insurgents were caught in a trap, and would be forced to accept a battle in the open, which could not fail to be disastrous to them.
But a happy thought came to Maceo, and, in connection with this plan, he issued his orders.
Suddenly, the cane-fields which surrounded the camp of the Spaniards burst into flame, and on each side was a great blazing plain. Campos knew that he had once more been foiled, and he gave the order to retreat at once.
This battle, if battle it can be called, had important results. It enabled Gomez to reach Jovellanos, a city which commanded the railroad lines of Cardenas, Matanzas and Havana. These lines Gomez destroyed as well as every sugar plantation upon his route.
As to the destruction of the sugar fields and the reason therefor, we shall have something to say later on.
Campos, completely outwitted and vanquished in his attempts to stop the onward progress of the insurgents, now fell back upon Havana, which he reached Christmas Day.
His reception in the capital was anything but a pleasant one. The Spaniards there had clamored from the very beginning for revenge without mercy, and they looked upon the successive checks which the army had
There were three political parties in Cuba, the Conservatives, the Reformists and the Autonomists. Campos met the leaders of these parties in an interview, and asked for their opinions. The consultation was very unsatisfactory, and as a result Campos proposed his resignation to which the ministry made no objection.
Shortly after, his resignation was sent in and accepted. He sailed for Spain the 17th of January, his place being temporarily filled by General Sabas Marin.
In spite of Martinez Campos' failure to subdue the insurrection, nothing but the greatest sympathy and respect can be felt for him, at least out of Spain, where, speaking in a general manner, humanity has no place, and gratitude is an unknown quantity.
Campos' services to his country had been great, including, as they did, the pacification of Cuba in the Ten Years War, the quelling of a revolt in Spain itself, and the restoration and support of the Spanish monarchy. At an advanced age, when he should have been enjoying a well deserved rest, he was sent away to fight a difficult war, and to risk the tarnishing of his laurels as a military commander.
All praise to Martinez Campos for his pure patriotism, his unswerving rectitude, his magnanimity and his exalted ideas of honor! This praise even the enemies of his country cannot refuse to him.
WEYLER THE BUTCHER.
No greater contrast to Campos could possibly be imagined than his successor, General Valeriano Weyler, known, and with the utmost justice, throughout Cuba and the United States as "The Butcher."
During his official life in Cuba, he proved again and again the truth of his reputation for relentless cruelty.
There is no doubt that during former wars he committed the most atrocious crimes.
It is not claimed that he ever showed any brilliant qualifications as a military leader, and it was precisely because he lacked the characteristics of General Campos, that Spain appointed him governor-general, hoping that his severity (no, severity is too mild a word, his savage brutality) would accomplish what Campos had failed to do.
In the light of events following his appointment, events which filled the whole civilized world with indignation and horror, it has been pretended by Spain that her ministry specially instructed him to "moderate his ardor."
Moderate his ardor, indeed! Granted that he obeyed instructions, if, indeed such instructions ever existed, just think for a moment what would have happened if he had not!
It is very hard to write in a temperate vein when Weyler is the subject. But where is the case for the plaintiff? Where are their defenders, when Nero, Caligula or Judas is in question?
Let us now contemplate a pen picture of "The Butcher," painted by Mr. Elbert Rappleye, a very clever American newspaper correspondent:
"General Weyler is one of those men who creates a first impression, the first sight of whom can never be effaced 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 impenetrable obscurity. Inferior physically, unsoldierly in bearing, exhibiting no trace of refined sensibilities nor pleasure in the gentle associations that others live for, or at least seek as diversions, he is nevertheless the embodiment of mental acuteness, crafty, unscrupulous, fearless and of indomitable perseverance.
"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, conservative, constructive, progressive, with but one object ever before him, the glorification of Spain as a motherland 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."
After telling of how he was admitted to Weyler's presence, Mr. Rappleye continues his vivid description.
"And what a picture! A little man. An apparition of blacks—black eyes, black hair, black beard, dark—exceedingly dark—complexion; a plain black attire. 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. 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 defined as powers of observation, calculation, judgment and execution, is strongly developed."
Mrs. Kate Masterson, another American journalist, was, we believe, the only one, except Mr. Rappleye, who obtained an interview with Weyler.
Among other things that he said, Mrs. Masterson reports the following:
"I have 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 are a nuisance."
"I have no time to pay attention to stories. Some of them are true and some of them are not."
"The Spanish columns attend to their prisoners just as well as any other country in times of war." An obviously false statement, by the way. "War is war. You cannot make it otherwise, try as you will."
True to a certain extent, General Weyler, but not from your point of view. There are certain humanitarian principles, of which you seem to be ignorant that can be practiced in time of war as well as in time of peace.
Weyler declared to Mrs. Masterson that women, if combatants, would be treated just the same as men. As a matter of fact, whether combatants or non-combatants, he treated them worse than men.
He sneered at the Cuban leaders, at Maceo for being a mulatto, and for having, as he asseverated, no military instruction. And at Gomez, whom he declared was not a brave soldier and had never distinguished himself in any way.
It has always been the policy of the Spaniards to belittle the Cubans, sneering at them as being generaled by negroes, half breeds and illiterate to a degree. Beyond the fact that this is contemptibly false, they do not stop to think how they are dishonoring their own troops which have made such little headway against them.
When the Spaniards have forced the insurgents to surrender in all the revolts that have taken place, it has been mainly through false representations and lying promises, promise that they knew, when they made them, were never intended to be carried out.
Weyler's character may perhaps be best understood
"I care not for America, England, or any other country, but only for the treaties we have with them. They are the law. I know I am merciless, but mercy has no place in war, I know the reputation which has been built up for me. 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."
Contrast with these utterances, the words of Maximo Gomez, the grand old man of Cuba, in his instructions to his men:
"Do not risk your life unnecessarily. You have only one and can best serve your country by saving it. Dead men cannot fire guns. Keep your head cool, your machete warm, and we will yet free Cuba."
Gomez, by the way, at one time, served under Weyler, the former a captain, the latter as a colonel. The noble Cuban leader certainly did not obtain his views of modern warfare from his then superior officer.
When Weyler arrived in Cuba he had at his command at least one hundred and twenty thousand regulars, fifty thousand volunteers and a large naval coast guard. Rather a formidable force to subdue what has been characterized as a handful of bandits.
His policy from the beginning was one of extermination, and he made war upon those who were not in arms against Spain as well as those who were, upon women and children as well as upon men.
Although Weyler did not begin what may be called
He conceived what General Fitzhugh Lee calls "the brilliant idea" of ruining the farmers so that they should not be able to give any aid to the insurgents.
Read carefully the text of his famous reconcentrado order, which brought misery, ruin and death to the peaceable inhabitants of the island:
"I, Don Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, Marquis of Tenerife, Governor-General, Captain-General of this island and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, etc., etc., hereby order and command:
"1. That all inhabitants of the country districts, or those who reside outside the lines of fortifications of the towns, shall within a delay of eight days enter the towns which are occupied by the troops. Any individual found outside the lines in the country at the expiration of this period shall be considered a rebel and shall be dealt with as such.
"2. The transport of food from the towns, and the carrying of food from one place to another by sea or by land, without the permission of the military authorities of the place of departure, is absolutely forbidden. Those who infringe upon the order will be tried and punished as aiders and abettors of the rebellion.
"3. The owners of cattle must drive their herds to the towns, or the immediate vicinity of the towns, for which purposes proper escorts will be given them.
"4. When the period of eight days, which shall be reckoned in each district from the day of the publication of this proclamation in the country town of the district, shall have expired, all insurgents who may present themselves will be placed under my orders for the purpose of designating a place in which they may reside. The furnishing of news concerning the enemy, which can be availed of with advantage, will serve as a recommendation to them; also, when the presentation is made with firearms in their possession, and when, and more especially, when the insurgents present themselves in numbers.
Valeriano Weyler."
Was there ever a more damnable—there is no other word for it—a more damnable proclamation issued?
And the result? Words can scarcely do justice to it. It was the death-sentence of thousands and thousands of innocent people, the large majority of whom were women and children.
The peasant farmers, with their families, were only allowed to bring with them what they could carry on their backs, when they were forced to leave all that they had in the world, and remove to the places of "concentration," where it was impossible for them to make a living.
Before leaving they saw their houses and crops burned, and their live stock, be it much or little, that they possessed, confiscated.
Starvation was before them, and starve they did. And let the reader bear this fact well in mind—these were non-combatants, women and children.
The deaths have occurred in ghastly numbers. More than two hundred thousand have perished from starvation and starvation alone, with no hand from the government stretched out to aid them. The record made by the butcher and the butcher's emissaries is without parallel in all history. No wonder that the United States held its breath in horror, before raising its mailed hand to strike forever the chains from this suffering people.
General Weyler did not care how deeply he should wade in blood, nor to what age or sex this blood belonged, so long as he should attain his ends.
Talk as you please about the atrocities of the Turks, but they pale before those of the Spaniards in Cuba; acts committed, too, not in secret, but openly and by public proclamation.
Read what Stephen Bonsal, who was an eye-witness, says in his book: "The Real Condition of Cuba To-day."
"In the western provinces, we find between three and four hundred thousand people penned up in starvation stations and a prey to all kinds of epidemic diseases. They are without means and without food, and with only the shelter that the dried palm-leaves of their hastily erected bohios afford, and in the rainy season that is now upon them, there is no shelter at all. They have less clothing than the Patagonian savages, and, half naked, they sleep upon the ground, exposed to the noxious vapors which these low-lying swamp-lands emit. They have no prospect before them but to die, or, what is more cruel, to see those of their own flesh and
These words were written before the United States came to the rescue, and the criticism in the last sentence is, thank Heaven, no longer applicable. We are slow to act perhaps, but when we do act, our work is effective, and we never rest until our aim is accomplished.
THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY.
To enlarge upon the sufferings of the Cubans is a painful task, but it is a task that must be accomplished, in the interests of justice and humanity, and also that the reader may clearly understand why it was the bounden duty of the United States to interfere.
Let us therefore proceed with the evidence.
Julian Hawthorne gives his testimony as follows:
"These people have starved in a land capable of supplying tens of millions of people with abundant food. The very ground on which they lie down to breathe their last might be planted with produce that would feed them to repletion. But so far from any effort to save them having been made by Spain, she has wilfully and designedly compassed their destruction. She has driven them in from their fields and plantations and forbidden them to help themselves; the plantations themselves have been laid waste, and should the miserable reconcentrados attempt under the pretended kindly dispensation of Blanco to return to their properties they would find the Spanish guerillas lying in wait to massacre them. No agony of either mind or body has been wanting. The wife has lost her husband, the mother, her children; the child its parents, the husband, his family. They have seen them die. Often they have
Call Richard Harding Davis to the stand!
"In other wars men have fought with men, and women have suffered indirectly because the men were killed, but in this war it is the women herded together in the towns like cattle who are going to die, while the men camped in the fields and mountains will live."
General Fitz Hugh Lee says:
"General Weyler believes that everything is fair in war and every means justifiable that will ultimately write success on his standards. He did not purpose to make war with velvet paws, but to achieve his purpose of putting down the insurrection, if he had to wade through, up to the visor of his helmet, the blood of every Cuban, man, women and child, on the island."
Now hear General Lee relate the following incident, an incident which created much discussion and feeling in the United States:
"Dr. Ruiz, an American dentist, who was practicing his profession in a town called Guanabacoa, some four miles from Havana, was arrested. A railroad train between Havana and this town had been captured by the insurgents, and the next day the Spanish authorities arrested a large number of persons in Guanabacoa, charging them with giving information which enabled the troops, under their enterprising young leader, Aranguren, to make the capture; and among these persons
James Creelman, a brilliant newspaper correspondent, gives his testimony:
"Everywhere the breadwinners of Cuba are fleeing in terror before the Spanish columns, and the ranks of life are being turned into the ranks of death, for the Cuban who has seen his honest and harmless neighbors tied up and shot before his eyes, in order that some officer may get credit for a battle, takes his family to the nearest town or city for safety, and then goes out to strike a manly blow for his country."
Senator Thurston, who was sent to Cuba to investigate and report the condition of affairs, in a passionate address to the United States Senate testifies:
"For myself I went to Cuba firmly believing the condition of affairs there had been greatly exaggerated by the press, and my own efforts were directed in the first
Finally, Senor Enrique Jose Verona, who was at one time a deputy to the Spanish Cortes, sums up the situation as follows:
"Spain denies to the Cubans all effective powers in their own county. Spain condemns the Cubans to a political inferiority in the land where they were born. Spain confiscates the product of the Cubans' labor without
This is only a very small portion of the testimony which might be offered, but can the opinions of men of undoubted honor and veracity be impeached?
Not a tithe of the horrors which has existed in the island of Cuba has been told, and probably never will be told. Because a large proportion of the sufferers did not, like Du Barri, shriek upon the scaffold, but, like De Rohan, died mute.
But still something further can be said as to "The Butcher's" methods, and, worse still, as to the putting into practice of those methods. The insurgents have invariably been treated as if they were pirates. The tigerish nature of Weyler spared no one. Refugees, that is those who did not obey his barbarous proclamation, were shot down in cold blood. Starvation was his policy, and starvation too of those, whatever their sympathies might have been, had never raised a finger against the existing government. The reconcentrados, harassed beyond all measure, saw nothing before them but death, and the happiest among them were those who died first.
How would you, reader, like to be shut off, with no means of subsistence, for yourself, your wife and your children, within military lines, to cross which meant instant death?
The Butcher could not conquer this valiant people in honorable warfare, and therefore, worthy scion of his
The merciless wretch, by the way, was ever careful not to expose his own precious person to bullet or machete.
But what could be expected of him? He was a Spaniard, a man after Spain's own heart, and one whom it was her delight to honor.
This picture is not over-painted. The colors if anything are laid on too thin.
Although the so-called rebels were not conquered and never could be conquered, Weyler was constantly sending reports home of the "pacification" of first this and then that portion of the island. This he probably supposed was necessary to placate the Spaniards, who are divided amongst themselves and ever ready to rise against the existing government whatever it may be.
In spite of all this, brute Weyler has been and still is the idol of a certain class of Spaniards. In spite of all? No, we should have said, because of all.
One of his adherents, among other things, said to Stephen Bonsal, and this is the sort of utterance that the majority of Spain applauds:
"The only way to end this Cuban question is the way General Weyler is going about it. The only way for Spain to retain her sovereignty over these islands is to exterminate—butcher if you like—every man, woman and child upon it who is infected with the contagion and dreams of Cuba Libre. These people must be exterminated and we consider no measure too ruthless to be adopted to secure this end.
"I read in an American paper the other day that General Weyler was poisoning the streams from which the insurgents drink in Matanzas province. It was not true, but I only wish it had been.
"General Weyler is our man. We feel sure of him. He will not be satisfied until every insurgent lies in the ditch with his throat cut, and that is all we want."
Stop a moment and think! These words were spoken at the end of the nineteenth century by the representative of a professed Christian country. How have the teachings of Christ, who always and primarily advocated charity, been forgotten or perverted!
The whole matter of Cuba under Spanish rule is a disgrace to the age we live in.
But (call it spread-eagleism if you like) the United States now has the affair in hand. It can and will right this wrong, and so effectively that there will be no possibility of its recurrence.
TWO METHODS OF WARFARE: THE SPANISH AND THE CUBAN.
Now let us turn to the one crime, so-called, that has been alleged against the Cubans.
We refer to the burning of the sugar crops.
That this has been done on each and every occasion, no one will deny. At first glance, it seems an act of vandalism. But is it so? Let us examine carefully into the causes and reasons for it.
The Spaniards claim that it is a notable example of the reckless and uncivilized methods of the insurgents. On the contrary, it is a policy which was carefully planned and systematically carried out by Gomez and the other Cuban leaders.
In a proclamation by Gomez, he ordered his lieutenants to burn the sugar plantations, but he did not tell them to destroy the mills, because he did not wish, in case of his succeeding in his purpose of liberating Cuba, to lay the producers flat upon their backs, from which position they could never, or, only with the utmost difficulty, arise.
The destruction of the sugar cane was a necessity of war. It must be remembered that from the sugar crop Spain has received her largest revenue from Cuba, and to cut off this source of revenue is to cripple Spain and
To show that the damage wrought is by no means irreparable, we cannot do better than quote Baron Antomarchi, a Frenchman who lived for a long time in Cuba, was there during the early part of the present insurrection, and knows of what he is speaking:
"Since the suppression of slavery, and as a result of the high price of labor the work of sugar making had been modified. In former times a sugar planter considered his plantation his most necessary possession. After the process of manufacture was modified, it was his sugar mill upon which he depended; his plantation was less important. So in burning the sugar crop, Gomez did not strike a death-blow at the producer. It is a well known fact that when the cane growth is cut by fire and the fields are burnt close to the ground, the yield of the following season is increased and improved; so we see that Gomez did not ruin the country when he burned the plantations. True, the fields have been burned, but they will spring up with a more vigorous luxuriance after the rest which was one of the conditions imposed upon the first agricultural community of which we have any reliable record, and if the mills which Gomez has left intact are not destroyed by some authority equally potent, when the country is reorganized, the sugar industry may flourish to a degree undreamed of before the Cuban war for liberty."
Besides depriving Spain of her revenue, Gomez had another though a lesser reason, for burning the sugar
On the whole, we do not see that the criticism and blame which have been given to the insurgents for destroying the crops and for the time being laying waste the land, are deserved. It was a measure of war, and one, which it seems to us, under the circumstances, was thoroughly justified.
Now let us contrast, for a moment, the different methods of the Spaniards and the Cubans in waging warfare.
In the first place, we do not mean to affirm that the insurgents have not committed actions, which, in the light of civilization, are indefensible, but they are few and far between, and they were forced upon them. After all the horrors to which they were subjected, they would have been less than human if they had not retaliated.
The Cubans, both in the Ten Years' War and in the present one, have been merciful to those of the enemy who fell into their hands. The latter have been almost invariably treated with kindness and allowed to go free and unmolested.
But the Spaniards never reciprocated. It has been their invariable policy not to exchange prisoners, a notable instance of this being their recent refusal to exchange the gallant Hobson and his comrades. To be sure, according to international law they are not compelled to do this, but it is doubtful if there is another
Just here, let us say that those acts of cruelty which have been committed by the Cuban army have been very far from receiving the sanction of their leaders. On the contrary, they have been done in violation of the explicit orders of those leaders; and whenever the offenders have been discovered, they have been hanged as bandits to the limb of the nearest tree.
The hatred and barbarity which the Spaniards have without exception, evinced toward the Cubans have done much to alienate the latter, have been the chief causes why peace could not be maintained, and have made only one outcome possible—the freedom and independence of the island.
We have already seen the humanity with which Gomez, Maceo and the other Cuban chiefs treated the wounded of the enemy who chanced to fall into their hands.
But how was it on the other side? How did the Spaniards behave toward the insurgent wounded? When not killed at once and their sufferings ended immediately, they were cast into loathsome dungeons, with insufficient food and with no medical attendance whatever.
Now to a charge which has more than once been brought against Spain, which has been brought against her recently, which her government has indignantly denied, but which both in the past and the
The charge refers to an action which, with the exception of Spain, has never been committed but by the most savage tribes, the Indians of North America and the inhabitants of darkest Africa. We do not think that even the Turks were ever accused of such an atrocious, unspeakable act.
We mean the mutilation of the dead bodies (often in a horrible, obscene way) left upon the battlefield.
It is with regret and loathing that we approach the subject. But facts must be spoken.
There has been scarcely a combat between the Spaniards and the Cubans, in all the revolutions which have occurred, where the former have not been guilty of the revolting practice of the mutilation of dead bodies.
Indeed the most savage of tribes have never gone further in the demoniac wreaking of vengeance upon the fallen bodies of the enemy than the Spaniards have.
It has been a common custom with them to disfigure, mangle and commit nameless indignities upon the dead.
When Nestor Aranguren, who you will remember was one of the bravest of the Cuban leaders, the "Marion," the "Swamp Fox" of the insurrection, was killed, his body, covered with honorable wounds was taken to Havana, and paraded before the citizens, subject to their jeers and curses.
When another insurgent leader, Castillo, was killed, the same frightful spectacle was witnessed.
Indeed, it has been the rule among the Spaniards
Among the Cubans, there is only one instance related where they retaliated in kind. And this was when it is said that they sent a Spanish soldier back to Havana with his tongue cut out. But even this story, the only act of brutality alleged against them is not well authenticated, resting as it does entirely upon Spanish evidence. And we know well how much credence can be given to that evidence.
To come down to more recent occurrences.
When it was first reported that the bodies of our marines killed at Guantanamo were subjected to unmentionable mutilations by the Spaniards, we could not believe it. It was said that the condition of the bodies was caused by shots fired from the Mauser rifle. But the Mauser rifle inflicts a clean cut hole. It could not possibly have been responsible for the horrible condition of the bodies. It is impossible for us to explain further in print. Remember or look up what was done by the Apaches in some of our Indian wars, and then from your knowledge, or the knowledge gained by research, fill up the hiatus.
And the Spaniards cannot claim in this latter instance, if indeed they can in any other, that these barbarities were committed by irregular and irresponsible troops. It is beyond question that by far the greater
The New York Herald, in an editorial on the subject, remarks most justly and forcibly: "What sort of a degraded spectacle, then, does Spain present, going whining through Europe in search of intercession or intervention, with such a damnable record against her, made in the very first engagement of troops?
"We can hear good old John Bull sputter out his righteous indignation, but will his Holiness the Pope recognize such degenerate child? Can the punctilious Francis Joseph of Austria afford to condone crimes like these? Will the Emperor William or the Czar of Russia lift his voice in behalf of such fiends? Can our sister republic, France, sympathize with the monsters who disgrace the very name of soldier?
"Not so! All Europe will join with our own government, now thoroughly aroused to the indignities put upon it, and voice the stern edict of humanity and civilization:
"Spain has now placed herself without the pale of the nations. Let her meet the retribution she so justly deserves."
Senor Estrado Palma, the representative of Cuba in the United States, has declared in a manifesto that the Cubans threw themselves into the struggle advisedly and deliberately, that they knew what they had to face and decided unflinchingly to persevere until they should
Slavery is ended in Cuba, and the white and the colored live together in perfect harmony, fighting side by side, to obtain political liberty.
Senor Palma, by the way, asserts, with how much authority we are unable to state, that the colored population in Cuba is superior to that of the United States. He says that they are industrious, intelligent and lovers of learning; also, that, during the last fifteen years, they have attained remarkable intellectual development.
There are certain utterances of Senor Palma in this manifesto which deserve to be quoted in full, so pregnant are they with truth, and so full of food for thought to the average American citizen, whether he agrees with them or not. Senor Palma says:
"We Cubans have a thousandfold more reason in our endeavor to free ourselves from the Spanish yoke than had the people of the thirteen colonies, when, in 1775, they rose in arms against the British government. 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
"If the right of the thirteen British colonies to rise in arms in order to acquire their independence has never been questioned because of the attempt of the mother country to tax them by a duty upon tea, or by the Stamp Act, will there be a single citizen in this great republic of the United States, whether he be a public or private man, who will doubt the justice, the necessity in which the Cuban people find themselves of fighting to-day
Now, honestly, all prejudice aside, this is not a bad brief for the plaintiff, is it?
There is one more document to which we desire to call your attention. And that is, a letter written to Professor Starr Jordan, of the Leland Stanford, Jr., University of San Francisco, by a Havanese gentleman of undoubted integrity and of Spanish origin.
Professor Jordan declares that this letter seems to show that "the rebellion is not a mere bandit outbreak of negroes and jailbirds, but the effort of the whole people to throw off the yoke of a government they find intolerable."
The letter states, among other things, that the insurrection was begun and is kept up by Cuban people; that the Spanish government has made colossal and unheard-of efforts to put it down, but has not succeeded in diminishing it; on the contrary, the insurrection has spread from one extreme of the island to the other; that the flower of the Cuban youth is in the army of the insurrection, in whose ranks are many physicians, lawyers, druggists, professors, artists, business men, engineers and men of that ilk.
Professor Jordan's correspondent declares that this fact can be proved by the excellent consular service of the United States.
He admits that destruction has been carried on by
He further declares that the insurgents will continue in their course until they fulfill their purpose, carrying all before them by fire and blood.
He concludes as follows:
"All eyes are directed toward the north, to the republic which is the mother of all Americans. The people of the United States must bear strongly in mind now, as never before, that profession is null and void, if action does not affirm it."
But action has come at last, as the fiendish Spaniards have already found out to their cost.
What is Cuba, the "Pearl of the Antilles," at the present time of writing? The answer to that question is as follows:
A land devastated and temporarily ruined; a gem besmirched almost beyond recognition; a heap of smoking ashes; a population of starving men, women and children, with an iron hand clutching remorselessly at their hearts; a horrible, ghastly picture of what savage men are capable of in the way of destruction.
Now, Americans, people of the free and independent United States; you who enjoy all the blessings of liberty; you who can pursue your avocations without let or hindrance; you who are the jury in this case—the evidence is before you.
You have undoubtedly heard it said that the interference of the United States was unwarrantable; that there
But is there one of our readers who would see a woman, or a weak though honorable man, attacked by a savage foe, without interfering, and doing the best he could to give life and freedom to the oppressed?
Think it all over, Americans, and think it over carefully and judiciously.
At your own doors, is a poor, miserable, starving wretch, starving from no fault of his, and with a bulldog, not your own, but belonging to a neighbor (a neighbor, grant you with whom you have always hitherto been at peace) about to fasten its fangs in the throat of this unhappy man.
Would you hold your hands, saying that it was no affair of yours, or, with your superior strength, would you fly to the rescue?
Once more, Americans, you have heard the whole evidence. The case is in your hands.
What is your verdict?
THE BUTCHER'S CAMPAIGN.
Now let us go back to the making of history, to the time when the butcher Weyler came to Cuba to assume the governor-generalship.
By this time the Cuban question had been brought authoritatively before the United States Senate, the people were beginning to be strongly roused with indignation at the state of affairs in Cuba, and there was considerable excitement when the news of Weyler's appointment became known.
Strange to say, the insurgents rejoiced rather than grieved at this appointment, the cause of which is not far to seek. They knew thoroughly well Weyler's character, and what his policy was more than likely to be. They thought that it would drive all the Cubans, who were wavering, into their ranks and would at last force the United States, whose people, when all is said and done, were their natural allies and defenders, to intervene.
After the battle of Coliseo, Gomez and Maceo made their way through Madruga, Nueva-Paz and Guines. Then they destroyed, at a large number of points, the very important railway which connected Havana with Batabano, and also cut the telegraph wires. When they had accomplished this, the two leaders separated,
Gomez succeeded in burning several more or less important suburbs of Havana.
Almost the first military movement that Weyler made was an attempt to cut off Maceo and prevent his communication with the other detachments of the Cuban army. It seemed to be his chief purpose to compass the death of the mulatto leader, a purpose which at last was most unfortunately accomplished, but then only through treachery.
In emulation of his predecessor, Weyler also tried his hand at trocha building. He constructed a fence of this description across Cuba between the port of Artemisa and the bay of Majana, about twenty-five miles from Havana.
It may be of interest to describe this particular trocha, as it was one of, if not the most important, and a good example of the others.
As its name, trocha, signifies, it was a ditch, or rather two ditches, some three yards wide and the same in depth, with a road between them broad enough to allow cavalry to pass. On each bank was a barbed wire fence, to stop the assailants' progress. Beyond the two ditches, were trous-de-loup, or wolf-traps, from twenty to seventy feet apart. At every hundred yards or so there were fortifications. After night fell, this fortified line was lighted by electricity. Twelve thousand men comprised the garrison, besides outposts of half as many more.
Weyler prided himself greatly upon this trocha, which was intended to keep the rebels at a distance.
But, in spite of all the precautions taken, the wily Maceo and his men more than once crossed the trocha, and the Spanish were not the wiser until it was too late to prevent them.
Once, when they had passed the obstruction without a shot being fired, the insurgents tore up some distance of a railway line on the further side of the trocha, the Cuban leader remarking:
"We did this just to show the enemy that we noticed their plaything."
The headquarters of the insurgents was and is up to the present writing, a place called Cubitas, the top of a mountain, something over a score of miles from Puerto Principe. It is practically impregnable, only a very narrow spiral path leading up to it. A handful of men could defend it against a large army. The little plain on top of the mountain has an area of more than a square mile. It is arable land, and many food products are raised there. The insurgents have constructed here quite a number of wooden buildings, and they have also a dynamite factory. It would take a long time to capture the place by storm or to starve the defenders out.
The Cubans have had one great advantage, that is, they are acclimated. Quite the contrary is true of the Spanish army of invasion, and their ranks have suffered far more from the climate than they have from the bullets of the foe. Added to this, their wages are greatly in
The strength of the two armies, at the time of Weyler's arrival in Cuba was about as follows: The government has 200,000 men, including the 60,000 volunteers, while the insurgents numbered not much more than a fourth of this, some fifty or sixty thousand men, which were scattered among the various provinces, the largest proportion being massed in Santiago de Cuba.
There were twenty-four generals in the Cuban army, nineteen being white, three black, one a mulatto, and one an Indian; of the thirty-four colonels, twenty-seven were white, five were black, and two were mulattoes.
The record of the mortality among the Spanish soldiers is an appalling one, something simply ghastly to contemplate.
Harper's Weekly has published statistics concerning Spanish losses in Cuba, which were obtained from a source that it was forbidden to disclose. In two years from March, 1895 to March, 1897, 1,375 were killed in battle, 765 died of wounds, and 8,627 were wounded, but recovered. Ten per cent. of the killed and fatally wounded were officers, and 5 per cent. of the wounded died of yellow fever, while 127 officers and about 40,000 men succumbed to other maladies.
Another authority gives the following rates of losses: Out of every thousand, ten were killed, sixty-six died of yellow fever, two hundred and one died of other diseases,
Out of two hundred thousand men sent to Cuba in two years, only in the neighborhood of ninety-six thousand, capable of bearing arms, were left the first of March, 1897.
During our own civil war one and sixty-five one-hundredths per cent. of all those mustered into the United States service were killed in action or died of their wounds; ten per cent. were wounded, and a little less than two per cent. died of wounds and from unknown causes.
That we lost during the civil war, 186,216 men from disease is terrible enough, but to equal the percentage of the Spanish losses from the same cause, during twice the time that our war lasted, would bring the total up to a million and a half of men.
From the very beginning, the insurgents held possession of the two eastern provinces, Santiago and Puerto Principe. It was only by unremitting efforts and the loss of many lives that the Spaniards retained their hold on the district about Bayamo.
Late in 1890 General Calixto Garcia, now second in rank to Gomez, and playing an important part in the aiding of the American troops, landed on the island with strong reinforcements. Garcia, who was also a veteran of the Ten Years' War had several more or less important engagements with the Spanish, in almost all of which he was victorious.
Antonio Maceo, in order to consult with Gomez,
There is not the shadow of a doubt but that this double catastrophe was due to the treachery of one of Maceo's companions, a certain Dr. Zertucha.
One of Maceo's aides tells the story as follows: "Firing was heard near Punta Brava, and Zertucha, who had ridden off to one side of the road, came galloping back, crying: "Come with me! Come with me! Quick! Quick!" Maceo at once put spurs to his horse, and, followed by his five aids, rode swiftly after the physician, who plunged into the thick growth on the side of the road.
The party had only ridden a few yards, when Zertucha, bent low in his saddle, and swerved sharply to one side, galloping away like mad.
Almost at the same moment, a volley was fired by a party of Spanish soldiers hidden in the dense underbrush, and Maceo and four of his men dropped out of their saddles, mortally wounded."
The single survivor, the man whose words are quoted above, contrived to get back to his own party and brought them to the scene of the tragedy. The Spaniards were driven away, Maceo's body was found
The traitor Zertucha surrendered to the Spanish by whom naturally he was treated with the utmost kindness and consideration.
Afterwards Zertucha attempted to blacken Maceo's memory by declaring that he was disheartened and desperate, and that his death was the result of his own folly.
Senor Palma says of this:
"General Maceo was loved and supported by all men struggling for Cuban independence, whether in a military or civil capacity. If a man was ever idolized by his people, that man was General Maceo. Dr. Zertucha knows that, but perhaps he has an object in making his false assertions."
An object? Of course he had an object—the currying of favor with the Spaniards, the saving of his own wretched carcass and the obtaining of the blood-money due him.
So perished the last of the Maceos, eight brothers, all having died before him in the cause of Cuban liberty.
The following poem on Maceo's death appeared in the New York Sun:
| Antonio Maceo. |
| "Stern and unyielding, though others might bow to the tempest; |
| Slain by the serpent who cowered in hiding behind thee; |
| Slumber secure where the hands of thy comrades have laid thee; |
| Dim to thine ear be the roar of the battle above thee. |
| Set now is thy sun, going down in darkness and menace, |
| While through the thick-gathering clouds one red ray of vengeance |
| Streams up to heaven, blood red, from the place where thou liest. |
| Though the sword of Death's angel lies cold on thy forehead, |
| Still to the hearts of mankind speaks the voice of thy spirit: |
| Still does thine angry shade arrest the step of the tyrant. |
| "V. B." |
Maceo's death was a terrible blow to the insurgents, but, with indomitable spirit they rallied and plunged with renewed energy into the fray.
Maceo was succeeded by General Rius Rivers, who does not seem to have been in any way the equal of his predecessor.
Having accomplished by low treachery what he had not succeeded in doing by open, honorable warfare, Weyler increased his efforts to put down the rebellion in Pinar del Rio, where Maceo had been in command.
The trochas now became of advantage, and Weyler succeeded in confining Rivera's scattered bands to the province. Early in 1897, Rivera was made a prisoner, and since then nothing of importance, from a military standpoint, has occurred in Pinar del Rio.
In 1897 there were but few incidents of interest in the war. The Cubans were holding back, evading conflicts wherever they could, and waiting for the long-delayed interposition of the United States.
Guines, however, was taken by them, and General
The victory was a notable one, especially as Weyler had cabled his government that Tunas was impregnable. Its fall gave rise to much harsh criticism and bitter feeling in Spain.
Weyler was constantly proclaiming the "pacification" of certain provinces, statements that were most transparently absurd and false. He even immediately followed up his proclamations by the most severe and brutal measures in those very provinces.
Finally even Madrid, to whom it would have mattered little if the policy had proved a success, became convinced that Weyler's savage procedure was a failure.
The butcher had gained absolutely no advantage, but had simply been the cause of untold and undeserved suffering.
The insurrection, taking it all for all, was just as strong, if not stronger, than it was the day Weyler arrived in Cuba.
So, in October, 1897, he was withdrawn from his post, and summoned back to Spain.
It is to be hoped that the world will never again witness such a shameful and shameless exhibition as was his administration.
Before dismissing him from these pages, let us quote
Mr. Bonsal says:
"Should they be wise, and they will have a moment of clairvoyance soon, or they will disappear as a nation, the Spaniards should seek to cast a mantle of oblivion and forgetfulness about the wretched name of Weyler and all the ignoble deeds that have characterized his rule. While it cannot be expected that the bishop will be displaced by the butcher, there is one whom Weyler will displace upon his unenviable pinnacle of prominence in the temple of infamy, and that is Alva. His name is destined to become in every tongue that is spoken by civilized people a synonym of bloody, relentless and pitiless war waged upon American soil, upon the long-disused methods of the Vandals and the Visigoths; and Alva, who had the cruel spirit of his age and a sincere fanaticism as his excuse, will step down and out into an oblivion which will doubtless be grateful to his shade, and most certainly so to those who bear his execrated name.
"I could ask no more terrible punishment for him (Weyler) than many years of life to listen to the voices of despair he has heard ring out upon his path through Cuba; to hear again and ever the accusing voices which no human power can hush, and to review the scenes of suffering which he has occasioned which no human power can obliterate from his memory."
AMERICA'S CHARITY AND SPAIN'S DIPLOMACY.
The new governor-general of Cuba was Don Ramon Blanco, as to whose character accounts differ. It is probable that while he is not the high-minded, honorable gentleman that Campos was, he is far, very far from being such an unmitigated beast as his predecessor.
Before he reached Cuba, which was the last of October, 1897, he stated in an interview:
"My policy will never include concentration. I fight the enemy, not women and children. One of the first things I shall do will be to allow the reconcentrados to go out of the town and till the soil."
This sounds very just and right, but, as a matter of fact, the policy enounced was never carried out, not even in minor particulars. The persecution of the pacificos remained as bitter and relentless as ever.
Perhaps General Blanco is not entirely to blame for this, as the pressure brought to bear against his expressed ideas both by the home government and by the "peninsulars" in Havana, who had been in full accord with the methods of the "Butcher," was so strong as scarcely to be resisted.
Blanco issued an amnesty proclamation soon after his arrival in Havana, but the insurgents paid little or no
In the field, Blanco was also most unsuccessful, gaining nothing but petty victories of no value whatever. The pay of the Spanish soldiers was terribly in arrears, and their rations were of the most meagre description. No wonder that they were disheartened, and in no condition to fight.
In a word, Blanco absolutely failed, as completely as had his predecessors, in quelling the rebellion.
The people of the United States were becoming more and more enraged at the atrocities committed at their very door, and more and more anxious that the Cubans should have the independence which they themselves had achieved.
Moreover, there was a large number of Americans in the island who were made to suffer from the policy of reconcentration. Citizens of the United States, a large number of them being naturalized Americans, were constantly being seized and imprisoned, on suspicion alone, no proof whatever being advanced, of their furnishing aid and comfort to the insurgents. They were placed in filthy cells, no communication with the outside world being allowed them. This is what the Spaniards term "incommunicado."
No writing materials were allowed them and nothing whatever to read. The windows were so high up that no view was to be obtained. The cells were damp with the moisture of years and had rotten, disease-breeding floors, covered with filth of every description. Moreover,
The sustenance furnished the prisoners was wretched, and even such as it was, it was not given to them regularly. More often than not, they were left for long hours to suffer the pangs of hunger and thirst.
A notable instance of Americans being seized and imprisoned in these loathsome dungeons is the following:
A little schooner called the "Competitor" attempted to land a filibustering expedition. She was captured, after most of her passengers had been landed, and her crew, numbering five, were tried by a court which had been instructed to convict them, and sentenced to death. They would undoubtedly have been executed, as some years before had been the prisoners of the ill-fated Virginius, had it not been for the prompt intervention of the United States, spurred thereto by General Fitz Hugh Lee.
The conviction was growing stronger and stronger in the United States that something should be done to mitigate the terrible suffering in Cuba.
The Red Cross Association, a splendid charitable organization, at the head of which was Miss Clara Barton, undertook this noble work of relief. The government of the United States lent its assistance and support. Large sums of money and tons of supplies of food were contributed throughout the Union, both by public and private donations. The newspapers everywhere, North, East, South and West, did magnificent service in furthering the good work.
Spain, instead of showing gratitude, rather resented this, and there was considerable difficulty to prosecute the labor of charity. Still, the efforts, in the interests of suffering humanity were by no means unavailing.
President McKinley speaks of the movement as follows:
"The success which had attended the limited measure of relief extended to the suffering American citizens of Cuba, by the judicious expenditure through consular agencies, of money appropriated expressly for their succor by the joint resolution approved May 24, 1897, prompted the humane extension of a similar scheme of aid to the great body of sufferers. A suggestion to this end was aquiesced in by the Spanish authorities. On the twenty-fourth of December last, I caused to be issued an appeal to the American people, inviting contributions, in money or in kind, for the starving sufferers in Cuba, following this on the eighth of January by a similar public announcement of the formation of a Central Cuban Relief Committee, with headquarters in New York city, composed of three members representing the American National Red Cross Society, and the religious and business elements of the community. The efforts of that committee have been untiring and have accomplished much. Arrangements for free transportation to Cuba have greatly aided the charitable work. The president of the American Red Cross and representatives of other contributory organizations have generously visited Cuba and co-operated with the consul-general and the local authorities to make effective disposition of the relief
And yet Spain resented these charitable efforts, as being opposed to her policy. The people of the United States, in sending this money and these supplies, had nothing else in view but charity, a longing to do all that they could to relieve the anguish of an oppressed and tortured people. There was no ulterior motive whatever.
A large amount of the sums contributed was diverted to a purpose very different from that for which it had been intended.
The Spanish government, more through fear of the condemnation of the other European nations than anything else, voted about six hundred thousand dollars for the relief of the starving reconcentradoes.
But this was a ruse, a sum chiefly on paper. General Lee, and his testimony is incontrovertible, says:
"I do not believe six hundred thousand dollars, in supplies, will be given to those people, and the soldiers left to starve. They will divide it up here and there; a
"General Blanco published a proclamation, rescinding General Weyler's bando, as they call it there, but it has had no practical effect. In the first place, these people have no place to go; the houses have been burned down; there is nothing but the bare land there, and it would take them two months before they could raise the first crop. In the next place, they are afraid to go out from the lines of the towns, because the roving bands of the Spanish guerillas, as they are called, would kill them. So they stick right in the edges of the town, just like they did, with nothing to eat except what they can get from charity. The Spanish have nothing to give."
The government and people of Spain now became very much afraid of the attitude of the United States. They knew that something had to be done, so to speak, to throw a sop to Cerberus. Therefore Sagasta, the premier of Spain, conceived the idea of granting to Cuba a species of autonomy. But, with the usual Spanish diplomacy, it was not autonomy at all. It purposed to be home rule, but every article gave a loop-hole for Spain not to fulfill her obligations.
It was a false and absurd proposition, intended to deceive, but too flimsy in its fabric to deceive any one. It was rotten clean through, and was opposed by everyone
The Cuban leaders, who at one time would have hailed with joy such a concession, if they had been assured that the provisions would have been followed out loyally and without fraud, now rejected the autonomistic proposition with scorn and loathing.
Their battle cry was now, and they were determined it ever should be: "Independence or death!"
It was too late. There was no possibility now of home rule under Spanish domination.
Gomez even went so far as to declare that any one who should attempt to bring to his camp any offer of autonomy would be seized as a spy and shot.
General Lee, speaking of the proposed autonomy, says:
"Blanco's autonomistic government was doomed to failure from its inception. The Spanish soldiers and officers scorned it because they did not desire Cuban rule, which such autonomy, if genuine, would insure. The Spanish merchants and citizens were opposed to it because they too were hostile to the Cubans having control of the island, and, if the question could be narrowed down to Cuban control or annexation to the United States, they were all annexationists, believing that they could get a better government, and one that would protect in a greater measure life and property under the United States flag than under the Cuban banner. On the other hand, the Cubans in arms would not
Senor Palma sums up the question of autonomy as follows:
"Autonomy would mean that the Cuban people will make their own laws, appoint all their public officers, except the governor-general, and attend to the local affairs with entire independence, without, of course, interference by the metropolis. What then would be left to Spain, since between her and Cuba there is no commercial intercourse of any kind? Spain is not and cannot be, a market for Cuban products, and is moreover unable to provide Cuba with the articles in need by the latter. The natural market for the Cuban products is the United States, from which in exchange Cuba buys with great advantage flour, provisions, machinery, etc. What then, I repeat, is left to Spain but the big debt incurred by her, without the consent and against the will of the people of Cuba? We perfectly understand the autonomy of Canada as a colony of Great Britain. The two countries are closely connected with each other by the most powerful ties—the mutual interest of a reciprocal commerce."
Murat Halstead, who is invariably logical and correct, puts the whole matter in a few trenchant words:
"There is nothing to regard as possible in any of the reforms the Spaniards are promising with much animation and to which they ascribe the greatest excellence, to take place after the insurgents have surrendered their
Spain's fatal colonial policy. Could there be truer words?
Let us pause for a moment to contemplate what this fatal colonial policy has cost her.
At one time she swayed the destinies of Europe and had possessions in every continent. Samuel Johnson, in writing of her, said:
| "Are there no regions yet unclaimed by Spain? |
| Quick, let us rise, those unhappy lands explore, |
| And bear oppression's insolence no more." |
The whole reason of Spain's downfall is the ruthless and savage character of the Spanish people.
Due to her oppression, note the following list of colonies which she has lost:
1609. The Netherlands.
1628. Malacca, Ceylon, Java and other islands.
1640. Portugal.
1648. Spain renounced all claim to Holland.
1648. Brabant and other parts of Flanders.
1649. Maestricht, Hetogenbosch, Breda, Bergen-of-Zoom, and many other fortresses in the Low Countries. In this year also she practically surrendered supremacy on the seas to Northern Europe.
1659. Rousillon and Cardague. By the cession of these places to France, the boundary line between France and Spain became the Pyrenees.
1668. Other portions of Flanders.
1672. Still more cities and towns in Flanders.
1704. Gibraltar.
1704. Majorca, Minorca and Ivizza.
1791. The Nootka Sound settlements.
1794. St. Domingo.
1800. Louisiana.
1802. Trinidad.
1819. Florida.
1810-21. Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Patagonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, San Salvador, Hayti and numerous other islands.
Spain has now not a foot of territory on the American continent, and very shortly she will not have a foot anywhere except within the confines of her own home.
To return again to the proposed autonomy of Cuba.
At the time it was offered Gomez, that grand old man of Cuba said:
"This is a war to the death for independence, and nothing but independence will we accept. To talk of home rule is to idle away time. But I have hopes that the United States, sooner or later, will recognize our belligerency. It is a question of mere justice, and, in spite of all arts of diplomacy, justice wins in the long run. The day we are recognized as belligerents, I can name a fixed term for the end of the war.
"With regard to paying an indemnity to Spain, that is a question of amount. A year ago we could pay $100,000,000, and I was ready to agree to that. Now that Spain owes more than $400,000,000, we will not pay so much."
It was too late now to speak of reforms or of home rule in any shape. The Cubans were not willing to nurse illusions. They were resolved on absolute freedom or nothing.
Any form of Spanish rule would mean the entire subjection of the Cubans, and, had they accepted the proposed autonomy, there is no doubt but that the future would have been as bad, if not worse, than the past.
Public opinion in the United States was never so deeply aroused as it was now. Citizens in all ranks of life were calling loudly for interference, which, in the name of civilization and humanity, should end the horrible state of affairs in Cuba.
The United States was Cuba's natural defender and protector, and now, both press and public declared, was the time to act.
The president was fully aware of the gravity of the situation, but with rare discretion, for which future historians will give him due credit, he bided his time, preferring, if possible, peace with honor.
In his first message relating to the Cuban situation, President McKinley said:
"If it shall hereafter appear to be a duty imposed by our obligations to ourselves, to civilization and humanity, to intervene with force, it shall be without fault on our part, and only because the necessity of such action will be so clear as to command the support and approval of the civilized world."
General Stewart L. Woodford, our minister to Spain,
One cause of the American people's irritability, and in all justice there was much reason for it, was Spain's pretence that the Cuban war had been prolonged because of America's inability or non desire to maintain neutrality. Nothing could be falser or more absurd, for the United States had invariably, whenever possible, stopped all filibustering expeditions to Cuba. The records will bear out this statement, without any possibility of refutation. More than two millions of dollars had been expended by the United States in Spain's interest. Certainly, gratitude or its equivalent is a word that does not appear in the Spanish lexicon.
THE LAST DAYS OF PEACE.
Then came the De Lome incident which served to inflame further passions already aroused.
Senor Enrique Depuy De Lome was the Spanish minister to this country.
He wrote a letter, strongly denunciatory of the president's message, and of the president himself; with the worst taste possible, he alluded to Mr. McKinley as a low politician, one who catered, for political purposes, to the rabble.
This letter was intercepted and a copy given to the press. The original was sent to the State Department. Of course De Lome at once became persona non grata, which the Spanish government recognized, and even before Minister Woodford could make a "representation," De Lome was recalled from his position and Senor Polo appointed in his place.
President McKinley showed the most admirable self-poise through all this affair, evincing outwardly no resentment for what was a personal insult to himself.
It was declared that we ought to have a ship of war in Havana harbor to protect American citizens, and for that purpose, the Maine was sent there.
It was the visit of a friendly ship to, at that time, a friendly country.
The Maine was received by the Spanish officials with every outward show of respect, the firing of salutes and the raising of the American and Spanish flags on the vessels of different nationalities.
And yet what was the result? Once more came an exhibition of Spain's perfidy. We know it is very much like the Scotch verdict of "non proven," but still there is no doubt among fair-minded men.
A tragedy ensued, a tragedy in which Spain played the part of the villain, and such an unconscionable villain as has never been seen upon the boards of any stage.
On the night of Tuesday, February 19, 1898, the United States battleship Maine, presumably in friendly waters, was lying calmly anchored in the harbor of Havana. Suddenly, with no warning whatever, for there was no suspicion on the part of either officers or men, the magnificent battleship was blown up. Two officers and two hundred and sixty of the crew perished, but their names and memories will ever be cherished affectionately and gratefully by the American people.
All on board behaved in the most heroic manner, Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, the commander being the last to leave the fated ship. The famous naval historian, Captain Mahan, says:
"The self-control shown in the midst of a sudden and terrible danger, of which not one of the men on board knew, showed that in battle with known dangers about them, and expecting every minute the fate that might overtake them, the fellow sailors of the men of the Maine would stand to their guns and their ship
The Maine was one of the very best vessels in the American navy; with her stores and ammunition, she represented an expenditure of close upon five millions of dollars.
The blowing up of the Maine and the loss of our brave men aroused the most intense excitement throughout the United States, but the request of Captain Sigsbee that public opinion should be suspended until thorough investigation had been made, was followed, and the people behaved with admirable and remarkable control.
A naval board of inquiry was at once organized by the United States government. This board consisted of experienced officers, who were greatly assisted in their labors by a strong force of experts, wreckers and divers.
The investigation was most searching. The 21st of March, 1898, the board presented a unanimous verdict. The report was most voluminous, embracing some twelve thousand pages.
The verdict was practically that "the loss of the Maine was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of her crew; that the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines; and that no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility of the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons."
Although it was not possible to obtain evidence which should convict the guilty parties, there was not and never has been the faintest doubt in the mind of any fair-minded person as to who was responsible for the tragedy. When Congress afterward spoke of the crime or the criminal negligence of the Spanish officials, the words found an ardent response in the heart of every true American.
There is no doubt but that the destruction of the Maine was the lever that started the machinery of war.
Like "Remember the Alamo!" "Remember the Maine!" is a clarion cry of battle that will go echoing down the centuries.
In Cuba we were most fortunate in having a superb representative in the person of General Fitz Hugh Lee, a man of rare intellectual ability, ever courteous but ever firm, a fine specimen of Southern chivalry.
The Spaniards, as was but natural, hated him, but when his withdrawal was suggested by the Spanish government President McKinley cabled to Minister Woodford at Madrid that the services of General Lee at Havana were indispensable and his removal could not be considered.
The relations between Spain and the United States became every day more and more strained. Every effort was made by the President to bring about a peaceable solution of the Cuban question, but Spain, stiff necked and suicidal, refused to cooperate with him.
On April 11, the president sent his famous message to Congress.
In it, he alluded to the way in which we had been forced to police our own waters and watch our own seaports in prevention of any unlawful act in aid of Cuba.
He spoke of how our trade had suffered, how the capital invested by our citizens in Cuba had been largely lost, and how the temperance and forbearance of our own people had been so sorely tried as to beget a perilous unrest among our own citizens.
The President, also, made some strong arguments against both belligerency and recognition, especially against the latter.
He quoted Jackson's argument, on the subject of the recognition of Texas, concluding as follows:
"Prudence, therefore, seems to dictate that we should stand aloof, and maintain our present attitude, if not until Mexico itself or one of the great foreign powers shall recognize the independence of the new government; at least until the lapse of time or the course of events should have proved beyond cavil or dispute the ability of the people of that country to maintain their separate sovereignty and to uphold the government constituted by them. Neither of the contending parties can justly complain of this course. By pursuing it we are but carrying out the long established policy of our government, a policy which has secured us respect and influence abroad and inspired confidence at home."
It is necessary to quote still further from President McKinley's message, a message so fine, so just and so true, that we are sure it will go down into history
He says:
"The spirit of all our acts hitherto has been an earnest, unselfish desire for peace and prosperity in Cuba, untarnished by differences between us and Spain, and unstained by the blood of American citizens.
"The forcible intervention of the United States as a neutral to stop the war, according to the large dictates of humanity and following many historical precedents where neighboring states have interfered to check the hopeless sacrifice of life by internecine conflicts beyond their borders, is justifiable on rational grounds. It involves, however, hostile constraint upon both parties to the contest, as well as to enforce a truce as to guide the eventual settlement. The grounds for such intervention may be briefly summarized as follows:
"1. In the cause of humanity and to put an end to the barbarities, bloodshed, starvation and horrible miseries now existing there, and which the parties to the conflict are either unable or unwilling to stop or mitigate. It is no answer to say that this is all in another country, belonging to another nation, and is, therefore, none of our business. It is specially our duty, for it is right at our doors.
"2. We owe to our citizens in Cuba to afford them that protection and indemnity for life and property which no government there can or will afford, and to that end to terminate the conditions that deprive them of local protection.
"3. The right to intervene may be justified by the
"4. And, what is of the utmost importance, the present condition of affairs in Cuba is a constant menace to our peace and entails upon this government an enormous expense. With such a conflict waged for years in an island so near us, and with which our people have such trade and business relations—when the lives and liberty of our citizens are in constant dread, and their property destroyed and themselves ruined—where our trading-vessels are liable to seizure and are seized at our very door, by warships of a foreign nation, the expeditious of filibustering that we are powerless to prevent altogether, and the irritating questions and entanglements thus arising—all these and others that I need not mention, with the resulting strained relations, are a constant menace to our peace, and compel us to keep on a semi-war footing with a nation with which we are at peace."
In his message, the President also gives utterance to these notable and memorable words:
"The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain wages war cannot be attained.
"The fire of insurrection may flame or may smoulder with varying seasons, but it has not been, and it is plain that it cannot be, extinguished by present methods. The only hope of relief and repose from a condition which cannot longer be endured is the enforced pacification of Cuba.
"In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of endangered American interests, which give us the right and the duty to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop."
The President then refers the whole matter to Congress to decide as that body may think best.
A somewhat acrimonious debate, of several days duration followed, chiefly over the side issue of the recognition of the Republic of Cuba.
On April 19, 1898, by the way, the date of the first battle of the Revolution at Concord, Massachusetts, the following joint resolution was agreed upon.
"Joint resolution for the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect.
"Whereas, the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three years in the Island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States, have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating, as they have, in the destruction of a United States battleship, with two hundred and sixty-six of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured, as has been set forth by the President of the United States in his message to Congress of
"Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
"1. That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent.
"2. That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Government of the United States does hereby demand, that the Government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters.
"3. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several States to such extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect.
"4. That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people."
The President set his seal of approval upon these resolutions the following day, and the same day an ultimatum was sent to Spain, practically the same as what has been quoted above.
It was also stated that it was the President's duty to request an answer within forty-eight hours.
Within forty-eight hours the ultimatum was rejected by the Spanish Cortes.
The ministers and representatives of the two countries were immediately recalled from their various posts, and a state of warfare proclaimed.
The United States now stood pledged to aid and succor agonized Cuba, to strike the shackles from off her bruised and bleeding limbs, and raise her to a position which her valor had long deserved, amongst the free and independent nations of the world.
THE TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES OF CUBA.
Cuba lies in the northern portion of the torrid zone, and immediately south of Florida. From Key West to the nearest point on the Cuban coast, the distance in 86 miles.
The form of Cuba is an irregular crescent, with a large number of bays or indentations. The coast line is about 2,200 miles, exclusive of the indentations; or, if we include the latter, nearly 7,000 miles.
The island is about 760 miles long. Its breadth varies from 127 miles at a point some fifty miles west of Santiago to 28 miles from Havana to the south.
Its area is 43,314 square miles, which includes the Isle of Pines and several smaller islands.
Cuba is intersected by a range of mountains, more or less broken, which extends across the entire island, from east to west, and from which the rivers flow to the sea. This range is called the Sierra del Cobra, and it includes the Pico de Turginuo, with an altitude of 7,670 feet, the highest point on the whole island. There are other ranges, and the eastern portion of the island is particularly hilly. We must not forget the famous Pan of Matanzas which received its name from its resemblance to a loaf of sugar. It is 1,300 feet high, and has been of great service to mariners in enabling them to get their bearings.
Naturally the rivers are small, but they are numerous. The principal one, and the only one that can properly be called navigable, is the Canto. Schooners ascend this for about sixty miles. It rises in the Sierra del Cobre, and empties upon the south coast, a few miles from Manzanillo. Mineral springs abound, and their medicinal qualities are in high repute.
Of lakes there are only a few, and most of these lie in the marsh lands.
The Scientific American says:
"The country may be broadly divided into the region of the plains the rolling uplands and the forest lands. The lowlands form a practically continuous belt around the island, and in them are to be found the great sugar plantations. Above these and on the lower slopes are found the grazing and farm lands, upon, which, among other things, is raised the famous Havana tobacco. The remainder of the island, especially the eastern portion is covered with a dense forest growth."
The vegetation of Cuba is of the most luxuriant and beautiful description. The forests are full of a large variety of trees, almost all of them most valuable for mechanical purposes. Some of them are almost as hard as iron. One of these is called the quiebra hacha (the axe breaker). There are other woods such as the jucaro, which are indestructible, even under water. Still others are lignum vitae, ebony, rosewood, mahogany, cedar, lancewood and many other species. There are over fifty varieties of palm, and the orange and lemon trees are indigenous. Although the forests are so dense so to be
The fruits are those natural to the tropics, but only oranges, pineapples and bananas are raised for exportation.
The land is not suited to the cultivation of cereals, and there is no flour mill on the island. At one time, the coffee plantations were in a flourishing condition, but the recent outbreak has largely interfered with this industry.
By far the chief industries in the island are the cultivation of sugar and tobacco, both of which are famous the world over.
The soil of Cuba is simply a marvel of richness, practically unrivalled in any other part of the world. Except occasionally in the case of tobacco, fertilizers are not used. Crops have been grown on the same ground without an atom of fertilization for over a hundred years. This superb soil gives the Cuban sugar planter an enormous advantage over his competitors in other countries. For instance, in Jamaica, one to two hogsheads of sugar is considered a good yield, but in Cuba, three hogsheads are the average.
The introduction of modern machinery, which is very expensive, has done much to drive out the small planters, and the tax imposed by the Spanish government almost trebled the cost to the planter.
In times of peace, the sugar production of Cuba averaged a million of tons a year, but this is nothing like
Mr. Gollan, the British consul general, says:
"Until a very recent date the manufacture of sugar and the growing of the cane in Cuba were extremely profitable undertakings, and the reasons for their prosperity may be stated as:
"1. The excellence of the climate and the fertility of the soil, which allow of large crops of good cane. The rainfall, about 50 inches, is so distributed that irrigation is not a necessity, though it would in many cases be advisable.
"2. The great movement toward the centralization of the estates which took place in the early eighties, planters having understood the value of large sugar houses and overcome their difficulty in this way.
"3. The proximity of the United States, affording, as it does, a cash market for the sugar."
To show how the sugar trade has been injured by the Cuban uprising, the following figures are of interest:
| Description. | Tons in 1895. | Tons in 1896. |
| Exports | 832,431 | 235,628 |
| Stocks | 135,181 | 36,260 |
| 967,612 | 271,888 | |
| Local consumption | 50,000 | 40,000 |
| 1,017,612 | 311,888 | |
| Stock on January 1(previous crop) | 13,348 | 86,667 |
| Total production | 1,004,264 | 225,221 |
The decrease in 1895-96 was 779,043 tons, equivalent to 77.574 per cent.
While the tobacco crop of some portions of Cuba is unsurpassed, notably that of Vuelta Alajo and of Mayari, it is of excellent quality all over the island, the poorest of it being quite as good as that of Hayti. The entire crop is estimated at $10,000,000 annually. Yet, owing to the extortions of the government, which loaded it with restrictions and exactions of every description, the tobacco industry has always been an uncertain one. It is said that the tobacco growers, disgusted with their treatment, have always been in favor of the revolutionists.
The mineral riches of the island have never been exploited to any considerable extent and yet it is known that they are by no means unimportant. Gold and silver exist. Some specimens of the finest gold have been obtained, but at an expense of time and labor that could not remunerate the parties engaged in the enterprise. There are copper mines near Santiago of large extent and very rich in ore. There are also several iron mines. Numerous deposits of manganese have been found in the Sierra Maestra range. As nearly all the manganese used in the United States comes from the Black Sea, it is thought that these mines will prove very valuable, when the conditions for operating them are more favorable.
The trade of the United States with Cuba since 1891 is given as follows by the bureau of statistics, Treasury Department:
| Imports. | Exports. | |
| 1891 | $61,714,395 | $12,224,888 |
| 1892 | 77,931,671 | 17,953,570 |
| 1893 | 78,706,506 | 24,157,698 |
| 1894 | 75,678,261 | 20,125,321 |
| 1895 | 52,871,259 | 12,807,661 |
| 1896 | 40,017,730 | 7,530,880 |
| 1897 | 18,406,815 | 8,259,776 |
The commerce of Spain with Cuba since 1891, the figures up to 1895 being taken from a compilation by the department of agriculture, and those for 1896 from a British foreign office report was:
| Imports from Cuba. | Exports to Cuba. | |
| 1891 | $7,193,173 | $22,168,050 |
| 1892 | 9,570,399 | 28,046,636 |
| 1893 | 5,697,291 | 24,689,373 |
| 1894 | 7,265,120 | 22,592,943 |
| 1895 | 7,176,105 | 26,298,497 |
| 1896 | 4,257,360 | 26,145,800 |
The railways are insufficient and wretchedly managed, while the roads are in a deplorable condition, sometimes, in wet weather, being almost impassible.
In regard to the future commercial prosperity of
"Railroads and other highways, improved machinery and more modern methods of doing business are among the wants of Cuba; and with the onward march of civilization these will doubtless be hers in the near future. Cuba, like other tropical and semi-tropical countries, is not given to manufacturing; her people would rather sell the products of the soil and mines and buy manufactured goods. The possibilities of the island are great, while the probabilities remain an unsolved problem."
When the tropical position of Cuba is taken into consideration, it may be stated that its climate is generally mild. In fact, we can say that it is one of the best, if not the very best, of the countries lying within the tropics; and, during the dry season, it is unsurpassable anywhere. In this season, the days are delightful, and the nights, with the clear, transparent air, and the sky spangled with myriads of stars (many of which, notably the constellation known as "The Southern Cross," are not visible in more northern countries), are veritable dreams of beauty.
The heat and cold are never extreme, and there is only a slight difference in the temperature all the year round. The warmest month at Havana is July, with an average temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and the coldest is January, with an average temperature of 70 degrees.
The rainy season lasts from the first of May till the
It is certain that the effects of the climate upon the Spanish soldiers has been disastrous, but much of the mortality among them have been due not to the climate alone, but to a bad system of hygiene, wretched diet, unsuitable clothing and a criminal disregard on the part of the military authorities of the health of the men under their control.
The Medical Record, in an article on the subject, says:
"There is no evading the fact, however, that the landing of a large body of more or less raw, unacclimatized men in the lowlands of a reputed unhealthy coast at the beginning of the rainy season is an experiment that must from the very nature of things be attended with much risk."
But the danger to our own soldiers must also from the very nature of things, be much less than it has proved to the Spaniards. Our army is composed of a much higher class of men intellectually, and besides that, they will be infinitely better taken care of.
The next point to be considered is the population of Cuba. There has been no official census taken since 1887. Then the entire population was estimated at 1,631,687. Of these about one-fifth were natives of Spain, 10,500 were whites of foreign blood, 485,187 were free negroes, about 50,000 were Chinese and the rest native Cubans.
It may be interesting to note the percentage of whites and blacks, and to see how the negro element has been decreasing both relatively and absolutely during late years. At the present time the negroes are in all probability not more than one-fourth of the entire population.
| Year. | White. | Negro. | Per Cent. |
| 1804 | 234,000 | 198,000 | 45.8 |
| 1819 | 239,830 | 213,203 | 47. |
| 1830 | 332,352 | 423,343 | 56. |
| 1841 | 418,291 | 589,333 | 58.4 |
| 1850 | 479,490 | 494,252 | 50.75 |
| 1860 | 632,797 | 566,632 | 47. |
| 1869 | 797,596 | 602,215 | 43. |
| 1877 | 985,325 | 492,249 | 33. |
| 1887 | 1,102,689 | 485,188 | 30.55 |
The island is divided into six political divisions, each province taking the name of its capital city: Havana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, Santiago de Cuba and Pinar del Rio.
The figures in the following table give the population by provinces, as well as the density of population (number of inhabitants per square kilometer.)
| Provinces. | Inhabitants. | Square Kilometers. | Density. |
| Pinar del Rio | 225,891 | 14,967 | 15.09 |
| Habana | 451,928 | 8,610 | 52.49 |
| Matanzas | 259,578 | 8,486 | 30.59 |
| Santa Clara | 354,122 | 23,083 | 15.34 |
| Puerto Principe | 67,789 | 32,341 | 2.10 |
| Santiago de Cuba | 272,379 | 35,119 | 7.76 |
| Totals | 1,631,687 | 122,606 | 13.31 |
In Cuba, under Spanish rule, the Roman Catholic is the only religion tolerated by the government. There are no Protestant or Jewish places of worship. A decree promulgated in Madrid in 1892 declares that, while a person who should comply with all other requirements might be permitted to remain on the island, he would not be allowed to advance doctrines at variance with those of the established church. As Catholicism is a state religion, its maintenance is charged to the revenues of the island, and amounts to something like $400,000 a year.
Education in Cuba is, or has been, at a very low ebb. That is due, as many other things are, to the wretched, short-sighted policy of Spain, the country which has never completely emerged from the darkness of barbarism. She was afraid to give education to the Cubans, thinking that she could better dominate them in their ignorance. There is a royal university in Havana, and a collegiate institute in each of the six provinces, the number of students in all amounting to nearly three
Less than one out of every forty-five of the children in Cuba attend the public schools. There was a farcical law passed in 1880, making education compulsory. How could such a law be of any effect when there was neither the ability nor the desire to provide school-houses and instructors? Now let us take a brief glance at some of the chief cities of Cuba.
Havana, the principal and capital city of the island, is situated on the west side of the bay of Havana, on a peninsula of level land of limestone formation.
It is the seat of the general government and captain-generalcy, superior court of Havana (audencia,) general direction of finance, naval station, arsenal, observatory, diocese of the bishopric and the residence of all the administrative officers of the island (civil, military, maritime, judicial and economic).
Its strategic position at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico has aptly given to the city the name of the Key of the Gulf; and a symbolic key is emblazoned in its coat-of-arms. The harbor, the entrance to which is narrow, is wide and deep, and a thousand ships could easily ride there at anchor.
It has always been supposed to be strongly fortified, its chief defences being Morro Castle, the Cabana, the Castillo del Principe, Fort Atares, the Punta and the Reina Battery.
The population of Havana, from the last official estimate, is about 220,000.
Before the present war, Havana was one of the most charming places in the world for the tourist to visit, more especially during the winter months.
There is scarcely a city in Europe which, to the American seemed so foreign as Havana. The whole appearance of the place, its manners and customs, were all totally different to what the American had been accustomed.
The streets are so narrow that vehicles by law are obliged to pass down one street and up another, while the sidewalks are not more than two feet wide and hollowed down in the centre by the constant trampling of feet. This applies to the city proper, for, outside the walls, there are many broad and beautiful avenues. The streets are very noisy and, as a rule, excessively unclean.
The houses, many of them palaces, wonderfully beautiful within, but situated on dark and dirty alleys, are all built about a central courtway. There are no fireplaces anywhere, nor a window shielded with glass in the whole city. The windows have iron bars, and within those of the first story is the inevitable row of American rocking chairs. Through these bars the Cuban lover interviews his inamorata. It would be the height of indecorum for him to approach nearer, to seek to speak with her within the walls of her own home, even in the presence of her father and mother.
Cows are driven about the streets and milked in front of your own door, when you desire the lacteal fluid. This custom is, at all events, a safeguard against adulteration.
Ladies do not go into the shops to make purchases, but all goods are brought out to them as they sit in their volantes.
By the way, the volante (flyer) is the national carriage and no other, practically, is used in the country. It consists of a two seated vehicle, slung low down by leather straps from the axle of two large wheels, and it has shafts fifteen feet long. The horse in the shafts is led by a postillion, whose horse is harnessed on the other side of the shafts in the same manner. The carriage is extremely comfortable to travel in, and the height of the wheels and their distance apart prevent all danger of turning over, although the roads in the country are for the most part, mere tracks through fields and open land. Ox carts and pack mules are used for conveying goods in the interior of the island outside of the meagre railway lines.
Havana has some beautiful public parks and some really fine statues, chiefly those of Spain's former rulers.
Its principal theatre, the Tacon, is celebrated throughout the world for its size and beauty. In regard to theatres, there is one peculiar custom in Havana: By the payment of a certain sum, beyond the price of admission, one is allowed to go behind the scenes between the acts. This privilege has caused great annoyance to many eminent artists.
The cathedral of Havana is rather imposing in architecture, although it is badly situated, but it is very interesting because there is an urn within its walls which
Space does not permit us to tell of all the charms of Havana, but, suffice it to say, that it was and will be again, under far happier conditions too, one of the most delightful cities in the world.
The city of Cuba, next in commercial importance to Havana, is Matanzas. It is beautifully situated on the north coast, about seventy miles from Havana, and has a population of about fifty thousand. The climate is fine, and Matanzas is considered the healthiest city on the island. With proper drainage (something that has hitherto been almost unknown in Cuba as are all other sanitary arrangements) yellow fever and malaria would be almost unknown. If it should ever come under American enterprise, the city would develop into a superb pleasure resort and be a fatal rival to the Florida towns. We cannot forbear to mention the Caves of Bellamar. These are not far from Matanzas and are subterranean caverns, of which there are a number in Cuba. The walls and roofs are covered with stalactites of every conceivable hue and shape, and forming pictures of beauty far beyond anything conceived of, even in the Arabian Nights.
The most modern city of importance is Cienfuegos (as its name signifies, the City of a Hundred Fires). It has a population of about twenty-six thousand and its harbor is one of the best on the southern coast, with a depth of 27 feet at the anchorage, and from 14 to 16 feet at the wharves.
Cardenas is a seaport on the north coast about 135 miles east of Havana. Its population is about the same as Cienfuegos. In the rainy season, its climate is distinctly bad and its sanitary conditions worse. It has some large manufactories, and carries on a flourishing trade.
Santiago de Cuba, on the southeastern coast, is the second city of size in Cuba (60,000 inhabitants), and the one on which all American eyes have been fixed, for it is there that our brave Sampson bottled up Cervera's illusive fleet, and on its suburbs a fierce battle was fought, July 1, 2 and 3, between the American troops under General Shafter and the Spanish army under General Linares, resulting in the defeat of the latter and the subsequent surrender of the city to the United States' forces on Sunday, July 17.
It is very difficult, by the way, to find the entrance to the harbor of Santiago. Approaching it from the sea, nothing is seen but lofty mountains. When quite near, two mountains seem to suddenly part, and a channel only 180 yards wide, but of good depth, is revealed.
It is the oldest city in America, many years older than St. Augustine, having been founded by Velasquez in 1514, and is exceedingly quaint and mediaeval.
Its chief fortifications are the Castillo of La Socapa and the Morro Castle, the largest and most picturesque of the three of that name. The latter was built about 1640, and is a fine specimen of the feudal "donjon keep" with battlemented walls, moats, drawbridge, portcullis and all the other paraphernalia of the days of
Santiago is Spanish for St. James, who is the special patron saint of Spain, on account of a myth that he once made a journey to that country.
Cuba, in short, is one of the most beautiful and fertile countries on the face of the globe, but man, in the shape of brutal Spain, has done everything he could, to ruin the gifts Nature so lavishly bestowed.
Let us hope and believe, as surely we have every reason to do, that upon the "Pearl of the Antilles," the sun of prosperity will rise, driving away the gloomy shadows of oppression, and that the dawn will be not long postponed.
WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BE?
It is unnecessary to refer except in a brief manner to the Spanish-American war, as the struggle is at the present time of writing only in its inception, and no one can tell how long it will last or what reverses each side may experience before peace is declared.
One thing is certain, however. The result is not problematical. It is assured. The United States will be victorious in the end, be that end near or distant, and Cuba must and shall be free.
If ever there was a war that was entered into purely from motives of humanity and with no thought whatever of conquest, it is this one. The entire people of the United States were agreed that their purpose was a holy one, and instantly the call of the President was responded to from all parts of the country. Sectional differences, such as they were, vanished like mist before the sun. There was no Easterner, no Westerner, no Northerner, no Southerner, but "Americans all."
We are proud of our army and navy, and justly so. Dewey destroyed a large fleet, without the loss of a man, a feat unprecedented in the annals of warfare, ancient or modern. Sampson bottled up Cervera's fleet in the harbor of Santiago, after the wily admiral had attempted a diplomacy which was nothing more nor less
It is interesting here to examine for a moment the attitude of other countries toward us since the declaration of war with Spain.
Of course they all declared neutrality.
At first France apparently was very bitter against us, declaring that it was a war of aggression and one that was unjustified. We think we have already shown in these pages how unwarrantable such an accusation was. There was a reason for France's feeling, outside of the fact that her people, like Spain's, belong to the Latin race, and that reason was that a large proportion of Spanish bonds was held in France. Even the best of us do not bear with equanimity anything which depletes our pockets. But it was not long before a great change took place both in press and public and a wave of French sympathy turned toward us. This is as it should be and was inevitable. There could be no lasting rancor between us and our sister republic, the country who gave us Lafayette and presented us with the Statue of Liberty.
The press of Germany has unquestionably said some
Russia, who from time immemorial has been our friend and given us her moral support in all our troubles, has treated us with the utmost cordiality.
But the pleasantest thing of all has been the attitude of Great Britain, our once mother country. She has stood by us through thick and thin, hurling defiance in the face of the world in her championship of us, and rejoicing in our victories almost as if they were her own. This has done more to bring the two great English-speaking nations together than anything else could possibly have done, and will probably have far reaching consequences in the future.
The Marquis of Lansdowne, the British Secretary of State of War, in a recent speech, thus expressed himself:
"There could be no more inspiring ideal than an understanding between two nations sprung from the same race and having so many common interests, nations which, together, are predominant in the world's commerce and industry.
"Is there anything preposterous in the hope that
"Depend upon it, these are no mere idle dreams or hazy aspirations. The change which has come over the sentiment of each country toward the other during the last year or two is almost immeasurable. One can scarcely believe they are the same United States with whom, only two years ago, we were on the verge of a serious quarrel.
"The change is not an ephemeral understanding between diplomatists, but a genuine desire of the two peoples to be friends, and therefore it cannot be laughed out of existence by the sort of comments we have lately heard."
There is a poem which we cannot forbear to quote here, it is so fine in itself and so expressive of the existing situation. The author is Richard Mansfield, the eminent actor:
| THE EAGLE'S SONG. |
| — |
| BY RICHARD MANSFIELD. |
| — |
| The Lioness whelped, and the sturdy cub |
| Was seized by an eagle and carried up |
| And homed for a while in an eagle's nest, |
| And slept for a while on an eagle's breast, |
| And the eagle taught it the eagle's song: |
| "To be staunch and valiant and free and strong!" |
| The Lion whelp sprang from the eerie nest, |
| From the lofty crag where the queen birds rest; |
| He fought the King on the spreading plain, |
| And drove him back o'er the foaming main. |
| He held the land as a thrifty chief, |
| And reared his cattle and reaped his sheaf, |
| Nor sought the help of a foreign hand, |
| Yet welcomed all to his own free land! |
| Two were the sons that the country bore |
| To the Northern lakes and the Southern shore, |
| And Chivalry dwelt with the Southern son, |
| And Industry lived with the Northern one. |
| Tears for the time when they broke and fought! |
| Tears was the price of the union wrought! |
| And the land was red in a sea of blood, |
| Where brother for brother had swelled the flood! |
| And now that the two are one again, |
| Behold on their shield the word "Refrain!" |
| And the lion cubs twain sing the eagle's song, |
| "To be staunch and valiant and free and strong!" |
| For the eagle's beak and the lion's paw, |
| And the lion's fangs and the eagle's claw, |
| And the eagle's swoop and the lion's might, |
| And the lion's leap and the eagle's sight, |
| Shall guard the flag with the word "Refrain!" |
| Now that the two are one again! |
| Here's to a cheer for the Yankee ships! |
| And "Well done, Sam," from the mother's lips! |
War is unquestionably a terrible thing. As General Sherman put it, "war is hell." But there are other terrible and yet necessary things, also, such as the operations of surgery and the infliction of the death penalty.
War is justifiable, when waged, as the present one unquestionably is, from purely unselfish motives, simply from a determination to rescue a people whose sufferings
Nobly are we following out the precepts of our forefathers, who declared in one of the most magnificent documents ever framed:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
We fought for these principles, in our own interests, a century and a quarter ago; in the interests of others, we are fighting for them to-day.
A question which has been universally asked is this: Can the Cubans, if they obtain freedom, govern themselves, or will not a free Cuba become a second Hayti with all the horrors of that island?
To this our reply is: Most emphatically Cuba will be able to govern herself; not in the beginning, perhaps,
The Cuban leaders are men of high intelligence and lofty purposes, and they know what reforms must be instituted. Some one has said that "love of liberty is the surest guarantee of representative government."
Surely these men have shown their love of liberty in the fullest degree and have proved themselves in every way fitted for self-government.
The Cubans, strange as the statement may seem to those who have studied the matter only in a cursory way, are not a people who love trouble. Though revolution after revolution has occurred in the island, the Cubans have never taken up arms until every peaceful means of redress had been resorted to.
It has been feared that the negro element would be a disturbing influence, but we can see little or no reason for this dread. The same thing was said of the emancipation of the slaves in our own South, but certainly, taken altogether, the behavior of the colored race in the United States, since the Civil War, has been most praiseworthy.
A Frenchman, Baron Antomarchi, who is naturally unprejudiced, says:
"When the time for the settlement of the Cuban question shall have come it will be an affair of give and take between the whites and the negroes, and if the negro does not succeed in convincing the white man that he is entitled to a full measure of civil authority, a measure which by reason of his numerical strength he
Not until her machetes shall have been returned to their original use can Cuba develop the riches bestowed upon her by Nature. After the dawn of peace, when her sons are free to settle down to the tranquil life of the untrammeled husbandman, there will be no hunted exiles in the long grass of her savannas. When Cuba has attained the quiet calm that her younger generation has never known, she will show the world that it was not for idle brigands that Maceo died. In the shadow of the feathered cocoa palms in the deep shade of the drooping heavy leaves where Gilard dreamed of liberty, great cities shall one day loom in the misty, tropic twilight, and peace shall brood over the land that now, seamed with the graves of Cuba's heroes, awaits the murdered bodies of Cuban victims. Not until that day has come
It is absolutely certain that all the natural and political ties that have bound "the Ever Faithful Isle" to the mother country have been so completely severed that it is utterly impossible they should ever be united again.
The unique banner of Cuba, with its blue and white stripes and a single star upon a red triangle, has cost more blood and treasure than any revolutionary flag known to history.
When this war is over, and Spain has learned her lesson, severe but well-deserved, and we hope salutary, then shall that flag take its place among the honored ones of other nations; then will the Cubans show their ability to prize and cherish the liberty for which the blood of their heroes has been spilled; then, under the protectorate of the United States, but as an independent republic, will Cuba, in the words of our own General Lee, emerge from the dark shadows of the past, and stand side by side with those countries who have their place in the sunlight of peace, progress and prosperity.
Oh! Cuba Libre! as Longfellow said of our own Union, so do all Americans, who are now fighting with you shoulder to shoulder, say to you:
| "Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee; |
| Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, |
| Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, |
| Are all with thee—are all with thee!" |
(THE END.)
Transcriber's note:
Both Hatury and Hatuey appear in the text. Due to the fact that there were so many typographical errors in the printing, it is assumed that Hatury is also one. Hatury has been changed to Hatuey which is the original Spanish spelling of the Taino chief's name.
The spelling of the country, Chile, remains spelled Chili.
The spelling of reconcehtrado was changed to reconcentrado; add nauseam was changed to ad nauseam.
The title page carried the error: IT'S PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
This has been corrected: ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
