ssiMs^liiyS^sife^s 53ia.^^v:: ■< ;i*, > -'r-^ <" COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT J^ u .wORTHiNliTON S-- CO. PUBLISHERS. HARTTORD. CONN. THE vSTORY OF TWO WARS AN ii.iA\sTUAri:i) nis'ioijv OUR WAR WITH SPAF.N AND OUR WAR WITH THE FILIPINOS Their Causes, Incidents, and Results A RECORD OF CIVIL, MILITARY, AND NAVAL OPERATIONS FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES WITH Full DescripUoHs of the Battles, Engagements, Exploits, and Achievements of our Soldiers and Sailors on Land and Sea, and many Thrilling Inci- dents and Experiences in Camp, Field, and Hospital INCLUDING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF ADMIRAL DEWEY And other Famous American Naval and Military LEAOERi BY Hon. HENRY B. RUSSELL Author of -Lift of William McKiiUey;' ''International Monetary Conferences," etc., etc. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY Hon. REDFIELD PROCTOR Ex-Secrelunj of War, and United Slalen Senator from Vermont ^uporMp 5ffu5tratoJ) WITII FINE STEEL-I'I,ATK I'OKTKAITS, MANY FULL-PAGE ENGRAVINGS FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS AND WAR PIIOT()(;UAriIS, AND NEW AND ACC'UKATE MAPS IIARTFOIU). CONN. THE IIAItTFOKD I'UHLISHING COMPANY 1899 39466 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1898 By A. D. WoETHiNGTON & Company In tbe Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. rwo COPIES ;?gci£ivfe&. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1899 By The Hartford Publishing Compant In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. PERIODICALLY, in the history of every nation, there comes a crisis, questions liaving their small beginnings far back in the past develop to a fruition, the natural result of antecedent events, the legitimate offspring of all that lias gone to make up a nation's character and relative position in the world. These questions must be settled sooner or later, in accordance with the demands of progress ; they may be softened for a time by diplomacy or obscured by indifference and attention to other affairs, but the inevitable settlement is only postponed, the eventual crisis but gathers new force, and, in time, it must result in bloodshed or a backward step. Placed as Cuba was, belonging to a nation whose star has been for three centuries setting, close to the shores of a free people, whose course has for more than a century been ever upward, the issue could not be avoided. The war came. This event, like all in history, being inseparably linked with the past, it has seemed to the author that the developing causes were too important to a proper understanding of the conflict to remain unnoticed ; and this must be the apology, if any is needed, for the opening pages of this history, dealing not simply with the Spaniard and the Cuban and the reasons for the bitter hatred which grew up between them, but with the part both Spain and Cuba have played in the constitutional history of the United States. This long story is replete with many dramatic and romantic inci- dents, which take on a new color in the light of the war that closed so gloriously for American arms, and which give the conflict its true setting in the history of the world's progress. IJut, while briefly placing the causes before the reader, no space re- quired for a full narration of tiie incidents of the war has been sacrificed Though brief, the conflict has abounded in deeds of heroism, some of them without a parallel in military or naval history, and the character of the American people has been revealed in stronger colors not simply to other nations of the world, but to the Americans themselves. The last vestige of old .sectional feeling disappeared in the inspiring unity with which all, North and South, fell in behind the flag ; and, as the war clo.sed, our eyes were open to a wider vision, the promi.se of a grander destiny than we have been wont to consider in store for us For the war has brought new questions and new responsibilities ; in the future are suggestions of new experiences, possibly requiring a new policy. The Stars and Stripes now (iii) IV TREFACE float in the Antilles and over rich islands of the Pacific. Whatever comes, it has been shown that the people of the United States do not shrink in the face of duty to themselves and to humanity. The first edition of this work was as complete as it was possible to make it at that time. No pains or expense had been spared to provide the reader a reliable history of '-Our War with Spain," and it was fittingly closed with the Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain of December 10, 1898. Later, the war clouds again gathered in the Philippine Islands, and the native insurgents, under the ambitious and crafty Aguinaldo, rebelled against the administration of any government in Luzon other than their own. Tiiey became insolent and assuming, then aggressive. By the terms of the Protocol with Spain the Lhiited States were to occupy and hold the city, bay, and harbor of Manila, pending the conclusion of the Treaty which should determine the control of the Philippines. The insur- gents ignored these terms, attacked our troops, and it became necessary to extend and maintiiin the military government of the United States, and to put down the rebellion with a determined hand. Hence followed our War with the Filipinos, the outgrowth of our War with Spain. As the demand for the work was great and daily increasing, the pub- lishers felt justified in making an entirely new set of plates, thus affording opportunity for thorough revision, which, while retaining all that was most valuable, made space for many important additions. Official docu- ments not given to the public until after the first edition was published, later accounts of battles, encounters, and adventures, as described by those who took a leading part in them, were available, with the result that the work is greatly enriched with matter of interest and value, and that may be relied upon as entirely correct New illustrations have been procured, many of which are from war photographs not elsewhere reproduced. In many cases the photographer risked his life for the sake of liis art, and the pictures obtained give a truthful impression of scenes at the front and be- fore and after hard-fought battles These furnish, as no written descrip- tion can, accurate ideas of the daily life and surroundings of our soldiers and sailors in the performance of their patriotic duty in our new possessions. Acknowledgments are due to Les'ies Weekly for permission to use some of the copyrighted illustrations that have appeared in that paper. Many new portraits and maps have been added, and the large colored maps have been carefully revised and brought up to date. The work in its new and complete form is offered to the public with the confident belief that it is as interesting and attractive as it is reliable and valuable. ^ J^rom UDac l^botoflrapbs" anft <©rigtnal ©Cfiigns" ba Eminent Ptrtists, maDe fill? for tbifi booh ¥ ¥ ¥ %i^t of ^tcd^lDlatc portraits? 1. William McKinley, President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy Frontispiece Engraved from a special photograph approved liy the President. 2. Portrait of Admiral William T. Sampson . Facing 324 3. Portrait of Admiral George Dewey . . Facing 354 4. Portrait of Admiral Wintield S. Schley . . Facing 408 5. Portrait of Maj.-Gen. William R. Shatter . Facing 524 6. Portrait of Maj.-Gen. Nelson A. Miles . . Facing 538 7. Portrait of Maj.-Gen. Wesley Merritt . . Facing 570 8. Portrait of Maj.-Gen. Elwell S. Otis . . Facing 600 f ull^pagc pftotograburt o^ngratjings 1. Eminent Spanish Leaders in Our War with Spain Facing 158 2. Famous Cuban Leaders in Cuba's War with Spain Facing 1 76 3. Eminent American Civil Leaders in Our War with Spain Facing 200 (V) VI LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS 4. Destruction of the United States Battleship " Maine " in the Harbor of Havana, February 15, i8g8 Facing 240 5. Prominent American Naval Officers in Our War with Spain Facing } 10 6. Admiral Dewey's Great Victory. Annihilation of the Spanish Fleet in Manila Bay, May 1, I898 Facing 364 7. Gun Crew of a Battleship Working a Monster 13 -inch Gun in Action Facing 388 8. Start of the American Army of Invasion for Cuba from Chickamauga Facing 42S 9. The Invasion of Cuba. United States Troops Embarking on Transports at Tampa, Fla, . . . Facing 432 10. The First Bloody Engagement of the United States Troops in Cuba Facing 450 11. An Alarm near the Spanish Line at Siboney. Cuban Scouts Rallying Around a United States Despatch Bearer Facing 4S8 12. Block House at Siboney where the United States Troops First Hoisted the Stars and Stripes— Afterwards made a Base of Supplies Facing 464 13. The Rough Riders Forming to Charge the Spanish Block House at Guasimas Facing 472 14. Creeping up to a Line of Spanish Sharpshooters Facing 482 15. United States Volunteer Infantry on the Way to the Battle of San Juan Facing 492 16. Members of the Red Cross Society Carrying a Wounded Officer to the Rear during the Charge on San Juan Hill Facing 49s 17. Bringing the Wounded to the Field Hospital from the Battlefields of San Juan and El Caney . Facing 504 18. Prominent American Generals in Our War with Spain Facing 530 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VU Eniilio Aguinaldo, F. Agoncillo, 1 Leader of l^'iliiiino Insurgents. One of AguinaUio's Cliief Advisers. | _. , ^9-jA Band of Filipino Insurgents on the Santa Ana [^^^^"^ 550 [ Road J 20. An Event of Great Historic Importance — Signing the Peace Protocol Facing 576 21. Outpost of the Nebraska Volunteers, near Manila, where the trouble with the Filipinos Began . . Facing 612 22. Advancing on the Filipinos — United States Volunteers Forming to Charge on the Insurgents on the Out- skirts of Manila Facing 618 23. Just before the Battle of Caloocan — Section of the Utah Battery Ready to Shell the Filipinos . . Facing 626 24. On the Firing Line just before the Battle of Caloocan Facing 638 25. After the Battle of Caloocan . . . , Facing 644 26. Part of the 2d Oregon Volunteers in Action on the Firing Line at the Battle of Pasig . . . Facing 660 27. Part of General Wheaton's Flying Brigade in Action on the Firing Line at the Battle of Pasig . . Facing 668 28. Waiting for the Battle to Open — United States Volun- teers in then- Trenches .... Facing 676 [Dead Insurgents in their Trenches at Cingalon 1 29.jDead Insurgents in their Trenches on the Battle- 1 Fj67//o C82 l field of Caloocan J 30. United States Volunteers Charging on the Defences of Malabon Facing 692 31. United States Volunteers Resting beside their Trenches Facing 706 32. Prominent Generals in Our War with the Filipinos Facins: 7\C) Vlll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS lli^t of 3t^aps New Map of Cuba, in colors Facing 46 Map of the City of Havana, and Havana Harbor, show- \\\g the Spot where the " Maine " was Destroyed Facing 46 Map of the West hidies, in colors . Facing Chapter I Map of the Philippine Islands, in colors . Facing last page New Map of the Entire World, on Mercator's Projection, Last page of boo/i m colors 6. Map of Cuba, showing its Provinces, Population, etc. 7. Map of Havana, its Harbor and Defences Map of the Philippine Islands ...... Map of Manila and Surrounding Country 10. Map of the Bay and Harbor of Manila . 11. Entrance to Harbor of Guantanamo 12. Map of Santiago and Vicinity .... 13. Map showing Approximate Positions of the American and Spanish Fleets 14. Map showing the Approximate Positions of the American and Spai.ish Fleets at the Close of the Battle 15. Map of Eastern Cuba, showing Portion Surrendered to the United States at the Fall of Santiago . 16. Map of the Island of Puerto Rico 17. Map of the Hawaiian Islands .... 18. Map showing Routes and Distances between the United States, Hawaiian Islands, the Philippine Islands, etc 19. Map of Manila and the Surrounding Country, showing Operations of American Forces 112 324 334 348 357 449 503 514 520 533 541 547 549 615 CHAPTER I SPANISH CHARACTER AND HISTORY — DISCOVERY OF CUBA — EXTERMINATION OF THE NATIVES — BUILDING OF MORRO CASTLE — SPAIN BESET BY ENEMIES. Spain's Domaiu in the Eighteenth Century — The Decadence of a Hundred Years — Spain's Daring Exi)lorers — Heroism and Fanaticism — Mis- taken Policy — Cohnnbus Hears of Cuba — Taking Possession for Spain — Extirpating tlie Natives — A Long Story of Rapine, Brutality, and Insult — A Bisliop's Testimony — Beginning of African Slave Trade — The World Divided — Tiie Resistance of Chief Hat uey -Efforts to Christianize Him before Burning Him at the Stake — Maritime Adven- turers — Growth of Spanish Settlements — Fortifying Havana — Build- ing of Morro Castle — Monopolies and Restrictions — Surrender of Havana to the English — Cuba Restored to Spain, ... 49 CHAPTER II SPAIN AT THE FEET OF NAPOLEON— HER DISASTROUS AND DISGRACEFUL FAILURES — EARLY RELATIONS BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. Napoleon's Ambition to Make Spain a Subject Kingdom — Ferdinand's Intrigues — Joseph Bonaparte on the Throne — Fall of Napoleon and Restoration of Ferdinand — Revolt against Sp.iin — Mexico and South American Colonies Become Independent — Spain's Weakness and Cruelty — Always Failed to Restore Her Flag When Once Torn Down — A Policy Culminating in Disa.ster and Disgrace — Spain's Possessions in Washington's Time — Owning Over Two-thirds of What Now Constitutes the United States — Spain Secretly Cedes Louisiana to Napoleon — Jefferson's Diplomacy — Napoleon OlTers to Sell Louisiana — The Treaty Signed — Dispute Over Florida Boundaries — End of a Long Struggle, 59 (i\) X CONTENTS CIIAPTEK III "THE EVER-FAITHFUL ISLE" — SPAIN'S SECRET ATTEMPTS TO SELL CUBA TO FRANCE — THE HOLY ALLIANCE AND THE FAMOUS MONROE DOCTRINE. Cuba's Peculiar Position — Importance of Havana — An Early Cause of Ill-feeling — Cubans Remain Faithful to Ferdinand — Aponto's Uprising — Agitation for the Suppression of the Slave Trade — Favorable Influ- ence of English Intervention in Cuba — "A Softer Word for Despot- ism" — Help for the Bigoted Ferdinand — Discord in Cuba — Adams's Advice to President Monroe — The Famous Monroe Doctrine — Retreat of the Holy Alliance — The Captain-General Endowed with Extraordi- nary Authority — Powers Misused and Unrest Fostered — The "Black Eagle '■ — Discord Among tlie Planters — Inauguration of Spanish Venality in Cuba — No Reforms for Poor Cuba — Spanish Treasury Depleted — The Queen's Plan to Secretly Sell Cuba to France — Class Hatred Grows in Cuba, 67 CHAPTER IV FILIBUSTERING EXPEDITIONS AND THE DEATH OF LOPEZ — THE BLACK WARRIOR — Tim FAMOUS OSTEND CON- FERENCE—A CUBAN WARNING. Buclianan's Efforts to Buy Cuba — Spain Refuses to Sell — Lopez and His Uprising — His Filibustering Attempts — Capture of Colonel Crittenden and His Men — Lopez Killed by a Spanish Garrote — Private Filibustering — Important Letter of Edward Everett — A Change in Party Government — Cuba and the Cause of Slavery — A Sympathizer with Filibusters — The Blaek WarriorCa.se — Feeling against Spain Intensified — Soule Threatens Spain — Conference of American Ministers at Ostend — Fixing a Price on Cuba — The Mani festo — Effort to Secure Cuba — Buchanan Advises Annexation — Arrogance of Spanish Authority — Liberal Sentiment Strengtliened — Burdens Only Increased — A Cuban Warning, .... 77 CHAPTER V REVOLUTION IN SPAIN AND INSURRECTION IN CUBA — BEGINNING OF THE TEN- YEARS WAR — COURSE OF THE STRUGGLE — FORMATION OF THE REPUBLIC— THE PEACE OF ZANJON. The Revolution at Cadiz — Wretched Condition of Spain — Flight of Isabella — Her Vain Appeal to Napoleon — Fires of Discontent I CONTENTS XI Break out in Cuba — Promoters of tlie Insurrection — High Stanfl ing of the Jjeailers — Tlie Prochimation at Yara — Jieginning of llie Ten- Years War — The Appeal to Arms — Tiie Burden no Longer to be Endured — Raiiid Growtii of the Insurrection — (hiban Leaders Meet to Form a Government — Diminution of Spanish Forces — Disa- greement among the Insurgents — Cisneros Succeeds to the Presi- dency—Six Years of Desultory Fighting —The Ilebelliou Nearly at a Standstill — Campos sent to the Island — An Armistice — The Treaty of Zanjon — Concessions and Privileges, ..... 86 CHAPTER VI SPAIN'S STRAINED RELATIONS WITH TIIE UNITED STATES DURING TIIE TEN-Y^EARS WAR — THE TT7?6'AY/r.s' AFFAIR — A RACE FOR LIFE —EXECUTION OF CAPTAIN FRY AND HIS COMPANIONS. Situation Changed after the American Civil War — Spanish Fears — President Grant's Pacific Tenders — Significant Reply of Spain — Remarkable Decree of the Captain-General of Cuba — To be Shot Like Pirates — Methods of Spanish Warfare — The Virginius — Circum- stances of Her Departure— Sighted by the Spanish Cruiser Tornado — A Lively Chase — Burning Hams to Keep up Steam — Horses and Arms Thrown Overboard — A Race on the jMoonlit Caribbean — Cap- tured and Taken to Santiago — The First Execution of Prisoners — The American Consul's Messages Delayed — He Asks for an Explana- tion — An Impudent Note in Reply — Further Executions — Captain Fry's Death — Arrival of a British Gunboat, .... 92 CHAPTER YII EFFORTS TO INDUCE SPAIN TO SETTLE —GENERAL SICKLES ASKS FOR HIS PASSPORTS AND SPAIN YIELDS — UNITED STATES INSISTS ON PACIFICATION OF TIIE ISLAND. Mini.ster Sickles Visits Castelar upon Hearing of the Virfjiniits A (fair — Curious Break-down of the Cables at a Critical Moment — Some Im- polite Replies — General Sickles Demands his Passports — The Span- ish Government Quickly Comes to Terms — The People Impatient to Recognize the Cubans — Fall of the Spanish Republic — America In- sists that the Cuban War Mu.st Cea.se — Intervention Threatened — Spain Makes Another Promise — Forbearance at Washington — Campos Ends the War by the Agreement at Zanjon — Canovas Refuses to be Responsible for tlic Cuban Settlement — Resignation of Canovas — Camjios Forms a Ministry — Di.sagreements — A Reform Act Pa.ssed — Great Cost of the AVar to Spain — Cuba Still in a Slate of Insurrection, 104 Xll CONTENTS CHAPTER VITI CUBA AFTER THE TEN- YEARS WAR — THE CAPTAIN-GEN- ERAL AND IIIS EXTRAORDINARY POWERS — A SWARM OF SPANISH VAMPIRES— "CUBA IS UNDONE." The Government Liberal Only on Paper — The Captain-General and His Extraordinary Authority — The Cuban's One Ambition — Cubans Ex- cluded from Office — Discriminations in Provincial and Municipal Government — Spain's Deceitful and Crafty Policy — Replenishing- the Treasury at Home and Enriching the Functionaries — Two-thirds of the Island Practically Ruined — Enormous Increase of Taxation — Remarkable Growth of Cuba's Del)t — Pledging Cuban Revenues for Spanish Interest Payments — Not a Cent of it Spent to Improve Cuba — Excessive Import Duties — New Oppressions in New Disguises — The Prey of a Swarm of Vampires, . . . . . .111 CHAPTER IX CUBAN EXILES, SECESSIONISTS, AND LEADERS— THE BAN- NER RAISED AT LAST— FIRST RESULTS UNPROMISING — SPREAD OF THE INSURRECTION. Exile of Many of Cuba's Best Citizens — Jose Marti and His Early Life — Imprisoned When a Boy — Deported to Spain — He Vows to Free Cuba — Becomes the Leader of the Secession Party — His Impassioned Address and Eloquence — Many Rebuffs and Disappointments — An Influential Friend — His Trusted Friends in Cuba — Fostering the Spirit of Revolt — Relaxation of the Vigilance of the Captain-General — Marti Starts for Cuba — Stopped by United States Authorities — Martial Law Proclaimed — The Outbreak in Matanzas — An Apparent Failure — Natural Advantages of Santiago de Cuba — A Forbidding Shore— "The Garden of Cuba," 117 CHAPTER X POLITICAL TROUBLES IN SPAIN — GENERAL CAMPOS SENT TO CUBA — LANDING OF MACEO AND CROMBET — DEATH OF CROMBET AND NARROW ESCAPE OF MACEO. Spain Beset Within and Without — Officers Refuse to Volunteer — Sagasta Ministry Resigns — Canovas's Ministry — Campos Sent to Cuba — Maceo and His Record in the Ten-Years War — The Terror of the Spanish — How He Learned to Read — His Exile and Travels — A Hostler at West Point — An Ideal Guerrilla Chief — Crombet and His Record — An Obstinate Captain — Crombet Blows out the Cap- tain's Brains — They Land on a Lonely Shore — Their Sufferings — Feasting on a Banana Plantation — Surprised — Crombet Surrounded CONTENTS XIU and Killed — Maceo Escapes — AVanders Alone in tlic Woods — Betrayed by an Indian Guide — A Friendly Negro — In an Insurgent Camp — His Presence Works a Marvelous Change, . . . 122 CHAPTER XI GOMEZ AND MACEO PERFECT THEIR PLANS — TRAGIC DEATH OF MARTI — MACEO'S BRILLIANT CAMPAIGN — NARROW ESCAPE OF CAMPOS. Arrival of Marti, President of the Cul)an Republic, and Gomez, Comman- der in-Chief — Influence of Gomez in the Central Provinces — Arrival of Canvpos — His plan to Confine the Revolution to Santiago de Cuba — Plan of Cami)aign Arranged by Gomez and Maceo — Gomez with Seven Hundred Cavalrymen Near the Enemy — A Wild Charge — The Spaniards Driven Back on their Reserves — Marti's Horse Be comes Unmanageable — Carried into the Ranks of the Enemy — They Fall upon Him — His Death — Campos Orders a Military Funeral — Barbers as Surgeons — ^laceo Plans an Attack — Death of Goulet — Maceo Turns the Retreat into a Charge, 134 CHAPTER XII ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA — PECULIAR- ITIES OF CUBAN WARFARE — ONTO HAVANA! — THE FAMOUS JUCARO TROCHA. Campos Sends for Reinforcements — Landing of Other Cuban Leaders — Gomez Enters Puerto Principe — His Order for the Destruction of Sugar Plantations — The Reasons for It — Campos Leaves Santiago for Santa Clara — Cuban Delegates Meet to Found the Republic — A Govern- ment Largely on Paper — Gomez's Great Plan for a Westward March — Divisions of the Cuban Army — Gomez's Instructions — Tactics of the Insurgents — Their Advantages — The Nature of Alleged Spanish Victories — Cubans Constantly Pushing Further Westward — Campos Reinforces the Jucaro Trocha — Fifty Miles of Forts and Barbed AVire — Gomez's Plan to March 12,000 Men Over It — Maceo Deceives the Spaniards — Burning Sugar Plantations in Santa Clara — Insurgents Divide into Small Bands — All Cuba Under Martial Law, . . 144 CTrAl^'KR XITI THE ADVENT OF AVEYLER, KNOWN AS "THE SPANISH BUTCHER"— HIS CRUELTY AND BARBARITY — THE FA MOUS $5,000,000 TliOClIA — DARING EXPLOITS OF MACEO. Campos Coldly Received at Havana — Spaniards Clamor for Sterner ^leth- ods — Campos Consults the Leaders — His Resignation — AVeyler's XIV CONTENTS Arrival — His Infamous Reputation — Commissioned Because of It — Progress of Gomez and Maceo — Weyler's Immense Forces — Largest Military Expedition Ever Transported by Sea — Strength of the Insur- gents — Object of Their Campaign — Weyler's Boastful Proclamations — Civilized War Abandoned — Weyler's Ineffective Military Opera- tions — His Big Fence — Maceo Crosses and Recrosses It Easily — Maceo Appears Where Least Expected — Turning Defeat into Victory — Death of Maceo's Brother Jose, ...... 158 CHAPTER XIV DIPLOMATIC TROUBLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN — THE SANGUILY CASE— CAPTURE OF THE COMPETITOix. A New Insurrection Proclaimed — Diplomatic Friction — The AlUanca Affair — Rights of American Citizens Ignored — Sanguily and Aguirre Arrested — A Sharp Interview — Threatening to Shoot American Citi- zens — The Consul's Strong Reply — Release of Aguirre — Sanguily Sentenced to Imprisonment for Life — His Lawyer Arrested and Placed in the same Jail — Spain's Protests and Complaints — American Sym- pathy with the Cubans — Palma Appeals for Recognition of the Cuban Republic — U. S. Senate Favors Recognition of Belligerency — Indig- nation of the Spanish Populace — The Belligerency Question — The Capture of the Competitor - Penalty of Death, .... 167 CHAPTER XV WEYLER'S EFFORTS TO CAPURE MACEO — WEYLER PRO- POSES TO STRIKE A DECISIVE BLOW — THE NEW COMMANDER — DEATH OF THE LAST OF THE MACEOS. Maceo the Terror of the Spanish Nation —Weyler's Futile Efforts to Capture Him — The Largest Body-Guard Known in the History of War — Maceo as Undaunted as Ever — He Leaves Pinar del Rio — Was it a Spanish Trap ? — Attack at Punta Brava — How Maceo Fell — Gomez's Son Kills Himself at His Side — Cubans Rescue Maceo's Body — Rejoicing of the Spanish People — Excursions to the Spot Where Maceo Fell — Hopes of Cuban Surrender Disappointed — Weyler's Campaign of Destruction — Prefering Death to Captivity, . . 176 CHAPTER XVI THE MURDER OF DR. RUIZ AND THE THREATENED RESIG NATION OF CONSUL-GENERAL LEE — RELEASE OF SAN- GUILY— ON THE VERGE OF WAR — SPAIN ALARMED. Congress Stirred by Stories of the Death of Maceo — The Cameron Resolu tion — Spanish People Aroused — Trying to Soothe the United States CONTENTS . XV — Spain Sooks Europoiin Support — " Iiulopcndencc or Death" — Weyler in Disfavor — Tlie MunU'rous Foudcviela — Killing of Dr. llni/ — No Notice Given to Consul-Genenil Lee — Lee Not Supported at Wasliington in His Defense of American Citizens — Arrest of Scott — Lee's Forceful Despatch — He Threatens to Resign — A Dramatic Climax — Cuban Sj'mpathizers Classed as Jingoes — Senator Sherman's Defense — Its Signilicance — Demand for a Ship-of-War for Havana — Sudden Release of Sanguily — Spain xVlarmed, , . . 183 CHAPTER XVII THE CONDITION OF CUBA IN 1897 - IIELPLL3S WOMEN AND CHILDREN — AWFUL SCENES OF SUFFERING AND WOE- FACING STARVATION AND DEATH. Attitude of the ]\IcKinley Aduunistration — Another Decree of Autonomy — Wej'ler's War on the Paciflcos — On the Verge of Starvation — Unpar- alleled Scenes of Suffering — Weyler's Reasons for Concentrating — A Death Warrant to Thousands of the Innocent and Helpless — Driven from Burning Homes — Huddled in Swamps — A Plague Spot on Earth — A Spanish Account of Misery — The Living and the Dead Together — Scenes at the very Gates of Havana — Heaped Pell-mell like Animals — The Dead in the Embrace of the Dying — Extermination the Real Object — Daily Execution of Captured Peasants — The Massacres of Paciticos — The Dead Carts on Their Rounds — Facts Impossible to be Exaggerated — Incredulity in the United States, .... 192 CHAPTER XVIII RELIEF OP STARVING AMERICAN CITIZENS IN CUBA — FAIL- URE OF WEYLER'S CA:MPAIGN — INCREASING MISERY ON THE ISLAND — ASSASSINATION OF CANOVAS. Suffering among American Residents in Cuba — The President Asks for $50,000 for Their Relief — Spain Watches Us Anxiously — The Mor- gan Resolution — Exciting Debate in the Senate — Its Effect in Spain — Sagasta Rebels — Canovas R^t^j^ns — Given a New Lease of Life — Reasf)ns for His Continuance and for Weyler's Longer Sta}' in Cuba — Political Conditions — Don Carlos — Canovas between Two Fires — Madrid Opinion — Superior Tactics of Gomez — Return of Com missioner Calhoun — Gen. Stewart L. Woodford Aiipointed Jlinister to Madrid — His Instructions — Nothing to Humiliate Spain— A Season of Waiting — Death of Canovas — Parly Quarrels Cease — Weyler Driven into Havana 200 XVI CONTENTS CI I AFTER XTX THE STORY OF MISS CISNEIIOS AND HER REMARKABLE ES- CAPE—RECALL OF WE YLER — PENALTY OF DEATH TO ALL INSURGENTS TREATING WITH SPANIARDS. Weyier Retained by the New Premier — The Escape of Evangelina Cisne- ros — Her Romantic Story — Following Her Father to Jail — On the Isla de Pinos — Attracted by Evangelina's Beauty — Berriz in Close Quarters — Guerrillas Ajipear — Her Escape to a Cave — Found by the Guerrillas — Sent to Havana — Thrown into a Vile Prison — Sym- pathy Aroused in this Country — An Appeal to the Queen — Her Escape through a Barred Window — Smuggled on a Steamer in Boy's Clothes — Her Enthusiastic Reception in New York — The Queen Tired of Cuban Troubles — Her Farewell to Minister Taylor — Sagasta's Min istry — Arrival in Havana of Blanco, and Return of Weyier — Weyler's Grotesipic Failure — Release of the Competitor Prisoners, . . 210 CHAPTER XX THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE — TRAGIC DEATH OF COLONEL RUIZ — RIOTS IN HAVANA— ARRIVAL OF THE MAINE IN THE HARBOR OF HAVANA. The Administration's Cuban Policy Outlined — Possibilities of Interveu tion — Opposition to Autonomy — Colonel Ruiz Hopes to Convert the Young Cuban Leader, Nestor Aranguren — The Latter's Reply to Ruiz's Letter — Aranguren Warns Him — The Meeting — Arangu ren's Own Story of What Happened — Ruiz Shot — Organized Relief for the Reconcentrados — Military Operations in the East — Disquiet- ing Reports — Lee Advises Having Warships in Readiness — A Deli cate Situation — Winter Drill of Nortii American Squadron — The Storm Breaks in Havana — "Death to Autonomy!" — Lee's Message — Blanco's Prompt Action — Death-Blow to Autonomy — Protection of American Citizens — The Maine Ordered to Havana — Strange Action of the Havana Authorities — Gen. Lee's Misgivings — The Maine Arrives Quietly — Demonstrations of Friendship, . . 218 CHAPTER XXI, THE STORY OF THE BATTLESHIP JLIAV^"- THREATS AND WARNINGS -A STARTLING MIDNIGHT DISPATCH -THE MAINE BLOWN UP. The Story of the Maine — The Maine in Havana Harbor — Captain Sigs- bee's Precautions — Extraordinary Vigilance — The Hostility of the CONTENTS XVn S|);iiiisli R;il)I»lo — Warnings lluiidcd to C'aj)taiii Sigsbw; — Ilis Official Relations — No CVmiialily from Spanish Military Oflicers — Reporters at Hotel luglcterra — Story of a Letter from Weyler — Wcyler's Myste- rious Hints at Mines — General Aranguren Betrayed by a Negro Captive — Surrounded and Killed — Conditions Worse and Worse — Publication of the De Lome Letter — Characteristic Spanish Diplo- macy — De Lome Admits His Authorship and Resigns — Spain's Dis- avowal — A Better Feeling — A Midnight Dispatch — Startling News — "Maine Blown up" — An Awful Catastrophe, . . . 229 CHAPTER XXII THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 15, 1898 — A FEARFUL EXPLOSION AND SCENES OF HORROR— REMARKABLE ESCAPES — THE WORK OF RESCUE — THE NEWS AT WASHINGTON. A Quiet Night in Havana Harbor — The Maine Swinging at Her Chain -- A Sudden Roar, a Crashing Explosion, and a ]\Iass of Flying ^ lames and Debris — The Shrieks of Dying Men — The Silence of Death — Captain Sigsbee's Escape — Standing on the Sinking Ship — Lowering the Boats — The Officers iu the Mess Room — Frightful Experiences — Lieut. Jenkins Groping in the Water — "Which Way?" — Lieut. Hood's Graphic Story — The Work of Rescue — A Last Call but no Answer from the Burning Wreck — Spanish Delight — Captain Sigsbee Leaves the Ship — Visits from Spanish Ollicers — Sigsbee's Dispatches to the Department — " Don't Send War Vesels" — E.xeitement at Wash- ington — Scenes at the White House — In the Cabinet Room — The Ollicial Impression — The General Impression — Sympathy of Spanish Orticials — Appointment of the Court of Inquiry 238 CHAPTER XXIII PREPARING FOR WAR — EVIDENCE OF SPANISH TREACHERY — MILLIONS FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE -A HISTORICAL MOMENT — THE DRIFT INTO WAR. Ellect of 111 • Maine Incident upon Our Cuban Policy — A Plain, Concrete Ciise — The People Remain Patient — The President's Policj' Inter- rupted — Reasons for the Accidental Theory — Not Really Believed in Official Circles — General Lee Informs the State Department that It Looked Like an Outside Explo.sion — Sudden Activity in Official Circles — Preparations for War — Orefion Ordered Home — Dewey Ordered to Concentrate His Fleet — Arrival and Dei>arture of tlie Vizcnya — Our Precautions for Her Safety — Spain's Responsibility for the Safety of the Maine — Deeper and Deeper Misery iu Cuba — Red 2 XVIU CONTENTS Cross "Work — Spain's Request for the Recall of General Lee — Her Reasons — Probing for the Weyler Letter — Laine's Arrest and Ex- pulsion — Lee Finds a Weyler Telegram — Corroborative Evidence — The President Seeks Support in Congress — $50,000,000 for National Defense — a Critical Moment in Our National Life, . . . 253 CHAPTEK XXIV ATTITUDE OF EUROPEAN POWERS — INCREASING GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION — FINAL DIPLOMATIC EFFORT WITH SPAIN — REPORT OF THE COURT OF INQUIRY. Sounding European Governments — Friendly Attitude of England — Rea- sons for Cherishing an Alliance — Moral Influence of the Attitude of (he United States — The Spanish Court of Inquir}' — Marked Impres- sion Made by Senator Proctor's Speech — Differing Policies — Renewed Activity in War Preparations — Senator Thurston's Speech Enthusias- tically Received — Spain's Torpedo Flotilla Departs from the Canary Jelands— Hastening Diplomacy — A Critical Situation — Our Demands iqion Spain — Report of the Naval Court of Inquiry Submitted — Its Conclusions — Significance of the Keel Plates in the Wreck — Evidence Entirely Conclusive of Outside Explosion — Efforts to Fix the Respon- sibility — Suggestive Phrase from Spanish Report, , . . 263 CHAPTEII XXV NEAPING A CRISIS — "REMEMBER THE J/^1//Yj5J" — SPAIN'S FINANCIAL STRAITS — HASTENING OUR NAVAL PREPA- RATIONS—SPAIN'S UNSATISFACTORY TACTICS. Public Impatience Restrained with Difficulty — The President's Trying Position — Radical Resolutions in the Senate — The President's Firm Hand — Liberal Victory in Spain — The Cuban Deputies — Arrival of the Vizcaya and Almirante Oquendo in Havana — Spaniards in Hostile Mood — Spanish Torpedo Flotilla and Its Movements — Spain's Appeal to Europe — Suicide of the Dynasty — Desperate Financial Conditions — The Church as a Holder of Spanish Bonds — Putting the United States Navy in Readiness — The Key West Fleet and the Flying Squad- ron — Apparent Concessions — Only for Effect — The Projiosed Armis- tice — Congress Becomes Impatient — The President's Reasons for Delay — Condition of Some of Our Battleships, .... 272 CHAPTER XXVI THE COALING PROBLEM- SPAIN'S PRETENDED ASSISTANCE OF THE STARVING RECONCENTRADOS — AWAITING THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. The Army Ready to Move — The Importance of the Coaling Problem — Spain's Small Supply — Coaling at Neutral Ports — Blanco's Orders to CONTENTS XIX Help the Reconcentrados — No Charity Except Through Fear of War — Spain Appropriates Money for Relief Fund — No Chance for Money to Pass the Spanish Olflcials — Appeal of the Autonomist Govern- ment — Position of the Self-professed Friends of Peace — The Influence of the Commercial Spirit — April 6th an Exciting Day — Waiting for the Message — It Fails to Arrive — General Lee's Request for Time to Get Out of Cuba — The President's Courageous Act — Bitter Attacks upon Ilim in Congress — Other Important Reasons for Delay — The Presi- dent's Expectation of War, 283 CHAPTER XXVII THE JOINT NOTE OF THE SIX POWERS — QUEEN CHRISTINA ACTS TOO LATE — THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE AT LAST — "THE WAR IN CUBA MUST STOP." A Little Play Behind the Scenes — Attempts of European Powers to Act — Austria's Interest in the Spanish Dynasty — The French Investment in Spanish Bonds — Plans for a Joint Appeal — An Impressive Moment in the White House — The European Note — The President's Reply — Humanitarian Considerations — Novel Proceedings hi O'lr Diplomacy — Condition on which England and Russia Actc^^ — A Good Opportunity for the President — A Similar Request y''.de at Madrid — Spain Replies that She has Gone as Far as She Can — The Queen Takes IMatters in Her Own Hand and Would Go Further — Too Late — Blanco Ordered to Suspend Hostilities — Riots in Madrid — General Lee and Many Americans Leave Havana — No further Postponement of Message Possible — Useless to Listen to Spain's Insincere Diplomacy — The Message Submitted — History of the Troubles Reviewed — Spain's Pro posals as to the Maine — The Time for Action at Hand, , . 291 CHAPTER XXVIII RECEPTION OF THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE — ARRIVAL OF GENERAL LEE AT WASHINGTON -EXCITING DEBATES IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE — OUR ULTIMATUM TO SPAIN — BREAKING OFF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. How the President's Message was Received — A Plain, Unimpassioned Statement — Congress Expected Something More Fiery — General Lee's Arrival at Washington — Ovations on tlie Route — A Warm AVelcome — Resolutions for Intervention — The Question of Recognizing the Independence of Cuba — The Tension of Feeling — Coming Togetiier on the Final Vote — Report of the Senate Committee — A Time to Drop Party Differences — An Amendment to Recognize the Cuban Republic Passed — Disagreeing Action and a Conference — The Final Draft — Wisdom of Going to War Without Recognizing Cuba — The President Prepares His Uliimaluiu — Signing the Resolutions — Min- XX CONTENTS ister Polo Demands His Passports — Spanish Ministry Withliold the President's Despatch to Woodford — Riots in Madrid and Barcelona — Woodford Given His Passports, 398 CHAPTER XXIX OPENING OF THE WAR — THE SPANISH AND AMERICAN NAVIES — DEPARTURE OF AN AMERICAN SQUADRON FOR CUBAN WATERS — THE FIRST SHOT OF THE WAR — THE CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS. Beginning Operations — Plans for Offensive and Defensive Action — Com- parison of the Spanish and United States Navies — Spain's Armored Cruisers — Superiority of Our Guns and Gunners — The Spirit of the Navy — Lieutenant Commander Wainwright's Plea for a Chance to Fight — Peculiar Positions of Antagonists — Spain's Best Ships neither in Cuhan nor Philippine Waters — The C'ape Verde Squadron — Specu )'Uions as to Naval Results — Spaniards Suspected of Dark Designs — Co'umodore Howell's Auxiliary Fleet — Blockading Cuban Ports — Departure oi \dmiral Sampson's Imposing Fleet — Commodore Dewey Ordered to Sail for Manila — Caution of the Naval Strategy Board — A Spanish Ship ^v.ghted — The First Shot of the War — The Spanish Flag Comes Down — Ot'.\?r Prizes Captured — The Call for Volunteers — Prompt Response — Reorganizing the Army — A Cause of Delay, 307 CHAPTER XXX WAR FORMALLY PROCLAIMED — THE BOMBARDMENT OF MATANZAS — EXPERIENCES ON A MODERN AVARSHIP — COMMODORE DEWEY SAILS TOWARDS MANILA. Enthusiasm and Generosity among the People of the United States — Col lege Patriotism — Prompt Action by the Women of the Country — Red Cross Nurses — The Dangers of Yellow Fever — Surgeon-General's Warning — Rejoicing in Havana — Blanco's Grandiloquent Manifesto — Congress Formally Declares War — Spain Talks of Scandalous Aggression — Troubles in the Cortes — Importance of Securing a Base on Cuban Coast — Havana Ignored — Advancing to Matanzas — The Nature of the Bay — Waiting for the Word to Fire — A Shot from the Batteries — Engagement Becomes General — A Thrilling Sight — Following the Powerful Projectiles to the Target — Clouds of Smoke — Three Hundred Shots in Eighteen Minutes — The Piiritaiis Remark able Shot — Terrible Destruction — The Concussion of Great Guns — General Blanco's Report of Casualties — " A Mule Killed " — The Cape Verde Spanish Fleet Sails — Commodore Dewey Points his Fleet to wards Manila — Significance of His Orders, .... 320 C'OXTFA'TS XXI ("TTAT'I'KK XXX r THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS — TIIEIU EXTENT, CHAKACTEK, AND NATIVE LIFE — KEIJELLION OF THE FILIPINOS AND ITS THRILLING INCIDENTS — TH F TILVCHC DEATH OF DR. PIZAL — AGUINALDO AND COM.MODORE DEWEY. Magi'llan tlu' Naviiiator Hears of the AVoiidcrl'ul Spice Islands — Persuades the Spanish Kinii' that they Miiiht Belong lo Spain — Sailing Westward Instead of Eastward — Wonderful Voyage — Discovery of the Philip- pines — The Natives — Early Importance of Manila — The Slaughter of the Prosperous Chinese — Depressing Results — A Long and Ugly His- tory — Character of the Islands — Peculiarities of Spanish Government — The Uprising of 1896 — The Katapunan So(;iety — Appealing to the Filipinos — A Bloody Conflict — Outrages on Both Sides — A Hundred Prisoners Suffocated in a Single Night — Public Executions — Dramatic Incidents — The Romantic Story of Dr. Rizal — His Love Affair — Sen- tenced to Death — His Death — Aguinaldo's Exile, 331 CIIAPaER XXXII COMMODORE DEWEY AND HIS SQUADRON — INCIDENTS OP THE CRUISE TO MANILA — SEARCHING FOR THE ENEMY — THRILLING SAIL PAST THE BATTERIES AND OVER THE MINES — ADVANCING TO THE BATTLE. Commodore Dewey's Scjuadron — Its Guns and Armor — Dewey's Service in the Navy — Admiral Porter's Tribute — Proclamation of the Gov- ernor-General of the Philippines — Bombastic Encouragement — Dewey's Cruise to Manila — Rolling in the China Sea — " Prepare for Action " — Practice on the Way — Stripping the Ships — All Unneces- sary Articles Thrown Overboard — A Look into Subig Bay — Move- ments of the Spanish Adnural — AVhy He Retired to Manila — The United Slates Scjuadron Holds a Council of War — Dewey Announces His Purpose to Enter ^lanila Harbor that Night — Engines Started Again — Men Q;netly Sent to Their Guns — In Sight of the Forts — Increa.sing the Speed — Silent and Alert — Discovered at Last — Silently Onward — Breakfast af the Guns— Heading for Battle, 343 CHAPTER XXXIII THE NAVAL BATTLE OF MANILA BAY— A TERRIBLE STORM OF SHOT AND SHELL — SCENES OF BLOOD AND CARNAGE — ANNIHILATION OF THE SPANISH FLEET — COMMODORE DEWEY'S (JREAT VICTORY. Commodore Dewey's Stiuadron in Battle Array — Advancing Silently towards the Enemy — Mines Exi)Ioded in Front of the Olymput — XXll CONTENTS "Remember the Maine!" — The Time for Action Comes — Torjiedo Launclies Veuture an Attack — Rapid Guns — Tlie Ileina CliHstiiui At- tacks the Olyinpia — Meets with a Terrible Fire — Destructive Shot of the Boston — Retiring for Breakfast — Taking Account of Damages — The Fury of the Second Attack — Spaniards Figliting Desperately — Defiant Gunners Swallowed Up in the Bloody Water — Escape of the Spanish Admiral — A Gruesome Sight — Ships Burnt, Sunk, and De- serted — Surrender of the Fort — Care of the Wounded — Experiences on the American Ships — Cutting the Cable — Commodore Dewey's Modest Despatches, .... .... 854 CIIAPTEE XXXIV AWAITING ADMIRAL CERVERA AND HIS SPANISH FLEET — ANXIETY FOR THE BATTLESHIP 0i2^(?0aV— CERVERA'S UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL AT MARTINIQUE. A Pe--.'od of Uncomfortable Uncertainty — Where would Cervera Appear ? — Relative Distances of the Hostile Squadrons — Three Theories as to Cervera's Probable Course — Plausibility of the Theory that He might Intercept the Oregon — The Oregon at Rio Janeiro — Captain Clark has no Fear of Spanish Fleet — Possibility of a Spanish Attack on Coast Cities — General Opinion that Cervera would Steer for Puerto Rico — Admiral Sampson Starts Out to Meet Him — His Formidable Fleet — The Anticipated Battle — Days of Anxious Waiting — Strategists all at Sea — Renewed Concern for the Oregon — Strength of the Spanish Cruisers — Astonishing Announcement that Cervera had Returned to Cadiz — News from London — Spanish Denials Disbelieved — Sudden Preparations for Invading Cuba — Cervera Sighted ofE Martinique — Sampson Shells the Forts of San Juan, 374 CHAPTER XXXV ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S B0MBARD:\IENT OF SAN JUAN — THRILLING SCENES DURING THE ACTION — SKILLFUL AMERICAN GUNNERY — SAMPSON'S WITHDRAWAL. Admiral Sampson's Cruise to Puerto Rico — The Gallant Sailors Expect a Great Fight — Approaching San Juan — Preparations for the Combat — San Juan Learns of Sampson's Approach — The Iffioa Becomes the Flagship — Peculiarities of San Juan Harbor — Admiral Sampson's Plan of Attack — Running up the Stars and Stripes — Speeding into the Bay — The Duty of the Wompatiick — Sampson, Finding Cervera Absent,' Decides to Shell the Forts — The First Shot — The Music of the Projectiles — Spaniards Return the Fire Vigorously — Bravery of a Spaniard at an Old Gun — Some Dangerous Guns on the Forts — Marksmanship as Worthless as Spanish Promises — "Threaten, Puff, Splash ! " — Cruising by the Forts Three Times — Shells Land on the CONTENTS XXIU New York and loira — Owe jNIan Killed — Not even a Spanisli Gunboat in the Harbor, . ... ... 383 CHAPTER XXXVI INCIDENTS ON THE BLOCKADE LINE — FIRST AMERICAN BLOODSHED AT CIENFUEGOS -THE BRAVE AND BLOODY FIGHT OF THE TORPEDO-BOAT WINSLOW AT CARDE- NAS—SWEPT BY SHOT AND SHELL. The Blockade in Early May — The Capture of the Z^(/"rtye«e — Recklessness of Some of the American Vessels— Work of Cutting the Cables — Eager Volunteens for a Dangerous Task — Advancing Close to Shore in Launches and Cutters — Fire from the Spanish JMasked liatteries — Men Drop at their Oars — Ship's Guns Drive the Spaniards to Slielter — Dead Men in the Cutters — Shelling the Lighthouse — First Adventure of the Torpedo Boat Winslow — Laying a Trap for the Spaniards — In a Nest of Red Buoys — A Spanish Trap — Deadly Fire Pours, in on the Winslow — The Hudson to the Rescue — A P^ital Shell — Death of Ensign Bagley and his Men — Scattering a Spanish Garrison, . 396 CHAlxEK XXXVII CHASING CERVERA'S FLEET — THE FLYING SQUADRON — DAYS OF UNCERTAINTY — SAMPSON AND SCHLEY AT KEY WEST AND CERVERA AT SANTIAGO. Cervera Raises another Question for the Strategists — Schley Receives Orders to Leave ILunpton Roads — Cervera Reported at Curasao — He Seeks Coal and Supplies — Sampson a Day's Sail from Santiago — More Days of Uncertainty — Cervera and Sampson Both Sailing in the Same Direction — Sampson and Schley arrive at Key West and Cervera at Santiago — Cervera's Luck as a Dodger — How He Entered Santiago while our Scouts were away — Schley Hurries to the South Coast of Cuba — Unaware of Cervera's Arrival at Santiago — Schley Prepares to Attiick Cervera at Cienfuegos — Finds Cervera is not There and Pushes on to Santiago — Doubt as to Whether Cervera is Really There — Schley Steams up before Santiago . 406 niAPTKR XXXVI ri IN THE HARBOR OF SANTIAGO — ADMIRAL CERVERA'S AL- LEGED STRATEGY — COMMODORE SCHLEY MAKES SURE HE HAS THE ENEMY- CERVERA "BOTTLED IP." A Beautiful IIar])or — Morro Castle — Background for Many Bloody Scenes — The Winding Channel and the Bav — Irrational Movemeuls XXIV CONTENTS of the Spanish Admiral — Guided Largely by Necessities — Opportunities which He Refused to Embrace — Evidence of Cervera's Presence in the Harbor — All Doubts llemoved — Schley's Attack on the Forts — Cervera's Ships Fire at Random over the Hills — Remarkable Reports from Madrid — Too Late for Falsehoods — Cervera "Bottled up" — The Government at Once Takes Steps to Send Forces to Santiago — Admiral Sampson Arrives at Key West and Prepares to Join Schley — The Monitors Left Behind — Remarkable Trip of the Oreffoii — Thir- teen-thousand-mile Run and then to Battle — Admiral Sampson Takes Command — Organizing the Army — Found Unprepared at the Last Moment — The Departure at Last, 420 CHAPTER XXXIX THE BRAVE DEED OF LIEUTENANT HOBSON AND HIS CRE\"v' — GOING INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH — FEARFUL EXPE- RIENCES AND A WONDERFUL ESCAPE. Plans for Destroying or Capturing Cervera's Fleet — Hobson Presents a Plan to Prevent His Escape — Admiral Sampson Gives His Consent — Preparing the Merrimac for a Dangerous Trip — Asking for Voliu- teers — Drawing Lots — Details of i±oi)son's Plans — Preparations Made at Last — The Crew as Selected — Hobson Speaks of His Chances of Success — Battleships take up Position at Sunset — Hobson Appears on the Bridge — Everything Ready — The Merrimac Moves in — Watching in Breathless Interest — Disappearing in the Mist of the Sliore — A Blaze of Fire — Tlie Search of the Little Launch — Hobson Given up for Lost — How He Steamed into the Sheet of Flame — A Mine Explodes under the Merviiudc — On the Deck in a Hail of Shot and Shell — Slipping Overboard and Clinging to the Catamaran — A Spanish Launch Appears — An Offer to Surrender — " It was Admiral Cervera " — Prisoners in Morro — Their Fate Made Known, . . . 436 CHAPTER XL LANDING OF MARINES IN GUANTANAMO BAY — SUR- ROUNDED BY HIDDEN ENEMIES — SPANIARDS CAUGHT AT LAST — SHARP NAVAL FIGHT xlT SAN JUAN. Spaniards Strengthen Their Position — Bombarding the Forts at the Harbor Mouth — The R'ina Mercedes AY reeked — Looking for a Possible Place for the Army to Land — Pluck of the Naval Re- serves — Lauding the IMarines — Preparing Camp McCalla — Its Peculiar Position — Fatal Search for the; Enemy— No Sleep for the Marines — Mauser Bullets Continually Whistling Through the Q.,iiip — Bravely Facing the Fot — rntcnable Position of the Camp — Spaniards Fire upon a Funeral Cortege — Driving Them Back and Resuming the Services — Attacked from a New Quarter— A CONTENTS XXV Critical Situation — TIic Enemy Caught in a Trap — Slaugliteivd without Mt'iry — Tlie Camp Moved to a Less Exposed Position — The Blockade of San Juan — Arrival of the St. Paul— The Teiror Makes an Attack — Broadside from the tit. Pmd, . . . 447 CHAPTER XLI LANDING OF THE TROOPS AT DAIQUIRI AND SIBONEY — THE ADVANCE TIII{OUGII CUBAN THICKETS — A MAG- NIFICENT CHARGE AND A DECISIVE VICTORY. Arrival of the Transports with General Shafter's Army — Admiral Samp- son and General Shafter Consult — Meeting the Cuban Leaders — Enthusiastic Cubans — Dai(|uiri Selected as a Landing Place — Plans and Preparations —Anticipating an Attempted Escape by Cervera — Incidents of a Difficult Landing — Unfurling the Stars and Stripes — On the Road to Santiago — Yankee Ingenuity — The Enemy's Retreat to Guasimas — General Wheeler Decides to Attack — Moving Ahead on Diflicult Trails and under a Burning Siui — The Music of a Mauser Bullet — Rough Riders Attacked — A Fierce Battle is On — Deploying Through the Thickets — Death in the Ranks — A Relentless Advance — Victory and a Well-earned Rest — The Dead and Wounded — Camara Leaves Cadiz — His Trip to the Suez Canal, . . 463 CHAPTER XLII CONTINUED ADVANCE OF THE AMP:RICAN TROOPS — GEN- ERAL SHAFTER ARRIVES AT THE FRONT - PREPARA- TIONS P^OR A GENERAL ATTACK — INGENIOUS SPANISH DEFENSES. Advancing the American Lines — The Spanish Retreat — Trials of the Trail — Soldiers Pusiiing Ahead Faster Thau Supplies Could be Brought Up — Impossible to Land Heavy Guns — Cutting a Way Through Tropical Jungles — General Shafter Leaves the Ship — Tlie Cuban Soldiers — A Remarkable Collection of Warriors — Famished and Naked Patriots — No Understanding of Organized War — Their Value a.s Scouts and Guides — Their Aversion to Spades and Picks — Good Reasons for an Immediate Attack — Dangers of Die Climate- Stretching (he Line Northward — Within Rille Range of the Enemy — Traps Laid l)y the Spaniards — Disguised Sliarpshooters in the Treetoi)S — Ritle Pits Trained on the Oiieriiiigs through Wiiicli our Troops Must Advance — Riflemen Placed Like ^lachiiie (Juns — The Block Houses and Ma.sked Batteries — Inadequate Hospital Arrangements — The Greatest Land Battle of ihr War IT'.t XXVI CONTENTS CHAPTEE XLTII DESPERATE AND BLOODY FIGHTING AT SAN JUAN, EL CANEY, AND AGUADORES — INADEQUATE PROVISION FOR THE SUFFERING WOUNDED — A DARK OUTLOOK. The Morning of July First — Grimes's Battery Opens Fire — The Spanish Reply — The Advance in the Center towards San Juan — A Telltale Balloon — Critical Position of the Seventy -first New York — Storming the Hill — General Hawkins's Brave Charge — Capturing the Spanish Position — Roosevelt Leads the Charge up San Juan Hill — Lawton's Attack upon El Caney — Desperate Defense of the Spaniards — The Dash of the Colored Troops — Storming the Fort — El Caney Falls — General Duffield's Attack at Aguadores — Inadequacy of Hospital Arrangements — Terrible Suffering but Brave Endurance of the Wounded — Provisions Run Short — General Shafter Sick and Dis- heartened — A Dark Outlook — Looking to the Fleet for Help — Cer- vera Receives Orders to Escape, 490 CHAPTER XLIV ADMIRAL CERVERA'S ATTEMPTED ESCAPE — ANNIHILA- TION OF THE SPANISH FLEET — THRILLING INCIDENTS — THE RESCUE AND SURRENDER OF CERVERA AND THE REMNANT OF HIS CREWS. The Waiting American Squadron — Admiral Sampson Departs to Consult with General Shafter — Watching Suspicious Smoke Beyond the Ridge — The Enemy Appears — Commodore Schley's Prompt Action — The Spanish Cruisers Emerge from the Harbor — Pictures of Smoke and Fire — Network of Bursting Shells — Cervera's Tactics — Pouring Shells upon the Spanish Cruisers — The Chase Begins — Appearance of the Pluton and Furor — AViunwright's Handling of the Gloucester — His Quick and Fearless Advance — Destruction of the Destroyers — Admiral Sampson Turns Back from Siboney — The Infanta Maria Teresa and the Almirante Oquendo Run Ashore — Gallant Rescue of the Spanish Crews — Chase of the Colon — Working the Spaniard into a Trap— The Surrender, 510 CHAPTER XLV THE SURRENDER OF SxVNTIAGO — TRYING POSITION OF THE ARMY — RELEASE OF HOBSON AND HIS CREW — THE PUERTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. General Shafter Calls upon Gen. Toral to Surrender — Refu.sal of the Span- ish Commander — Refugees from the City — Fruitless Negotiations — CONTENTS XXvii The Exchan.i^e of ITobson and His C'rcw— Their Warm Welcome — American liines Advanced —yircn-^tlicning the American I'osilion — The Truce Ends — r>oml»ardment of the City — Another Demand for Surrender — A Council of Ullicers — Arrival of General Miles — Alarm- ing Condition of Our Army — Insufficient Provisions — SulTering of the Sick and Wounded — Toral Asks for JMore Time — An Agreement Reached — Conditions of the Capitulation — The President's Message to General Shafter — Occupation of the Citj^ — Looking over the Spanish Defenses — "Yellow Jack" Appears — Obstacles "Which Our Army Overcame — Shafter and Garcia — The Campaign in Puerto Rico — General Miles's Easy and Triumi)hal Advance — Ponce Welcomes American Troops — Last of the Fighting 524 CHAPTER XLVI THE SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES —PHILIPPINE EXPE- DITIONS—ANNEXATION OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS — AGUINALDO, THE INSl'KGENT LEADER. The Philipijinc Question at Home — Policy of Expansion — A Complicated Situation — General Merritt Designated to Lead the Expeditions — Apprehension of Trouble with Germany — Dewey's Tactful Manage- ment — The Archbishop's Proclamation — Circulating False Reports and Sensational Stories — The Insurgents Threaten TrouljU- — The First Expedition under Way — Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands — General Merritt Takes Possession of the Ladrone Islands — The Irene Incident — A Plain Statement from Admiral Dewey — Reports and Rumors — Aginnaldo, the Young Insurgent — His Education and Character — A Clever and Automatic Campaign, , , . 543 CirAPTER XLVIT AGUINALDO AND THE AGUINALDIANS —EQUIPMENT AND ARMS OF HIS MEN — NOT SOLDIERS BUT BUSHWHACKERS — CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FILIPINOS. The Young Insurgent Chief — Proud of His iSIilitary Ability — A Council of Young Men Only — The Tagals his Only Supporters — An Army of Boys — White Cotton Uniforms — Taking Turns at ^Military Duty — A Mauser in One Hand — A White Flag in the Other — No Artillery or Cavalry — Fighting in Trenches — Faith in Talismans — Living on a Handful of Rice — Intelligent Filipinos Desire the Support of a Strong Nation — Unlit to IManage Their Alfairs Alone — Dread of Aguinaldo's Mastery — Mental Characteristics of the Filipinos — Rash and Illog ical — Exaggerated Ideas of their Ability as Fighters — ^Mistaking American Kindness for Fear — Sealing Their Own Fate, . . 553 X XVI 11 CONTENTS CITAPTEPi XLVTTT ARRIVAL OF GENERAL MERRITT AT MANILA— CONDUCT OF THE WILY AGLINALDO— FIGHTING BEFORE MANILA- THE COMBINED ATTACK UPON THE CITY AND ITS FALL. Aguinaldo Proves Troublesome to Geueral Anderson — The Filipino Leader Attempts to Dictate to Americans — Arrival of the Second Expedition — The Humiliating Situation of the Spaniards — General Anderson's Curt Note to Aguinaldo — Obstacles Placed in the Way of the American Troops — General Merritt's Narrative of the Situation in which he Found Matters — He Holds no Communication with Aguinaldo — Working in Fn^nt of the Insurgent Lines — The Night Attack of July 31st — Planning for a Combined Attack upon the City — The Joint Demand for Surrender — Dewey Begins the Bombardment of the City — The Position of the Fleet — The Advance of the Army — Entering the City — Manila in Possession of United States Troops, . . 561 CHAPTER XLIX SPAIN SUES FOR PEACE — SIGNING OF THE PROTOCOL — STORY OF THE PARIS PEACE COMMISSION AND ITS LABORS — THE FINAL TREATY OF PEACE. Spain's Reluctance to Yield — Her Embarrassed Condition — Don Carlos and Weyler — Cortes Dissolved in Disorder — Overtures through the French Minister —Reply of the United States — Terms of the Protocol — A Swiftly Decisive War — Condition of Our Army in Cuba — Commissions for the Evacuation of Cuba and Puerto Rico — Evacua- tion of Havana — A Day to be Long Remembered — The Stars and Stripes Everywhere — Simple but Imposing Ceremony — The Flag of Spain Lowered — Grief of the Captain-General — " We Are no Longer Enemies " — Cubans Beside Themselves with Joy — General Brooke Becomes Governor of Cuba — The Peace Commission and its Work — Dispute as to the Disposition of the Philippines — The Treaty Signed, 574 CHAPTER L THE TREATY OF PEACE — SPAIN RELINQUISHES ALL TITLE TO CUBA— THE FINAL ACT— END OF OUR AVAR WITH SPAIN. Articles of the Treaty — Our New and Rich Possessions — Islands in Both Eastern and Western Ilemisiiheres — Twenty Million Dollars to be Paid to Spain — Spanish Trooi)S to be Sent Home — Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners to be Released — Civil Rights to be Determined CONTENTS XMX l)y Congress — The Treaty Ilatified — Excliange of Dociimeiils at tlic White House — Impressive Ceremony — Message of President MeKin ley — An Eventful Year — Genuine Heroism of our Soldiers and Sailors — What tlie War Brought to this Nation — A Lesson to Spain — Patriotie and Prudent Policy of the President — A Rich Legacy for the Future, 589 CHAPTER LI TilE SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES — MAJOR-GENERAL OTIS IN COMMAND AT MANILA — FIRST SKJXS OF HOS- TILITY FROM THE FILIPINOS — SAXDICO'S TREACHERY — AGUINALDO AND HIS FALSE CLALMS. iJriff Skctcli of the Career of our Couunander-in-Chief in the Philippines — His Ciiaracteristics — Aguinaldo's Pretended Sympathy — He Dis- appears from His IIead([uarters near Manila — Sandico and His Secret Clubs — Discover}' of a Regular Army Organization of Treacherous Filipinos in Manila — Sandico Hastens Away — Size of Our Army — Delay in Issuing President's Proclamation — Terms of the Message to the Filipinos — Its Effect on the People — The Rebel Chief Issues two Manifestoes — Conference at Manila — Aguinaldo's False Claims — Never Promised anj' Assistance — What Admiral Dewey Said — AlloAved to Take Arms and Ammunition — Size of the Filipino Army — Attitude of Native Press Hostile, 599 CHAPTER LI I FILIPINOS THROW OFF THE MASK AND ATTACK OUR FORCES AT MANILA — SIGNAL VICTORY WON BY THE AMERICANS — HEAVY LOSSES OF THE INSURGENTS. A Sentry's Orders Disobeyed — Signal Gun Fired — Outposts all Along the Line Engaged — Americans not Taken Unawares — Rebels Fought Bravely but Were Repulsed With Awful Slaughter — Intense Excite- ment in the City — Street Cars Stopped and Carriages Vanished — Native Troops Well Armed — Driven into the Pasig River — Fight Renewed Early Sunday Morning — Several Villages Captured — The Ciiarleston and the Callao Shelled — The Monadnock also at Work — Rout of the Rebels — Otis Expected the Outbreak — Aguinaldo's Spies Deceived — Insurgents Penned in a Cliurch — The Callao a Terror — Dewey's Fine Strategy — Rebels Fled to Caloocan — Fight over the Apiiroaches to the Reservoir — How Our Troops Were Dis|)osed — Sandicos Army Failed — Total Losses — Tiie Ollieial Despalcli — Aguinaldo's Proclamation- Our Troops Take the Water Works, Oil XXX CONTENTS CHAPTER LIII THE CAPTURE OF ILOILO— AN EASY VICTORY— THE IN- SURGENTS SET FIRE TO THE TOWN — DISPLAYING THE WHITE FLAG. Second Encounter with the Philipino Rebels — Importance of the Place — Its Location and Industries — City Turned Over to the Insurgents by the Spaniards — Our Expedition Starts from Manila — Delay in Move- ment to Take the Place — Insurgents Try to Obstruct the Channel — Gen. Miller's Ultimatum — Threatens to Burn their Villages if they Set Fire to Iloilo — Our Warships Get into Position — The Day Appointed for the Battle — The Enemy Defies Our Forces and Continues to Throw up Entrenchments — The Boston's Signal — Boston and Petrel Open Fire — A Shell Dropped into the Filipino Headquarters — Rebel General Runs Away — Insurgents Fire the City — Foreign Consulates Burned — Filipinos with White Flags Everywhere, . . . 680 CHAPTER LIV MORE VICTORIES FOR THE AMERICAN FORCES — STRAG- GLING BANDS OF REBELS DRIVEN INTO THE JUNGLE — THE BATTLE OF CALOOCAN. Gen. Otis Given a Free Rein — Petty Warfare of the Natives — Small Villages Burned — Attempts to Cripple Manila Water Works — Ne- braska and Colorado Troops in a Short Engagement — Col. Funston's Gallant Sortie — Reconnoissance to Laguua de Bay — Natives with Flags of Truce — Insurgent Leaders call on Gen. Otis — No Message for Aguinaldo — Dewey Clears out San Roque — Aguinaldo Masses his Forces at Caloocan — MacArthur's Division — Warships Begin the Attack — Sixth Artillery and Utah Battery at Work — Bravery of Western Volunteers — Natives Flee from the Trenches — Flank Move- ment Executed by Major Bell — Movement of Filipinos a Rout — Fortified Church Abandoned — Deadly Wx)rk of the Shrapnel — Warfare Follows Withdrawal of our Troops from Three Places, 635 CHAPTER LV A NIGHT OF TERROR IN MANILA — DISCOVERY OF A FIEND- ISH PLOT — GENERAL HUGHES PREVENTS THE EXECU- TION OF THE ORDER — INSURGENTS BURN LARGE POR- TIONS OF THE CITY. Wholesale Assassination Planned by the Filipinos — Discovery of their Plot — All Foreigners Were to be Exterminated — Work of Sandico Again CONTENTS XXxi — "Death to the Tyrants" — General ITuglies Catches Insurgent Chiefs in Council — Foreign Hesidents Alarmed — P^verybody Went Armed — The Torch Ai)plied — Filipino Ilinises First to be Attacked — The Escolta Threatened —Malay Killed wiiile Cutting Hose — Brave Sailor from the Olympia — Another District Set on Fire — A Crucial Test — Tondo District Infested by Native Militia — Arrival of Rein- forcements — Shooting in the Dark — Property Loss Upward of Half a Million Dollars — The American Loss — Insurgents Driven out of Tondo — Warships Shell the Retreating FiUemy — Americans Find it Necessary to Burn out the Secret Militia — Gen. Otis Orders the Streets of Manila Cleared after 7 o'clock P. M 647 CHAPTER LVI COMING UNDER AMERICAN RULE — THE SURRENDER OF CEBU — THE NATIVES OF NEGROS VOLUNTARILY AN- NOUNCE THEIR ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES. Cebu added to the List of Cities under American Ride — Work of the Gunboat Petrel — The People of Negros Decide to come under the Sovereignty of the United States — Their Delegates at Manila — No Need of a Large Force of Troops — A Tug to Carry Back the News — Town Decorated with English and German Flags — Visit from British Otflcers — Tribesmen with Spears — Captain Cornwell 3Ieets Native Leaders — His Ultimatum — Report of a Plot to Burn the Town — Priests Locked up the Coal Oil — Conference of Natives — Military Element Opposed to Surrender, but Finally Won Over — The Document Submitted to the Petrel's Commander — American Flag Hoisted — Captain Cornwell Assumes Charge of the Government — First Island to Yield Allegiance Voluntarily — Delegation from Negros — Entertained by General Otis, 654 CHAPTER LVII GENERAL WHEATONS FLYING DIVISION — FORWARD MOVE- MENT TO LAGUNA DE BAY — TOWN OF PASIG CAPTUIiED — ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS AT MANILA — RETUEAT OF THE ENEMY. First Offensive Operations in March — General Hale's Brigade Advances — Taken in Ambush — Dastard!}' Work under a Flag of Truce — Transports Bring Troops — On to Laguiia dc Bay — Guadalouiie Cap- tured — Enemy Fled in the Rain — The Attack on Pasig — Firing at Long Range — Advance of the Twentieth — Marvelously Accurate Fire of Artillery — Over oO.OOO People Vanish — Natives Throw Arms into the Water — Another Complete Victory — 36;! Prisoners Taken by Our Forces — Loss of Americans Small — Desperate Fight at Caina XXXii CONTENTS -Outposts in the J uuglc - Charging Across the Rice Fields- An Attack by the Rebels Repelled -How they Fled Before Our Army- In Command of Laguna de Bay - Operations on the Lake "Our Army Reorganized - Generals Lawton and MacArthur Lead the Iwo Divisions, . . • CHAPTEE LVIII STIII ADVANCING UPON THE ENEMY -DAYS OF HARD fgh™g_malabon burned and abandoned - MALINTA AND OTHER TOWNS CAPTURED- DEATH OF COLONEL EGBERT. Gen Otis's Curfew Order -Eagerness of the Volunteers to go Forward -Good Work of the Regulars- Weak Charges of the F.hpmos- Effortto Surround the Enemy -Magnificent Entrenchments Thrown up by the Natives-Night before the Encounter-Early S ait by our Forces -Gen. Mac Arthur's Advance to the Eastward -FxImmuos Re- peat Stubbornly-Three FortiHed Towns Taken - Gem Whea on s Onerations- Heavy Fire on the Oregons - German Consul Aston- SeT-C ncealed Entrenchments - Galhmt Kansas Fighters -Our Losses-Battle Renewed on the Following Day - Malmta Carned by a Resistless Assault - Malabon Fired-Col. Egbert Killed -Troops Exhausted by the Heat -Prince Ludwig von Lowenstem Killed - lf:ZLols ordered Forward -A Volley Fired into the N^.a Hut's -Two Days of Hard Fighting and the Results, . . b<^ CHAPTER LIX T.MTT OF THE REBEL CAPITAL IVIALOLOS - VICTORIOUS m\rCHE™0F SlE AMERICANS THROUGH THE JUNGLE ^ mST^NCES OF THE HEROISM OF OUR SOLDIERS. The Insurgents murder the Personal Command of Aguinaldo Routed - Notable Feat of the South Dakotas - Retreat toward Malolos - fw Manifesto- Getting out of Range of Dewey -D.fbculty of Mo'ng F eld Guns-Rebels Beaten by their Officers to Keep tliem m nre-Aid of the Railroad -Reinforcements for the nsurgents - Blockacie Runner Caught-A Day's Rest-Bocave Captured-A Pctu^ of DesolationlMacArthur's Division Moves Forward to lllls- Filipinos in I^etreat-Some Little Resistance on tlje^^^ -More Fighting in the Jungle -Malolos Entered-The Town lirecl -Enemy had Slipped Away -Incidents of American Heroism - Wo^mded Sergeant Who Would Return to the ^f^^^^^^^ Deliberation under Fire -Scenes at the Hospital -Cheeifulness^ot the Wounded -A South Dakota Hero CONTENTS XXXUl CHAPTER LX UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS ISSUE A PROCLAMATION TO THE FILIPINOS — DISCOVERY OF A MYSTERIOUS SECRET ORDEli KNOWN AS THE K'ATAIH'NANS. Presidoiit jNIcKinley's Pliilippiiie CoiiiinissioiR-rs — Tlieir Fitness for the Work — Arrival :il Manila — Proclaination Explaii:ing the Aims and Objects of the United States — Our Supremacy Must he Enforced — Ample Liberty Promised — Civil Rights Protected — Reforms and Good Government Guaranteed — Our Position Grossly Misrepresented by Filipino Leaders — Tlie ^lysterious Secret Organization of the Natives — Symbols of the " Ku-Klux-Klan " — Deeds of Murder, Robbery, and Arson — Wiiole Native Popuhition Awed — All Aide Bodied Men Forced to Join — Mystic Symbol Found Everywhere — Servants of our Olbcers Enrolled in the Secret Band — How Aguinaldo was Enabled to Collect Taxes to Carry on the War, . . 698 CHAPTER LXI FALL OF SANTA CRUZ — LAWTON'S SWEEPING VICTORIES — BRILLIANT AND REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT OF GEN. FUNSTON — DEATH OF COL. STOTZENBERG. Brief Respite from Fighting — Pathetic Scenes — An Expedition up Laguna de Bay — Gen. Lawton's Fighters — A Picturesque Flotilla — Moving on Santa Cruz — Delayed by Shallow Water — Landing in Cascoes — Our Men Leap into the Water — Across a Bridge in Face of a Galling Fire — Lawton in the Palace — More Towns and Some Boats Taken — " Rebels Would not Wait to be Killed " — Marching North- ward — Natives Retreat Everywhere — Seven Brave North Dakotans Killed — San Antonio Entered without Resistance — Copies of the Proclamation Distributed — Lawton Recalled — His Expression of Disappointment — Objects of the Expedition Achieved — The Rebels Gather at Calumpit — An Armored Car at Work — Funstou and His Heroes — Swimming the Stream — Success of the Assault, . 706 CHAPTEPt LXTT THE FILIPINOS SEEK PEACE — ATTEMPTS TO SECURE A TRUCE — MORE VICTORIKS — AD.>nRAL DEWEY SAILS FOR HOME — THE STORY OF HIS LIFE. Failure of Efforts to Surround the Natives — Emissaries Sent by the In- surgent Leaders — A Request for a Truce— Gen. Otis Steadily Refuses XXXIV CONTENTS to Recognize the Insurgent Government — Capture of Baliuag — Lieu- tenant Gilmore Captured — The Macabebees Come to the Front — They Act in Conjunction with the Americans — Victorious Marcli of Our Forces Continued — San Fernando Falls — Insurgents Evidently Badly Demoralized — Valuable Supplies Taken by Our Men — Two Divisions Clear the Country — Army Gunboats Shelling the River — An Attack by Mascardo Repelled — Fresh Troops Off for the Front — Aguinaldo Wants all Foreigners to Leave — Admiral Dewey Sails on the Olympia for New Vork — The Story of His Life, 722 CHAPTER LXIII PROPOSED FORM OF GOVERNMENT REJECTED BY FILIPINO LEADERS— THE INSURGENTS AGAIN ACTIVE — AMERI- CAN TROOPS CAPTURE ANTIPOLO AND MORONG. Optimistic Views of Admiral Dewe}^ — Proposed Temporary Plan of Gov- ernment — A Perplexing Problem — A Genuine Surprise — Commis- sioners meet at Manila — Endurance and Patience of our Soldiers — Refugees Within American Lines — Captain Tilly Treacherously Mur- dered — First Memorial Rites in Manila — Mounds Covered with Flowers — Impressive Services — Troops in Motion Again — A Panic Among the Insurgents — Arduous March of Gen. Hall's Column — Advancing on Autipolo — Americans Take Possession of an Abandoned Town — Driving the Insurgents into the Mountains — Sawing the Stringers of a Bridge almost in two — Gen. Lawton's Bravery — Advancing to the Battle of Zapote, . . . 733 CHAPTEK LXIV THE BATTLE OF LAS PINAS— DESPERATE FIGHTING AT ZAPOTE — MANILA THREATENED FROM THE SOUTH — ASSASSINATION OF GENERAL LUNA. Persistence of the Insurgents — The Rainy Season Their Ally — Americans Not to be Daunted — A Fiercely Fought Battle — United States Soldiers in a Rain of Bullets — Seven Warships Open Fire — Taking Zapote Bridge — Peppered by Filipino Sharpshooters — Brave Leaders of the Brave — Insurgents Massing Their Forces — They Intend to Capture Manila — General Otis Thwarts Their Plans — The Trenches Carried — Rebels Retreat through Imus — The Town surrendered — Telegraph Wires Cut — Sharp Skirmish at San Fernando — Dissension Between Aguinaldo and Luna — A Statement from Agoncillo — Luna's Death Reported — Insulted by a Captain of Aguinaldo's Guard — Ramon Endeavors to Defend Luna — Luna and Ramon Assassinated, 743 ^ :^J^.A^. >f . iHii f^\ Hon. REDFIELD PROCTOR Ey-Sccrciary of War and United States Senator from J'erniont CUBA Its Condition at the Beginning of 1898 IT lias 1)0011 siioocstod that I iiiako a ])iiblic statement of what I saw during- my visit to Cuba and how the situation there impressed me. This I do on account of the public iiitorost in all that concerns Cuba, and to correct some inac- curacies that have, not unnaturally, apjx'arod in ro])ortod in- terviews with me. JMy trip was entirely unotHcial and of my own motion; not suggested by anyone. Tlie only mention I made of it to the J'rosidoiit was to say to him that I oontoiiiplatod such a tri]) and to ask him if there was any objection to it; to which he re]iliod that ho could see none. Xo one but myself, thoro- fore, is rosponsiblo for anything in this statoiiicnt. .Indge Day gave me a brief note of intro(biction to General Lee, and 1 had letters of introduction from business friends at the l^orth to l)ankers and other business men at Havana, and they in turn gave mo letters to their corrospondoiits in otlior cities, 'i'liese letters to business men wore very us(d*ul, as one of the 3 (33) 34 INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD PROCTOR principal purposes of my visit was to ascertain the views of practical men of affairs ii])on tlio sitnation. Of General Lee I need say but little. His valuable services to his country in his trying position are too well known to all his countrymen to require mention. Besides his ability, high character, and courage, he possesses the impor- tant requisites of unfailing tact and courtesy, and, withal, his military education and training and his soldierly qualities are invaluable adjuncts in the equipment of our re|)resentative in a country so completely under military rule as was Cuba. General Lee kindly invited us to sit at his table at the hotel during our stay in Havana, and this opportunity for frequent informal talks with him was of great help to me. In addition to the information he voluntarily gave me, it furnished a convenient opportunity to ask him the many ques- tions that suggested themselves in explanation of things seen and heard on our trips through the country. I also met and spent considerable time with Consul Brice at Matanzas, and with Captain Barker, a staunch ex-Confederate soldier, the consul at Sagua la Grande. Xoiie of our representatives whom I met in Cuba are of my political faith, but there is a broader faith, not bounded by party lines. They are all three true Americans, and have done excellent service. There are six provinces in Cuba, each, with the exception of Matanzas, extending the whole width of the island, and having about an equal sea front on the north and south borders. Matanzas touches the Caribbean Sea only at its southwest corner, Ijeing separated from it elsewhere by a nar- row peninsula of Santa Clara Province. The provinces are named, beginning at the west, Pinar del Pio, Llavana, Matan- zas, Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, and Santiago de Cuba. My observations were confined to the four western provinces, which constitute about one-half of the island. The two east- ern ones were practically in the hainls of the insurgents, ex- cept the two fortified towns. These two large provinces were spoken of as " Cuba Libre." INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDPIELD PROCTOR 35 IliU'ana, tlic great citv and t'a|)ital of the ishiiul, is, in the eves of the Spaniards and nianv ( "nhans, all ( 'uha, as niiudi as Paris is France. But having visited it in nioi'c peaceful times and seen its sights, the tomb of C'ohimbus, tlie forts — Cal^ana and ]\rorro (^istle, etc. — I did not care to repeat tliis, pre- fci'ring tri|>s in the country. Everything seemed to go on much as usual in Havana. (Juiet prevailed, and except for the frequent squads of soldiers marching to guard and police duty, and their abounding presence in all public places, one saw few signs of war. Outside Havana all had changed. It was not peace nor was it M'ar. It was desolation and distress, misery and starva- tion. Every town and village was surrounded by a '^ trocha " (triMich), a sort of rifle pit, but constructed on a ])lan new to me, the dirt being thrown up on the inside and a barbed-wire fence on the outer side of the trench. These trochas had at every corner and at frequent intervals along the sides what are there called "" forts," but which are really small blockhouses, many of them more like large sentry boxes, loopholed for musketry, and with a guard of from two to ten soldiers in each. The purpose of these trochas was to keep the reconcen- trados in as well as to keep the insurgents out. From all the snrvonnding country the [)co])l(> liad l)een driven into tliese fortified towns and held there to subsist as they could. They Avere virtually prison yards, and not ludike one in general ap- pearance, except that the walls were not so high and strong; but they sufficed, where every point was in range of a soldier's rifle, to keep in the poor reconcentrado women and children. Every railroad station was within one of tliese trochas and had an armed guai'd. Every train had an armored freight car loopholed for musketry and filled with soldiers, and with, as I observed usually, and was informed was always the case, a pilot engine a mile or so in advance. Tliere were frequent blockhouses inclosed \>\ a trocha and with a gnard along tlie railroad track. A\'itli this exception there was no hnman life oi) INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD PROCTOR or habitation between these fortiiied towns and vilhiges, and thronghout the whole of the fonr western provinces, except to a verv limited extent among the hills where the Spaniards had not been able to go and drive the people to the towns and burn their dwellings. I saw no honse or lint in the 400 miles of railroad lides from Pinar del Rio Province in the west across the fnll \vidth of Havana and Matanzas provinces, and to Sagna la Grande on the north shore, and to Cienfnegos on the sonth shore of Santa Clara, except within the Spanish troebas. There were no domestic animals or crops on the rich fields and pastnres excejit sneh as were under guard in the imme- diate vicinity of the towns. In other words, the S]')aniards held in these fonr western provinces just what their army sat on. Every man, woman, and child, and every domestic ani- mal, wherever their colnmns had reached, was under guard and within their so-called fortifications. To describe one place is to describe all. To repeat, it was neither peace nor war. It was concentration and desolation. This was the '" pacified " condition of the four western provinces. West of Ila^-ana is mainly the rich tobacco country; east, as fai' as I went, a sugar region. Xearly all the sugar mills were destroyed between Havana and Sagua. Two or three were standing in the vicinity of Sagua, and in part running, surrounded, as were the villages, by trochas and forts or pali- sades of the royal palm, and 'fully guarded. Toward and near (^ienfuegos there were more mills running, but all with the same ])rotection. It is said that the owners of these mills near Cienfnegos were able to obtain special favors of the Spanish go^'ernment in the way of a large force of soldiers, but that they also, as well as all the railroads, paid taxes to the Cubans for immunity. I had no means of verifying this. It was the common talk among those who had better means of knowl- edge. All the country people in the four western ])rovince», about 400,000 in nund)er, remaining outside the fortified INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD I'R(KT(>Ft '■\7 towns when W'cvlcf's ofilci' was iiiailc. wn-r ilri\('ii iiitu these towns, and these were tlic reconeentrados. They were the peasantry, many (d' them fanners, some landowners, otlicrs renting hinds and owning- more or less stock, others working on estates and enltivating small patches; and even a small patch in that iVuitt'ul clime will sii]t]toi't a fannly. Tt is l)nt fair to say that the normal condition of these ])e even worse. Miss Barton needs no indorsement from me. 1 had known and esteemed lier for many years, but had not half a]>pre- ciated her cajiability and devotion to her work. T specially lookeil into her business methods, fearing that tbei'c would be the greatest (hinger of mistake, that there might be want ot system and waste and extravagance, l>ut found she could teach 4:0 INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD PROCTOR me on these points. I visited the warehouse where the sup- plies were received and distributed ; saw the methods of check- ing; visited the hospitals established or organized and supplied by lier; saw the food distribution in several cities and towns, and evervthing seemed to me to be conducted in the best man- ner possible. The ample, line warehouse in Havana, owned l)y a Cuban firm, was given, with a gang of laborers, free of charge to unload and reship supplies. The Children's Hospital, in Havana, a very large, fine private residence, was hired at a cost of less than $100 per month. It was under the admirable management of Mrs. Dr. Lesser of New York, a German lady and trained nurse. T saw the rapid improvement of the first children taken there. All ]\Iiss Barton's assistants seemed excellently fitted for their duties. In short, I saw nothing to criticise, but everything to commend. The American people may be assured that their bounty reached the sufferers with the least possible cost and in the best manner in every respect. If our people could have seen the small fraction of the need they would have poured more " freely from their liberal stores " than ever before for any cause. General Blanco's order of Xovember 13tli somewhat mod- ified the Weyler order, but was of little or no practical benefit. Its application was limited to farms " properly defended," and the owners were obliged to bnild " centers of defense." Its execution was completely in the discretion of the local mili- tary authorities, and they knew the terrible military efficiency of AVeylcr's orders in stripping the country of all possible shel- ter, food, or source of information for an insurgent, and were sloAv to surrender this advantage. In fact, though the order Avas issued four months before, I saw no beneficent results from it worth mentif)ning. I wish I might speak of the country — of its surpassing richness. I havo never seen one to compare with it. On this point I agree with Colnndtns, th,;t this is the ''most rich and beautiful that ever Ininian eye beheld," and believe every INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD PROCTOR 41 one between liis time ami mine must he of the same opinion. It is indeed a land — " WluTe every prospect pleases And only man is vile." 1 had little time to study the race question, and have read nothing- on it, so can only give hasty impressions. It is said that there were nearly 200,000 Spaniards in (^iba out of a total population of 1,600,000. They lived principally in the towns and cities. The small shopkeepers in the towns and their clerks were mostly Spaniards. JMucli of tlie larger busi- ness, too, and of the property in the cities, and in a less degree in the country, was in their hands. They had an eye to thrift, and as everything possible in the way of trade and legalized monopolies, in which the country abounds, was given to them by the government, many of them acquired property. I did not learn that the Spanish residents of the islands had con- tributed largely in blood or treasure to sup})ress the insur- rection. There were, before the war, about 1,000,000 Cubans on the island, 200,000 Spaniards (wdiich means those born in Spain), and less than half a million of negroes and mixed bloods. The Cuban whites are of pure Spanish blood, and, like the Spaniards, dark in comj)lexion, but oftcnier light or blonde, so far as I noticed. The jiercentage of colored to white has been steadily diminishing for more than fifty years, and is not now over twenty-five per cent, of the total. In fact, the number of colored people has been actually dimin- ishing for nearly that time. Tlie Cuban farmer and laborer is by nature peaceal)le, kindly, gay, hospitable, light-hearted, and im])rovident. There is a proverb among the Cubans that " Spaiii>h bulls cannot be bi'cd in Cuba " — that is, the Cubans, though they are of S)»anish blood, are less exeitable and of a quieter tem- ])erament. ^lany Cubans whom T met spoke in strong terms against tlir bull tiizlit; that it was a brutal institution, iutro- ed to me by eyewitnesses and j)articij)ants in some of tlieir battles, was for the infantry, when tlircatcncd \)\ insnrgent cavalry, to form a hollow sqnare and lire away ad libilum, and without ceasing until time to march back to town. Tt did not seem to have entered the minds of cither side that a good infantry force can take care of itself and repulse anywhere an equal or greater number of cavalrv, and. there were everywhere positions where cavalry would be at a dis- advantage. Having called on Governor and Captain-General Blanco and received his courteous call in return, I could not with pro- priety seek communication with insurgents. I had plenty of offers of safe conduct to (lomoz's cam]i, and was told that if I Avouldwrite him, an answin- would be returned safely within ten days at most. I saw several who had visited the insurgent camps, and was sought out by an insurgent field officer, who gave me the best information received as to the insurgent force. His state- ments were moderate, and I was credibly informed that he was entirely reliable. He claimed that the Cubans had about 30,000 men then in the field, some in e\'ery province, but mostly in the two eastern provinces and eastern Santa Clara, and this statement was corroborated from other good sources. Thoy have a bd'cc all llic time in Havaiui province itself, or- ganized in four small brigades and (i])erating in small 1)ands. Ruiz was taken, tried, and shot within about a mile and a half of the railroad and about fifteen miles out of Havana, on the road to Matanzas, a road more traveled than any other, and which T went over four times. Aranguren was killed about three miles the other side of the road and about the same distance, fifteen or twenty miles, from Havami. The Cubans were well armed, but very poorly supplied with ammunition. They were not allowed to carry -t-t INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR KEDFIELD PROCTOR iiuiiiv ('ai'tri(li;('s; soiuetiiiK's not iiioi'c than one or two. The infantry, es])ecially, were poorly clad. Two small squads of prisoners wliicli I saw, however, one of half a dozen in the streets of Havana, and one of three on the cars, wore better clothes than the average Spanish soldier. Each of these prisoners, thongli surrounded by guards, was bound by the arm and wrists by cords, and they were all tied together by a cord running along the line, a specimen of the amenities of their warfare. About one-third of the Cuban army were colored, mostly in the infantry, as the cavalry fur- nished their own hoi'ses. 1'heir field ofllicer, an American from a Southern State, spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of these colored sol- diers ; that they were as good fighters and had more endurance than the whites; could keep up with the cavalry on a long- march and come in fresh at night. 'J'he dividing lines between parties were the straightest and clearest cut that have ever come to my knowledge. The division in our Avar was by no means so clearly defined. It was Cuban against Spaniard. It was practically the entire Cuban population on one side and the Spanish army and vSpan- ish citizens on the other. I do not count the autonomists in this division, as they were so far too inconsiderable in numbers to be worth count- ing. General Blanco filled the civil offices with men who had been autonomists and were still classed as such. But the march of events had satisfied most of them that the chance for autonomy came too late. It fell as talk of compromise would have fallen the last year or two of our war. If it succeeded it could only be by armed force, by the trium])li of the Spanish army; and the suc- cess of Spanish arms would have been easier by Weyler's policy and method, for in that the Spanish army and people believe. There is no doubt that General Blanco acted in entire good faith; that he desired to give the Cubans a fair measure of INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD PROCTOR 4o autoiiomy, as Campos did at the close of the '^('n-^'('al•s Wai-. He had, of course, a few personal lollowcrs, ]>\\\ tlic ai-uiy and the Spanish citizens did not want genuine autonomy, for that meant g-overnment by the Cuban people. And it was not strange that the Cubans said it came too late. I have never had any communication, direct or indirect, Avith the (^iban Junta in this country or any of its members, nor did 1 have with any of the juntas which exist in every city and large town of Cuba. JSTone of the calls I made were upon parties of whose sympathies I had the least knowledge, except that I kncAV some of them were classed as autonomists. Most of my informants were business men, who had taken no sides and rai-ely ex})ressed themselves. I had no moans of guessing in ad\ance what their answers would be, and was in most cases greatly surprised at their frankness. I inquired in regard to autonomy of men of wealth and men as prominent in business as anv in the cities of Havana, !Matanzas, and Sagua, bankers, merchants, lawyers, and autonomist ofHcials, some of them Spanish born but Cuban bred, one j)roniinent Englishman, several of them known as autonomists, and several of them telling me they were still believers in autonomy if ]iracticable, but without exception they replied that it was " too late " for that. Some favored a Tiiited States protectorate, some annexa- tion, some free Cuba; not one has been counted favoring the insurrection at first. They were business men and wanted peace, but said it was too late for peace under Spanish sov- ereignty. They characterized Weyler's order in far stronger terms than T can. I could not but conclude that you did not have to scratch an autonomist very dee]) to find a (^d)an. I have endeavored to state in not intemperate niDdd what I saw and heai'd, aiid to make no argument thereon, but leave everyone to draw his own con(dusions. To me the strongest appeal was not tlie barbarity |ii-act ic(Ml ly AVcyler nor the loss {' pcdplc, the entire native 4G INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR REDFIELD PROCTOR population of Cuba, struggling for freedom and deliverance from the woi'st misgovernment of which I ever had knowl- edge. I am not in favor of annexation; not because I would ap- prehend any particular troul)le from it, but because it is not wise policy to take in any people of foreign tongue and train- ing, and without any strong guiding American element. The fear that if free the people of Cuba would be revolutionary is not so well founded as has been supposed, and the conditions for good self-government are far more favorable. The large number of educated and patriotic men, the great sacrifices they have endured, the peaceable temperament of the people, whites and blacks, the wonderful prosperity that would surely come with peace and good home rule, the large influx of American and English immigration and money, would all be strong factors for stable institutions. 22 2340 41 ^^^ 42 43 44 THE STORY OF TWO WARS OUR WAR WITH SPAIN OUR WAR WITH THE FILIPINOS CHAPTER I SPANISH CHARACTER AND IHSTORY — DISCOVERY OF CUBA — EXTERMINATION OF THE NATIVES — BUILDING OF MORRO CASTLE — SPAIN BESET BY ENEMIES. Spain's Domain in the Eighteenth Century — The Decadence of a Hundred Years — Spain's Daring Explorers — Heroism and Fanaticism — Mis- taken Pohcy — Columbus Hears of Cuba — Taking Possession for Spain — Extirpating the Natives — A Long Story of Rapine, Brutality, and Insult — A Bishop's Testimony — Beginning of African Slave Trade — The World Divided — The Resistance of Chief Ilatuey — Efforts to Christianize Him before Burning Him at the Stake — Maritime Adven- turers — Growth of Spanish Settlements — Fortifjnng Havana — Build- ing of IMorro Castle — Monopolies and Restrictions — Surrender of Havana to the English — Cuba Restored to Spain. HE latter part of the eighteenth century beheld Spain the proud mistress of a domain upon which she could boast that the sun never set. At the close of the nine- teenth hardly a vestige of that great empire remained. She found a new world and, little by little, in a hundred years has lost it all. Into the Europe of the sixteenth century she poured such a stream of golden treasure as had never before been seen, the rich stores of the Incas and the Monte- zumas, but it all slipped from her hands, and she is now practi- cally bankrupt, loaded Avith a debt she can never pay. Through her was possible tho renaissance of the sixteenth (49) A. D. Worthingto]! tV Co.'s New TNfap of Puerto Eico. Flail i, Jamaica, and the- Entire Wes^ Indies. 10 II T.- 12 '3 ,,- II- 15 .» '6 17 ,„ 18 19 ,, 20 21 es 22 2 \ e. 2'^ 25 e; 26 27 ,„ 28 29 ^.°-;;;-,*i *2SNi=^<- v^/ ^^^^%ii. , _! ^ ^,.."- T^ , J s* =1..." .,is»«...t — • ^ ■ ■■ - - I'ic^j^i*^ '*'' VS'--vf°^' ""T^J"""' ''' Til i¥]B§']r i.>jj:cjes, \o "ssr Scalp, op Stai Mi \4^:l - (U.S.) p \y x|^. ._ '"^IAT 7^ A R E C I BO •:ii% jfe,^ PUERTO BICO. 10 II "• 12 13 "" 14 i5 " 16 17 "* 18 19 "" 20 2\ ■V- :^-rT- ^\ vM 50 SPAIN'S VANISHED GREATNESS century, the great reawakening of niediiioval Europe; but Sixain remained medianai. Those very human forces which she set in action by the great discoveries of her intrepid mar- iners and by the distribution of her newly -found treasures, — forces which gave birth to modern history, she strenuously re- sisted. Upon that expansion of thought and action, follow- ing naturally tlie accomplishments of her daring explorers, she set her iron lieel. She strangled her own magnificent crea- tions, and set about destroying her colonies by as heedless and as cruel a policy as was ever conceived by barbarian of old. They who discovered the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi, the Amazon, and the Pacific — they who first went around the world, were Spaniards. Three-fourths of North and South America were Spanish before England had acquired a little spot of land on the nearest shores of America, and to-day Spain has withdrawn from the last foot of land which once consti- tuted her gigantic Western domain. It would be absurd to say that this has been brought about without a reason. Sufficient reason exists, and it must to a great extent l)e found in the character of the nation. The foundation for the Spanish character, as in the case of other peoples, must be largely found i-n the history of the nation, which forms no part of the purpose of this book. For a full understanding, however, of Spain's relation to Cuba and to the United States, a brief glance at the general features of Spanish history up to the nineteenth century will be useful. Under TJoman sway Spain became, more than any part of the empire of the Ca?sars, a Homan province, traces of which remain to this day in language, laws, and customs. The Italian language preserves less of the qualities of the old Latin than the S]ianish, and certainly no more striking trace of lingering lioman habit need 1)0 sought than in the Spanish bull-fight. In the great amphitheaters erected by the masters of the Tvoman world money was lavished and victims were slain to gratify the appetite of tlie masses. The proud Koman maids and matrons watched with deliffht the fierce gladiators THE KEY TO SPANISH CHARACTER 51 Iiowiiig each othor (.. piece-, an. I in lafor and more dogoncrato days looked on with c.iuaJ Inteiv.-t whih- lidph'ss Christians were torn hy savage beasts. There are other traits than the Eonian in Spanish char- acter. As a part of the political debris resnlting from the fall (.f the Koman empire, Spain fell to the Visigoths, whose history there embraces three centuries of debauchery, intrigue, and murder, tainting the blood of the people. In time, guided' by the spirit of the age, Spain became a hierarchy, in which the influence of the church became all-powerful, the best of the Gothic kings, Wamba, who resisted this tendency, falling a prey to ecclesiastical treachery. The absorption of the state by the church became more and more complete under cen- turies of Moorish warfare, and left its indelible stamp upon the nation. For, in fighting for his faith, the Spaniard, un- like the Crusader, was fighting for his home. He became a fierce fanatic, naturally enough, no doubt, and, when Grcna.la fell, Spain at last became a nation, but a nation of fanatics. It was an age of Spanish heroism, but a heroism which went hand in hand with extravagant religious zeal. In the latter were the seeds of the ruin of the greatness of her heroism, and as soon as the vast Spanish empire was created it began to dis- integrate. If it was Ferdinand and Isabella who sent Colum- bus forth, it was they also who expelle.l the Jews, and sent two hundrc.l thousand Spaniards to death in exile. So blind was Spanish fanaticism that it was not enough to light the fires under the Jews. The Spaniard who dared to think and to tell what he thought also became a victim. The hand of the In- quisitor fell npon the pliilnsnpher and inventor wli.. came forth with the reawakening of the renaissance, and while other na- tions advanced slowly towards uio.leni ideas, Spain proudly clung to mediivvalism. The economic efi-ects of this bigotry were unmistakable. The persecuted Jews were the financiers, and, because of the improvidence of rulers and the simplicity of the people in financial matters, they possessed all the ready money. The 53 A NATION OF FANATICS hated Moors were traders who brought rich merchandise from the east, lu her religious zeal, therefore, Spain exterminated her mercantile classes and left none but warriors, priests, and peasants. The main wheel was taken out of her economic structure. The new wealth from America slipped into the hands of those she persecuted, and thus her wars of persecution impoverished her at the very time when she might have be- come the richest nation in Europe, while her further oppres- sion of her thinkers increased her bigotry and sapped her enter- prise. When there was no war on hand for the warriors, and no more heretics for the priests to burn, there was nothing left for them but intrigue. Under her various rulers this policy was continued, until, after nearly two centuries, Spain was wellnigh exhausted. She had planted her colonies all over the new world, but had neither the ability nor the resources to develop them, and in the closing years of the eighteenth cen- tury her downfall in America began. The peculiar exi- gencies of their history had made the Spanish people warriors unfitted for war, and colonists unfitted to govern colonies. With this brief generalization of Spanish history and character, we may enter understandingly upon the story of Spain in America, and particularly in the Antilles. In his conversations with the friendly natives whom Columbus found on the island of San Salvador, where he first set foot in the new wojld, he sought with eagerness to learn whence came the gold ornaments they wore. They pointed to the south, and he made out that in that direction lay a land of great extent called Cuba, and, self-deceived as he constantly was by his maps and previously-formed ideas, he immediately concluded that thi^ Cuba must be the country of the Grand Khan of Asia. Accordingly, he set sail, and in three days, or on October 28, 1492, he touched the Cuban shore not far from the present site of T^uevitas. He was dazzled by the beauty of the landscape before him and tleclared it to be " the goodliest land he ever saw." At this time Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico were A GENTLE AND TRACTABLE PEOPLE 53 inhabited by tlie Arawaks, a simple, kindly people, while in the lesser islands dwelt the more warlike Caribs. They natur- ally looked uj)on Columbus and his followers as superior beings, and, when their timidity had been removed, rendered their visitors every service in their power, and placed before them the best they had; the cotton which they had learned to rudely spin, their fruits, and everything they considered of value. Yet, in a few years, the Spaniards, with bloody hands, had swept these simple, confiding people from the face of the Antilles! We need not dwell upon the story of the cruelty of the early Spanish settlers, or tell of the thousands of defenceless people murdered and thousands carried away as slaves. It is a long story of rapine, brutality, and insult. The natives were exterminated. AVe may judge from the words of a pre- late of those days. Bishop of Chiapas, who was brave enough to protest against the abuses practiced by the Spanish coloni- zers. It throws light upon the real Spanish character. " To these quiet lambs," he wrote, " endued with such blessed qualities, came the Sj)aniards like most cruel tygres, wolves, and lions, enraged with a sharp and tedious hunger; for these forty years past, minding nothing else but the slaughter of these unfortunate wretches, whom with divers kinds of tor- ments, neither seen nor heard of before, they have so cruelly and inhumanely butchered, that of three million people which Hispaniola [Haiti] itself did contain, there are left remaining alive scarce three hundred persons. And for the island of Cuba, which contains as much ground in length as from Valla- dolid to Rome, it lies wholly desert, nntillM and ruinM." Such, then, was the condition of Cuba fifty years after that bright day wlien it burst upon the vision of Columbus, " the goodliest land " he ever saw. In this situation the idea of ini|ioiling slaves from Afriea was naturally suggested. It had been noticed that the Afri- cans who had been brought to the new colonies continued ro- bust imder the blazing sun and in the hard labor of the mines, 54 THE OWNERSHIP OF THE WORLD and thus, from a small beginning, an extensive slave trade grew up, much more lucrative than the working of the mines. But it was not the Spaniard who prospered most in this enter- prise, for soon after the discovery of America the danger that the Spanish discoveries might conflict with those of that other Catholic people, the Portuguese, Pope Alexander A-^L, while confirming the right of the Spanish crown to all the lands dis- covered, designated a line to be drawn due north and south a hundred leagues west of the Azores from one pole to the other. All pagan lands to the east of the line were confirmed to Por- tugal and all to the west of the line was to be the exclusive property of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella were commanded to appoint upright, God-fearing, skillful, and learned men to instruct the inhabitants in the Catholic faith, and all unau- thorized persons were forbidden to traffic on or even approach the territories, under penalty of incurring "■ the indignation of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul." According to this offhand arrangement no other power could have anything. This simple division of the world, therefore, gave Africa to the Portuguese, and, so far as a Papal bull could, carried with it the slave trade. But in view of its lucrative character, it soon attracted adventurous spirits of other nations, who, increasing in number and boldness, found after a few years a vast field of enterprise in all sorts of piratical under- takings. In time the Spanish islands became a swarming nest of adventurers of several nations, and as the native Indian disappeared, the black man took his place, a fact which ac- counts for the character of the population of the islands, and the black republics of Haiti and San Domingo. The native population of Haiti had become nearly ex- hausted before the settlement of Cuba was attempted, and it was because of the unsatisfactory condition of the former island that Don Diego Colnmbus, son of the great discoverer, d('t(n-niinod, in 1511, to secure a footing in the "Pearl of the Antilles." The harmless Indians offered little resistance, though one chief, named Ilatuey, who had been in Haiti and A DYING CHIEF DEFIES HIS FOES 55 knew soiiK'tliinj>- nf the Sj)aiiisli practices lliere, attempted some opixisition. lie was (piicklv ca|)tMred and his followers wei'i' (lis])('rsc(l. As a liii;h cliicr among his people he de- served to be treated as an honorable captive, but his death may be cited as the first instance of Spanish methods npon the island. As the story goes, when Ilatney was tied to the stake and the fagots were piled around him, a Franciscan friar stood by and besonght liim to adjure the heathen gods of his ances- tors and accept the true faith so tliat, as the flames consumed his body, his soul might be wafted to that heaven of rest and happiness pi-epared fur the faithful. Tie saw that his accept- ance of the new faith would not save him from the flames, and so he asked if there were any Spaniards in that place of eternal bliss. Of course the friar prom})tly answered in the affirma- tive. " 1 will not go," he said, " to a place where I may meet on(> of that accursed race." Pai'ties from the new colony puslu'd out and explored the island thoroughly, and in ir)14 the towns of Santiago and Trinidad on the south coast were formed, largely for the pur- pose of facilitating communication Avith the Spanish on the island of Jamaica. The next year another settlement was made at the spot now known as l>atabano, and it was named, after the great discoverer, San Cristobal de la ITabana. Four year< later the settlers removed both the town and its name to a more attractive place just across the island on the north shore, and here, in time, grew up the present capital. The waters of the West Indies soon became a rendezvous of all the marilime adventurers of that ruffiaidy age. The other nations had never acce]ited the Pope's straight-cut division of the world whereby Sjiain was generously given the whole Westci'ii IIcmis])here, and Knglaud opi^dy disj)Uted it. Little was done l>y the governments llicmselves, however, so long as they were at peace with Sjiain. but the continued stories of treasure shipped from the new lands stirred r.p a Ix^st of in- dividual corsairs who cared nothing for papal boundaries. 56 HAVANA A COMMERCIAL CENTER In 1516 the capital of Cuba had been moved from Baracoa to Santiago, and Spain began to take precautions against the new marauders of the sea, who, however, became more numer- ous and bold, as the natives, in their intense hostility to the Spaniards, encouraged and even assisted them. It was well into the eighteenth century, and after the English, French, and Dutch had established themselves in the West Indies, that the freebooters were finally driven from the seas. In 1551 the capital was transferred to Havana, which had been growing in importance because of its commanding situa- tion, good harbor, and fertile surroundings. In the wars of Charles I. of Spain and his son Philip II., the English under Drake again threatened the port, and the Spaniards deter- mined to increase the fortifications. This gave rise to the famous Morro Castle and the Bateria de la Punta, which for a long time made Havana one of tlie best fortified ports in the world. 'Ridley were begun the year after the destruction of the famous Armada and completed in 1597, and from that time Havana was the commercial center of the Spanish dominions, being the stopping place for the treasure ships bearing gold and silver from ]\rexico and other colonies. Notwithstanding the complicated relations of the Euro- pean powers during the war of the Spanish Succession with which the eighteenth century opened, Cuba was left compara- tively free from strife, but it was not long before there came the first serious trouble between the Cuban colonists and the mother country. By the time of the Treaty of Utrecht, by which the Hapsburg rule in Spain was ended, the island had become well settled and the agTicultural products of the in- terior made a large showung beside the gold and silver of the other Spanish-American colonies. In 1717 a new policy was inaugurated by which the growing tobacco trade was made a government monopoly. Its enforcement was violentl}^ re- sisted and resulted in many collisions between the government forces and the people; It was but another incident in the re- strictive policy of Spain which finally entirely undermined MORKO CASTl.E SIKKKNDERS 57 her power over her colonies. The magnificent harbors of Cuba could be entered only by stealth or force except by the monopoly vessels. As Spain was in no condition to be a large purchaser, the production of the island was strangled and the fanners barely more than lived on what they produced. The restrictions imposed upon trade with Cuba gave rise to systematic smuggling by British tia(U'rs in Jamaica, and the constant friction finally resulted in the Anglo-S2>anish war of 1739, which ended with a general European war in 1748. In the decade that followed, the smuggling trade in Cuba grew (»ut of all control of the tobacco monopoly, and a system of fanning out the revenues to private monopolists was substituted. But this only led to further trouble. The expansion of British trade in the Indies led to the Bourbon compact to put a check to it, and war began in 17C2. An English fleet consisting of forty-four men-of-war and 150 other vessels under Admiral Pocock took Havana in June of that year, and an army of about 15,000 men under Lord Albe- marle began the siege of the Spanish garrison numbering 27,- 000 under Governor Porto Carrero. The resistance was stub- born, but Morro Castle surrendered on July oOth, and the city on August 13th. The treasure wliieli fell to the Knglish was enormous. Over three and a half million dollars was divided among them. The English continued to hold the city till early the following year, when, under the terms of the treaty of Paris, the island was restored to Spain in return for the cession of Florida to England. Dui-ing their occu])ation of Tlavana the Knglish had opened tlie port to free commerce, and wlien tlie Spanish again took hold of the island they found it impossible to reimjwse the old restrictions in all their rigor. Many of the former limitations of the commerce of the island with the home eoinitrv were removed, and the island made a rapid material advance. In 1777 Cuba was given a more ind(^pendent colonial gx)vernment under the control of the Captain-den- eral, whose power was, however, practically absolute and 58 REGAINING LOST POSSESSIONS fraught with the seeds of the woes of the Cubans in after years. At the time this change was made England was engaged in a struggle with its American colonies, and the Bourbon monarchies of France and Spain availed themselves of the op- portunity to get even with their old enemy, France joined the American colonists and Spain took up a campaign in her own behalf, regaining the island of Minorca and several smaller West Indian isles which had been wrested from her. Other European powers maintained an attitude favorable to Spain, and by the treaty of Versailles in 1783 Spain regained Florida. England had lost her American colonies, with the exception of Canada and some of her West Indian possessions. CHAPTER II SPAIN AT THE FEET OF NAPOLEON — HER DISASTROUS AND DISGRACEFUL FAILURES — ExVRLY RELATIONS BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. Napoleon's Ambition to Malie Sjiain a Subject Kingdom — Ferdinand's Intrigues — Joseph Bouapar.e on the Throne — Fall of Napoleon and Restoration of Ferdinand — Revolt against Spain — Mexico and South American Colonies Become Independent — Spain's Weakness and Cruelty — Always Failed to Restore Her Flag When Once Torn Down — A Policy Culminating in Disaster and Disgrace — Spain's Possessions in Washington's Time — Owning Over Two-thirds of What Now Constitutes the United States — Spain Secretly Cedes Louisiana to Napoleon — Jefferson's Diplomacy — Napoleon Offers to Sell Louisiana — The Treaty Signed — Dispute Over Florida Boundaries — End of a Long Struggle. THROUGHOUT the eighteenth century Spain and France, under Bourbon rulers, had regarded them- selves as natural allies, but this alliance in the end had much to do with the ruin of Spain. In 179G a war broke out with Great Britain which was productive of nothing but disaster to the Spaniards. By pressure of France another arose in 1804 which was attended with similar ill-success, and in the battle of Trafalgar Spain lost a great part of that fleet which she needed for the maintenance of her American colonies. Napoleon had already conceived the idea of mak- ing Spain a subject kingdom with one of his own family on the throne, and he had nothing but contempt for its Bourl)on ruler, although he pretended to be a faithful ally. IMcanwhile, Ferdinand, the presumptive heir to the Sp;inish tlirone, was weakly intriguing to displace his fatlier. He became sub- servient to Napoleon, who cultivated his intrigues without hav- ing the least idea of making him King. Finally, Ferdiuan 1 (•'59) GO napoleon's designs upon the SPANISH THRONE who was liked by the people, compelled his father to abdicate, but, lured over the border at this critical moment by JSTapo- leon's agents, he found himself a prisoner and compelled by Napoleon to renounce all claims to the Spanish throne before he had had an opportunity to occupy it. The same year Joseph Bonaparte was prevailed upon by his brother to take the crown, and he was declared King of Spain and the Indies. But before he had reached Madrid, the country had arisen, the various provinces electing junias or councils to administer affairs and resist ISTapoleon's purposes. That mighty struggle during which Napoleon overran Spain, and which he acknowledged to have been one of the main causes of his ultimate downfall, is a thrilling page of his- tory, but it concerns this story only as it affected Spain's re- lations to her American colonies. Napoleon's fortunes de- clined, and, pressed by his enemies, he again negotiated with Ferdinand, who still seemed subservient, though the French Emperor had so recently and so cruelly deceived him. Na- poleon believed that Ferdinand, as King, might be a pliant tool, for Joseph had left Spain in disgust. But the imjoerial prestige was broken, and early in 1814 Napoleon was com- pelled to abdicate. Ferdinand had already returned to Spain, where he was welcomed by the people, who hoped that he would resume the throne and take up the reins of power under the constitution of 1812. But Ferdinand quickly abrogated that apparent guarantee of liberal government, together with all the acts of the Cortes, the legislative body of Cadiz, and proceeded to set up an absolute monarchy on the old lines, recalling the Papal nuncio and re-establishing the Inquisition, With astonishing ingratitude he broke his most solemn pledges and fell under the direction of priests and nobles and of a set of vulgar flatterers and favorites. These domestic affairs of Spain had an important effect upon the American colonies. There were two Spanish vice- royalties in South America — that of Lima, which comprised the countries now known as Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa SPANISH-AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS Gl Ivica, and the Guianas, and that of IJucnos Ayrcs, which in- cluded, besides the present Argentine Ivepubiic, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, and the untraversed wastes of Pata- gonia. Mexico, which was known as New S})ain, and coni- j)rised a large territory extending to what is now the southern limit of Oregon, was also a vice-royalty. The revolts and revolutions in each of these provinces had nuui}' features in common. It has been said that the history of one is the his- tory of all; and it is true that from 1808 to 1821 all were in revolt against Spain, their revolutions following each other in rapid succession. It is not strange that their history had so much in common, for all had been the victims of a long oppression of the mother country, and the political aspirations of their j)eople were simultaneously stirred when Spain lay at the feet of Napoleon, and liberal ideas were everywhere noticeable as a result of the revolutions in America and France. Ferdinand's restoration of absolutism and oppression, therefore, naturally led to their revolt. Everywhere the people rose in arms against their oppressors. New acts of cruelty but added fuel to the fire of revolt, and new heroes took the ])lace of the slain. Mexico, richest of Spain's possessions, won its independence, and the South American possessions, under the gallant leadership of Bolivar and San Martin, conquered the tyrant and constituted themselves republics. In all these struggles Spain showed her weakness, hor cruelty, and her stu])idity. From the time of Philip II. to the present day Spanish Heets have taken the sea only to be beaten, and Spanish ships have seldom opened fire except to be sunk. The overwhelming disaster which overtook the Armada was but the beginning; Trafalgar was but an incident in the long history of Sj)ain's downfall. AVlien the colonists rose in in- surrection, shf tlircw hcv fleets upoii all the seaports in tiu-ii — Vera Cruz, Caracas, Buenos Ayres, Val]>araiso, Valdivia, Callao. In not a single instance did her squadrons accom- plish anything, nor did they retard the progress of the insur- G2 ACQUISITION OF NEW TERRITORY gents for a single day. By spitefnl bombardments slie occa- sionally destroyed some lives and property, but never could she restore the Spanish ilag to the forts from whicdi it had once been torn, nor could she inspire among the rebels any terror of the Spanish name. The whole record of her colonial man- agement is an unbroken chronicle of imbecility, cruelty, injus- tice, and truculence, culminating in disaster and disgrace. We Avill now trace the movements by which the young republic of the United States became possessed of the richest portion of that great domain which in the sixteenth century Spain's daring discoverers had laid at her feet. It marks the beginning of those relations between the United States and Spain which culminated in the recent war. When George AVashington was president more than two- thirds of the great domain which now constitutes our Union belonged to Spain. Because the government of the United States acquired the larger part of this vast territory in a peace- ful manner the fact does not occupy a conspicuous place in our histories. But in a study of the previous relations of this country with Spain, and of the gradual decline of Spain's power on this side of the Atlantic, the fact becomes interesting and important. During the administration of Washington, and also of John Adams, the great territory west of the Mississippi from its mouth to its headwaters was Spain's. Originally settled by France, it fell to Spain through the treaty of 1763, fol- lowing the Seven-Years War. England laid some claim to that part of it which now comprises the States of Washington and Oregon, but it was not deemed valid, and the whole region was an unknown wilderness waiting for the nineteenth cen- tury to unfold its wonderful resources. In addition to this Florida belonged to Spain, together Avith a strip of land ex- tending along the gulf coast to the mouth of the Mississippi, and known as West Florida. During the struggle of the American colonies for their in- dependence, Spain held aloof for some time, though largely AN IMPORTANT TIIEATV 03 out of revenge upon the English she rendered lis some ma- terial assistance on the Mississippi, allowing us in the first stress of the war to obtain powder from her stores at New Or- leans. But soon after the war was over Spain became so arro- gant over the Florida boundaries and caused so much inter- ference with our navigation of the Mississippi that the people of the United States clamored for redress in war. In October, 1795, or during the second administration of AVashington, Thomas Pinckney arranged a treaty with the ]\radri(l government establishing as boundaries of the United States, East and West Florida on the south at 31° North latitude, and on the west the middle of the Mississippi River above that latitude. What was regarded as the most impor- tant and advantageous part of the instrument was a recogni- tion bv Spain of the right of the United States to navigate the Mississippi, with a privilege of deposit at the port of JSTew Or- leans, free of dutv. But the conviction that the Mississippi River and 31° North latitude were not the natural boundaries of the new re- public began to manifest itself soon after peace was restored with (Treat Britain, and this feeling was expressed in occa- sional propositions for invading Spanish territory. The deca- dence of Spain was already well under way. The colonists in her territories everywhere were misgoverned and oppressed, and dissatisfaction prevailed. In this situation Francisco Miranda, a South American revolutionist, secretly worked upon the British ministry to promote a joint expedition for a movement upon Louisiana, Great Britain to furnish the navy, and the United States the army. Our relations with France went from bad to worse, and war seemed at hand, and, after the failure of our special mission to Paris, Hamilton became com- mitted to the schcmo of liberating S))anish America if the T^iiiteil States could be tlie i)i-inci|i:il ;ii:-ency and furnish the whole land force. Miranda wrote to Hamilton that England would co-operate as soon as the United States was prepared. " All is ready," he said, " for your President to give the word." 64 ALLIANCE OF FRANCE AND SPAIN But President Adams was not inclined to favor the project, as, like Washington, lie disliked forcible conquests or foreign al- liances. When Thomas Jefferson became President Spain was still a faithful ally of France. It was a part of Napoleon's design to re-establish French influence in American territory, partly for the greater security of the French possessions in the West Indies. In October, 1800, in a secret treaty by which he promised to secure for Spain the recognition of the King of Tuscany by all the powers of Euroj^e, he obtained from her the cession of Louisiana, and soon took steps to send an expe- dition to take possession of the colony. Meanwhile, the United States, being outraged by Spain's repeated violations of her treaty as to free navigation of the Mississippi, made preparations to attack New Orleans, but soon after Jefferson's inauguration information concerning Napoleon's secret treaty reached our government through our minister at London, and the project was abandoned. The new treaty was anything but agreeable to the people of the United States. The administration felt that under the control of Spain, which was on the road to decay, the United States might confidently await the time when the territory could be easily secured. But with the French, under a ruler who contem- plated universal empire, in control of Louisiana, the case was different. The possessor of the mouth of the Mississippi, Jef- ferson wrote to Livingston, our minister at Paris, would of necessity become the natural and habitual enemy of the United States. Livingston's instructions in taking the French mission were to dissuade France from acquiring Louisiana if possible,, and, if not, to procure a cession to the LTnited States of the- Floridas and New Orleans. Meanwhile, the King of Spain informed the Intcndant of Louisiana of its cession to France,, and he was instructed to make arrangements for its delivery to the French government. In pursuance of this order, or, perhaps, upon some misconception of his duties, he ordered the; LOUISIANA SOLD TO THK UNITED STATES 05 port of New Orleans closed as a place of deposit for merchan- dise, a privilege which our treaty with Spain had guaranteed. As a result the })ruduct of a large part of the United States could find no outlet. The people in the western section of the country were greatly stirred by this act, and Hamilton was in favor of seizing New Orleans and the Floridas at once and negotiating afterwards. But Jefferson was disposed to con- tinue his diidonuitic efforts, though they were not succeeding well. Livingston strove in vain to gain the favor of Xapoleon, who was rapidly fitting out a large expedition to take possession of the new territory. Jefferson appointed Monroe a special minister to act with Livingston, but by the time he had reached France a great change suddenly came over ^N'apoleon. The order for the sailing of the expedition was counternuinded, and Livingston was surprised to find himself in high favor in the court. The cause of this was a sudden threatening of a renewal of hostilities of France with Great Britain. ISTapoleon had charged the Bi'itish with perfidy, and George III. had retorted in kind. The English ambassador was openly affronted at tlie Tuileries, and both governments prejiared for war. Xapoleon saw that if he continued in his scheme for Louisiana, the Lhiited States would become an ally of Great Britain, and, moreover, he needed money. The result was that he at once ;nithoi'i/.ed the sale not only of New Orleans but of Louisiana. Tn this situation the sale was quickly arranged, and the famous treaty was signed ^^fay 2, 1803, the L'nited States ministers dining amicably with the Consul, who but a short time before would luirdly r('Cogniz(> tlicni. By this trc^aty the Unitcil States became a vast empire with immunity from dangerous neighbors, securing for about three cents an acre a domain whicli has yielded almost incalculable wealth. Thus Spain lost her hold on the richest part of the American hemisphere. Tn February, 1810, n treaty was signed by Adams and the Spanish minister in bclialf of their respective governments, whereby Spain ceded to the Ignited States all territory east 6fi CESSION OF THE FLORIDAS of the Mississipiji known as East and West Florida, with ad- jacent islands, for five million dollars. West of the Mississippi the new boundary began at the mouth of the Sabine Kiver, now the eastern boundary line of Texas, running north by that river to 32° North latitude, thence north to the Red River, thence west along that river to 100° West longitude, thence north to the Arkansas River, thence westerly along this river through what is now Kansas and Colorado to 106° West longitude, thence north to 42° North latitude, and thence westerly on the line which is now the northern boundary of Utah, Nevada, and California, to the Pacific. All the terri- tory left to Sj^ain, including what are now Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California, with jiarts of Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming, were in open revolt against a country whose tyranny was rapidly despoiling her of all the gains of the sixteenth century. The treaty was at once ratified by the United States gov- ernment in anticipation of its speedy ratification by the Cortes, but the unreliability of Spanish character again manifested itself. In view of the natural sympathy of the people of the United States for the rebellious colonists of South and Central America, it became difficult for the government of the United States to preserve a strict neutrality in these revolutions. Ferdinand feared that if he ratified the Florida treaty the United States would recognize the belligerents, and so he held off, though France, England, and Russia urged him to ap- prove. Pressed for a decisive answer, he offered only mysteri- ous excuses. Congress was disposed to require the executive to take possession of the Floridas at once, but the administra- tion still treated Spain with undeserved forbearance. Finally, in February, 1821, when Ferdinand's throne was threatened by his owm people, and South America had thrown off the yoke, the treaty was ratified and the long series of negotiations as to Spanish America was brought to a close. From this time forward our relations with S^iain chi'^A-y concern the history of Cuba. CHAPTER III "THP: EVER-FAITIIFL'L ISLE ' — SPAIN'S SECRET ATTEMPTS TO SELL CUBA TO FRANCE — THE HOLY ALLIANCE AND THE FAMOUS MONROE DOCTRINE. Cuba's Peculiar Position — Importance of Havana — An Early Cause of Ill-feeling — Cubans Remain Faithful to Ferdinand — Aponto's Uprising — iVgitation for the Suppression of the Slave Trade — Favorable Influ- ence of English Intervention in Cuba — "A Softer Word for Despot- ism " — Help for the Bigoted Ferdinand — Discord in Cuba — Adams's Advice to President Monroe — The Famous iMonroe Doctrine — Retreat of the Holy Alliance — The Captain-General Endowed with Extraordi- nar}' Authority — Powers Misused and Unrest Fostered — The "Black Eagle" — Discord Among the Planters — Inauguration of Spanish Venality in Cuba — No Reforms for Poor Cuba — Spanish Treasury Depleted — The Queen's Plan to Secretly Sell Cuba to France — Class Hatred Grows in Cuba. DUKINCl tlio troublous years of the disastrous reign of Ferdinand, the province wliieli, Locansc of the fail- tire of all effortvS to plant the seed of liberal govern- ment in her soil, obtained the title of '' The Evcr-faithfid Isle," maintained a position pecnliarly her own. Pni'ing the last years of the eighteenth century Cuba, under the rule of a few wise governors, advanced rapidly in material resources, and the jjoi'ts of ira\'aiia and Santiago were opened to free com- merce, excepting the slave trade, and a few minor productions. At the close of the century Havana was the most important city in America. Of the governors, none were more wise and ])rogressive than Luis d(> las Casas, who imparted a new impulse to commerce and agriculture, and inaugurated a series of im- ]X)i'tant ])ubHc woi-ks. lie took nn active interest not only in relieving the reiunant of the native ludiau< from slavery, but in developing the military defences of the ishuid. AVhen Napoleon jdaced his brother on the throne of Spain, 5 (G7) 68 CUBA'S LOYALTY TO SPAIN and the Spanish, seeing themselves cheated and humiliated, roi^e in a sort of helpless frenzy, the condition of affairs in Cuba was greatly changed. England, which had long been an enemy of Spain, now became her ally. English fleets, instead of threatening Cuban waters, now aided in extending its com- merce. When the news of the captivity of Ferdiuand reached Cuba, the colonists, irrespective of any party divisions, refused to recognize Joseph Bonaparte. The divisions be- tween the Cubans and the Spaniards were for the moment lost sight of, and the people contributed men, money, and material to assist the Junta of Seville, which proclaimed equal rights for all Spaniards, both at home and in the colonies. The hopes of the Cubans rose high, but the Junta proved itself too closely bound to the colonial monopolies to allow of a liberal consideration of colonial rights, and the Cubans were o-reatly disappointed. During the years when Spain was los- ino- her colonies in South America, many loyal Spaniards took refuge in Cuba, and, while the population was increased, and the islands became the most important of Spain's colonies, the presence of so many Spaniards naturally contributed to strengthen the reaction which followed the restoration of the ' despotic Ferdinand. When, after the capture of Seville, the Spanish con- stituent Assembly was called to frame a constitution for the Spanish monarchy, the colonies were invited, and Cuba was represented by three deputies, the small proportion being the cause of considerable discontent. The Constitution of If-!12 became only another factor in the discontent, for though the pleas of the Cuban planters prevented the adoption of the clause for the abolition of slavery in Cuba after ten years, the rumors of the failure led to serious uprisings among the slaves, led by Jose Aponto, a free negro. But the insurrection was quickly put down and the leaders executed as usual. In 1817 arose the agitation for the suppression of the slave trade in Cul)a. The importation of negroes into slavery had been interdicted by Denmark in 1792, by England and the THE SLAVE TRADE MADE ILLEGAL 69 United States in l.'^OT, hv Sweden in isl.",, aiid by Holland and I-'raiice in ]S1 1, and as Kii<;laii posed, not so much by the Cuban planters as by the slave- trading interests, and for years after the interdiction ship- loads of slaves were either smuggled in or their entrance con- nived at by the Spanish authorities. To compensate Cuba for the supposed loss of commerce from the interdiction, and in the hopes that it might have a beneficial effect upon the revolting South American provinces, which Sjiain expected then to recover, she consented to have Cuban ports opened to unrestricted commerce, and encouraged immigration to the islands. In short, owing to the favorable influence of English intervention, ('uba made a distinct gain at this time. But it was the forerunner of that long and troubled period in which the Cubans and the Spaniards stood face to face in an attitude of bitter hatred and hostility. It was in 1820 that the standard of revolt was raised in Spain by Eiego and Quiroga against the cruel absolutism of Ferdinand. The movement quickly spread, and in a short time the constitution of 1812 was again proclaimed and Ferdi- nand w'as compelled to accept it. But the Captain-General who had been sent out to Cuba two years before attempted to delay its re-establishment in the island. ]le was overborne by the garrison of the city, a part of which at once pronounced for the liberal order of things, and they were joined by the Cubans. A conflict w^as for the time avoided by the yielding of the Ca]itain-General. The succeeding governors of the island endeavored to restrain the new tendency, and to unite 70 FORMATION OF THE HOLY ALLIANCE the civil and military power in the hands of the Captain-Gen- eral in ojiposition to the constitution, and thus a bitter feeling was gradually aroused between the Spanish troops under his ininicdiate command, and the local militia who supported the Cubans. Secret societies began to take root in the island, and thus the two elements of the population, those support- ing the constitution and mostly native Cubans on the one hand, and the adherents of absolutism on the other, gradually took sides in opjDosing organizations. But while these forces were arraying themselves in Cuba the constitution Avas again broken down in Spain, this time by France under the behest of the Holy Alliance. The great ruling houses of Continental Europe, strong upholders of absolute monarchial institutions and the divine right of kings, had naturally become alarmed over the sudden unfolding of free institutions in the Americas and the develop- ing weakness of the Bourbon throne of Spain. In 1815 the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia had formed the Holy Alliance, its avowed jmrpose being to maintain as a Christian doctrine that sovereign right of legitimacy which Henry Clay in one of his speeches expressed as " a softer word for despotism." The Alliance proceeded to put its foot upon liberal ideas in government wherever they were found. Nat- urally, it turned to help the bigoted Ferdinand, and the country was handed over to ten years more of tyranny. In 1823 Ferdinand, now more arrogant than ever, set about to carry out the plan of the Holy Alliance, which was to use Cuba as an arsenal and vantage point for the subjugation of the newly-established South American republics. But at this point our ministers in Europe became aware that the Holy Alliance had a much more ambitious and sweeping project in mind than the assistance of Ferdinand. It was, in fact, a ])lan for the combination of monarchial Europe to throttle indopendcnce of spirit in South America. In this situation England and the United States drew closer together for the time, though the former had not yet recognized the new THE GIST OP THE MONROE DOCTRINE 71 South American republics. John Quincj Adams, then Sec- retary of State, strongly advised President Monroe not to join with Kng'land in a protest against the projects of the Alliance in South America, but to make liis annual message to Con- gress a declaration of what would be the position of the United States if the Alliance undertook to carry out its plans. Mon- roe acted on the advice, though with some reluctance, it is said, and inserted those passages which were destined to be- conu> famous as " the Monroe doctrine." After referring in the first part of his message to certain negotiations then in progress between Knssia and this government coneernmg rights in the far northwest, he said: " Tlie occasion has been judged proper for asserting as a principle in wliich the riglits and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition vhich tliey have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European pmrer." That is the gist of the Monroe doctrine. Monroe continued with some forcible words in explanation of this position, and [daiidy intimah-d that any attempt on the part of \\\c Euro- pean governments to interfere with the independence of the new rejjublics would be considered as an unfriendly act, dangerous to our peace and safety'. In England, where the purpose of the Holy Alliance was understood, the jMonroe declaration was applauded as a bold assertion of American sj)irit. The Alliance drew back, and its interference with the new republics was thus prevented. In ^Fay, 1825, Ferdinand endowed Captain-General Vives with those extraordinary powers which for years renmined the su])reme law of Cuba. Threatened by a revolution of the natives, and by attacks fi-om Mexico and Co](^ud>ia, and fearing the designs of the United States, he resolved, " for the important end of preserving in that precious island his legitimate sovereign authority," to give to the Captain-Gen- eral all tlie powers whieli by the royal ordinances were granted to the governors of besieged cities, lie, therefore, granted " the most ample and unbounded power, to send away from 72 THE "black eagle" the island any persons in ofiice, whatever tlieir occupation, rank, class, or condition, whose continuance therein " the Cap- tain-General might deem injurious, replacing them with per- sons faithful to his majesty. He was also granted the ]30wer to susjiend the execution of any order whatsoever. From that day the Captain-General was, in effect, the absolute ruler of the island, the one essential being that he please his king. He became a military dictator, and the degree of his despo- tism depended only upon his character and disposition. JSTat- urally, the sovereign appointed none but those whom he be- lieved to be thorough Spaniards, and thus it happened that many of the governors misused their enormous powers, widen- ing the breach between the islanders and the peninsulars, and causing that very unrest which the grant of authority was in- tended to repress. As under strict military supervision, with a large army constantly on hand, uprisings had little chance of success un- less operated from outside, Cuban exiles everywhere became constant conspirators. In Mexico and Colombia they or- ganized, in 1827, a secret society called the '" Black Eagle,'' and in a short time its ramifications extended into many Cuban cities and towns. The watchful military forces had no diffi- culty in finding the main conspirators on the island, and a large number of them were condemned to death, the rest to exile, though the Captain-General was wise enough, in view of the growing discontent, to mitigate these sentences in many cases. Vives used his powers with much discretion, but under his successor, Mariano Iticafort, venality and corruption be- came more and more manifest, large sums of money wrung from the Cubans l>y taxation finding their way into the pockets of minor officials instead of into public works or into the Span- ish treasury. Early in the constitutional history of the United States, the acquisition of Cuba had been regarded as desirable if only as a strategic point. " I candidly confess," wrote Jefferson to President Monroe OPINIONS OF JEFFERSON AND EVERETT 73 in 1 823, " thill 1 luivc ever lodkcd iit ( 'iili;i ;i^ t lie iii(»sl iiitorest- iiii;- aiKlitidii tli;it (•ouM l)c iikkIc tu <»ur s_\stciii ol States. The control which, with Florida roiiit, this ishiiid would give us over the (Julf of Mexico and the countries and the isthmus bordering it, would fill up the measure of our political well- being." This theory grew naturally out of the consideration of the geographical position of the island. *' Our safety from this danger," that is, the control of the (iulf by a hostile power, wrote Alexander Hill P]verett, our Minister to Spain from 1825 to 1829, in a letter to President Adams, '' has, I believe, long been considered as resulting wholly from the feebleness and insutb'cicncy of Spain; and it has been viewed by all as a settleil point that the American government would not consent to any change in the political situation of Cuba other than one which would place it under the jurisdiction of the United States." He considered it highly important that the United States sliould at once endeavor to obtain possession of the island in a peaceable way. " If they do not succeed in this," he said, " it is morally certain that they will be forced, at no very distant period, to effect the same object in a more invidious manner and "at the risk of embroiling themselves with some of the great powers of Europe." He then asked that he might be favored with instructions with a view to negotiations on the basis he proposed, which was, in effect, to offer Spain, then in desperate straits financially, a considerable loan on con- dition of a temporary cession of the island as security. If the loan was not repaid within a specified time, the United States should assume entire and iindisiiute*! ownersliip of ('ul>a. Henry Clay, then Secretary of State, said in a letter to Everett that same year, the United States were satisfied w'ith the existing condition of ( ^d)a and Puerto Tiico in the hands of Sj)ain and with their poi'ts open to free connnerce, but he in- timated that if war should continue between Spain and the new South American republics, or there should be danger of Cuba falling into other hands, the United States would not be disinterested spectators. 74 SPANISH POSSESSIONS IN THE MARKET AVhile this was the position of the administration, it was not the position of the inhabitants of the Southern States. Shivery then dominated the sentiments of the South, and, much as it woukl have liked to have the United States acquire Cuba as new shive territory, Cuban independence woukl have been considered undesirable and unsafe. In writing to Van N^ess, minister to Spain in 1829, President Van Buren said that " other considerations connected with a certain class of our population make it the interest of the Southern sectio^i of the Union that no attempt should be made in that island to throw off the yoke of Spanish dependence, the first effect of which would be the sudden emancipation of a numerous slave popu- lation, the result of which could not but be very sensibly felt upon the adjacent shores of the United States." Thus it was that because of the growing predominance of pro-slavery con- trol, even tlien threatening disunion, the government of the United States threw its influence in favor of the Spaniards. "While boasting of our freedom, our interests in slavery made us partisans of Spanish oppression. In 1S30, when the Spanish treasury was sadly depleted, the Queen conceived the idea of selling Cuba to France, and even the Philippines, and she commissioned a Spanish banker at Paris to sound Prince Talleyrand upon the subject. The Queen then despatched Campuzano to Paris to represent the crown in the business, but he was heartily ashamed of his mission; an attempt to deprive Spain of nearly all that re- mained of her once great American empire. lie undertook the oflfice only because he feared that if he declined it, it might fall to some of the Queen's favorites, who would seek nothing but the personal pecuniary advantage to be derived from it. At a meeting with Talleyrand, when the secret agreement to be signed l)y the King of France and the Queen Pegent of Spain was being read, Campuzano is described by Talleyrand's secretary as being deeply affected. The propo- sition from the Spanish ruler was so monstrous and l)ase that he struck the table a heavv blow with his fist and nuittcred a ANGER OF THE C^UEEM's AGENT 75 curse. Christina proposed for a consideration of 30,000,000 reals (about $3,500,000) to IihihI Ciilia over to France, and for 10,000,000 reals more to i;iv(' up Puerto llico and the Philippines. The Queen's plan woulil \u[\kc it necessary for France to raise a loan. Out of the loan the banker would receive large commissions, while the sum of 1,000,000 francs was to be offered to Prince Talleyrand, and ;>00,000 francs were to be distributed as bribes and commissions to other peoi)le whose support might be essential. W'lien, a few days later, the parties met in the King's cabinet to sign the contract, Cam- puzano could hardly control himself, so disgusted was he with the business which seemed to l)e working to a successful con- clusion. The article on Cuba hardly provoked any discus- sion, but when it came to the Philippines, Louis Philippe thought he saw an opportunity for driving a bargain. lie remarked that the cession of the Philippines to France would be so obnoxious to England that serious complications, if not war, might result. He therefore demanded a lower price on the Philippines, and pushing the contract acnxss the table to Campuzano, exclaimed imperiously : " The reduction of price 7nust be accepted. The terms are too onerous. Seven million reals is my offer, or else the con- tract must be thrown into the fire." Talleyrand, who knew how disgusted Campuzano was with the whole business, and who fearcnl that the King's move might s]K)il the lucrative job, stretched out his hand to pick up the paper and was about to speak, when Cami)u/auo, starting up quickly, ]eanesiti(»n to acMpiire Cnha Itv pnrcliase or otherwise was widely disenssed in the I'nited States, and duriui;' the ^lexican war, whicli fixed the l)onndarv of Texas and hrong'ht (California into the I'nion as a free state, the strenii'tli of the ('uhaii idea incrra-ed I'apidly. 'I'hc shtvc- hohlers liad heconic <:r('ally concerned o\-er the anti-slavery agitation, and the\- looked to < 'uha as a means (d" e^tahlishing the eqiulilii'inni of sectional ^ticniilli. In l'^I>', ther(dore, niieluuutn, Secretai'V of State niiani>h g'ov- ennnent throiiiih the American ^linister at Madi'id, who was instrncted to point onl to Spain that she was in danger of losing Cnha i>y revohition, and that it nnght he wiested from her by Great Britain if a rnptnre came in theii- relations. The min- ister was atithori/.ed |., p;iy :is mndi a- $ 1 co.odo.oiHl. ;ii:d the treaty shonld he modeled np^n thai i>f the Loni^iina pnrcdiase. 78 Lopez's expeditions frustrated But the refusal of Spain to entertain tlie proposition put an end to the project, and the growth of the anti-slavery sentiment led many of the slaveliolders to lend support to violence in the shape of filibustering expeditions. The Cuban liberals, unable to carry on their revolutionary movements at home because of the military vigilance of the Spanish authorities, turned to the United States as a place to organize their movements. In May, 1847, I^arciso Lopez, who had formed a conspiracy for a rising in central CHiba, was de- tected and fled to the United States. During the following- year he formed an association of Cuban fugitives in l^ew York, and in 18-i9, after the failure of Buchanan's negotiations, Lo- pez organized a military expedition and induced many promi- nent southern citizens to become interested in it. The attempt was frustrated by the vigilance of President Taylor, who had succeeded Polk, and who issued a warning proclamation. The second and third attempts were more serious. In April, 1850, Lopez sailed from ISTew Orleans with about three hundred men under his command, and, after baffling one of our naval vessels which was seut to interce])t the expedition, he landed at Cardenas, overcame the Spanish guards, and took posses- sion. But the spirit of revolution was not at that moment ripe in the cities of Cuba, and Lopez, finding himself unsup- ported and unable to reach the rural districts, was soon driven from the island l»y the government troops. He took refuge in Savannah, wdiere he was arrested for violating our neutral- ity laws, but was quickly discharged. Lopez was not in the least daunted and he saw that he had the sympathy of a large portion of the southern people. En- couraged by some revolutionary manifestations in Cuba in 1851 he hastened to Xew Orleans and organized a new; force of al)0ut 450 men, draining as before upon the purses of zealous pro-slavery politicians. He sailed away on the steamer Pampero intending to land on the southern coast. But learn- ing at Key West of a re^'olt at a favorable point on the north coast he made for that place, but missed it and disembarked on FATE OF LOPEZ AND CRITTENDEN 79 a lonolv portion of the coast about thirty miles from Havana. Colonel Crittenden of Kentucky, second in command, with a hundred men, was left in charge of the stores and baggage, while Lopez, with the rcniiiiiulci- of his command, advanced inland to the town of Pozas, whose inhabitants, instead of lend- ing their enthusiastic aid, tied at onc(\ The separated forces never reunited. CrittendciTs band iiiially put out to sea in small boats to escape the Spanish soldiers, and were soon cap- tured by a Spanish war vessel, which took them to Havana, where, after a summary trial, they were shot on the 17th of August. Lopez had advanced but a short distance into the interior, suffering greatly and finding the simple inhabitants of that section indifferent to the cause, when he was attacked by government forces, and after a severe loss he fled to the mountains. But here he was surprised on tlie 24th of August by an overwhelming force, and his scattered men, after wan- dering about, were finally caught and taken to Havana. Lopez was executed at dawn, Se])tcnd)er 1st, by the Spanish garrote, an instrument l)y which the victim is clasped fast in an iron chair while an iron screw is pierced through a brass collar to the spina! nuirrow. The newspapers of the day record that this execution was puldicly performed in (he midst of an approving crowd. President Fillmoi-e had l)y proclamation stigmatized all such Imslile adventures from our shores as violations of both national and international law, and had warned citizens of the United States who aided such projects that they would forfeit all claims to the protection of the government. The French and Lnglish governments had ;ilso issued orders to their AVest Lidian fleets to prevent, by force if need be, such invasions of Cid)a. Ijut as a result the Spanish authorities in Cuba be- came very suspicious of American designs, especially when the South showed sucli iiiHiiist.-ikable signs of irritation nf the failure of the filibustering schemes, for a mob at Xew Orleans attacked the S])anish residents and tore in pieces a flag on the building of the Spanish consulate. Ibit a little diplomacy 80 AVISE WORDS OF EDWARD EVERETT soon secured a better feeJing between Spain and this govern- ment, and those w'Jio still dreamed of seenring Cuba vere for the time oecnpied with the more serions aspects of the slavery qnestion at home. Henceforth the designs of the slave party Avere mainly confined to attempts to purchase the island. Still, there were some quiet attempts at filibustering. Early in 1852 the French and English governments, in- fluenced by the efforts of the South to acquii'e Cuba, made a joint proposition to the government of the United States for a tripartite convention for disclaiming severally and collectively all intention of obtaining possession of the island, and binding themselves to discountenance all attempts to that effect on the part of any power or individuals whatever. In December, 1852, Edward Everett, Secretary of State, replied to the proposition in a letter which is an important landmark in our relations with Spain as to Cuba. The French minister had stated that France could never see with indifference the pos- session of Cuba by any other power than Spain, and explicitly declared that she had no wish or intention of appropriating the ishind to herself. Lord ]\Ialmesbury made a similar avowal on behalf of the English government, but Mr. Everett stated that this government could not, for various reasons which he proceeded to enumerate, enter into an agreement to pledge itself for all time, no matter what the circumstances, not to consider the possibility of the acquisition of Cul)a. One of the reasons Avas that sucli a convention woidd l)e an entangling alliance contrary to the oldest traditions of the government; another, that such an agreement, though equal in terms, would be very unequal in substance. Cuba lay close to our shores, commanded the approach to the Gulf and to the entrance of the Mississippi. " If," he said, " an island like Cuba, belong- ing to the Spanish crown, guarded the entrance of the Thames and the Seine, and the United States should propose a con- vention like this to France and England, those powers would assuredly feel that the disability assumed by ourselves was far less serious than that which we asked them to assume." MARCY FORESEES A STKrCflLE 81 Tims were France and England a liall' ('ciinii-v ago given to nnderstand that, Avliile we could not (•(niscnt to any other Knropean ])o\ver than Spain occnpviug ( 'iilm, we might under certain contingencies feel coinpcllcd to take it to ourselves; but not for the aggrandi/cnicut of sla\c power. J3ut in the following year the Whig adiiuiii-tratiou, whose sentiments Everett had exjn'essed, endeil, niid tlie party whose l)olitics were largely donnnater the elections of 1858 showed that the verdict of the people 6 84 INCREASE OF CUBAN DISCONTENT was against him. AVlieii Congress met in December, he spoke much of (Juba, JMexico, and Central America. He held that if Spain wonkl not sell, self-defense wonld compel ns to annex it by force. Slidell, one of the President's most intimate friends, presented in the Senate a bill proposing to place in the hands of the Execntive $30,000,000 for negotiating the purchase of CHiba, and he made a long report describing in glowing language the advantages to be derived, and strongly reiterating the threat that if Spain would not listen to negotia- tions, the government of the LInitcd States would, by them- selves or in assisting the Cubans, drive Spain from the island. But Congress woidd do nothing in times of such domestic ex- citement, and Buchanan's advice went unheeded. During this decade the Cubans bore the ever-increasing weight of oppression in a spirit of hopefulness, and every at- tempt to throw it off was impotent, so extensive and thorough was the military espionage. It is not strange that their valor was unequal to the situation when, living in an island smaller than the State of New York, they were under the constant watch of an army larger than was necessary in the whole of the United States. The S])anish government constantly added to the burden of taxation, and thus the discontent of the people continued to increase. Commerce with the United States was almost destroyed by prohibitory restrictions, and that with the mother country was subjected to a heavy tax. Uncpiestionably, the abolition of slavery in the United States as a result of the Civil War and the re-estaldishment of the power of the republic on firm grounds strengthened the liberal sentiment in Cuba and gave rise to renewed movements for its expression. The pleas of the Cubans had so much effect even upon the Sjianish government that a liberal ministry which happened to be in power in 1865 accepted a project for a Commission of Inquiry to consider and devise reforms for the Cuban administration. The project was duly set forth in a royal decree and the Cubans formed extravagant hopes upon the results. A PLEA FOR JUSTICE 85 But instead of a general plan for colojiial reform ])eing- considered, the commission, whose dclilu'rations were guided I>v ,1 jiresident ai)pointed by tlie goxci'iiniciit, i-estrieted itself To the [U'oposal of certain rcuiilal ions for shivc-hil)oi\ The ('uliaus pleaded for a constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the ( 'a})tain-( leneral, fi-eedom of the press, the right of ])etition, cessation of the exclusion of ('nhans from public othce, unrestricted industrial libei'ty, abolition (»f re- strictions on the transfer of landed property, the right of assenddy and association, re])resentation in the (/ortes, and local self-government. Ihit none of these proi)ositinns would the home government consider. Even the moderate demands of the Cubans for the abolition of slavery were temporized with and nothing was done. The result was tliat the new Captain-deneral, bersnndi, tightened the screws on the re- fornnsts so that they were worse oil" than before. To cap it all, a little later an additional 10 per cent, on the direct taxes of the island was im})osed. One of the Cuban deputies to the Cortes, in a speech de- livered in 18CG, said " I foresee a catastrophe near at hand, in case Spain persists in remaining deaf to the just reclamations of the (Hdians. Look at the old colonies of the American con- tinent. All have cikUmI in concpiering their indei)endence. Let Spain not forget the lesson; let tlu^ gov(M-nment be just to the colonies that rcMnain. 'I'hus she will consolidate liei' do- miinon over ])eo)de who oidy desii'e to be good sons of a worthy mother, lait wlio are not willing to live as slaves under the scepter of a tyrant." CHAPTER V REVOLUTION IX SPAIN AND INSURRECTION IN CUBA — BEGINNING OF THE TEN-YExVRS WAR — COURSE (JF THE STRUGGLE — FORMATION OF THE REPUBLIC— THE PEACE OF ZANJON. The Revolution at Cadiz — Wretched Condition of Spain — Flight of Isabella — Her Vain Appeal to Najjoleon — Fires of Discontent Break out in Cuba — Promoters of the Insurrection — High Stand- ing of the Leaders — The Proclamation at Yara — Beginning of the Ten- Years War^ — The Appeal to Arms — The Burden no Longer to be Endured — Rapid Growth of the Insurrection — Cuban Leaders Meet to Form a Government — Diminution of Spanish Forces — Disa- greement among the Insurgents — Cisneros Succeeds to the Presi- dency — Six Years of Desultory Fighting — The Rebellion Nearly at a Standstill — Campos sent to the Island — An Armistice — The Treaty of Zanjon — Concessions and Privileges. M EAjS^WHILE, affairs in Spain liad been going from bad to worse. TLc trcasnry was well-nigh empty. The air wa^^ fnll of intrigne and conspiracy. At last, on September lUtli, tlie rcvolntion broke out at Cadiz, and a pronunr'iamodo was issued setting forth the causes of dis- affection in the mother country. It was a long array of charges, all justified. The truth was that the S}>anish rtilers, still priest-ridden, were clinging to the customs of the middle ages, and the |)eople were at last awakening, but without any adequate training for governing themselves. A })rovisional government was estaldished, and Isabella fled to France, where she pleaded in vain for Xapolcon's help. Napoleon was lu^ginning to have troubles of his own, and it was the Spanish tlirone which was eventually to form the issue of war leading to the Trench collapse at Sedan. While these events were being shaped at home, the Cubans were planning another outbreak of their own, for, di-app 'inted («6) SOME NOTABLE REVOLUTIONISTS 87 over the failure of the C'ounnissioii of Inqiiirv, and goaded ahiiost to a frenzy by the high-lianded methods of C'aptain- (leneral Lersnndi, nothing was left them hnt another break i'uy lihei'ty. J he movement was fast ri[)ening when the news of the (Queen's overthrow reaehed the island, but the change in Spain made no diiference with Lersnndi's policy, lie be- came even more watchful and oppressive. The plans for insur- rection were (juietly matured in the eastern ])rovinces of the island by Francisco Aguilera, j\lanuel Aguilera, and Fran- cisco Osoi'io at Hayamo, Carlos Cespedes in ^lanzanillo, Beli- sarid Alvai'cz in Ilolguin, Vincente (Jarcia at Las 'I'unas, Do- nato Marmol in rJiguani, and Manuel Fernandez in Santiago. These men were not low-born conspirators. Francisco Agui- lera, for example, though born in (^uba, had been highly edu- cated both in tlic Fiiited States and Eurojie, and was a mil- lionaire when he liberated his slaves and threw himself into the cause of the rebellion against Spanish tyranny. Cespedes had graduated in law at jMadrid, and was a man of literary at- tainments. He had been imprisoned during the conspiracy of Lo])ez, but since his release had be(Mi ])racticing his pro- fession in Bayamo. It was at his yihuitation nt Yai-a that the revdlntidii was proclaimed. 'J'hc Icadci-s had planned to have a simultaneous outbreak on October lOtli, but the movement having been discovered by the authorities, Cespedes at once placed himself at the head of 100 poorly-armed men and 200 slaves whom he had liberated. Two days hifcr he was joined by a1)out 4. <)()() men, and the entire ])rovince rose in sympathy witli the movement. Ijv the middle of Xovend^er he had an organized army of 12,000 men, who, though poorly e(piip]HMl. were united in purpose and of determined will. Thus, in brief, began the Ten-"\"ears War. Cuba had not failed to a was mortally wounded, and died on March '2'2, 1S74. He had given up everything for the cause of Cuba's freedom, and at the time of his death was pi'actically homeless and deserted. Much difficulty was found in selecting his successor, hut ( 'isiuu'os, a scion h nobility, and a nuui id' high social rank and abilities, was j)rovisioiuilly electe(l. Ju join- ing the revolution he had renonnced his title, and his estates had been confiscated. l>ut the disagreements among the ('ubau leaders canse(l widespread disaffection, and for a time th(» rebellion was nearly at a standstill. It might have ended hut for the fact that tiie Sj^aniards themselves were in discord. After six years of this de>ultory tighting the end seeme(l as far onrl)on dynasty, was sent to Cnl)a with 2.5,000 veterans of the (\arlist wars to end the in- surrection, lie had had experience in Cuban warfare, yet notwithstanding his experience and energy, and that of his veterans and recruits, and in spite of the dissensions among the insurgents, he made litth^ headway. The latter easily elnded the larger forces sent against them, and overpowered smaller detachments. The hot season was again coming on. and the Spanish troops were weakening under the effects of the climate, when Campos determined to undertake negotia- tions for peace. Early in 1878, both sides being well-nigh exhausted, he succeeded in obtaining an armistice. The liead(piarters of the insurgents were then in Cama- giiey, and there the insurgent leaders met to consider the over- tures. A commission of nine generals, with Garcia, who had succeeded Cisneros as president, were appointed to meet Gen- eral Campos and a nund;er of his officers at the camp of St. Angnstin near Zanjon. This they did on February 10th, and there they signed the compact known as the peace of Zanjon, by which the Cul)ans gave np their struggle for independence, and tlie Spaniards ]n'omised the reforms which it had refused to grant in 1867 after the Commission of Inquiry. By the articles of this agreement S})ain conceded to the island of Cuba the same political privileges, organic and administrative, en- joyed by the island of Puerto Eico, and granted com]ilete amnesty as regards political offence^. Those remaining under trinl or sentence would be given their lil)erty, and a general pardon was given to deserters from the Spanish army. SPANISH PROMISES 91 Frt'cdoiu to slaves in the iiisiiri>ent ranks was granted, and no insurgent should be compelled to render military service to the Spanish governniciit till i)eac'e should haxc heen estab- lished, while the government wonld lend aid and protection to all desiring to leave the island. Insurgents were publicly to lay down their arms, railroad and steamship facilities being afforded to all sections of the insurgent army repairing to the place appointed for the surrender of their arms. I CllAPTEll VI SPAIN'S STRAINED RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES DURING THE TEN-YEARS WAR — THE VIIiGIML,S AFFXIU — A RACE FOR LIFE — EXECUTION OF CAPTAIN FRY AND HIS COMPANIONS. Situation Changed after the American Civil War — Spanish Feans — President Grant's Pacilic Tenders — Signiticant Reply of Spain — Remarkable Decree of the Cai)taiu-General of Cuba — To be Shot Like Pirates — Methods of Spanish Warfare — Tiie Virginius — Circum- stances of Her Departure— Sighted by the Spanish Cruiser Tornado — A Lively Chase — Burning Hams to Keep up Steam — Horses and Arms Thrown Overboard — A Race on the Moonlit Caribbean — Cap- tured and Taken to Santiago — The First Execution of Prisoners — • The American Consul's Messages Delayed — He Asks for an Explana- tion — An Impudent Note in Reply — Further Exc^cutions — Captain Fry's Death — His Pathetic Letter to His AVife the Night before His Death — Arrival of a British Giuiboat. LEAVT]S[G now the (^iibaiis who, siipposinaniard, recognize the belligerency (d' the Cubans before hostilities were well begun, as Spain had rec(\i>nized the con- federacy eight years before; and it reipiired uneoiiinion assur- ance for liini to s])eak of the eoniinereial interests of the United States and Spain in Cuba when Spain did everything it could by discriminating duties to injure Ctd)an commerce with the Ignited States. (tcneral Grant, wlio became l'*resident in ^larch, ISlU), tendered the good ofliees of tlie Unite(l States for tlie pur]>ose of restoring peace in the ishiiid, and (ieneral I'i'ini. as the re])resentative of the Spanish goxcrnnient, had replied : '' \\ e can better ])roceed in the present sit nation of things without even this friendly intervention. A time will come when the good offices of the T'nited States will not oidy be usefnl. bnt indispensable in the final arrangements between Cuba ami Spain." Thit that time did not come, and the struggle had not ]U-oceeded far ixd'oi'c it was a])parent thai the United States must hecoiiic very sei'ianish authoi'ities were conducting the war, and In the manner in which the rights of American citizens and of American com- merce were beiu"' violated. 04 OPPOSITE VIEWS OP GRANT AND SUMNER President (irant, Avitli soiiie members of his cabinet, was decidedly in favor of recognizing the belligerency of the Cubans. Senator Snmner, chairman of the committee on foreign relations, was strongly opposed to it. The one was a man of war, the other a student of international relations. Crrant looked at it as a practical problem in w^arfare; he, doubt- less, reasoned that ^ve w^ere under no moral obligations to Spain which, with such undue haste, had recognized the bellioerency of the confech'i-ates and still defended that slave power against \vhich he had worked out his great campaigns and won such magnificent victories. Sumner hoped that Spain would her- self abolish slavery and gi-ant self-government to the CUibans, and he had the fm-ther reason, which was certaiidy a good one, that he did not wish our standing in the case of the Alabama claims against England to Ije weakened by a hasty recognition of insurgents in Cuba. Tn one of their interviews (irant asked Sumner how it would do to issue a proclamation with regard to ( Hiba identical with that issued by Spain with regard to us ? " I advised against it," Avrote Sumner to Motley. " He is very confident tliat the Cubans will succeed. On the same day I had a call from two Cubans — one of whom was Aldama, the richest man of the island and an old friend of mine who had come to solicit the concession of ))elligerency, sayino- that with it success was certain, and that without it the island would become a desert. I gave them no encouragement." Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, was very close to Sum- ner, and Snumer's will dominated. But for him, doubtless, Grant wonld have done his utmost to concede the right of bel- ligerency and the Cubans might have l)een successful. Spain, with her own wars and that in the island on hand, could hardly have gone to war with us at the time, and belligerent rights would have better enabled the Cubans to secure arms, and, whereas, we were bound to intercept, if possible, all expeditions with supplies and arms fitted out in our ports for Cuba, Spain was freely buying both ships and supplies from us. AN INSOLENT AND UNJUST DECREE 05 The manner in which Spain repaid ns for this considera- tion of her interests may be seen from the decree of the Cap- tain-General of Cuba, a copy of which arrived at the state dcpartuient in April, 1869. One portion of this decree was as follows : "Vessels which may be captured in Spanish waters or on tlie liigli seas near to tlie iskiud, having on board men, arms, and uuinitions or eirects that can in any manner contribute, promote, or foment the insur- rection in this province, whatsoever their derivation or destination, after examination of their papers and register shall be de facto considered as enemies of the integrity of our territory and treated as pirates, in accord- ance with the ordinances of the nav}\ " All persons captured in such vessels, without regard to their number, will be immediately executed." In other words, if an American citizen were canght by S])ain near the island with (iiii/lliinfj calculated to contribute to the insurrection, he would be shot as a pirdic! Our governmcmt at once protested that this was not only a violation of its treaty with Spain of 1795, but a violation of the laws of nations. Almost simultaneously with the receipt of this decree the Spanish minister at Washington made a complaint " that pirat- ical expeditions are in preparation against the legitimate gov- ernment in (^iba," and requested the President to issue a ])roclamation to restrain the same. The minister furnisheitation, who does not 96 UNITED STATES CITIZENS IN DANGER prove a justified motive therefor, will be sliot; every habitation unoccupied will be burned bv the troops; every habitation which docs not float a white flag, as a signal that its occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes; women that are not living at their own homes or at the house of their relatives will collect in the toM'n of Jiguani or Bayamo, where maintenance will be provided. Those who do not present themselves will be conducted forcibly." Here was Spain, who would not admit that a state of war existed in Cuba, for that would have given us ample justifica- tion for recognition of the Cubans as belligerents, making de- crees in Cu.ba just as if war existed and ordering the confisca- tion of goods, the shooting of seamen, and the destruction of private property, whether the i)ersons involved were citizens of the United States or not. Meanwhile, she was obtaining ships and other supplies from us. She was really attempting to figlit the poor Cubans under cover of the United States, and at the same time decreeing an indiscriminate slaughter, which might extend to our citizens and to the destruction of their property. Under the circumstances, it rtMiuired a great amount of self-control on the part of our administration to keep its hands off Spain. When Secretary Fish vigorously protested, the Spanish minister endeavored to justify the outrageous decrees by the code of instruction to our armies in the Civil War, but the Secretary jn-omptly reiterated that these instructions were issued when the country was in a state of war, which Spain would not admit as to Cuba ; but even so, throughout the whole Civil War not a prisoner had been shot in cold blood and not a political crime, however grave, had been visited by capital punishment. There were many instances in which the prop- erty and riglit of American citizens who had no connection with the insurrection in Cuba were interfered with, and although Spain made many promises, restitution was being continually postponed on various pretexts, which our govern- ment did not consider as evidences of good faith. THE CRUISE OF THE "VIRGINIUS" 97 On tlio Itli (•!' Octolx'i-, 1S70, there sailed from the port of ?\('\v York the stetinier \'ir(jiiiiu,s, whicli liad been Imilt in I'lnj^iand for use as a blockade runner dui-iuii; the Civil War, and which, h;ivin«i- been captured, had been bron<;ht to the na\v vai'd at Washington. There she had been purchased at aucti(»n by one dobn F. Patterson, who had taken her to Xew York and made oalb that he was a citizen of the Ignited States, and the sole owner of tlu^ vessel. Her custom house bond was in I he regnlar form, there was nothing in her manifest or {)a])ers or in the circumstances connected with her departure from Xew York to attract attention or excite suspicion, and she left, liki^ any of the other hundn^d vessels leaving the same w(H'k, Avithont attracting the attention of the Spanish consul or of the ofHcers of the T'nited vStates. ITer ostensible destina- tion was (^iracoa, in the Dutch West Indies, and it appears that she went there. For three years, indeed, she cruised about the Caribbean Sea, recognized as a vessel of the United States at different ports. The watchful Spanish minister, in a couniinnicat i risk of the venture <>f landing ai'uis on the islnnd, Imt he re- l>lied that it was easy enough to i-mi ai'ouiid the Spaniards, ami he considered it a righteous thing to work for the patriots. " .Vt aiiv i-;ite," he said, '" the wh, or more than three years after she hd't .\ew ^'ork, she regularly cleared from tlu^ port (d* Kingston, .liimaiea, tor Puei'to Limoii, Costa Rica. It was the intention ..f the e\peditioui-ts on boni-d to sail dii-ect tor th(» const of ( 'uba, but a slight damag(> to tlu^ maiddneiw obliged the vessel to put in at a port of Haiti. This she shortly 98 PURSUED AND CAPTURED BY THE " TORNADO " left, imd, after toucliing at otlier ports on tlie same island, the captain concluded on the 30tli to attempt a landing on CnLa. On this day the Spanish consul at Kingston, having heard of suspicions against the Virgin ins, advised the governor at Santiago that the vessel had recently been seen between Jamaica and Cuba. The Spanish cruiser Tornado had that very morning arrived at Santiago, and Governor Burriel at once communicated his information to the commander, who set out to find the alleged filibuster. On the following day the Tornado, Avhich was proceeding under sail while w^ork was being done on her engines, came in sight of the Tirgintus crnising close to the C'ul»an coast. All possible steam was at once put on the Tornado, and she was soon running for the Virginiiis with fourteen-knot speed, while Captain Fry, dis- covering his ]ieril, headed at once for Jamaica. Unfortu- nately for him, the supply of coal was short and he was soon obliged to burn petroleum, then grease, and fat of any kind; even haius had to be thrown in to keep up steam for speed. When nigbt closed in, 1)oth vessels were running at their best, and were in the same relative position, though the Tor- nado seemed to be gaining. It was one of those clear nights when the full moon falling on the C^aribbean makes objects visible for long distances, and the Yirgiirius was easily kept in sight, especially as tlie greasy combustibles which she was using caused a thick black smoke to pour continuously from her fnnnel. Captain Fry saw that he was falling behind in the race and that he might not l)e able to reach neutral waters in time, and so, to lighten his vessel, horses, cannon, and cases of arms were thrown overboard. It was said afterwards that fully two thousand I\emington rifles, a mitrailleuse, and much powder was thrown into the sea to facilitate the flight. But it did not avail. Although the coast of Jamaica was l)ut a few leagues away, the Tornado had come within range, and three shots flew over the Virgin iiifi, then a shell bnrst near by, In-inging the fugitive to. She was boarded by the Spanish officers and crew, who EXECUTION OP FOUR PRISONERS 90 lumlcil (]()\\ii licr Aiiu'riciiii l\i\ix ;iii(l I'nii u[) the Spanii^h cu- sigii. 'i'lie ca[)tain showed his [)iipers mid the S[)amanls ap- ])r()j)i'iated tlieni. At inidiiight they turned al)Out fur San- tiago. The Tornado and her prize were "welcomed at the port Xoveniber 1st by a great crowd of people. The authorities, both civil and niilitary, ininiediately visited Governor Burriel to felicitate him ii|)()ii the news, and that evening the governor gave a brilliant reception; the i)alace was illuminated, the vessels were surrounded by boats iilled ^vith bands of music and cheering Volunteers, who made coarse jeers at " the Yankees." The festivities were continued late into the night. The next day a court-martial was held on the Tornado, and all but four of the ]n'isoners were sent to jail with an escort fol- lowed by a great ra])ble of the people cheering and jeering. Tlie Tirginivs had in all 155 persons on board, most of them of Spanish extraction, but the names of at least forty-five indicated that they were either citizens of the United States or of (li'cat ih'itain. The four upon whom sentence was im- mediately passed were three Cubans, including General Verona and a brothci- of the insurgent leader ( 'espedes, and one American named IJyan. Their (execution was fixed for tlie 4th, and on tliat day they were marched to a place made famous by tlie number of executions there. The whole Span- ish pojiulation of Santiago followed and witnessed the act with great rejoicing, 'ihe men were shot in the usual manner, kneeling close to the slaughter-house wall. Two of them were killed at the first shot, liut the other two had not b(>en mercifully hit, and a Spanish otlicer walkc'l u\) and ran his >-\\drd tlii'icked u]) the bodies, still warm with life, severed the heads, ])la('(Ml litem u]ion pikes, and mandied about the city. Just befoi'c the execution an interesting inciiieral Verona, and gen- erously released. I hey pleaded with the authorities that this 100 AN INSOLENT LETTER act should entitle him to mercy, bnt no heed was given the ap- peal. The Spaniards demanded bloody the}' had had a taste and they demanded more. As the Vi)'gi»iiis had cleared as an American vessel and displayed the American colors, she at least had an apparent claim to protection until it should be proven otherwise, and at least the American and British citizens on board were entitled to the opportunity of acting' with the consuls of their countries in the defense of any rights which they might have. Our vice- consul at Santiago, Mr. E. G. Schmitt, therefore, had promptly demanded access to the ]:)risoners, but the provincial governor replied discourteously and to the effect that it was none of the American consul's business, as the prisoners were all pirates and would be treated as such. Mr. Schmitt was even refused the use of the marine cable to communicate with the United States consul at Kingston, where the Virginius had cleared. Our consul protested, and meanwhile the form of a court- martial was gone through with, and the three Cubans and one American were shot. On the same day the consul received a re])ly from the governor, from which the following extract, indicating the character of the Spanish disposition and methods, is made : "I have received your communications, one dated tlie 2d inst., and the remaining two the 3d inst.; the first inquiring if it was true that a telegram had been detained by my orders which you had addressed to the United States consul in Kingston, Jamaica, asking information as to the nationality of the steamer Virginius seized on the high seas as a pirate by the Spanish cruiser Tornado. In my desire to correspond duly to the exquisite zeal which you show in tliis matter, I would have replied at once to your communication, but, as I received it precisely at the moment of important and peremptory affairs, to which I had to devote myself exclu- sively; and further, as the past two days were holidays, upon which the officials do not come to the offices, being engaged as well as everyone else in meditation of the divine mysteries of All Saints and the com- memoration of All Souls' day, as prescribed by our holy religion; it was impossible for me until early this morning to comply to your wishes. . . . "Neither could I foresee your desire to repair with such haste to the jail where the prisoners were incarcerated; much less that you desired to do so, showing an offlciousness so marked, when you had received from none of them any remonstrance whatever, which they would have made REPLY OF THE UNITED STATES CONSUL 101 at once tlirouj!;li nij' conduct if tlicir conscience liad perinitled llicin lo even suppose that they were innocent and worthy of the protection of your vice-consulate, undoubtedly impelled thereto on this occasion l)y unknown and suspicious purposes. . . . "Such conduct, especially after j'ou were advised by the fiscal that Mr. O'Hyan was an Englishman, obliges me to apply to the government and propose that jour cxeijuatur to perform the duties of your vice- consulate be withdrawn, as an oflicer who addresses protests so slightly founded, and who after that attempts to surprise the intention of the Spanish authorities, accustomed to act, with the rectitude and loyalty known to all, cannot help compromising the honor of the country he represents." ILivinc: written this rpi)ly, the governor seems to have pro- ceeded to the executioii of a few ])risoiiers, and the ])i-etended trial of others. Onr consul Ixn-e himself with dii;iiity and honor. In his reply he said : " I should have been the last person to disturb the important duties of your Excellency, and the religious meditations which your Excellency's subordinates were indulging in, had it not been that I consider the case a pressing one and imagined that, Avliere there was sufficient time to censure and detain my telegram, there might have been also time for a few lines of explanation, with the additional motive of my second dispatch, that I observed that the circumstances wdiich your Excellency enumerates were no hindrance to the despatch of other business connected with the steamer. ... " I shall therefore abstain from saying anything further on this point, than that it seems to me, considering that the Virginius was Hying the United States flag at the time of her capture, that she claimed to be a United States merchant steamer, and her papers as such were surrendered by her captain to the boarding oflicer of the steamer Tornado, it would have been a delicate attention on the part of your Excellency to have in- formed me thereof, and that the use of such flag and papers was an abuse of the goodness of the coimtry which 1 represent, in order that I might have brought the same to the notice of my government. "Finally, I note your Excellency's intention to apply for the revoca- tion of my exequatur, and while ignorant of any cause given therefor, I can only assure your Excellency that my conscience being perfectly clear in the question, and having acted honorably, and as I consider for the best, the result of your Excellency's application is to me a matter of profound indifference." On the (Itli tlici'c were fufthcf couft-maftial ])i'(t('e('(lin<2;s and tliirty-seveii more wei'c senteiic('(| ti» he shot the ne.xt morning, iiicltiding Captain -loscph I-'ry, the commander of 102 CAPTAIN fry's letter OF FAREWELL the vessel. Of this man's iiKlomital)le coTirago in the face of death, and his intense affection for those for whose sakes chieliy he had undertaken this hazardous adventure, the pathetic let- ter written to his wife the night before his execution bears sufficient testimony. On Board the Spanish Man-of-War "Toiinado." Santiago de Cuba, November 6, '73. "Dear, dear Dita — When I left you I had no idea that we sliould never meet again in this world; but it seems strange to me that I should to-night, and on Anne's birthday, be calmly seated on a beautiful moon- light night in a most beautiful bay in Cuba, to take my last leave of you, my own dear sweet wife ! And with the thought of your own bitter anguish — my only regret at leaving. *'I have been tried to-day, and the President of the Court Martial asked the favor of embracing me at parting, and clasped me to his heart. I have shaken hands with each of my judges, and the secretary of the court and the interpreter have promised me as a special favor to attend my execution, which will, I am told, be within a few hours after my sentence is pronounced. "lam told my death will be painless. In short, I have had a very cheerful and pleasant chat about my funeral, to which I shall go in a few hours from now; how soon I cannot say yet. It is curious to see how I made friends. Poor Bambetta* pronounced me a gentleman, and he was the brightest and bravest creature I ever saw. "The priest who gave me communion onboard this morning put a double scapular around mj^ neck, and a medal which he intends to wear himself. A young Spanish otlicer brought me a bright new silk badge wilh the Blessed Virgin stamped upon it, to wear to my execution for him, and a handsome cross in some fair lady's handiwork. They are to be kept as relics of me. He embraced me affectionately in his room with tears in his eyes. "Dear Sweetheart, you will be able to bear it for my sake, for I will •be with you if God permits. Although I know my hours are short and few, I am not sad. I shall be with you right soon, dear Dita, and you will not be afraid of me. Pray for me, and I will pray with you. There is to be a fearful sacrifice of life, as I think, 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 Avill forgive me if I am to blame for it. "If you write to President Grant, he will probably order my pay, due when I resigned, to be paid to you after my death. People will be kinder to you now, dear Dita ; at least, I hope so. Do not dread death when it comes to you. It will be God's angel of rest, — remember this. J * A Cuban rebel general, paBsenger on the Virginius. A GALLANT ENGLISHMAN INTERFERE!? 103 I hope my children Avill forget their father's harshness and remember liis love and anxiet}- for them. jVIaj' they practice regularly liieir religi(ju and l)niy for him always. Tell the last act of my life will l)e a pul)- lic profession of my faith and hope in Him of whom we need not be a^;hamed; and it is not honest to withhold that pul)lic acknowledgment from any false modesty or timidity. May God bless and .save n> all! Sweet, dear, dear Dita, we will soon meet again. Till then, adieu fm- liic last lime." Your devoted husband, JosEiMi Fry. The next inoriiiiiii', with thirty-six others, he was executed. The next dav twelve more shared his fate, and probably all the remaining 102 would have been shot but for a sudden inter- ruption. The interest of the British and French consuls and of the authorities in Jamaica had been arousc^d, for some of the prisoners were British subjects. The British sloop of war Niohe, commanded by Sir Lamb ton Lorraine, left Kingston on the Gtli, and on the Stli came flying into Santiago harbor. The commander hastened to land, and at once demanded that the massacre be stop})ed. " But Seilor," protested the commanding Spanish officer, " what affair is it of yours ? There are no countrymen of yours among them. They are all dogs of Americans." " It makes no difference," replied the gallant captain. " I forbid you to put another one of these men to death." " But, Senor," returned the Spaniard, haughtily, " permit me to remark that I take my orders from the Captain-( Jeneral and not from you." " Permit me also to remark," replied the captain, '' that the Nlohc is lying in this harbor, with her guns double-shotted, and I am her commander. And, so help me God! if you so much as harm a hair on the head of another one of those prisoners, I will lay your town in ruins."' And he went back to his ship. The S])aiiiaril looked at the Xlohe, saw the big black muzzles of her guns ti-ained scpiarely ujxMi the city, and — there were no more Vi)-(jiiitiis prisoners massacred in Santiago. CHAPTER YII EFFORTS TO INDUCE SPAIN TO SETTLE — GENERAL SICKLES ASKS FOR HIS PASSPORTS AND SPAIN YIELDS — UNITED STATES INSISTS ON PACIFICATION OF THE ISLAND. Minister Sickles Visits Castelar upon Hearing of the Virginius Affair — Curious Breali-down of the Cables at a Critical Moment — Some Im- polite Replies — General Sickles Demands his Passports — The Span- ish Government Quickly Comes to Terms — The People Impatient to Recognize the Cubans — Fall of the Spanish Republic — America In- sists that the Cuban War Must Cease — Intervention Threatened — Spain Makes Another Promise — Forbearance at Washington — Campos Ends the War by the Agreement at Zanjon — Canovas Refuses to be Responsible for the Cuban Settlement — Resignation of Canovas — Campos Forms a Ministry — Disagreements — A Reform Act Passed — Great Cost of the War to Spain — The Emancipation Act — Cuba Still in a State of Insurrection. THE first intimation of Avliat was taking place reached General Daniel E. Sickles, our minister at Madrid, on the 6th, or the day before Captain Ery's execution, and he hastened to call at the Ministry of State. Spain had meanwhile become a republic under President Castelar, whom Sickles saw in the evening. Concerning the interview he wrote : " President Castelar received these observations with his nsnal 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 ques- tion, 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 of the Cortes, nor upon any per- son taken in arms against the government without the sanction of the executive." As not infrequently happens in Spanish diplomacy, this (104) PUBLIC FEELING IN SPAIN 105 order failed to get further than liavaua, at ivn^i, in time t(j do any good. "J'here were two telegraphic lines between Havana and SaiiliauH, (Hic ])\ the eoast and one overland. One of them had been out of repair for soine time. Siu'iiitieantly enoug'li, the other failed to work the day that the \'irginius was brouiiht into port, though it suddenly resumed operations in perfect working order as soon as the Niobe came into port. Public feeling was running high in Spain. The press, violent and abusive, advised tlie government to order General Sickles out of Spain. One night a mob collected to attack and sack the legation, but the authorities interfered. j\[eanwhile the S})anisli in Cuba were threatening all Americans, and in Havana they gave a great fete and bullfight in honor of Gov- ernor Burriel, who had ordered the outrage. (Vneral Sickles pres.sed his remonstrances insistently, and Garvajal, the Spanish ]\Iinister of State, thereupon began to couch his replies in the rather insolent language adopted by the governor of Santiago, while Sickles retorted with some very sharp but thoroughly dignified communications. He had been instructed by the Secretary of State to protest most solemnly against the barbarities ])eri)etrated at Santiago, and in communicating with the Spanish government adopted as near as could be the words of the instructions from Washing- ton. To this Carvajal made an exceedingly ill-tempered reply. Secretary Fish used strong expressions in his instructions to Sickles. Mere condemnation, disavowal, and depreciation of the act would not, he said, be acct^pted by the world as sufficient to relieve* S])ain from ])ai'ticipation in n just resjion- sibility for the outrage. There must be iJunislnncnt (tf those concerned. Unable to make any headway in bringing the Spanish government to some agreement as to the scttlcnu'ut of tlie question. Secretary Fish cabled Sickles to make formal de- mands. If these were not complied with within twelve days he should leave ^ladi-id. General Sickles did so, and. obtain- ing no satisfactory response, on the 2Gth of Novend)er he lOG DISPOSITION OF THE VliiGINIUti AFFAIR asked for his passports. Spanish bravado at once withered. Carvajal within a few honrs sent a note, conceding upon some conditions the demands of tlie United States that the Vir- ginius and the survivors should Le given up, the perpetrators of the massacre tried and punished, and the flag of the United States saluted. One condition was that a salute of the flag should not be deemed essential if the Spanish government could bring forward sufficient proofs that the Yirginius had no right to fly the American flag. A conference was held at Washington between the Secretary of State and the Spanish minister,- Don Jose Polo, and the arrangements were com- pleted. Meanwhile the antecedents of the Yirginius were inquired into and it was proved beyond the shadow of a doul)t that she had no right to carry the American flag. Patterson was not the legal owner of the vessel, the money for her pur- chase having been furnished by a junta of Cuban sympathizers; her registry, therefore, had been obtained by jierjury. This did away with the necessity of Spain's saluting our flag and made it incumbent upon the United States to prosecute the proper persons for violation of navigation laws. The Vir- ginius and her survivors were surrendered to the authorities of the United States on December 15th, and while being con- veyed to the appointed port she was lost in a storm off Cape Fear. Then followed a long correspondence over conflicting claims, Spain setting up many counter claims for alleged in- jury done to Spain by filil)ustering expeditions. AVliile th(»se who considered it wise to refrain from a recognition of the belligerency of the Cubans were strongly impressed by the conduct of the Spanish government, it may be imagined that among the mass of the people, sympathizing as they did with the Cul)ans in their hard struggle for freedom, the bitterness towards the Spaniards was great and the excite- ment caused by the Virginius affair intense. President Grant fully anticipated war, and with his thorough knowledge of military affairs perfected plans for attacking Spain. But BITTEK FEELING Ix\ THE UNITED STATES 1U7 Sumner's policy prevailed with the aihninistratioii, and it con- tinued to tolerate the repeated [)n)niiscs and shifting tactics of the Spanish government. Meanwhile, the chiims of Amer- ican citizens for spoliation in Cuba continued to accumulate. General Sickles was so impatient under the temporizing policy of his government that he resigncil, and he was succeeded early in 1874 by Caleb Cushing. A number of British subjects had been among those exe- cuted from the Virginius, and Great Britain, also wearied with delay, early in 1874 insisted upon a decisive answer as to indemnity, and with her Spain hastened to settle. As the claims for executed citizens of the Ignited States rested prac- tically upon the same basis, late the same year our govern- ment, after much difficulty, reached a settlement. Consider- able sums were eventually paid by Spain to the families of the American and British citizens, but the governor who ordered the executions was never i)unislied. Secretary Fish de- manded that that part of the treaty should be carried out, but Spain calndy replied that it considered Governor Burriel's conduct justified, and he was even promoted from the rank of brigadier to major-general. The United States swallowed the insult out of love for })eace. The war still dragged on, and late in ls7r). when the end seemed as far oil' as ever and jn'operty of .Vmerican citizens in Cuba was going up in smoke, tlie administration began to feel that ]>atience had at last ceased to be a virtue. On the .')th of November, 1875, Secretary Fish addressed a note to our niiiii-^ter at ^Fadrid, in which he I'eviewed the <|uestion and practically stated that the United States had come to the conclusion that the state of things in Cuba must cease. Spain made another promise, a favorite mefhoil in nuM^ting such emergencies, and just before our Congi-ess met snbmitt(>d to ]\rinister Cushing certain proposals which it was ho|K'd might be used as a basis foi- a (^<. These proposals had not reached tin- government by the time Presi- 108 PROTOCOLS AND PROMISES dent Grant submitted his annual message, but he reviewed the whole question, stated the reasons why he had not deemed it wise to accord the Cubans belligerent rights, and explained why he believed that the time for intervention had come. As Spain was then, however, disturbed by the Carlist wars at home, and as proposals had been submitted, he deferred any positive recommendation till the situation could be more per- fectly understood. Shortly before leaving office General Grant proposed to European powers a joint convention, but soon other matters began to absorb public attention. As a re- sult of the conference between Minister Gushing and Galde- ron, the Spanish Minister of State, a protocol, often insisted upon during the recent Cuban war and as often violated by Spain, was signed. It was intended to guard against any repetition of the Virginius affair and secure to American citi- zens a civil trial on the charge of sedition or conspiracy, ex- cept when taken in arms, and even in that case they were to be allowed attorneys and make their defense in public trial. Spain agreed to command the strictest observance of the terms of this protocol in all her dominions, especially in Cuba. Upon the pacification of the island, the rebels having laid down their arms according to agreement, General Campos, evidently intending that the compact made at Zanjon should be kept in good faith, returned to IMadrid and submitted the plans for reforms in Cuba before the cabinet of Canovas, who at once declared his unwillingness to lay them before the Cortes with his recommendation, saying that that body would feel and always feel that Spanish honor required the complete sub- jection of Cuba. General Campos insisted that he had made this agreement with the rebels in good faith, that, trusting in it they had Idid down their arms, and that it must be sub- mitted to the Cortes. Canovas replied that in that case Cam- pos must do it on his own responsil)ility. This and other causes led to the resignation of the Canovas ministry, and Campos, as the leader of the Liberals, formed a cabinet, but his ministers could not be made to ac:ree to the Cuban agree- LOSS OF LIFE AND TREASURE 109 ment, and so Campos quickly resigned. An act was passed, however, in January, 1871), whereby Cuba was to have repre- seutation in the Cortes. But the Spanish senators practically coiitrdlled the elections and more than three-fourths of the dej)uties proved to be natives of Spain, so that the Cubans really gained no voice even in the small representation tem- porarily allowed them. The Campos ministry fell in December, 1879, Canovas resumed the reins of government, and the promises made con- cerning reform in Cuban government were j^ractically ignored. Spanish methods in Cuba continued very much as they had for years. The bitter hatred between the insulars and jieninsu- lars was only intensified. The island of Cul)a had been laid waste, thousands of the sons of Spain had found their graves, millions of money had been spent, and still S])ain had not learned the lesson. The CHiban was still op})ressed and waited only for the next opportunity to take up arms. The loss of life and treasure in this war was enormous. Two years before its close, in a debate on (^iban affairs in the Cortes, it was said that Sjiain had up to that time sent 145,000 men and her best commanders to Cuba. 1'he number in the field in the last year of the war was given as 81,700, while the records of the Madrid War Office show that over 73,000 of the land forces had been lost. The minimum total of Spanish soldiers who fell in Cuba must have been, therefore, nearly 100,000, for of tliose who had gone out not enough ever came back to make a full regiment. Adding to this total of Spanish forces the Volunteers, about 80,000 in number, the Captain-General must have had at his disposal, from the be- ginning to the end of flie war, over 230,000 men. Thousands fell victims to the guerrilla tactics of the Cubans, but more died of fever and other diseases incident to the cliuuite and changetl coiKlitidiis (if diet. The young nuMi who werc^ conscripted and sent to Cuba were thoroughly unfitted for campaigning in such a country, and discipline was so strict in the army that many of them deserted to the rebels rather than suffer hard- 1 10 THE CUBANS AGAIN DECEIVED i:li:ps in camp only to bo killed in some Cuban ambuscade. The loss of the Cubans has never been known, for no account was kept. It was small compared with that of the Spaniards, for the army was small and scattered in little bands. The loss has been estimated at 50,000 for the ten years, but this is probably an exaggeration. The cost of the war to Spain was about $300,000,000, and certainly not less than that was lost in Cuba from the destruc- tion of property and the loss of commerce and trade. In the years succeeding the war some reforms were made, though the nature of the government did not improve; in- deed, as will appear later, tyranny was increased under the cloak of concessions. The one stcj:) in advance was the aboli- tion of slavery. During the sixteen years from the close of the Ten- Years War to 1S95, Cuba, if not in a state of insurrection, was sel- dom quiet. "When the people saw that they had again been deceived, it was difficult for them to restrain their disposition to revolt. But a general rising wa:^ out of the question so soon after the long struggle, for they had laid down their arms and the Spaniards had taken them. OHAPTEE VIII CUBA AFTER THE TEN-YEARS WAR — THE CAPTAIN-GEN- ERAL AND HIS EXTRAORDINARY POWERS — A SWARM OF SPANISH VAMPIUES — "CUBA IS UNDONE." The Government Libenil Only on P:i[)er — The Captain-Geneml and Ili.^ Extraordinaiy Authority — The Cuban's One Ambition — Cubans Ex- chided from Office — Discriminations in Provincial and Municipal Government — Spain's Deceitful and Crafty Policy — Replenishini; the Treasury at Home and Enriching the Functionaries — Two-thirds of the Island Practicall}' Ruined — Enormous Increase of Taxation — Remarkable Growth of Cuba's Debt — Pledging Cuban Revenues for Spanish Interest Payments — Not a Cent of it Spent to Improve Cuba — Excessive Import Duties — New Oppressions in New Disguises — Taxes on Everything — The Prey of a Swarm of Vampires. THE government of Cuba after 1879 showed evidences on paper of some liberality, but the evidences were mis- leading. The head was still the Captain-General, ap- ])ointe(l by the crown usually for a term of from three to five years, and who was ipso facto the Governor-General. In his military capacity, which was not easily distinguished from his civil cajiacity, lie had an army tluring peace of from 13,000 to 20,000 men sent from Spain and maintained out of the Cuban budget. lie was assisted by a sub-Inspector-General, who was also governor of Havana, but in time of disturbances the military divisions were rearranged to suit the emergency. Notwithstandmg all the alleged reforms granted after the treaty of Zanjon, the Governor-General practically retained all the powers granted him in 1S25 by Ferdinand, powers which possessed all the al)solntc <|iialitie-s of the Turkish Sul- tan without the restrictions imposed by the exigencies of Euro- pean politics. (Ill) 113 MAP OF CUBA NOT CONCESSIONS BUT OPPRESSIONS 113 Bad as the system of govoniiiient and of conuiiorcial polic-y was upon paper, it was in its practical a[)plifation that the Cuban was oppressed. He bad little understanding of tbo \a\vs of government and of trade, but he saw concrete results. To him the one trouble was S})anish misrule, and his one ambition became " Cuba Libre." lie saw that the changes in law were not changes in fact. Concessions had really taken the form of new oppressions. Names, not the things themselves, were changed. The Captain-General was called the "Governor-General." The royal decrees took the name of "authorizations.'' The commercial monopoly of Spain had been named the " coasting trade." The right of banishment had been transformed into the " law of vagrancy." IJrutal attacks upon defenseless citizens went under the term " compote." The abolition of constitutional guarantees had become the " law of public order." Taxation without the knowledge or consent of the taxed had been changed into the " law of estimates," the budget being voted by the representa- tives of peninsular Spain. Instead of inaugurating a redeem- ing policy which would have allayed public anxiety, and (|uenched the thirst for justice felt by the people, Spain, while lavish in promises of reform, continued her old and crafty sys- tem, which was to exclude the Cuban from every ofHce that could give him any effective inllueuce and intervention in jiub- lic affairs. For years Spain had been simply a parasite u])on (^d)a, and had exjiloited the island tlii'ough a fiscal regime, a commercial regime, and a bureaucratic regime. Tier thought from the beginning had been to draw from the island all that could be squeezed out of it. Nothing was consecrated to the develojv ment of the island. Whatever was done was solely to re- plenish the exhausted treasury of Spain and to enrich Spanish functionaries. Having saddled Cuba with debt, and reached that point where inerea-;ereak of the recent insurrection. The debt of Cuba was created in 1804 by the simple issue of $3,000,000; in 1808 it had risen to $25,000,000; in 1891, according to a statement made by Perez Castancda in the Span- ish Senate, it had increased to the extraordinary sum of $175,- 000,000, and by the middle of 1895 it stood at $300,000,000! Tlm^, by the time of the recent outbreak the debt of the little island, considering its population, exceeded that of all the other American countries, including the TTuited States. This enormous debt, that ground the country down and did not permit its people to capitalize their income, or foster its improvements, or even to advance its industries, constituted KOT ONE CENT FOR CUBA Il5 one of the most iniquitous forms of the Spanish spoliation. In it wore inchulcd a debt of Si)aiu to the L'nitecl States; the ex- penses incurred 1>y Spain when she oeeUi)ied San Domingo;, those for the invasion of Mexico, and for her hostilities aganist Peru; the money advanced to the Spanish treasury during the later Carlist wars; and to cover the lavish expenditures of itS' administration following 1868. Kot a cent of this enormous- sum had been spent in Cuba in the advancement of civiliza- tion. It had not contributed to build a single mile of high- way or of railroads, to erect a single lighthouse, nor deepen a single port; it had not built one asylum nor opened one public school. This heavy burden was left to future generations without a single compensation or benefit. The budget showed that nearly 40 per cent, of the rev- enues were expected from duties upon imports. Everything that was imported was taxed as heavily as possible, unless it came from Spain. Xearly every class of articles paid a much heavier duty than was j.aid by the sister isle of Puerto Rico. In very many cases the duty on imports was placed at twee what they were for Puerto Ilico. ^J'he Cuban producer was oppressed with every kind of exaction; the introduction of in- dispensable UK.ehinery was heavily taxed, transportation was obstructed by taxes on the railroads, a direct tax or industrial duty was exacted, and still another, equivalent to an export duty, for loading and shipping, while always and everywhere were the illegal exactions of corrupt and thieving officials. Besieged'by complaints of such destructive discrimination, Sjiain ma'ile great ]u-omises of reform. Cuban products were to be admitted to the peninsula free of duty, excepting, how- ever, tobacco, rum, sugar, cocoa, and coifee, which remained " temporarily " burdened. Duties on the importations from Spain to (^iba were to be gradually redue...! through a p.'riod of ten years, till, in is02, they were to be entirely extin- onished'^ P.ut, like other Spanish reforms, this was a new oppression in a fresh disguise. The temporary duti.>s. whi<'h were upon the principal and almost the only products ot the 8 116 PECULATION AND CORRUPTION island, were left undisturbed. Spanish products paid no duties in Cuba, but Cuban products paid heavy duties in Spain. The salaries of the various Spanish officials in Cuba were in no way curtailed, while the jicrquisitcs and ^peculations con- tinued to grow, and it was one of the most exasperating of all the oppressions to which the Cuban was subjected. Falsilica- tion of documents, bargains with delinquent debtors, exac- tions of higher dues from simple peasants, delays in judicial or other bnsiness in order to obtain a gratuity, all combined to divert the money of the Cubans into the pockets of the functionaries. And while these evils were brought to light from time to time, no one was ever punished. Said Rafael de Eslava in his Judicio Critico de Cid)a en 1887 : " It seems to be self-evident that a curse is pressing upon Cuba, condemn- ing 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 they have any ; it will not be rash to venture the assertion that Cuba is undone j there is no salvation possible.'^ CHAPTER IX CUBAN EXILES, SECESSIONISTS, AND LEADERS — THE BAN- NER RAISED AT LAST-FIRST RESULTS UNPROMISING — SPREAD OF THE INSURRECTION. Exile of Manj^ of Cuba's Best Citizens — Jose Marti and His Early Life — Imprisoned When a Boy — Deported to Spain — He Vows to Free Cuba — Becomes the Leader of the Secession Party — His Impassioned Address and Eloquence — Many Rebulls and Disappointments— An Influential Friend— His Trusted Friends in Cuba — Fostering the Spirit of Revolt — Relaxation of the Vigilance of the Captain-General — Marti Starts for Cuba— Stopped by United States Authorities — Martial Law Proclaimed — The Outbreak in Matanzas — An Apparent Failure — Natural Advantages of Santiago de Cuba — A Forbidding Shore — " The Garden of Cuba." THE vigilance with wliieli Si)anisli officials followed per- sons sus])eelo(l of entertaining plans against the Span- ish government, and the cold-blooded manner in which political prisoners were treated, naturally led to the exile of many of the better editcatcd Cid)ans. They were scattered through the other West Indian islands, throngh Europe, and especially the United States. While as peaceful citizens they had many opportunities to prosper in the United States, they (lid not and could not forget Cuba where others of their nationality were still suffering, and thus there were active juntas of Cid)an sympathizers everywhere. Spain was con- tinually complaining that they menaced the peace of the island, but their exile she alone was responsible for. One of these exiles was Jose ^Nfarti, who was living at Xew York. Tie was the son of a Spanish colonel, who had learned to sympathize with the Cubans, and who, upon Jose's liirtli, threw up his commission, saying that no son of his should be (117) 118 YOUTH OF A CUBAN PATRIOT brought up a servant of Spain. It is not surprising that with such a father Jose, at the age of fourteen, should be attacking the Spanish government in an amateur newspaper he had established. The little paper was suppressed and the young editor sentenced to ten years imprisonment in Havana. Afterwards he was condemned to the chain for life, and obliged to work with gangs of convicts under conditions which killed strong men. The powerful influence of his family finally secured a mitigation of his sentence to deportation to Spain, where he was confined to the limits of the country. He there received a university education and began to show his remarkable talents. But while the amnesty gave him his freedom, it did not appease his indignant resentment for Spain's broken promises and continued oppressions in the island of Cuba. He resolved to act. At first he went to Cen- tral America, thence to the United States, where he was in constant communication with the promoters of the insur- rection of ISGS, and it was not long before he became the leader of the revolutionary party. Marti gave himself to the interests of this party, and there was not a moment when he was not devoted to the effort to realize his dream of independence for his country. Through the United States, San Domingo, everywhere, he traveled, preaching his holy war. He was a man of charming and captivating personality, yet with audacity and perseverance. His impassioned address; his eloquence, at the same time ex- alted and simple; his hatred of Spain, from which each day he drew some new grievance, and his energetic and magiietic oratory gave him the aspect of a modern Peter the Hermit, preaching a new crusade. Marti gathered here and there a few contributions which he sent to trusty agents in Cuba for the purchase of arms and ammunition. But his work was often painful for one of his nature; he met many rebuffs and disappointments, yet when all the world ridiculed and doubted his mission, he re- mained confident. He attracted the attention of the late HIS CRUSADE IN CURa's BEHALF ll9 Charles A. Dana, who was an admirer of sincerity and energy, and was (|uifk to appreciate talent. Dana believed with .Marti that Spanish despotism in Cnba was a wrong that ci'icd to heaven, and therefore could not endure; he became a strong advocate of Cuban independence, and his influence gradually brought the cause to notice and helped to shape events. The dreams of Marti in those days seemed so far beyond the possibility of reality that even among the people who had been won over to his cause by his convincing and impassioned words, there were those who looked upon him as the victim of hallucinations. He had friends in Cuba who thought with him that the hour was fast ripening, but they were few. 'J'here were not then more than 500 who were ready for the word to take up arms, and nearly all of them were young men. The old generals had not forgotten the failure of 1878, and looked upon another effort then as rash, if not foolish. But Marti faithfully corresponded with his few trusted friends, and in secret nourished the spirit of revolution, while in his hands he held the threads of the developing conspiracy. lie knew that if too many Cubans were at once concerned, the Spanish would become alarmed and balk his efforts; and he Itclicvcd that when the standard of revolt was raised thousands would flock to it, while those in exile would soon find their way into the insurgent ranks. This being the pur- pose in view, February 24, 1895, was fixed as the date for rais- ing the cry of " Cuba Libre! " all over the island. Three vessels, the Lagonda, the Amadis, and the Baracoa, were chartered by Marti, who sailed from Xew York with men and WAV materials in Januai'v, 1895. Ari'angements had been made for landing the recruits and amis in Santiag;o, Puerto Principe, and Santa Clara, but the expedition was stopped at Fernandina, Fla., by the United States authorities, and Marti left for San Domingo to join ^faximo Gomez, who had been a military leader in the former war. Meanwhile, the Cuban secessionist* clamoring for the revolution to proceed im- mediately, the banner was raised at the appointed time. 120 APPARENT FAILURE OP THE REVOLT The autliorities were aware of the project, and martial law was proclaimed througiioiit the island the day before, and in the province of Puerto Principe a rigorous search was made for arms and ammunition, which were confiscated. For a similar reason the revolutionists in Pinar del Rio did not at once respond. The rising was confined to Santiago, Santa Clara, and Matanzas, and in the two latter provinces the leaders and many suspected persons were quickly imprisoned. The apparent failure of the uprising and the small number of the insurgents seemed to have deceived the Spanish olficials, and there was little alarm as Spain had at that time an army of over 19,000 regulars in addition to so many of the 50,000 volunteers as might be called out. It was in the province of Santiago de Cuba that from the beginning the insurrectionary movement assumed a dangerous importance. It was there tliat the revolution of 1868 had been strongest, and it was there always that the Cuban hatred of the Spanish was most marked. By reason of the mountainous configiu'ation of the country it is admirably adapted for resist- ance, and much of its coast is difficult to protect from secret landings. The shore for mile after mile is characterized by long reaches of lonely snow-white beach or rugged brown rocks, and is apparently devoid of all human habitations, while a little distance back rise twisted hills showing evidence of former volcanic upheavals. But beyond these hills, and within the watershed of the Bio Canto, are delightful valleys where nature can be enjoyed in unstinted measure, though the comforts of civilized life are rare. The fruits and vegetables render subsistence an easy matter to small guerrilla bands, and the temperature is uniformly genial. Boving l)aii(ls can camp almost anywhere among the hills or valleys in security; the water bubbles forth from springs of crystal purity, and camp life is burdened with the least amount of encumbrances. It liad been called the " Garden of Cuba," and some of the earlier colonists were so delighted with the region that they imagined it to be the original garden of Eden. In the moun- THE GARDEN OF CUBA 121 tains along the shores is much mineral wealth, which generally remains untouched, while in the valleys are great plantations which, in times of peace, are very valuable and tiourishing. The principal city is Santiago de Cuba on the south shore, ifituated at the head of a landlocked bay, and from it proceeds one of the two short railways in the great province, a distance of about twenty miles to the town of Euramada. About forty miles to the east of Santiago is Guantanamo, connected by a dozen miles of railway to a small port on the Bay of Guanta- namo. CHAPTER X. POLITICAL TROUBLES IN SPAIN — GENERAL CAMPOS SENT TO CUBA — LANDING OF MACEO AND CROMBET — DEATH OF CROMBET AND NARROW ESCAPE OF MACEO. Spain Beset Within and Witliout — Officers Refuse to Volunteer — Sagasta Ministry Resigns — Canovas's Ministry — Campos Sent to Cuba — Maceo and His Record in the Ten-Years War — The Terror of the Spanish — How He Learned to Read — His Exile and Travels — A Hostler at West Point — An Ideal Guerrilla Chief — Crouibet and His Record — An Obstinate Captain — Crombet Blows out the Cap- tain's Brains — They Land on a Lonely Shore — Their Sufferings — Feasting on a Banana Plantation — Surprised — Crombet Surrounded and Killed — Maceo Escapes — Wanders Alone in the Woods — Betrayed by an Indian Guide — A Friendly Negro — In an Insurgent Camp at Last — His Presence Works a Marvelous Change — Recruit- ing His Army — Drilling His Men While Carried in a Hammock. DURIXG the weeks immediately following the outbreak of the insurrection Spain was beset with troubles within as well as withotit. The arrest and summary treatment of an American citizen in Havana and the seizure of an American vessel had placed the State Department at Washington in a position of diplomatic hostility, and it was becoming very evident that the authorities in Cuba were not suppressing the rebellion with that thoroughness required to uphold Spain's supremacy. The home government had treated the agitation as a recrudescence of the former so-called " brigandage," and, having fostered this impression, the sud- den call for volunteers to go to Cuba not only opened the eyes .of the incredulous but brought the government into a sharp ■contest with the militia. While it was apparently easy to re- cruit men from the ranks of the army, the officers, according to some of the Spanish papers, refused to volunteer to go to Cuba, and this forced the government to the unpleasant ex- ( 122 ) EXCITEMENT IN SPAIN 1^3 l)L'di('iit ot" (Iniwing lot-;. 'I'lic fact ^varf the subject of much connnent in the jn-ess, and, in many cases, harsh criticisms of the army othcials, with inipiitations of cowardice and venality. The officers, furious under this criticism, on jNFarch lOth went in a body to the othce of one of the newspapers, invaded the composing-rooms, and broke the ))rintiii_u-presses. The police contented themselves with a very feeble interference. De- mands made by army officers upon the Liberal ministry that tliey suppress the newspapers daring to assail the army met with a refusal which, on the followinu- dav, caused the resiir- nation of the ministry. Great excitement followed this step, and it was not till General Campos was made Captain-General of Madrid and given full authority that even a semblance of order was restored. On the 23d of ]\[arch the Conservatives, under Canovas del Castillo, took possession of the reins of the government. Immediately after his installation the president of the council made a very clear statement regarding the conditions prevail- ing in Cuba, and the people became aware of the seriousness of the insurrection. Public opinion changed, the danger was realized, and there arose a clamor for a strong hand to stay the insun-ection. AVitli one voice the people called for General Campos, and soon his appointment as Governor-General of Cuba and Commander-in-Chief was made known. ^lean- while, the first expedition, consisting of over 8,500 soldiers, had already landed in Havana. The news of Campos's appointment was generally wel- comed in Cul)a. The insui-gents knew that Spain's most famous general was a fair fighter, though severe, Avhile those who still hoped for peace, even though they sympathized with the Cubans, had great confidence in the sagacity and skill of the man who liad liap])ily brought to a close the Ten-Years "War. Kveryone agreed that Cam]ios was the most honest man in Spain, the Spaniard of all Spaniards who knew Cuba, her need's and her aspirations best. "Besides, there was a con- viction that as soon as Campos had informed himself of the 124 YOUTH OF ANTONIO MACEO state of the country lie would ask his government to make such concessions as would deprive the war of a rational basis. But while he was on his way to Cuba with reinforcements events were happening on the iusurgent side which had the greatest influence upon the future of the war. What the insurgent bands lacked at that time was a chief vested with the authority that comes of an unquestioned record, or that authority which by reason of a strong person- ality and magnetic power over men would stand for experience and a name. It was the common opinion that if some of the exiled generals of the former war could succeed in landing in Cuba, they could infuse the necessary strength into the cause. In the province of Santiago the j)artisans of the insurrection prayed for the coming of Maceo and Flor Crombet. They did not know that the old leaders were about to enter upon the scene and change in a short time the whole course of events. At that moment Maceo and Flor Crombet were in San Domingo, and they had but one arm of the sea to cross. Antonio ]\laceo was born on July 1-1, 1848. His father had a little plantation near Piarajagua, and there were eleven sons, of whom Antonio was the eldest. His skin was very dark, something between the negro and the mulatto, although he seemed much nearer the latter type. At the beginning of the Ten-Years War he did not know how to read or write. His father kept mules for hire and they were driven along the lonely mountain roads by Antonio. In this way the boy made trips to Baracoa, to Guantanamo, to Santiago, and even to Ilolguin. He saw the slaves toiling their lives away in the fields, fet- tered and laslied by overseers. He saw the red and yellow Spanish flag floating above the fortified towns, and came to understand it as an emblem of rapacity, cruelty, and gi-eed. One autumn day in 18G8 Antonio returned to his father's plantation from Baracoa mth the information that the Cubans had rebelled. The father, being a careful man, at once ad- vised his family to remain strictly neutral. But they secretly THE OATH OF THE MACEOS 125 exulted over the siieeesses of tlieir conntryiiien, and it may have been that the S^mniards obtained an inkling of their sen- timents. At any rate, Spanish spies bcg-an to annoy them, and more than once tlicy were tlircatciic(l. The i-cvohition had been in progress fur some months, and tin' Spaniai-ds were wilil over a series of disasters, wlicn tlici-c appeared at tlie Maeeo plantation a l)and of S|iaiiis|i niierrillas. Mared and his okh'r sons were away with a mnk^ train. They retnrned at nightfall. As the i)lantation came into view, a hori-ifying sight met the ga/e of Maeeo and his sons. Where his home had been thci-e was nnljiing but a smoulder- ing heap of ashes and embers, llis barns wert; burned, his ero]>s destroyed, his mules, sheep, horses, and eattle driven off. Ihit w here were tlie mend)ers of liis family : Out in the jungle a woman screamed. Father and sons rushed in tlie dii'eetinn of the voice. Six young boys lay on the ground, bound, bleed- ing, and senseless. The gray-haired mothei- stood tied to a tree, moaning, with a broken arm. On the following day the father called his sons about him, and exacted from each a promise that they would never lay down their arms until the invader was driven out and Cuba was free. A few days later i\Iaximo (lomez, lying out in the mountains of Santiago Avitli his little following, was con- fronted by a gaunt, hagi^ai'd man, behind whom wei'e half a dozen awkward boys. Little diil (!onie/. know that in this a'atheriu"' of i-aw reei'uits thei-e stood his future lientenant- general. Uc a-ked them if they could tight. Idiey smiled and said " Peihaps." Soon afterward some Spanisii troops were riding leisni-ely along with an ammunition train. Around the l)end of the road, in front, swept a iiying body of horsemen, with their nuichetes glittering. They were guer- rillas of Oomez, and at their head rode the " awkwanl s(piad of the l\raceos. TJight into the heart of the Spanish troops they drove. ]->ell mell. cutting, slashing, and striking right and left. AVheii the fight was ended the elder !^^aceo lay dead on the ground. 120 A BRILLIANT AND DARING LEADER Lefore tlio expiration of two months, Manuel, Fermin, and Justice Maceo had been killed in battle. Raphael was so cut up by wounds that he left the island to die as an exile in Costa Rica. For six months after this the survivors of the Maceo family seemed to bear charmed lives, and they became the foremost fighters under Gomez, ICext, Miguel was killed by a bayonet thrust at the cap- ture of Une Yitas. Soon after Julio was shot dead at Xuevo Mundo. Felipe and Thomas were so badly wounded that they became helpless cripples in San Domingo. Then, almost at the end of the war, Marcus was killed in a gallant machete charge, leaving Antonio, of all the " awkward squad " of fighters, still in the field. His brother Jose was still too young to join his relatives. During the first twelve months of Maceo's service he received sixteen of the twenty- one severe wounds that luarked his body at the close of the w^ar. "With great taciturnity and apparent gruffness, he combined a magnetism that drew men to him. Within a year he had been promoted through the various grades of sergeant, lieuten- ant, and captain to that of major. One of Maceo's notalde achievements in this Ten- Years War was in the battle of Zarzai, where 2,500 Spaniards were utterly routed. I^ater, at the battle of Santa Maria de Hol- guin, he ciharged the Spanish line at the head of his followers, and many were cut down before they could fire a shot. It was at this time that Maceo first met General AYeyler. The latter had been made a brigadier, and at the battle of Guaimaro was sent against Maceo. Maceo had placed his men across a steep ravine in some heavy brush. The Spaniards came tumbling and running up to the edge of the ravine, and there they were slaughtered like sheep. Y^eyler fled, leaving five hundred dead on the field. Tie never stopped to look liack until he w^as safe within the Spanish lines at Pnerto Principe. For these and other l)rilliant acts Maceo was made major- general. It seemed as if this new honor put additional spurs THE TERROR OF THE SPANIARDS 127 to his heels, lie lost no opportunity to harrass the enemy, was in ambush and on guard everywhere, ancl he became the terror of the Spaniards, lie expei'ted them at all points, even when he was far away, and his life seemed beyond the reach of Spanish bullets. How to take IMaceo became the one idea of the Spanish soldiers, and as he became the terror of the Spaniards he became equally the hero of the Cubans. In rapid succession he engaged the Spaniards in a series of bril- liant and bloody fights. While he was in the midst of his iicrj' crusade the Cuban and Spanish leaders met at Zanjon and sigiied a treaty of peace. The news was brought to ]\laceo by a messenger who was au- thorized to procure his signature to the treaty. " Tell them," was IMaceo's reply, " that I will never sign any compact with Spain otlici- than a compact for the freedom of Cuba. I will not submit." So Antonio Maceo kept on fighting. It soon became evi- dent, however, that the backbone of the war had been broken. Ten years of starvation and exposure in all sorts of weather had broken the spirit of all but Maceo. Unable to obtain sup- plies, he was reduced to complete want. Then the capitula- tion came. He wrote Campos a haughty letter, agreeing to lay down his arms, disband his forces, and submit to exile on the condition that a Spanish man-of-war be placed at his dis- posal to convey him and his officers to Jamaica. This offer was readily accepted by ('aiiipos, wlio reiili/e(l the impossi- bility of catching Maceo in a country where he knew every tree and bypath. Maceo disbanded his men in the early dawn under a i)ig tree near CJuantanamo. There were men among that 500 who had fought under Maceo for almost ten years. They were ragged and half starved, l)ut they had stood together in the brunt of many a hard-fought battle, and it was no wonder that tears were in their eyes as they bade their leader goodby. For them it was a return to the Idackened sites of their burned homes and their ruined planlations. For him it was 128 THE WEST POINT HOSTLER exile forever to a foreign country — and Cuba still in chains. No wonder the thought maddened him. Yet he counselled patience, industry, and obedience to the laws. " As for me," he said, "I will follow the will of fate that leads me blindly onward. Will I come again? Qnien sabef ^' Then there were handclasps and goodbys, and Antonio Maceo sailed away to Jamaica. In the few moments of his leisure he had learned to read and write. At night, when the fighting was over, by such light as his straightened means could compass, he poured over his books as industrious and submissive as a child. General Lacret was his preceptor, and he suddenly acquired an amazing fond- ness for books relating to wars and military tactics, which he read early and late. Early in 1871) Maceo arrived in Xew York. For a month or more he lived alone, without other companionship than that of books. In a few months he made his way to West Point, where he obtained employment as a hostler. ISTobody in the academy dreamed that the broad-shouldered, dark-browed man who handled the horses so easily had ever smelled the smoke of battle, or heard the song of rifle bullets. Day after day, on the parade ground, he watched the evolutions of the cadets, listened to the commands of the officers, studied the discipline of the place, pored over volumes of military tactics that he had managed to borrow, and added to his natural genius the knowledge of other great generals. At last the hostler, who was regarded as book-mad, gave up his positioii and returned to ^e\v ^^ork. From jSTew York he went to Costa Rica, taking a hundred or more weighty volumes with him. Some wealthy Cubans had settled in Costa Rica during the war, and they now offered Maceo a tract of land on which to colonize his brave followers. Here for ten years the exile worked and studied and dreamed, instructed his veterans in the modern theories of war, and gave them practical lessons in drilling and in cavalry evolutions. Never for a moment did he forget his purpose. RETURN OF MACEO AND ("ROMBET 129 One (l:i_v in Fetbrnarv, 1895, word came that the Cubans had risen. A week later Maeeo, his brother Jose, Flor Crombet, Cabreco, and sixteen other veterans, sailed from Costa Rica for San Dnininpi. At this time ^laeeo was forty- seven years ohl. His hair and his beard were beginning' to show threads of sih'cr, but his strength and agility were sur- prising, lie was a sharpshooter and a horseman of incom- parable finish and skill. Cahn, imperious, and inflexible as he stood under the rain of bulle^ts, he was the ideal of a guer- rilla chief. 1 n the march of events he was to display qualities whicli 2)i'(ivcd that he was as true a man and as masterful a general as he was keen and skillful in strategy. Springing from obscurity, he hewed out of the rugged history of Cuba a name that will be remembered while liberty endures. Un- known as he was and of a race of slaves, backed only by a small band of rebels, he met the soldiers of a European power and the head of an imposing army on the ground of man's ('([iiality, and for a moment the rebel held the safety of the royal army in his hands. Flor Crond)et was also a guerrilla of unquestioned valor. He fought side by side with Macco during the greater part of the Ten-Years AVar; wounded many times, he seemed to bear a charmed life. lie was a lion in battle, but he lacked Maeeo's greatness of soul, and he had neither the noble instinct nor the generosity of Maceo. But he was whiter than his compatriot, his mother having been a mulatto, while the untainted blood of the Caucasian race ran in the veins of his father. At San Domingo they chartered a little American boat in which to cross to the coast near Baracoa, the nearest port, taking with them a few arms and such equipments as they considered necessary. They crossed without attracting atten- tion. The Spanish cruiser which jiatrolled the coast did not a])])("ar. On the morning of Api'il \<\ tlicv sightcl Unracoa, and the leaders then asked the captain, who was steering his boat towards the jwrt, to land fliem favflur along tlie coast at some distance from the city. The captain refused, urging 130 WANDERINGS AND PRIVATIONS that it had been agreed that they should land at Baracoa; he' declared that he should land just as he had contracted to, and added that he had no wish to run upon the rocks which line the coast for the purpose of pleasing his passengers. Maceo and Crombet insisted that he should not land in the port, and when the captain would not listen to their entreaties they told him that to do so would be to thrust them into the jaws of death. They told him that they could not approach the port without being recognized, and that they would be ar- rested and shot. But nothing that they urged had any in- fluence upon the captain. He steered steadily towards the city, and Crombet, beside himself, seized a rifle and blew out the captain's brains. They then took the ship, put about, and steered for the coast, and shortly afterwards landed in a little bay situated some distance from Baracoa. It was a part of the country of which they knew very little, and they wandered for some time at random, and the few inhabitants whom they met, Indian guerrillas in the service of Spain, were hostile to them. Maceo and his band kept in hiding in the woods, where they were soon called upon to undergo serious privations. After a few days of trial and discomfort, however, they arrived at a planta- tion of banana trees laden with fruit. Tliey were thankful for such a feast after their prolonged fast, but while they were busy with this harvest they w'ere surprised by a troop of In- dians commanded by Spanish oflicers. Maceo, realizing their position, in an instant cried out to his companions: " Sauve qui pent! " (Let liim escape who can.) All ran, with the exception of Crombet, who was at once surrounded. Ho fired and killed several of his adversaries, then fell dead with a bullet in his forehead. The Spaniards turned to pursue the rest of the band, but they had disap- peared. Dispersed and wandering separately, their sufferings were intense. Maceo lived for days on bitter oranges, the only fruit which grows in those Cuban woods. His boots had given A NIGHT OF SORROW 131 out, lie was barefooted, for iu his i>recipitiite fliglit lie had been forced to abandon all his supplies. After a time he met an Indian and asked liim to show him the way out of the woods. The Indian^ who had recognized him, agreed, and they went on together for several hours. Evening came on. " General," said the Indian, '' beyond this jwint I do not know tlie way, an unnuinageal>lc in a skirmish, even if ridden by an experienced horseman, but Marti would not listen. '■ Viva ( 'uba Libre ! " he cried, waving his sword, and, fol- lowed l)y his soldiers, he rushed upon the Spanish lines. Be- fore the avalanche the Spanish army retreatecl, but in good ordei-, upon its reserves. That was the trap, (lomez sounded a rally to the troops, and they stoj)ped, but ^Tarti, carried on by the vigor of his horse, whicdi ]\c could not control, was taken straight int(» the ranks of the enemy, lie received a bnllet in his left eyebrow, another in his throat, and se\-ei'al s\vt)rd thrusts in his l)ody. Then the Spaniards fell upon their vic- lini. The insurgents charge(l again, bnt in the face of su(di superior nund)ers the movement was of no avail. There was danger of losing all, and ^larti was dead. Marti wore upon his hat a scarf in the colors of ( "nba Libre on wlii(di was embroidered his name, 'i'he connnander oi the Spanish forces hastened to transmit to Santiago the news of this important ca])ture, and the rejoicing was great among the Spaniards, ricneral Camjios at once gave orders to despatch two persons who knew ]\Iarti to identify him and bring back 138 A HERO EULOGIZED BY HIS FOES official proof of his death. After its identification the corpse was to be brought to Santiago, let it cost what it might, lie did not propose to neglect the opportnnity of prodncing upon pnblic opinion an impression unfavorable to the Cnban cause, and, naturally, the news of Marti's death was at first received with incredulity by some. Bnt the evidence was conclusive. The body of the dead J^-esident A\'as carried to the cemetery, where it was exposed to the })u])lic \'ie\v and photographed. By the order of General Camjjos, a Spanish general presided at the funeral of the illustrious insurgent, and pronounced a discourse over the grave, eulogizing the brilliant (pialities of the fallen enemy, and mourning because his courage and his talents had not been exerted in a better cause. Those who had been present at the summary executions of the previous war thought that times had changed and military manners with them. At that time Marti's corpse would have been dragged througli the streets of the city. But Campos knew that such brutal treatment would only arouse thousands of Cubans who were then in a doubtful attitude. Marti's death appeared at first sight to be an irreparable loss, but the movement had received such an imjudse that noth- ing could then have stopped its onward march. It was ciuickly arranged that T. Estrada Palma, one of the leaders of the revo- lutionary connnittee, should act as president until such time as the Cuban Assembly could meet to definitely organize the republic. Marti had already issued the call for this meeting and it only awaited the favorable opportunity. Experience had taught Marti that Cespedes had failed in 1878 largely because of lack of arms. Before attempting to begin the war, therefore, j\Iarti had organized- a system of col- lecting money from exiled Cubans everywhere. lie had but a small sum at the beginning, for his system liad only l)egun its operations. The Spaniards generally believed that Marti controlled millions and jumped at the conclusion that he was backed solely by the people of the Ignited States. But it is stated as a fact that ]\larti was compelled to start the war with CAMPOS BEGINS AN ACTIVE CAMPAIGN 130 no more than $75,000, wlik-li would be liardly enough for a yinglc cxpoJition. l>ut his system was in working order and it represented niillions. AVhile Comez, mourning the fate of the dasliing Init reck- less ]\larti, was adroitly working his way along the flank of the enemy towards the iiro\iiu'e of Puerto Principe, Maceo was vigorously diverting the S[)anish forces in the eastern part of the island. Other bauds of insurgents were having frevastate the fair island of Cuba. The next nmi-ning ^laceo tiled off with his troops. They were ^\•ithin sight of tlie city, and the Spaniards fired after them a hannless \'olley of artillery. "" Idiat is the way to salute a general," said Maceo with a langh. A\ hen once his brilliant exploit was aceomi)lished the in- stn-gent leader retired, lie had just learned that important forces were on their way to Bayamo to reinforce Campos, and he feared to be taken between two fires. He sent each band to its respective encam])nient to await siudi a time as he might think best fitted for a new sortie. CHAPTER XII, ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA — PECULIAR- ITIES OF CUBAN WARFARE -ON TO HAVANA!— THE FAMOUS JUCARO TROCHA. Campos Sends for Reinforcements — Landing of Other Cuban Leaders - Gomez Enters Puerto Principe — His Order for the Destruction of Sugar Plantations — The Reasons for It — Campos Leaves Santiago for Santa Clara — Cuban Delegates Meet to Found the Republic — A Govern- ment Largely on Paper — Gomez's Great Plan for a Westward March — Divisions of the Cuban Army — Gomez's Instructions — Tactics of the Insurgents — Their Advantages — The Nature of Alleged Spanish Victories — Cubans Constantly Pushing Further WestAvard — Campos Reinforces the Jucaro Trocha — Fifty Miles of Forts and Barbed Wire — Gomez's Plan to March 12,000 Men Over It — Maceo Deceives the Spaniards — Burning Sugar Plantations in Santa Clara — Insurgents Divide into Small Bands - - The Battle of Coliseo — Campos Falls Back to Havana — All Cuba Under Martial Law. FOETUNE certainly favored the insurgents in leading the Captain-General into the province of Santiago de Cnl>a, for while Campos was unsuccessfully exerting himself to crush the rebellion there, he was leaving the way open for Gomez to cari-y the banner of Cuba Libre to the west- ward. After reaching Bayamo and examining the garrison there, Campos immediately sent for reinforcements and a con- siderable number of troops came from Santa Clara. That province he regarded as thoroughly loyal, and he did not be- lieve for a moment that Gomez would be able to push beyond the old Jucaro trocha. But it happened at about this time that three able Cul)an leaders, Generals Roloff, Sanchez, and Rodriguez, landed in Santa Clara province with a large amount of war material, and before the Spaniards had extricated Campos from his posi- tion at Bayamo the army in Santa Clara had been organized into the Fourth Army Corps, and operations were at once (144) GOMEZ STRIKES AT THE REVENUES OF SPAIN 145 begun. It was not long before the insnrrection had taken a vigorous stride there. Skirmishes were of almost daily occur- rence and there were some important encounters caused by the action of the insurgents who undertook to destroy the rail- road and telegraph communication of tlie ])r(>vince. (Jonoral CJomoz, after tlio engagement in wliicli ^Tarti lost his life, succeeded in eluding tlie forces sent to intercept him and entered the southern part of the province of Puerto J^rin- ci})e early in June, or before the events just related took place. Here he was joined by Salvador (^isneros lietancourt, the most influential Cuban in that district, and soon his forces were increased by young men from all over the province, thus form- ing tlie nucleus of what was later the Third Army Corps. When Gomez reached Najasa, about thirty miles from the city of Puerto Principe, he issued one of the first of those gen- eral orders which had so much effect in the later conduct of the island. It was as follows : General Heax)Quarters of the Army of Litjeration, Kfijam, Camagiiey, July 1, 1S05. To the Planters and Owtwrs of Cattle Ranches : In accord with the great interests of the revohition for tlie independ- ence of the country and for which we are in arms : Wliereas all exploitations of any product wliatsoever are aids and re- sources to the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the Gen- eral-in-Chief to issue this general order throughout the island, that the in- troduction of articles of commerce, as well as beef and cattle, into the towns occupied by the enemy, is absolutely prohibited. The sugar ]ilan- tations will stop their laJ)ors, and whosoever shall attempt to grind the crop, notwithstanding this order, will have their cane burned and their buildings demolished. The person who," disobeying this order, will try to protit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct lit- tle respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and therefore shall be considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried as such in case of his capture. Maximo Gomkz, The General in-Chi'if. The reasons for this order were the same as those which led to the destruction of cotton in the South dnring the Ameri- can civil conilict. TIic siionr ci'o)> was :i ]:\vre to stand in the same rela- tion to the young re])ublic as the fathers of the Constitution of the United States stood to onr people. On the 18th the assembly proceeded to tlie election of the officers of the government council, eatdi i-epveseiitative de]iosit- ing his ballot in an nin ]ihiee(l on the chaii'inan's tabh'. The voting resulted in the election of the foHowing: Prcsifhnf. — Salvador Cisneros Betancourf, wlio liad lulil tlio same position iu the foniur rcvolutionarj' irovcriinient. Vice-Preiddent. — Bartolome Maso, a pioniinent citizen of ^tanzanillo. Secretary of State for Foreign Ajf'airs. — Raiiliael Portnondo y Tain- ayo, a member of a wealtliy and distinirnislied family of tlie province of Santiago dc Cuba. Secretary of War. — Carlo.s liololT of Santa Clara, a native of Poland, who had borne a consjueuous i>art in tlie former revolution. Secretary of the Treasury. — Severo Pino, of an old and wealthy family of St. Spiritus. Secretary of till Tntirior. — Dr. Santiago Garcia Cani/ares 10 148 A MASTER OF STRATEGY Civil formalities having been completed and the govern- ment having eonclnded a grand review of the forces which were to march to Havana, Gomez proceeded with his plans for marching to Havana. Maceo was bringing his forces np from the east with little difhcnlty, thongh he was compelled to tight some of the way. In point of strategy there have been few events in recent warfare to eqnal the remarkable character of the undertaking Gomez had in mind. For it is to Gomez alone, it has been said, that the honor of devising the move- ment is due. In carrying it ont he accomplished feats worthy of the most conspicnons of the w^orld's reno\vned generals, and he exhibited (jnalities placing him among the first of Ameri- can commanders. That part of the Spanish army which was between Havana and Gomez must have nnmbered at least 50,000 w^ell-armed men. It was against this defending force, vastly superior in numbers and equipment, that the insurgents were about to measure their strength. From the outset, Gomez divided his troops into three columns, one commanded by Antonio Maceo, about 8,000 strong; another under the command of Suarez and Lacret, numbering 2,000 men, and the principal corps, numbering about 0,000 men, under his own personal direction. A column of 1,000 men under the command of Francisco Perez formed the advance guard. In all, therefore, there were 12,000 men. Fhis was the effective army with which Gomez began his march upon Havana, but it should be borne in mind that it was only the nucleus, for as the insurgents marched along they were joined by all the Cubans who daily embraced the cause, of liberty. After Gomez had unfolded his plan and explained to his lieutenants all that he hoped, he told them that all their efforts were to be directed towards one object, to reach Havana. He insisted that it was not a question of killing Spanish soldiers, but of arriving before Havana. He expected them by a march — strategic if need be — and as rapid as possible, to succeed in reaching the goal, and they were to foil the enemy ON TO HAVANA ! 14'J as often as possible, and in any way, whether by a false attack or by an absolute avoidance of a meeting. His final instruc- tions were : " In the event of a forced battle, overthrow them; pass over them — and on to Havana ! " However inferior the Spaniards of the royal army may have been in point of enthusiasm, there could have been no doubt lliat they were capal)l(' of dcf"c;itini^' in open battle the undisciplined ai'niy of insurgents who were homogeneous in nothing but their love for Cuba and tlunr luitred of Spain. 1 hit there was no reason to fear that the army of Gomez would be forced into battle, for in order to bring about such a result it would have been necessary to surround the insurgent army to bring it to a halt and then attempt to destroy it in a close conflict. AVliile the Spaniards marched in columns relatively large, from 1,000 to 1,500 men, who could move but slowly, bur- dened as they were with a certain amount of luggage and the usual military impedimenta, the Cubans had divided their army eoi'i>s into detachments of from 200 to 300 soldiers, well- e(piij)ped and carrying an adequate supply of ammunition, soldiers familiar Avith the country, with no useless baggage to transport, and accustomed to such nourisliment as they could gather from the trees, the plants, and other products of the ground over which they inarched. Tliesc small detachments of natives, thoroughly hal)ituatecen a ratianiards to have fol- lowed the tactics of Gomez and divided their columns into small bodies calculated to compete with the rebel troops in rapidity of mobilization, Imt the Spanish officers had a distinct 150 SOME ADVANTAGES OF THE CUBANS disinclination to attack the Cubans except with a very superior force. Moreover, the Spanish soldiers were much embar- rassed by the natural difhculties of tlie country, and their lack of familiarity with these difficulties, and with the country itself. They dared not leave their positions without the guid- ance of some one born in the country, and the recruiting of these guides became a serious problem. Each day it became more difficult, for the natives feared the insurgents and were haunted by visions of the reprisals which they feared miglit follow any great victory obtained by Gomez, as the insurgents had declared that any Cul)an fonnd l>y them serving in the ranks of the Spanish army should be hanged. There existed another reason why tlie movement of the Cuban army was easier and less influenced by nervous dread. Every movement of the Culjans was calculated, and they began their march with a distinct end in A'iew, while the ob- ject of the Spanish movement was much more vague. To chase after the fleet-footed Cubans was far from easy. On the rare occasions when an insurgent column was engaged in a skirmish M'ith the Spaniards, the insurgents sent forth a few flying volleys and disappeared as if the earth had swallowed them. It seemed to be of no importance to them which direc- tion they took; they faced about in the v(>ry midst of a combat and fled in any direction, apparently without a plan. The Spaniard stood alone upon his ground and cried ^' Victory ! " This is the ex])lanation of the Spanish despatches to the jour- nals of that day. It was always the same story, reading some- thing like this : " After an insignificant discharge of mus- ketry, the Cnbans ran away." And yet the Cubans were every day marching nearer and nearer to Havana. While the Spaniards were winning their alleged victories, the Cubans were bringing the whole island into insurrection and making it well-nigh impossible for loyal planters to harvest a sugar crop. Some of the war correspond- ents, who had never seen a war before, complained that there was only a handful of insurgents here and there, and that SUBSISTING ON SUGAR CANE 151 Gomez would not light. Tliey missed entirely the stratagem which he was carrying out with the most consummate skill. AVhether these tactics are called Cuban retreats or Spanish victories, it cannot be denied that they gave to the insurgents an advantage far exceeding victories which fall on more im- portant cond)ats. At times the royal troops endeavored to (Mpial their adversaries in rapidity of uiovement, but it was like a race between day and night. As one observer expressed it : " The ]iassage of the rebels resembled the trail of liop o' my Thumb, ('xc(']>f that in the place of crund)s and pebbles the Cuban Hop o' my Thumbs left along their trail the bodies of their foundered horses, the chewed remains of sugar cane and bananas, and the empty cans of preserves which had been de- \en constructed during the former war, he had, in anticipation of the movement, strengthened and reinforced along its entire length. Those who have not seen these lines of defense have an inadequate idea of what they consist, and as similar lines wovo built Inter in the western section of the island, a descrijition of the Jucaro trocha will serve for all. Tt stretched froui Jucaro on the south const of the province of Puerto Priiiciiio to ^Foron on the north, a distance of about fiftv miles. The conntrv on each side of it was covered bv a 152 THE FIFTY-MILE TROCHA thick jungle of woods. The troeha consisted primarily of a cleared space tlirough this jungle from 100 to 200 yards wide, and the trees, cut down to clear a way, were piled up on each side, thus forming a sort of barrier of tree trunks and their branches, averaging perhaps six feet high and fifty feet wide. These alone would seem to an observer sufficient to prevent the passage of any army, especially if the barricades were guarded, but the Spanish found that such a device would not even pre- vent the passing of Cuban cavalry. The space between the lines of fallen trees ^\'as given np to a military road and forts and a maze of barbed wire. 1'he wire was strung back and forth from three rows of poles, about five feet high, 450 yards of wire being used to every twelve yards of posts. At inter- vals of every half mile along this roadway were the larger forts made of stone and adobe and painted white. Midway between the larger forts were placed blockhouses of two stories, the upper being of wood. Between each of the larger forts and the blockhonses, or within the short distance of a quarter of a mile, were placed three small forts of mud and planks sur- rounded by a ditch. They were capable of holding five men and were within hailing distance of each other, or about 150 yards. Maceo had not yet brought up his division, and while wait- ing for him Gomez thought he would ascertain what he conld do with the troeha, and, if possible, discover the condition of things on the other side. So, leaving the main body of his army, with a few hundred men he began to manoeuvre before the troeha and finally succeeded in working a small force through on the southern end. He immediately fell upon the little town of Pelayo, and ca]itured the forts which guarded it, together with the entire garrison and a large amount of arms and anununition. He then moved cautiously northward through the woods into the district of Remedios, then suddenly westward toward the troeha. The Spaniards appear to have been closely watching the southern end, believing that Go- mez's remaining force would try to eifect a passage there. In CLEVER RUSE OF MACEO AND ClOMEZ 153 consequence, Gomez found the northern part weakly defended, or at least he succeeded in re-crossing it, and was soon joined by Maceo, who by this time had brought up his army, having marched across the whole of Puerto rriiici|)c (iroviiicc, chiding four Spanish coluiuns \vl:icli had been sent against him. Maceo's forces were therefore in front of the ti-oclia some little distance to the north of where Gomez's main division was wait- ing to cross. Tt might seem that when ihey were in this posi- tion it would have been easy for the S[)aniards whom Maceo had left in the rear to have closed in and caught the Cubans between the trocha and themselves, but the country is a diffi- cult one for the moving of disciplined troops, and, moreover, the Spanish officers were never quite sure where the enemy was and seemed to content themselves with trusting in luck to come upon him in a favorable location. Gome/ understood tlieir position |)erfectly. He ordered ]\Iaceo to make a feint of attack u[)()n the nortliern ]ioi'tion of the trocha. Maceo accordingly sent a few soldiers to the front of the entrenchment of the royal army, and the Spaniards, thinking that the advance guard of the (^ubans had opened an attack and proposed to cross the trocha to the north, passed the word down the ti^xdia, and innnedi- ately the Spanish rushed en nia.s.se toward the nmlh, h'aving the southern ]K)rtion, before which (bmiez was conceak'd, un- protected. This was exactly what (ionic/, had counted ii])()n, and lie foi-tliwith ci'ussr'd the barricade without striking a blow, except to clear away trees and Dthcr obstatdes. His i)assage seems to have hocu unsusiiecte(j by the Spaiiisli engaged in lidldinii' b;i(d\ Maceo, who hail iio inteiitiou id" crossing there or then. Finally, when he had lieard that Gomez was safely over, Maceo beat a retreat, the Spaniards thinking they had won a victory. ^laceo li;id a]t|tarently dis;i|i|ieare(l towards the north, and the enemy naturally kept their attention turned in that direc- tion; but as soon !is the shrewd ( ulian leader was out of sight he faced southward and hurried his men to the point where 154 PLAYING HIDE-AND-SEEK WITH CAMPOS Gomez had jnst taken his men through, followed in his tracks without ditticult}', and before the Spaniards realized what had happened the entire Cuban army were marching into Santa Clara province. Campos at Santa Clara saw that he had been outflanked by the clever ruse of the Cubans before the trocha and that he was now in a measure surrounded. So when he heard that Gomez Avas threatening C*ienfuegos he made a precipitate march to that place, intrenching himself and assuming direct command of his troops. He also dispatched a large number of troops to form a line between Cienfuegos and Las Cruces to imi)ede the westward n^iarch of the (hd)ans. Meanwhile, Gomez had not forgotten one of the main ])urposes of his cam- paign, which was to prevent the grinding of sugar cane so that Spain would lose her revenue and the Cuban w(irkiiien, left with nothing better to do, would take up arms. Shortly after crossing the trocha, therefore, he issuetl a peremptory order for the destruction of sugar plantations and railroad communi- cation. I'he insurgents continued their evasive movements with great skill. They advanced until in their devious ways tluy reached the boundary of Matanzas. (^an)})os Avas again out- flanked; he drcAV back and established his hcadipiarters at Colon, twenty miles over the border of ]\Iatanzas. Here, while Campos was planning to concentrate his forces, surround Gomez and force him into open l>attle with a vastly superior Spanish force, Gomez foiled him by radiating his troops. By the time Campos was ready to concentrate his forces, therefore, there was nothing except one of these various " will-o'-the- wisp " divisions to concentrate upon. He liad hopes that the Spanish forces in Gomez's rear would be able to co-operate with him, Imt every means of com- munication by railroad, telegraph, or telephone had been com- pletely destroyed by the insurgents in their progress. Under other circumstances it is doubtful if the complicated strategy he contemplated would have been practicable owing to the APPPYING THE TORCH 155 iiatiiriil eoiulitions of the country, for sucli a move, even in European countries, -would liave reiiuired the co-operation of officers -who were familiar with the ground over which they were to deploy, and the ofhccrs u[)on whom Campos depended were unaccustomed to Cuba. Campos, however, agreed with his generals — Garcia, Xavarro, and Valdes — on the point of conccnitration, where they were to meet on a day appointed and were to drive the enemy before them. At that place and at that appointed time the great battle should be fought. To draw the insurgents into his proposed trap, Campos ordered his pickets to return the fire of the insurgents in a feeble manner, while ^faceu, wlio, like Cami)os, was h()})ing to deceive the enemy so as to leave the divisions to the north and south un- obstructed, had given a like order to his men. This engage- ment, therefore, amounted to but little. Suddenly the cane- brake which surrounded the Spanish camj) burst into flames and towards the west there appeared a great blazing plain. Campos understood at once that he had been foiled. It was not long before the llaiiies threatened to lick the feet of his frenzied horses, lie gave the orders to break the camp at once and looked about for his lieutenants. They were not to be found ; they had l)een unable to concentrate. Campos alone had come to the rendezvous! Such, in brief, was the battle of C^oliseo in December, 1895, which was so construed by the press censors as to occa- sion nuK-li rejoicing at Havana, for they thought the rebels had been iiid ;mi(I cheeked. In reality, however, a few insur- gents had phiycd their games with (leneral Campos; a detach- ment of ( 'nban cavalry, conunanded by ^Nfaceo, had made an exasperating charge on the S]»anisli jtickets, a fire had hi-oken out in the cane-brakes, and the Cubans had marched into ]\ratanzas province. Campos drcM' back to Jovellanos, towards which C.omez advanced, bni-ning the sngar ])lantalions on the way. AVith calls for the protection of the sugar plantations in both Santa Clara and ;\ratanzas to attend to, the cities of Santa Clara, 156 ALL CUBA IN A STATE OF SIEGE Cienfuegos, Colon, and Cardenas threatened, Campos drew back to Limonar, and Gomez advanced to Jovellanos, which commanded the raih-oad lines of Cardenas, Matanzas, and Havana. These lines he destroyed, while the smoke of the sugar plantations never ceased to darken the sky. AVith all communication with the east, except by water, cut off, Campos moved back to Matanzas and hurriedly sent orders for the con- centration of as many troops as possible, sending even to the province of Santiago de C^iba for as many troops as could be spared from there. Then he fell back to Havana and the in- surgents, without serious obstacle, continued their destructive march towards the west, while Campos waited for rein- forcements and set about actively to fortify the land ap- proaches of the capital city. He also hurried as many troops as he could spare to the neighborhood of Batabano, directly across the island from Havana, withdrawing even a large num- ber of marines from the fleets for shore duty, for by this time the insurgents were threatening to break the line and penetrate into Pinar del Tiio. So grave was the situation that martial law was declared in both the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Pio. Thus by the end of 1895 the whole island from Point Maysi to Cape Antonio was declared to be in a state of siege. As ah-eady explained, it was not the intention of General Gomez in carrying out this winter campaign to lay siege to Havana. That Avould have done little good, even supposing his troops could have held their place before tlie gates, for, while the bay w^as open, supplies or reinforcements could liave been easily brought in. Gomez's two great objects were to prevent the griuding and export oi sugar and the consequent flow of treasure into the Spanish coffers, and to infuse the Cubans everywhere with courage to take the field, with the belief that he could control the provinces and enforce his orders. While the westward march of the main body of the troops was being carried on, the forces of the other Cuban army corps succeeded in carrying out the orders concerning THE WINTER CAMPAIGN 157 sugar cane and tlic dostruction of Spniiisli lines of coninnmica- tion. Sonic artillery had boon introduoed into the ('id)an army, and with thiri small garrisons were more easily attaeked. Moreover, the insurgents, in spite of the Spanish patrol of the coast, managed to preserve communication between the in- terior and certain points on the coast, where, from time to time, supplies were received and carried iidand. The insurgents in the east were under the command of General Jose jMaceo, Antonio's brother, and they were passing their lives in comparative quiet in their various camps. Nearly all martial ctTorts \ver(» confined to the surroundings of Havana, when^ (lomez was in charge, and the insurgents of Santiago de Cuba were rarely troubled with the unimportant sorties of the Spaniards. They pitched their camps wherever they could find a comfortable place, the officers usually taking possession of some old building or shed, while the men brought in palm leaves and constructed primitive shelters. They usually ])osted pickets on all the roads, and made themselves comfortable. Frequently, camps were placed near some planter, who deemed it wise to show his sympathy for the in- surgents whether he really wished to or not. CHAPTER XIII THE ADVENT OF WEYLER, KNOWN AS "THE SPANISH BUTCHER" — HIS CRUELTY AND BARBARITY — THE FA- MOUS 1-5,000,000 TROCIIA — DARING EXPLOITS OF MACEO. Campos Co'clly Received at Havana — Spaniards Clamor for Sterner Metli- ods — Campos Consults the Leaders — His Resignation — Weyler's Arrival — His Infamous Reputation — Commissioned Because of It — Progress of Gomez and Maceo — Weyler's Immense Forces — Largest Military Expedition Ever Transported by Sea — Strength of the Insur- gents — Object of Their Campaign — Wejder's Boastful Proclamations — Civilized War Abandoned — Weyler's Ineffective Military Opera- tions — His Big Fence — Maceo Crosses and Recrosses It Easily — Cuba "Pacified" — Maceo Appears Where Least Expected — Maceo Surprised — Turning Defeat into Victory — Battles and Skirmishes — Death of Maceo's Brother Jose. WPIEX General Carnpos, having fallen back from one stronghold to another, finally made his stand in Havana, he was very coldly received h\ the people, who considered him gnilty of cnlpable negligence and care- lessness. It was one of the absnrditics of the sitnation that Spain was continnally characterizing the rebellion as only the ontbreak of a lot of ignorant negroes, and insisting that a state of war did not actnally exist npon the island. Spanish pride bled at the thonght that at any moment a horde of rebels might pour trinmphantly into the streets of Havana. Pnblic emo- tion ran high. Since the battle of Coliseo hnndreds of fami- lies had taken refnge within the walls of the capital, deserting the rural districts and even the villages. The highways and byways were cnmbered with people distracted with fear and bringing in whatever they conld carry or transport of tlieir nsefnl and precions possessions. Household goods and ob- jects of valne were piled together in confnsion. (158) l:..\U.Ni..N 1 .-^I'A.M.^ll Ll',AUl',K.1 1 A IJLK W A Iv. Willi Sl'AlX. Admiral Cervera. Prime Minister Sagasta. General Weyler. General Blanco. CAMPOS RESIGNS HIS COMMAND 161 The Spaniards of Havana were luuiglity and unrelenting, and from the beginning of the insurreetion had chunored for re\-enge witliont mercy. Their aim was to restore the system of rc|)ris;ils which had pilcMl up hccatonilis of helpless Cubans during the former war; s^ueh a system of revenge as had dis- tinguished with an unenviable eelebrity some of the Captain- (Jeuerals of the preeecliug insurrection, like Halniaeeda and such subordinate ofhcers as Weyler. These fanatics, furious and trembling with fear, demanded of the marshal some cogent reason for his repeated defeats. They made serious threats, but the welbkiiown energy of (*ani])os held tluMU in check; they darnl not make any open attack on his })erson. ('uuf'runted by the disfavor of the po[)idace, Campos met the leaders of the three parties in an interview having for its object tlie adjustment of the existing conditions. He asked what measures they could ])ropose and what they would advise. The Conservatives clamored for vigorous reprisals; the Re- formists dared not ex[)ress an oj)inion. The Autonomists timidly assured their leader of their snj)port. In the face of such divergence of opinion, practically deprived of the assist- ance of the governmental parties, Campos thought it but right that he should resign his command. Campos sailed for Spain on the 17th of January, 189G, his office being temj)orarily left in the hands of General Sabas ^larin, who, on the 10th of February, was succeeded by Gen- eral Valeriano Weyler y Xicolau, Marquis of Teneriffe, bet- ter known and hated by the world at large as " Weyler." This general arrived preceded by a reputation for excessive severity and cruelty, lie Avas accused of having committed the most atrocious crimes during the former war. The insur- gent leaders were inclined to welcome his appointment, for they knew his disposition and counted njion the probability that his acts would quickly arouse sympathy for th(> strugoling Cubans in the T'^nited States and elsewhere, and eventually secure for them ihat recognitiou which they so much desired, and which their representatives in the United States were so 162 ARRIVAL OF THE BLOOD-THIRSTY WEYLER industriously seeking. Moreover, tliey said that his military talents were not brilliant, in ability not to be compared with Campos, and his appointment to the office at such a crisis in Cuba could be but for one purpose, of returning to a system of severe reprisals. Undoul:>tedly, the Spanish government had been moved by a certain stress of public opinion to appoint him, for the impression then was that the failures of General Campos were due to a too lenient treatment, not simply of Cubans in the field but of CUibans apparently peaceful. Chiefly l^ecause of his reputation for severity in the former war, the Conservatives in Havana demanded him. He secured the important mission, indeed, mainly because as a man he lacked the high qualities possessed by Campos. It was pre- tended, however, that he had been especially instructed to moderate his ardor, a pretence doubtless suggested by the fear of possible complications with the United States. The Cuban question had already been taken up by the United States Senate, and considerable excitement prevailed in IvTew York as well as elsewhere in the country when the news of \\"eyler's appointment was received. The fear that the United States might recognize the belligerency of the Cubans hung like the sword of Damocles over the head of the Spanish Ministry, and while it was compelled to heed the clamors of the Conservatives in Havana and Madrid, it osten- tatiously used every means calculated to avoid a declaration by this country which might double the force of the revolution. Meanwhile, Gomez and Maeeo had pushed through Mad- ruga, ]S[euva-Paz, and Giiines. "When they reached the im- portant railway line which unites Batabano to Havana, they destroyed it at several points, as also the telegraph lines. Having done this, the two chiefs separated; Gomez to go towards Havana, and jMaceo to continue his march westward to bring the province of Pinar del Tiio into the insurrection. General Weyler brought over with him large reinforce- ments, and he must have begun his work for the pacification of the island with a force of about 140,000 men. According weyler's immense military force 103 to the ofHc'ial ligiircs given out at Madrid, there liad l)een at the outbreak of the insurrection 20,000 men for fiehl work in the island. From that time to tlie 10th of March, 1890, there were sent over nine successive bodies of reinforcements aggre- gating a little more than 120,000 men. It has been said tliat this made the largest militarv force ever transj-jorted by sea, and if it is added to the original per- manent force, not counting the Volnnteers in city garrisons, it makes ;iii nriiiy of over 1 lO.OOO, of which Weyler took com- mand in an island no largei' than Pennsylvania, ^'ct the Spanish government maintained that this was not a war! The insurgents starting in February as only a handful of men ill tlie |)rovince of Santiago de (\d)a, in December con- sisted of about 50,000 men, not over half of whom were fully armed and e(pii])ped; the rest carried miscellaneous weapons. This army was divided into five corps, two in Santiago, one in Puerto Principe, and two in Matanzas and Santa C^lara. Tlu^se corps were subdivided into brigades and divisions, scat- tered here and there all over the island. 'idiis was the force that (leneral AVeyler with about four times as many armed men at his conunand was to crush. So far as the insurgents were concerned, their great object had been nearly accomplished; they liad spread the insurrection all over (^d)a, aiiest manner. One of his proclamations comiuaiidcMl tlie dilTereut iiiuiiicipal guveruuieuts to send him lists of all jiersons in any way ideiitilieil wiih the insurrection, 164 THE BUTCHER BEGINS HIS AWFUL WORK and announcing that all wlio did not surrender would be severely punished. It Avas generally understood that no quar- ter would be given. The first results of his efforts to find those likely to be identified with the insurgents was to bring under suspicion many people who had taken no part in the uprising, many mothers who perhaps had sons in the insurgent ranks, or ])eaceful (hibans v.-ho were known to have taken part in the Ten-Years War. No leniency was to be shown to Cuban prisoners of war. Chiban hosi)itals were to l»e ruthlessly de- stroyed and all found in them put to death. It was no longer to be civilized war. The brutality of the tierce Si^anish gueril- leros was not to be restrained by any humanitarian considera- tions so foreign to their nature. The shooting in cold blood of luckless young (^ubans became a regular early morning scene about the Spanish garrisons, and many were the examples of Cuban heroism all unknown to the world except to the soldiers who delighted in this wanton cruelty. AVeyler's military achievements were chiefly conspicuous for their ineffectiveness. AVith Gomez and Maceo both in the regions of Havana when he ])oastfully took command, in- stead of throwing his vastly superior forces upon the insur- gents, he ado])ted the expedient, always popular with Spanish commanders in Cuba, of building a fence. Ilis idea was to prevent ]\raceo from getting into Pinar del I\io, or, if he should get in, to keep him there while he sent his columns against him. 'The boundary line between the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Pio lies close to the narrowest part of the island. At this narrowest ]^art, l»etween Artemisa and the Pay of IMajara, Weyler, therefore, constructed another trocha about twenty-five miles lone:, t^nd lying about forty miles west of Havana. This pretentious device was constructed in a ccnni- try quite thickly settled, and therefore (piite dissimilar from the jungle through which the Jucaro trocha was built. It differed also in character. A road wide enough to ]>ermit the cavalry to pass couif(n-tably was b(»r(lered on each side by a ditch, three yards wide and three yards deep, in the lower A FIVE MILLION DOLLAR FENCE 1 65 places filled with water. Aloiio- tliesc trenches was stretched barbed wire — imported from the United States, of course. As the island was not admitted to be in a state of war, nothing was contraband so far as tlie Spanish were concerned, but everything was so far as the Cubans A\'ere concerned. Beyond the ditches and the wire fence, which it was supposed would offer some obstacles to cavalry, were due; ritic ])its twenty feet apart, and at intervals of about 100 yards were l)uilt "' forts," so calh^d, whose walls were formed by partitions of thick planks, a yard apart, the intervening space being filled with sand. At night this inrtiticd line was lighted by electi'icity and the forts were connected by telephone wires. Twelve thou- sand men were concentrated on this elaborate highway, making it a permanent post, and 0,000 were placed toward Pinar del Eio and G,000 more towards Havana to hold themselves in readiness to reinforce the troops on guard in case of an attack. This great military work is supposed to have cost nearly $5,000,000. It was to aid in pacifying " a few 1)andits." But in spite of General AVeyler's precautions, in the latter part of February !Maceo led his forces across the incompleted troclia, and then recrossed to assist Gomez to carry the wounded out of reach of danger. Then he went on an ex- pedition t(^wards Matanzas, and Weyler aiuiounced in one of his glib ])rochnnations that the provinces of Havana and Binar del Kio were inicitied and free from any large body of insur- gents, whom lie classed as outlaws to be dealt with by the mounted police. Both Maceo and Gomez were represented as fleeing towards the east before the victorious Spaniards. Ihit Maceo escaped easily fi'oni the combinntion which had been planned 1)V AVtnder, and at the hea;it;di;ino, jiiilae'ed it, ;im<1 Imnicd a part of it. On the 1-llh he ci'osses which should give Spain offense. But with a diplomacy such as Spain prac- ticed, and methods of warfare such as she adhered to, it was absolutely impossible for a self-respecting nation to remain thoroughly cordial, and the diplomatic friction began almost immediately after the standard of revolt was raised. (167) 168 AN AMERICAN STEAMER FIRED UPON The revolution was hardly two weeks old when a Spanish gunboat off Cape ]\raysi fired upon and chased an American steamer, the AUianca, which was engaged in regular traffic between New York and Colon. This act at once raised a flurry in the United States, whose people knew how prone Spain had been in the former war to interfere with American vessels, and it was feared that something like a Virginius af- fair might result. The government of the United States at once demanded an explanation of the conduct of the captain of the gunboat aud an apology. It should be remembered that no state of war existed affording any excuse for firing on American vessels. Spain at that time, engaged in putting down the outbreak of army officers in Madrid, knew well enough that if an outrage were committed on American com- merce tlie United States might step in and grant belligerent rights to the Cubans, and her ministers very quickly disavowed the act with full expressions of regret and assurance of a non- recurrence of such an event, while the offending officer was re- lieved of his command. But the State Department of the United States soon found that it had much more serious business on liand in protecting the rights of American citizens in Cuba. As already related, one of the first acts of the Captain-General at the outbreak of the rebellion was to place the western provinces under martial law, and on the day of the outbreak many arrests were made in the provinces of Havana and ]\tatanzas, the revolution in that quarter being for tlie time suppressed. Two of the per- sons arrested in Havana were Julio Sanguily and Jose Aguirre, both American citizens. The former had been a brave and efficient officer in tlie Ten-Years War, had been wounded seven times, and, whether the Spanish authorities had any evidence against him or not, they naturally assumed that his sympathies were with the insurgents, though since the war he had become an American citizen. On the morning of the 24th of February, Sanguily Avas arrested at his house while taking a bath, a circmnstance which furnished no positive IMPRISONMENT OF SANGUILY AND AGUIRRE 1G9 proof of his connection with the uprising of that clay. lie was thrown with others into Cabana fortress, and subjected at once to trial by court-martial in direct violation of the treaty between the United States and Spain of -lanuarv 12, 1877, which i)r()vidod that American citizens arrested without arms in hand should not be tried by any excoj^tional tribunal but by those of ordinary or civil jurisdiction. Our consul-general at Havana, Kamon O. AVilliams, went on the morning of the 2r)th to Captain-General Calleja and inform(>d him that both Sanguily and Aguirre were natural- ized citizens of the United States, and as such were (Inly in- scribed in the register of foreigners kept in the office of the '^btvernor-Ceneral. lie remonstrated against the commit- ment to court-martial and asked for their immediate transfer to the civil jurisdiction. The (\iptain-Ciencral pretended to be sur})rised that they were American citizens and instantly answered the consul in an outburst of most violent language and gesture, saying that it was a disgrace to the American flag for the goveniment of the Ignited States to protect these men, who, it was notoriously known, were conspirators against the government of Spain; and, growing more violent, he ex- claimed that iiKiiiy citizens of the United States were conspir- ing in Cuba against Spain, and that he would shoot every one of them caught in arms regardless of the consequences. "But, (Jeneral," intei-jiosed the consul calmly, " in carry- ing out such measures you will sui-ely obser\-e in all its parts the agreement between the two governments? " " Yes, in observance of the agreement," he said, somewhat more moderately. "Well, Oeneral, that i-^ all T have come to ask for, but these American citizens, instead of having been couimitted be- fore a civil court in observance of the agreement have been subjected to a trial by court-martial conti-ai-y to the agreement; for neither of them has been captured with arms in hand against the government, but both were arrested by the munici- pal police while peacefully deporting themselves in the city." 170 TREAfY OBLIGATIONS EVaDED Calleja merely observed tliat the law governing tlie resi- dence of foreigners in the island was paramount to the treaty between the United States and Spain. The consul firmly re- plied that his government would not admit such a construction of it. Calleja said the prisoners might apply to his judge- advocate, who woidd see whether they were entitled to rights under the treat3^ As the judge-advocate was a creature of the Captain-General, he doubtless would have decided tliat the prisoners had no rights. Our consul firmly maintained that in deciding such a question no Spanish judge-advocate should supersede the diplomatic representative of the Uuited States, and that he should at once take steps to formally re- monstrate. Calleja again became excited. " Your defense of these men is a disgrace to the American flag! " he exclaimed. "General," replied the consul, "I am acting lentirely within the confines of my ofiicial duty and in accordance with tlie instructions of the Secretary of State of the United States, and in strict conformity with the agreement of the 12th of Jauimry, 1S77 "; and he then bade Calleja good morning and withdrew. The incident, which is thus related in the diplo- matic correspondence, serves to illustrate how lightly Spanish officials regarded treaty obligations, and shows also their feel- ing towards the United States. About a month later Sanguily was transferred to the civil jurisdiction, but he was almost im- mediately arrested upon another and a ridiculous charge, an(i submitted to a court-martial on that without any information being officially conveyed to the consul, who learned of it only through Sanguily's attorney in the other case. Another pro- test was made, and the Captain-General protondc^d to comply with the demand, but Sanguily was ke]it in military prison, and apparently it was to keep him there that the second charge was trumped up. Four months later the consul wrote to the State Depart- ment that the cases of both Sanguily and Aguirre presented the anomaly that, while arrested at the very outbreak of the re- LANGUISHING IN PRISON 171 liclHon, tliey Lad not been broiiglit to trial, tliougli others ar- rested solely on suspicion were subjected to extreme arbi- trary measures. " They are discriminated against on account uf their ([uality of being American citizens," wrote the consul to the Secretary of State. In September, in vicnv of the delay, the State l)e])artment demanded the instant release of Saii- iiuily ami Agiiirre, and the latter was released, a promise being iii\ (11 that Sanguily would be tried soon. As a matter of fact, the authorities had no case against him. The courts in Decem- ber took up his ease, and, although the evidence adduced against him was of the llinisiest character, he was sentenced to iniprisuiiment for life. An appeal was taken to the Suj)reme Court of Justice at Madrid, which ordered a new trial. In the last days of December, 1S9G, nearly two years after his arrest, he was again tried and sentenced to [xTpetual iiiiprisoiuiieiit. IMcanwhile, his health had become broken in ])rison and he begged to be allowed to leave the island with his family. An- other ap})eal was taken and still he langnislied in prison. Meanwhile, the lawyer who defended him in the first trial, and who made a magnificent defense, was arrested and looked from the bars of a cell adjoining Sanguily's in Cabana fort, and the lawyer who managed his first appeal before the Madrid court was made to suffer so much in consecpuMice that it was difficult to find any one who would undertake his scn-ond a})peal there. As in the Ten-^'ears AVar, Spain was constantly making strong protests and bitter complaints against the alleged aid that the Cubans were receiving from sympathizers in the Fnited States. Our government did all it could. Proclama- tions were issued warning citizens, and instructing officials to renew their vigilance, and a largo expense, over $2,000,000, was incurred in keeping a fleet of cutters in southern waters to iiitei'cept expeditions, many times to the annoyance of those engaged in legitimate business. The Cuban expeditionists wore so sjmrp that they frequently escaped without being sus- ]iected by the Siianish s]>ies or caught by the authorities. No government could lune done more to live up to its obligations. 172 SYMPATHY FOR THE CUBANS Meantime, it was inevitable that the successes of a people strug- gling for their freedom from oppression should be welcome to the people of this country. When Oampos was driven into Bayamo, the adherents of the j)olicj of recognition gained evi- dent strength and Congress manifested a decided disposition to act. Public meetings were held in many cities and towns ex- pressing sympathy with the Cubans. These expressions were not dictated out of any hatred to Spain as a nation, but out of a natural dislike of her methods in Cuba. But the Spaniard could not bring himself to comprehend how the people of the United States coidd be actuated by a desire to see an op- prcsscd people free. To the S})anisli character such a senti- ment would be entirely inexplicable. They could hnd no other motive for our interest in Cuba except in a desire to pos- sess her by fair means or foul. They had not learned that the Civil War had greatly changed the sentiment of this country towards Culja. In the latter part of 18U5 the Senate Committee on Foreign Kelations took uj) the question of our attitude towards the new Cuban Ivepublic. Palma, the Cuban representative at Wash- ington, had made a strong appeal for recognition, and the claims of the Cubans were set forth in detail. By that time Gomez and Macco had made their remarkable march of in- vasion and were the masters of the rural districts and were overrnnniug TIavana province. Campos Avas about to be suc- ceeded by Weyler, whose unpleasant reputation gave addi- tional strength to the Cuban cause in this country. Even under Campos the people had been shocked by authentic ac- counts of the treatment of insurgent prisoners by the Sjian- iards, while the insurgents themselves treated the Sjianish prisoners in a manner approved by civilized warfare. Early in February the Senate committee reported a concurrent reso- lution to the effect that the war had reached a magnitude which concerned all civilized nations, and if it were to continue it should be conducted on both sides on principles acknowledged to be obligatory upon civilized nations, and that the President, CUBAN I!Ki.m(;erency recognized 173 if he concurred in this opinion, sliould in u friendly spirit use the good ofKces of the oovernnient in requesting- Spain to ac- cord to the armies with which she was engaged the rights of belligerents. Ihit President Cleveland was evidently opi)Osed to interfering in Cuban affaii's, and it was said to be at the ad- ministration's instance that the resolution was made concur- rent instead of joint, the custom being not to send resolutions of the former haracter to the President. After a long debate the Senate passed by a vote of G4 to G a resolution favoring the recognition of Cuban belligerency, and inttrposing our friendly offices in behalf of Cuban in- de])end(mce. The House passed resolutions essentially the same by a vote of 263 to 16. This undoubtedly w'as a fair expression of the sentiment of the {x'ople of the United States. From this time faiu, we continued to live up to the requirements of international law and to seize vessels and cargoes susj^ected to be intended for Cubans. Notwithstanding the violent feelings which tlie S|iani--h in Sj)ain and Havana were nuinifesting towards the United States, the S])anish government showed its desire to conciliate this country. General Weyler receive(l our new consul-gen- eral, Lee, at Havana with marked cordiality. General Lee's military experience and professional training made him un- usually com})etent to ascertain the exact state of affairs in Cuba, and he was not a nuin to be hoodwinked or cajoled when 174 THE CASE OF THE "COMPETITOR" the interests of the United States were in danger. Meanwhile, in the summer of 1896, the presidential campaign diverted jiublic interest in a great degree from the struggle going on in the oppressed island. It had become evident that it would re- main for the next administration to determine what should be our policy towards the Cubans, against whose armies General Wcyler was making poor headway, though he was beginning to treat the innocent and the helpless with a disregard for human instincts which excited the horror of the civilized world. On the last day of April, 1896, the American schooner Competitor from Key West, with part of her crew, was cap- tured near San Cayetano while engaged, as the Spanish al- leged, in landing arms for the insurgents. She was towed to Havana, and our consul at once demanded that the protocol of 1877 be adhered to in the trial of any Americans who might be among the crew. The minister to Spain was urged also to re- quest that the C\\ptain-General be instructed to a strict ob- servance of that treaty. The Spanish admiral chumed, how- ever, that these men did not come within the treaty inasmuch as they were not " citizens of the United States residing in Spanish dominions," one clause of the treaty. We claimed that in the part of the treaty covering such cases there was nothing making residence of American citizens within Spanish dominions a condition necessary to entitle them to all its guar- antees. The Spanish government promptly sent orders to Cuba for the suspension of all executive action till an examina- tion had been made as to the standing of the Americans cap- tured. But three days later the Spanish admiral officially in- formed our consul that the treaty did not aj^ply to the Amer- ican prisoners and that they would be tried by court-martial. The S]ianish prosecuting officer asked for penalty of death for all on the ground that the local law for foreigners took pre- cedence in such a case over any treaty, and the obedient court quickly pronounced a death sentence. Secretary Olney at once urged upon the Spanish minister at Washington that exe- DELAY AND Strt'FERlNQ l'J'5 eiitions should not take place till this g'overnment had hoen permitted to cxainiiie the ])ro('eediii<;-s of the court, and as a re- sult the Si)anisli ^ovci'iiiuciit, imidi to Weyler's indi<»natii)n, ordered the eases transferred to the Madrid eonrt. This meant indefinite d(day. The Slimmer months passed by, the prisoners complained of insutliciciit food, wei'o afflicted with prison fever, and some of them were transferred to the military hospital. On Sep- tember 3d Secretary Olney cabled the minister at i\radrid that tli(i delay in (h'ciding the CompelHor and other eases which had meanwhile arisen was " absolutely unreasonable. Call for prompt action and reasons justifyinG^ past delay or additional delay, if such is asked for." Thereupon the min- ister was informed that the authorities of the Madrid court had ordered a new trial before an ordinary tribunal, and that the decision would be made public " soon." But the t imc passed on, and late in November the consul at Havana acci- dentally heard that the marine court-martial was aj^ain tryino- the prisoners. Tie asked for an authorization to protest, but the State Department upon investigation was informed that it was oidy a preliminary proceeding. Congress soon afterwards called for the correspondence and took the matter in hand, but Spain continued to hold the men in prison, and it was long before their fate was de- termined. CHAPTER XV. WEYLEirS EFFORTS TO CAPURE MACEO — WEYLER PRO- POSES TO STRIKE A DECISIVE BLOW — THE NEW COMMANDER - DEATH OF THE LAST OF THE MACEOS. Maceo the Terror of the Spanish Nation — Weyler's Futile Efforts to Cap- ture Him — Tlie Largest Body-Guard Known in J the History of War — Maceo as Undaiuited as Ever — He Leaves Pinar del Rio — Was it a Spanish Trap? — Attack at Punta Bra va — How Maceo Fell — Gomez's Son Kills Himself at His Side — Cubans Rescue Maceo's Body — Rejoicing of the Spanish People — Excursions to the Spot Where Maceo Fell — Hopes of Cuban Surrender Disajipointed — Maceo's Successor, Rivera — Insurgent Successes — Weyler Criticised at Madrid — Weyler's Inaccurate Reports — Weyler's Campaign of Destruction — A Gallant Fighter — Prefering Death to Captivity — — General Garcia takes Command. THE terror of tlic prond Spanish nation was the dnsky Maeeo. Weylor liad constrnetod a tive-niil lion-dollar trocha and garrisoned it with about twenty thonsand men to prevent Maceo from cscapiiii;' from Pinar del Uio, bnt it soon appeared that the dashing Cuban had no partienlar de- sire to escape. With a force at his command of less than 4,000 armed men, he moved abont the province of the west at will, captnring and destroying the garrison towns and so ter- rorizing tlie Spanish soldiers that they dared not move except in large colnmns, and these, moving slowly abont in a hilly conntry, were at the constant mercy of the cleverly-handled insnrgents. It was evident that nnless jMaceo conld be snb- dned, Weyler's boasted trocha wonld be set down as a failure. Hence, Weyler's chief object was the captnre of the Cuban general. More reinforcements came from Spain, and at the end of the wet season AVeyler took the field in person and with much (176) KAM(irS CrUAX LKADKRS IN Cfl'.AS WAR WIIH SI'AIX. General Maximo ("lOiiiez. Ciciieral l"ali.\la (iaicia. General Antonio Maceo. General Don Julio Sanguilly. weylek's wily falsehoods 179 h'lat, but despite his reports of successful eugagements with Maceo's army a continuous stream of wounded Spanish soldiers found their Avay back to Havana. Soon Weyler returned and announced that the province was " paciiied." But shortly came reiwrts, which the censor was unable wholly to smother, that Maceo was capturing gar- risons, and driving into fatal ambush the Spanish detachments sent against him. Again Weyler took the field. Three times he did this with the same results. In November he wont forth with the largest body-guard ever known in the history of war, a cordon of 6,000 men, whose duty it was to care for his personal safety in a '' pacified " province. At his com- mand were over (50,000 troops to capture an army but one- fifteenth as large. Yet, as undaunted as ever in the gloomy gorges of the hills, within sight of the troclia, was the man against whom AVevler had made his showy marches. ^faceo was as strong in that province as ever, in spite of the columns which Weyler had sent against him. There he might have remained and possibly might have lived till Cuba was free. l>ut he had other plans. Just why Maceo at this time left his army to another gifted guerrilla cliief, Iluis Rivera, has never been satisfactorily explained. That he left it because it was in sore distress, as the Spanish averred, and because he wished to learn why he was not reinforced, is ab- surd. His army was not in distress and Maceo had no fear of death. Fur years, time after time, he had nishcd into the thickest of the battle laughing at the S])anish bullets in the belief that they would not hit him unless fate willed it so. The most plausible explanation of his move is that he ])ro- posed to leave the Pinar del Rio forces to Rivera to i-arry on the war there while he joined the forces operating in Havana province, thereby accomplishing the double piirimse of mak- ing an aggressive movement under the nose of the boasting Weyler, and diverting his attention from the western jjrovince, which Rivera could then easily hold. At the same lime that Maceo started eastward, CJomez started westward. With a 180 THE LAST OF THE MACEOS FALLS guard of about a dozen of his staff Maceo suddenly crossed the trocha at the north and appeared in the province of Havana where he was apparently exj^ected by the CubanSj and where ho was least expected by the Spaniards, unless it is true that he was enticed over the trocha by a plot and drawn into a S]3anish trap. He quickly gathered about him a small force of Cubans operating in the western part of Havana province, and on December 7th was suddenly attacked by a superior Spanish force under Colonel Cirujeda at Punta Brava. While Maceo was in the center of his staff, a heavy volley was fired directly at them and Maceo was shot in the neck and fell from his horse mortally wounded. Several of his staff also fell, while one of them galloi^ed back to secure aid to carry away Maceo's body. Gomez's son, also on Maceo's staff, remained by the body and, when he could no longer defend it, seems to have killed himself and fallen at Maceo's side. The Spaniards rifled Maceo's body of his jewels, but probably without know- ing whose they were, for the body was left on the field and afterwards buried l)y the Cubans in a spot which remained a secret to all except a few. Great was tlie Spanish rejoicing. Royal flag's were hoisted everywhere in Madrid, and bells were rung, while the (^ueen sent a gift to the wife of the Spanish officer whose men killed Maceo. As soon as the news reached Havana, a grand torch- light procession was organized, and after a long march through the illuminated streets, it proceeded to the palace where a great crowd was assembled. General Weyler was received amid cries of "Long live Spain! " " Long live the King! " and in response he said that he would now speedily pacify the island. A few days later, there was a great excursion from Havana to Punta Brava, and a fete on the spot where Maceo fell. On the arrival of the excursionists they were received by the officers, and there were speeches and much jubilation. But General Weyler's expectations of a speedy breaking up of the rebellion were disappointed. He fully believed that the Cubans in Pinar del Rio would rush in and lay down their CAMPAIGNS OF DESTRUCTION 181 arms. But no one suiTondcrcd except Dr. Zcrtnclia, a man denounced by the Cubans as a traitor, while every night the volleys of the insurgent skirmishers could be heard in the suburbs of Havana, General liivera, Maceo's successor in Piuar del Rio, took up a position in one of Alaceo's old strongholds. In a few days (Jcncral Wcyh'r went again, in jxTson, and with a strong force, to the province which he had declared pacified. The insur- gents wore more active than ever, and the discouraging effect of the l)nlk't which had gladdened Spanish hearts by killing ]\Iacco was only temporary. After AVeyler had marched his men al)out the hills till they were tired out, and had won no sigiuil advantage over the insurgents, he made his way back again towards Havana, and the Madrid papers were so vehe- ment in their criticisms that the government seized them and began action against their proprietors. As Weyler's position became more insecure at Madrid, h(^ bccnnie more reckless in fixing the character of report-s. AVithout a word of truth (jlomez was represented as desirous to treat with him for peace, though Gomez at the very mo- ment was aggressively attacking Spanish forces in Santa Clara. Piiiar (h'l Rio was again dechircd as pacified, and witliin a few honrs reports came to Havana that a Sjianish division had been com|)h'tely rontcd by lviv(>ra, who had drawn the S])anish ti-oo])s into a tight phico in tlic hills, and tlnm charged with terril)le effect; nearly three hundred Spaniards were killed, and as many more wounded, while the Cuban loss was small. This report was sn|i]iressed by the censors, and tln^ government circnhited a report that Tiivera had been killer nrniy, Weyler ordered the destruction of all ]>laiitati((n- and Imildings in the pi-(>\ince wliicli ciMild be likely in any way to prov<> nsefnl to the insurgents, lie diil not seem to recognize the fact that he was doing exactly what the insurgents had been doing for two years in order to de- 182 THE NEW COMMANDER prive the Spaniards of revenue. He was helping the insur- gents carry on their campaign. Thus the whole island, ex- cept in the east, w'here the insurgents were in full control, where they collected taxes and where some industries were proceeding under their protection, was made a desert. About Havana and Matanzas the Spaniards destroyed everytliing within their reach, and the insurgents did the same. If the Cubans came to a patch of potatoes they took what they wanted and destroyed the rest so that the Spaniards could not have them. If the Spaniards arrived at the patch first they did the same thing. (Jomez had started westward at about the same time Maceo began his fatal journey eastward. The plan of his campaign was to move westward slowly, augmenting his force with the various brigades scattered along the route, and also by the army of Genea-al Garcia from the east. Meanwhile he de- tached two divisions, which made their way westward, and were soon operating in Wcylcr's rear. General Calixto Garcia, who arrived in the island some- what later than the other Cuban leaders, was one of the best- known fighters for Cuban freedom. He had fought with great ardor during the Ten-Years War, and shortly afterwards when he found that Spain did not intend to keep her promises made at Zanjon, he took up arms again. But his small force was surrounded by the vigilant Spaniards, and, rather than be captured, he deliberately shot himself. The bullet passed from his chin through his tongue and came out between his eyebrows, and to the end of his life the opening remained from the roof of his mouth to his forehead. He always kept a bit of cotton in the hole in his forehead, a peculiarity which can be distinguished in his photographs. Having lieen captured when thus wonndcd, he finally es- caped from prison and wandered about the world till the new war began. Then he remained in the United States for a time, fitting out expeditions for Cnl^a. At last he arrived there and took command of the army of the East. OJIAPTEK XVI THE MURDER OF Dll. lU IZ AM) THE THREATENED RESIG- NATION OF CONSUL-GENERAL LEE - RELEASE OF SAN- GUILY— ON THE VERGE OF WAR — SPAIN ALARMED. Cunirress Stinvd by Stories of the Death of Macoo — The Caiiioron Resolu- tion — Spanish People Aroused — Trying to Soothe the United States — Spain Seeks European Sui)port — "Independence or Death" — Weyler in Disfavor — The Murderous Fondeviehi — Killing of Dr. Ruiz — No Notice Given to Consul-General Lee — Lee Not Supported at Washington in His Defense of American Citizens — Arrest of Scott — Lee's Forceful Despatcli — lie Tiu'eatens to Resign — A Dramatic Climax — Cul)an Sympathizers C'iassed as Jingoes — Senator Slierman's Defense — Its Significance — Demand for a Sinii-of-War for Havana — Sudden Rtdease of Sanguil}- — Si)ain Alarmed. FOK some weok.s prior to the rcassemblino- of Congress in December, ISUO, it was apparent that the people of the United States woiily President Clevelaiurs inaction, eagerly awaited the coming administra- tion of William McKinley. That our interference wonld be tolerated, if, indeed, it werc^ not welcomed by Th-itish inter- ests, was evident ffom editorials in leading English jiapers. '1 lie cliaotie coiidit idii of industry and coiiimoree in (^d)a eonld iH:)t be longer endured with complacency, when there was no evidence that the Spaniards coidd pacify the island, and when Spanish atrocities seemed to warrant interference on the '!,ronnds of humanity alone. Indignation jneetinii's were held all over the United States, and were often addressed by leading and infinential men. There was little interest in President 12 (183) 184 ACTION OF COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS Cleveland's message -his last annual state paper -except in liis references to Cuba. He reviewed the struggle and saw no prospects of its early termination, and he suggested that it Spain should offer to Cuba a full measure of home rule Cuba remaining subject to the Spanish sovereignty, such a solution n,io.ht be satisfactory on both sides, and the United States nnght well consent to give guarantees for the carrying out ol the arrangement. For the present he recommended our gov- ernment to pursue our usual course. But hardly had the mes- sage been printed when the people were aroused by the stories of the fate of Maeeo. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations proceeded to action at once, and, notwithstanding the fact that Secretary Olney departed from custom and appeared before the com- mittee and advised against any action by Congress, it unani- mously passed a joint resolution, introduced and championed by Senator Cameron of Pennsylvania, acknowledging the in- dependence of the Republic of Cuba. It was evident that the time was drawing near when something would be done, .„,d but for the fact that a new administration was about to take up the responsibilities of office. Congress would have done its best to force the Executive to take action The Spanish people were again greatly aroused by the ac- tion of the committee. Popular feeling was evidently in favor of boldly defying the United States and of notifying tiis gov- ernment that Cuba would be retained if it took Spa^n s last dol- 1,, an.l her last man to uphold her sovereignty. Put the gov- ernment of Spain, in spite of the clamors of the people main- tained a dignified attitude, relying on the influence of Pi evi- dent Cleveland to oppose interference for the tune, and again ,,,V it known thnt it would soon, or as soon as the conditmn of the island permitted, institute a system of autonomy similar to that in Puerto Rico and would liberalize the commercial tnlations. Spanish statesmen seemed always to consider that the mere announcement of reform purposes would effec- tually soothe the feelings of American people. SPAIN SEEKS SUPPORT FROM EUROPEAN POWERS 1M5 On December 21st the Senate Connnittec on Foreign Re- lations made a long rej^ort citing for the right of intervention a lung line of European precedents, and showing that Europe has invariably asserted and practiced the right to interfere, separately and collectively, amicably and forcibly, when ques- tions of independence were involved. The situation in Cuba ■dud the duty of the United States as the committee saw it were stated, and it was claimed that there could be no rational interference except on the basis of independence. Congress then adjourned over for the holidays. Meanwhih', Spanish ])oli('y was directed towards securing support fi"oni other European powers. She labored desper- ately to show the jwwers that lier troubles with this country wei-e also theirs, and it was evident she expected aid in defy- ing " the Yankee." The attitude of France and Austria ap- peared to be favorable; they sympathized with Spain but were non-committal. The Vatican was of course distinctly favor- able to Spain's cause. England offered little encouragement. President Cisneros of the Cuban Republic allowed it to be dis- tinctly understood that it would treat with Spain only on the basis of the absolute independence of Cuba, and the Spanish journals announced that, whik; the death of Maceo implied the stujx'faction of the insurgents, only the destruction of a large insui'gcnt force or the comj)lete pacification of a province could be sufficient for tlie establishment of the contemplated reforms. They looked to see General Weyler follow up the advantage which accident had thrown in his hands, but as the days elapsed, and the fruitlessness of Weyler's cam])aigns became apparent, they gave way to a spirit of ci-iticism of the man who was so continually boasting of what he would do but never did it. As soon as Congress reassend)led after the holidays it ap- peared that there was little chance of the passage of the Cam- eron resolutions, ^vhich were successfully side-tracked. As the last days of the administration approached it was apparent that Spain had (nily coiitcnqit for President Cleveland's policy 186 WAITING FOR A NEW ADMINISTRATION of friendly mediation, had never seriously considered it, was proposing reforms only for effect upon the coming administra- tion, that the Cubans would take no notice of it, and that the people of the United States rejected such a policy with scorn and were simply waiting for McKinley. This attitude was reflected in Congress and nothing was attempted with the reso- lutions of recognition. Fearing that the coming administra- tion might not be so easily trifled with, the Spanish journals, which, in treating of the United States, had long been insolent, pretentious, and bombastic, became for the time very con- ciliatory. While Weyler was in the field in Santa Clara, and at that moment when it was expected that he would engage Gomez and either fall or conquer, the murderous Fondeviela in his bloody operations at Guanabacoa became so reckless as to make American citizens his victims. Several Americans were already under arrest and lodged in various prisons at points held by the Spaniards, and the State Department had been diplomatically busy in looking out for their interests. It was difficult for General Lee to obtain any satisfactory reasons why these persons were arrested and thrown into vile prison holes, and all protests and demands were met by that evasive shifting policy which had always characterized Spain's dealings with American interests. Among those arrested about the middle of February at Fondeviela's orders was Dr. Richard Ruiz, a naturalized American citizen who had studied and practiced dentistry in Philadelphia for many years before going to Cuba. He was charc-ed with havino; assisted in the derailment of a train, when some Spanish officers were captured by the insurgent General Aranguren, and magnanimously released. The charge was of the flimsiest character, as the doctor had the reputation among all of attending strictly to business and of not meddling in any way with revolutionary movements. He was thrown into the Guanabacoa jail, no communication with him being allowed, and on the afternoon of February 17th he was found GENERAL LEE IS AROUSED 187 dead in a coll, there being little doubt that he had been beaten to death by the jailers at Foiideviela's orders. The Spanish authorities, as usual, had failed to give oiu- consul any olHcial notice of the arrest, and Consul-General Lee heard of it only unofficially. He was fully aroused. General Lee had experienced some difficnlty in having his efforts in behalf of arrested American citizens satisfactorily supjxirted at Washing-ton, where the adniinisti'atioii was aj)- parently clinging to a hope that something might re«sult from Spain's abundant promises. Spain had given a semi-official assurance that Sanguily would be released, but the release did not come, and, meanwhile, other American citizens were pining away in jail, and others were being arrested and disjx)sed of in utter disregard of their rights as Anun'ican citizens. It was stated in the papers that General Lee had kept the wires busy informing the State Department as to the death of Ruiz, and the arrest of other Americans, but had received no reply. Ten days l>efore he had sent a despatch, saying that Charles Scott, an American citizen, had been arrested at Regla, charges unknown, as usual. Scott had been eleven days incommuni- cado, and it was reported to the consul that he had been several times under severe torture. It was reported in the newspapers that Lee had made a demand for warships for a protcn-tion, had been refused, and had sent in his resignation. The feelings of the people were greatly aroused; Congress became nu)re bitter against the ad- ministration, and immediately callet a single ]>rovision of the treaty rights secured to us by Cusliing and Pinckney was being observed by the Spanish authorities in Cuba, but Lee's friends claimed that his representations had not only been kept from the public, but liad ilrawu no reply fi-om tlie (^xecutiv(> de])art- ment. Lee had submitted in silence to a position so little to his liking and proba1)]y would have done so till the end of the administi-ation, wliich was so near, but for the murder of Ruiz, of whose imprisonment he had notified the State Department 190 TORTURED FOR HAVING A CUBAN STAMP and of whose fate he had warned it. He had taken the same course in the case of Scott, whose wife went to Lee in tears and said that he was being tortured, and, she feared, killed, though arrested only because he had a Cuban stamp in his stamp col- lection. The threatened resignation of Lee, unless upheld in his ef- forts to protect American citizens, precipitated a dramatic climax to the administration's conciliatory Cuban policy, and stirred Congress, with but a few hours longer to exist, into one of its most heated debates of Cuban affairs. The Cameron resolution for the recognition of the Cubans had already been set aside, and everyone had accepted as a fact that the delicate problems involved would be left to the new administration with our Spanish relations still cordial, when Lee's practical request for warships came like a bombshell in a quiet camp. Secretary Olney had evidently endeavored to ward off an open rupture with Spain at any cost, while the Spaniards of Cuba, thinking, apparently, that Americans could be attacked with impunity, began to vent their natural hatred. Congress had nourished a feeling of contempt for our diplomatic for- bearance with Spain, but, like others, had given up attempts at action. The conservative element which feared war and the burdens it might involve even with a power so weak as Spain, had found it easy to avoid sympathy for a few American citi- zens, most of whom were of Cuban birth, and the conservative press immediately branded any one who demanded that the government should compel Spain to live up to its treaty obli- gations as a " jingo." But when the TJuiz incident and Lee's position became known, strong resolutions for insisting upon the protection of American citizens were introduced in the Senate and passed without division, and a resolution demanding the immediate re- lease of Sanguily was also passed after a strong argument by Senator Slierman, who, in four days, was to take Olney's place at the head of the State department. "T trust the time will never come," he said, "when an American citizen can be SANGUILY RELEASED I!»l wronged or persecuted by any power, great or small. I am in favor of protecting tliid American citizen, though he is a naturalized citizen. I am opposed to wrong and tyranny and violence wherever it is exercised, and when it is exercised against an American I will stand up tor him even if I am alone." '' If I had my way," exclaimed Senator Frye of Elaine, "a ship of war would start forthwith for Havana." Spain was alarnuMl. At noon the next day a telegram reached Havaiui from .Madrid for the immediate release of Sanguily. ]n two hours he walked feebly out of a prison where he had been kept, without a shadow of evidence to justify it, for over two years. Spain saw that it was no time to trifle with the United States. If she had not acted speedily the McKiidey administration would have begun with a "vvar. It is probably also true that had not the strained relations be- tween General Lee and the State ])cpartment leaked out through Havana, Sanguily would have remained in jail. Sec- retary Olney had made public nothing concerning the condi- tion of affairs, and the attention of Congress would not then have been calle(l to them but for the newspaper reports. By Sanguily's release the tension at Washington relaxed, and the public mind was absorbed by the inauguration of a new ad- ministration. CHAPTER XVII THE CONDITION OF CUBA IN 1897 — HELPLESS WOMEN AND CHILDREN — AWFUL SCENES OF SUFFERING AND WOE — FACING STARVATION AND DEATH. Atthmlc of tlie jMcKinlcy Administration — Anotlior Decree of Autonomy — Weyler's War on the Pacificos — On the Veige of Starvation — Unpar- alleled Scenes of Suffering — Weyler's Reasons for Concentrating — A Death AVarrant to Thousands of the Innocent and Ileljiless — -Driven from Burning Homes — Huddled in Swamps — A Plague Spot on Earth — A Spanish Account of Misery — The Living and the Dead Together — Scenes at the very Gates of Havana — Heaped Pell-mell like Animals — The Dead in the Embrace of the Dying — Exterminaticu the Real . Object — Daily Execution of Captured Peasants — The Massacres of Pacificos — The Dead Carts on Their Rounds — Facts Impossible to be Exaggerated — Incredulity in the United States. FI\0]\r the first, the McKinley adraiiiisti-atioii in courteous and diplomatic language gave Sj)ain to understand that neither the peojde nor the government of the United States could regard with complacency an indefinite continua- tion of the existing condition of things in Ctiba, and, as before, the friendly services of the United States were placed at the disposal of Spain in any way that might conduce to peace in the island and the institution of genuine reforms. But the two nations regarded Cuba from utterly irreconcilable stand- points. Spain's ministry recognized in the attitude of the new ad- ministration a determination not to be so easily trifled with as before, and it therefore proceeded to release more American prisoners, and to make in its diplomacy as well as in the public prints great pretensions concerning a new scheme of autonomy which it was proposed to introduce, luit in which lurked the in- sincerity characterizing all the plans of refomi which Spain (192) SPAIN TRIES TO HOODWINK THE UNITED STATES 103 had from time to time been " meditating " for forty years. The (^ueeu liegent signed the decree for these reforms on April 29th, and one of the humors of the act was that it was done upon the assurance of General Weyler that the four western provinces were at last completely pacified. That the reforms were intended to hoodwink the United States was evident from many cii'cumstances, and the Havana papers quietly laughed at the cry of " Weyler and Reform." The administration was not deceived by Weyler's assur- ances, and while hoping for the best from the alleged reforms, it proposed to examine into Cuba itself. President AlcKinley appointed William J. Calhoun of Illinois a s[)ecial commis- sioner for the purpose of acting with General Lee in an in- vestigation of the lluiz case. Meanwhile, the enormous expenses of Weyler's manage- ment of affairs had produced something like a financial crisis at Havana. The debt had risen to $425,000,000, and the rev- enue the Spanish could collect in the first two years of the war amounted to only $25,000,000. It will now be necessary to examine briefly a feature of General Weyler's methods in Cuba to which full justice could hardly be done in a whole volume — his war on the pacificos. There is no parallel for it in history. If a true and adequate history of it is ever written, it will be the largest and darkest picture (if man's iiiliuiiianity e\'ci" drawn. Xothing in real life has quite so closely ai>proached the tortures of the damned in the jioetic dreams of Dante as the punishment deliberately inq)Osed upon the innocent and the helpless, old men and old women, motlicrs with babes in tlieii- arms, ( "ulmu iiinidens ;ind Cuban boys. And the remarkable thing about it is that it was taking place at the end of the nineteenth century within a hundred miles of the shores of the United St^ates while many of its citizens were crying "Peace!" "It is none of our business! " " Do not interfere! " In October, ISOG, while Weyler, who had shown no mili- tary talents in the field, was vainly throwing his forces into 194 THE FIENDISH PLAN OP CONCENTRATION Pinar del Rio, be conceived the idea that the quickest way to pacify the insurgents was to make war against the peaceful Cubans. Seeing that the movements of his columns were al- ways made known to the Cuban leaders, thus giving them the opportunity of making ambushes, disastrous to Spanish columns, he thought that if the pacificos were driven from the country to the fortified towns, their houses and crops destroyed and their property confiscated, they could no longer aid the insurgents with information, shelter, or food. Hav- ing obtained permission from Madrid, therefore, he issued a decree on October 21st that all the inhabitants of the coun- try districts or those who resided outside the lines of fortifi- cations of the towns should within eight days enter the towns, and any individual found outside the lines in the country at the expiration of that period should be considered a rebel and should be " dealt with as such " — which in guerrilla Spanish meant that he should be shot or hacked to death with machetes. The decree further stated that the transportation of food from one place to another without the permission of the military authorities at the place of departure was absolutely forbidden. The owners of cattle were ordered to drive their herds to the towns. Most of these men and women were of the guajiro class, respectable, hard-working farmers oii a small scale. On throe or four acres of land they raised all the necessities of their simple lives, and even the luxuries, including coffee and to- bacco. But they were naturally improvident in a land which was ever productive, and thus they had few resources to fall back upon in such unfortunate circumstances as Weyler's order suddenly forced upon them. This death warrant of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, particularly women and children, was sent to the gov- ernors of the western provinces — it could not, of course, be carried out in the two eastern provinces which the Cubans con- trolled — and the governors made it known to the leaders of the Spanish guerrillas, who were intrusted with the task of in- DRIVING IN THE PACIFICOS 1 !J5 foniiiiii;' llie ruinitrj j^'oplc lliat tlicv iimst leave t.lieii- Ikhiic- steads and belonging's and i'cimonc In the a]>ii(Hiit((l i^lace.s uf concentration. As these gueiTillas, composed exclusively of Spanish jail-birds, were notorious for their inhuiuauity and outrages upon defenseless C\ibans, Ivrutalily bciiii; a iiart of their trade, it may be imag'iiied liow ilic oi'tlcr was carried out. The ]>eople were not allowed to take away with them any [>rop- erty but what they could cany on their backs, and, as they filed away t^ the stations where they were destined to die of stai'N'ation and ejiidemic diseases, they saw their honu>s go up in smoke, their crops burned down, and their cattle and oxen confiscated to feed the hateil Spanish troops. Wlunvver the peasants resisted tluy were driven in at the poiut of the gun, or shot down to avoid further trouble. This order showed Welder's absolute iiicouipetcncy as a general as well as his inhumanity, for the able-bodied men of each family wdio had remained neutral, if uiyt loyal, so long- as they were permitted to live on their few acres, at once joined the insurgent ranks when ordered to concentrate, and thus it was almost entirely the old, the intii'm, the women and the children who were driven into the towns. The order failed also to embarrass the insurgents by the destruction of the plantations, for they were accustomed to finding their living in the woods, and they always regarded su(di destruction as an injury mainly to the Spanish. As a war measure, therefore, it was successful only as a boomerang. The helpless people were allotted ground m-ar the towns, almost invariably in low-lying, swampy, and malarious places. The Spanish residents would not be burdened with them and generally cared not how soon they died. They were concen- trated in greatest nnmbers where tlie accommodations were least ade(}uate, as if extermination was the main object. There was nothing for them to do and there was less and less for them to eat, and finally they stretcdu'd out upon the damp ground, gazing vacantly before tlicm as the weary days dragged by. ">rothers lay listless with dead babies in their 196 A PLAGUE-SPOT ON THE EARTH arms. The quick and the dead hiy side by side till the latter were taken and thrown in the dead carts, and carried oii' into the country where lay the half-buried bodies of hun- dreds of victims of this system of warfare. The huts of these people were jammed together in rows with but a few inches of space between, and the ground was covered with hltli. Diseases of malignant types claimed their victims every- Avhere and every day. There was no medical attendance; it Avas fortunate if there were half rations. In the different stations of concentration there were estimated to be over 400,000 of these hel])less people, and by the summer of 1897 the death rate had become terrible. The beautiful island was a jilague sjiot upon earth. The reconcentrados, it should be understood, were at the very gates of the city of Havana. xVs Oeneral Lee said in one of his communications, there were fewer here tlian in most other places, and in general their condition was l)ctter than elsewhere. Yet their condition could hardly be exag- gerated by the use of any words which the English lauguage can comnumd. In a ri^poii; which was submitted to (leneral Lee by one who visited these reconcentrados, and whom Lee vouches for as " a nuin of integTity and character," one of the sights was " 460 women and children thrown on the ground, heaped pellmell as animals, some in a dying condition, others sick, and others dead, without the slightest cleanliness, nor the least help, not even to give water to the thirsty, with neither religious or social help, dying wherever chance laid them, and for this limited number of reconcentrados the deaths averaged between forty and fifty daily, giving relatively ten days of life for each person. Among the deaths we witnessed there w^ns one impossible to forget," continued Lee's informant. " We found a girl of eighteen seemingly lifeless on the ground; on her right side was the body of a young mother, cold and rigid, but with her young child still alive clinging to lier dead breast; on her left hand side was also the corpse of a dead woman lK»lding her son in a rigid emlirace; a little farther INIQUITOUS CRUELTY — INDESCRIBABLE SUFFERING 19? on a poor dying woman Laving in lior arms a daughter of fonr- teen, crazy with pain, who after five or six days also died in spite of the care she received. In one corner a poor woman was dying, surrounded by her children, who contemplated her in silence, without a lament or shedding a tear, they themselves being real specters of Inmgcn-, emaciated in a horrible manner." As the dead were taken away new victims were driven in, and, says this informant for whom Lee vouches; " If any young gii-1 came in any way nice looking, she was infallibly con- d(Mnned to the most abominable of traffic." In time some- thing was done through the (Micrgy of jjriv^ate persons for the help of these people, but it was estimated that the usual death rate among them was about 77 per cent. Keports of the massacre of pacificos were of daily occur- rence and many of them were shown to be authentic. Late in July, one was reported from Sancti Spiritus ])eculiarly ap- [)alling in its details. The pacificos, who had been starving for several days, crowded around the forts and asked in vain of the commander to be allowed to seek food. A woman whose four children were dying of hunger resolved to brave the anger of the soldiei's to save her boys from misery. In the night she sb]>p('d unnoticed between two sentinels and reached the woods. On returning in the morning with vegetables, she was caught and recognized. At once the rumor was spread among the soldiers that the pacificos had an understanding with the insurgents and that the woman had gone out to inform them of the Spanish defenses. AVith a shout of " treason " the troops began the slaughter, the helpless pacificos were mowed down like sheep, and the commander reported the occurrence to Generiil AVcylcr as a victory of his troops over the insur- gents, wlio bad many killed. Such news was, of criurse, re- ceived at ]\radrid with demonstrations of dcliglit. 'I'lic ninniing liulit bi'nkc witb little good cheer to any one in western Cuba, uidess to the Spanish guerrillas and butrhers. The first rays of the sun fell upon a land, once glowing in all the emerald brightness of exuberant tropical veget^ition, now 198 GATHERING IN THE HARVEST OF MARTYRS resembling- nothing so nuicli as a great ash heap. Where once stood the humble dwellings of the pacificos, snrromided by their rich garden patches and waving fields, were now heaps of ruins, the marks of fire, of death, and of desolation, and hovering always in the sulti'y air were the greedy vultures. Here and there were half-made graves from which protruded the festering flesh, sometimes the ghastly countenances of the victims of Spanish " military regulations." Each town awoke each morning to face a fresh installment of the dead. Out to the esphinada, in full sight of the town, filed the usual morning procession, the band, playing a jaunty air, the priests, the soldiers, and their officers, and there were shot in the back young boys who had been captured in various ways and charged with the stereotyped crime of rebellion, and found guilty after a court-martial in which the victims had nothing to say. As a matter of fact, very few of these victims were ever in the insurgent ranks; the great majority were sim- ply peasants who had not heeded the proclamation of recon- centration, or who, starving, had attempted to escape through the Spanish lines to find a few roots, but had fallen in with the Spanish bushwhackers lying in wait day and night about the roads and byways leading from the town to the country dis- tricts. As a rule, those who were caught were shot down in cold blood in their tracks, and, possibly, covered wnth a sprink- ling of earth, while the case was reported as another Spanish victory in a skirmish. Some, however, were brought to town when captured and fiendishly tortured for a time in the hope of securing from them useful information; then in the gray dawn they were led out and shot. As the sun rose higher over the desolate and bloody scene, it shone upon the dead carts filing away. In the camp of the starving pacificos the dead had been assorted from the living, the harvest of another night, while those in whom the breath of life feebly lingered lay listless, speechless, dazed by the very enormity of their own suffering and of the suffering about them. A STORY THAT COTLD NOT BE EXAGGEKATED lUO Those are but glimpses of the panorama of death which it is distressing and revolting to follow. Of such was the whole. It has never been exaggerated; it never will be. Here fiction fell before reality. It was one of the unfortunate facts of the situation that the people of the United States did not really believe the stories of misery, of suffering, of outrage upon the island, partly doubtless because it seemed too ter- rible for the nineteenth century, and on American shores, and partly because of the poor character for truth which had been given some stories of military operations there. These stories of the reconcentrados were considered by many as examples of rather graphic writing by newspaper correspondents, whereas these plucky and gifted writers had actually en- countered a subject for which their capacity for exaggeration proved entirely inadequate to the demands of reality. 18 CHAPTER XVIIT RELIEF OF STARVING A:\IERICAN CITIZENS IN CUBA — FAIL- URE OF WEYLER'S CAMPAIGN — INCREASING jVIISERY ON THE ISLAND — ASSASSINATION OF CANOVAS. Suffering among American Residents in Cuba — The President Asks for $50,000 for Their Relief— Spain Watches Us Anxiously — The Mor- gan Resolution — Exciting Debate in the Senate — Its Effect in Spain — Sagasta Rebels — Canovas Resigns — Given a New Lease of Life — Reasons for His Continuance and for Weyler's Longer Stay in Cuba — Political Conditions — Don Carlos — Canovas between Two Fires — Madrid Opinion — Superior Tactics of Gomez — Return of Com- missioner Calhoun — Gen. Stewart L. Woodford Appointed Minister to Madrid — His Instructions — Nothing to Humiliate Spain — A Season of Waiting — Death of Canovas — Party Quarrels Cease — Weyler Driven into Havana. OFFICIAL information from onr consnls in Cnba estab- lished the fact in the spring of 181)7 that a large nnml)er of American citizens in (Hiha were in a state of destitntion, snfFering for want of food and medicine as a re- sult of Weyler's order for concentrating the conntry people in the towns. Early in May, C^onsul-General Lee reported that from six to eight luindred Americans were withont mea^ns of support. The local authorities, even if kindly disposed, were nnable to relieve -the needs of their own people. President ]\rcT\inley assured General Lee that provision woidd be made to relieve the American citizens, and to that end on the iTth of ]\fay he sent a message to Congress recommending an a]ipro- priation of $50,000 to be immediately available for nse nnder the direction of the Secretary of State; and it was desirable that a part of the snm might be left for jiroviding transporta- tion for snch American citizens as desired to return to the United States but had no means to do so. (200) KMINEXT AVIKKICAX Cl\ll. I.i: ADICRS IN Ol'R WAR WITH SPAIN. Hon. William R. Day, Secretary of Stale-. Hon. Russell .\. .\lger, Sei-retarv of War. Hon. John D. Lonji, Secretary of the Navy. Cieti. FitzluiK'i 1-ee, Consul-Generul to Cuba. DEBATE ON THE MORGAN RESOLUTION 203 Public opinion in tlio United States was again strongly aroused. At a large mass meeting held at Washington, pre- sided over Ity Seiiafor Gallinger, strong pleas for intervention and sharp criticism of the mild policy of the previous admin- istration were made. Sj)ain watched these developments in the United States very anxiously, and the conservative Spanish joiii'iials advised the government to make no more concessions, and especially to forbid us to interfere in (^dian affairs. But the govern- ment was aware that such a policy would at once strengthen the warlike feeling in this country, and so it was ofHcially an- nounced that Spain would place no obstacle in the way of re- lieving the American reconceutrados. 1'he message was followed by three days of long and ex- citing debate in the Senate over the Morgan resolution for ac- cording belligerent rights to the Cubans, which passed by a vote of 41 to 14, most of the minority being Itei)ublicans who did not wish to interfcn-e with the policy of the administration, which at that time was summed up in the words, " a peaceful intervention to secure the independence of Cuba." This was substantially the demand in the ])latform on which the Presi- dent had been elected, but he evidently did not propose to be swerved from a judicious course, though he recognized that the people were becoming impatient. Independence through l)ui'cliase was regarded as one of the possibilities, but in any event it was seen that it must be independence. Spanish rule over the island was recognized as no longer possible or desir- able. It was not unreasonable to suppose that some of the sujtport (d" tlie lielligereucy resolution liaral leader, had allowed Canovas to pursue his policy for a long time without criticism, though believing that the attempt y04 SPAIN'S GLOOMY OUTLOOK to uphold the Weyler regime was driviug the United States into warlike expressions. When the action of the United States Senate became known, Sagasta announced that the truce whereby he had supported Canovas in his Cuban policy was at an end. In a debate in the Cortes he said : " We have 200,000 troops in CHiba, but we are not masters of the territory trodden by oiu- soldiers. Carlism is organizing itself in the peninsula and menaces us with a new war, thanks to the immunity it enjoys. The picture could not be gloomier. We have a war in Cuba and a war in the Philippines. We wish to know what has become of the sixteen millions of the former loan, as eight millions are still due the army. In Cuba no im- portant problem has been solved, and th»re has only been an exaggeration of long-existing evils." The feeling between the Liberals and Conservatives be- came very bitter. In a dispute in the lobby of the Cortes over the Morgan resolution between Comas, a Liberal senator, professor in the Madrid University, and the Duke of Tetuan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the latter boxed the senator's ears, and the excitement became so great that the sitting was suspended. ^Fbe Duke resigned his office, but the bitter feel- ing continued, though a duel was averted. The Liberals dex'lared their intention of absenting themselves from the Cortes till reparation was made. Canovas appealed to the absentees, saying that \oxe of country in the presence of grave internatiouai troubles should lead them to resume their duties, but they obstinalcdy remained absent, and on the 2d of June Canovas tendered his resignation to the Queen. She sum- moned General Campos to Madrid, and after a considtation with the party leaders the Canovas ministry was given a new lease of life. Faith still lingered in the reports of Weyler as to the speedy pacification of Cuba; in fact he had held and continued to hold this position of the greatest pecuniary profit to himself largely by continually repeating what was not true as to the condition of the islanil. The Cuban revolutionary party had always sought from THE SITUATION COMPREHENDED AT MADRID 205 the l)('<;iiniing to weaken Spain, to wear her ont so that in despair and to save herself she wonld drop Cnba and leave it to the (Albans. And when Spain was really bronght to ihe ]»(iint of seeing that Cuba could be of no further use to hei-, her j>ride aud domestic politics left her no other course but war with the United States. " War," said a Madrid journal, " is the oidv solntiou that will pi'oloug the days of the doomed monarchy. AVoe to the throne if it avert it. To fall in ( 'uba is to fall with all the ignominy of Sedan; to fall in the Ifuited States is to fall with all the glory of Waterloo." It was (piite evident that ^ladrid could not be deceived by the claims of pacification. " We have for some time purposely refrained," said El Imparcial, "from all comment and criti- cism concerning the Cuban question in order not to be prose- cuted and not to give rise to press scandals. If we now break silence it is to express our astonishment upon learning that provinces have been declared pacified where fighting is an every-day occurrence and where the rebellion's most famous leaders continue at the head of their followers." Cieneral Garcia, operating in the province of Santiago de Cuba with a well-Ciiuipped army, had driven the Spaniards into tlie more important towns after several victorious engage- ments. In their effort to hold Bayanio the S[)aniards had several times undertaken to transport sup]di(N from !Mau- zanillo, but each time the rebels had fallen upon them and cap- tui-ed a large jtorticni of the arms and ])rovisions. Once they had blown u]) a boat laden with men antateis, which ripen live or six times a year in Cuba. Gomez ami his h'a(h'is axaih'd themselves to the fullest extent of the advantages afforded hy the nature of the country, fought only when ihey wanted to, and chose fa\'oral)le niovenients for at- tack with I'are disceriunent and judgment, lie showed hini- scdf to he not only a nuiii born to comnmnd, but one skilled to a higli decree in military science so far as it could be applied to the peculiar warfare in which the Cubans were engaged, iris nuisterly circular movements by which he brought his forces to AVeyler's rear when that general fancied he had the wily ( 'nhan hemmed in was Imt a single example of the numy cases in wlii(di he never failed to puzzle the Spanish, who, worn out by the chase, could never succeed in cornering him, and who lived in constant dread that he would fall upon them sud- denly from some favorable and)usli. On his return from Cuba, Mr. Calhoun, the special com- missioner ap])ointed by the United States, made a confidential report to tlu^ President upon the Kuiz case and as to the situa- tion on the island as he saw it, and a few days later Stewart L. Woodford of New York was appointed to the Madrid ministry, with instructions to secure an indemnity of $75,000 in the Kuiz case, and to impress upon the Spanish government the sincere wish of the United States to lend its aid towards the ending of the war in Cid)a by the reaching of peaceful and lasting results, just aiul honorable alike to Spain and to the Cuban people. These instructions recited the character and diu-ation of the contest, the widespread losses it entailed, the burdens and restraints it imposed u]ion us, with constant dis- tni'bance n( national intei'csts and the injury resulting from an iiuh^finite continuance of this state of things. Tt Avas stated that at this juncture onr government was con- strained to seriously inquire if the tinu^ was not ripe when Spain of her own volition, moved by her own interests and every sentiment of humanity, should put a stop to this destruc- 208 ASSASSINATION OF CANOVAS five war and make proposals of settlement honorable to herself and just to her C'liban colonies. It was nrged that as a neigh- I)oring nation with large interests in Cuba we could be re- quired to wait only a reasonal)le time for the mother country to establish its authority and restore peace and order within the l)orders of the island; that we could not contemplate an in- definite period for the accomplishment of this result. During the interval of time required for the newly-ap- pointed American minister to present his credentials to the Spanish court, both the governments of the United States and of Spain maintained a waiting attitude as to Cuban affairs, though in the latter country domestic politics were much dis- turbed. It was held as an assured fact that the Canovas min- istry would in a short time l)e re(|uired to resign, and it was expected that the event would take place very soon after the American minister presented his credentials and made his de- mands, an event which could hardly occur until October, when the Queen returned to Madrid from San Sebastian. Mean- while, the Cortes had been dissolved, and Cano\as, whose health had become somewhat impaired, had gone to Santa Agneda, a watering place not far from San Sebastian, where lie was taking a course of baths and attending to affairs of state. On the Sth of August, while Canovas was standing in the gallery of the bathing establishment waiting for his wife, a young Italian anarchist named Golli fired three shots at the minister, all taking effect, and he died in a few minutes. For years Canovas had been one of Spain's leading statesmen, a strong u])holder of the monarchy and a defender of the integ- rity of the kingdom, and. though Spain's relations were in a very trying state, he was still hopeful of a settlement which would preserve to the kingdom peace at home and continued dominion over Cuba Avith little surrender of royal preroga- tive. This assassination had the effeot of stopping the politi- cal quarrel; Sagasta and other Liberals at once placed them- selves at the orders of the government, but General Azcar- raga, the minister of war, was made the premier provisionally. STARVATION, MISERY, AND DEATH 209 It was the goiioral opinion in this conntry tliat the death of CanoN'as would iireatly (*han