rl
SKETCH OF GENERAL GARCIA.
Wo Is the Hero oftho Hour Af tor Years of D of oat- Story of His Life and
Anvonturos of Intenso Interest.
At last the Cuban Insuregnt comes to
the front as a mnn of Importance In
the affairs of the United States, When
General Shatter, commanding the ar
my of invasion, with Admiral Samp
son, landed In a small boat near San
tiago and met General Garcia1 for the
first time, Cuban hlstcry began a new
chapter. He Is the man now talked of
for president of Cuba.
Richard Harding Davis, In his mas
terly description of the scene, as ca
bled to the Herald, said It was a histor
ical moment for the great generals.
"They are grouped together under a
sun so hot that It burns the eyes, on
a high cliff overlooking a magniflcent
valley of royal palms, which meets
motionless, a blue sea, broken only by
the lines of white breakers on the
shore, and which further out Is bro
ken again by the slow moving hulls of
thirty transports and thirty ships of
-war.
"The three commanders are seated
on boxes under the palm leaf roof of
an open hut. One of them has a blue
print map on his knees, and before
they roll it up again the attack on San
tiago will be decided upon and her fate
scaled.
"Outside this hut are five negro sen
tries, naked to the waist, and on the
open space about the hut are hun
dreds of the Cuban army officers, well
-armed and well uniformed, privates of
every shade of skin, with every wea
pon made, and small laughing boys,
armed with machetes or not armed at
all.
"The palm leaf hut where the con
ference Is taking place Is open to the
hot air at both ends, and on each side
and standing about It or kneeling on
the ground In order to obtain a better
-view are the strangest gathering of
persons that this war has thrown to.
ether.
"Colonel John Jacob Astor Is crowd
ed by a black giant, with only a guard
fcelt to cover his naked shoulders. There
are also General Ludlow of the engi
neers, General Costello and Lieutenant
Mlley and Admiral Sampson.
"Colonel Goetzen, the German at
tache, in spotless white, and a Cuban
officer, in a linen blouse and with bare
feet, are talking In signs, and with
them is Captain Lee, the British at
tache, booted and spurred, with field
glasses, helmet and Immaculate khark!
"Captain Stewart Brlce. In the uni
form of the volunteer army a blue
Jacket with breeches rolled above the
.&nee nnd a group of ensigns from the
warships, act as a background for the
prlnclpal actors, and still further back
of them are the Cuban soldiers squat
ting on the ground, curious and Inter
ested, and showing their teeth In broad
smiles of welcome and touching their
straw hats when any of the American
officers look their way.
"Any land would seem fair after a
week on the troop ships, but there are
few lands more fair than this one, and
few placos on It more beautiful than
this camp of Garcia's. lying Detween
the great mountains and the great sea,
shaded by the royal palms and colored
by the brilliant and scarlet flowers."
At that moment Cervera at Santiago
and General Blanco at Havana were
the most deeply concerned Spaniards
in all Cuba. The fate of Spain was
being decided. The chief actor In the
ounc!l of war, so far as the Cuban
cause was concerned, was General
Garcia. A great change had come to
him since he was a hunted fugitive
tn the dark days of the revolution.
Those who know him best acknowledge
his lofty courage and commanding
ability.
Richard Harding Davis described him
as bidding goodby to the American
generals, "looking, with his beard and
mustache of the third empire, like a
marshal of France."
What Is the life history of this de
voted patriot this Intrepid hero of Cu
ba's war for liberty?
General Calixto Garcia, by birth a
Cuban, formerly a resident of New
Tork, Is about 59 years old. decidedly
military In pose and manner; his con
versation always to the point and al
ways brilliant. By profession a law
yer, ho Impresses as one born to com
manda man of big nffairs who would
carry out any enterprise with honor
and success. Among his followers his
woid Is law and his counsel Is always
sought and followed In grave emer
gencies. He was one of the organizers of that
first Cuban revolution of 1S68. He met
with his friends nightly at a farm
owned by Donato Marmol, near the
town of Holguln. The Cubans were
already In revolt under Cespedes. and
within two days Marmol and Garcia
took up arms with 150 resolute fol
lowers. Extraordinary success attend
ed them Town after town surrender
ed, first Santa Rita, then Juguanl. after
hard fighting, with Its 20.000 popula
tion. For his bravery Garcia was pro
moted brigadier general under Gomez.
Later, when the provisional govern
ment, for some reason not clearly ex
plained, removed Gomez. Garcia suc
ceeded him Finding that Juguanl
had, meanwhile, been retaken by the
Spaniards, he proceeded to capture It
again. He next took Holguln. the
town where the revolution was orig
inally organized. Other victories rap
idly followed.
At the obstinate all day battle of
Santa Maria. In 1S69. he followed Von
Moltke's atactics at Sedan surrounded
the enemy's army and forced the sur
render of General Vingues and his
men. They were well treated and given
freedom.
So grateful were they for the unex
pected clemency, that one of the am
eers. General Rosales. on returning to
Spain. Issued a pamphlet extolling the
eneroslty of Garcia. But victory did
not always follow the Cuban eagles.
September. 1873. brought reverses.
In the absence of his main forces,
Garcia, with his guard of twenty men,
was surrounded by twenty men, and
when, at the last moment, capture was
Inevitable, rather than surrender and
die of torture, Garcia fired a pistol off
In his mouth, and fell among his dead
comrades The Spaniards carried him
to Manzanlllo in triumph, also thinking
Mm dead. To the amazement of the
Spanish doctors and generals. Garcia
revived, although the bullet had pen
etrated his palate, following the line of
his nose, and emerging from the fore,
head.
It seemed a miracle that the general
lived. Then it was equally surprising
that, recovering, he escaped execution.
But he was spared and Imprisoned at
Valencia and Santona, In Spain.
Fortunately for Garcia, Campos, gov
ernor general of Havana, was not vin
dictive, for when peace was declared
In 1877. Premier Canovas freed him. at
the cabled request of Campos. This
explains why Martinez Campos has al
ways been respected by the insurgents.
Notwithstanding he was free, Garcia
did not fully believe In the sincerity of
the peace treaty, and he came to New
"Tork, to await further developments.
It soon transpired that the Spaniards
were not keeping their promises In
xood faith, and bitter dissatisfaction
prevailed. Hostilities continued, nnd
General Maceo continued to hold his
ground agalnBt great odds. The cour
age and patriotism of the heroic mu
latto general fired Garcia's heart unew,
and again he appeared In the field
during what was known as the "little
war," until he was defeated and again
taken prisoner.
For the second time, his life was
spared. He was sent to Madrid, how
ever, where he wns allowed limited
freedom and not permitted to leave the
country. Being a man of education,
refinement and Indomitable will, he
soon made a career for himself In n
humble way, and enrned money by
teaching French and English. He lived
a quiet, retired life, but wns always
under police surveillance.
When the revolution of February,
1S91, broke out, he was anxious to
leave Madrid, but the eye of the gov
ernment was ever upon him. Then he
brought his Intellect Into play. He
gave It out that he should spend the
remaining years of his life In Spain.
This lulled the suspicions of the police
until he BUdednly disappeared nt mid
night. Before the authorities were
aware of It he had arrived In Paris.
Reaching New York City In the au
tumn of 1895, he prepared to go to the
assistance of his countrymen, but he
was not Immediately successful. He
organized and led the Ill-fated Haw
kins expedition In January, 1S9G, and
fitted out the stenmer Bermuda the
following month. Hut the Washington
government Interfered. Garcln was ar
rested and held for trial under $2,500
bonds.
Before the dny set for the trial had
arrived he forfeited his ball, and this
time succeeded In getting awny with
an expedition for Cuba.
Garcia's sentiments were vividly ex
pressed In his proclamation on reuchlng
the island:
"To the People of Cuba: In returning
to Cuba, still oppressed, 1 commence
with the same principles 1 had twelve
years ago. If we were justified then
in raising the standard of Independ
ence and rebellion, new and greater
crimes have caused us to renew the
struggle.
"A rotten tree must be uprooted. I
have never doubted the success of our
struggle.
"Gathering around me the vast ele
ments of our command, I will uphold
the standard raised In 1S63, determined
to redeem by battle that battle lost
two years ago (The treaty of Sanjan).
It Is not hate which guides me to war,
although hate would be justifiable on
our side. The wish for pence leads
us to war. The need of securing our
property In the future compels us to
destroy the same nt present to de
prive Spain of this revenue, which
would enable her to carry on the war
for some time to come.
"We combat for freedom of the white
and the negro. And there Is not an
honest heart who dares Insult those
who fight for liberty and honor.
"Our children shall live for some
thing else than the Spaniard's polnard
and guillotine. Our men are the men
of the Inst rebellion; our soldiers are
the soldiers of ten years, and our flag
the flag of 'Yara.' The warriors of
today shall not cease this war until
the Cuban flag of revolution shall float
over the Spanish fortresses.
"But they shall tear the revolution
ary flag In pieces before the sacred
altar of the law, when we shall have
redressed our wrongs.
"The country Is helping us. Thou
sands of men are swelling our ranks,
and the gates of the cities shall be
open to our armies, because the people
hate Spanish tyranny. If they are not
opened we propose to wade through
them In blood.
"Cuban history is written, and It will
continue to be written. We come to
die for you nnd our army. It will
not be read In history that when you
could have been free you Insulted your
heroes, eulogized your assassins nnd
remained voluntarily Infamous."
In his address to the Cuban army,
Garcia closed eloqeuntly, thus:
"Army of the republic, your old gen
eral comes to die by your side, If nec
essary. Let there be no armistices, no
treaty, unless based an the vecognl
tion of our Independence free forever,
or battling until free.
"If we die In the struggle we shnll
be dead, but our country shall live, and
we will be honored thereby.
"It Is necessary to save our men from
Indignity, our women from outrage and
dishonor, to save our children from
the gallows and to make our country
prosperous nnd great. To arms, veter
ans! Indifference Is cowardice! Glory
is achieved by honored death! Let
there not be rest for us until we pass
the threshold of the palace, where our
enemies forge our irons. Soldiers, to
battle!"
Since then he has become a distin
guished leader, proving himself worthy
to share the laurels of victory with
Gomez, Cuba's greatest Cuban general.
Garcia's most Important achievement
so far as direct results are concerned,
was the capture of Guaimaro, in De
cember. 1896. After a siege of twelve
days he captured sixteen torts, one
after another, finally forcing the sur
render of the garrison, who took refuge
In a large stone church In the center of
the town. He opened on them with a
couple of field pieces and speedily cap
tured the forces, amounting to nearly
300 men and officers. There was much
booty, consisting of Spanish gold, Mau
ser rlites, 200,000 rounds of ammunition,
with machetes, and a large supply of
clothing. The prisoners were well
treated and soon allowed to go on pa
role. Again Garcia's humane general
ship won him plaudits from the enemy.
A Herald correspondent, writing from
Madrid, when Garcia was a political
prisoner there In 1S80, thus describes
the general:
"Any one going to meet a chieftain
famous In a war like that of Cuba,
might suppose that he was going to
see some Tanatic who would be more
like a panther at bay than anything
else. It Is difficult to Imagine my sur
prise at finding myself in the presence
of a well dressed, gentlemanly looking
man, whose grizzly beard alone might
lead any one to suppose that he was
about 50 years of age.
"The manners and polite behavior
of the celebrated 'guerlllero' might have
graced any of the proudest salons of
the grandees of Castile, and he ad
dressed our hostess with all the cour
tesy and gallantry of the Creole cav
alier. "It was only when he turned around
that a deep round scar between the
eyebrows gave a strange appearance to
the features Illuminated with a pleas
ant sKille. That terrible scar was In
flicted by himself In 1874, when he was
made a prisoner by the troops of Mar
shal Concha, and he preferred to be
felo de se sooner than go to the cruel
chapel and vile garote that awaited
most of the prisoners of war of any
note.
"The wound was so dangerous that
the Spanish surgeons thought the Cu
ban leader could not live, and Mar
shal Concha gave him an 'Indulto' n
reprieve. When the Creole recover?,!
he wns sent to Spain, to be kept under
lock nnd key, nnd the government of
Marshal Serrano treated him kindly
compared with what he would have re
ceived In the foul dungeon of the Cu
ban forts, where rats, damp nnd dark
ness made more CubnnH die thnn ever
court-martial.
"It Is now a matter of hlptory how
this singular enthusiast nctlvely coyip
erated In prepnrlng the second rifling
in Cuba how he Joined the Creoles
when the struggle wns almost hopeless,
nnd how for months nnd weeks he do
fled the numerous columns and guer
rillas of General Blanco In the moun
tains of the Orlente department until
he hltnRelf confessed that he surren
dered In order not to prolong a useless
struggle detrimental to his native Isle
"It seems Incredible that the daring,
restless, enthusiastic, fiery nature
which such a career revenls, can be
concenled under the modest, quiet benr
Ing t.hnt certainly cuptlvates sympathy
even" In strnngers. Not a word of ran
cor for his victors, not nn expression
of Imprudent hnte or nnger against
his ndversnrles he fought for years,
not nn exclamation of the bitter creolo
animosity for Spaniards escaped from
the lips of Cnllxto Garcia In a conver
sation of nearly three-quarters of an
hour.
"Once only, our hostess having ma
liciously remarked that he was a con
spicuous figure In Madrid, and had
been such in two and he might be In
a third struggle, Garcia raised his
head with great decision nnd n slight
tinge of sadness, remarking that his
nctive life was over, thnt all he wished
for was to look after his wife and chil
dren In America, and that he would
no longer shnrc In any adventures.
"Garcia's original profession wns law,
nnd his calm nnd dignified discussion,
speaking nlwnys Impartially and with
out prejudice, won him many friends
among the Spanish men of note nnd
influence. Hence there was a lack of
vlndlctivoness toward him on the pnrt
of two Spanish generals Blanco und
Martinez Campos."
These are some of the qualifications
thnt go to make up the character of
the Cuban lender who has already won
the confidence and respect of Shafter,
Sampson nnd other high representa
tives of the American government.
The old erroneous belief is pusslng
away that the Cuban Insurgents are
a band of ignorant half-breeds, with
fanatical leaders, who might possibly
figure In civil life as successful cigar
dealers and managers of Cuban bnrber
shops. The deeds of Gomez, of Mnrtl,
of Maceo, Garcia and their Illustrious
brother patriots dead or alive will
not be forgotten when the history of
the great Cuban war of the revolution1
ccmes to be Impartially written.
Cavalry Horses In Battle
A veteran cavalry horse partaaes of
the hopes and fears of battle just the
same as his rider. As the column
swings Into line and waits, the horse
grows nervous over his wnltlng. If
the wait Is spun out he will tremble
and sweat and grow apprehensive. If
he has been six months In service he
knows every bugle call. As the call
comes to advance, says the St. Louis
Republic, the rider can feel him work
ing at the bit with his tongue to get
It between his teeth. As he moves out
he will either seek to get on faster
than he should or bolt. He can not bolt,
however. The lines will carry him for
ward, and after a minute he will grip
the bit. lay back his ears, and one can
feel his sudden resolve to brave the
worst nnd have done with It as soon us
possible. When the troopers begin to
cheer nnd the sabers flash the horso
responds. An exultation fills his
heart, he will often scream out, and
his eyes blaze and are fixed steadily
In front. No matter how obstinate he
wns at the start he will not fall as the
lines carry the last fifty feet of space.
If a volley comes nnd he Is unhurt he
will lower his head and take a sud
den breaih for the crash. If charging
Infantry, he will thunder straight at
a man and knock him down; If against
a line of horsemen he will lift his head
and front feet as If going over a fence.
A man seldom cries out when hit
In the turmoil of battle. It Is the same
with a horse. Five troopers out of six.
when struck by a bullet, are out of
their saddles within a minute. If hit
In the brenst or shoulder, up go their
hands and they get n heavy fall; If
In the leg or foot or arm, they fall
forward and roll off. Even with a foot
cut off by n Jagged piece of shell a
horse will not drop. It Is only when
shot through the head or heart that he
comes down. He may be fatally hurt,
but he hobbles out of the fight to right
or left, and stands with drooping head
until loss of blood brings him down.
The horse that loses his rider and
Is unwounded himself, will continue
to run with his set of fours until some
movement throws him out. Then he
goes galloping here and there, neigh
ing with fear and alarm, but he will
not leave the field. In his racing about
he may get among the dead and wound
ed, but he will dodge them if possible,
and In any case leap over them. When
he has come upon three or four other
riderless steeds they "fall In" and keep
together, as If for mutual protection,
and the "rally" on the bugle mny bring
the whole of them Into the ranks In a.
body.
A horse which has passed through a
battle unwounded is fretful, sulky and
nervous the same as a man for the
next three or four days. His first bat
tle is also the making or unmaking of
him as a war horse. If the nervous
tension has been too great he will be
come a bolter In the face of danger,
nnd thereby become a danger in him
self. If the test has not been beyond
him. he will go into the next flght with
head high and flecks of foam blowing
from his mouth as he thunders over
the earth.
While Eurppean Russia will need only
forty-five years or so, Germany about
sixty-five years, Austria-Hungary sev
enty years, England eighty years and
Italy 110 years, It will take France over
8C0 years to double its population.
What signifies the loss of Alsace Lor
raine's 1.500,000 souls compared with
the loss France suffers every day? In
the last five years the German popula
tion has Increased by 3,000,000, who are
every one fully Get man. France mean
while has increased her people by only
175,000, who are not even of French na
tionality. The Increase of a nation Is of the ut
most Importance to the success of Its
country. It has meant much In the
nineteenth century; it will mean more
In the twentieth.
At Soulac, Germany, a cross wns
lately discovered projecting above the
sand, urther Investigation showed that
It was attached to a steeple, anil later
a well preserved church of the thir
teenth century was excavated. The
church is now in use.
"Bah!" cried Mrs. Peck. "If I was a
man I would go to the war and flght!"
"I'm sorry," replied Henry Peck,
"that you are compelled to do all your
flehtlng at home." . .
THE AMERICAN SOLDIER.
A Cool. Sturdy, Courageous. Independent Flglttor, Dlfforlng Greatly
From His Europonn Brother.
(By Poultncy Blgelow, Special Coi re
spondent of the London Times.)
The American regular Is different
from anything I hnve yet encountered
In the armies of Europe. The Russian
has abundance of courage; the German
Is unequalled for discipline; the French
man Is a lusty nntngonlst whan nil goes
well, and of them nil the Hungnrlnn
hns the most dash and pluck com
bined. I leave out Tommy Atkins, for
he Is our first cousin, The American
soldier Is of a different composition
from any of these. To get an Idea of
the American regulnr the Kurupeau
would have to niuke n composite pic
ture containing something of the Boer
of South Africa and something of the
English officer who has seen rough
work In India.
The ground clement of the European
soldier Is the peasant. In America there
are not and never hnve been peasants,
nnd consequently our enlisted men
hnve wholly lacked the element of do
cile servility which makes discipline In
continental armies comparatively easy.
The American regular gets a min
imum pny or $13 n month small, to be
sure, considering the average rate of
wages In civil life. Yet not only Is It
sulllclcnt to nttrnct good men to the
service, but It holds them prnctlcally
for life.
The quality which Impressed me most
in the regulnrs at Tnmpa wns the av
erage Intelligence and good sense. Of
course 1 do not compnre them here
with picked volunteers, but with troops
of Europenn armies. In Amerlcn there
nre no guard or elite troops In the Eu
ropean sense, nnd one regiment of reg
ulars Is presumably Just as good as
nny other, nt lenst from the command
ing general's point of view. I have
never heard a regular officer curse a
man or even use offensive lnngunge to
him; on the contrary, I have ' been
struck by the wholesome relation be
tween officers nnd men. I ennnot say
as much for certain volunteer regl
mentB nt Cam) Alger.
It Is frequently Imagined that men
accustomed to much liberty and n high
standnrd of personal comfort are there
fore more difficult to control thnn arc
troops like those of Rlssla, who are
accustomed at home to be treated much
like cattle.
My experience does not tally with
this view. I could give several Illus
trations from the little thnt has hap
pened to the United States In this war.
For Instance, I doubt If nny troops In
Europe were ever for so long a time
compelled to live In discomfort so ex
treme and so unnecessary as the bulk
of the regiments about Tampa. I havo
already retailed much of what 1 saw
while living In the camp, and do not
propose to reopen that painful chnpter.
During thnt time, however, J did not
hear of any serious brench of disci
pline. There must hnve been plenty of
muttering nmong the men, but no at
tempt was made to Influence headquar
ters. I moved freely among the com
panies In the regiment whose guest I
was. and the men had ample oppor
tunity of ventilating the grievances
they felt, but they preferred to suffer
like men rather than expose themselves
to the charge of worrying about mat
ters of mere comfort. In some of the
regiments where I hnppened to have
the opportunity of noting the matter
1 found the average height of the men
decidedly higher than whnt prevails
In Europe. 1 hnve seen guard mount
ings where every man appeared to be
Ave feet nine Inches In height. Both
officers and men seem to be decidedly
supprlor In this respect to average for
eign regiments I have seen. The Rus
sians have perhaps the largest propor
tion of tall men. but outside of the
Guards I doubt If any regiment of the
Russian army has so large a propor
tion of well built, tall men ns say the
First or Twenty-flrst United States
regular Infantry
I made the reference to the compos
ite picture of Boer nnd Englishman
because the English officer represents
the spirit of the enterprise, cournge and
high breeding. The Boer, on the other
hand, typifies the element of silent,
dogged, unpolished, clear eyed, home
spun, nnd cares less still for being
governed against his will The Ameri
can soldier is von led by very few
rules, and these few nre such nB he
can thoroughly underbtnnd. I wns so
fortunnte ns to accompany the first
American expedition which had flght.
lng with Spaniards on Cuban soil The
transport used carried two compnnls
of the First regular Infantry, nnd we
' were gone nbout six days The men
' during thnt time hnd apparently as
, much liberty as though on a picnic.
Guard was mounted at night, for rea
' sons that all could understand, hut
during the day officers and men wpre
at liberty to seek rest nnd recreation
as much ns they chose. The harshest
rule made during that voynge wns that
no one should smoke between decks.
This was ordered not from any prece
dent In the navy, but for the very good
reason that our cargo was largely made
up of hay bales, which were on the
same deck as the sleeping quarters of
a large portion of the men.
Not a single man had a bunk or n
hammock during the entire trip. There
was room for very fw down below.
Most of the two companies had to sleep
on the two upper decks, which In this
particular craft were open to the
wenther. Thus when It rained and It
did rain very hard off the Cuban coast
the men sleeping on the decks had to
get up and stand huddled together
through the night at least, until th
rain was past. Most of them were
drenched through several times.
However, most of th-m were so glad
to g"et away from Tampa nnd see some
thing of actual service that they found
no fault.
These same men hnd traveled some
three or four thousnnd miles by rnil
before reaching Tampn, had been
twelve days on the Journey, during
which they had been treated worse
than cattle. This I mention here only
In parenthesis to Illustrate how men
of so much Intelligence and familiarity
with good living are able to submit to
treatment which would be regarded as
barbarous by officers In the Russian
army.
On the afternoon of May 11. at 3
o'clock, these two companies of United
States Infantry were ordered to disem
bark from the transport nnd go ashore
to flght anything that happened to pre
sent Itself. Our expedition had been
coasting along the Cuban shore from
Havana all the way to Cabanas, some
thirty odd miles to the westward. To
measure the courage of the men who
here went ashore we must understand
Just how much danger there was In
the undertaking from their own point
of view.
Presumably the Spanish garrisons all
the way from Havana to Cabanas knew
of c-ur presence. If they did not It was
their fault, for we coasted near to shore
the whole day on a very conspicuous
paddle stenmer painted red.
We anchored within a half mile of
shore and disembarked n dozen regu.
lars on a beach of which we knew
nothing excepting that It wits about n
mile from Cabanas, In which, accord
ing to our Cuban guides, t her wiih
or hnd been n garrison of 2,000 Span
lards. According to nil the probabilities, n
Spanish force would be on hand to dis
pute our lnndlng. Those first few men
who landed through the surf went ns
coolly ns though by Bpoclal Invltnttnn
of friends on shore. There wns no pn
radc of flnu sentiment, no handshaking,
no address from the commanding offi
cer, no serving out of stimulating
drink, which sometimes makes men
careless of danger.
Thick tropical bushes lined the bench,
and behind those we felt confident that
Spanish sharpshooters must be lying
In ambush, with possibly n small piece
of artillery that would open upon our
crazy transport so soon mm we should
have got the bulk of our landing pnrty
under way for the shore.
Every prlvnte who went on this trip
knew the situation ns well ns his offi
cers. There wns an ominous silence
on shore, and no unnecessary talk on
board.
We hnd no bluejnekets on board, and
had therefore to make use of the civil
ian crew of the transport, four men,
with n coxswnln nnmed John Donovan.
This snmc John Donovnn knew well
thnt If he were caught ashore he would
be treated ub an Insurgent or plrnte
ulong with the rest of his crew of tin
uniformed filibusters. But John Don
ovan never bothered his head about
International law. more than to re
member thnt he waB a thr.tuughbred
Irishman, with n coating of citizenship,
and a profound contempt for the "da
go" nnd nil others not of his own skin
nnd kidney.
John Donovnn wns a splendid picture
of manhood as he stood up In the stern
of the whnleboat. steering with his
long sweep, and guiding IiIb crew to
where he thought the sun lenst dan
gerous. This was not saying much, for
the transport was anchored off n coral
reef, extending ns far ns the eye could
reach In each direction. The wnves
broke high on this reef, and the men
had to spring out of the bonts and
drag them ashore for a distance of
perhaps one hundred ynrds Some of
the boats capsized outright, nnd In
each case there were many minutes
when the different crews were up to
their necks In the brenkers. holding
aloft their rifles and wondering why
the Spunlnrds did not seize UiIb oppor
tunity of shooting them to pieces.
As there were not enough deck hnnds
on the transport to tow more thnn one
smnll boat at a time, the commnnder
called for volunteers. There was no
Inck of them from among the privates.
One of them wnH my Germnn friend
Buerger, who had served In the Franco
German war, had then served In the
United Stntes navy, had been trans
ferred to the army, nnd had already
served Uncle Snm eighteen yenrs. I
had many n chnt with him during the
trip, and found him one of the few
happy men I hnve ever met. He loved
the service, had no Idea of being any
thing else than n regular soldier, spoke
English with a strong native accent,
wns proud of the German emperor, but
thought Germany wns going to the
devil from too much government.
Buerger stepped Into his seat, picked
up his sweep and pulled for the Cuban
shore with mechanical ease nnd am
phlblousness. There were one hundred
nnd six soldiers altogether .on bonrd,
and about half of them went ashore,
while the other half lined the bulwnrks
of the transport their rifles ready.
It was hard to say which wns the
most dangerous, to remnln on the ship
or go ashore. Both were bud enough
as picnic grounds. One shot from the
shore could send the rotten old paddle
boat to the bottom In five fathoms or
water, with no means of saving life
except by swimming nmld sharks, and
breakers.
There wns a moment when about a
dozen regulnrs utood alone upon the
Cubnn beach while the small boats
were struggling through the surf to
take off more men. But never was
there among these or nny of these
who followed the bllghtest hesitation to
follow the orders given by the officers.
The woods had not been reconnoltered
previous to landing. They had not even
been fired Into by way of precaution.
Nevertheless, this hnndfu) of soldlera
nt once commenced skirmishing Into
the unknown, and soon enough the
bullets commenced to sing abuut our
ears.
These were not picked men. They
were tnken as they happened to come.
The commander did not nsk for vol
unteers to stnrt from Tnmpa, or even
for the first landing party. He had
to select men to pull the sweeps, not
because any were more brave thun
the rest, but simply because of their
knowledge of rowing. Every man who
was In that flght on that day was In
telligent enough to know that his
chances of seeing home again went
hopelessly small. The mere idea of
landing fifty men on an unknown bench
In the neighborhood of a strong gar
rison wns enough to stamp the enter
prise ns equal In danger to thnt of
Lieutenant Hobson, who corked the
harbor of Santiago by sinking the Mer
rlmac in the channel under the fire
from the Spanish forts.
The secret of this peculiarly Ameri
can attlude toward danger Is In the
habit our men have of acting Individ,
ually. The American habitually takes
care of himself, where the European
is more apt to Invoke the help of a po
liceman. The American of the western
part of this country Is not prone to risk
his rights to the slow and fickle Justice
of the law courts, especially where the
Judge Is suspected of political ambi
tion. Consequently the American typo
Includes a man who venerates the con
stitution of the United States In the
abstract, but carries a six shooter In
case of accident.
This forlorn hope of fifty men was at.
tacked from an ambush by a force es
timated at several hundred. It might
have been several thousand for aught
these men cared. They hod a splendid
opportunity for running away In n
panic, they were In the thick forest,
where they could see but little of the
enemy and still less or their fellows.
They had reason to think they might
be cut off from their bonts, and they
knew that If they did reach the beach
alive the boats on hand were not
enough to hold them all. They were
not fighting elbow to elbow, and thu
rattle of the enemy's bullets was pain
fully sharp and continuous.
Theoretically the German officer as
sumes that under such conditions men
are apt to run away, that they mut
be held well In hand if they are to
stand. In the cam I am referring to
not only were the men In nn extendi d
skirmish line through thick under
brush, but they knew thnt no reserves
were on hand to support them. and.
moreover, thnt they could expert no
assistance from the transport by rea
son of the fact that those afloat cr till
not shoot without danger of hitting
their own men,
HAVANA JOURNALISM
There Is not a little rare and curious
reading to be found In the xrnnxnal
copies of the Havana newspapers that
now and then dribble thriuuh the
blockade. Copies of La Lucha, re
cently received but n!rn3y many days'
old, are particularly rich In oddities
cf Hnvana Journalism.
One Is Immediately struck by the
marvelous mengerness of the news re
lating to the war, but for this tho ten
sor I doubtless largely lesponsible.
The only reference to the blockade In
one number Is a three lino "official"
notice thnt only two American ships'
are In sight of the port of Havana.
To make up for this, however, a
lending article headed "Piracy of the
Worst Kind ' Is devoted to the particu
lars of the capture of the stenmer Ar
gonnutn, with Spanish officers and sol
diers on benrd who. by the way, ara
simply descrlhed'ns "passengers "
After roundly denouncing the Amer
Icnn officers nnd snllcrs as no better
than pirates In their treatment of the
passengers nnd crews of nil captured
vessels, of whom they nre said to have
spared neither men nor women, tho
article continues: "Let us tell what
hnppened to tho pnssengers on tho
Argonnula. On seizing the ship tho
enemy Hwarmed over the side, poniards
In hand, like fierce buccaneers nnd be
foro taking charge of their prize, or
even approaching the cnptaln, hastened
to loot the baggage of the passengers,
plundering all alike of whatever money
they had, either In their valises or on
their persons. From n Portuguese lady
they tore the rings from her fingers
nnd robbed her of $5,000 In gold nnd
Spanish bank notes which she had In
n sutchel. which she attempted to con.
ccal under her skirt.
"Having finished the work of pillage,
the pirates cast loose of the ship's
boats, Into which they hustled all their
prisoners, nil the while heaping on
them the grossest abuse nnd indigni
ties. Before casting off the bont, not
content with the Infamies already com.
mlttcd, they turned the slcnm hose on
their victims. How worthy these
wretches of being officers In the navy of
the country of Lincoln!"
The nrtlcle closes with the comfort
ing reflection that the nations of Eu
rope will know of these "acts worthy
of pirates, but unworthy of sailors who
pretend to represent the honor of their
nation."
A dispatch dated Matanzas and
adorned with n rude cut of rifle shell,
tells with whimsical particularity how
the projectile fired from the American
fleet was unenrthed by n committee of
distinguished citizens, officially ap
pointed for the purpose. The narrative,
which takes the form of n regular
proces verbnl. describes minutely how
the committee "proceeded to the ex
traction of the projectile," which fell,
"In connection with others." In the
patio of No 30 Calle de San Fernando.
The "extraction" which It Is declared
was only accomplished with much la
bor, took place In the presence of sun
dry military dignities whose names nre
given,
Dewey's victory nt Mnnlln Is disposed
of In a four-line dispatch, dated Manila
nnd headed. "The First Battle Tho
American Fleet Routed. The Cavlto
fleet has heroically fought the Amer
ican fleet, which retired badly dam
aged." By way of preparing the pub
lic for the truth n paragraph in an
other column states that there is "some
nnxlety" In Madrid over the result of
the battle.
Prices of all sorts of provisions aro,
of course, enormous, condensed milk
being quoted nt $1 In gold per can.
Curiously enough, however, we find an
advertisement adorned with a pictur
esque cut of a mnre donkey and foal,
which states thnt "asses' milk, deliv
ered nt your residence. Is now cheaper
than ever." Little herds of she asses
milked from door to door are one of
the must familiar sights In Havana.
Spain's Aristocratic Cadets.
The Spanish naval cadet Is selected
from the upper clasf "s. Sons of officers
In service or retired ccnstltute the ma
jority, although nny one who Is in
proper physical condition, a Roman
Catholic and a Spanish subject Is sup
posed to be eligible. Outside the sons
of officers, however, one finds only tho
children of professional men In the
list, occasionally the family or a trades
man being represented. This Is far
different from the United States, where
the members of the Annapolis Naval
ncademy come from all walks of life.
As the navy Is very popular with the
people, there Is n grent demand for
entrance, and the btglnnlng of each
school year finds far mnre applicants
thun can be accommodated at the
training school. One reason Is that
the army and navy circles are as pop
ular In the United Stuns from a feudal
standpoint, nnd officers are everywhere
received with the utmest cordiality at
festivities and other society events. It
is a very pleasing life to be stationed
at Madrid, Cadiz or any of the larger
cities, all of which have a numerous
garrison, while all the more Important
Spanish harbors In time of pence con
tain one or more warships, the officers
being allowed ample time for recrea
tion on shore. Another reason Is that
the number of physicians nnd legal
practitioners Is extremely small In
Spain, and the opening for young men
In this tespect Is very limited.
The question of caste, such an Im
portant pnrt of the social system, de
ters the young Spaniard from engag
ing In trade of any kind unless he is of
the merenntile class. Even then many
endeavor to avoid an occupation which
they consider obnoxious, by entering
the service. As the pay of officers Is
fairly good, and they nre, of course,
provided for at the expense of the gov
ernment, life on board ship nnd In a
garrison has many charms In time of
peace. Consequently, it Is not strange
that the officers, as already Intimated,
represent the highest class of the Span
ish people, and number not a few sci
ons of nobility In their ranks.
It is announced that the annual har
vest of files Is diminishing In number,
and not less surprising is the reason
therefor. A writer in the Electrical
Review says: "Entomologists report
that of late years the annual crop of
files Is decreasing rapidly and steadily.
The almost universal adoption of elec
tric traction Is credited with bringing
about this desirable result. It has been
stated that stables are the chief breed
ing places of flies, and as the street
car horse has been emancipated the
number or stables Is consequently
crowlmr lees, hence th. fnllnra nf h
fly to be born In multitudes as in the
pan.
Russla has tried experiments with
aluminum shoes ror cavalry horses. A
ftJtV hfirAAR In th. EMnlun.4 -....
.... ........ tu.uuu UlUfcUUllO
were shod with one aluminum shoe
and three Iron shoes each, the former
being on the forefoot In some cases and
on the hind foot In others. The ex-
inTiinriH lusipu six- weeKs, ana showed
thnt tho Dlllmlmtm mmnn li,...l t
. .... . .-... nuun laoicu ion-
cer and preserved the foot better than
iur iivit viics,
