The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-27
poIBAMUs,s FIRST WIRE.
Escaping from spanish Bullets TO Die OF Vel
low Fever In Nuevitas.

To THE EDIroR or THE SUN-Str: In
Wednesdays SUN. under the heading Of I" Pol
hsmus's Two Wives" you say:
rils ntst wife was the daughter q pr Medtegor o.
wife were never given any satisfactory res'on fot her
nomaopesrsncc. aud they believe she was foully deh'
This recalls to my mind an incident that took
place In the early part OF 1872 I was at that
time living near the town of San Miguel, Cuba,
In a trading capacity. specializing In hide and
wax, having obtained from President Cespedes
a commission giving to me the exclusive privl-
lege OF purchasing all the hides In the Cuban
encampments. For this undertook the task OF
forwarding all Cuban oommun icat,ons TO and
OF Spanish operations. ! believe was the only
man on the isl nd that had the privilege
OF passing In and out Of the Spanisn lines.
This somewat dangerous privilege I exer-
cised for about eight months.
remember that one evening Raphael POLKA
mus, whose mother was "A CUBAN lady, but
whose father was an A rerican cooper working
on plantations between Bagt and San Miguel,
came to nv camp ON the Ste Mar9u ere o pl IN
tation and begged OF me to do him favor. This
was to take his wife, an A uerican girl living
with him In hut In the woods. to his m other
who resided In the spanish town Of Nuevit ~.
He told lne how the spanish soldiers and v1lun-
teers had few mornings pr 'vlous, in their
search for CUBAN revolutiontsts, discovered
their home In the woods, aud fired voIley at
him and his WHO AZ they were escaoing into the
tnicket. WITHOUT any uosttatlOn 1 ClOsButeu.
aud early on the following morning they both
rode into my camp.
II was the nrst time 1 had seen the lady, and
must say was surprised wnen behed an In
telilgent innocent, pretty, but delicate-lOOking
young American girl, VINO did not look 10 be
more tn Al seventeen, yet had been living for
months In the woods In the vicinity OF Ste.
Marguerite, suOsisting on plantains ana sweet
potatoes. surrounded by murder, pillage, and
ass estimation, not knowing the moment her
husband or herself, perhaps both, would be
shot for there were Just rs man scOundrels
on the CLhan side as on the Spanish, with this
direrenoe-on the spanish side they had dis
cipline.
Well. after coffee we mounted. IL was then
i witnessed the coolest parting between nus
b md aud wife h I'd ever seen. No te RS, no sad
words, long to ue reuem oercd-fneteiy smile
and wave Of the hand. and they were sep
ar ted forever. lie rode % To jJin Col. Corne-
Illus POrro, and safely brought the young wife
lnto the town OF Nuevitas and delivered her to
Ripl els mother, akInd-hearted but very poor
oil lady. who W As living on the CHARITY Of few
cold relatives
1 returned to the Cuban lines shortly after
the ngnt took place between the CUBAN 0ener N,
PoncnO Catillo, and tue Spani rds under q en-
Pueblo. was captured. imprisoned. and court
martialed my hI1es ald wax were cOntscLted
myself was placed Oh the steamship OceanO del
L ia 70, and ord cred never to return under the
penalty OF being sn1t. When arrived In New
lork 1 made an effort to hn the poor girl s
parents, 50 that they might send her money to
return - New York. While enieavoring To fnd
them received A letter (IOw IN my Os,sssiOn)
from Mr.. Price, American Consul at Nueyitss,
saying that the girl had dIod Of yellow fever
SHORTLY after NV de Jirture.
SO. Sir. so far IA the FIRST wife OF Raphael Pol
hamus Is concerned, his record Is clean.
X. FULLERTON.
NEW York, Aug. "a, 1875.