The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-09-30
TWELVE THOUSAND FRESH RECR UIIS
FOR CUBAN GR1VEYARDS,

Hus
Spanish army of operations in this ever
faithful island are arriving almost daily
They will number in all IL 0CO men, of
whom all but / 300 are from the northern
provinces of Spain. When Martinez Cam
pos sent his chief of stsff and brOther-in
law. Gen. Arderius. to Madrid, in June laet,
be declared distinctly to the home Govern
mept that it WAS hopeless to attempt to
suppress the revolution unless he were fur
nished with at least 60 900 fresh troope;
that the Cubabs were so we'll Informed, by
their admirable system of espionage, of
every inten ded military operation that not
lees than fifty Spanish eoldiers were re-
quired to watch one Cuban and. finally,
that if Spain could furnish him with no
more men than were indispeneably neces-
sary to maintain the status quo, he was de-
termined to throw up the command and
return home.
In reeponee te this urgent appeal, made
in June laet, Spain sends 12 900 unsccli-
mated soldiers, mostly beaIdless boys, re-
cruited from the northern provinces, who
have never handled o mnsket, and sends
them at the most dangerous time of the
year. The months of August and Septem-
ber al o notably those in which the yellow
fever makes its greatest ravages, and al
though during the earlier part of last
month the deaths from this dreaded epi
demic we're below the average OF lafe
years, the disease has within the past fonr
| weeks been as fatal as it was ever known
| to be. This city is full of sick and wound
| ed soldiers. The sick ere mostly sb6efiBg
from intermittent aud malarai fevers. All
the hospitals are 80 full that q few days ago
2, 500 men were sent from the principal
military hospital in this city to Guansba-
Goa, o country place a little way back in
| the hills upon the opposite eide OF the bay.
Guanabacoa is celebrated for its salubrity
A number of frame houses had been erec-
| ted for the accommodation of these men.
But yellow fever broke out on the day fol-
| lowing their arrival here, and seventy live
] men died the next day. l have been un-
able to procure the death rolls of these
! door victims of Spain's obstinacy since that
| date. The Government prohibits all pub
! licstion of these matters, bnt common re-
| port asserts that the mortality has been
| terrible.
| What is occurring here is occurring in
| every seaport OF the island. In most OF
the cities, both ON the northern and south
| ern coasts, although hospitals had been
prepared beforehand for the sick, these
| buildings have proved SO insufficient for
| the accommodation of the men brought In
from tue country that private houses, aud
| in many places the Casinos and Govern
| ment houees, have been converted into
hospitals. In San Juan de los Remedies
alone, l 200 sick and wounded men we're
taken into the city from Yaguajay in three
days, and although it was given out that
there was not single case of yellow fever
among them, the disease appeared as soon
as they reached the coast, and carried them
off every day by the score.
The Epooa of Madrid lately published g
statement of the present force of the Span
ish army here, prior to the arrival of these
fresh recruits The Epoca's fgures showed
over l08, GOO men, exclusive of the volun
teers. 1t asserted that each of the regi
ments of line consisted of two battaliout
of $50 men each, or L 500 men to each regi
ment, and that the fifty battaiions Of chas
seurs consisted of 200 men each. Every
military man in CUBA knows positively
that these military organizations are in re-
ality skeleton regiments. Undoubtedly
very many appear on paper to be NJ
, to their strength, but the names of thou
sands of men who died months, and II
some cases, years ago still figure in th'
regimental list, aud their pay is drawn ant
: divided among the swindliDg regimenta
ripgs.