The Opelousas courier., 1883-10-06
TRUE TO HIS MASTER,

A Story of the Cuban Instruction.
While walking in Havana with a
Cuban friend whose acquaintance
had recently made, we came upon a
strangely repulsive and hideous object,
in human form, sitting on a block OF
limestone which the workmen, with
their odd, double-headed axes, had
just squared down for the new mar.
ket-house.
1t was the form of a negro, mutt
lated almost past human semblance.
Tt was SO ciated that it seemed
like a covered skeleton, clad in two
rags, which held the place of drawers
and shirt. Where once were eyes,
were now two sightless pits, fright
fully Iiyid and broken and its ears
too, were gone. Instead of ears were
two deep scars, where they had been
cut away.
The face, the exposed breast. and
the arms, were literally scanned and
scored with deep lines. the paths of
gaping saber wounds /; and from the
stumps Of the shrunken feet every toe
had been chopped off.
Involuntarily I closed my eyes to
pass this hideous object. | had heard
Of beggars who, in the interest of their
sad trade upon human sympathy, had
mutiIated themselves, and I thought
this might be one. But my friend
laid his hand upon my arm, and with
gesture and tone almost reverent,
said :
"Put a little moneyin his hand, and
say, cheerfully, "Buenos tardes, Flo
rencio r.
And he set me the example, ra-
Their lavish one, / thought-by slipping
i paper dollar into the hand of the
sightless man.
I was surprised at this, for here in
Havana beggars -beggars of all de-
grees of decrepitude and malforma-
tion--are a multitude Of themselves,
and ordinarily my friend paid little at
tention to them.
When we had gone a little distance,
he turned and looked back. "That
poor wretch has a strange story he
said. "He is a hero /; as true and
faithful a fellow as ever breathed-
worthy Of all any one can give him.
aYou saw how he was hacked to
pieces. The S~paniards did that be-
cause he would not turn traitor to us
in our war for freedom. 1t is n Of
our Cuban tragedies /; and there were
plenty here from 1869 to 1878,-all
through that hopeless struggle which
the world now calls the Cuban insur-
rection.
No history of II war has ever
been written; and none save those of
us who fought it through to the last
bitter hour of defeat and ruin, knew,
or ever can snow, wat we suffered
here. Cuba, which SO ardently longed
To become n free state, like her sister
lands of tia New World, lies con-
quered, crushed her business ruined,
her plantations a wreck, her money a
mass Of dirty. deprecated paper rags,
which the very beggars turn up their
noses at and everywhere troops,
troops, which we IRE taxed to the
earth TO feed an. pay-to hold US in
submission.
Glitter, indeed, is the fate of that
country which tries to be free and
fails. Had we succeeded in 1870. how
different would have been the condi-
ton Of Cuba today Instead of con
quered rebels, the world would now
call us patriots and illustrious.
That poor negro was "a slave on
nj Of tho singenios {sugar planta-
tions) not far from Puerto Principe.
The place IL d wreck now, a desert.
But In 1870 ID was d ane estate, where
one ~of my intimate friends and COM
patriots had then recently put in ma
chinery to the value of d hundred
thousand pesos (dollars1, for crush
ing cane and boiling molasses.
These plantations, when wen man
aged, lie very profitable but my poor
friend loved Cuba and her liberties
Rsttsg fAaa aia opportunities ssr