, 1886-07-23
THE CRUEL MACHETE.
AsToRY OF THE LAST REVOLUTION
IN CUBA.

Terrible Fato which Overlook = Hand
of Noble Spanish Chivalry-Nfissivs
From a Brave misrepresentation of
= starless Night.
"But the machete means something to
the Cuban u said the old don. SIT isn't
merely a rusty old relic. 1t has drunk
much blood. Whenever It is drawn,
either against the soldiery or in riot,
somebody dies. Do you want a little tale
Of the machete-one that is true and
shows what awful havoc may be done
with its
"Well, at the outbreak of our last re-
bellion here the Spanish forces in the
island made no Roadway against the
brave work of the insurgents under the
noble Cespides, who, in October, 1868,
with but fifty other stout hearts about
him, raised the standard Of independence
on his plantation Mt Demajagua, and by
December had an organized army OF
IL, 900 men-the nucleus OF the effort for
liberty which famed through Cuba for
eight bloody years, costing Spain untold
millions in money and the lives of 150, 900
men, half of whom saw the swift CLEAN OF
the flashing machete before their last
prayers to the Virgin.
''They were impatient in Spain because
this little affair was not promptly sup
pressed. Finally, at court and in social
life, the whole matter became such an ir-
ritating joke that the chivalous youth of
the best families in Spain banded together
to take a little jaunt to Cuba and put
down these cane chewing rebels some fine
afternoon between breakfast and Inner.
or between dinner and the Havana even
ing ball.
AND GAY n NOBLE.
'They were an even 5000. Brave and
gay and noble were they. They held the
best blood, the highest hope of Spain.
And what a grand departure from BARGE
Iona and arrival at Havana they madeI
They were splendid fellows, and It is said
they represented $500, 900, 900. Havana
society was wild with delight. Every man
was a rich family's or a titled family's
son. Nearly every man had his own valet
Their uniforms and accoutrements-fur-
nished at their own cost-were dazzling in
gold and lace. A month of the wildesr
social ~debauchery followed their arrival.
Fetes, balls, receptions, bullfghts, carnf-
walls, welcomed them on every hand. At
last they came out here-over beyond the
calzada there, near the Guines railway
and went into camp. Instantly this cal
2ada, all the way back to Havana, was
transformed into another Paseo de Tacon,
thronged with the equipages of the aris-
tocracy rolling to and from the brilliant
camp. Tho magnificence of the city's So
cial gayeties was simply transferred there.
Gone night a great fete had been given
at the encampment, more brilliant and
gorgeous thar anything that had preceded
it. just before midnight, when the fes-
tivities were at their height, the COM
mander of the respondent troop, on re.
pairing to his headquarters tent, found
the following note pinned upon a diminu-
tive insurgent flag -surmounting a gor-
geous pyramid of flowers, the gift that
day Of some beautiful Habanas: F.
"sAfter your other guests are gone We
will visit you. Do us the honor to receive
us standingl WASHINGTON RYAN,
"This was the hero from Chicago who
gave his life for Cuba, whose real great
ness your people up there never recognize,
and for whose memory they have only
made n daub of a portrait.
1.-The missiye created the greatest mirth
and hiiarity. The camp and its guests
were wild with mirth and delight over the
grim wit of the crazy writer and his pre-
tentious message. They drank toasts to
him; sung mock praises Of his valor; the
bands blnred ferociously in his honor until
the small hours had come and oil the city
guests had zone.
SHADOWS OF A STAINLESS MIGHT
"Then n hush came upon the splendid
camp, and wine and sleep wrought silence
under the shadows of a starless night.
ut might have been the restless wind
soughing through the dark canyons, but
the commander could not sleep. He read
and re-read the daring message until the
little insurgent flag grew and %glamoured
into an awful IA Surely there must
Ie u great storm coming on. Surely it
must be sweeping out Of the night upon
the camp from everywhere. SurcSy-
"But the storm vas therel and it was
winged death.
'The trumpeters had no more than time
to shrilly summon the heavily sleeping
camp to its feet when God only knows how
many horsemen were upon them-black,
brown, yellow, white-but all men-men
with awful purpose.
"Their hosts a received these devils
of the night standing No cry went up
from that camp, ave as each of these
flower of the chivalry OF Spain saw
swift death in n lightning stroke de-
%scending. Every time a machete cleaned
in the glare of the pickering camp fire it
severed n Spanish lead from its body and
struck through to the heart of some
noble woman i'll old CASTLE.
ga half hour and all was over. The
storm was gone. These awful spirits OF
the night swept away into the night again,
leaving but one moving thing-a mon
strous insurgent flag bearing these words;
"'They were royal hosts. They re-
ceived us standing
1.-THE morning came, bringing the most
perfect peace that even fell on soldiers
camp. The Cuban machete had wrought
1t. Our Havanese brought two car loads
of gold laced caps into the city that day.
These were sent back to Spain in place Of
the 5000 who had left it. So, my friend,
you may now well remember the machete
of C~ubar'-Edgar l.. Wakeman's Cuba