The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-04-20
CAPE MAYSI.
The Picturesque Eastern End of Re
beIIi0uS Cuba.
WHERE THE SHOTS WERE FIRED
AT MERCHANT STEAMERS.

Az MERCHANT STEAMERS.
An Eye Witness tells the Press Readers
How this Interesting Place Looks-A
Strange Looking Land-Our Correspon-
dents Talks with Cuban and Haytian
ExiIes In Kingston, Jamaica-His Ex-
perience at a Social Event in the Home
of One of Ligitime's Generals.
special Correspondence
Kingston, Jamaica, April Z, 1885,
Cape Maysi the eastern end of Cuba, is
now name that is commanding un-
usual attention and interest. 1t has
appeared freq uently, of late, in all the
great papers of the civilized world and
fraught with no little significance. be-
cause off that barren point of land, with
in tie past few weeks, Spanish man-of-
war has dared to fire upon two merchant
steamships, the one flying the stars and
stripes, the other the flag of Great Brit
sen. 1t may interest the readers of the
ERESS to know what this place looks
Ake, where those extraordinary events
hGvo occurred.
1t was Tuesday, March 18th, that we
passed Watling's island, or San Salvador,
tAe land that Columbus first sighted.
We saw only light house on the hori-
Eon, but it looked different from any
other light house in the world, because
it marked the point where the great
tliscoverer's hopes and beliefs were full
filled and the existence of the Western
Hemisphere was made known to the
world. Most of the passengers were up
early the next morning, not only to en-
Joy the glories of tropical sunrise at
sea, but to be sure and catch the first
glimpse of Cuba and the famous Cape
Maysi, off which the Alliance was fired
upon and close by which we were to
pass on our way to Cuba. There was
Just little excitement in our interest,
for if one merchant vessel was fired upon
why shouldn't ours be also? Aud there
was some reason in this query, as was
shown, two weeks later, when at the
same point the Ethelred, of the same
line of steamer as ours, with the same
commercial object and destination, was
brought to a standstill by a solid shot
across her bows from Spanish man-of-
war. These steamers of the Boston Fruit
Company, plying between Boston and
Port Antouio, Jamaica, are owned in
England and only chartered by the COM
pAny. Hence they fly the British flag.
oc1-I 70 in aGf
ly 5. 30 O'Clock There was great bank
OF billowy cumulus clouds on the hori-
zon, and along toward six O'Clock, the
proaching monarch of the day began
herald his glories upon them. oh,
me rich marcons and puppies, glowing
fer little, only to give place to brighter
and brighter reds and scarlets, them
selves retiring to north and south along
the horizoni And the scarlets got
brighter and hotter and yellower till
finally the golden flame appeared along
the edge OF the burning clouds, and then
whole mountains of them ignited and
glowed and disappeared, as if into the
crater of sublime volcano and those
til at escaped reiterated along the horizon
and behold-there was the sun, the
mighty tropical sun, that forever holds
the flost and ice at distance, that
makes its world a garden OF beauty and
plenty and feeds its people with no return
from them. Who could imagine, as he
appeared IN all his grandeur and beauty
that morning, while the cool trade
winds blew over the steamer, that he is
as cruel and dangerous as he is benef-
cent to the sons of men and can and
does destroy them more painfully and
reIentlesly than does the cold and ice of
the arctics, if they do not obey his laws
and protect themselves against him.
We had almost forgotten Cuba, as we
gazed and gazed at the eastern skies,
but finally somebody went around to the
western side of the vessel and shouted
and all followed. There OH the southern
horizon and stretching away out of sight
to the westward, was mountainous
country. There was CUBA, the land of
active rebellion, where an oppressed
people are struggling to throw off the
yoke that is too heavy and too CALLING
for life and labor to be longer tolerable
Our steamer was headed about due
south and straight for the eastern end
oE the long range of mountains. AS we
drew nearer and nearer our attention
was absorbed by one of the peaks that is
certainly a most curious formation. 1t
is known as liable mountain" 1t looks
like nothing SO much as the stump of a
gigantic tree, that had been cut square
off near the roots and then bad rotted
down, like many pine tree stump, so
that the top surface, while level. as a