The record-union., 1897-01-28
Survivors Of the Propeller Elsa, Wrecked
On the Coast Of Cuba,
Had Long and Very Weary Tramp
Across the Island.
But Devastation Along the
Route-On Arrival at Havana Were
Furnished With Thin, Cheap
Clothing and Steerage Tickets for
New York, and Forced to Live
Like TrampS.

New York, and Forced to Live
Like Tramps.
NEW YORK, JAM 27.-Delbert A.
| Cleveland of Norwalk, O., arrived at
quarantine ON Monday on the steam
ship Seguranca, having been sent from
Havana by Consul-General Fitzhugh
Lee. He and eight companions of the
wrecked propeller Elsa were released
yesterday and will proceed at once to
their homes Mr.. Cleveland told his
story as follows:
The steamer Elsa, of which was a
third owner, was going from New Or
leans to Bocas del Toro, when she ran
on the Colorado Reef, on the northwest
coast of the province of Pinar del Rio,
one the evening of January ID. In five
minutes the ship was under water. We
| had barely time to take to the boats,
and did not succeed in saving anything
but the clothes we stood in. The boats
We're soon separated in the dark. We
| got through the reef and fought a
rough sea for six hours In the morn
ing we sighted shore and reached it
1
panions. We were completely ex-
eating a very scanty meal we lay down
and slept sOundly.
| Next morning we took to the boats
again and proceeded in a westerly di-
rection. Before moon we saw the smoke
of a steamship which was coming di-
rectly for us. We were not much
cheered to see that it was a Spanish
gunboat, the Aguila. We Immediately
had visions of a sojourn in Moro Castle
and other horrors. But we found that
the commander, EugeniO Montero, was
a gentleman in every sense of the word.
The moment our situation was ex-
planned to him he ordered that each one
of US should receive a drink of whisky
and then gave us a good meal. To full
| fill the letter of his duty he dis
patched a boats crew to look around
and see if we had landed any arms and
ammunition on the island
After satisfying himself i'm this re-
spect, CAPTAIN Montero got under way
again and carried us to the eastward.
He took us 10 the port Of Mantua and
reported to General Francisco Araga-
nez, the commander of the place When
| the commander of Arroyo heard our
story he Went on board, took myself
and another back to the wreck of the
Elsa, even then under the suspicion
that We were filibusters After beating
around the reef for some three hours
the Elsa was finally located The war
ship sent a small sailboat and some sea-
men, the commander and ourselves to
| IN a bof Ch "a
had settled little lower in the water
and had begun to break up. Every
| thing of value was put on the sailboat.
| AS nothing of a suspicious nature
was found on us, we were taken back
to Arroyo We stayed there two days
as virtual prisoners, not being allowed
outside the guard lines. We were kept
in an empty warehouse and had very
plain food The town had been parti-
ally fortified. There was a deep
trench about the place, and nobody
ventured outside for fear of the in
surgents. The town was in a miserable
condition. The inhabitants were dying
| off like rats from starvation and fever.
Pea soup and fish were the only things
they had to eat. There was absolutely
no trade of any sort going on
we were told that We could not take
| our boats any further, and that we
would have to go overland to Havana.
Early one morning we were ordered
| out. We took packs on our backs,
and with an escort of about thirty SOL
diers started for the interior As we
tramped on patiently toward Mantua
we could see great volumes of smoke to
the east, which the soldiers informed
us was from villages which had been
| burned by the inSurrectionists We saw
the glare Of these fires when we stopped
our march for the night Our guard
became larger as We advanced.
! Uniforms, The troops have none
They wear any sort of coat, no under
/, wear and canvas shoes. There was a
regular collection of hats in our guard
| The only uniformity was a little red
button worn on the hats and the blan-
ket carried by each man. The food
of the company consisted of pea soup
and sea biscuits. Meat there was none
There was nothing but devastation to
be seen on the road.
At Mantua We We're put up at the
Hotel Granda. We slept that night in
a vacant shed with the rest of our
crew, and had the ground for a bed and
one blanket each for cover. The next
morning courier with a message ar
rived The bugle was sounded, and
within half an hour about $50 horse
men and 300 soldiers were on their way
to the south, where we could see smoke
and hear lot of firing l did not hear
the result of the engagement
I'VE left that day for Baja. We found
this place in the same miserable con-
| dftion as the others Some of the SOL
| diers met threatened us. but our own
guards were very civil. From Baja we
were escorted to Pinar del Rio, where
| we interviewed another General We
/ were now in the heart of the richest
tobacco country in the world There is
railroad running through 1T. We no.
| ticed that the cars were made in the
United States. The locomotives were of
the Baldwin make. This road is not do
ing any business to speak of. for the
| insurgents tear up the track and wreck
the trains about as fast as the Span
| iards can make repairs.
! From here We started on a long
| journey towards the east, northeast,
passing through what was once beau
tiful farming country, but now it Is all
desolation. AT Whales we purchased