Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-28
Sketch of the Principal Defenses Of
Havana.
As seen FROM THE sea And LAND
Precautions Taken Against the Eye
of Strangers.
VISITING THE PRISONERS
Copyright, 1897, by Charles N. Pepper)
of The Evening Star.

HAVANA, December - 1897.
Whispers of war sometimes float across
the gulf They are whispers only. and not
of kind to disturb the .'buenas rela-
ciones," the eocd relations which diplomacy
has established between Madrid and WASH
irgton. Sometimes the army officers in
TIE cafes give ear to other talk, and over
coffee and cigars banter American friends
with their plans for the invasion of Flor
ida and the three days march which Will
take them to Washington. The Spanish
officer knows as little of American geog-
raphy as do most Europeans, but he plans
military campaigns without regard to geog-
raphy. Hence his idea of a three days
march from Florida to Washington. The
navy officer is better educated and better
informed. Since Admiral Navarro went
home with Weyler a smarter set of navy
men have Appeared. They talk of some-
thing besides the invasion Of the United
States. In their circle a wcrd is sometimes
heard about the defeases of Havana.
Castle Moro and Fortress Cabanas. COM
.nanding, as they 10. the entrance 10 the
harbor are among the chief defenses of
Havana. Seen from without, either from
the deck of an incoming ship, from the
house tops of the city or from the hills be-
cations, appealing to the color brush of the
artist much to the military instincts
of the soldier. On closer view the impress
sion is not lost Moro has in its name the
suggestion of romance and history, per-
haps reminiscence of the Moorish con-
quests. But the poet and the artist would
go wrong there. 1t is Castilian for ''the
snout," and rocky snout at that The
castle literally rises the rocks The
light house is a welcome beam TO the ma
riner, the only hospitable sight. Cabanas,
stretching beyond Moro and following the
line of the hills for half mile, is not quite
so forbidding. The slope to its walls is
covered with grass and vines and green
bushes. The walls, black and gray already
monuments of time, show marks of age,
but not of weakness. From a seaward
view Moro and Cabanas are impregnable,
both as prison fortresses and as defenses
However, the strength of fortiacarons fs
better judged from within than from with
out. Cabanas especially has an interest
apart from military or naval considera-
items. A view of the interior Of this prison.
which has held so many martyrs to Cuban
liberty, is opportune at a time when the
aspirations and the sacrifices for free Cuba
may be near realization A government
regulation, iron-clad, is that no one other
than Spanish subject shall be permitted
il'gress within its walls. Explanation that
this means voluntary ingress is hardly nec-
essary. Other than Spanish subjects, in.
Guiding American citizens, have seen the
interior Of Cabanas during the last three
years. The theory CT the regulation is that
the fortress has secrets in Its construction
and arrangement which other nations
must not know, as though persons who 20
In as prisoners because they have revolted
against Spain would net expose its secrets
II there were any to expose. Idle as is the
regulation, 1t is adhered to strictly Con-
suls OF foreign countries see their own citi.
Zens who may be prisoners outside the
walls proper. They are brought out under
heavy guard. When the Competitor pris-
orers were released they were brought to
the place where these interviews are ac-
corded, half way up the slope from the
waters edge, and turned over to Consul
General Lee.
Inside Cabanas.
Notwithstanding the restrictions ir COM
pany with two American friends / was
rowed across the bay one visitors day to
Cabanas We all had notion it might
outside of the walls In gratifying Gu
riosity or in the quest of legitimate
information it is a safe rule not to
ask too many questions, but TO go
ahead until stopped. Relatives of the
prisoners, mostly women, were toiling up
the hill, carrying food and clothing. Some
Of the soldiers in the fortress were also
returning to duty. We followed The big
tree, under the shade of which the foreign
ccnsuls await the bringing out of their
who may be prisoners, was no
temptation for to stop and rest. The
sentry stationed there looked at us inquir-
rgly, hesitated a moment, and before he
could challenge us We had passed along.
We were in the laurel ditches and for
aigners are sometimes permitted to go that
Tar Nothing but immense stone walls are
seen, and they disclose no secrets which
would be of utility to an enemy.
From this interior view an idea of what
really is can be had. No proper
of the fortress can be formed
,y seeing 1t from without. The laurel
:itches might better be called the avenue
If laurels for there is promenade as well
Is fosses, or bitches. The trees are of un-
usual growth and their lustrous green To-
iage is a pleasing contrast to the gray
walls on either side. Two or three feet be-
yond where the laurels end is a fresh
avn. The earth has not been recently
The spot is a record OF grew
some history. 1t is the execution grounds
Here the prisoners are brought when the
ieath penalty is carried out The last exc
,ution was of three bandits who had been
n prison for two years. They were gar
'oted. But the place has more tragic his
ory than the garroting Of bandits or the
of common criminals. Cubans
who were sentenced to death for the
crime of rebellion" have gone bravely to
heir fate here. Looking at the. wall
against which the shots of the execution
squad of the soldiers have spattered, fancy
paints the scene. But that is of the past
Weyler's gone and Blanco Ii not shooting
,risoners OF war.
II is a surprise to discover that Cabanas
'eally consists Of half OF something The
ortress lies by the sea- The land approach
8 guarded and protected by a natural ram
,art of hills. The great bitches have been
followed out at their foot and retaining
walls hold the hills back In the center IL
y L.