The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-05-14
MISERIES FOR CUBA.
THOUSANDS OF PACIFlCOS
STARVING.
General Weyler's Order Responsible for
Intense Suffering in Piner Del Rio and
Santa Clara Provinces-Beef Reserved
for Spanish Soldiers Only.

HAVANA, April 27.-Private letters
from the interior report wholesale
starvation. Children are diving in the
streets Of Mantanzas and babies have
been found dead in the arms of their
exhausted mothers. III the province:
of Pinar del Rio are whole villages of
living skeletons, in dark huts, praying
for death to release them from their
suffering.
General Weyler is selling the cattle
of the citizens for the use of the troops
in Santa Clara. Rafael Rubio, an
American citizen, lost twenty-one head
of cattle in that way. When he com
planned to the Spanish authorities and
demanded pay for them. he was told
that hewas impudent to ask Spain to
pay for what the insurgents take with
IMMUNITY. A guerrilla corps raised and
armed and mounted by Spanish cattle
owners OF Sancti Spiritus drove in ECO
head of cattle to be slaughtered for
the benefit of the needy people Of the
city, but Weyler ordered all the meat
sen to Manzanillo for the soldiers.
The effect of concentrating the coun-
try people IN fortified towns is seer in
Santa Clara province in the five cities of
Santa Clara, C~ienfuegos, Sancti
Spiritus, Sagua la Grande and Rene
dois. All OF these $50, 900 people who
lived outside Of the cities were COM
na11a9 RI 1aay fhnir f,,.>c 49,, -
into the cities and fortified towns. In
some of the latter the concentrates
o%utnumber the original population.
They have no money and if they had
there is not food enough to supply all
who need it. Bark huts have been
built and they are crowded with power
ty stricken refugees, half naked, sick
from exposure and dying Of hunger.
They are peaceful, hard working peo-
pie. On their farms they would not only
be self-supporting, but able to supply
plenty Of vegetables, eggs, meat and
fruit to the starving people of the
cities. Under Weyler's policy the
whole 300, 900 persons are suffering.
This has forced hundreds of men tc
join the rebels rather than be forced
to see their families starve in the cities
and towns. In some of the smaller
places the o~ve-crowding is terrible
Sitialtatos, before the order was given.
had 100 people. It now contains ..oUO
There are a dozen places like this in
the province.
Weyler has had all the cattle killed
IN the fields by the guerrillas, and not
a pound Of meat can be bought except
for the troops. Almost all of the sugar
centrals are points for concentration,
Ihe owners are not allowed to grind,
but they must protect their property.
They build forts and soldiers are put
IN them. This makes a fortified place
and the farmers around about move in.
They stand a chance of getting food
now and then, for the planter pities
them, but they are worse off than
those in regular towns, for not q drop
OF medicine can be carried to them,
Not a druggist dare sell any
drugs or fill a prescription to be
taken outside the regular fortified
towns. Ii a grain of q%uinine for a
suffering wretch goes it means death
Tor the sender. The insurgents in
arms are much better off than the cor.
centrated pacifcos. They kill a beef
/ n the fields when they choose, but
they have taken what they need,
they generally send word to the owner
to come and get the rest of it or thew
try to get it into the starving people
around the centrals. The wanton de-
.struction OF cattle by the Spanish has
exasperated the ranchmen, many of
whom are Spanish and we're hithe rto
loyal.