The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-05
LIFE IN CUBAN HOSPITALS.
<NIIETIEs AND sUFFERLNGs OF
SICK AND ROUNDED PATRIOT6.

oANh avn
An Eyewitness Tells OF Their souaiid Nuts In
the Forest D~epths-MovinE Their Camps "a
Keep Away from spanish Raiders-Thei
Doom Sealed " weyier's Nten Rtnd Them.
Owing, perhaps, to the love Of sport and I'D
venture which characterize tho Americans, ]
often hear my friends in this country say: II
would like to go aud fight In Cuba" When
such remarks are made to me | answer: You
do not know what 1t Is TO fight there
No one, with the exception Of those who have
gone through II, know what fighting In Cuba
signifies, and what patriotic abnegation and
will power it requires to endure for months and
months and even years the untold sufferings
inherent to the lifc in Ia nidhiDud. All is
endurable and possible as long as ono Is well
but as soon IA a Cuban Is sick or wounded and
has to be sent to n hospital 1t Is then that his
real calvary begins, when he no longer can
hope to have peace OF body or mind.
A Cuban hospital is not, as some may sup.
pose, a well.built house with well.trained
nurses, doctors, abundance of medicines, and
comfortable beds; 1t consists Of a few huts
built in n secluded place in the thickest part OF
the woods, where rs n roof they have palmleaf
matches, as beds rustic mattresses laid on tho
ground and made of dried banana leaves and
Dudjaca Spanish moss, and where, besides
being troubled by mosquitoes. flies, and other
insects, lacking often medicines. and deprived
OF all the comforts OF civilized life, ono Is obliged
to live under the constant fear of being dis.
covered by the Spanish soldiers and murdered
while sick and dcfenceless. Notwithstanding
their boosted chivalry, the Spaniards make 1t a
point 10 attack every nospitai mat tne. can
find, where they know they will face defence.
iess men ana women "nom' Win IMMUNITY ana
i'''o iish U themselves tnoy may XIII W se'iSiy
Iheir 'hirs1 ior oiooo.
10 uuo W lhese causos tnat "ounooo ou'
oahs prefer 10 DC carried on etretonors oy thoir
companions ana suner all inc IN OF
oeins hustiea from place 10 piace rather tnah
DO 'eit IN a hospitai where' IL oiseo'ereo' IL
"oahs certain aealh 10 them' .
AS nave saio oe'oro' inc opahiaruS mako IL
u po'h' 10 search the "osp'td'eS &c eo"gTe'
whenever they capture . prisoner tho nrst
th'ns they tei MN Is: We VIII spare your INC
II you VIII AXE US to the hospital" un1ortu-
posais' ana the result, as tho Wor'd mas orion
hearu mas oeeh the slaughter OF 30 many de-
ienceiess women ana SICK men.
In the provinces OF Camagney ana orlento,
where the woods arc much thicker and the
Cuoans arc masters OF tho situation, the hos
pitais 30 far, with very row exceptions, have
been unmolested but unfortunately 1t Is not
the same In the provinces OF Pfnar del Rio.
Havana, and Matanzas, where they arc con-
stantly raided. During the time OF Martinez
oampos only one hospital was destroyed, and
that was done by Gen. Salcedo In the province
of Santiago do Cuba but he was severely repri-
manded by Campos, who never countenanced
such acts of barbarity.
went once to a hospital in the province Of
Matanzas with the intention OF visiting a sick
friend, and l shall nevei forget how sadly 1
was impressed by what l saw there. With a
written order from Gen. Gomez and accom-.
~. " '" u" YIN Wv aoco"'
panied by eight cavalry soldiers, 1 was skirting
the woods In which knew the hospital to be,
ps :" III Ii e'D'"' vi Waterman
whose duty Is to be on the lookout and give the
no,ahhorhen, any ny, spanish pam u. lo on appear IN ,hs
observation-disclosures MI" aiso u receive inc "ouhueu
"nen they a re brought to the hospital.
meetinp any ono and 7 was heeinnin, - foar
. n ing any ho., one ana hns , was beginning 10 lea,
to another place when I heard A whistle and
looking in the direction whence II came wa.
unable to sec any one, but one of my men told
mo to look up a tree, where / saw the man hid.
den among the branobes Riding n ,vhsra h.
was l informed him of what / wanted and
showed him the order of Gen. Gomez. On read.
inc n bo soid bo would taL. -. H.. h,. -.
ing IL ne sa'a nc would take me alone. but not
with all my men, as 1t was strictly forbidden to
take visitors to the hospital, He also told me
tb.t h. bad soon - ,,u,a .,s 80, -. - ,.
tna' no d seen u . come ana pass py him. Out
not being sure II we were Cubans or Spanish
guerrilleros he did not signal To us until he was
convipcod who W.. nrora 7 49, -. ,s
~ WIZ We "eo' iit my norse In
charge OF my men. and allowing him to take the
lead | followed.
He took mo tbrou,b ,ittle maths r,aor h,sh..
na NV W pains unuer pusnes'
over rocks, and could notice by the changing
directions of the sun that he was walking in cir.
| cIes & n nc IN oo,f,oo mr. In ,onon, w. IL -.
tion Of Tho bosnita1 ~ ~ Lgsala to lhe ioGa'
ing his prccamtion even after hnvin me'P pea addht thc
camera r. orJaro +, "a, etaNinB reau 'he
baiied ana = 4rI iHf,,a I'm aPouI nioeen minutes he
IA specie. OF Wild dove, nyeitcd ffbn No. me ns vnnu ,o
! his signal, Wien IL ca%e we contin naSd" ana q o
These TOOK cboplc ~ me ava AVA 1 1bba guards
turned 70 his Mace W. bad a II SHta re,
omarter of 10 htaSci W mau walked aDout a
in the bnshes ahead az %f IA nn % io a s,raiRe noise
rection wbence II came es, avn ANU iooh ims III me "a
doys that jnSes, !" , ba" cav w ItoaFoS WHO
away On reacbinn tho mo1 nisc ot Su a hnnhing
hcen bnboid y ao N pace Mnere tney haa
DNSh Sii'i u lShCHlIR blRhl, Inty WtT0