The San Francisco call., 1897-01-28
SHIPWRECkED ON
THE CUBAN COAST
Saved From the Waves
to Fall Into Spanish
Hands.
Rough Experience of the Crew
of the Steamer Elsa From
New Orleans.
After Many Trying ordeals They
Finally Reach New York and
Proceed to Their Homes.

bv Consult 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:
T.. The steamer Elsa, of which l was third
owner. was going from New Orleans to Bocas
del Toro. when she ran on the Colorado reef,
on the northwest coast of the province of
Pinar del Rio, on the evening OF January 2.
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 were soon
separated in the dark. We got through the
reef and fought rough sea for six hours. In
the morning we sighted shore and reached it
that night Here we found our companions.
We were completely exhausted, and after
building fire and eating very scanty meal
we lay down and slept soundly.
Next morning we took to the boats again
and proceeded in a westerly direction. Be-
fore noon we saw the smoke of a steamship,
which was coming directly for US. We were
not much cheered TO see that it was
Spanish gunboat, the Aguila. We imme
distely had visions of a sojourn in Moro
Castle and other horrors, but we found that
the commander, Eugenio Montero. was
gentleman in every sense OF the word.
The moment our situation was explained
to him he ordered that each of us should re-
ceive drin of whisky and good meal. To
fulf II the letter of his duty he dispatched
boats crew to look around and see if we had
landed any arms or ammunition on the island.
After satisfying himself in this respect, Cap
tain Montero got under way again and carried
us to the eastward. He took US to the port of
Mantua and reported 10 General Francisco
Aregonez, the commander of the place.
When the commander of Arroyo heard our
story he went on board and took myself and
another back to the wreck of the Elsa-even
then under the suspicion that we were hlibus-
tiers. After beating around the reef for some
three hours the Elsa was finally loca ted. The
warship sent small sailboat and some sea-
men, the commander and ourselves to search
the wreck. We found that she had settled
little there in the water and had the appear.
shce of beginning to break up. Everything of
value was put on the sailboat AS nothing of
q suspicious nature was found on US we were
taken back to Arroyo.
We stayed there two days as virtual prison
ers, not being allowed outside the guard
lines We were kept in an empty warehouse
and had very plain food. The town had been
partially fortified. There was a deep trench
about the place and nobody ventured outside
for fear of the insurgents The town was in
miserable condition. The inhabitants were
dying of like rats in their homes of starva-
ton and fever. Pea soup and fish were the
only things they had to eat. There was abso-
luteIy no trade of any sort going on. We were
told that we could not take our boats any fur
ther 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 es-
cort of about thirty soldiers started for the in
terror. As I've tramped on patiently toward
Mantua we could SEQ 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 cur march for the
night Our guard became larger as we ad-
vanced?
Uniforms? The troops have none; they wear
any sort of coat, no underwear and canvas
shoes. There was regular collection of hats
in our guard. The only uniformity was
little red button worn on the hats and the
blanket carried by each man. The food of the
company consisted of pea soup and sea bis
cults. Meat? There was none. There was
nothing but devastation to be seen on the
road.
At Msntua we were put up at the Hotel
Granda. We slept that night in vacant
shed with the rest of our crew and had the
ground for q bed and one blanket each for
cover. The next morning courier with
message arrived. The bugle was sounded and
within half an hour about $50 horsemen and
300 soldiers we're on their way to the south,
where we could see smoke and hear lot of
firing. l did not hear the result Of the en-
gagement.
We left that day for Baja. We found this
place in the same miserable condition as the
Others Some OF the soldiers we met threat
ened US, but our own guards were very civil.
From Bsja 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 a railroad rum
ming through it. We noticed that the cars
were made in the United States. The loco
motives were of the Baldwin make. This road
is not doing any business to speak of, for the
insurgents tear up the track and wreck the
trains about as fast as the Spaniards can make
repairs.
From here we started on a long journey
toward the east-northeast, passing through
what was once a beautiful farming country,
but now 1t Is all desolation. At Whales we
purchased shoes and some food. The diet of
sea biscuits, beans and pea soup was beginning
to tell on US. We had not tasted any beef for
some days. The native troops have great
vitality They do service on almost no food
and with rags TO cover them. So yellow and
miserable is their appearance that one of our
seamen said that he could lick three of them
at time easily.
Most OF these poor devils look as if they were
suffering from jaundice, and their bones
stick out OF their cheeks. They are covered
with vermin. They are armed for the most
part with old-fashioned Remingtons.
When we got well inland, we found that all
the young men were gone There were old
men, women and children to be seen. All of
them looked i'll. Bridges were down every
where. and we had to lord some of the rivers
with the water up TO our waists. Only the
cbimneys of the sugar-houses were standing
The condition OF the Spanish officers in the
field is not as bad as that of the men. They
haye uniforms and manage to get provisions
for themselves and their horses. Those OF
them that we met treated US well.
At a town called Consolation the soldiers
got boisterous, and we were afraid they were
going to attack us. They did much loud talk
ing, shaking their fists and pointing their
guns at us, but the trouble was finally settled
in beace, and we were allowed to proceed.
We had now been joined py many other
soldiers and had quite big escort. Most OF
them, however were either wounded or unfit
Tor duty, owing to sickness
We arrived one morning at Rio Blanco.
fine town only couple of miles from the
coast. Here we were told that within few
days we would get steamship from Havana.
We were very glad to hear il, for we were Ut
terly tired out.
We had been here only short time when