Evening star., 1898-11-19

Cubans,' but they are in reality returned
criminals. They were landed from the snip
Isia de Panay, and no provision was made
for them. They came up to the Paruue
Central in body. The only possessions they
had were small bundles of dirty clothing
The majority of them were blacks They
locked to me like hunted creatures They
w-re pic turesque in a woebegone way and
were also defiant. They sent a delega ton
to the civil governor to ask what was to be
done with them, and for them. He had
them march to los fossas," where most
of the misery of Havana is housed and
promised to make temporary provision for
them. The Cubans promised to keep them
from prey1ng on the community If they
were sent out to the insurgent camps In
the evening l saw half dozen OF the mani
goes on the streets. In a few days most of
them will be roaming around at will. If
crime does not increase it will be because
their natural instincts temporarily held
in check. 1t was perhaps a coincidence
that the ancient enemies of the nanigoes-
the police who had hunted them doWn in
the past-had been sent away as prisoners
the day before they returned to Havana
free.
An Interesting Set.
These nangoes are interesting set.
The society which they formed was gem
uine criminal organization, with initiation
rites, passwords and other secret means of
connection. That the new member should
en- his initiation drink the warm blood of a
rooster was not serious affair. But when
he drew biindfolded from a box in which
were white, black and yellow balls that
meant something. The white ball meant
that the new member should go out on the
streets and stab a white man; the black, a
negro, and the yellow, mulatto. Then his
initiation was complete. In time, murders
and robberies made 1t unsafe to be the
streets of Havana after night Then the
police took hold vigorously, hundreds of the
nafgoes were deported to the penal set
Elements and some were garroted. The So
ciety was broken up. 1t is probably true
that among the deportations were some
city Vagabonds who did not belong to the
nanigOes. 1t is also true that some Cubans
who were suspected of sympathiZing with
the insurrection We're gotten away by this
means. But the majority Of those sent to
the penal settlements were genuine GRIM
inals, and the majority of those whom
Captain General Blanco has had brought
back under the pretense that they were po-
litical prisoners are genuine criminals. Their
presence gives the people of Havana more
concern than does the threatened revolt of
the troops. The Spanish soldiers will go
away in time. The nanigoes are back to
stay.
This is matter OF concern to the Amer
lean government, as well as 20 the people
OF Havana. 1t exasperates the members
of the military commission beyond meas
TIE. Yet, go long as he United States does
not assume authority, they are helpless to
interfere. All they can do is to "'remon-
strate, and to receive the polite, almost
contemptuous assurance that the affair is
really of no Importance, and that these
nanigoes whom Spain is sending back are
Cubans whose release 1t was supposed
would be accepted by tho United States
as an evidence Of Spain's clemency And
the next ship which comes in may bring
another cargo of nanigoes. The United
States has been SO leisurely and so lenient
in ending Spain's sovereignty in Cuba that
the Madrid government can hardly be
blamed for taking advantage of this lem
iency. CHARLES NJ. PEPPER.