The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-03-18

After paying tribute to Consul ,-eneral
Lee. Consul Brlce and Consul Barker,
whom he described as three true
Americans" and denying having ex-
pressed an opinion as to the cause of the
explosion, the senator said: Every
thing seems to go on much as usual in
Havana. Quiet prevails and except for
the frequent squads OF soldiers march
Ing To guard and police duty, and their
abounding presence In ali public places,
one sees little signs OF war. Outside
Havana all Is changed. 1t is not peace
nor is II war; 1t is desolation and dis
tress, rfrfsery and starvation. Every
town and village Is surrounded by a
trocha (trench), a sort of rifle pit, but
constructed on plan new to me, the
dirt being thrown up on the inside and a
barbed wire fence on the outer side of
the trench. These trochas have at every
corner and at frequent intervals along
the sides what are there called forts.
b\t which are really small blockhouses.
ma\ OF them more like a large sentry
box, i\pholed for musketry and with
guard ofNrom two to 10 soldiers in each.
The purpose OF these trochas is to keep
the reconcentrados in as well as to keep
the insurgents out From all the sur
rounding country the people have been
driven into these fortified towns and
held there to sUbslst as they can They
are virtually prison yards and like
one in general appearance, except the
walls are not so high end strong; but
they sufiice. where every point is i'm
range of a soldiers rifle, to keep in the
poor reconccntrsdo women and childfen.
There are frequent blockhouses enclosed
by trocha ard with guard along the
railroad track. With this exception.
there is no human l!fc or habitation be-
tween these fortified towns and villages,
and throughout the whole of the four
western provinces, except TO a very
limited extent anopg the hills, where the
Spaniards have nov been able TO go and
drive the pecDle 20 the towns and burn
their dwellings,, / saw no house or hut
In the sCO miles OF railroad rides from
Pinar del Rio province in the west across
the fun width Of Havana ard Matanzas
provinces. ard TO Sagua Ia Grande on
the north shore and TO Clenfuegos on the
south shore oi Santa Clara. except with
In the Spanish trochas. There are no
domestic animals or crops CD tt, rich
fields and PASTURES except such as are
under guard IN Immediate vicinity Of the
towns. In other words. the Spaniarls
hold in these four western provinces lust
what their army sits on. Every man
woman and cEild and every domestic
animal, wherever their columns have
reached is under guard and Within theI,
so-called civilizations rodcscrlhe one
place T. TO descr,be oil. To repeat. n ia
neither perce ror ws-; II is concentra-
tlon and ieaolatltr. This Ia the raciGsd
condition OF the four western provinces
"All the country people in the -four
western provinces. about 400. 900 In num-
Der. remaining outside the fortified
towns when Wey,er's order was made
were drlvCa into these towns, and these
are the reconcsntrados. They were the
peasantry-m OF them farmers. some
land owners, Others renting lands and
owning more or lsss stock others work
ing on estates and cultivating small
ratcheg; ard even small patch I'm that
fruitful cl'rlt will support a family
wien icy reached trc town the
were allowed 90 hvild nuts Of palm
leaves IN 80 suburbs nj vacant place,
within The trochcs. and left 20 live n
they could. Their huts ere about 10 b,
Is feet In size and for want of space are
usually crowded together very closel'