El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-05-30

flags and bunting. The crowd there
was q great as at Mount Royal AS
the men entered the cars each received
a decorated box con- aiming sandwiches,
a piece Of cake and come fruit. In
each box was card. with crossed
Cuban and American flags and the
American coat of-arms. Underneath
was the inscription. For our country
and humanity followed by Mary
and's greeting to Massachusetts. Bal
timore and Boston clasp hands. Bal
more wishes godspeed to the historic
9Th Massachusetts volunteers, A
united country honors those who are
rallyinR to her defence. May the
memory Of 1861 be effaced by the
-elcome of 1895 Do we love you?
Dewey?" AS the trains rolled out on
the way to Washington the crowds
cheered again, and the soldiers heart
lily responded.
Yes the nation has this year to lay
anew upon the altar it's dreadful sacri-
Zee, but in the full knowledge that
atonement is complete.
During the civil war more than half
q million of the best men in the coun-
try yielded up their lives in q glorious
sacrifice. OF these about $50, 900 were
confederate side. Take our present
splendid army, regulars and volunteers,
triple the whole. and destroy every
man utterly. There you have an idea
of what the reunion cost Aud since
the war ended probably three quarters
OF million more of the brave men
who suffered hardships unnumbered
for the sake of glorious principle have
died, many of them as q result Of
wounds or exposure due to the war.
But this year we have added to the
roll of those who should on this day
hold the principal place in our hearts
At the bottom of Havans bay lie humid
reds of corpses of men who wers O.. .
United States sailors. They weot down
with the M zine o that night of the 18th
of February. v can never forget tn.
,ese mea we're murdered. We must
not forget that the nation with which
we are now at war murde -ed them.
The following account, sent out from
Key West, ought to turn our thoughts
on this sacred day to the subjects
which should be uppermost-ought
to lead US to do what we can to avoid
even the appearance of neglect as to
those martyred sons of the nation,
whose memory should never fade:
10 the outskirts of the town, where
the small Spanish cottages cluster sill
eut and sunburned along the narrows
is the city cemetery of Key West. Near
he main entrance, which Is guarded
hxy III al Il
group of newly made graves. They
are in the potter's feld-the burying
ground set apart for the pauper dead
These are the graves of the heroes
who lost their lives on the ba tle-ship
in Havana hsrbOr on the night of F- b.
ruary Is. There are twenty-four of
them unmarked.
Above each mound of glisteninR
white limestone soil q small American
center OF each mound Is small glass
goblet which still DO de the dlscolored
and withered stems of flowers.
"They we're put there by a lady
from Philadelphia" said the dreamy
old sex'on, ''but don't know who che
| was. she came here about ten days
| .fter the bodies were buried and put
flowers on all the graves. l asked her
| who she was, but she said no mat
ter"
The space where the graves are was
evidently prepared in great haste.
Near the little white mounds on all
sides are unsightly heaps of litter AND
rubbish. In one spot stands an old
be arse, weatherbeaten and ghastly in
IFS very aspect of loneliness aud decay.
The sexton said it had once bee n
used as the.city hearse, but one day it
broke down VIII le carrying a body
to the potter's field, and tnere it still
sands.
Very close to the twenty-four mounds
is group of thirty-six naval sesmen
who die d of yellow-fever. The sexton,
however, was unable to tell when thew
were buried there. Nothing on the
LIT twelve-inch slab at the head of
ach group tells the story of the life or
death of the dead seamen. The name 8
and the words Omitted States Navy"
alone are carved upon the slabs.
But nature. even with the barren
lime rock below and the scorchipg sun
above, seems trying to do what the
and of man has failed to do in beauti-
flying the graves of the heroes. Lux
u liant trees of the tropical species are
all about the newly made graves. On
one side massive green cactus lifts its
pulpy foliage high in the air. On the
oppos tie side row of tropical trees,
RTSSus ore III DlOOm,
and with every breeze cover the
suDburned mounds with beautiful scar
let flowers.
Rarely does any one visit the place.
1t is without care or attention, q bye
corner of the island, where for two
GNU les Sps niards, negroes and fisher
folk have put their dead, and forgot
ten them. Perh> ps ope-hslf the grs-
YES in the cemetery are those of up-
known sailors, whose sleeping places
are unmarked. Most of the inscrip-
lions on tom betones are in Spanish
The graves of the M aine's victims are
surrounded by tombstones with Spa
nish inscriptions. 1t is q picture of
melancholy desolation.
And one last appeal. Let us not
leave the observance of this sacred ma