The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1898-04-26
AT TAMPA AND KEY WEST.
a Graphic Description of The Situa,
ton Down 1hcrc as Seen by q
South CarOiiniau.

'p"u hiltTc as Sccn DN Il
South CarOiinian.
M. S, Avery S~tlrgiss, formerly o
York County, has lately returned from
Tampa and Key West, ana has given t.
the News and Courier u ve.y interest
ing description Of the condition Of af
fairs ia those localities. He saws o
The excitement prevailing in that sec,
tion thai the people were simply
mad, not only The thousands Of Cdbans,
bat the Am riCans and foreigners rs
well, who were bite" in their dcnun-
citations Of President McKInloy and
Congress for the delay aud indifference
since the destruction Of the Maine. but
things have changed altogether now,
and there Is great enthusiasm over
the pros Get Of d speedy settlement,
with the Spaniards. Ne. Sturgiss
says:
Il have been very sorry, indeed, for
the Americans who hurried out OF
Cuba at the time that Fifz Lee left.
There were some 5000 people among
them who left practically everything
they possessed in Cuba. Some OF them
are natives OF Cuba. and the others are
Americans who are now crOwding into
any sort OF quarters they can find, and
praying for the trouble to come to an
end, one way or the other, So that
they can get back to their homes. OF
course, those who left Havana expect
TO find everything they left destroyed.
Should the city be bOmbarled there is
a probability that the shells will set it
atire but, in any case, it is not to be
doubted that the Spanish mob will
sack and destroy the house of every
American in the city. | met family
h bad jast landed, and heard them
say that they had abandoned hope Of
ever seeing their homes again. Their
nous was new and handsomely fur
nlshcd, and they were compelled to
leave practically everything in the
hands Of servants, who wolid, OF
course, help themselves first, and show
the mob the way afterwards to COM
plete the work. The majority of the
refugees are without employment or
means of support, and are really in O.
d~eplorable condition. or course, they
Will all live some way or other, ard
the men a find enough to do if there
is a war and u call for volunteers: but
just now they should b. pitied, and
would be more generally but for the
TACT that they seem perfectly delighted
to pose as martyrs and tax war day in
and day out.
" Among the people there are some
Mh0 suffered as reconcentrados. | have
seen some of them myself and can
testify to the fearful state they were
reduced to. On Of them came ashore
the day thai Gen. Lee landed, and two
later began TO act strangely so
strangely, IN fact, that it vas remarked
even in a Cuban. In a little while he
became q raving maniac aad bad to be
bound. Then it developed that he had
been confined in Matanzas for some
had Snifnrnl fonrfriI,, ,x1 -, |
lnaliy broken down completely. Fur
thcrmore, some one told me that he
been compelled to witness the
murder OF his brother by Spanish SOL
hers In the streets, without the power
TO raise u hand in his defence. But
Will not begin to talk of the scenes of
horror they describe. 1t is not a sub.
Jet that | am partial to, and we have
nad enOug h Of it.
The sailor Cnen are the heroes of
day now at Key West. First, OF
course, come the Maine boys Sucn of
wounded as are able 20 get out OF
hcm marine hospital ana crawl around in
sunshine are followed by crowds
piled WIZ questions necessarily.
icy an" yer them good naturally,
~ Tell the truth, seem to like the
attention. Then the crews of the
hips In the harbor come in for a good
hare OF attention. The natives are
friendly to that nect-it is practi.
ally all that stands between them and
spanish revenge-for Spain owes XIV
an old grudge that she would like
o pay of with burning houses and
'ntchered citizens. 1t has been a
lest OF flibusters ever since the war
nd VIII remain one as long as there Is
uch q thing as Cuban independence to
ight for.
The sentiment in Florida, among
he Cubans mean, Is for annexation,
,hey 40 not think the island Is In con-
ition to support a government, and |
you'd much prefer seeing the United
'tates take the rudder. They know
erfectly well that the very day Cuba
cts up a government OF her own there
9 wiz halla dozen revolntionists plan. t
Ing It's overthrow, and that the island
'ould be In a state OF continued tur. !
loil, that would practically paralyze I
ii commercial activity and reduce it 4