Evening star., 1898-12-24


| the supposed remains Nf Columbus Mad
i rid can now Dispute With Santo Domingo
| the genuineness OF theSbones. Havana has
| the cathedral and the cemetery which bear
| 1t can be content.
Some of the monuments which Spain
might have taken away she has chosen to
| leave. One of these is the statue Of Isabel
Isabella of whom Ferdinand was the con-
i sort and whose jewels enabled Columbus
| to make his voyage of discovery. 1t is the
| Isabella of the present century, known in
| Madrid and Paris for certain delinauencies
| of conduct, which became too fragrant for
| the liberation that Is accorded the morals
\ of monarchs. The Cubans use the Castil-
| ian pharse for saying that Isabella was not
| a lady above reproach. They would be
| obliged if the Spanish authorities should
put the statue aboard one of the transports
| and take it away. Persons of artistic tenn
permanent would share the feeling of obli-
cation because the statue is an ugly piece
| of marble. Though Isabella does not van
| ish with Spanish sovereignty, she will in
| time have to yield her place to a statue of
| Maceo.
The Irony of Destiny.
1t is the irony Of destiny that in her dying
| days in Cuba what life Spain shows must
| be in the harbor where her flag has been
| saluted by all the nations Of the world. 1t
| is the scene of the greatest activity. The
| troops must be embarked They come
| marching down to the wharf in squads.
! The tugs and launches convey them to the
| transports in the stream. The soldiers
| Chamber over the sides and in short time
the great vessels are peop,ed by the troops
| VINO swarm over the decks like ants 1t is
| all done with military precision. The Off
GERS swear at the men, sometimes strike
them with the fiat side of the sword, but
| that Is from habit rather than from neces-
| Sity. The embarkation is made with far
| less confusion than marked the American
troops when they embarked on the trans
| ports at Tampa The Spanish soldiers
| stances. They are glad to leave. but they
make little sign. When the ships beat out
| to sea, past MORO Castle-for the waves
| are heavy at this season-if they dared
| they would give shout of joy. Upholding
Spanish sovereignty in Cuba has been sad
work for them.
Sometimes a shout is heard; it comes
| from thousand or more American throats,
| and lusty throats at that. 1t may be from
| the troops on the Mobile, the Michigan, the
| RcImania. the Panama or any one of the
other American transports. The vessel does
not matter. The sound is always the same.
| 1t seems to roll clear across the fiat roofs
! of Havana and echo through the hills be-
! yond. Usually it begins when the vessel is
| entering the neck of the channe. between
MORO and the Punta. The sound browns
| the band, which is also doing it's best No
one takes these demonstrations amiss They
| breathe no hostility to the Spaniards and
no humiliation to the vanquished. The SOL
dierS have been at sea three or four days
Their eXuberance at the ending of the voy-
age must find utterance, and it breaks out
| In this manner. The Cubans take it as
greeting, the Spaniards as a token of good
will, and everybody welcomes the American
| troops.
American Troops on Cuban Soil.
When they disembark and march through
| the streets to the railway stations the band
is sure to play the liveliest national airs,
the color bearer is the proudest man. and
the companies tramp as though their feet
were coming down on solid earth forever
The people like their appearance; but the
American occupation of the city has not
| begun and they do not pause for compIi-
ments. Sometimes they receive the greet
| ing OF comrades from the Spanish so diers
Ihe other day when the Mobile was passing
La tuerza little group of Spanish soldiers
gave a subdued cheer. La Fuerza is both
a Tort and a barracks. Its quarters are
convenient, and it will be one of the last
places to be Vaca ted by the troops of Spain.
Ihls Is fitting, for La Fuera Is the corner
stone OF havana. Its walls were built in
the sixteenth century, when De Soto want
ed to leave one fortified place on the island
before setting out on his voyage of discoy-
| cry UP the Mississippi.
1he stone Indian, who keeps guard from
the summit OF the fort, has seen history
made and unmade. In these days. as in
| other days, being stone. he is silent stole
| or cyhlc, as the case may be. Last April,
when the Fern was carrying away Consul
General Lee and a party of distinguished
ana obscure Americans, the Spanish soldiers
at La Fuerza We're not so kindly in their
feelings toward Americans. They stood on
The walls, pointed their guns in mockery
| Jeered at us, called us American pigs and
cried: 'Fuera, fuera' (get out, get out>.
Vice Consul Springer, who had lived among
| the Spaniards for thirty-three years with
out becoming angry. got mad. shook his
fist at them and told them in vigorous
Castilian that we would return Some of
us who have returned have been very
well received. and those who are coming
FOR the first time. If they happen to wear a
certain uniform, are given q respectful well
come. And it has all come about within
less than a twelvemonth.
The Picture in the Bay,
The picture in the bay these days is the
really historic one. The flags of Germany
and France are flying side by side over
transports filled with Spanish soldiers. The
transatlantic liners, which Spain chartered
in order to hasten the repatriation Of her
troops. were Of those two nations. The
vessels are bigger and finer than the Span
ish transports. which are quite numerous.
But 1t Is the American warships that give
coloring to the picture. The afternoon the
Texas came in l. was at the Caballeria
wharf from which the Spanish soldiers
had been embarking in launches and small
boats for their transports. The crowd was
large one. The people had been startled
by the salutes from the Texas 1t was prob
ably imagination, yet the guns did sound
twice as loud as ordinarily. The response
from the Spanish gunners in the Cabana
fortress was weak in comparison. That
Cabana has given and answered many
salutes. A fortnight or SO ago the legend
ran around the town that the gun had
burst in giving former Captain General
Blanco farewell salute. The loyal Span
fards said that the cannon, like the ship
Maria Teresa, had committed suicide. The
Idea was a pretty suggestion for the poet
or the imaginative historian. but before
the incident becomes one of the romances
of history it is necessary to state that the
"Villaverde." which carried General Blanco
and his staff away from Havana, left the
harbor at ! o'clock in the morning, that
the Cabana cannon did not commit suicide
by bursting with grief when giving Blanco
a final salute, because at that hour the
cannon was not fired at all. Moreover. it
has since been saluting American warships.
The powder is low and that may be why
the gun makes so little noise.
When the New York entered the port
several weeks ago she had taken on the
garb Of peace again and was fitted to be
one of the white squadron. But the Texas
I H.