Evening star., 1898-07-16
SANTIAGO REFUGEES
The Long Procession That Came
From the Doomed City.
FLED TO SAVE THEIR LIVES
They Were All Homeless and Des-
perateIy Hungry.
< n NJ q n N 9 II A N n n g
SOME SAD IN NOES
Copyright by Chas. N. Pepper, 1s9S)
..,ial Enrreannnlnnre of The Eyanin1 Star

SIBONEY. Cuba, July 8. 1898.
Along the roads leading out from San
tiago for three days a procession of old
men, women and children has been NOV
il &. They are the refugees. and they pre-
sent another phase of war. Coming In from
the earthworks of the besieged town l
have passed several thousand of them. AS
soon as the village of Caney was Ia pos
session of the American troops they began
pouring into 1t. The priest who came out
with them, the French consul and some of
the foreign residents organized a camp for
them. but the village is small. When Its
normal population of 100 grew to 5000
there was no room for more. Then the
refugees overfowed into the surrounding
country. Many have piodded wearily over
the fifteen miles to Siboney and some are
going TO villages further on, where they
have friends. Their appearance is a chap
ter on the Innocent sufferers Of war, whose
suffering is not on the battlefield or in the
hospitals.
Stories of the Refugees.
have talked to many of these wayfar-
ers. They all tell the same story. When
General Shafter sent word to the military
authorities to remove the women and chill
dren because he intended to lombard the
sity, General Linares replied that for all
he cared the bombardment could begin
right away. But the consuls interfered and
a notice was posted up saying that all who
wanted to leave could do So They had
seen enough of the fighting of previous
days and heard enough of bursting shells
to want to be away before the shells began
falling into the city. So they packed up
few of their belongings and came away as
quickly they could, those who had
homes leaving them without care. They
all expected to return to a city in ruins.
for after they had been told to go away in
order to save their lives they did not think
al ything could prevent the destruction OF
the city. The people wanted the Ameri-
cans to come in and occupy it and end the
frightful conditions, and the merchants
were pleading for honorable capitula-
tton, but the generals We're stubborn and
would not have it so, while the soldiers did
not seem to care what happened. These
people said there was nothing in the place
to eat except rice and kind of hard bread
which was given to the garrisuns, though
it was not good. Most of them had rice
enough to keep them from starvation, yet
many were as hungry as a colony of re-
concentrates, which they were far from
being
OF Two Classes.
The refugees were of two distinct classes
They were Cubans, mostly blacks and
Spaniards. The latter were clear in their
statements, and did not want their nation
ality mistaken. To the question, Gu
tans?" they would invariably reply NO,
senior; Espanol." Santiago it must be re-
membered, is Spanish town, and many
Well-to-do families were among the refII-
gees. They did not want to show evidences
of hostility to Americans, and they thought
their own authorities were putting a cruel
hardship upon them in not yielding the
hr1 rhDfr TNrfI Of r-rr7it
that they should be mistaken for Cubans.
The refugees of the latter class were moro
liShtheIrted or more stolid, and they re-
ceived some aid from the Cuban troops
whom they encountered at various stages
of the journey
All Were Homeless.
No attentions. however, could blot 1t out
that these people were now homeless wan
derers. Last evening at nightfan /
watched them struggling into this village.
Some were so weary that they sank down
and made no effort to go further. A yonng
man and his sweetheart trudged along,
supporting one another and looking plsin-
lively for d resting place, Unca1scjous of
the picture of mutual help and trustful-
ness that they formed. The pair We're
Spanish Herman and Dorothea- A family
of dozen mad three hearty goats in the
leash, and took turns in holding those will
full animals, who led the march at will. A
StGrdy Httic girl OF I'VE or SIX years, bare
foot. and with curly hair, trudged by her
mothers side. hugging in her arms bleat-
ing kid. The woman said the child had car
red it ali the way and had rested little. II
was her only pet. graybearded and in
firm man, who leaned heavily on his cane
told how he didn't mind for himself, yet the
journey was very hard on his daughter and
her sickiy child. But they bad friends in
the hamlet of Juyaricitc, 4 liltle farther
up the mountain side and could rest there
until the troubles in Santiago were over.
Two black women halted in the roadway.
One was moaning and hysterically en-
bracins her companion, who explained that
both We're very hungry. but all the after
noon had been told to move on" and
they would find something to eat when
they reached their stopping place. Where
that was they did not know. A Cuban
soldier brought the women some coffee and
rice. and after eating it they were lost in
the throng. The refugees orohe up into
groups Campfres We're built for them
where they cooked their food, and then
they settled themselves for the night, with
the ground Tor a bed and the sky for a
covering Gen Shafter has ords,ed Tations
issued for these people, and Clara Barton
has arranged 10 distribute some ot the Red
Cross supplies from the Stale of Texas
This is temporary relief, Whic l. while 1t
lasts. Will avert a famine among the re.u-
gees. CHARLES NJ. pt,ppEP