The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-11
REFUGEES AT KEY WEST.
Motley Crowd of Cubans and Negroes
from Havana.

from Havana.
KEY WEST. April l0.-The steamer
Olivette arrived from Havana at 2 o'clock
this morning with 249 refugees on board
Forty of these landed here and the re-
mainder proceeded to Tampa. Among those
on board bound for Tampa are Miss Clara
Barton, DR.. EIwell. DIR. Eagan and four Red
Cross sisters, composing, with others, the
regular Red Cross party. DIR. Drummer,
United States sanitary Inspector at Havana,
and DR.. Dudley his assistant, and Messrs.
Lawton and Childs are also among the
passengers bound for Tampa. Messrs. Law
ton and Childs are accompanied by large
staff of clerks lately employed in the bank
ing houses.
The passengers filed ashore after under
going a cursory examination. With few ex-
ceptions they were either colored or Cubans
and spoke the tongue of the land from
which they had just fled A good sized crowd
greeted them and much kissing, patting on
the back, and jabbered welcome ensued. 1t
is hard to believe that those were American
citizens for whose sake the action of Con-
gress had been delayed. Among the few
educated persons on board the Olivette con-
siderable surprise was exhibited at finding
themselves once more in their native land
Even up to yesterday morning they had
scarcely believed 1t would prove necessary
for them to leave Cuba. All said that when
they sailed everything was quiet in Havana
and that externally there was no sign of
anything which would make the exodus of
Americans necessary.
Captain Barnett has been detached from
the Bache and ordered to Washington
Lieutenant Commander David will be tenn
porarily in command of the vessel. The
American consular staff, which accompanied
Consul General Lee, is held here awaiting
further orders and the implication is that
the staff may return to Cuba. There was
no movement of the fleet to-day. The Puri-
tan coaled and tonight the Marblehead will
take the patrol.
There is no fresh news from Moron-Jucaro
trocha, though there is little doubt that
General Maxine Gomez and General Calixto
Garcia have effected union of forces. The
commission sent by General Gomez six
weeks ago, prior to the interview between
General Pando's representatives and some
of the insurgent leaders. is now carrying
out its work and it is believed that between
four and five thousand men in addition to
those that Generals Gomez and Garcia
would have are available in the provinces
of Havana and Matanzas.
a significant occurrence took place yes
terday, when the Fern, with Consul General
Lee and other Americans, was passing
Moro Castle In reply to the Spanish rab-
BILE on the wharves, who hooted Death to
the Yankee swine the correspondent of the
London Times, who the Fern, re-
marked loudly, May every Yankee shell
kill fifty of those Spanish dogs"
Naval engineers have always held that
MORO Castle at the entrance to the harbor
of Havana is more formidable in appear
ance than in reality. This opinion of it is
fully confirmed by reports brought by the
refugees to-day They say that while the
Spaniards were practicing with the big guns
on MORO last Thursday one of them ex-
ploded and killed seven men. The arma-
ment of the fortress undoubtedly is an
tiquated, and as it has not been used for
years, there seems to be good reason to
doubt the impregnability of the castle
Captain Barnetts orders to report to
Washington Immediately supposed to be
for the purpose of giving information about
tho Notifications of Havana, as it is under
stood that he gained much valuable infor-
nation about them while in Cuban waters.
Consul General Lee held long confer
ence with Captain Sampson this morning
before leaving for Tampa.