The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-03-18
No Human Life.


 along the rear track.
 No Human Life.
 With this exception there is no hu- man life or habitation between these fortified towns and villages and throughout the whole of the four west ern provinces, except to a very limited extent among the hills, where the Spaniards have not been able to go and drive the people to the towns and burn their dwellings. l saw no house or hut in the four hundred miles of railroad rides. There are no domestic animals or crops on the rich fields and pastures, except such as are under guard in the vicinity of the towns. Every man, woman and child and every domestic animal, wherever their columns have reached, is under guard and within their so-called Notifications. To repeat, it is neither peace nor war. It is desolation. This is the ''pacified" condition of the four western provinces. West of Havana is mainly the rich to- bacco country; east, so far as l went, a sugar region. Nearly all the sugar mills are destroyed between Havana and Sagua. A few were running near the latter place, fully guarded, and few near Cienfugos. It is said that the owners of these mills near Cienfugos have been able to obtain special favors of the Spanish government in the way of large force of soldiers, but that they also, as well as the railways, pay taxes to the Cubans for immunity.
 The Reconcentrados.
 All the country people in the far western provinces. about 100000 in number, remaining outside the fortified towns when Weylers order was made were driven into these towns and these are the reconcentrados. They were the peasantry many of them farmers, some land owners, others renting lands and owning more or less stock, others work ing on estates and cultivating small patches. It is but fair to say that the normal condition of these people was very different from that which prevails in this country. Their standard of comfort and prosperity was not high measured by our own. But according to their standards and requirements their condition of life was satisfactory. They lived mostly in cabins made of palm leaves or in wooden houses. Some of them had houses of stone. Wey- ler's order directed all the inhabitants of the country or outside of the line of Notifications of towns within eight days to concentrate themselves in towns occupied by troops. Any indi- vidual who after the expiration of this period should be found in the uninhabit- ed parts was to be treated as a rebel. Many doubtless did not learn of this order. Others failed to grasp it's terri ble meaning. It was left to the gueril- las to drive in all that had not obeyed and I was informed that in many cases a torch was applied to their homes with no notice and the inmates fled with such clothing as they might have on, their stock and other belongings being appropriated by the guerillas.
 Allowed to Build Huts.
 When they reached the town they were allowed to build huts of palm leaves in the suburbs and vacant places within the trocha and left to live If they could. The huts have no floor, but the ground, and no furniture. With large families or with more than one in little space the commonest sani- tary provisions are given. A form of dropsy is common disease resulting from these conditions. Little children are still walking about with arms and chest terribly emaciated, eyes swollen and abdomen bloatetd to three times the natural size. The physicians say these cases are hopeless.
 Death.
 Deaths in the street have not been uncommon. I was told by one of our consuls that they have been found dead about the markets in the morning and that here had been causes where they had dropped dead inside the mark cts surrounded by food. The recon centrados have not learned the art of begging. Rarely is a hand held out to you for aims when going among their huts, but the sight of them makes an appeal stronger than words.
 Hospitals.
 l Of the hospitals I need not speak | Others have described their condition far better than I can. I went to Cuba with a strong conviction that the pie ture was overdrawn. Before starting l received leafet published by the Christian Herald, with cuts of some of | the sick and starving reconcentrados, and took it with me, thinking these | were rare specimens. I saw plenty as | bad and worse: many that should not be photographed and shown. I could not believe that out of a population of | 100000 two hundred and fifty thou sand had died within these Spanish 1 forts within few months past, from starvation and diseases caused by in- sufficient and improper food. My inqui- ries were entirely outside of sensation al sources. They were made of our medical officers, of our consuls, of city mayor, of relief committees, of leading merchants and bankers, physicians and 1 lawyers. Several of my informants were Spanish born, but everytime the answer was that the case had not been | overstated.
 I Must be Seen With Ones Own Eyes. 1 What I saw I cannot tell so that others can see it. It must be seen with i ones own eyes to be realized. The Los Palos in Havana has been recently de- scribed by Senator Gallinger and I cannot say that his picture was over 1 drawn He visited it after Dr. Lesser, one of Miss Barton's missionaries had renovated and put in cots. l saw it when 400 women and children were ly- l inc on the stone floors in an indeScrib-