The herald., 1898-04-15

into the harbor. 1t might have been done
afterward. The Maine was anchored to
buoy by some little chain. The vessel,
swinging around that way, sometimes gets
at various places all around the circle
When she would swing of that way, with
the bow next to the buoy, and these boats
plying about the harbor all the time. any
body could go pretty well in front of her on
a dark night and drop one Of these sub
marine mines Of 500 pounds. They have
fingers. as 1t were, and, as the boat goes
around. 1t would touch the finger. which
makes contact and explodes the mine. That
might have been done after the Maine got
in there and not be discovered. One or two
men rowing quietly in a boat could drop 1t
off the stern in a dark night. even II Capt
Sirsbee had his patrols out. The boat
would not be noticed, because boats go
there always to a late hour Of the night.
The harbor is full Of these little boats. A
mine weighs about 500 pounds. and I sup
nose 1t would take two or three men-one
man to row and probably three or four to
handle the mine.
In reply to a question from Senator Gray.
Gen. Lee said that the Spanish population
is not especially hostile toward the United
States. The Spanish people are principally
the merchants and shopkeepers. and all
this agitation is affecting very much their
business A great many of them, while
thew give expression to great loyalty, are
really annexationists, because they think
IL is the only way out of the trouble, and
thew would prefer annexation to the United
States to a Cuban republic. As to the
Cuban part of the population, they are gen.
erallv all for free Cuba. The condition of
reconcentrados out in the country is just
as bad as in Gen. weyler's day. They have
been fed with supplies from the United
States, but that has ceased now.
Gen. Blanco has published a proclama-
ton resembling Weyler's bando, as they call
It there, but it has had no practical effect,
for, in the first place, these people nave no
place to go; houses have been burned down;
there Is nothing but the bare land there, and
it takes them two months before they can
raise the first crop. In the next place, they
are afraid to go out from the lines OF the
towns, because the rowing bands OF Span
ish guerrillas, as they are called, would Kill
them. So they stick right In at the edges
Of town, with nothing to eat except what
they can get from charity. The Spanish
have nothing to give.
Senator Lodge asked: What does this
cessation of hostilities invoked in the last
few days amount to?"
Gen. Lee responded: Nothing, practical
ly nothing. The armistice amounts to
nothing"
In response to an inquiry from Senator
Frey as to his reasons for saying that the
insurgents would pay no attention to the
armistice, Gen. Lee said:
Because every attempt so far to make
terms or to make peace or to buy the in
surgents or their leaders has met with sig
nal failure, and, whatever may be said
about old Gen. Gomez, he is, in my humble
opinion, fighting that war in the only way
it can be done-scattering his troops out
because to concentrate would be to starve,
having no commissary train and no way
to get supplies. They come in sometimes
for the purpose OF making some little raid
where he thinks it will do something; but
he has given orders, have been informed
not to fight, not to become engaged, not to
lose their cartridges, and sometimes, when
he gets into fight, each man is ordered not
to fire more than two cartridges. When
Gen. Weyler was there he went himself
sometimes, and they would make up a col
umn and fire, and sometimes flank the coli
umn, and the Spanish soldiers would de-
ploy and throw out skirmishers, and the
Cubans, like Indians, would scatter out.
Then the Spanish troops would counter
march and go back to town, three men
killed and eleven or twelve injured.
Senator Mlis-How much provisions
have they in store for the army, and how
Long can they maintain their forces there
without bringing in provisions.
General Lee-They are living there al
most from hand to mouth-the Spaniards
and the citizens in the town of Havana
also. Everything that the town of Ha-
vaua has received in the last four or five
or six months has been from the United
States.
Senator Mills-Can they get no subsist-
ence from the island?
General Lee-Nothing more than from
this floor Qndicating). The way the insur-
gents do is this: They have little patches
of sweet potatoes-everything grows there
very abundantly in short time-and Irish