The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-06-03
SAD MEMORIES

SAD MEMORIES
n, Havana congressman Cummtngs
u.,ai,, Pathetic Pictures OF the Recent
Congregational Visit 10 Cnba. Y q
CONGRESSMAN Amos J. Cummings In
ne Chicago News: The odds and ends
=, tho visit OF the congressional dele
cation to Cuba in March last werecl In
s.ruc,lye, pathetic, amusing and inter-
,,,lug. None OF the party could speak
me Spanish language, and very few
snaniards can speak English. Every
day Incidents occurred. grave and gay.
came gave rise TO horror, others excited
,,dIgnat!on and many threw those in
arrested Into loud laughter. 1nterpre-
,.,s we're not always at hand, and when
w service they did not always interpret
esbrrectly. The days were hot, with no
sss and the nights cool, with few mos
nuI,os. Meals were served with neat-l
Ness and dispatch. but nearly all the
S,hes were tainted with garlic. You
snat garlic In the wine shops, In
ssurches, In hotel corridors and on the
.,reet corners. in Havana and Siatan-
-, the water WINS as. pure and as clear
az crystal. Havana gets her supply
ron, river springs nearly twenty miles
away. IGe aqueduct was bullt by a
Cuban ut IN expense OF ST ,000,0 900.
Snnnlsh wines OF excellent quality were
sSaap and abundant. Not o drunken
van was seen In the entire trip. No
;rs,Its were offered, and proffered
rorr,esles were invariably reciprocal ed.i
The starving reconcentrado,' however,
ras omnipresent. The wan face and
Ts.paIrings eye were ever before you,
and the skeleton hand was ever extend
al In the streetsof Matanzas and Sagua
IA Grande scores OF furnished crea-
,prps OF both sexes and ot!all ages and
conditions swarmed around the stran-
cers pleading In low, mournful tones
for food. SIS; y
Their appeals were us p!aintive as the
notes OF the pee-wee in northern mead
ows "Madre q Dolls, Caballero"-you
heard Il morn, noon and night, and the
sad refrain rang In your ears, even in
your dreams. .F a
Misery, hopeless misery everywhere
whites, blacks. Asiatics, for wherever
there Is misery there you find the Chi
naman. Here he was conspicuous by
his silence. .4e stood aloof from the
ssaruang specters, gaunt, thin and hoI-
loy-eyed, picture OF utter despair.
Never was his ham, extended-rever did
he press himself upon your attention,
bu, there was look in his eye that
conveyed the utter hopelesSness Of his
situation. ~.
AZ Coiseo a living skeleton. with al
moud eyes, sat upon the plstform OF the
railway station, llstless and motionless.
A battered can swung from his bony
fingers. A congressman bought two
small loaves, three meat cakes and o.
string OF sausage and shovad them Into
the battered can. The skeleton arose,
but there was no thankful expression
In his eyes. Clasping TIM can to his
naked ribs he slowly moved away; but
his strength was gone. He tottered and
fell across the track In the hot SUM-
light, and as the train moved from the
station there he remained, still clasp
!ng the bread to his breast. No one
assisted him. No one tried to rob him
O. his treasure. Each reconcentrado
respects TIE misery OF his fellows.
OF the hundreds seen by the visiting
strangers. noe one, however pressed by
hunger. made any effort to appropriate
what did not belong to him. Between
the sQualid huts in the trochaS few to-
Eato vines had been planted and the
i. fruit was ripenins beneath the blazing
sun; yet no starving creature evinced
dispositions to. rob his fellow sufferer
Of the product Of his labor. A Spanish
officer. however, strobe among the huts
at Colon early one morning. drew his
sword and amused himself by levellng
every plant to the ground.
Nineteen out of twenty OF the recon-
centsados were women and children.
Tots five and six years old. homeless,
.ather.ess and motherless, crawled
through the camps, dying from starva-
ton. Those sent to the hospitals met
even worse fate. Upon unclean cots.
with fostering limbs and parched
Threats, they met the same horrible end,
for up to the advent Of Clara Barton
they were without food and without
medical relien And the Spanish news
papers called this angel Of mercy "a
suspicious yulture.' At Sagua Ia
Grande one morning two bright little
girls were seen seated upon the stair
way leading to the Office Of the Amerl-
can consul. A consul called the atten-
ton Of Consul Barker to them.
On, yes" was the reply, they are
ny little wards. They are the last of q
family Of fifteen. My heart was touch
cd By, their restitution. found them
On the verge Of starvation, and am try
ing to save them. found shelter for
them with d family not far away, and
the little things visit me every morning
10 show their gratitude" @
They were clearly in attire, but their
faces were still pinched, and the habit
ual look OF terror had not entirely left
their expressive eyes. Poor things!
Bashng anew in the sunshine OF hui
nal!ty, they were probably thrown
three weeks afterward, when Consul
Barker left Cuba by order OF the Presi-
dent.
There were very few negroes among
The reconcentraGos. Indeed. but one
black in the throes OF death from star
walton was seen This was ut Matan-
zas. The party was returning TO the
city from visit 10 a hospital in its OUT
sMFts. Mhile crossing stone bridge
over the river something like an over
turned iron statue lay below on the
ssward Of the bank. It was the skin and
bone Of gigantic negro, entirely nude.
Ne was in the last agonles OF starva-
,ioH. He lay partly upon his side in the
not sun. With knees crooked and head
upon his left arm. When we leaned
owe! the parapet and addressed him he
made no reply and showed no sign Of
lie. A moment afterward buZzard
swooped over him, tanning his shrunken
shank with Its wings. And still no sign
OF lie was shown. Again we shouted
from the parapet, but the figure re-
nained mo;ionless. Suddenly the head