The evening times., 1898-09-26
CUBA'S FORbORN MISERY
Types of Despair Wrought by
the Orders Of Weyler.
A CENTER OF DESOLATION
Scenes of Woe and Starvation in the
Once Happy Village of Santa Ma
ria del Misunderstanding the Dead
to Crowded Cemeteries-Wher
RecOncentrndOs Were Herded.


New York, Sept. 26.-The correspondent |
of the Herald at Havana telegraphs to I
that paper as follows:
1t is doubtful if there is sadder place |
on earth than the village of Santa Maria
del Rosario. 1t lies among the hills only
twelve miles from Havana, a monument
to the reconcentrado system, an awful
mination.
1 visited Santa Maria del Rosario to-
day. Picturesque is it's location along
two miles of the main government road,
near Havana to the eastward.
The houses cluster around huge old
church, now used as barracks for COM
pany of Spanish infantry. The village is
the center of a naturally rich formerly
prosperous agricultural district. The in
habitants are a type of simple, kindly,
Cuban peasantry, who have titled the
fields with the same wooden plows and
sung the same gay songs as their faith
ers have done before them for the last
three hundred years.
lnen came war anu " eyltT w men the
reconcentrado order was issued twenty
five hundred unfortunates were driven
into the village. About fifteen hundred
starving, fever-stricken wretches survive.
Fully one thousand died. most of them
during the last three months.
Miserable Wrecks of Humanity.
My authority for these figures Is the
alcalde, Wilberto Perez, who accompa-
MED me as / went from house 10 house,
making inquiries among the suffering.
We opened the door of little thatched
hut in a corner of the town. At first
glance the single room, with an earth
floor, appeared TO be vacant. but as We
became accustomed to the darkness We
saw a woman sitting on a low hammock,
swinging in a corner emaciated to a de-
gree simply awful. The only wonder was
how any human being, such skeleton
as she, could live Her appearance was
that of one already dead. She laughed
and cried in turns Historically. The al
caide shook his head.
In two days more the cemetery" he
said
Her name was Efenia Martinez In a
trembling wandering way she told her
story She and her thirteen-year-old
daughter are the last survivors of
family of twenty-four, including grand
parents, cousins and other relatives All
had worked on an estate near Guanaba-
Goa. When recommendation came they
had been driven like cattle TO Santa Ma
ria Del Rosario One by one they had
died of starvation.
While my husband was alive" the
woman said, "he managed to make lit
tie money gathering fruit and selling it.
He died a month ago, and since then we
have had nothing to eat but these.
pointing 10 row of wild oranges by her
side.
MY sixteen-year-old son died last week.
He suffered terribly and used 10 bite the
dirt floor in agony from the lack OF
food"
Another family named Jorja lived in a
hut nearby. Near the door a starving
wreck of a man lay on piece OF rag car
pet on the floor. In the next room his
sister lay moaning from hunger. Both
said they had had nothing 10 eat for
three days.
Dead bodies Look Like Mummies-
While we were talking with them the
village hearse passed. 1t is a two-wheel-
! ed cart drawn by a mule. 1t contained
the bodies of three children. Planed lum-
| ber is scarce in Cuba now, so the collins
| had no covers. The bodies looked like
| mummies No medical expert was need
| ed TO prove that starvation had caused
death in all cases. We followed the cart
| 10 the cemetery on the hillside quar-
ter of mile away, fully one-haf OF II
filled with newly made graves.
IF this keeps on said the alcalde,
| 1--WE shall have to enlarge the cemetery.
Our people are dying from hunger. The
| soldiers in the barracks used to give them
| a few centavos in exchange for fruit, but
the soldiers are behind In their pay now
and do not have too much to eat them
| selves The climax of hunger has been
| reached since the blockade began We
expected the raising of the blockade
would bring us food. but it has not done
| So
| I asked the alcalde whether supplies
sent to the village would ever reach the
| starving people. He hesitated-
''If they are allowed to be distributed
bv the Spanish" he said, slowly, the
| supplies will never get beyond that. and
he pointed to the cathedral barracks.
why cannot the Americans send some
one to visit this place and distribute
| food? | will do what / can to help them.
AS we returned from the cemetery
woman rushed out of cottage.
please send US help!'' she said. MY
husband died yesterday. His body is in
| there now.
There are many Santa Maria del Rosa
rios in battle SCARED, bleeding CUBA, ana
vet the Spanish government demanded
$50, 600 for permitting the Comals cargo
to be unloaded
Hospital of the Insurgents.
Two miles from Santa Maria Del Ro-
sario. in the town of Colon, is the Cubar
insurgent hospital. Hospitals are never
JOYOUS places, and this one is no exception
10 the rule; yet 1t was an earthly paradlse
| compared to the scenes of misery anC
wretchedness We had just left. The nos.
pital is in what was formerly an olo
| plantation manor House) some distance
back from the road
Wide verandas were used for wards
There were clean white cots, with more
than fifty patients, few suffering WITT
Mauser bullet wounds. but more IRON
fever. The commandant of the hospital
Clemento Cuesto, is a most intell1gen
man While I was talking to him car
from Havana drove up, and dozen bar
rels we're rolled OFF labeled "Long Isl
and Potatoes" FAN paid for by oul
friends in Havana the commandment re
marked
The Cubans were taking care of theil
own white subjects The subjects o.
Spain, only two miles away, were dying
from hunger in agony,
My Journey from Havana to these vii
lages gave me an opportunity to witnes:
an excellent specimen of Spanish quixot
ism. A numbering stage. drawn by five
horses, halted five miles from Sotorro a
a barracks by the roadside, where W.
were detained by two hours while th'
members of the garrison ate their break
fast.