The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-01-13

He paints red streak all over the page
and the correspondent wonders why he
doesn't use a wflitewash brush and
can of red paint instead of an ordinary
red pencil. Finally the censor finishes
He waves his hand over the copy and
pronounces his benediction. 'FCaramba!'
he says. His nose turns up contemptu-
ously and points to the copy and says
something that the correspondent tries to
remember so as to know whether the
censor was calling him chimney sweep
or a chicken thief.
The interpreter grabs up the copy like
hospital corps picking up the wounded
during a battle. He bears it to the room
where the secretary waits. 1t is four
minutes to ten o'clock.
The secretary takes the copy, page by
page, and puts it into a stamping machine.
He stamps each page as though it were
an order for the American government to
pay the Spanish government five millions
Of dollars in gold and the money not TO be
paid unless the stamp is legibe. The
palace shakes under the ponderous trip
hammer blows of the stamping machine.
Then the correspondent and the inter-
the soldiers, who spring TO arms again,
and jump into their cab, shouting, "El
cabelo."
The cab arrives at the cable station Just
as the man inside is putting down the
window. The correspondent gives a mad
leap and shoves in the expurgated Span
ish edition into the office just as the lit
tie window descends on his fingers. He
hears the operator inside murmer an an
athena. The operator does not say Car
ramba-" He says plain United States
damn" but the correspondent is happy
His story is on the wire and he feels that
his country IS saved. As parish after
parish was evacuated by the Spanish SOL
diers in Havana the lower caste inhabi-
tants celebrated the event by weird pro-
cessions and parades. Sometimes the
leaders of the fantastic triumphal marches
were men and sometimes women. Ne
grOes and whites walked side by side, and
sometimes arm in arm, making line that
reached across the narrow street. Ne
gro girls. as supple and rounded as a
bacchante. led some Of the parades.
Some of them wore dresses made OF
flags and with garlands of leaves about
blue would be drawn about their fore
heads; in their hands they would carry a
cane twined with colors. The paraders
would chant some strange weird air 70
exercise the evil spirits Sometimes in
the words of the spell would be woven
the words cuba Libre." and this they
would sing over and over, the negroes
throwing back their heads and swaying
their bodies from side 10 side as they
kept time with the music by clspping their
hands and performing a SOW shutting
dance In one procession 1 saw an old
man who had secured an empty cracker
box from a grocery store.
He placed the cracker box between his
knees and then marched by q series OF
frog JUMPS that would have made him
famous on the stage. As ne jumped he
crooned the words OF a chant and nam
merei upon the cracker box with his
hands. Some OF the negro women in this
parade had their arms extended 20 fun
length above their heads and slowly re-
volved round and round as they passed
along. One old women walked backwards
all the way. chanting and making motions
With her hands as = 20 push back and
evil spirits that had not yec evacuated
the islands. In spite % the half religious
nature Of the parades many OF the negro
women did not stop smoking cigars. which
they held between their teeth a. one SIDE
OF Their mouths while they blew out great
clouds OF smoke. Sometimes an i-s-ir-
gent in white uniform and waving ma
che:e would rSde into the crowd. bis ap-
paerarce vas the signal for wiid vhoops
and shows
The marchers would Join hands and
dance around the soldier. chanting and
cheering. one inSurgent 7 thought made
what We would cal. a stage play with
one q the crowds. Ne rode rs horse a.
A gauop alorg the street and. suddenly
drawing rein in me center Of the JhroDs
wairled Ms machete from It's sheath. and
du-ishIng & about his head shouted. Viva
Cuba I-.bre.-' Viva. viva" screamed IRE
crowd in an ecstasy OF emotion
Some c. the ussrchers Kissed lie i1sar-