The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-03-21
A Ride Across the Island to
CienfuegOs.
FORTIFICATIONS VERY WEAK
ABOUT HAVANA.
Great Enthusiasm of the People
for Gen. Gomez.
CIENFUEaos, CUBA, |
March 13. '99

m6ICu Id, %
Dear folks at home:
I left Havana last Wednesday morn
ing and came down here. Had very
nice trip and passed through some Of
the finest country I ever saw. It Is near
ly all covered with tall grass and would
make the finest kind of grazing land
There is only small per cent of it that
is being cultivated and that is in sugar
and tobacco. They get two crops of to-
bacco year from the same piece oi
ground.
Saw six or seven sugar mills that are
still standing, and they are being run
night and day. They each constitute q
small town in themselves with theil
machine shops, etc.
A detachment of the Sixth Ohio are
guarding the Constancia sugar planta-
ton 35 miles from here. This plantation
is owned by Spaniard. 1t is IL miles
square and nearly all under cultivation.
The owner has furnished tie boys with
horses 80 that when not on duty they
can ride over the country. Several have
gone over to the mountains deer hunt
ing. It is hard work to find them % the
brush is so thick.
The bandits are very thick around
there, and last week the Spanish over
seer was shot from ambush. The Cuban
police arrested lieutenant of the Cuban
army, but he got away after he was
brought in here, as they decided he was
not the man.
1t cost the planters considerable to
have the Spanish army guard their
plantations, as they all had to pay the
commander of this province or he would
not protect them.
l met one planter who had to pay eight
thousand dollars a month, another who
would not pay for protection, and organ
lied an army of his own. He clothed,
fed and equipped them, and they
guarded his plantation against both the
Cubans and Spaniards.
As to the Notifications that we read 90
much about: The city of. Havana ie
very we'll protected on the sea front by
forts and batteries, yet the guns that
are still there are very old muzzle
leaders, except four which are disappear
ing guns. But on the land side they have
a line of block houses that extendaround
the city, about five miles out. These
block houses are about four hundred
yards apart and are connected by q
barbe d wire trocha. This is all of the
defense the city had on the land side.
1t was reported during the war that
Havana was defended by three or four
lines of earth works, but 1 have failed
to find any, and made a trip through
the country around the city, on horse
back. I think it would have been q
comparatively easy matter to have taken
the city from the land side. OF course
there would have been trouble taking
MORO and Cabanas which command the
city with their guns, such as they are,
Cienfuegos is the best fortified city
have seen. 1t is defended on the land
side by two trochas made of barbed wire
and earth works with block houses
every three hundred yards. The Span.
iards did not have to contend against
artillery in fighting the Cubans, and &C
their defences are built 30 as to protect
against infantry and cavalry charges,
and they have done that almost to per-
lection. 1t is impossible for cav.
airy to get through these wire trochae
They are made of three lines of posts
are four feet high and about eight feel
across and are a perfect network ol
barbed wire. In another place saw
where they had legs set in the ground
sticking up about six feet with railroad
iron spiked on the top. This was in
addition to the wire fence.
The bay at Cienfuegos is without 9
doubt one of the finest harbors there il
in the world. 1t is four miles from
Cienfuegos to the channel and two milel
from there to the entrance to the har.
Dor; is only about three hundred yards
wide for half of the way but is very deer
with steep hills on both sides and the
Spanish had this guarded by an old fort
Il don't know whether there were any
guns there or not. There are none now,
and three batteries, one of six guns, by
the lighthouse. These guns are four.
inch muzzle loaders; were made in the
last century. The battery on the right
of the entrance has no guns in it. There
are places for six. The one back of the
fort has four six-inch muzz, leaders
They are riff I'D. The shot weighs two
hundred pounds. These guns were made
in 1874, and the best guns have seen ir
this part of the island.
Saturday, was out and visited thes,
defenses and saw the remains of tn,
lighthouse and cable station that wer,
destroyed by Schley when he was cut
ting cables and looking for Admira
Cevera last Summer. Got piece of
four and two inch shell here. The rock
around here show the effects of the bonn
bardment very plain.
The cable station is about rebuilt bu
they haye not started to replace the ligh
house yet. There were three cables her
and they only succeeded in cutting on
of them. The Spanish had communica
ton with Havana all the time.
The Cubans want the Yankee to hurr
up and get out of the island, but "
know that they are not capable of gov