The times., 1899-06-11
RESCUE OF THE
CUBAN ORPHANS
Notable Work of the Red
Cross Representatives.
Hundreds of Helpless Children Pre-
yided With Homes.
A Journey Across the Island From
Port to Port-The Quaint Old
City of Madrusa.
Cienfuegos, May 25, 1899.

and helpless little ones gathered into per-
manent homes and rescued from beggary,
is the Red Cross record of the last eight
days. Within the month, two thousand
more will be equally well provided for;
and if the good work keeps on through the
| summer-that is, if the friends at home
continue to uphold it by their generous
contributions-the day is not distant when
of the fifteen thousand parentless and des-
titute children left by the war in Cuba,
not one will roam the streets uncared for
Let me give you partial account of the
eventful week. From Guines, near the
northern coast, we made our way by rail
to the interior town of Madruga, stopping
at many stations en- route, and everywhere
were hailed with demonstrations of joy.
Miss Bartons good work of last year is
gratefully remembered and the people
welcome her as an angel from heaven.
Word has flown before that she is COM
ing, and wherever the train stops crowds
are waiting, men, women, and children
| invade the car, and often with streaming
tears pour their tales of woe into her sym
pathizing ears. The other day at a DESC
thatched huts gave sign of human habi-
! tation, whole family fell upon and en-
braced her-or rather the remnant of
what was once a numerous household.
Miss Barton was acquainted with this fam
lily before the blockade, when the head of
it counted thirty-seven sons, daughters
and grandchildren. Now only sixteen re-
mained in the land of the living, the rest
having died of ''the misery" induced by
hun md hor he
tain life, only he who feeds the raven
knows. With tears rolling down his face
the old man related how he had buried his
loved ones, one by one, along the rail-
road track, where he has some slight en-
ployment as a switchman
Sad as these are, there are lights as well
as shadows in the picture. Incidents are
common like that of the Yankee lineman
who, with smutty face and coil of wire
over his shoulder, rushed through the NOV
ing train to grasp Miss Bartons hand and
tell her, with overllowing eyes. that twice
she had saved his life-frst in a field hos
| pital of our civil war, thirty years ago,
and again at Santiago; and of the Cuban
telegraph operator who dared not send a
| private Red Cross message over the rail-
way wire, but managed somehow to des-
patch it from an inland station, declaring
| that he would walk forty miles any day
| TO serve lidFd Barton. w HtutNET We
change cars-and that happens very fre-
quently on these roads, which were orig
| inally constructed to accommodate the
sugar planters-it is speedily whispered
through the train that the Red Cross pres
| ident is on board, and then young and old,
natives and foreigners, press to greet the
plainly dressed and retiring little old wo-
man who is the heart and soul Of this great
work Fruits and flowers from unknown
donors find their way to her seat, and ev-
cry step of the journey is continuous
| ovation.
Cuban Greeting.
At Madruga station an enormous crowd
was waiting headed, as usual, by the al
caldi, the judge, and other dignitaries of
the town. Then, after the inevitable hand=
shaking and speechmaking. escorted by the
entire population. we visited the points
CT interest" including the pitiful apology
! for an orphanage, with its hundred wretch
ed waits and the pleasant casa which the
| good citizens had set apart for our resi-
| dence while in the city. At dark the pro-
| cession rounded up at the hotel door,
where dinner awaited our weary party,
but the much needed meal had to wait yet
| longer while these kindly verbose people
relieved themselves of more congratula-
tory speeches. Then, after another seance
| at handshaking. like unto a Washington
| Presidential reception, the better part OF
| the throng dispersed to their homes-all
/ hut the rabble, black and white, several
hundred strong numerically and Of uncom-
putable strength olfactorily, Who having
! no homes and nowhere in particular 10 go,
constituted themselves our perpetual guard
of honor. With all their rags and infirm-
| tiles they swarmed the hotel doors and
windows, watching every movement with
curious eyes. They followed us later to
| headuuarters and camped round about. and
| continued to stick closer than the tropical
brother till the very last minute OF our
stay.
Quaint old Madruga reminds one OF san
tiago, its architecture being of the same
antique pattern brought from Spain at an
early day. and its narrow streets rambling,
haphazzard, up hill and down. Its low
casas were once painted in all the cOlors
of the rainbow sky blues and rose-pinks
| predominating, but now mostly mellowed
bv time to indistinguishable tints. It's
, central plaza is Queerly elevated whether
on natural or artificial hill or because
the adjacent streets have been cut down
/ do not know. AT any rate, the flower
filled space in the centre of the town. en-
closed within a bright blue wall and en-
vironed by four flights of blue-painted
| steps, which call to mind the Navajo
pueblo in Arizona, where the Indians climb
up seven ladders and down seven ladders
whenever they wish to take a stroll in the
plaza Being beyond the usual route of
Cuban trail, the outer world has heard
little of Madruga, Notwithstanding its eX-
traordinary charms OF quaintness and gen.
ial climate its giant criba trees and In
dian-Iaurel groves, and its fine mineral
springs, which the people OF the region be-
lieve to be a sovereign remedy for all bod
lily ills. The springs are turned into baths.
enclosed within a cluster of rather hand
some wooden houses built after the fashion
OF an American summer resort hotel; and
these furnish about the paying business
| there is in the war-desolated city. The
existing orphanage, which the impOver-
ished citizens have supported as well as
they could, being found in hopeless un-
sanitary condition, we decided to abandon
It altogether. A large house in the out
skirts, with considerable land adjoining.
was secured, fitted up with fresh cots AMI
bedding, and a generous store of simple
food supplies laid in. And then the chill
dren-thoroughly cleaned from top TO toe,
for perhaps the first time in their lives
and dressed in new clothes, were installed
therein, under the care of a competent ma
tron and two assistants. The ground was
plowed. garden seeds planted; and in
twenty-four hours we felt that our work in
Madruga was well completed-at least for
the present.
To go into details concerning all the
places visited might make some tiresome
chapters. The work is always about the
same-dirty and mismanaged native asy-
lums to be reconstructed and the poor lit