The Republican journal., 1899-06-08
bo,rd, shaped like the Spanish crown,

| OuI HeAu OUJeCUlNe- pOlnC was Sdn An
tonic de Banos, seven miles inland and
only to be reached on horse back. Horses
were easily found-lean, spiritless animals
but only two side saddles to distribute
among five ladies, and both of those with
the horn on the wrong side, according to
the left-legged Cuban fashion! However.
''needs must;' and just as the clocks
proclaimed the hour of noon we clattered
out of San Felipe-a cavalcade odd enough
to set the dogs a-barking, Miss Barton
riding ahead as graceful as a girl in her
teens, and all the ladies under coarse
straw hats, fringed around the edges,
such as Cuban negro soldiers wear, hastily
bought at the village store to shield our
faces from the broiling sun and tied down
under the chin, la Salvation Army.
San Antonio village is the centre of
judicial district of the same name. Be-
fore the war it HAD population of 5000,
or eabouts ana now has about one
fourth of that number, the rest having
died of hunger; and of the pitiful remnant,
700 are said to be actually starving.
There is a Hospital Civil-entirely with
ont funds or supplies. Five thousand
rations are needed at once, together with
quantity of such simple medicines as
quinine, pills of opium and camphor, and
compound iron. Should these arrive and
be distributed to- morrow next week the
town will be no better off than to- day.
To help the San Antonians a little will
only prolong their misery, unless we keep
it MP for months to come and meanwhile
supply the men with work so that in
in time they may become self-supporting.
At present there is no work, and the
municipality can do absolutely nothing for
its poor. Enquire about the revenues of
hundreds of these villages, and the invari-
able answer is I'VE have no revenues
Taxes have always been collected by the
Baneo Espanol, and we have never had any
pay the taxes OF lose our all. The
Spanish Bank had agents who religiously
collected the taxes, whatever the neces-
sites of the people; but it put no money
into circulation. The Spanish bodegeros,
or storekeepers-like master, like man
loaned money at Is to % per cent. and
some of them are now in possession of
many caballeries of land, "a caballeria is
thirty three and third acres, on which
they never advanced dollar. They sup
piled the families with tasajo-jerked
beef-and other necessities, through the
dark days of RECOMMENDATION, enough to
keep the souls and bodies of their vic
TINS together, at enormous prices. The
result is that families M stly survived by
the skin of the teeth, so to say, but are
left homeless and without resource. Could
a former land owner rent the farm that
once was his, he would need a yoke of
oxen and implements with which to till it
not to mention seeds, a COW, some poul-
try, ct cetera, and a little money with
which to build a shack for his family in
place of the house which the Spauards
burned. Even now, sad as the situation
right on local revenues and such revenues
applied to the necessities of the people,
there might be CLEAN of light ahead
At the edge of San Antonio we boarded
were drawn by three mules tandem over
an exceedingly narrow guage track to the
nearest railway station, The route lay
over wild, rough country. of straw thach
ed huts and stately palms, but few signs
of cultivation. Here and there little to-
bacco is growing and an occasional patch
of honiatar but for the most part the
sweet, warm breeze stirs only coarse
grass growing in punches, and tomsguines
and meadow larks pipe in the sunshine
above land of desolation. One stirring
event befell us. General Celestno Her
nandez, Alcaldi of the adjacent village of
San Jose and the great man of the vicin-
age, had been waiting TWO days with his
troop of cavalry to give Miss Barton what
is known as 1.-The Cuban Welcome AS
our little car bumped along the open
country, suddenly thousand mounted
soldiers appeared, charging down upon US
with wild shouts and waving machetes.
For an instant it recalled the days of war
and thrilled the stoutest heart with ter
ror. Coming nearer, the cavalry separat
ed into two long lines, surrounding our
car; and with DOTTED hats and presented
arms stood like statues while General
Hernandez and Miss Barton exchanged the
usual courtesies Then the welkin rang
with the Cuban "Hymno Nacional,"
sung by thousand men, followed by
"The Star Spangled Banner from our
little band as escorted by the regiment,
we proceeded to the station.
AS before mentioned, DR.. Hubbell com
pleted his work in Guines fortnight
ago; therefore our later visit was merely
one of inspection. AS everywhere, the
town turned out, en- masse, to meet US and
escort Miss Barton to her tenn 1orary abode
with all the honors accorded to Gomez, or