The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-24
STEPHEN CRANE AND THE CU-
 BANS.

bA1NEo.
 As War Correspondent He Could 1 Control the Excitable Havana Ma l tives.
 My acquaintance with the late
 Stephen Crane began directly after the signing of the protocol" said New Orleans newspaper man to a Times
 Democrat reporter, when the whole drove of war correspondents went Hooking to Havana to see what was going to happen Crane was in the
 crowd, and for the months that fol-
 lowed we met and mingled on terms of
 greater or less comradeship. He was
 the widest, maddest, most irrepressi-
 ble spirit that was ever prisoned in
 frail body; yet to see him casually you
 would swear that he was as demure little fellow as one could find in
 years travel. That was the side he
 turned to the public-not in hypocrisy,
 but because he had horror of making
 show of himself to strangers. The
 truth is, I am at a loss to know exact ly to describe him without doing him
 rank injustice. He was a man who liv- ed on excitement, and was always
 ready for any adventure, no matter how extravagant, yet he was far from
 being the headlong profiigate that so many have pictured, He was always gentleman, and he had about him vein of innate refinement that turned instinctively from anything that was merely gross and vicious. There was something pathetic about his feverish gayety,, and locking back at those months in the sweating, faction-torn Cuban capital, I am inclined to believe that he had private advices as to his condition; knew that he was doomed, and had made up his mind to eat, drink and be merry against the night that was closing in.
 T suppose I was as close to Crane as anybody" continued the ex-correspond- ent, "and the thing about him that I recall most wildly was his astonishing influence over the Cubans. No newspa- per man in Havana was half so popular with the revolutionary element. You see he had always advocated the Cuban cause and before the war had been shipwrecked while on filibustering ex- petition carrying arms to Gomez. Those things were remembered, and the na lives fairly worshipped him, overriding 1t grotesquely as they overdo every- thing, and regarding him as one shin ing exception among the American pigs. Crane used to chuckle in his sleeve at their adu lation, but it stood him in good stead, for those were squally times. In that connection I re- call dramatic little episode that oc- cured one evening at the American cafe. Crane and myself and a Cuban lieutenant colonel in citizens clothes went in to kill time and took seats at one of the small tables. We had hard ly settled ourselves when we were join ed by Spanish captain of my &C., quaintance, whom I could not well avoid presenting to the others. The Gu ban was fiery patriot, but in multi he did not present a military appearance, and I suppose the captain took him for a Havana business man. At all events he soon launched into a trade against the army of liberty The American cafe was then favorite resort for Spanish officers and such talk was common enough, but saw the Cuban's eyes blaze and his right hand start for his pistol A bloody riot had taken place at the Hotel Ingleterra only the night before and things were still, so to speak, on the hair trigger A fight in the cafe in which were dozens of women, would probably have precipi- tated general outbreak with whole sale killing. Crane came to the rescue Addressing the Cuban in French, which the Captain didn't understand, he bade him peremptorily to be quiet. This man is our guest he said, and I for bid you to notice his remarks To my surprise the native obeyed, but it was hard work and he writhed and ground | his teeth while Crane and I did our best to steer the Spaniard to other topics | It was one of the most exciting quar- ter hours l ever put in in my life and | am certain that no American except | Crane could possibly have held the 1 half-crazy patriot In leash. The young |, novelist's untimely death was mourned | in many quarters, but certainly mo- | where more sincerely than among his | Cuban friends. ."-From the l New Orleans Tlmes-Democrat