The National tribune., 1901-06-13

and east, the sfn 4ea1ne out, and all that
remained of my first tropical shower was
the memory of it, the wet decks and the
wet awnings which had been our protec-
ton.
IN ShSHf ioF CUBA.
l sat in the saloon with a companion
who was on duty until about II o'clock;
ana as went below to turn in we were
leaving the light on Christmas Point well
behind on theIstafboard quarter, while
our ship was hending straight across the
Florida Straits About 10 o'clock the
next morning the shores of Cuba were
seen of our port how, looming up, cloud
like, in the distance. Cuba, ''the Pearl of
the Antilles around which the memory
of wild stories of the dreaded buccaneers
and of lovely Spanish senoritas; stories of
romance and adventure, of love and in
trlgue of my boyish reading, is entwined.
CUBA, so many years under Spanish rule
or mlsrule, rather; the land of the op-
pressed and of Spain's cruelty and ra-
pacty; the land of the adventurous fill
busters aims, aspirations and hopes
where perished, in 1851, by the cruel
gIrotte, that gallant would-be lberator,
Gen. NarclSo Lopez, and where the brave
and noble American, Capt. Joseph Frye,
of the Inflated Virginius, together with
| ABOUT ~ equally brave companions, was
| put to death in November, 1873, under cir
cumstanceS of cruelty that should make
| the blood Vi every true American boil in
| his veins. The land where Burriel and
| Weyler made their names infamous for all
| time TO come; the land, for so many sicken-
ing, dreadful years, of bloody wars, of ra-
| pine and murder the most revolving; of
starvation and cruelty the most refined
| and blood-curdlingl And, lastly, the land
or Ramon BlancO, the coWardly, deteSt-
able instigator of the destruction of the
Maine in time of peace with this country
and the resultant death by drowning of
go gallant young tars that went down
with her.
MATANzAS HARBoR.
We entered Matanzas Harbor at noon,
and running pretty well in toward the
city, dropped anchor. The bay is well
sheltered from all winds except from the
northeast, which brings u heavy sea.
+ There are two" forts commanding the
entrance TO the harbor, one on Point
GOrda and the other on Point Murillo. 1t
was here, on the 9th of April, 1898, that
the first action Of the Spanish American
war occurred. Capt Il. Il. Chadwick,
with the New York, Puritan and Gin
cinnati, after a bombardment lasting two
hours, succeeded in silencing both forts,
the only casualty, If | remember correctly,
being "one mule killed by the Yankee
pigs" as reported by the Spanish officer
ii command.
'ul fouiSc CiOSc al W
the western side of the bay, and we were
lying almost within cables length of
one of these forts, now flying "Old Glory
from its flagstaff. The fort itself does
not seem such a formidable affair, and,
taken in connection with the Govern
ment buildings-the barracks, corrals,
cOOk-houses, hospital buildings and band
quarters, as well =as the more pretentious
houses occupied wholly or in part by the
officers of the post-helps to make |
unique and pretty picture.
\ IS a background, TO the west and south, |
are immense hills, beautifully green in |
tropical vegetation, oyer which the shad- |
Ows of great clouds chase each other in
rapid succession. The hundreds of do |
nestle animals. feeding on the hill-slopes |
give the whole thing pastoral appear
ance and q most pleasing effect easier to
ina gine than to- describe.
Soon after cpmingi to anchor, tugs,
work of transferring the freight and bag
gage aboard the lighters was commenced,
and the 200 soldiers, scrambling down the
tall sides of the ship, to the deck OF the
barge below, were, amid loud cheering,
soon moving off in the direction of the
fort. "a,
The city Of San Carlos de Matanzas is
a well-built PLACE, beautifully situated at
the head Of the bay on the north side of
Cuba, 80 miles east of Havana, with
which it is connected by rail, and as
commercial center next to Havana in inn
portance. In 1887 its population-includ-
ng suburbs-was 56,379.
Two rivers-the San Juan on the one
land, and the Yamurri on the Other-fow
nto the harbor and separate the city from
is suburbs.
There are several large and elegant
one of them, the theater said
o be the finest Of its kind in the island.
In the principal square stands a fine
statue of Ferdinand VII, King of Spain,
who died in 1888. The Government Build
ng, or house of the Commandant, runs
llong on the east side of the square. The
streets are narrow, but generally clC anly, ,
md the shops and dwellings are inviting
n appearance, and have about them an
lir of prosperity and contentment quite
The ladies', who, of course,
ire beautiful, live very secluded, the
'oung or unmarried never appearing on
he streets-at least, so | am tod-unless
haperoned by an older or married lady. :
They dress tastefully, sometimes elegant :
y, but don't wear hats or bonnets. ,,
ave been told (but this is "subrosa')
hey dent wear stockings. l was further ,,
Informed by those who seemed to know !
hat under the old Spanish laws it costs
bout 50 e. : money to procure a mar !
iage license II. Cubai Think of that, you
vould-be Benedicts and you forlorn maid !
ms, ana tniHK your Stars you don live !
nder Spanish legislation, The effect of |
uch u law is, as may be easily under
TODD pernicious in the extreme, and the
atural outcome is that what are called I
marriages are greatly in the .
majority. And, besides, by a church law,
very child born, whether in or out of law
ul wedlock, must be baptized, for which '
he officiating priest receives, or is en- !
tiled to, fee of IS; and in case the I
arents are not legally man and wife, the ;
riest bestows any name he chooses on
he child, without any regard to its pa 9
nrnity.
GRIM OLD MORO CASTLE. i
At o'clock Thursday morning we were
gain under way, headed for Havana. v
he distance by water is considerably !,
Teater than by land, and it was getting y
,ell toward noon when we came in sight | a
{ the headland on which stands that al N
lost impregnable fortress, Moro Castle y
I'D Morol Grim, forbidding old Moro! Ii
'hree hundred years and more have you r
TODD, a menace to the living a tomb for :,
he dead! What terrible crimes have n
cen done behind those stern old walls, i
ow weather-beaten and stained with age! a
What cries Of anguish have ascended to n
Ieaven for vengeance from within your q
cath polluted dungeensl No man can =,
I'll, no man shall know, until that great h
ay when all secrets shall be laid bare. :,
That old sea wall, too, has a story of :,
s own to tell of men cruelty butchered :,
ehind it, and their 1qnivering bodies, still 4
arm and limp cast over its crest into 4
nd IN h.