The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-06

and miserable. / saw women carrying
dead babies on their backs, too weak ana
emaciated 10 move their hands. | saw
things that were appalling. When l made
report 10 that great and good Presl-
dent who lies so still in Canton he wrote
TO Spain: You have got 10 take that man
Weyler off the Island of Cuba OF / will see
that he il taken off. Weyler's recall fol-
lowed and Gen. Ramon BlancO was sent IN
his place.
with Blanco l got along very well. He
was a thorough gentleman and an honest
man. He was TO old for the position ne
found himself in and his theories as 10 how
to end the war were impracticable- he
tried forming parties. gave promises or
autonomy and endeavored TO be LIBERAL out
the Cubans had their eyes on the coast or
the United States and would not listen 10
anything except absolute liberty. He tried
bribery and lost some of his best officers by
the bullets Of Gomez's men. Nothing
profted.
The situation was growing more bitter
daily. My life was threatened. II was a
most uncomfortable life TO lead. / had 10
carry a revolver, something l had not done
since / had a little un"pleasantness with
some of you and General Lee turned 10
the gentlemen on the stage. some Of whom
had served against him in the civil war.
and l had 20 watch everybody. When l
went into a cafe for my meals l had to sit
with my back to the wall. When l went 10
my hotel | had TO be constantly on the
lookout. But | knew enough about Span
ish character to realize that nothing would
do but TO put up the bOldest front possible.
In the evening, sometimes when the mobs
were shouting in front of the hotel. | would
walk up and down the piazza, smoking a
cigar. 10 get a little exercise before dinner.
l was offered no insult, although black
looks were common.
A STRANGE VISITOR.
II remember one day as 1 was sitting in
my office there came TO me with slow step a
rag of a man. He was thin and worn and
did not seem 10 have on anything but a
straw hat and a linen duster. His appear
ance was sinister, and 1 said to myself. If
that man makes a movement towards his
pocket 1 will have to kill him in self-defense.'
Finally he came closer, and putting his
hands out he said. is this the consul gen.
eral? l was SO glad to hear the English
language that l said quickly, Yes, yes; this
is General Lee. What can l do for yOu%
Well, he said. 1 have been a colonel
in the Cuban army. | was wounded pretty
badly and | have had fever. l want 10 get
back to the States, and so 1 came TO see
you
II told one of my men to take the poor
fellow and fit him out with a suit of clothes
and a pair of shoes and whatever else he
needed and let him lie in a bath until the
steamer sailed and | would look after the
me to ask him his name. Where are YOU
from?' l said. Kansas he replied. What's
your name?' 1 asked. Funston he an
swered.
80" said General Lee, 81 had something
myself 10 do with the capture of Aguin-
aldo"
Then General Lee began to tell of the
The morning the battleship came into the
harbor," he said, Jan. %, 1898, 1 was look
ing out in the harbor. When 1 saw the
mouth, with the jackies standing TO their
guns and the straight figure of Sigsbee
walking up and down the quarter deck,
my heart leaped with pride. 1t did me
good 10 know that there was an Amer
lean ship within touch. The officers were
received by the Spanish officials civilly
enough. Things ran along for three weeks,
until Feb. Is. That Observation-Disclosures
night | had been out to dinner. When
returned to the Hotel Ingleterre, L stepped
out on the balcony for a minute to get
the harbor 1 heard a tremendous report.
and almost instantly a column OF fire and
smoke shot into the air. L ran into the
hotel and asked the clerk to find out what
had happened. H thought it was the
Spanish arsenal. In a minute or two more
several newspaper correspondent came to
me and said:
General. it is reported around this part
OF Havana that the Maine has been blown
up"
Hustle out and try to find out some
thing definite and then come back and let
me know L replied.
CALLED ON BLANCO.
I'm a few minutes more a staff officer of
General BlancO came to the hotel. He sa-
luted and said: Your American battleship
has been blown up in the harbor.' In his
carriage L drove straight to Blanco's pal
ace. The old man received me with tears.
He knew what had happened, n was
grieving for the poor fellows who had been
caught like rats in a trap. Then 1 went
to the harbor. and in a boat manned by
Spanish oarsmen and commanded by a
Spanish officer was rOwed to the sinking
ship. What struck me at once was the
amount of fire above water. had never
supposed that steel ship would make so
much fire. l saw the bodies of men float
ing around in the water. some with legs
on, others with arms on; many mangled
and torn horribly. Then | went to where
SigSbie was composing a dispatch on board
the City OF Washington to the secretary of
war. L sat down and wrote one TO the Sec
rotary OF state. We compared our mes
sages and found that they agreed with the
exception that L had added a note to my
department that you had better send a
fleet down here pretty quick Afterward,
after thinking the matter over, L struck out
that phrase"
Discussing the causes of the blowing up
of the Maine, General Lee said: Il am pos
tive that Ramon Blanco had no more TO
do with 1t than people here in indianapolis.
My theory is that il was done by young
officers who had been attached to Weyler.
After the catastrophe they disappeared.
Young officers of the army did not take
the trouble to hide their pleasure over the
horrible affair. Many of them dropped
their usual rotations of red wine and
opened bottles of champagne in theN cafes.
The government of Cuba immediately tried
to forestal European opinion by sending
a dispatch which stated that the explosion
had been caused by the carelessness of the
Americans themselves.
LAS to that l want to say that the keys
TO the magazine of every American man
Of war are brought TO the captain and
are hung on hooks at the head of his bed
so that he can know where they are all the
time. When the divers went to work on
the Maine, Captain Sigsbee said to them.
Go into my cabin and see If the keys to
the magazine are hanging where they
ought to be- The divers came up with the
keys. They had found them hanging by
the side of the captains bed. Furthermore.
the Investigation brought out that the
upward showing clearly that the force of
the explosive had been directed from the
bottom. The court of inquiry heard plenty
of testimony which showed that there had
been two explosions. One when the tor
pedo went off and tore it's way to the
ships magazine, and the other when the
magazine itself exploded with a roar.
LEFT HAVANA.
After the Maine blew up there was, of
course, no holding public opinion in Ameri-
ca. My position in Havana was daily
growing more perilous too. Finally, L was
ordered out, and on the ninth of April, 1898,
= steamed out of the harbor on the little
Fern under the command of Commander
Cowles, President Roosevelt's brother-in-
law Before I left tho shore I waS OraetaS