Mexico Missouri message., 1918-07-11
CHAPTER xlIi-contlnued.

CHAPTER NllI-Contlnueo'
II
sI inferred as much from what Lo-
neg told me-" The general nodded his
white head. swell, you'll make good
soldier, and we shall be glad to have
YOU" He extended his hand, and
oReilly took it gratefully.
The city Of Matanzas was 'paclfied."
SO ran the boastful bando of the cap
tain general. And this was no exag-
geration, as anyone could see from
the number of beggars there. OF all
ais military operations, this "pacitica-
ton" of the western towns and prov
faces was the most consplcuously sue
cessful and the one which gave Valerl-
ano Weyler the keenest satisfaction;
for nowhere did the rebellion lift its
head-except, perhaps, among the
ranks of those dlsaffected men who hid
tn the hills, with nothing above them
out the open sky. AS for the popula-
don at large, II was cured of treasonl
II no longer resisted, even weakly, the
Iaw of Spain. The reason was that 1t lay
dying. Weyler's cure was simple, etii-
caclous-lt consisted Of determination,
swift and pitiless.
Poverty had been common In MHtan-
Eas, even before the war, but now
there were so many beggars in the
city that nobody undertook to count
them. When the refugees began to
pour In by the thousands, and when
&C became apparent that the govern
nent intended to let them starve, the
better citizens undertook an effort at
relief; but times were hard, food was
scarce, and prices high. Moreover 1t
soon transpired that the military
crowned upon everything like organ
tized charity, and In consequence the
newcomers were, perforce, abandoned
60 their own devices. These country
people were dumb and terrified at the
misfortunes which had overtaken
them; they wandered the streets In
aimless bewilderment, fearful of what
blow might next befsll. They were
not used to begging, and therefore
they did not often implore aims; but
all day long they asked for work, for
Dread, that their little ones might live
Work, however, was even scarcer than
food, and the time soon came when
they crouched upon curbs and door
steps, hopeless. beaten, silently re-
Jproachful of those more fortunate
than they. Their eyes grew big ant
hollow; their outstretched hands grew
:gaunt and skinny. The sound of weep
r..or,a, nnA hn
came a common thing to hear.
Dogs and cats became choice articles
OF diet, until they disappeared. Th
government did supply one quality o
food, however; at intervals, 1t distrib
suted yucca roots. But these wer
-gtRrchy and almost lndigestible. From
eating them the children grew pinche,
Ia limb and face, while their abdomen
blOated hugely, Matanzas becam
peopled with race of grotesquel
Vmfsshapen little folks, gnomes wit
young bodies, but with faces old an
ssick.
or course disease became epidemi,
TOR in the leaky novels, dirt-loore
aud destitute of any convenience, ther
7NOQtQ uG no ctAOEN Ut HaHkNd4uns SbA
1iitions became unspeakable. The chi
-tireR died first, then the aged and II
airnl. Deaths In the street were nc
uncommon; nearly every morning boz
aes were found beneath the portRle
Starving creatures crept to the ma
&et In the hope OF begging stray b
OF food. and some Of them died Their
Setween the empty stalls. The deaf
wagons. heavy with their daily frelgh
rumbled ceaselessly through th
streets, adding TO the giant piles {
SHnburled corpses outside the city.
typhoid. smallpox, yellow feye
ragged unchecked. The hospitals wer
crowded, and even In them the con
RoneSt necessities were lacking. 1t
abalieved that men have returned froI
the grave. but no one. either Spaniar
OK Cuban. had ever been known I
sreturn from one OF these pesthousel
and. In consequences. those Who weE