The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1922-11-02

IN the ONCE or military information, y. q. o., war
Department Washington, ID. c. II noon Of that
day Major Wagner, in charge of the Office, in
formed me that at a conference between President
Mckinley and Secretary of War Alger it had been
decided To send an officer 10 eastern Cuba (Ori-
ente). in case of war; to ascertain the military
conditions existing in that region which was likely
TO become the theater of war, and that l had been
selected for the job.
Major Wagners instructions to me were de-
livered orally and We're in brief to proceed to
Kingston. Jamaica. by tie first available trans
pOrtatiOn and there make arrangements to get
into Cuba upon receipt of cipher cabiegram 10
that effect"
At this point Colonel Rowan allows himsf
somewhat more freedom Of style. "In this con-
nectiOn." says he, Major Wagner referred 10 the
of Nathan Hale in the Revolutionary
and Lieutenant Richey In the Mexican war, both
caught with dispatches them" He goes to
tell Of his arrival in Kingston and of the arrange
ments he made while waiting for further instruc-
lions, and he continues:
April % 1 received the cipher cable dispatch:
Join Garcia as soon as possible
AT 10 a M, dressed as an English hunter, /
left Kingston and crossed the island of Jamaica,
reaching st. AIMS bay about 1 a. m. Here
boarded a small saboat, and by daylight had
passed beyond the neutral waters of Jamaica and
had entered the Caribbean. By nightfall (April
e, 1881 our small craft Unnamed by three Cuban
sailors, one orderly, assistants and myself and
carrying some antiquated small arms of various
types intended for the Cubans) approaching
the territorial waters Of Cuba, habitually guarded
at that period by the enemy (Spanish) lanche
patrol. We kept well off until dark, and then
under full sail, made the best of our way TO the
nearest point of the shore coming to about IL
p. m in small inlet about fifty yards out
"The next morning l proceeded through the
forest About noon, May 1. having crossed the
Cfro % tog,
Bayamo, the insurgent headquarters"
Colonel Rowan. you see, Is distressingy matter
of fact. And anybody who has not travelled
across country through q Cuban jungle will have
difficulty in filling In the details.
Anyway, Rowan proceeded to deliver the "Mes-
sage to Garcia" which was to the effect that the
United States had declared war on Spain and
wanted hurry-up answer to the questions which
Rowan would ask
Bearing In mind the danger Of letting any docu-
ments fall into Spanish hands, Rowan and Garcia
hit upon very simple expedlent Instead of
trying to send documents, Rowan was to take
back with him people who carried the Information
in their heads. They were General Collage,
Colonel Hernandez and Doctor Vleta officers on
Garcia's staff. Rowan left at with his 'nfor-
nation" 1t was then five in the afternoon and
by dawn they were swimming the Cauto river a
few miles above point at which Spanish troops
were embarking for the coast. To quote from his
own story:
From mangrove swamp on the west side of
the Manati inlet our sailor guides drew small
ships boat of about 104 cubic feet capacity too
small to accommodate all our party who, reduced
10 sx-three officers and three sailors. must sit
upright for several days and nights with our sup
plies under our seats and between our feet Doc
tor Vieta was, accordingly sent back with our
abandoned mounts and at II p. m. we boarded
our craft and made our way out through the mar
row neck of this harbor, passing under the guns
OF small Spanish work the eastern side of
the inlet. Here we again entered the Spanish
lanche patrol limits and at daylight were out of
sight of the Cuban littOral and well on our way
10 Key West via Nassau New Providence, Ba-
hama Islands"