Graham guardian., 1922-10-24

A u,
Department, Washington, D. C. It 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 Atger 1t had been
decided to send officer to eastern Cuba (Ori.
ente), in case Of war; to ascertain the military
conditions existing In that region, which likely
to become the theater of war; and that had been
selected for the job.
Major Wagner's instructions to me were de-
livered orally and were, in brief, to proceed to
Kingston, Jamaica, by the first available trans
portation, and there make arrangements to get
into Cuba upon receipt of cipher cablegram to
that effect"
AT this point Colonel Rowan allows himslf
somewhat more freedom Of style. "In this con-
nection" says he, Major Wagner referred to the
case of Nathan Hale in the Revolutionary war
and Lieutenant Richey in the Mexican war, both
caught with dispatches on them" He goes on to
tell of his arrival in Kingston and of the arrange
'nents he made while waiting for further instruc.
tions, 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 I
left Kingston and crossed the island of jamaica
reaching st. AIMS bay about / a. m. Here !
boarded a small sailboat, and by daylight I had
passed beyond the neutral waters of Jamaica and
had entered the Caribbean By nightfall (April
g. 1S9s) our small craft (manned by three Cuban
carrying some antlquated small arms of various
types intended for the Cubans) approaching
the territorial waters OF Cuba, habltuaily 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 II
.. m. In small inlet about fifty yards out
"The next morning ] proceeded Through the
forest About noon, May 1, having crossed the
Sierra Maestro range of mountains. | reached
Bsyamo, the insurgent headquarters."
Colonel Rowan, you see, Is distressingly matter
of fact And anybody who has not Travelled
across country through a 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 a hurryup 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 a very simple expedent. 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
Garcias staff Rowan left at once with his "infor-
nation" 1t then five In the afternoon. and
by dawn they were swimming the Cauto river
few miles above point at which Spanish troops
were embarking for the coast To quote from his
own story:
"From mangrove swamp 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
sx--three officers and three sailors, must sit
upright for several days and nights with sup
plies under our seats and between our feet. Doc
tor Vleta was accordingly sent back with our
abandoned mounts, and at II p. m. we boarded
craft and made our way out through the mar
row neck Of this harbor, passing under the guns
Of a small Spanish work on the eastern side of
the inlet. Here again entered the Spanish
lanche patrol limits, and at daylight were out Of
sight of the Cuban ttoral and well on our way
to Key West via Nassau New Providence Ba.
hama Islands"