The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1943-01-11

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Spanish American war by carry
ing a message from the War De-
partment through the wilds of the
jungle, at constant risk of his life,
to the Cuban rebel leader, General
Calixte Garcia.
Thrilling Exploit
His thrilling exploit was immor-
talized by the late Ebert Hubbard,
whose essay, "A Message to Gar
cia," became famous as one of the
worlds best sellers 1t was trans
lated into many languages and
more than 100000 copies were
sold.
A graduate of West Point, Ro-
wan was a lieutenant in charge of
maps in the War Department at
Washington when it became appar-
ent that war with Spain was i'm
pending The department needed
precise military information of the
Spanish forces and the insurgents
in Cuba, in order to plan its in
vasion of the island.
General Garcia, who had long
urged Cubans to rise against Spain,
was regarded as the best informed
man of the military situation, but
he was hiding in the mountains
and it was doubtful if he would
learn, until too late, that hostili-
ties we're imminent.
His Secret Mission
Rowan was selected for the peri
lous mission because of his trust
worthiness, his reputation for
bravery, his knowledge of the is
land and his ability to speak Span
J ish. He was secretly sent to King
ston, Jamaica. On April %, 1893,
which happened to be his birth
day. he received coded message
instructing him to "join Garcia as
soon as possible"
His specific orders were to as
certain the strength OF the insur-
gents and to arrange for their co.
operation with the American forces
! in the event of war. Embracing
from ST. AIMS Bay, Jamaica, in
an open sailboat, accompanied by
Cuban guide, he landed at night
near Santiago on April "a. Here he
, disguised himself as a hunter.
He eluded the outposts of the
Spanish patrol before dawn and
started out through the trackless
jungle. For seven days and nights
he crawled through the thickets
and swamps, enduring unbelievable
hardships. His route took him over
the treacherous Sierra Maestro
Mountains. Finally, on May /, he
reached Garcia with his message.
Gets Precious Information
Garcia, surprised and overjoyed,
not only supplied him with the
precious military information, but
selected three of his most trusted
officers to make the dangerous
trip back across the country and
to Washington. With only a few
hours of rest, Rowan and his
party laboriously made their way
to Manati, on the north shore of
/ the island At one point they were
forced to swim a river in the
darkness.
Here, leaving one of the num-
Der behind because of lack OF
room, the party slipped past the
guns of the Spanish fort in tiny
boat, propelled by gunny-sack sails.
The little craft was near floun-
dering many times and finally was
rescued by sponging schooner.
Eventually, they reached Key West
and Rowan sped to Washington.
! Valuable Information
The intelligence he brought
proved extremely valuable and he
was promoted to lieutenant colo
mel Of the Sixth U. S. Volunteers.
President Mckinley publicly con-
graduated him and he became a
popular hero. It was not until "a
years later that Congress voted
him the Distinguished Service
Cross.
/ Col. Rowan was born at Gap
! Mills. Va, April %, 1857. sHe was