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Leading Questions of Races and Crimes: Cuba

Those who have followed closely and intelligently such histories as are attainable of the course of events in Cuba, are informed that much importance is attached to the depredations of the bands of miscreants now haunting all the provinces, and whose occupation is simply that of murderous thieves. The fact that the Island is infested by these scoundrels is not purposely made prominent by the combatants, who are organized, bear arms and profess to be fighting in a civilized way. The Spaniards charge the outrages the vagabonds are guilty of to the rebels, and the rebels charge them to the Spaniards, and the whole truth is not mentioned on either side, for it would wipe away some of the bloody chapters of popular literature. If a lot of fellows are found by Spaniards with telegraph wires around their necks, dangling to trees or telegraph poles, the cry is: "Here is evidence of the horrible barbarism of the insurgents. See what Gomez or Maceo have been about! These are innocent men, because they loved dear Spain!" If the insurgents ride that way the suspended corpses naturally shock their sensibilities, and they point out the testimony that the "butcher and brute Weyler" has been having patriots murdered. The truth is that the ghastly spectacle marks the scene of the close of the career of some bandits, or means that the bandits have been assassinating some country people who were passing that way, or that hapless travelers have been massacred for their clothing or that which they might have in their pockets.