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The Picturesque in the War: Cuban

Kate Masterson, writing from Havana, after hearing from the Cuban women, with a woman's sympathy, the startling stories of their confidences, gives this romantic history of woman's part in the war: "From this beautiful summer land one cry goes up which is heard over the din of battle and the clash of arms. It is the wail of the desolate Cuban women. They are mourning for their loved ones, and their tears are falling upon new-made graves throughout the Island. "Their soft eyes have looked upon ghastly bonfires in which the bodies of their babies have been the fuel that fed the flames. Their cry is more eloquent than all the ruin and desolation of this beautiful land of graves. The cane fields, sending their columns of flame and smoke across the stars like signal fires to the American nation, are not so imperative as all this woman love going up to Heaven in a tortured cry for help. "Like the Easter lilies of Cuba, bent and stained with patriot blood, and the roses trampled in the earth and drenched with mire, are the hearts of these poor women. They are suffering, bleeding and breaking; yet they still have courage, and trust that God will send aid from America and liberty to Cuba. "It is for the women and the children that these men are fighting who are so bravely holding the Island in the face of an army, more than three times bigger in numbers than they; half naked as they are, their bodies torn from the underbrush through which they walk, often with only one cartridge apiece to face a well-provided foe, they are fighting with a spirit which once moved the American army of the revolution. "The women of Cuba are the mothers of this most human revolution. They do not fear death. They would gladly die for Cuba, but their cheeks grow white at the thought of the atrocities and crimes which the Spanish soldiers employ toward the helpless. So strong is this fear, that many of the women have accompanied their husbands to the fields, remembering the crimes of the late war against their sex. Men have hesitated to leave their wives and daughters unprotected at home, and there are over a hundred women under Maceo and many under General Gomez as well. "Many women are nursing the sick and the wounded. Some are fighting shoulder to shoulder with the men. They do not fear death one-half so much as the horrors which might await them at their homes. Their children are born upon the battlefield. It was thus in the last war also. Is it a wonder, then, that the Cubans are patriots? "It is one great feature of this revolution that not only the women, but the children, are fighting with the army. There is a list of child martyrs, baby patriots. The Spanish authorities, with their usual cheap acuteness, have endeavored to make capital from the fact that there are women in the field with the Cuban army, and have spread the report that they are `Amazons,' describing them as rough, masculine creatures, devoid of gentleness and modesty. This is one of the favorite lies which they are so fond of quoting. The Cuban women are the most feminine and simple women in the world. They are almost childish in their love for prettiness and charm. They adore their children and worship their husbands. But their gentleness has turned to bitterness in many of their hearts through the sorrows that have been inflicted upon them. "Besides the women who are with the army, there are any number of women in Havana to-day who are anxious to join them. They know only too well that should the Cubans attack Havana, the vengeance of the Spaniards would be directed to them. I have visited them in their homes in Havana and outside of the limits placed by war. I have spoken with them and have been thrilled with their courage and patriotism. I know that American women are patriotic, but these Cuban women are fierce in their patriotism, and wish to take arms against the enemy who has despoiled their homes and killed their relatives. They are the `insurrectes' heart and soul, the moving spirit of the revolution. To-day Maximo Gomez carries over his heart a silken Cuban flag which he has sworn that he will never unfurl until it floats over Moro Castle. "Many of the Cuban women have lost all they possessed through this war. Their plantations have been burned and their fortunes swept away, but I heard none complain. They are willing to give everything for Cuba, and they see their sugar cane go up in smoke, glad that thereby its revenue will be lost to Spain. Some of these women sold their jewels when their money was gone, in order to send medicines and lint to the rebels. In every Cuban home, also, a sum is set aside out of each day's household money to send to the field. "There are pathetic and moving incidents without number connected with this war in which women play the first part. Many of them lie in unmarked graves to-day, but their names will live in Cuban history forever. An old lady of eighty, whom I visited at her home a few miles out of Havana, showed me an American flag which she has kept carefully for years folded away in camphor, She told me in Spanish that she was keeping it to drape over her balcony when the American troops marched through the streets of Havana. "One of the most dramatic incidents of the war was a marriage ceremony performed at dawn in the mountains of Puerto Principe. Robau, a handsome and well educated young man, whose father owns a large plantation at Puerto Principe, enlisted as a private with General Gomez when the war broke out. He has fought bravely from the beginning until now, and was made lieutenant, then first lieutenant, captain, and then major. He recruited his regiment from his own neighborhood, and it is now composed entirely of his friends, all finely bred young men. "Robau was in love with a young girl who was a native of a small village near his father's estate. She was in humbler circumstances than he, and the rigid rules of Cuban etiquette kept them apart. But when the young man first marched through the town with his splendid company of men, their horses' bridles were braided with ribbons and they wore wreaths of palm leaves about their hats in her honor. They passed the girl's home, and saluted her as she stood on the balcony with her mother. "Robau went in and asked that he might marry the girl then and take her with him, as he feared that evil might befall her in his absence. But his sweetheart's parents objected, and finally Robau yielded to their wishes, and marched away broken hearted. Two days later, when he had gone many miles, the girl dashed to his side, mounted on a horse. She had run away from her home in order that she might be with her lover. "That night Robau sent a guard of two men, with an extra horse and an empty saddle, to the house of a padre near by. The good priest mounted and rode along between the two men, muttering prayers, for he expected, despite the assurances of his escorts, that he was to be killed. They reached the hills where the regiment had halted, and just as dawn broke from the east the young people were married. They are now at Santa Clara, where Robau is in command of 400 men, operating with Seraphine Sanchez and his band of 4,000. "One of the notable women of this revolution is Rosa Hernandez, the wife of Dr. Hernandez, of San Cristobel. She is now in the field with her husband, under General Maceo, taking active part in the fighting. She is young and beautiful, and had only been married a year when her husband had been called upon to organize a band of men. He came to his young wife, who was soon to be a mother, and told her that he would do just as she willed, for he felt that his life belonged to her. She answered him that she wished he should go to the war. In a week he had raised a band of 500 men--half a regiment--and, as they marched out of the town, they saluted Mrs. Hernandez, passing her house, shouting 'Viva la Reine Cuba!' "When her husband had been gone about three weeks, the Spaniards took possession of the town under General Carnellos. One of the lieutenants rode into Hernandez's home on horseback, and subjected her to threats and insults. As soon as he had left, she got a horse and joined her husband, riding many miles through the Cuban hills until she found him. "The women of San Juan Martinez have also taken a great part in the rebellion. When the Spanish troops, under Cornell, were on their way to the city, the people met and took a vote as to what course they should pursue, the women casting ballots with the men. They decided to burn their city rather than to have the Spanish soldiers destroy it. They took their children in their arms and turned their faces toward Guane, walking all the way, as they had given their horses to the Cuban soldiers. Before they left, the women set their homes on fire, and when the Spaniards reached the place at midnight, they found the city in flames. When the people of Martinez reached Guane they found that the baffled soldiers were still on their track, and they burned Guane, as they had their own city, the women putting the torch to the houses. They afterward burned Montezeula in a similar manner, cutting off the Spaniards effectually. The path of these women and their babies was marked by fire until they reached the protection of the insurgent army. "On the 7th of January last, the rebel forces, under Perico Delgado, burned the settlement of Cayajabos, Pinar del Rio. A rebel soldier was carrying an oil lamp to bedaub the walls of a house. Miss Regla Quevedo, a graceful young lady, ran toward the revolutionist and grabbed his arm, at the same time exclaiming: `You must not do that to this house, as it belongs to a Cuban; come with me and oil this other one, which I myself want to set on fire; it belongs to a man who hates us.' "It was a Spaniard's house, an officer of the volunteers. "Mrs. Louisa Hernandez, the wife of Damian Peresoto, a political exile in the Isle of Pines, accompanied her husband in his exile, that she might liberate him. When he was working with eleven others cutting wood, she began to talk with the padrone who had charge of them, so as to get familiar with him, and in one of their talks she seized the guard's gun on pretense of examining it. Suddenly she leaped backward, and, pointing the gun at the guard, threatened him with instant death if he moved. Then taking the guard's machete, her husband and his comrades tied the unfortunate man and fled toward the coast. "On reaching the coast they compelled the captain of the schooner Margarita to set sail for Cienega de Zapata, which they reached in safety. The twelve fugitives made their way to Cuba and joined the revolutionary forces. Mrs. Hernandez is still at Zapata, where she acts as nurse in a hospital. "In the Cuban regiment under Colonel Antonio Nunez there are two young and pretty women, wives of two rebel chiefs. They travel well armed and ride two very fine horses. January 7, when the forces which they accompany stopped a passenger train at St. Critobal Station, Pinar del Rio province, the two young women were the ones to quiet some of the passengers who were frightened, and as some of the passengers were astonished at seeing them armed, they answered: `The country needs arms which can carry those arms that she needs for her defense, and does not make any distinction whether they be those of men or women. All of them are the same, with the proviso that their owner should be courageous and have determination.' "When the insurrectionists, under Edward Garcia and Rafail Cardenas, invaded the settlement of Sabanilla del Comendador, the majority of the women residents joined them, receiving them with cheers and cries of `Cuba libre!' The garrison of the town before surrendering defended itself, and during the fight some of the women employed themselves in setting fire to the settlement while others gathered up the wounded and others were getting arms from the rebels, so as to fire themselves. "With the forces of Calixto Alvarez there are eleven women, colored, wives of eastern chiefs, who have abandoned their small farms in St. Jago de Cuba, to follow their husbands' lot. These women busy themselves in gathering up the wounded that fall during the fights and succoring them. All of them carry machetes and revolvers. "Christina Lazo, a daughter of Cuba, was imprisoned by reason of her separatist propaganda, and was locked up in the Jarneo prison. On the 19th of February, the forces under Maceo invaded the place and liberated the prisoners. Christina burned the prison, made a speech to the townspeople to prevail on them to join the rebels, and then marched away with the Cuban troops."

To what extent the Cuban ladies unconciously exaggerate the number of their sisters who are fighting for freedom, is not known, but that they are, in their excitement, inaccurate we may safely assume. No doubt many sincerely wish to fight, but cannot get the chance. The Cuban ladies are not advanced in the modern woman sense, and Mrs. Masterson has faithfully portrayed them. There is no question that some of them are with the armies. They can be of greater actual service in the hospitals; but, unhappily, the wounded cannot receive the care they should have. Mr. Rappleye said, in one of his early letters: "There are four women with Gomez. They are white women, one of them an American. They are the wives of some of his officers. They are dressed in masculine attire, as a pair of bloomers have never been landed in the island of Cuba. They ride horseback with Gomez's staff, and each carries a Mauser rifle and ammunition. They have taken part in several engagements, and so far they have escaped being wounded."

Here the number of Amazons is understated as to the time covered, and they have had reinforcements. The Spaniards not only admit the presence of the Cuban women with the insurgent forces, but assert it with ungenerous imputations. The Spaniard cannot, as a matter of patriotism, do justice to the discipline of the Cuban soldier--much less to his bravery and his mercies--and they should read, mark, and inwardly digest this testimony, which is given in a letter by the president of the Stanford University, California-- SAN FRANCISCO, April 26.--President Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford, Jr., University, writes to the San Francisco Call as follows: PALO ALTO, CAL., April 25.--Some time ago I wrote to a friend in Havana, a gentleman of Spanish descent and education, an author well known in Havana, and withal a very trustworthy man, asking him to tell me what the real feeling of the intelligent classes of Havana was in regard to the present insurrection. I inclose herewith a translation of a letter received from him. It seems to show that this rebellion is not a mere bandit outbreak of negroes and jailbirds, but the effort of the whole people to throw off the yoke of a government they find intolerable.

HAVANA, April 17, 1896.

DR. DAVID S. JORDAN, Palo Alto, Cal.

Dear Sir: It is to be regretted that, as you say, those of you who are interested in the fate of this country have not a perfect knowledge of its true present state. Great ruin and much blood must be shed to attain what now seems likely to be attained, but it is never too late for the good. I can give you an idea of what the really intelligent Cubans think of the present movement. I have heard the opinions of the most distinguished persons of the city, persons who, by education and from a sense of honor, are incapable of falsehood. They have given testimony, one by one, each without knowledge before and after of what the other has said. It seems to me, therefore, that I can reply to your inquiries with authority. 1. The insurrection was begun and is kept up by Cuban people. 2. The Government has made colossal and unheard-of efforts to put it down, bringing against it a force of 150,000 armed men and resorting to all possible measures of prudence and resource, but has not succeeded in diminishing it. It has extended from the extreme east to the extreme west, and is everywhere maintained. 3. The flower of our youth is in the army of the insurrection. In its ranks are many physicians, lawyers, druggists, professors, artists, men of business, engineers, et al. By the excellent consular service of the United States this fact may be proved if it is not already known. 4. The insurgents began by destroying their own property, in order to deprive the troops of the government of shelter and sustenance. 5. Destruction is carried on by both sides; by the insurgents on the much greater scale. 6. Let it be understood that the insurgents will continue in their course until they fulfil their purpose, carrying all before them by fire and blood. 7. All eyes are directed toward the north, to the republic, which is the mother of all Americans. 8. The people of the United States must bear strongly in mind now, as never before, that profession is null and void if action does not confirm it. Men like yourself know this best of all.

The man most abhorred of all in the world by the women of Cuba is Captain-General Weyler, and the only American woman who has interviewed him is the same who has written with so much warmth and grace of the Cubans of her sex, and whose romantic sketch of the heroines in the army we have largely reproduced.

Now, Weyler is a very accessible captain-general, a diplomat in conversation, and of various manners from the sharpest business tones and language, and the most peremptory questions to the gracious and the gallant. Mrs. Masterson describes Weyler as advancing to meet her with a clasp of his firm, finely-shaped, cold hand, and quick, magnetic voice! He wore a black alpaca office coat, and his linen was spotless, and about his waist, over his vest, was a sash of red silk, and the great strength of his face, and massive build of his shoulders were what first impressed themselves upon his caller, who saw that "his eyes are bright and are the color of sherry with ice in it. Otherwise they have a naughty little twinkle."