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The Picturesque in the War: Havana

The insurgents swept on across Santa Clara, Matanzas and Havana, and in a vain hope to prevent the revolution spreading into Pinar del Rio, General Campos established another "trocha of iron" between the cities of Havana and Batabano, on the south coast, a distance of only twenty-eight miles. It was something of a departure from the idea of the old trocha. Forts were, as usual, built along the line of railroad, but in addition to this, hundreds of freight cars were covered with boiler iron, with narrow openings for rifles, five feet from the floors, and these moving railroad forts were kept running up and down the line day and night. After a careful inspection of this improved trocha, Gomez and Maceo, with their combined forces, crossed the "iron dead line" on the evening of January 4th, without firing a shot. After getting safely on the west side, Gomez remarked that in compliment to General Campos, the constructor, or promoter, of the trocha, the insurgents ought to show some appreciation of his efforts. The rebel forces, therefore, rode back some distance and tore up about three miles of the track, as Gomez said, "Just to let the Spaniards know that we have noticed their toy." On January 7th Gomez recrossed this railroad trocha, without accident, into Havana province, where he was joined by Maceo some weeks later. But Maceo seemed to have taken a liking to Pinar del Rio, and, instead of fulfilling the prophecy of Weyler by hiding himself in the swamp of the Big Shoe, he again swung his column to the westward through the province of Havana, again crossing the trocha into Pinar del Rio without deigning to notice its existence.

An observer naturally asks, Where were the fifty thousand Spanish troops who were stationed along the line for the express purpose of preventing such rebel manoeuvres?

The Spanish idiom, "Quien sabe?" seems a very appropriate answer. Now General Weyler has taken a hand at trocha building. He has constructed a trocha from the town of Mariel, on the north coast of Pinar del Rio, twenty-five miles west of Havana, to Majona, on the south coast, a distance of only twenty-three miles, and on the success of this trocha preventing Maceo's supposed anxiety to reach Gomez, who, with fresh forces, is approaching from the east, General Weyler is said to stake his military reputation. Mr. Guerra, treasurer of the Cuban revolutionary party, and Agustin Agramonte, the nephew of the rebel president, Cisneros, were seen with reference to the probable effectiveness of this trocha of General Weyler. Mr. Guerra said: "Let no one entertain any anxiety in regard to the safety of Maceo. His instructions from General Gomez were not only to enter Pinar del Rio, but to maintain the revolution in that province. If he crosses the trocha into Havana it will be only to convince General Weyler of the futility of the trocha idea."

Mr. Agramonte thought the trocha an "excellent institution for the Cubans." He continued: "This same favorite military hobby of the Spanish commanders is very liable to prove for them a trocha of death. Fifty thousand men cannot defend a line twenty-three miles long. It takes five thousand men five feet apart to cover a mile."