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The Record of Desolation and Despair: Spanish

There can be no doubt that the majority of houses on the main roads will be deserted. There are many instances of men who have sent their wives, etc., to the towns to look out for themselves as best they can, while they remain in defiance of the government and run the chance of escaping the Spanish soldiers. Very many other peasants have joined the insurgents, with their wives and children, and stories of the exploits of the half frenzied women in the ranks are already beginning to circulate on the Island. A reliable person from the Sancti Spiritus district informs me that fully eight thousand recruits have been obtained for the insurgents in this province. In order to obtain food for the cities, the Spaniards have decreed that the cultivators from the country must lay out market gardens in the immediate vicinity of the towns and within three miles of city lines. Serafin Sanchez, the insurgent commander in Santa Clara province, has issued a counter proclamation instructing the men not to raise vegetables about the cities, promising them protection.