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Page 5
In the engagement General Vega was wounded, his horse being shot under
him, and he himself falling unconscious to the ground. His staff
surrounded him, and carried him away to a place of safety, but not
before the Spaniards had seen what had occurred.
Knowing Gomez to be in the neighborhood, they supposed it was he who had
been in command, and so the mistake arose.
It is a happy thing for the Cubans that Gomez is still spared to them.
The terrible disasters of the Greek campaign have shown us how necessary
good leaders are.
General Weyler has announced his intention of doing no more fighting
until the close of the rainy season.
He is on his way back to Havana. He has not pacified Santiago de Cuba as
he promised to do, but now declares that it is impossible to attempt any
military operations during the rainy season.
The Cubans do not agree with him. The rain has, so far, not dampened
their ardor.
Every day reports come to us that raids and skirmishes are taking place
all over the island.
On the outskirts of Havana the insurgents are keeping up a constant
fight. They are burning houses, and making the best of every opportunity
to harass the enemy.
A bold attempt was made to capture Fondeviela the other day; some fierce
fighting took place, but the Colonel eventually succeeded in driving off
the Cubans.
The case of Gen. Rius Rivera is likely to be settled without the
interference of the Spanish Government.
The unfortunate soldier is seriously ill, and not expected to live many
days. It is said that he is not dying of his wounds, but of a disease
that has developed since he has been in prison.
A late report says that the discontent among the Spanish soldiers in
regard to their pay has induced their officers to give them permission
to plunder where they can. The few unfortunates who have any property
left are now at the mercy of the soldiers.
This state of distress in the island is in great contrast to the
charming picture of peace and prosperity which it presented a few short
years ago.
A writer in _The Sun_ describes the island as it was before the breaking
out of the first war.
He says that in those days its commerce with this country amounted to a
hundred million dollars a year. It maintained an army of twenty thousand
Spanish soldiers, and its harbors were always filled with Spanish
vessels.
Havana was then one of the gayest capitals in the world. Its streets
were thronged with fine carriages, in which the beauties of the island
took their daily drives. At night all the fashion of the city would
congregate on the Plaza in front of the Governor's mansion, and listen
to the music of the military bands.
The people of the island were loyal and obedient to the wishes of the
mother country. They gave up the treasures of the island in return for a
kindly government.
In those days Spain called Cuba the ever-faithful island, because she
was the only American possession of Spain that still remained contented
under the rule of the mother country.
To travellers she seemed an earthly Paradise, and many were the stories
of the beauties of this favored isle.
No one could say enough pleasant things about its light-hearted, kindly
people, its marvellous vegetation, its lovely flowers, its delicious
fruits, and its generous soil in which anything that was planted would
grow.
When we think of Cuba to-day, laid waste by fire and sword, with barren
fields and starving people, we cannot help feeling that the causes must
have been great which led to such a terrible sacrifice.
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