BY A. D. HALL NEW YORK STREET & SMITH, Publishers 81 Fulton Street Copyrighted 1898 By Street & Smith ....

"The goodliest land that eye ever saw, the sweetest thing in the world." Such was Columbus' opinion of Cuba, just after he first beheld it, and, after the lapse of four hundred years, the words, making due allowance for the hyperbole of enthusiasm, still hold good. And this, too, in spite of all the trials and tribulations which the fair "Pearl of the Antilles" has been forced to undergo at the hands of her greedy and inhuman masters. The eyes of all the world are now upon this indescribably bea

In the early years of the eighteenth century, Cuba was more or less at peace, that is so far as Spain, a degenerate mother of a far more honorable daughter, would allow her to be at peace, and she increased in population, and, to a certain extent, in material prosperity. But in 1717, a revolt broke out, a revolt which was thoroughly justified. Spain felt that the agricultural wealth of the island was increasing, and she desired for herself practically the whole of the advantages which accrued fr

It was in 1813 that the Bonapartist regime came to an end in Spain, and Ferdinand VII. reascended the throne. In the very beginning he paid no attention to the Constitution; he dissolved the Cortes and did his best to make his monarchy an absolute one. Again, as has been said, Cuba felt the yoke of his despotism, all previous promises, when the aid of the island was to his advantage, being as completely ignored as if they had never been made. In Spanish America, revolutionary movements had been

For about fourteen years after 1854, the outbreaks in Cuba were infrequent, and of little or no moment. To all intents and purposes, the island was in a state of tranquility. In September, 1868, a revolution broke out in the mother country, the result of which was that Queen Isabella was deposed from the throne and forced to flee the country. This time Cuba did not proclaim her loyalty to the Bourbon dynasty, as she had done some sixty years before. She had learned her lesson. She knew now how S

There was one event of the ten years' war which deserves to be treated somewhat in detail, as the universal excitement in the United States caused by the affair for a time appeared to make a war between the United States and Spain inevitable. And the Cubans hoped that this occurrence would lead to the immediate expulsion of the Spaniards from Cuba. The hopes thus raised, however, were doomed to meet with disappointment, as the diplomatic negotiations opened between the United States and Spain le

Before proceeding further, it is necessary to call attention to one very important matter which was the direct result of the Ten Years' War. If the insurgents accomplished nothing else, they may well be proud of this achievement. Their own freedom they failed to obtain, but they were the cause of freedom being bestowed upon others. We refer to the manumission of the slaves. The Spanish slave code, promulgated in 1789, is admitted everywhere to have been very humane in its character. So much so t

Although the natural resources of Cuba are remarkable, as will be demonstrated later, and more than sufficient for all her people, a large number of Cubans have, either of their own free will or by force become exiles. Besides over forty thousand in the United States, there are a large number in the islands under British control, as well as throughout the West Indies and in the South American republics. It is perfectly natural that these exiles should feel the deepest interest in their native la

There was one incident which occurred in the early part of the disturbances which caused a certain amount of excitement in the United States, as it was thought that it would prove to be a repetition of the Virginius affair. On the 8th of March, 1895, the ship Allianca was bound from Colon to New York. She was following the usual track of vessels near the Cuban shore. But, outside the three mile limit, she was fired upon by a Spanish gunboat. President Cleveland declared this to be an unwarrantab

No greater contrast to Campos could possibly be imagined than his successor, General Valeriano Weyler, known, and with the utmost justice, throughout Cuba and the United States as "The Butcher." During his official life in Cuba, he proved again and again the truth of his reputation for relentless cruelty. There is no doubt that during former wars he committed the most atrocious crimes. It is not claimed that he ever showed any brilliant qualifications as a military leader, and it was precisely b

To enlarge upon the sufferings of the Cubans is a painful task, but it is a task that must be accomplished, in the interests of justice and humanity, and also that the reader may clearly understand why it was the bounden duty of the United States to interfere. Let us therefore proceed with the evidence. Julian Hawthorne gives his testimony as follows: "These people have starved in a land capable of supplying tens of millions of people with abundant food. The very ground on which they lie down to

Now let us turn to the one crime, so-called, that has been alleged against the Cubans. We refer to the burning of the sugar crops. That this has been done on each and every occasion, no one will deny. At first glance, it seems an act of vandalism. But is it so? Let us examine carefully into the causes and reasons for it. The Spaniards claim that it is a notable example of the reckless and uncivilized methods of the insurgents. On the contrary, it is a policy which was carefully planned and syste

Now let us go back to the making of history, to the time when the butcher Weyler came to Cuba to assume the governor-generalship. By this time the Cuban question had been brought authoritatively before the United States Senate, the people were beginning to be strongly roused with indignation at the state of affairs in Cuba, and there was considerable excitement when the news of Weyler's appointment became known. Strange to say, the insurgents rejoiced rather than grieved at this appointment, the

The new governor-general of Cuba was Don Ramon Blanco, as to whose character accounts differ. It is probable that while he is not the high-minded, honorable gentleman that Campos was, he is far, very far from being such an unmitigated beast as his predecessor. Before he reached Cuba, which was the last of October, 1897, he stated in an interview: "My policy will never include concentration. I fight the enemy, not women and children. One of the first things I shall do will be to allow the reconce

Then came the De Lome incident which served to inflame further passions already aroused. Senor Enrique Depuy De Lome was the Spanish minister to this country. He wrote a letter, strongly denunciatory of the president's message, and of the president himself; with the worst taste possible, he alluded to Mr. McKinley as a low politician, one who catered, for political purposes, to the rabble. This letter was intercepted and a copy given to the press. The original was sent to the State Department. O

Cuba lies in the northern portion of the torrid zone, and immediately south of Florida. From Key West to the nearest point on the Cuban coast, the distance in 86 miles. The form of Cuba is an irregular crescent, with a large number of bays or indentations. The coast line is about 2,200 miles, exclusive of the indentations; or, if we include the latter, nearly 7,000 miles. The island is about 760 miles long. Its breadth varies from 127 miles at a point some fifty miles west of Santiago to 28 mile

It is unnecessary to refer except in a brief manner to the Spanish-American war, as the struggle is at the present time of writing only in its inception, and no one can tell how long it will last or what reverses each side may experience before peace is declared. One thing is certain, however. The result is not problematical. It is assured. The United States will be victorious in the end, be that end near or distant, and Cuba must and shall be free. If ever there was a war that was entered into