INDUSTRY OF THE COLONISTS.
The opening of spring did not bring any material change in weather that
the colonists could detect, save that the occasional rainfall had
ceased. The temperature for March was about the same as for January and
February, the lowest recorded by the thermometer being 53°, and the
highest 92°. The weather was delightful and comfortable. There was more
blossoming of flowers in the woods and the openings, and many a big tree
became a veritable flower garden, with great clusters of pink orchids
clinging to its huge trunk and massive limbs. There were several trees
thus ornamented in close proximity to my tent.
The colonists were now progressing with their work and displaying the
greatest industry. Considerable clearing had been done, and some
planting. Gardens were growing well, and the colonists were eating
potatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc., of their own raising.
Many thousands of pineapple plants had been set out, and banana and
orange trees were being put into the ground as fast as they could be
obtained. Many of the colonists were employed more or less by the
company in one capacity or another. Some worked on the road, some about
the camp, a few in the gardens, and still others in the cook-house. A
number had been employed in the survey corps almost from the time of
their arrival, while others worked "off and on," according to their
convenience and disposition. The work of the surveyors was hard and
exposing, and the fare usually poor and meagre, but for all that the men
generally liked the employment and there was a constant stream of
applicants for vacant places. In most cases the applicant knew what was
before him and hence could appreciate the grim humor of Chief Kelly's
unvarying formula. After questioning the applicant to ascertain if he
really wanted to work, the chief would say, facetiously: "All you have
to do is to follow a painted pole and eat three meals a day." Following
a "painted pole" through the mud, water, and underbrush of a Cuban
jungle, especially with an axe in one's hand to wield constantly, is no
sinecure, but the men did not have to work very hard at their meals! My
admiration of the pluck and patience of the "boys" on the survey corps
was unbounded, and, I believe, fully justified. At their table the chief
had designated an official kicker, and no one else was supposed to utter
a complaint, and it was seldom that they did. The discipline was like
that of an army. When a man was ordered to do a thing, two courses lay
open to him--do it or quit. Usually the orders were carried out.
[Illustration: THE SURVEY CORPS. (_March 24, 1900._)]
One of the most capable and industrious of the colonists was B. F.
Seibert of Omaha, Nebraska. He was a man of taste and refinement, and at
the same time eminently practical. He was a veteran of the Civil War and
a prominent citizen in the Western city whence he came. He had lived at
one time in California, and there had gained special knowledge of the
cultivation of fruits, flowers, and ornamental shrubbery. A few days
after his arrival in La Gloria in January, Mr. Seibert was placed in
charge of the port, and at once set to work to bring order out of chaos.
He took care of the large amount of baggage and freight that had been
dumped in the mud on the shore, placing it under temporary shelter, and
a little later constructed an ample warehouse connecting with the pier.
He removed the bushes and debris from the beach, thoroughly drained the
locality, leveled the ground, cleared the accumulated sea-weed from the
sand of the shore, extended and improved the pier, and put everything in
first-class order, until one of the roughest and most forbidding of
spots became positively attractive. I have rarely seen so complete and
pleasing a transformation. The Port La Gloria of to-day is a delightful
place, neat and well kept, swept by balmy breezes from the sea, and
commanding an entrancing view across the vari-colored waters of the
beautiful bay to the island of Guajaba, with its picturesque mountains,
and the other keys along the coast. There is good sea-bathing here, and
excellent fishing not far away. A few miles down the coast the mouth of
the Maximo river is reached, where one may shoot alligators to his
heart's content, while along the shore of Guajaba Key the resplendent
flamingo may be brought down by a hunter who is clever enough to get
within range of the timid bird. Assistant Chief Engineer Neville was a
good flamingo hunter, and we occasionally dined off the big bird at the
officers' table.
One of the hardest workers in the colony was Jason L. Ratekin, who came
from Omaha, Nebraska. He was a man of marked individuality, and though
not overburdened with capital, was fertile in resources and full of
energy and determination. At first he performed arduous work for the
company in the transportation of baggage and freight from the port with
the bullock team, and later went into business for himself as a
contractor for the clearing and planting of land. He was enthusiastic
and progressive. Among all the colonists there was none more
public-spirited, and he demonstrated his kindness of heart on many
occasions. Once when the bullock team was bringing in a sick woman and
several small children, and the rough and wearisome journey was
prolonged into the darkness of the night, he distinguished himself by
carrying the ten-months-old baby nearly all the way in his arms and by
breaking into a consignment of condensed milk to save it from
starvation. Ratekin was a rough-looking fellow, but a more generous and
kindly nature is seldom met with.
The first banquet in La Gloria was held on the evening of March 26, in
honor of the fifty-second birthday of Col. Thomas H. Maginniss,
superintendent of camp, who was about to return to his wife and eleven
children in Philadelphia. M. T. Jones of Williamsport, Pa., was master
of ceremonies, and the occasion was highly enjoyable. The banquet was
served in a tent restaurant on Central avenue, and the guests numbered
about twenty, several of whom were ladies. The table presented a very
attractive appearance, and the menu included salads, sardines, salt
beef, smoked herrings, fresh fish, bread, cake and _lime_-o-nade. Among
the after-dinner speakers were Colonel Maginniss, General Van der Voort,
S. N. Ware of Wyoming, Jesse B. Kimes, Rev. Dr. Gill, D. E. Lowell, M.
A. C. Neff, H. O. Neville, John A. Connell, and James M. Adams. The
banquet was voted a success by all present.
On Sunday, April 1, Colonel Maginniss and about twenty of the colonists
left La Gloria for Nuevitas preparatory to sailing for the States. This
was the largest number of colonists that had departed at one time since
mid-winter, and their leaving caused some depression throughout the
colony. This was quickly over, however, and new arrivals soon made up
for the numerical loss. The Maginniss party included M. T. Jones of
Pennsylvania and H. E. Mosher of New York state, who had been his
assistants in the work of the camp, and Mrs. Whittle of Albany, N. Y.,
and Max Neuber of Philadelphia, Pa., who had been the teachers of the
day and evening schools. Mr. Neuber and some of the others expressed the
intention of returning to La Gloria later in the year.
The departure of the score of colonists at this time was marked by a
most melancholy incident, which was speedily followed by the first death
in La Gloria. John F. Maxfield of Providence, R. I., a man past middle
age, who had come to La Gloria on the first _Yarmouth_ excursion, had
been ill for several weeks with a complication of ailments. Although he
had the watchful care and companionship of a friend from the same city,
Capt. Joseph Chace, he became very much depressed and sadly homesick.
When the Maginniss party was made up to return to the States, he
believed himself sufficiently improved to accompany it, and braced up
wonderfully for the effort. When the day arrived, he announced his
intention of walking to the port, and set out to do so, but was quickly
picked up and taken down in a wagon. At the pier he was overcome by
exhaustion, and exhibited so much weakness that it was deemed unsafe to
place him on board of either of the small and crowded sail-boats. It was
feared he would not survive the hardships and exposure of the journey
to Nuevitas. The decision to leave him behind, although kindly meant,
was a great blow to him, and was believed by some to have hastened his
death, which took place the next morning. However this may be, it is
improbable that he would have lived to reach his home in the States.
Heart failure was the final cause of his death. He had good care at the
port, but his extreme weakness could not be overcome. Mr. Maxfield was a
quiet, unobtrusive man, and was held in high esteem throughout the
colony. He was buried in a pleasant spot in the company's reserve, and
his funeral was attended by almost the entire colony and some of the
Cubans. The services were held out of doors in a beautiful glade, and
were conducted by the Rev. Dr. Gill. It was a most impressive scene.
This was the only death in La Gloria during the six months succeeding
the arrival of the first colonists. This low rate of mortality was the
more remarkable from the fact that a number of invalids came or were
brought into the colony during the winter. One day there came in from
the port a wagon bringing a woman who had been a paralytic for years,
and her sick husband, who had been unable to sit up for a long time.
They were from Kansas, and were accompanied by grown children and
friends. The colonists expected there would very soon be two deaths in
La Gloria, but the sick man, who was a mere skeleton, improved steadily
and in a few weeks was able to walk about the camp, while his paralytic
wife was no worse and was considered by the family to be slightly
better. Considering that the invalids were living in tents without
expert care, the man's recovery was hardly less than marvelous.
On April 2, work on the corduroy road to the port, which had been
suspended, was resumed under the capable supervision of D. E. Lowell.
Mr. Lowell proved to be the best roadmaker who had taken a hand at the
game up to that time, and, considering the little he had to do with,
accomplished a great deal. His workmen were from among the colonists and
he rarely had more than ten or twelve at a time, and usually less, but
in five or six weeks he had done much for the betterment of the highway.
No one realized better than Mr. Lowell that this was only a temporary
road, but it was the best to be had at the time. Later in the year, a
fine, permanent highway to the port was begun by Chief Engineer Kelly,
and when completed La Gloria's great drawback will be removed. Kelly's
is a substantial, rock-ballasted road, twelve feet wide, and graded two
feet above high-water mark. It will make La Gloria easy of access from
the coast.
[Illustration]