all the business incidental thereto; and, as a first step, he proceeded
with a band of fifty armed negroes to the captured camp, and forthwith
went to work to bring in all the weapons and ammunition, the uninjured
field gun, the tents, and the wagons, all of which would be exceedingly
valuable acquisitions to any revolutionary force which they might chance
to join. Then the horses, mules, and cattle were driven in, the mules
being harnessed to the gun and the wagons. All these captures having
been stored as carefully as circumstances permitted, the prisoners who
were to be released were paraded, and each was served with one day's
rations; then they gladly moved off, _en route_ for Pinar del Rio, under
a strong escort of armed negroes, led by Jack, who was on this occasion
mounted upon a good horse. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon
when the little army started; and they marched until eight o'clock, when
they camped for the night in the open, Jack and his band returning some
three miles along the road by which they had gone, and passing the night
in a wood through which the road ran. They arrived back at the estate
shortly after nine o'clock the next morning, and Jack then learned, to
his profound sorrow, that the unfortunate Senora Montijo had passed away
during the night, another victim of Spanish tyranny and oppression.
They buried the poor lady on the evening of that day, in a particularly
lovely and peaceful spot, some distance up the valley, which had been a
favourite resort of her daughter. The ceremony was singularly moving
and impressive, every negro on the place following the body to the
grave, and Don Hermoso himself, in the absence of a priest, reading the
funeral service over his departed wife. But although the loss of the
lady was deeply felt by all, there can be little doubt that, all things
considered, her death was a fortunate circumstance, not only for
herself, but also for all those who most dearly loved her; for it was
only too clear that her reason had been permanently lost. Twenty-four
hours later what had been the finest and best-kept tobacco-growing
estate on the island was abandoned to the Spanish doctor and his
patients--with a staff of volunteer assistants from the unwounded
Spanish prisoners to look after them. The Montijos, father and son,
with Jack, and as many of the negro defenders as still survived, had
taken to the mountains, carrying off with them the field gun, Maxims,
rifles, ammunition, and stores of all descriptions, either originally
belonging to them, or taken from the enemy; and a very formidable force
they soon proved themselves to be.
About a month later news came to the band that Antonio Maceo, having
evaded the Spanish army in the province of Pinar del Rio, and got on the
other side of Weyler's _trocha_, had been killed in a skirmish not far
from Havana, which city he had proposed to threaten, with the object of
causing the withdrawal of the Spanish troops from the western end of the
island. This news, which proved to be true, was a very heavy blow to
the revolutionaries, who regarded Antonio as far and away their most
capable and energetic leader; and soon afterward they sustained a
further very serious loss, in the person of Rius Rivera, who had arrived
in Pinar del Rio to take the place of Maceo, but who, in the month of
March, 1897, was wounded in a skirmish near San Cristobal, being
afterwards captured and deported. Nor was this all; for about the same
time Layas, another very prominent and effective revolutionary leader,
was killed in a fight in the province of Havana. Yet, serious as those
misfortunes were deemed to be, they did not discourage the
revolutionaries; on the contrary, they but spurred the latter to more
strenuous efforts, and the brief, and often fragmentary, items of
intelligence which filtered through to them from time to time concerning
the incessant harrying of the Spaniards by Don Hermoso and his active
band of guerrillas were cheering as cordial to them, stimulating them to
emulative feats of daring and enterprise which rapidly reduced Weyler to
the very verge of despair.
Meanwhile the course of events in Cuba was being very keenly watched in
the United States, and was steadily increasing the already dangerous
tension which had been gradually growing between that country and Spain;
and this was further increased by the occurrence of the Rius incident.
Rius, it may be mentioned, was a Cuban, who, like many other natives of
the same island, had resided in the United States, and had deemed it
good policy to secure naturalisation papers as an American, after which
he had returned to Cuba. The Spanish authorities--who may or may not
have had good reason--suspected Rius of being a dangerous person, and
arrested him; whereupon the United States Consul, ever watchful of the
rights of American citizens, promptly demanded that the man should be
immediately brought to trial, and released if no offence could be proved
against him. The machinery of diplomacy is sometimes apt to move a
trifle slowly, and ere it had moved far enough to bring about the
satisfaction of the Consul's demands it was stated that Rius had died
suddenly in prison. This put General Fitzhugh Lee upon his mettle: he
very strongly suspected that there was more in this man's death than met
the eye, and he insisted upon having the body medically examined, with
the result that Rius was found to have been killed by a blow on the back
of the head; while, scratched by a nail on the back of a chair in his
cell, was found a statement to the effect that he was certain the prison
authorities were fully determined to murder him. These ugly facts the
United States Consul promptly reported to Washington, with the result
that the American President immediately ordered him to demand a full
investigation of all the circumstances, promising to back him up in his
demand with all necessary support. As a result of this, the Spanish
authorities, after interposing every possible obstacle in the way,
appointed a commission of enquiry; but, as no clear proof was adduced
that Rius had actually been deliberately murdered, the incident was
permitted to close. There is little doubt, however, that this was the
last drop in the cup, and that from that moment the United States
practically determined to intervene upon the first legitimate
opportunity, unless, indeed, Spain could be persuaded to grant to Cuba
something in the nature of a very liberal measure of self-government.
To secure this the United States Government approached Madrid with
certain proposals; and this action, combined with a change in the
Spanish Ministry, resulted in the recall of General Weyler, and the
appointment of General Blanco as Capitan-General in his stead.
General Blanco arrived in Cuba in the month of November, 1897, charged
with the task of pacifying the Cubans by a policy of conciliation,
instead of the policy of coercion so vigorously and mercilessly pursued
by his predecessor. But conciliation as a policy was adopted by Spain
altogether too late to save Cuba to her. Had it been tried two years
earlier, and pursued in good faith, it is more than likely that the
Cubans, as a whole, would have gladly welcomed it, and that the
revolution would have subsided and died out for want of support and
encouragement: but now the island bore everywhere the marks of Weyler's
destroying hand; its once flourishing industries were gone; its
inhabitants were ruined, and those of them who had been concentrated in
the fortified towns were dying by thousands, perishing of starvation as
the result of gross, culpable mismanagement, if not callous
indifference; and the Cubans were firmly resolved never again to submit
to a Government capable of such shocking abuses. Their experience of
the last two years had convinced them that they had now but to persevere
and they could compel Spain to evacuate the island in the course of
another year at the utmost; while now, so incensed was the United States
with Spain that its intervention might come at any moment. They
therefore received General Blanco's conciliatory advances coldly, and,
so far from surrendering or laying down their arms, pursued their
operations with even intensified energy. Meanwhile, on January 1, 1898,
the new Constitution, which was one of Spain's conciliatory measures,
was proclaimed as in force, and a Colonial Government was appointed,
with Senor Galvin as its nominal leader; but it possessed very little
power, since so long as Spain persisted in retaining its hold on Cuba,
and the revolution continued, the question of governing the island was
necessarily a military one. Then, to add still further to the
difficulties of Spain, and to bring the tension between her and the
United States to practically breaking-point, came the "Dupuy de Lome"
and the "Lee" incidents. The first of these arose out of a letter
written by Senor Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish Minister at Washington, to
his friend Senor Canalejas, who was then in Cuba on a visit. In this
letter Senor Dupuy de Lome was imprudent enough to express, in very
emphatic language, his doubts as to the good faith of the United States
in the attitude which it had taken up on the Cuban question; and, not
satisfied with this signal act of imprudence, the writer must needs
indulge in certain very insulting remarks respecting President McKinley.
This letter was stolen from Senor Canalejas in Havana, and sold to a
New York newspaper, which promptly published it, with the natural result
that de Lome was compelled to resign his post. The second, or "Lee",
incident was a sequel to the first, and was doubtless prompted by a
desire for revenge. It was nothing less than a request by Spain that
General Lee should be recalled from his position as Consul-General for
the United States at Havana, upon the ground that he was a _persona non
grata_ to the Spanish authorities there. Needless to say, the request
was not complied with. And then, finally, came the _Maine_ incident.
This last had its origin in certain serious military riots which
occurred in Havana on the 12th and 13th of January, 1898, due to the
opposition of the Spaniards, military and civil, to General Blanco in
his character as pacificator; the pacification of the island otherwise
than by military operations being very unpopular with the resident
Spaniards, and especially with the army. In consequence of these riots,
and in view of the danger to American citizens arising out of the
disorderly state generally of the city, the battleship _Maine_ was sent
to Havana by the United States Government.
She arrived in Havana harbour at eleven o'clock in the forenoon of
January 25, 1898, and was duly saluted by the forts and the Spanish
ships of war, whose salutes she as duly returned; after which, under the
direction of the port authorities, she was moored in the man-o'-war
anchorage. Nothing that could, even by the most hypersensitive, be
construed into an act of discourteous behaviour was shown to either the
officers or men of the ship; on the contrary, the Spaniards, no doubt
shrewdly suspecting that the eye of the United States, quickened by
recent events to a state of preternaturally acute perception, was
suspiciously watching their every action, were at the greatest pains to
exhibit the utmost courtesy, not only official but also non-official, to
their visitors, to whom the officials and residents alike extended the
most generous hospitality, in return for which several receptions were
held on board the ship by Captain Sigsbee and his officers.
Now it happened that on February 15th--which fell on a Tuesday--Don
Hermoso Montijo, his son Carlos, and Jack Singleton, completely worn out
by many months of campaigning among the mountains, and several sharp
attacks of fever, having amalgamated their considerably augmented band
with that of another insurgent leader, and turned the command over to
him, succeeded in entering the city of Havana unrecognised, and made
their way on board the _Thetis_--which had then been for some time lying
idle in the harbour--with the intention of recruiting their health by
running across the Atlantic for the purpose of procuring a further
supply of arms and ammunition, which the continual accessions to the
revolutionary ranks caused to be most urgently needed. They were most
enthusiastically welcomed by Milsom, who, having heard nothing from any
of them for more than three months, was beginning very seriously to fear
that, like many others of the revolutionaries, they had been "wiped out"
in one or another of the countless skirmishes that were constantly
occurring with the Spanish troops. He was delighted to learn that they
were all to make a run across the Atlantic and back together; and within
an hour of their arrival on board set to work upon the necessary
preparations for the trip, which, however, he explained, it would be
scarcely possible to complete under a couple of days, in the then
disordered state of the city, with its attendant disorganised business
conditions.
But, great as Milsom's pleasure at their appearance undoubtedly was,
Singleton soon became aware of a certain subtle constraint and
uneasiness in his friend's manner toward him; and as soon as he had
satisfied himself that it really existed, and was not the result of his
own imagination, he taxed his friend with it.
"Look here, Phil," he said, "there is something wrong somewhere; I can
see it by your manner. What is it? Out with it, man! You will have to
tell us sooner or later, you know, so you may as well let us know what
it is at once. Have you got into collision with the authorities, or
roused their suspicions in any way, or what is it? We may as well know
first as last, old man; so get it off your mind!"
"So you have noticed it, have you?" responded Milsom, rather grimly.
"Well, you have guessed rightly, Jack; there is something very seriously
wrong, though not in the directions which you have suggested. Of course
the authorities have their suspicions--and very strong ones, too, I
don't doubt--about this vessel; they would be fools if they had not,
seeing the length of time that she has been hanging about in these
waters. But whatever their suspicions may be, they cannot possess an
atom of proof, or they would have seized the craft before now, and
clapped all hands of us into prison. No, it is not that, but--Jack--I
don't know what you will say, or what you will think of me--I give you
my word of honour that it was not through any carelessness on my part--
but--well, the fact of the matter is that--your submarine has been
stolen!"
"The submarine stolen!" echoed Jack. "Nonsense, man; you surely cannot
mean it!"
"By Jove, I do, then, and that is a fact!" answered Milsom. "Just
exactly when she went, or how she went, I know no more than you do; but
we missed her a fortnight ago. As you know, it has been our custom to
keep about a foot of water in the boat which concealed the submarine, to
keep her bottom tight; and, as you may also remember, that water was
changed once a week--namely, every Saturday morning. Well, a fortnight
ago last Saturday, when the canvas cover was taken off the boat in order
to change the water in her, she was found to be empty; the submarine was
gone! Who took her, or by what means it became possible to steal her
without a single soul being a penny the wiser, I cannot tell you, and I
do not believe we shall ever know; for, of course, when I came to
question the crew, there was not a man who was not willing to swear that
he had never closed his eyes for an instant while keeping an anchor
watch, though, of course, something of the kind must have happened. I
suspect the custom-house officers that the authorities have insisted on
keeping aboard us all the time that we have been in harbour; but of
course I have not said a word to them about it. I have, however,
watched them continually, and by their smug looks of satisfaction I am
inclined to believe that they know something about it. And ever since
then I have been on the prowl everywhere to see if I could find any
trace of the boat, but without success."
"Well, old chap," said Jack, "I am exceedingly sorry to hear this; for
in unscrupulous hands that submarine may work a terrific amount of
mischief, and everything connected with the working of her is so simple
that any ordinarily skilful mechanician could easily puzzle it all out
with a little study. Moreover, if she has fallen into the hands of the
Spaniards--as I suppose she has--they will have no difficulty in
accounting for the mysterious disablement of their ships here on the
occasion of the _James B. Potter_ incident, and it will make them so
watchful that henceforth we shall be able to do absolutely nothing. But
I do not blame you, Phil: you could not be expected to know that these
fellows had somehow discovered the existence of the boat; nor could you
be expected to watch her night and day. Her loss is a very serious
misfortune, of course, but I am convinced that it is not through any
carelessness of yours that it happened."
"Thanks, Jack, for saying that!" answered Milsom; "I did not quite think
you would blame me for it: but I cannot help blaming myself to a certain
extent; I ought to have been more watchful. Yet how was one to know
that the existence of the boat had been discovered? She was guarded
night and day, in an unobtrusive way, it is true, and in such a fashion
that I believed it quite impossible for anyone to become aware of her
existence. Well, she is gone, and we must manage henceforth as best we
can without her--unless we can discover her whereabouts and recover
possession of her. And now, to change the subject, what do you propose
to do with yourselves this afternoon? The Americans are holding a
reception aboard the _Maine_. I suppose you wouldn't care to go?"
"I think not," said Jack; "it would be rather too risky. I have come
face to face with many Spanish officers during the time that I have been
out with the revolutionaries; and if I were perchance to run up against
one of them on board that ship it might be awkward. No; I think that
the safest plan for Don Hermoso, Carlos, and myself will be to remain
quietly aboard here now, and not attempt to leave the yacht again so
long as she remains in Cuban waters."
And upon this opinion the trio acted, remaining below all the afternoon,
and not venturing on deck at all until after darkness had fallen.
Dinner was over on board the _Thetis_, and the three occupants of the
saloon, with Milsom, had adjourned to the top of the deck-house to smoke
their post-prandial cigars and enjoy the welcome coolness of the night
air. The former were entertaining Milsom by relating to him a few of
their recent adventures while operating against the Spanish troops when,
just as three bells (half-past nine o'clock) was chiming out from the
ships in the harbour, a violent concussion was felt by everybody on
board the yacht, and simultaneously their ears were deafened by the
sound of a terrific explosion. For a space of perhaps two or three
seconds following this a dead silence prevailed, and then from the ships
afloat and the streets and quays ashore there arose a low murmur,
instantly changing to a confused clamour of hurrying feet and shouting
voices, expressive of the utmost panic and dismay, which became a
perfect uproar when, as everybody involuntarily turned toward the spot
from which the explosion had seemed to proceed, it was seen that the
American warship _Maine_ was sinking rapidly by the head, while the
after part of her was enveloped in flames. And as everybody stared in
paralysed horror at the terrible sight, other explosions, though of a
much less violent character, were heard on board her! For a second or
two astonishment and dismay seemed to have robbed everybody of all power
of coherent thought or action; then Milsom started to his feet and
shouted in a voice that rang from end to end of the ship:
"Out boats! Each boat her own crew, and no more; you will want every
inch of room you can spare for those poor fellows who are struggling for
their lives yonder. Hurry, lads, lively now; every second is worth a
man's life, remember, for the harbour swarms with sharks! Ah, here you
are, Macintyre--come along with me! Is there steam enough in the
steamboat's boiler to move her? Good! Then we will try her. I want
two more hands. Will you come, Jack, and Carlos?"
Of course they would; and in little more than a minute from the first
explosion the boats of the _Thetis_ were tearing up the waters of the
harbour in a mad race for the honour of being first in the noble work of
rescue! And as they went they were joined by boats from the other ships
in the harbour, among which were those of the Spanish cruiser _Alphonso
the Twelfth_; as well as a large number which put off from the shore.
As the boats went hither and thither, seeking for survivors--and finding
remarkably few, considering that the complement of the _Maine_ amounted
to three hundred and forty-seven--an officer in one of the Spanish boats
came dashing up, and, with a great show of authority, announced that
Admiral Manterolas' orders were that the rescued Americans were to be
put aboard the _Alphonso the Twelfth_, where the injured would receive
every attention: accordingly, as soon as the boats of the _Thetis_ had
picked up all they could find, they pulled alongside the Spanish
warship, and delivered over their living, and in some cases terribly
mutilated, freight to her officers and crew. Eighty-six men were
rescued, sixty of them being wounded; and of this number the _Thetis's_
boats were responsible for no less than twenty-nine, of whom seventeen
were wounded. When at length, having pulled about for nearly an hour
without finding any more people to pick up, Milsom reluctantly gave the
word for the boats to return to the ship. The wreck, or rather that
portion of her which yet remained above water, was still burning.
It was perhaps rather a peculiar circumstance that, upon the return of
the boats from their mission of rescue, the saloon party aboard the
_Thetis_ should almost immediately separate and retire to their
respective cabins, with nothing more in the way of conversation than a
few curt questions and answers. The fact is that they were powerfully
impressed with the conviction that they had that night witnessed, and
been in an indirect way assisting at, an occurrence that was destined to
exercise an important influence upon the history of two great nations.
It is true that, at the moment, the occurrence presented all the
appearance of a lamentable accident: but everybody was by this time
fully aware of the fact that the trend of events had, for some time
past, been of such a character as to cause America and Spain to regard
each other with the utmost distrust, to which, on the part of Spain, was
added a feeling of aversion not very far removed from hatred at what she
regarded as the high-handed action of the United States in reference to
certain points of dispute between the two countries; and there was
probably not one intelligent person in Havana that night who did not
feel convinced that unless the lamentable occurrence which had just
happened should prove capable of an absolutely satisfactory explanation,
there would certainly be very serious trouble in the immediate future.
As for Jack and Milsom, they were both thinking hard, and it was well on
toward daybreak ere either of them slept. The result of Milsom's
meditations became apparent when, as was the custom, he joined the
saloon party at breakfast next morning. After exchanging with them the
usual salutations he said, as he drew his chair up to the table:
"Well, Don Hermoso, after last night's happening I suppose you will be
disposed to defer your departure until it can be seen what is to come of
it, will you not?"
"Upon my word, Captain, I don't know," answered the Don. "In what way
do you think it likely to exercise an influence upon our projected
errand?"
"Through American intervention--to put the whole thing in a nutshell,"
answered Milsom. "Of course it is altogether too early yet to express
an opinion in public upon the occurrence; but, strictly between
ourselves, and in the privacy of this saloon, I don't mind saying that I
believe the _Maine_ was deliberately destroyed, and that the submarine
which was stolen from this ship was the instrument by which that was
done!"