A Cuban amazon

Front matter

► 5 ^ •

\0 * 7 ^ *

« ^ , t. I a <P fN V ^

Introduction

compiling the following pages, the ^ difficulty has been not so much the lack ^ of material, as its superabundance. At a time when a war filled with cruelties the most infamous and outrages the most horrible is still continuing, it has sometimes been a matter of difficulty to judge aright as to what incidents and personages one may use and yet give no offense.

The characters and incidents herein depicted are taken from the note-book of a war correspondent who had seen and conversed with the principal personages, and from them learned of some of the horrors of Spanish cruelty ; others he witnessed with his own eyes. The statements have all been sworn to, and their truthfulness is not to be doubted.

Captain Harry Earle, war correspondent for the Scripps-McRae League, spent two years

Introduction.

and a half in Cuba, and it was during a visit to the Carcel Nacionale to see the the American, Scott, at that time an inmate, and who had been found “ not guilty,” but who nevertheless was not released, that he first learned of the young girl, Evangeline Cisneros, then as now confined in the Carcel Real des Rinardios.

Her story was so full of wrongs, crying out to the brave of all nations for sympathy and help, that it made an impression upon the Captain, who, in connection with other correspondents, succeeded in bringing her a little aid, and in bettering her condition somewhat.

Judge Cassuso, her kinsman, was sentenced to Fernando Po, as herein described, for refusing to pronounce sentence of death — first, upon Scott, the American, two Cubans, and lastly upon Evangeline and her father. He is now serving a twenty-year sentence at hard labor, and in chains, in the cane fields of Fernando Po. The father of Evangeline perished for the reasons and in the manner given in the following pages.

The horrors that are daily and hourly taking

Introduction, place in the wretched island are, in the words of Captain Earle, “ Impossible to be described ! One dare not write or tell the half of them ! No language on earth has words wherewith to picture them ! ” To do them justice, one must command the murderous, demoniacal, infernal maledictions of hell !

See the case of Dr. Leon Sanchez, who, when arrested, told the officer again and again that he was ‘ ‘ an American citizen ; ’ ’ the reply he received was, “You’re just the kind we are looking for.” And despite his protests and prayers that he might see his loved ones and say farewell, he was shot without even the semblance of a trial. His family were then sent to bury him, and told to “cover that vermin quickly, or you’ll be served likewise.” While the sorrowing little band were performing their melancholy duty, the Spaniards burned their home.

The guerrilla work is far worse than that of which the most cruel North American Indian ever dreamed. Commandante Guirretta was a butcher by trade ; one who had been imlO

Introduction, prisoned for robbery. He was released by the Spanish Government and given command of two hundred guerrillas, and he has carried his former trade into his present calling. He boasted, on the veranda of the Hotel Ricado, that he had during one week, destroyed “ t'wo hundred and twenty -eight Pacificos, mostly women and children! ’ ’ He laughingly told also where fifty or more of the bodies could be seen still lying in the ditches. The place was visited and his statements verified. And yet we call this an enlightened and civilized age !

The people of Cuba are suffering and starving; their fields have been laid waste, and their homes destroyed. It is no uncommon sight to see the father of a family tied to a tree, cross-marked over the abdomen by the cruel machete, his wife and children murdered, his little home in flames, while in the distance the guerrilla band moves onward in its work of death and rapine. Every home, every hut, from Havana to Pinar del Rio, has been razed to the ground or burned. The ditches as well as the fields, the wells, and

Introduction.

II the roadways are filled with the unburied dead. Cuba is one vast charnel-house ; and she stretches out her hands to us, and implores our pity and our help in this her hour of direst need ; and shall the descendants of that gallant little band of patriots who fought so desperately to shake of the tyrant hand of a stronger nation, shall we refuse or withhold our assistance when a sister nation pleads to us? Forbid it. Almighty God!

There may be those who will cavil at the fact that certain incidents are given in such plain language. To those I would say that the book was not written for babes and sucklings, but for thinking men and women, and that I have not exaggerated a single incident. In an hour like this we must either tell the truth when we speak, or keep silence. To those who fear to read these truths I would respectfully advise some other book than “A Cuban Amazon.”

My one regret throughout the writing of the book has been that I am neither a Bulwer nor a Hugo, that “I might put a tongue into

Introduction.

every wound” of Cuba’s “that should move the very stones to rise and mutiny.”

But if I shall have succeeded in rousing in the breasts of my countrymen pity for the forlorn condition of those brave men who are fighting for home, family, wife and children, their native land, and the right to call it ^ theirs — if, as I say, I shall have roused in the heart of but one man a sufficient love of justice and hatred of tyranny to nerve him to ‘ ‘ arm for the cause that is just,” then a great and a noble work shall have been accomplished, I shall feel myself amply repaid, and “A Cuban Amazon” shall not have been written in vain.

V. L. D.

Cincinnati, Ohio,

September ist, 1897.

}\ €ubdn Jltna^on

Chapter I

“ * * * Little else than a picture of human crimes and misfortunes.” — Voltaire.

“Where’s the coward that would not dare to fight for such a land.” — Scott.

S OUTH of Cuba, and separated from the mainland by a stretch of sea some fifteen miles in width, that ever lashes itself into anger, and by its very restless, never-ending swish and wash seems to urge the inhabitants on to opposition against Spanish tyranny, lies the once far-famed pirate Isle of Pines. It belongs to the province of Havana, and is now a Spanish penal settlement which, in the summer time — or during the “rainy season” — becomes a veritable hot-bed of disease, when the unfortunate Cubans imprisoned there die by hundreds.

At the outbreak of the Cuban war this Isle was one of the fairest of all the Cuban provinces, with its thriving little town of Nueva

(» 3 )

H

A Cuban Amazon.

Gerona lying like a gem upon its fair breast. Only a short distance away lay the Esperanza plantation, with the white- walled hadenda gleaming dazzlingly in the bright sunlight, or, when the soft radiance of the moon bathes everything in molten silver, shining ghostly white from out the deep shadows about its feet.

Dotted all about lay the cabins of the servants, The owner of Esperanza, Francisco Vincente Cisneros, is a brother of the President of the Cuban Republic, and a true patriot, although he is prevented by lameness and a life-long infirmity from active participation in the struggle for his country’s freedom.

Despite his well-known Cuban sympathies, Cisneros had apparently no better friend than Colonel Juan Berrez, the haughty young Spanish governor of the island, whose troops were quartered at Nueva Gerona.

One evening, in the early autumn of 1895, Evangeline, the daughter of Cisneros, wandered idly among her flowers, herself the fairest, or threw herself restlessly down upon some seat beneath a lofty palm to rest for a moment, only to rise again and begin her walk.

She was but sixteen, but the tropical sun of her fair isle had kissed her into the full splendor of womanhood. Her masses of heavy, inky black hair were wound round her small, well-set head, the soft waves drawn down over the tiny ears until only the rosy tips could be seen. The long lashes dropped over eyes wherein slept the unawakened passions, both good and bad, of a woman of no ordinary type. Evangeline was arrayed in a snowy white muslin, and a frilled kerchief of the same was crossed over her white bosom and secured there by a tiny brooch of pearls.

It was one of those nights which are so beautiful and so alluring in the tropics, while yet the light mist which hangs over all makes them so dangerous to human life. Through the leafy tree tops, the moonlight, falling upon the marble- white walls of the hacienda, formed a weird fretwork of lights and shadows.

As the girl turned, for the twentieth time, she heard a footstep, and Berrez crossed the gravelled walk, his heavy spurs clanking as he came, and Evangeline looked up with a ' certain eager anticipation, which passed away when she became aware of her visitor’s identity.

“These young military men walk so much i6 A Cuban Amazon.

alike,” she thought, and there was a heightened glow upon her cheeks which Berrez altogether misinterpreted.

“ I am fortunate in finding you alone, Senorita,” he said, after the usual salutations, formal on the one side, and on the other complimentary — the compliments which a beautiful woman wins so readily from the men of his race — had passed.

“My father will be with us very soon, I hope,” she said, as she stooped to gather a gorgeous musk rose.

“Two’s company, three’s none,” he ventured.

Evangeline’s tongue was sharp at times. “ So my father and I find,” she said.

Berrez’s eyes looked angry, but still he smiled. “ Your wit is as keen as ever, Senorita! It has often wounded my heart.”

“Then, indeed, ’tis keener than I could have believed, Senor Berrez.”

“ Meaning that my heart is hard, Senorita? Ah, well, perhaps that is true of it when I go into the world, for it is a hard world, and I am a soldier and must not wear my heart upon my sleeve that daws may peck it; but ’tis tender enough when I meet you, believe me, Senorita.”

A Cuban Amazon.

“ Ah! ” said Evangeline, indifferently, and moved from him with languid grace, as if desirous of plucking flowers that grew farther away. He followed, growing hot and cold at her disdain, but displaying a self-control which his comrades would not have given him credit for possessing.

“ Why should you take pleasure in wounding me, Senorita, when you alone, of all the world, can create paradise for me with a smile? What is life, if our heart takes no pity on another? Take pity upon mine, Senorita.”

He seized her hand and showered hot kisses upon it. Not far away the soft tinkle of the fountain was clear and sharp in the intense stillness. A night thrush sang from out the dark shadows of the garden, and the musky odors of the cyclamen came floating round them in that strange cloudy way in which flower scents come and go in the air, in the night season.

Evangeline released her hand, and dipping it in the fountain bathed it, and then carefully dried it with her handkerchief. She said no word, but the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her rising anger at his persistence. It became evident to Berrez that his wooing was not prospering, and that he was but wasting time ; so he came to the point at once.

“ I love you, Senorita! I think of no one but you. Will you take pity upon my misery and loneliness? Will you be my wife, Senorita? ”

She stood with her back to him, and made no sign that she had heard. After a moment he continued : “ Have pity upon me, Senorita. I love you ! I adore you ! Have some mercy upon that love ! Evangeline, tell me, will you be my wife ? ”

“ No! ” It was said very quietly, very unconcernedly, as though it were a matter in which she had little interest one way or the other ; but the tone carried conviction to the listener. Nothing could have been more effective, more crushing than that single monosyllable, coming as it did at the end of the Colonel’s flowery rhapsody. It stung Berrez to fury, and he sprang from the kneeling posture he had so gracefully assumed but a moment before, and grasped the girl’s arm with almost brutal force, saying :

“I say that you shall marry me!”

Shall — to me, sir!” she said angrily, her eyes flaming, her red lips set in a curve of contempt.

A Cuban Amazon.

Berrez saw that he had gone too far. “Forgive me,” he pleaded, releasing her arm. “I am mad with love of you! Evangeline, I can not be happy without you for my wife. Will you come?”

“No, Colonel Berrez ; your pleading is useless.”

“Tell me, then,” he went on hoarsely, “is there another who holds the place in your heart I fain would fill?”

Night’s shadows hid from the Spaniard the rich color that mounted from throat to brow at these words. Instantly there came before her the picture of her Cuban lover and cousin, Carlos Perez ; and she would have answered, “Yes,” proudly and lovingly, but she feared to draw down upon the beloved head the hatred of the passionate Spaniard. All this passed with lightning-like rapidity through her mind during the moment of hesitation ; then she answered calmly and quietly ; “No, Senor.”

“Then, Evangeline,” he went on, “you have refused my prayer because you do not yet know your own heart and mind. Is it not true? ”

What should she answer? She clasped and unclasped her fingers nervously.

A Cuban Amazon.

“You do not love me no'w^'‘^ he pleaded; “ neither do you love any one else, you say; and yet your age is that when girls of Cuba must love some one. Evangeline, dear heart, let that some one be Juan Berrez ! ”

“No, no! Leave me, I beg of you,” she said. “ I love only my father.”

“I will teach you to love me! The force of my love must compel a return,” he pleaded. “Are you quite sure there is no other reason why you say ‘ no ’ to my suit ? Tell me frankly.”

The girl hesitated ; then she said, her voice low, but clear and distinct, cleaving the night air sharply: “Colonel Berrez, there is another reason, and it is this : Never will Evangeline Cisneros wed one who wears the garb of a Spanish soldier! ”

“What matters it, if we love, whether I am of Spain or of Cuba.? It is not Spain I ask you to wed ; it is myself. ’ ’

“Spare yourself, and me, I beg. I can never, never do what you ask. Leave me, sir, I beg of you ! ”

Angered beyond control at her cool, persistent refusal, he stepped towards her with clinched hands and hissed: “ Senorita, you say me ‘ nay ’ now, but methinks you will

A Cuban Amazon.

take back your harsh words, to save your father from the tortures which I can and will inflict upon him as a Cuban rebel ! ’ ’

Paler than the moonlight did she grow, yet she calmly faced the man who threatened her. Then she said slowly, as though the words were choking her: “You dare not! You dare not touch a cripple, who has done no wrong.”

He laughed harshly. ‘ ‘ What ! ” he cried. “What! I, a Spaniard, dare not, Senorita? You forget. Is there anything that could be done to a Cuban, for which Spain would not applaud me? More especially when that Cuban is a Cisneros! ”

Her head dropped upon her breast. Berrez spoke truth, as she knew full well. What should she do ? Death were a thousand times more to be desired than the clasp of his arms, or his hot breath on her cheek. Bah ! She could not ! Every fiber of her being rebelled and shrank with loathing.

“ Evangeline, listen to me, dearest ! I love, I adore you ! Be my worshiped wife ! I can not live without you ! ”

“ Not in such a fine mode as you might wish, sir,” she returned, with stately ceremony; ‘ ‘ but I have no doubt that you will contrive to live in passable comfort, nevertheless ; and I wish to assure you that I shall live in most excellent comfort without you.”

Berrez could contain himself no longer ; his fine manners, which were but a surface polish after all, went to the winds. “You vixen ! ” he cried, with an oath.

Evangeline turned toward him, her eyes full upon his. “You coward! It is well for you that my cousin is not here,” she said haughtily.

“Your cousin! Aha, that is it, is it, my lady? So you’ve been brought up to be his wife, eh? Bah! ’Tis a plan well contrived to keep these broad acres in the family.”

“ Silence, sir! ” And her tone was such as she might have used to a disobedient dog. “You are a craven cur, to speak as you have spoken. You would not dare so far in my cousin’s presence.”

“Would I not, Senorita? Would I not? Show me the man that Berrez dare not speak his mind to ! I swear that all this contrivance shall go for naught! You 'will not marry me, Senorita ; but I say you shall not marry young Perez. On that I’ll wager every centime of my fortune.”

“ Better to wager the mortgages, Senor! ”

A Cuban Amazon.

‘ ‘ By God ! you need have both beauty and estate to balance that cursed tongue!” he cried out in fury. “Mark you, Senorita, what I have said, and remember it on that day which is coming, when you will wish that your tongue had been cut out rather than given such freedom with me.”

He had recovered himself a little as he spoke, and he bowed to her and walked away with somewhat of his usual insolent grace.

When she was once more alone, the pride that had upheld her was flung aside and the tears dropped over the white cold cheeks, and the long, slender hands locked and unlocked themselves in her anguish, while the pale lips whispered :

“ Merciful Father! have pity upon me and mine, and upon all Thy suffering children! Alas, my God ! our sufferings are great and scarcely to be borne. Do with me what Thou seest fit, but spare me my father! I implore Thee, by Thy Divine pity, spare him! ”

A Cuban Amazon.

CHAPTER 11.

The days oi peace and slumberous calm are fled.”

— Keats.

Acting on her first impulse, Evangeline sought her father that she might inform him. of the scene that had just taken place between Berrez and herself, and repeat to him the threats uttered by the Governor in his momentary passionate anger.

Entering the library, she was amazed to find him in the company of a stranger, with an open letter on the table in front of him, which he perused with a sorely troubled countenance. She checked her hasty steps within the doorway, and would have retired in silence but her father caught sight of his fondly-loved child and said :

“Evangeline, this gentleman,” indicating the stranger with his hand, “is Lieutenant Alvarez ; he brings this dispatch from General Gomez, advising me to join your uncle at Cubitas immediately; here it is, read.”

Taking the dispatch from her father, Evangeline read the following :

A Cuban Amazon.

Patriots’ Camp, San Juan de Yara, Province Santa Clara, Isle de Cuba.

To His Excellency Don Vincente Cisneros y Beta ucourt — Greeti ng :

I have received information which has disturbed me greatly, to the effect that your arrest and the confiscation of your property will occur very shortly. I therefore send this by special courier, and urge you to take steps to join us, with all the arms and ammunition you can possibly procure. A strong escort will meet you at the Point de Malahambra. You can trust the bearer, Lieutenant Alvarez, in everything. After your arrival here', I will forward yourself and daughter to Cubitas with a suitable escort. Lose no time. Act immediately on receiving this.

I am. Signor,

Your sincere friend,

Maximo Gomez,

General-in-Chief.

As she finished reading, Evangeline looked her father steadily in the eye. Her face was pale and set, and her features seemed as if chiseled from marble. “Father,” she said, and her voice was husky, though she spoke firmly, “it is quite true that we are not safe here and she rapidly rehearsed the scene between Berrez and herself. As she spoke, the look of anxiety deepened on the older man’s countenance, and the shadows about the still keen dark eyes grew heavier.

For some time there was silence, broken only by the ticking of the tall clock at the end of the room. Alvarez and the girl waited for Cisneros to speak, while they watched the different expressions chase each other over his fine face. At length, rising from his chair, he said gravely :

“You are right. I can plainly see the meaning of Berrez’s threats, and I see no alternative but flight.” Then taking his daughter’s face between his hands, he kissed her fondly, and continued: “Leave me, Mia Cara. To-night, I must think ; to-morrow, I will decide.”

The unhappy girl tossed through the long night, unable either to sleep or rest. At length, while yet the east was but slightly streaked with coming dawn, she rose, and calling her maid, Therasita, robed herself in a light morning gown ; and after partaking of the customary cup of coffee — without which the Cuban, either man or woman, fancies him or herself unable to properly begin the day — Evangeline went to the library for a book with which she might distract her thoughts from the unpleasant as well as perilous occurrences of the previous evening.

In one corner of the wide, vine-shaded ver-

A Cuban Amazon.

anda swung Evangeline’s hammock, piled with dainty cushions and everything to invite rest and comfort. In vain did she strive to read ; she could not fix her wandering attention upon the book, try as she would ; the anxiety which had driven sleep from her eyelids through the night would not be so easily put aside.

For more than an hour she lay with the book in her hand and her eyes fixed on space. Not a page did she turn, and the troubled look in the beautiful dark eyes grew deeper and deeper, as she lay there unheeding what was passing around her. Presently she lifted her head and listened as the sharp clatter of a horse’s hoofs sounded closer and closer, coming up the avenue, and in a moment her lover, Carlos Perez, ran lightly up the veranda steps and caught her to his heart.

“ Mia Cara.,'' he murmured, caressingly, as he pressed his lips to her perfumed hair and gazed down into the eyes turned so lovingly up to his own, “ tell me what causes this look of trouble?”

“Ah, my Carlos,” she replied, the tears gathering in the soft eyes, “ I am sad at heart. I know not what is best to do. I fear the days of our happiness are over.”

A Cuban Amazon.

“ And wherefore, dearest? ”

In reply she related to him all that had transpired ; the proposal and threat of Berrez, and the arrival of Alvarez with the dispatch from General Gomez, and she continued :

“ Carlos, I mistrust this Lieutenant Alvarez.

I can not tell you why, but I do. It is the unfailing intuition of a woman that leads me to ^ suspect him.”

“ Nay, dear one, your fears are groundless. The trusted agent of Gomez would never prove faithless.”

“Perhaps you are right, perhaps you are right,” she murmured, “ I hope you are ; but, Carlos, what are we to do? We can not remain here.”

“Mia Cara, we must await your father’s decision ; but be assured that wherever you go, I shall be there to protect you as long as there is life in my body! ”

At this moment Alvarez stepped through an open window upon the veranda. Lifting his sombrero with easy grace, he greeted Evangeline with the customary Cuban salutation of Buenas dtas, Senorita.'^'

A hasty glance passed between the lovers, and Evangeline whispered: “He has been listening;” but she bowed to Alvarez and replied to his greeting in his own words — '‘^Buenas dias^ Senor,^' and added: ‘‘Permit me to introduce to you my very good friend and cousin, Don Carlos Perez ; Senor Lieutenant Alvarez, of the Patriot Army of Cuba Libre.''"'

Both gentlemen bowed, and Perez remarked : “ I am honored in meeting an officer of our brave army, Senor, and I am at your service to command when you require anything.”

In reply Alvarez said : “I accept the Senor’s kind offer, and trust that we shall be friends. Senorita,” he continued, turning to Evangeline, “ do you know where I may find your father? ”

“No, Senor, I do not, unless he is somewhere down the plantation.”

“ Thank you ; then I will try to find him. Adios^ Senor. I trust we shall meet again,” and Alvarez bowed and departed.

Perez watched him out of sight, and then turning to Evangeline and drawing the lovely girl to him he cried : “I feel that you are right, my dearest. The expression in that man’s eyes makes me mistrust him. Yes, I feel sure that he is not to be relied upon ; the dangers that encompass us are greater than I imagined. I must see your father as soon as possible and make arrangements with him for your safety. I must leave you now, dear love, but I will return again this evening after dinner. Will you in the meantime say to your dear and honored father that, come what will, I am his to command. Adios, my own, my sweet ; keep a brave heart until I return.”

He kissed her again and again on brow and cheek, on eyes and lips, on white throat and whiter shoulder, ever returning to the sweet mouth as though consumed with a burning thirst that only her dewy lips could quench !

At length he disengaged those clinging arms, and hastening down the veranda steps, mounted and rode away. Evangeline stood watching until the tall palm trees hid him from sight ; then the overwrought girl returned to her hammock, where, worn out and exhausted, she burst into tears and sobbed unrestrainedly. Gradually the sobs grew less and less frequent, and less and less violent, as slowly the long lashes drooped over the tear-bathed eyes, and sorrow and anxiety flew away together, and the god of sleep took poor Evangeline into his arms and bore her to the beautiful land of dreams.

How long she slept she knew not, but she was rudely awakened by having a burning

A Cudan Amazon, 31

kiss pressed upon her lips ; and she opened her eyes only to find the bold black ones of Juan Berrez gazing down into her own, filled with a language that sickened her very soul and made her heart stop beating with fear and terror.

She started to her feet, crying out :

‘ ‘ Senor Berrez ! How dare you thus insult me!”

“ Insult you! ” laughed Berrez. “Is it an insult for one of Spain’s proudest sons to love a Cuban? Senorita, I have come to once more implore you to be my wife. Once more, and for the last time : Will yoii be my wife? ”

The haughty beauty of the night before was gone, and the loving daughter and faithful betrothed had taken her place. Distracted with fears for those she loved, anxious to postpone as long as she might the evil that she instinctively felt would destroy them, she said mournfully, while her eyes filled with hot tear-drops :

“ Senor Berrez, why persist thus? Why will you not spare yourself, and spare me? Have I not explained to you that I can not marry a soldier of Spain? It is impossible — utterly impossible ! And you only cause both

A Cuban Amazon.

of us pain, in forcing me thus to reiterate my refusal.”

Berrez gazed at the girl for a few moments, his lips white and twitching, his eyes fierce and dark. At length he said hoarsely : “ Listen to me, Evangeline ! If you will not break your vow and marry me, then come to me without ; be mine, and I swear to treasure you so long as life shall last ! Only come to me, my dearest. Make my happiness complete. I will throw up my position, everything, for your sake ; and we will live together far away from all this turmoil and strife — away from this war and conspiracy — and, happy in our mutual love, forget this unhappy land of Cuba ! ”