A Martyr to the Cause—Filial Devotion—Spanish Chivalry—In aSpanish Prison—An American Rescuer—Yankee Pluck Against BruteForce—The Escape—Arrival in New York—Enthusiastic Reception—AHome in the Land of Liberty.
Spanish officials in Cuba have always denied the charge that they made war on women, and have insisted that the tales of persecution of the weaker sex that have reached this country were inventions of the insurgents, published to gain sympathy for their cause. In direct contradiction to this claim is the story of Evangelina Cisneros, the niece of the president of the Cuban republic. Her father, a Cuban patriot of prominence, was banished to the Isle of Pines, and she showed her filial devotion by leaving a luxurious home to share his exile. While there, her beauty attracted the attention of a Spanish General, who tried by every means in his power to gain her favor. It was natural that she should despise anyone who wore the hated uniform of Spain, and, because she rejected his advances, she was charged with conspiring against the government, and sent to a jail in Havana.
Her unhappy fate attracted the attention of Mr. W. R. Hearst, the proprietor of the New York Journal, and he, actuated no doubt by philanthropic motives, as well as the desire to advance the interests of his paper, determined to make an effort for her release.
How this was accomplished is best told by Mr. Karl Decker, who wasMr. Hearst's representative in carrying out the plot.
"I have broken the bars of prison and have set free the beautiful captive of Monster Weyler, restoring her to her friends and relatives, and doing by strength, skill and strategy what could not be accomplished by petition and urgent request of the Pope. Weyler could blind the Queen to the real character of Evangelina, but he could not build a jail that would hold against enterprise when properly set to work.
"To-night all Havana rings with the story. It is the one topic of conversation. Everything else pales into insignificance. No one remembers that there has been a change in the Ministry. What matters it if Weyler is to go? Evangelina Cisneros has escaped from the jail, thought by everyone to be impregnable. A plot has been hatched right in the heart of Havana—a desperate plot—as shown by the revolver found on the roof of the house through which the escape was effected, and as the result of this plot, put into effect under the very nose of Spanish guards, Evangelina is free. How was it done? How could it have been done?
"These are the questions asked to-night by the frequenters of the cafes throughout the city, where the people of Havana congregate. It is conceded by all, by the officials of the palace included, to be the most daring coup in the history of the war, and the audacity of the deed is paralyzing. No one knows where Evangelina is now, nor can know.
"To tell the story of the escape briefly, I came here three weeks ago, having been told to go to Cuba and rescue from her prison Miss Cisneros, a tenderly-reared girl, descended from one of the best families in the island, and herself a martyr to the unsatisfied desires of a beast in Spanish uniform. I arrived at Cienfuegos late in September, telegraphed to a known and tried man in Santiago de Cuba to meet me in Havana, and then went to Santa Clara, where I picked up a second man, known to be as gritty as Sahara, and then proceeded to Havana.
"Here I remained in almost absolute concealment, so as to avoid the spies that dog one's steps wherever one may go, and make impossible any clever work of this kind. Both the men who accompanied me, Joseph Hernandon and Harrison Mallory, pursued the same course, and remained quiet until all plans had been completed.
"The fact that Miss Cisneros was incommunicado made the attempt seem at first beyond the possibility of success, but we finally, through Hernandon, who was born on the island, and speaks Spanish like a native, succeeded in sending a note to her through an old negress, who called upon one of her friends in the prison. A keeper got this note through two hands to Miss Cisneros, and three keepers later got to her a package of drugged sweets. Having established communication with her, we began work without losing a day."
Mr. Decker then tells hew he rented a house adjoining the prison, and instructed Miss Cisneros to give the drugged candies to the other women who were in the prison with her. As soon as the drug produced the desired effect on them, the bars of the prison were cut from the outside, and Miss Cisneros was assisted through the window, onto the roof of the house Mr. Decker had rented, kept in concealment for two days, and then smuggled on board a ship, bound for the land of liberty.
Her arrival in New York is thus described:
"Evangeline Cisneros, one week ago a prisoner among the outcast wretches in a Havana prison, is a guest at the Waldorf hotel. Surrounded by luxury and elegance, she is alternately laughing and crying over the events of one short week. One week ago last night a correspondent broke the bars of her cell and led her to liberty over the flat roofs of the Cuban capital. It is the memory of those thrilling few minutes that meant for her a lifetime of captivity or a future of peace and liberty that most often occurs to her now.
"She arrived to-day on the Ward liner, Seneca, and was taken from the steamer by a boat at quarantine, thanks to the courtesy of the Government and the quarantine authorities. When the Seneca sailed from Havana there figured on the passenger list one Juan Sola. A girl who signed the name of Juana Sola to the declaration, exacted by the Custom House officers, was the nearest passenger to making good the lost one. Her declaration was that she brought nothing dutiable into the country.
"If ever that declaration was truthfully made, it was made in the case of this brown-eyed, chestnut-haired girl, who was so anxious to please the man who made her sign. All she had was the simple red gown she had on her back and a bundle that contained a suit of clothes such as a planter's son might have worn.
"Those were the clothes that Juan Sola wore when he ran up the gang-plank in Havana, with a big slouch hat over the chestnut hair, that even danger of discovery could not tempt her to cut, and a fat cigar between a red, laughing pair of lips that accidentally, maybe, blew a cloud of smoke into the face of the chief of police, who was watching that plank, and made the features of the young man very indistinct indeed.
"There was no reason why the chief of police should scan too closely the young man with the big cigar. Juan Sola's passport had been duly issued by the Spanish government, and as far as the papers showed, there was no reason to suspect him.
"Of course Juan Sola was the girl the correspondent had rescued from prison, and the fame of whose escape was on every tongue in Havana, the girl for whose capture the police had for three days been breaking into houses and guarding the roads, and yet she passed under their noses with no disguise but a boy's suit of clothes.
"Miss Cisneros did not court any more danger than was necessary,and at once went to her cabin. The next day, however, when MorroCastle was left far behind, she appeared on deck, transformed intoSenorita Juana Sola, alias Evangelina Cisneros.
"When the ship sighted Cape Hatteras light the young woman asked what light it was, and when told that it was an American beacon, she knelt down in the saloon and prayed. After that she wept for joy. She must have been all strung up with excitement over her experiences, and when she saw the light she could contain herself no longer, but simply overflowed.
"Nothing could be seen of the Cuban girl as the Seneca slowed opposite quarantine to permit the boarding of the health officer. The other passengers, after the habit of ocean travelers, grouped amidships to scan the vessel of the tyrant, who had it in his power to lock them all up in quarantine. The girl was hidden away in her stateroom, wondering what reception awaited her in the big city whose sky-line broke the horizon ahead.
"The people on board were kind to her from the moment she revealed her identity, but at this moment when she had reached the haven of refuge, to gain which she and her gallant rescuers had risked death itself, she fled from the new-found friends and would not even look out of the door of her stateroom."
Miss Cisneros was given a great reception in Madison Square garden, during her stay in New York, where many noted men and women congratulated her on her happy escape, and welcomed her to "the land of the free, and the home of the brave." Since then she has become the protege of Mrs. John A. Logan, widow of the famous General, and is now a member of her family.
It is suspected that General Weyler connived at the escape of Miss Cisneros, as it is not probable that it could have been accomplished without the knowledge of the prison officials, and as they were not called to account for their negligence, it would seem that they were simply obeying orders in keeping their eyes conveniently closed.
The Military Judge of Havana issued a proclamation commanding Miss Cisneros to return to prison, but it was evident that this was merely a legal formality. There were men in Cuba, occupying high official positions, who could not afford to have the story of the persecutions of which she was a victim, while in voluntary exile with her father in the Isle of Pines, made known, for it would have gained for them the scorn and contempt of the civilized world. Her case had attracted the attention of men and women of prominence, not only in our own country, but in England, France and Germany as well, and it was likely to become an international affair, and Weyler probably decided to escape these complications by allowing her to be "rescued" from her prison cell.
While all the details of the affair go to prove that this supposition is correct, all concerned have guarded the secret well, and it is but just to state that there is no direct proof to support the theory, and both the man who planned and the one who executed deserved all the honors they received.
The Geneva Conference—Miss Barton's Work in the War of the Rebellion—Organization of the American Red Cross—The Work in Cuba—Appeal to the Public—A Floating Hospital—Correspondence with Admiral Sampson—The Spanish Prisoners in Key West, and What the Red Cross Did for Them.
Many attempts have been made to bring about an international agreement for mitigating the horrors and mortality of battle. The first successful movement of this kind was started at the same time that the civil war was raging in the United States. A conference of jurists and others interested in humanitarian work was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1863. They drew up an international compact, which was approved by the Swiss government, and the support and sanction of the French empire were won. It was several years, however, before the articles of agreement were signed by all the civilized nations of the world, and, strange to relate, the United States was the last of the great powers to officially recognize the rights to special protection secured to the bearers of the Red Cross symbol.
In the autumn of 1881 a final effort was made to gain the agreement of the United States to the stipulations of the convention of Geneva, and assurances were given by President Arthur of his willingness to accede. The President and the Senate subsequently formally recognized the association, and the treaty was signed March 16, 1882. Pending this action by the government, a national society was formed and incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia, bearing the name of the American Association of the Red Cross.
By this international treaty the Red Cross society is given peculiar privileges in times of war, and its agents and officers are permitted to carry on their work without hindrance from either of the belligerents, but they are prohibited from having anything, however remote, to do with military or naval operations. They deal exclusively with the means provided to aid the wounded, relieve the suffering, and care for the sick, in all of which the Red Cross agents know neither friend nor foe. In case of a battle the ambulances, surgeons and nurses of the society go upon the field at soon as it is possible for them to do so and carry out the work of mercy that has been undertaken.
The American society has been generous in extending its aid to other countries in times of war, and during the Franco-Prussian hostilities in 1870-71 it sent to Paris from its own funds $120,000, while the French branch expended $2,500,000. Even the Spanish branch contributed to the humanitarian work of that war in the sum of $4,000. In the Turko-Russian, the Tunisian, the Tonquin, the Madagascar, the Greeco-Turkish and several other wars the Red Cross has carried on its work of mercy.
When the war of the Rebellion begun Miss Clara Barton was a clerk in the Patent Office in Washington. She resigned her position to devote herself to the care of wounded soldiers on the field of battle. In 1864 she was appointed by General Butler "lady in charge" of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James. In 1865 she was sent to Andersonville, Georgia, to identify and mark the graves of Union soldiers buried there, and in the same year was placed by President Lincoln in charge of the search for the missing men of the Union army, and while engaged in this work she traced out the fate of 30,000 men. In 1873 she inaugurated a movement to secure recognition of the Red Cross society by the United States government, and finally, during the administration of President Arthur, she saw her labors rewarded. She naturally became President of the American branch of the society, which was founded in 1882, and she still holds that honored office.
After Weyler's infamous order of reconcentration went into effect the Red Cross society was not long in realizing that it had work to do among the suffering people of Cuba. An appeal was made to the public, and an expedition was dispatched to the island, with Miss Barton at its head. In speaking of her work during that reign of terror, Senator Proctor said in the course of his address to the Senate:
"Miss Barton needs no endorsement from me. I have known and esteemed her for many years, but had not half appreciated her capability and her devotion to her work. I especially looked into her business methods, fearing here would be the greatest danger of mistake, that there might be want of system, and waste and extravagance, but I found that she could teach me on all those points. I visited the warehouse where the supplies are received and distributed, saw the methods of checking, visited the hospitals established or organized and supplied by her, saw the food distributed in several cities and towns, and everything seems to me to be conducted in the best possible manner."
When diplomatic relations were broken off between our country and Spain, and the American consuls in Cuba were recalled, it was deemed advisable that the representatives of the Red Cross then in Cuba should come with them. Miss Barton and her assistants returned to New York and immediately commenced the work of preparation to follow our army into Cuba. The following appeal was issued:
The American National Red Cross Relief Corps, acting under the auspices of American National Red Cross, has for its objects the collection of funds for providing medical and surgical attendance, nursing, medical supplies, food, clothing, and such necessary assistance as may be required by the American National Red Cross, upon call of the United States government, in order to unify all endeavors to that end during the present war.
Under the provisions of the Geneva conference, from which every National Red Cross society derives its authority, the American National Red Cross is directed to provide such relief as may be required by all, without recognition of friend or foe, who may suffer from the calamities incidental to war, pestilence or famine.
The Red Cross here, and throughout the civilized world, by a wide and varied experience in recent wars, recognizing by international treaty the sacred obligations of helpfulness for the suffering, wherever found, has so perfected its organization that it becomes the recognized and legitimate channel for contributions from all classes of individuals, and every variety of auxiliary association.
For the purpose of properly systemizing the benevolent impulses of the general public, and of giving proper direction of efficient Red Cross work, the committee solicits the co-operation of individuals and auxiliary associations throughout the country, confident that through such means the various funds and articles collected can most safely and most directly reach their ultimate destination.
The steamer State of Texas was chartered and loaded with food, medicines and hospital supplies, and headquarters were established at Key West.
When Miss Barton joined the State of Texas at Key West on the 29th of April, there seemed to be no immediate prospect of an invasion of Cuba by the United States army, and, consequently, no prospect of an opportunity to relieve the distress of the starving Cuban people. Knowing that such distress must necessarily have been greatly intensified by the blockade, and anxious to do something to mitigate it—or, at least, to show the readiness of the Bed Cross to undertake its mitigation—Miss Barton wrote and sent to Admiral Sampson, Commander of the Naval Forces on the North Atlantic Station, the following letter:
S. S. State of Texas, May 2, 1898.
Admiral W. T. Sampson, U. S. N., Commanding Fleet before Havana:
Admiral—But for the introduction kindly proffered by our mutual acquaintance Captain Harrington, I should scarcely presume to address you. He will have made known to you the subject which I desire to bring to your gracious consideration.
Papers forwarded by direction of our government will have shown the charge intrusted to me; viz., to get food to the starving people of Cuba. I have with me a cargo of 1,400 tons, under the flag of the Red Cross, the one international emblem of neutrality and humanity known to civilization. Spain knows and regards it.
Fourteen months ago the entire Spanish government at Madrid cabled me permission to take and distribute food to the suffering people in Cuba. This official permission was broadly published. If read by our people, no response was made and no action taken until two months ago, when, under the humane and gracious call of our honored President, I did go and distribute food, unmolested anywhere on the island, until arrangements were made by our government for all American citizens to leave Cuba. Persons must now be dying there by hundreds, if not thousands, daily, for want of the food we are shutting out. Will not the world hold us accountable? Will history write us blameless? Will it not be said of us that we completed the scheme of extermination commenced by Weyler?
Fortunately, I know the Spanish authorities in Cuba, Captain-General Blanco and his assistants. We parted with perfect friendliness. They do not regard me as an American merely, but as the National representative of an international treaty to which they themselves are signatory and under which they act. I believe they would receive and confer with me if such a thing were made possible.
I should like to ask Spanish permission and protection to land and distribute food now on the State of Texas. Could I be permitted to ask to see them under a flag of truce? If we make the effort and are refused, the blame rests with them; if we fail to make it, it rests with us. I hold it good statesmanship at least to divide the responsibility. I am told that some days must elapse before our troops can be in position to reach and feed these starving people. Our food and our forces are here, ready to commence at once. With assurances of highest regard, I am, Admiral,
Very respectfully yours,
[Signed] CLARA BARTON.
At the time when the above letter was written, the American RedCross was acting under the advice and direction of the State andNavy Departments, the War Department having no force in the field.
Admiral Sampson replied as follows:
U. S. Flagship New York, First Rate, Key West, Fla., May 2, 1898.
Miss Clara Barton, President American National Red Cross:
1. I have received through the senior naval officer present a copy of a letter from the State Department to the Secretary of the Navy; a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to the Commander-in-Chief of the naval force at this station; and also a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to the commandant of the naval station at Key West.
2. From these communications it appears that the destination of the S. S. State of Texas, loaded with supplies for the starving reconcentrados in Cuba, is left, in a measure, to my judgment.
3. At present I am acting under instructions from the Navy Department to blockade the coast of Cuba for the purpose of preventing, among other things, any food supply from reaching the Spanish forces in Cuba. Under these circumstances it seems to me unwise to let a ship-load of such supplies be sent to the reconcentrados, for, in my opinion, they would be distributed to the Spanish army. Until some point be occupied in Cuba by our forces, from which such distribution can be made to those for whom the supplies are intended, I am unwilling that they should be landed on Cuban soil.
Yours very respectfully,
[Signed] W. T. SAMPSON, Rear-Admiral U. S. N.
Commander-in-Chief U. S. Naval Force, North Atlantic Station.
After this exchange of letters Miss Barton had a conference with Admiral Sampson, in the course of which the latter explained more fully his reasons for declining to allow the State of Texas to enter any Cuban port until such port had been occupied by American troops.
On the 3d of May Miss Barton sent the following telegram toStephen. E. Barton, Chairman of the Central Cuban BeliefCommittee, in New York:
Key West, May 3, 1898.
Stephen E. Barton, Chairman, etc.:
Herewith I transmit copies of letters passed between Admiral Sampson and myself. I think it important that you should present immediately this correspondence personally to the government, as it will place before them the exact situation here. The utmost cordiality exists between Admiral Sampson and myself. The Admiral feels it his duty, as chief of the blockading squadron, to keep food out of Cuba, but recognizes that, from my standpoint, my duty is to try to get food into Cuba. If I insist, Admiral Sampson will try to open communication under a flag of truce; but his letter expresses his opinion regarding the best method. Advices from the government would enable us to reach a decision. Unless there is objection at Washington, you are at liberty to publish this correspondence if you wish.
[Signed] CLARA BARTON.
On May 6 the Chairman of the Central Cuban Relief Committee replied as follows:
Washington, D. C,, May 6, 1898.
Clara Barton, Key West, Fla.:
Submitted your message to President and Cabinet, and it was read with moistened eyes. Considered serious and pathetic. Admiral Sampson's views regarded as wisest at present. Hope to land you soon. President, Long, and Moore send highest regards.
[Signed] BARTON.
Under these circumstances, of course, there was nothing for the Red Cross steamer to do but wait patiently in Key West until the army of invasion should leave Tampa for the Cuban coast.
Meanwhile, however, Miss Barton had discovered a field of beneficent activity for the Red Cross in Key West, where there were nearly 200 Spaniards, mostly fishermen, prisoners on vessels captured while running the blockade, and without means of subsistence. Most of these unfortunate men lived on fish after they were captured and none of them had a chance to obtain other food, as under the law they were not permitted to leave their vessels. The naval officers had no authority to supply the captives with food from the ships in the harbor, so their lot was far from being enviable.
When Miss Clara Barton received word of their plight she sent Dr. Egan, the chief medical officer of the expedition, with several attendants, around among the fleet of prizes to distribute food. On one of the larger smacks Dr. Egan found that the crew had had nothing but fish to eat for several days. The well in the boat, in which there were hundreds of live fish, contained also a large number of dead ones, which were putrefied and were rapidly polluting the living ones. The physician immediately ordered the dead fish removed and fresh water pumped into the well. He then furnished bread, potatoes and salt meat to the crew, so that, the continuity of Friday diet might be changed.
The Red Cross relief boats made a complete and accurate list of the Spanish prizes in the harbor—twenty-two in all—with the numerical strength of every crew, the amount of provisions, if any, on every vessel, and the quantity and kind of food that each would require. This was at once provided, and thus almost the first work done by the Red Cross in our war with Spain was the feeding of representatives of a nation that had forced us into war mainly because of its policy of starvation of the people of Cuba.
On the morning of June 20, the Red Cross steamer State of Texas left Key West for Santiago, stocked with food and medicines, and having on board Miss Barton, Mr. Kennan, and a complete working force of doctors and nurses. They were warmly welcomed on their arrival on Cuban shores, and the State of Texas was the first American ship to enter the harbor of Santiago after the surrender.
The Red Cross has done a grand work on many battlefields in every quarter of the globe, but never has it rendered more efficient aid to suffering humanity than it did on the southern shores of the island of Cuba. On the battlefield, braving the bullets of the foe, in the hospitals, ministering to the wants of the wounded and the dying, among the wretched non-combatants, giving food to the starving, and nursing the fever-stricken refugees, these noble men and women were ever ready to answer to the cry of the needy and the helpless.
The Board of Inquiry in Session—Its Report Received by Congress—Spanish Officials in Cuba Show Sympathy—The Evidence of theDivers—A Submarine Mine—The Officers and Men of the MaineExonerated—Responsibility Not Fixed.
The story of the destruction of the battleship Maine has already been told in these pages. The Naval Board appointed to inquire into the causes of the disaster was composed of the following officers of the United States Navy: Captain Sampson, of the Iowa; Captain Chadwick, of the New York; Captain Marix, of the Vermont, and Lieutenant Commander Potter, of the New York.
After an investigation which lasted for more than three weeks, this Board of Inquiry sent its report to President McKinley, who transmitted it to Congress, accompanied by the following message:
To the Congress of the United States:
For some time prior to the visit of the Maine to Havana harbor our consular representatives pointed out the advantages to flow from the visits of national ships to the Cuban waters, in accustoming the people to the presence of our flag as the symbol of good will and of our ships in the fulfillment of the mission of protection to American interests, even though no immediate need therefor might exist.
Accordingly, on the 24th of January last, after conference with the Spanish Minister, in which the renewal of visits of our war vessels to Spanish waters was discussed and accepted, the peninsular authorities at Madrid and Havana were advised of the purpose of this Government to resume friendly naval visits at Cuban ports, and in that view the Maine would forthwith call at the port of Havana. This announcement was received by the Spanish Government with appreciation of the friendly character of the visit of the Maine, and with notification of intention to return the courtesy by sending Spanish ships to the principal ports of the United States. Meanwhile the Maine entered the port of Havana on the 25th of January, her arrival being marked with no special incident besides the exchange of customary salutes and ceremonial visits.
The Maine continued in the harbor of Havana during the three weeks following her arrival. No appreciable excitement attended her stay; on the contrary, a feeling of relief and confidence followed the resumption of the long interrupted friendly intercourse. So noticeable was this immediate effect of her visit that the Consul-General strongly urged that the presence of our ships in Cuban waters should be kept up by retaining the Maine at Havana, or, in the event of her recall, by sending another vessel there to take her place.
At forty minutes past nine in the evening of the 15th of February the Maine was destroyed by an explosion, by which the entire forward part of the ship was utterly wrecked. In this catastrophe two officers and two hundred and sixty-four of her crew perished, those who were not killed outright by her explosion being penned between decks by the tangle of wreckage and drowned by the immediate sinking of the hull.
Prompt assistance was rendered by the neighboring vessels anchored in the harbor, aid being especially given by the boats of the Spanish cruiser Alphonse XII., and the Ward Line steamer City of Washington, which lay not far distant. The wounded were generously cared for by the authorities of Havana, the hospitals being freely opened to them, while the earliest recovered bodies of the dead were interred by the municipality in the public cemetery in the city. Tributes of grief and sympathy were offered from all official quarters of the island.
The appalling calamity fell upon the people of our country with crushing force and for a brief time an intense excitement prevailed, which in a community less just and self-controlled than ours might have led to hasty acts of blind resentment. This spirit, however, soon gave way to the calmer processes of reason and to the resolve to investigate the facts and await material proof before forming a judgment as to the cause, the responsibility, and, if the facts warranted, the remedy. This course necessarily recommended itself from the outset to the Executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately ascertained certainty could it determine the nature and measure of its full duty in the matter.
The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases of casualty or disaster to national vessels of any maritime state. A Naval Court of Inquiry was at once organized, composed of officers well qualified by rank and practical experience to discharge the duties imposed upon them. Aided by a strong force of wreckers and divers, the court proceeded to make a thorough investigation on the spot, employing every available means for the impartial and exact determination of the causes of the explosion. Its operations have been conducted with the utmost deliberation and judgment, and while independently pursued, no source of information was neglected and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous investigation by the Spanish authorities.
The finding of the Court of Inquiry was reached after twenty-three days of continuous labor, on the 21st of March, and having been approved on the 22d by the commander-in-chief of the United States naval forces of the North Atlantic station, was transmitted to the Executive.
It is herewith laid before Congress, together with the voluminous testimony taken before the court. Its purport is in brief as follows:
When the Maine arrived at Havana she was conducted by the regular government pilot to Buoy No. 5, to which she was moored in from five and one-half to six fathoms of water. The state of discipline on board and the condition of her magazines, boilers, coal bunkers and storage compartments are passed in review, with the conclusion that excellent order prevailed and that no indication of any cause for an internal explosion existed in any quarter.
At eight o'clock in the evening of February 15th everything had been reported secure and all was quiet. At forty minutes past nine o'clock the vessel was suddenly destroyed. There were two distinct explosions with a brief interval between them. The first lifted the forward part of the ship very perceptibly; the second, which was more open, prolonged and of greater volume, is attributed by the court to the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines.
The evidence of the divers establishes that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few minutes after the explosion. The forward part was completely demolished. Upon the evidence of a concurrent external cause the finding of the court is as follows:
At frame seventeen the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and one-half feet from the middle line of the ship, and six feet above the keel, when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water; therefore about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured.
The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the after wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet in length (frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same place extending forward. At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plate. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position.
In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship, at about frame 18 and somewhat on the port side of the ship.
The conclusions of the court are: That the loss of the Maine was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of her crew;
That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines; and
That no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons.
I have directed that the finding of the Court of Inquiry and the views of this Government thereon be communicated to the Government of Her Majesty, the Queen Regent, and I do not permit myself to doubt that the sense of justice of the Spanish nation will dictate a course of action suggested by honor and the friendly relations of the two governments.
It will be the duty of the Executive to advise the Congress of the result, and in the meantime deliberate consideration is invoked.
(Signed,) WILLIAM McKINLEY. Executive Mansion, March 28, 1898.
The text of the report of the Board of Investigation was as follows:
U. S. S. Iowa, first rate, Key West, Florida, Monday, March 21, 1898.
After full and mature consideration of all the testimony before it, the court finds as follows:
1. That the United States battleship Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the twenty-fifth day of January, Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-eight, and was taken to Buoy No. 4, in from five and a half to six fathoms of water, by the regular Government pilot. The United States Consul-General at Havana had notified the authorities at that place the previous evening of the intended arrival of the Maine.
2. The state of discipline on board the Maine was excellent, and all orders and regulations in regard to the care and safety of the ship were strictly carried out. All ammunition was stowed in accordance with prescribed instructions, and proper care was taken whenever ammunition was handled. Nothing was stowed in any one of the magazines or shell rooms which was not permitted to be stowed there.
The magazine and shell rooms were always locked after having been opened, and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in their proper place in the Captain's cabin, everything having been reported secure that evening at eight P. M. The temperatures of the magazines and shell room were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after 10-inch magazine, and that did not explode at the time the Maine was destroyed.
The torpedo warheads were all stowed in the after part of the ship under the ward room, and neither caused nor participated in the destruction of the Maine. The dry gun cotton primers and detonators were stowed in the cabin aft, and remote from the scene of the explosion.
Waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the commanding officer. Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other combustibles of this nature were stowed on or above the main deck and could not have had anything to do with the destruction of the Maine. The medical stores were stored aft under the ward room and remote from the scene of the explosion. No dangerous stores of any kind were stowed below in any of the other store rooms.
The coal blinkers were inspected daily. Of those bunkers adjacent to the forward magazines and shell rooms four were empty, namely, "B3, B4, B5 and B6." "A5" had been in use that day and "A16" was full of new river coal. This coal had been carefully inspected before receiving it on board. The bunker in which it was stowed was accessible on three sides at all times, and the fourth side at this time, on account of bunkers "B4" and "B6" being empty. This bunker, "A16" had been inspected Monday by the engineer officer on duty.
The fire alarms in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the Maine. The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of the disaster, but for auxiliary purposes only, with a comparatively low pressure of steam and being tended by a reliable watch. These boilers could not have caused the explosion of the ship. The four forward boilers have since been found by the divers and are in a fair condition.
On the night of the destruction of the Maine everything had been reported secure for the night at eight P. M. by reliable persons, through the proper authorities, to the commanding officer. At the time the Maine was destroyed the ship was quiet, and, therefore, least liable to accident caused by movements from those on board.
3. The destruction of the Maine occurred at 9:40 P. M. on the 15th day of February, 1898, in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, she being at the time moored to the same buoy to which she had been taken upon her arrival.
There were two explosions of a distinctly different character, with a very short but distinct interval between them, and the forward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the time of the first explosion.
The first explosion was more in the nature of a report, like that of a gun, while the second explosion was more open, prolonged and of greater volume. This second explosion was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine.
The evidence bearing upon this, being principally obtained from divers, did not enable the court to form a definite conclusion as to the condition of the wreck, although it was established that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part.
4. The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are, however, established by the testimony: That portion of the port side of the protective deck which extends from about frame 30 to about frame 41 was blown up aft, and over to port, the main deck from about frame 30 to about frame 41 was blown up aft, and slightly over to starboard, folding the forward part of the middle superstructure over and on top of the after part.
This was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine.
5. At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water, therefore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the after wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25) is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating extending forward.
At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plating. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position.
In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the ship.
6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine on the occasion named was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of the officers or men of the crew of said vessel.
7. In the opinion of the court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two of her forward magazines.
8. The court has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons.
W. T. SAMPSON, Captain U. S. N., President.
A. MARIX, Lieutenant-Commander U. S. N., Judge Advocate.
Our Former Troubles with Spain Recalled—The Verdict of thePeople—Spanish Rule a Blot on Civilization—The Attitude ofOther Nations—The Necessity for Delay—The Message to Congress—"The War in Cuba Must Stop!"
The American people did not wait for the report of the Naval Board to form an opinion as to the cause of the tragedy. The masses think in events, and not in syllogisms, and this was an event. This event provoked suspicions in the public mind. The thought of the whole nation was instantly directed to Cuba. The fate of the sailors on the Virginius, twenty-five years ago, was recalled. The public curiosity about everything Cuban and Spanish became intense. The Weyler method of warfare became more generally known. The story of our long diplomatic trouble with Spain was recalled. Diplomacy was obliged to proceed with doors less securely shut. The country watched for news from Washington and from Madrid with eagerness. It happened to be a singularly quiet and even dull time in our own political life—a time favorable for the concentration of public attention on any subject that prominently presented itself.
Leslie's Weekly voiced the popular sentiment in its issue of April 14 in the following language:
"If the report of the board of inquiry is accepted as final, then the destruction of the Maine was an act of war. The Maine was in a Spanish harbor on a peaceful errand. Its location was fixed by the Spanish authorities, and if a mine was planted in the harbor, it could only have been planted by the Spaniards. To think otherwise is to discredit the official report. The verdict may be challenged by the Spanish government. Spain may insist on the raising of the wreck and upon an expert examination. If such an examination is made, and if the weight of evidence controverts the verdict, our position will be humiliating. We take it, therefore, that our government is entirely satisfied with the examination, and that it accepts the verdict of the court of inquiry as final and without appeal. This verdict makes Spain responsible for the loss of the Maine, the sacrifice of the lives of 266 heroes, and for all the consequences involved. The indictment must be answered. Any other nation than this would have demanded an immediate answer. We can wait. On the answer made by Spain the issues of the future must depend. No policy of evasion such as Spain has pursued in all her dealings with us will enable her to escape. She is at the bar of judgment with bloody fingers, and must plead guilty. No other plea can be accepted. And the punishment must fit the crime."
The better the condition of Cuba was understood, the more deplorable it was seen to be; the more the government of the island was examined, the wider seemed the divergence between Spain's methods and our own; the more the diplomatic history of the case was considered, the plainer became Spain's purpose to brook no interference, whether in the name of humanity or in the name of friendly commercial interests. The calm report of the naval court of inquiry on the blowing up of the Maine and Senator Proctor's report on the condition of Cuba put the whole people in a serious mood.
These and more made their contributions to the rapidly rising excitement. But all these together could not have driven us to war if we had not been willing to be driven—if the conviction had not become firm in the minds of the people that Spanish rule in Cuba was a blot on civilization that had now begun to bring reproach to us; and when the President, who favored peace, declared it intolerable, the people were ready to accept his judgment.
Congress, it is true, in quiet times, is likely to represent the shallows and the passing excitement of our life rather than its deeper moods, but there is among the members of Congress a considerable body of conservative men; and the demand for war was practically unanimous, and public opinion sustained it. Among the people during the period when war seemed inevitable, but had not yet been declared—a period during which the powers of Europe found time and mind to express a hope for peace—hardly a peace meeting was held by influential men. The President and his Cabinet were known to wish longer to try diplomatic means of averting war, but no organized peace party came into existence. Except expressions of the hope of peace made by commercial and ecclesiastical organizations, no protest was heard against the approaching action of Congress. Many thought that war could be postponed, if not prevented, but the popular mood was at least acquiescent, if not insistent, and it eventually became unmistakably approving.
Not only was there in the United States an unmistakable popular approval of war as the only effective means of restoring civilization in Cuba, but the judgment of the English people promptly approved it—giving evidence of an instinctive race and institutional sympathy. If Anglo-Saxon institutions and methods stand for anything, the institutions and methods of Spanish rule in Cuba were an abomination and a reproach. And English sympathy was not more significant as an evidence of the necessity of the war, and as a good omen for the future of free institutions, than the equally instinctive sympathy with Spain that was expressed by some of the decadent influences on the continent; indeed, the real meaning of the American civilization and ideals will henceforth be somewhat more clearly understood in several quarters of the world.
American character will be still better understood when the whole world clearly perceives that the purpose of the war was only to remove from our very doors this cruel and inefficient piece of medievalism which was one of the great scandals of the closing years of the century.
Notwithstanding the fact that we were on the very verge of war, with all its horrors, all its possibilities of destruction to life and happiness, the nation pursued its accustomed way, transacted its business by day, and slept peacefully at night. Upon the shoulders of the Chief Executive rested the gravest of all responsibilities, and the nation trusted to him to carry it safely. Rash and impetuous demands for hasty and hostile action were heard. Congressmen, under the pressure of their constituents, filled the air with cries for speedy action, but amid all the tumult the President stood serene. He realized, what the country, strangely enough, had not comprehended, that we were drifting into a conflict with a nation that was on a war footing. He knew that we were totally unprepared for war. Munitions, ships, stores, supplies, of vast amount and infinite variety, were absolutely required before a step could be taken. Harbor defenses, a closer connection between exposed points, and the installation of modern armaments—a thousand things had to be done, and done at once. Modern guns required supplies of modern ammunition, of which there was scarcely any to be obtained on this side of the water. This was the situation, as the President, the heads of the army and the navy, and the Cabinet saw it, and it was left discreetly undisclosed to the world.
They understood the necessity of delay as well as the necessity for statesmanship of the highest quality in dealing with the Cuban question. We lost nothing by their delay. We gained untold advantages by their prudence, a prudence that never forsook them, even when the preparations for war were completed. The message to Congress was a calm, dispassionate, judicial presentation of the case, and upon that presentation of facts and of evidence we went before the jury of the nations of the world. There could be but one verdict rendered that the American people could accept, and that verdict, whether it came by peace or war, was, in the language of the President's message, that "the war in Cuba must stop!"