Willis Fletcher Johnson

“ It was incredible that they should have prevailed against the trained forces of Spain. It was not for them, at such close contact with events, to realize that while they were fighting for their homes, for freedom, for their families, for their very lives,—for capture meant as sure death as any bullet of the enemy could bring,—after all the Spanish troops were only hirelings, fighting for pay and not for a principle, and that it has been the history of the world, since its beginning, that when the home is at stake sooner or later victory comes to its defenders. ”

“ I am a Cuban, the same as yourselves, and I have consequently the same right to busy myself with the welfare of my country. Let everyone have his method; you pretend that you obey the popular will; that you are at the head of government, because the will of the people and popular choice; that you act in uniformity with ideas and sentiments of the Cubans; and finally that you are provoking the welfare and prosperity of Cuba. ”

“ The Cubans want the liberty of assemblage, freedom of speech, respect of property, personal security, the liberty to leave the territory of the Republic,—which is a right secured in all nations of the world to every individual, they want, in fine, to be governed as the majority choose, and not according to the will of a few. But nothing of all this is done. Whoever puts forth ideas contrary to those of the government or any of its functionaries, is threatened with four shots, property is a prey to the first comer, who, with arms in hand can take possession of what suits him ”

“ Well, if to have thus behaved, to have made entire abstraction of self and my interests, to look after the welfare of Cuba, to have done harm to no one, but much good; far from having taken life, to have saved the lives of many, without distinction of nationality; to have respected always the property of others, and never have let my hand touch the incendiary torch, to forward pacification, when I know that the country needs it; and that by it alone can tears, blood, and destruction be prevented;—if to have done all this constitute treason, ah! then I am a traitor ”

“ Allow us to add, with the greatest diffidence and sensitiveness, that the difference between the rebellion in the United States and the present revolution in Cuba is simply that in the former a small minority rebelled against laws which they had a voice in making, and the privilege of repealing; while in the case of Cuba, we are resisting a foreign power in crushing us to the earth, as they have done for centuries, with no appeal but that of arms open to us, and appointing without knowledge, voice, advice or consent, tyrannical citizens of their own country to rule us and eat our substance. ”

“ In the ranks of independence we have to count all the free sons of Cuba, whatever may be the color of their race—the brave nations of South America, who inhabit our soil and who have already made trial of the strength and conduct of our tyrants—the sturdy islanders of the Canaries, who love Cuba as their country, and who have already had an Hernandez and a Monies de Oca, to seal with the proof of martyrdom, the heroic decision of their compatriots for our cause. ”

“ Those who are at the head of the Cuban government and guide the revolution believe their triumph possible; they think their ideas are correct and their way a good one. Very well; but not believing as they do, I move aside from that government, whose pressure and arbitrariness are such, that it will not even admit neutrality in others. I will not wage war against you; I will not take up arms against you except in personal defence; but I separate from men who wish to impose their own notions on others through force. ”

“ I implore you, sons of Cuba, to recollect at all hours the proclamation of Valmaseda. That document will shorten the time necessary for the triumph of our cause. That document is an additional proof of the character of our enemies. Those beings appear deprived even of those gifts which Nature has conceded to the irrationals—the instinct of foresight and of warning. We have to struggle with tyrants, always such; the very same ones of the Inquisition, of the Conquest, and of Spanish dominion in America. In birth and in death they live and succeed ”

“ But they had to deter them the memory of other uprisings, in which the attempt to throw off the Spanish yoke had utterly failed. They had also before them the courage-shaking memories of the horrors which had befallen those who had participated in the rebellions. It is ever a fact that while oppression always creates leaders whose valor and daring will not stop at any obstacles, it also makes the masses of the people timid, afraid of the punishment which is bound to follow defeat. Spain had long held the Cubans in bondage. ”

“ Your government claims to favor liberty for the country; why then does it not consent to freedom of one's principles? Why does it not admit of neutrality? Why does it force people to take up arms without distinction of persons? Why has it always been opposed to speaking out in public? Why did it oppose the country's acceptance, when so close, of General Dulce's concessions? Why does it persecute to death whoever tries to separate himself from said government without having any intention of waging war against it? ”

“ Each of the Provinces of Cuba has its own characteristic charms of scenery; among which it would be rash to attempt to choose. Santa Clara boasts the great falls of the Hanebanilla River, a scene of majestic splendor. This is one of numerous cataracts on the rivers of Cuba, enriching the scenic attractions of the island, and at the same time suggesting immense value as sources of industrial power.
Lopez now endeavored to reach a plain near San Cristobal, but his men were worn out, their clothes torn, their flesh bruised and bleeding, and their feet lacerated so that they could hardly walk. ”

“ We pity the lot of those unfortunate men, subject to a tyranny as hard as our own, who, torn from their homes in the flower of their youth, have been brought to Cuba to oppress us on condition of themselves renouncing the dignity of men and all the enjoyments and hopes of life. If they shall appreciate the difference between a free and happy citizen and a dependent and hireling soldier, and choose to accept the benefits of liberty and prosperity, which we tender them, we will admit them into our ranks as brethren. ”

“ Outrages so great and so frequent, reasons so many and so strong, suffice not merely to justify, but to sanctify, in the eyes of the whole world, the cause of the independence of Cuba, and any effort of her people, by their own exertions, or with friendly aid from abroad, to put an end to the evils they suffer, and secure the rights with which God and nature have invested man. ”

“ We, who proceed in good faith and with the noble ambition of earning the applause of the world for the justice of our acts—we surely cannot aim at the destruction of our brothers, nor at the usurpation of their properties; and far from meriting that vile calumny which the government will endeavor to fasten upon us, we do not hesitate to swear in the sight of God and of man that nothing would better accord with the wishes of our hearts, or with the glory and happiness of our country, than the co-operation of the Peninsulars, in the sacred work of liberation. ”

“ The revolution of Cuba, while proclaiming this independence of the country, has proclaimed with it all the liberties, and could not well commit the great inconsistency, to restrict them to only one part of the population of the country. Free Cuba is incompatible with slave Cuba, and the abolition of the Spanish institutions must include, and by necessity and by reason of the greatest justice does include, the abolition of slavery as the most odious of all. ”

“ General Serrano at the head of a revolutionary army entered Madrid in triumph, followed four days later by General Prim. Their reception exceeded their wildest expectations. The city was on fire with revolt. The people greeted them with the warmest fervor, with shouts of welcome and rejoicing. They were hailed as the saviors of the nation, as the embodiment of Spain's hope for the future, and hourly their forces were increased by the addition of volunteers from all walks of life.
It is evident that Queen Isabella had not found Madrid a comfortable abiding place. ”

“ As a matter of fact, the vessel was grounded, and delayed for nearly an hour, during which time her presence was observed by Spanish patrols, and the alarm given. Dawn was breaking in the east when the landing was made. It bade fair to be a beautiful morning. The air was soft and clear, and the first rays of sunshine, brightening the roofs of the houses, sent a note of cheer into the hearts of the little army of those who were seeking to deliver Cuba, and seemed an omen of good fortune. ”

“ Patriots who had been timidly balancing themselves in outward neutrality, were so aroused with indignation that they began boldly to plunge into the maelstrom of civil war. On February 9, 1869, the entire district of Las Tunas revolted and cast its lot with the insurgents. Each new act of injustice emanating from the Spaniards was like removing the supports of a dam behind which had been restrained the waters of patriotism. The Spaniards had killed one Cuban patriot in cold blood; the cause of revolutions had gained thousands, each fired with enthusiasm. ”

“ Are not they as intimately bound up with happiness and interest of Cuba as those blood-natives of her soil, who will never be able to deny the name of their fathers, and who, in rising up today against the despotism of the government would wish to count upon their co-operation as the best guaranty of their new social organization and the strongest proof of the justice of their cause? ”

“ The rapid increase which the glorious new Cuba has taken frightens our oppressors, who now are suffering the pangs of desperation, and carrying on a war of vengeance, not of principles. The tyrant Valmaseda rages with the incendiary's torch and the homicidal knife over the fields of Cuba. He has never done otherwise, but now he adds to his crime the still greater one of publishing it by a proclamation, which we can only describe by pronouncing it to be a proclamation worthy of the Spanish Government. Thereby our property is menaced by fire and pillage. ”

“ Cespedes and his inexperienced fellow-believers proclaimed Independence at Yara without any supply of arms or munitions of war, without provisions, clothing, etc., etc., with which to support their movement. Ignorant of what revolution is, they bunched forth just like children who heedlessly play with a wild beast, in entire ignorance of its nature. The first movement of enthusiasm on the part of the people, and of surprise on the part of the Government gave them the victory at Bayamo; and they at once thought that the Independence of Cuba was already secured. ”

“ If Spain did not keep her promises with Cuba in a position to protest, it was a foregone conclusion that the action contemplated by the manifesto would not be productive of leniency in the government of the island, and it is not difficult to imagine with what wrath and consternation the knowledge that such a plan could ever be formulated filled the hearts of those who had struggled so long and so valiantly and at so great personal sacrifice for the freedom of Cuba. ”

“ The Cuban leaders were not only exceedingly clever in their manoeuvres, but they seemed to have a sense of humor, and to take a grim delight in fooling the Spanish commanders, and luring them on a fool's errand. The patriots, whenever the tide of battle went against them, retreated to fastnesses in the interior, well known to them, and uncharted by the enemy, from whence they would sally forth, when opportunity presented, harass the Spaniards, and again retire to their lair, whither the enemy feared to follow them, lest they might fall into a trap. ”

“ Many Cubans were persecuted by officials, high and low, falsely accused, condemned without a hearing; shut up in fortresses without adequate food, without the ordinary comforts of life, in solitary confinement, often in dungeons; and frequently their own people were denied knowledge of their whereabouts. They simply dropped out of sight and were gone. No man knew when he opened his eyes in the morning whether that day might be his last as a free human being—free so far as he might be with the thousand and one restrictions imposed upon him. ”

“ That country had already and repeatedly guaranteed the Spanish possession of Cuba as against the aggressions of any other power, but it had not guaranteed and would not guarantee her possession of Cuba against the self-assertion of the Cuban people. It recognized the right of revolution. It knew that the Cubans were dissatisfied, and that with good reason, with Spanish rule, and that sooner or later they would successfully revolt and establish their independence, and it had no thought of making itself the accomplice of Spain in repressing their aspirations for liberty. ”