Pioneering in Cuba

by James Meade Adams

CHAPTER XIII.

Industry of the Colonists.

The opening of spring did not bring any material change in weather that the colonists could detect, save that the occasional rainfall had ceased. The temperature for March was about the same as for January and February, the lowest recorded by the thermometer being 53°, and the highest 92°. The weather was delightful and comfortable. There was more blossoming of flowers in the woods and the openings, and many a big tree became a veritable flower garden, with great clusters of pink orchids clinging to its huge trunk and massive limbs. There were several trees thus ornamented in close proximity to my tent.

The colonists were now progressing with their work and displaying the greatest industry. Considerable clearing had been done, and some planting. Gardens were growing well, and the colonists were eating potatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc., of their own raising. Many thousands of pineapple plants had been set out, and banana and orange trees were being put into the ground as fast as they could be obtained. Many of the colonists were employed more or less by the company in one capacity or another. Some worked on the road, some about the camp, a few in the gardens, and still others in the cook-house. A number had been employed in the survey corps almost from the time of their arrival, while others worked "off and on," according to their convenience and disposition. The work of the surveyors was hard and exposing, and the fare usually poor and meagre, but for all that the men generally liked the employment and there was a constant stream of applicants for vacant places. In most cases the applicant knew what was before him and hence could appreciate the grim humor of Chief Kelly's unvarying formula. After questioning the applicant to ascertain if he really wanted to work, the chief would say, facetiously: "All you have to do is to follow a painted pole and eat three meals a day." Following a "painted pole" through the mud, water, and underbrush of a Cuban jungle, especially with an axe in one's hand to wield constantly, is no sinecure, but the men did not have to work very hard at their meals! My admiration of the pluck and patience of the "boys" on the survey corps was unbounded, and, I believe, fully justified. At their table the chief had designated an official kicker, and no one else was supposed to utter a complaint, and it was seldom that they did. The discipline was like that of an army. When a man was ordered to do a thing, two courses lay open to him—do it or quit. Usually the orders were carried out.

One of the most capable and industrious of the colonists was B. F. Seibert of Omaha, Nebraska. He was a man of taste and refinement, and at the same time eminently practical. He was a veteran of the Civil War and a prominent citizen in the Western city whence he came. He had lived at one time in California, and there had gained special knowledge of the cultivation of fruits, flowers, and ornamental shrubbery. A few days after his arrival in La Gloria in January, Mr. Seibert was placed in charge of the port, and at once set to work to bring order out of chaos. He took care of the large amount of baggage and freight that had been dumped in the mud on the shore, placing it under temporary shelter, and a little later constructed an ample warehouse connecting with the pier. He removed the bushes and debris from the beach, thoroughly drained the locality, leveled the ground, cleared the accumulated sea-weed from the sand of the shore, extended and improved the pier, and put everything in first-class order, until one of the roughest and most forbidding of spots became positively attractive. I have rarely seen so complete and pleasing a transformation. The Port La Gloria of to-day is a delightful place, neat and well kept, swept by balmy breezes from the sea, and commanding an entrancing view across the vari-colored waters of the beautiful bay to the island of Guajaba, with its picturesque mountains, and the other keys along the coast. There is good sea-bathing here, and excellent fishing not far away. A few miles down the coast the mouth of the Maximo river is reached, where one may shoot alligators to his heart's content, while along the shore of Guajaba Key the resplendent flamingo may be brought down by a hunter who is clever enough to get within range of the timid bird. Assistant Chief Engineer Neville was a good flamingo hunter, and we occasionally dined off the big bird at the officers' table.

One of the hardest workers in the colony was Jason L. Ratekin, who came from Omaha, Nebraska. He was a man of marked individuality, and though not overburdened with capital, was fertile in resources and full of energy and determination. At first he performed arduous work for the company in the transportation of baggage and freight from the port with the bullock team, and later went into business for himself as a contractor for the clearing and planting of land. He was enthusiastic and progressive. Among all the colonists there was none more public-spirited, and he demonstrated his kindness of heart on many occasions. Once when the bullock team was bringing in a sick woman and several small children, and the rough and wearisome journey was prolonged into the darkness of the night, he distinguished himself by carrying the ten-months-old baby nearly all the way in his arms and by breaking into a consignment of condensed milk to save it from starvation. Ratekin was a rough-looking fellow, but a more generous and kindly nature is seldom met with.

The first banquet in La Gloria was held on the evening of March 26, in honor of the fifty-second birthday of Col. Thomas H. Maginniss, superintendent of camp, who was about to return to his wife and eleven children in Philadelphia. M. T. Jones of Williamsport, Pa., was master of ceremonies, and the occasion was highly enjoyable. The banquet was served in a tent restaurant on Central avenue, and the guests numbered about twenty, several of whom were ladies. The table presented a very attractive appearance, and the menu included salads, sardines, salt beef, smoked herrings, fresh fish, bread, cake and lime-o-nade. Among the after-dinner speakers were Colonel Maginniss, General Van der Voort, S. N. Ware of Wyoming, Jesse B. Kimes, Rev. Dr. Gill, D. E. Lowell, M. A. C. Neff, H. O. Neville, John A. Connell, and James M. Adams. The banquet was voted a success by all present.

On Sunday, April 1, Colonel Maginniss and about twenty of the colonists left La Gloria for Nuevitas preparatory to sailing for the States. This was the largest number of colonists that had departed at one time since mid-winter, and their leaving caused some depression throughout the colony. This was quickly over, however, and new arrivals soon made up for the numerical loss. The Maginniss party included M. T. Jones of Pennsylvania and H. E. Mosher of New York state, who had been his assistants in the work of the camp, and Mrs. Whittle of Albany, N. Y., and Max Neuber of Philadelphia, Pa., who had been the teachers of the day and evening schools. Mr. Neuber and some of the others expressed the intention of returning to La Gloria later in the year.

The departure of the score of colonists at this time was marked by a most melancholy incident, which was speedily followed by the first death in La Gloria. John F. Maxfield of Providence, R. I., a man past middle age, who had come to La Gloria on the first Yarmouth excursion, had been ill for several weeks with a complication of ailments. Although he had the watchful care and companionship of a friend from the same city, Capt. Joseph Chace, he became very much depressed and sadly homesick. When the Maginniss party was made up to return to the States, he believed himself sufficiently improved to accompany it, and braced up wonderfully for the effort. When the day arrived, he announced his intention of walking to the port, and set out to do so, but was quickly picked up and taken down in a wagon. At the pier he was overcome by exhaustion, and exhibited so much weakness that it was deemed unsafe to place him on board of either of the small and crowded sail-boats. It was feared he would not survive the hardships and exposure of the journey to Nuevitas. The decision to leave him behind, although kindly meant, was a great blow to him, and was believed by some to have hastened his death, which took place the next morning. However this may be, it is improbable that he would have lived to reach his home in the States. Heart failure was the final cause of his death. He had good care at the port, but his extreme weakness could not be overcome. Mr. Maxfield was a quiet, unobtrusive man, and was held in high esteem throughout the colony. He was buried in a pleasant spot in the company's reserve, and his funeral was attended by almost the entire colony and some of the Cubans. The services were held out of doors in a beautiful glade, and were conducted by the Rev. Dr. Gill. It was a most impressive scene. This was the only death in La Gloria during the six months succeeding the arrival of the first colonists. This low rate of mortality was the more remarkable from the fact that a number of invalids came or were brought into the colony during the winter. One day there came in from the port a wagon bringing a woman who had been a paralytic for years, and her sick husband, who had been unable to sit up for a long time. They were from Kansas, and were accompanied by grown children and friends. The colonists expected there would very soon be two deaths in La Gloria, but the sick man, who was a mere skeleton, improved steadily and in a few weeks was able to walk about the camp, while his paralytic wife was no worse and was considered by the family to be slightly better. Considering that the invalids were living in tents without expert care, the man's recovery was hardly less than marvelous.