"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.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
WORK OF MISS CLARA BARTON AND THE RED CROSS.
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.