For some unknown reason the commander did not send out scouts and messengers to find out why his despatches were left unanswered. Not receiving any response to his messages, it is strange that he did not send scouts to find out the reason; but the idea does not seem to have occurred to him that the stations on the Canto River had been captured or abandoned.
He throws the whole blame of the disaster on the river stations, and declares that if they had only answered his appeal, Las Tunas might have been saved.
As a matter of fact, the insurgents had been so active in the neighborhood of the Canto River that the garrisons had all been abandoned, and the messages from Las Tunas were never received.
The fall of Las Tunas has made the fate of Holguin, Bayamo, and Jiguani very uncertain. These are other towns which Spain still holds in "Free Cuba." The Spaniards fear that they too will soon fall into the hands of the insurgents. It is rumored that Garcia has already sent an expedition against Holguin.
Reports have reached us that a president has been elected for Cuba. The reports, however, do not agree, and it is therefore impossible to make any decided statement about the matter.
One telegram states that General Bartolome Maso has been elected, while another, on equally good authority, says that the new Cuban president is Señor Domingo Mendez Capote. Señor Capote is a young lawyer, and while a bright and clever man, was not thought of as a possible candidate for the office. His election, if it is confirmed, will be a great surprise.
The only information which we get reaches us through Havana. It had been arranged that couriers should carry the news of the election to the West as soon as the result was known. No courier has, however, arrived in Havana. Such information as we have received has been sent through channels that may not be reliable.
General Lee has been interviewed in regard to the state of affairs in Cuba.
He gives a very sad picture of the once prosperous island. He says that there is no business doing but that which deals with the actual daily needs. No crops are being raised, except those that are required to supply food, and even these are maintained under difficulties, for the Spaniards destroy when they can all the crops the Cubans try to raise, and the Cubans try to do the same toward the Spanish. Between the two the island is being laid waste.
General Lee also says that he has distributed about $15,000 of the $50,000 appropriated by Congress for the relief of the sufferers. He says that there are very few native-born Americans among those who apply to him for help. They are mostly Cubans who have come to America and become naturalized.