e of the month, there
were 30,000 rebels in the field. Spanish war-ships patroled the coast,
but the insurgents held the whole interior of Santiago province, and
government forces dared not venture away from the sea. The same was true
of Santa Clara and Puerto Principe. Matanzas was debatable ground; but
Gomez made bold raids into the very vicinity of Havana. Spain continued
to increase her army, till by the year 1898 it numbered about 200,000
men.

As if the cup of Cuba's sorrow were not sufficiently bitter, or her
long-suffering patriots had not drunk deep enough of its gall, General
Campos was recalled, and General Valeriano Weyler (nicknamed "The
Butcher") arrived in February, 1896. He promptly inaugurated the most
bitter and inhuman policy in the annals of modern warfare. It began with
a campaign of intimidation, in which his motto was "Subjugation or
Death." He established a system of espionage that was perfect, and the
testimony of the spy was all the evidence he required. He heeded no
prayer and knew no mercy. His prisons overflowed with suspected
patriots, and his sunrise executions, every morning, made room for
others. It was thus that General Weyler carried on the war from his
palace against the unarmed natives, his 200,000 soldiers seldom securing
a shot at the insurgents, who were continually bushwhacking them with
deadly effect, while yellow fever carried them off by the thousands. How
many lives Weyler sacrificed in that dreadful year will never be known.
How many suspects he frightened into giving him all their gold for mercy
and then coldly shot for treason, no record will disclose; but the
crowded, unmarked graves on the hillside outside Havana are mute but
eloquent witnesses of his infamy.

[Illustration: SUNRISE EXECUTIONS.

Outside the prison walls, Havana. Weyler's way of getting rid of
prisoners.]

Under these conditions, Gomez declared that all Cubans must take sides.
They must be for or against. It was no time for neutrals and there could
be no neutral ground, so he boldly levied forced contributions upon
planters unfavorable to his cause, and extended protection to those who
befriended the patriots. Exasperated by Weyler's atrocities upon
non-combatant patriots, he dared to destroy or confiscate the property
of Spanish sympathizers.

THE DEATH OF GENERAL MACEO.

On the night of December 4, 1896, the insurgents suffered an irreparable
loss in the death of General Maceo, who was led int