ith Lieutenant Cienfuente, the
owner of the Viaro tract, with the intention of dispossessing the
colonists of their land. They had ridden in on horseback from Puerto
Principe, forty-five miles away. Lieutenant Cienfuente was an elderly
Spaniard who had been an officer in the Spanish army, and Drake claimed
to have charge, in part, of his business affairs. We had heard from
Drake before, and knew perfectly well that he had induced the
landholding Spaniard to come with him to La Gloria. Drake was an
American, having come to Cuba from Mississippi just after the war with
Spain and set up as a lawyer and restaurant keeper in Puerto Principe.
He was a young man of a prominent family, but was reputed to be somewhat
dissipated. He has since persistently claimed that his errand to La
Gloria was not to dispossess the colonists, but in reality was in their
interest. This explanation cannot be accepted, however, except upon the
hypothesis that the colonists were bound to lose their lands under the
contracts which they held. This, as the event proved, was a groundless
fear; their holdings were perfectly secure.

In order to make the situation clear to the reader a little explanation
is necessary. The Viaro tract, which was the one in question, included
about two thirds of the town site and a little over ten thousand acres
of plantation land adjoining. The greater part of this land had been
allotted to colonists, but no deeds had then been given. The company had
made a first payment on the tract, and was paying the balance in
instalments. One of these instalments was overdue when Drake came to La
Gloria with Lieutenant Cienfuente, who had owned the land, and set up
the claim that the contract had lapsed. Lieutenant Cienfuente was
willing to wait a reasonable length of time for his pay, but had become
suspicious that he was not going to get it at all, and hence was more or
less under the influence of Drake, who appears to have been a
self-appointed attorney for the Spaniard. Drake had a great scheme,
which was to make a new contract directly with the colonists, or newly
chosen representatives, at an advanced price for the tract. This advance
was to be divided between Cienfuente and himself, and Drake's share
would have amounted to $25,000 or $30,000. Of course, in Drake's scheme,
the only alternative for the colonists was dispossession. Yielding to
the young lawyer's insinuating representations, Lieutenant Cienfuente
had agreed to the