EVIA'S DEFENSES.! % | Present Condition of the Fort» * £ ress of Cabana. $ xei No outsiders had been admitted to the fortress of San Carlos de la Ca bana, at Havana, Cuba, since the be ginning and ending of the war, until i few days ago, when, through tho of fices of a mutual and neutral friend, a correspondent of the New York Even ing Post received from the general in command the freedom of the place. He is not much interested any more in preserving secrecy regarding this uiedisoval fortification, which, it was believed by the the Americans on the blockade, had been made formidable by new guns brought in clandestinely. Among the fortifications of Havana, which include the Castello del Prin cipe on the land side, tho Fuerte del San Diego, Castillo del Morro,Castillo de la Punta, Castillo del Atarez, Bateria de la Reina, Bateria de Santa THE FORTRESS OF CABANA AT HAVANA. Clara and tho Bateria de Velasco, on the water side, the only ones which are commanded by brigadier-generals are the Castillo del Principe and tho Castillo de la Cabana. All the others aro commanded by majors of infantry, captains, or first lieutenants of artil lery. Thus one knowus the impor tance in which Cabana is held. It oc cupies a front of 2400 feet on the heights, just within the entrance to the bay; on the land side it has three picturesque bastions, a moat and a drawbridge, contains accommodations for 1000 troops, and to persons whose military criterions have been received through Sir Walter Scott and Alexan der Dumas it appears to be impreg nable, so thick are the concrete walls, so well is "all-outdoors" excluded from the view until one climbs to tho overtopping parapets, and from these the surrounding country seems to be at one's mercy. Santa Clara, Punta Morro, Velasco, standing guard between Cabana and the sea, look to be of small account, although Santa Clara and Velasco aro about the only Havana fortifications which have big and fairly modern guns. From tidewater the walls of Cabana rise dominant as high as a twenty-two story New York building; well-manned guns, ranging a circle of eight miles, could reach nearly every thing within sight by sea or laud. To get into it on foot or mounted there are three entrances, two from the bay, up zizzag common roads, and one from the land, over a drawbridge. Once within the lirst wall there are yet two others to conquer, and in the centre of all are the prisons and the magazines and the quarters of the soldiers. There are now only three batteries in Cabana; the one just mentioned aiming down over the harbor,one of live old-fashioned cast-iron mortars which points towards the mouth of the bay, and one nearly over the sally-port keeping watch on the land side. In all there are scarcely twenty guns, and I should uot like to be back of one when the match was applied to its touchhole. We could not say anything like this to the polite lieutenant of artillery who presently offered to guide us around the rest of the fortress, and who broke the regulations to let us see the dungeon prisoners. He and the other officers fancy that Havana has immensely powerful defenses, and they regret that they did not have an opportunity to defeat us in an attempt to take the city, but it was merciful to their pride that we did not attempt it. What will the Cubans or Americans do with Cabana? It would last for ages yet unless hit with a modern pro jectile. It would be difficult to disin fect it sufficiently to serve as a bar racks, for in the centuries it has been occupied there have been no closets, no p~<»tem of sanitation, and every prison cell and barrack-room is vile. Cubans will probably want to keep un touched the Laurel Diich, or grassy space between two walls, where no less than 600 patriot? have been executed. "Here," said the Lieutenant, our guide, Hiite unconcernedly, "is where politi- An Indian Belle. QUANO, A MOQUI SQUAW. (She is nineteen years old and is the favorite 'model of Eldridge Ayer Bur bftnk, a Western painter.) cal prisoners were shot. They were placed against that wall there, and the soldiers were drawn up about fifteen feet awaj; you can see the marks left by their bullets on the wall." The whole side of the wall for fifty feet and to the height of ten feet was closely pitted with bullets that had first passed through men who had dared to preach that Cuba must be free of Spnin. There have not been any executions lately, but the prison contains several political and many military prisoners. Ac we passed, one of them called out something about "Americanos" and "liberated." Our lieutenant never minded, but offered us more cigarettes and said (wet and hot as he was) that he would like the pleasure of showing us also El Morro. WORK ON COLON ABANDONED. Tlie Naval Board lielievea Tliere l« No Cliance to Save Her. Captain Chester, of the United States cruiser Cincinnati, and a board of officers visited the wreck of the Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon, oft' Santiago de Cuba, a few days ago, and decided that work on the sunken war ship should be abandoned, as, in their opinion, there is no possible chance of raising her. The men of the wrecking company, who have been at work on the Span ish vessels, have been ordered to pro ceed to Santiago harbor there to raise the lieina Mercedes and blow up the Merrimac, so as to clear the channel. A boat will be sent to tear down the woodwork put up by Lieutenant Hobson at the wreck of the Cristobal Colon, as Secretary Long has decided, after consultation with the bureau chiefs, that the Government will make no further attempts to raise the Span ish vessels sunk off Santiago. There is no objection on the part of the Navy Department to private cor porations making the effort, but the department will not promise to take the vessels even after they are raised. As the United States has no juris- CRI3TORAL COLON ON HER STARBOARD REAMS-END. diction over the harbor of Havana at this time, the Secretary of the Navy is unable to grant permission to the Acme Wrecking Company to begin work on raising the Maine. Upon the evacuation of Cuba by the Spanish the department will interpose no ob jection to the company undertaking tho work if it desires to make the attempt. A Dainty Match Striker. To make a pretty match-striker take a strip of curdboard and cut out a piece seven inches long and six inches wide. Then cut from a sheet of sand- UTILE- I : V (I TVmoWj t ' Ts B&acis 1 ' A PRETTY MATCH STRIKER. paper a piece 3J inches long and 2} inches wide. Paste this crosswise in the centre of the cardboard. With a hard leadpencil draw several loose matches and print the quotation, "How far that little candle throws its beams" on the cardboard above and at one side of the sandpaper. In the lower corner draw a candle stick and candle! Color the candle stick with a thin wash of burnt sienna; the candle with Chinese white and the tlame with gamboge and scarlet Ver million. These colors will be found in any ordinary box of water colors. Tint the matches with a light wash of chrome yellow and tip the edges of those representing unburned matches svith burnt sienna. Those represent ing burnt matches should be tipped with black. Cut openings at either end of the card and run a narrow rib bon through them, tying in a bow at each opening, leaving between them a long loop of ribbon by which the card may be hung. These match-strikers are easily made, and are prettier if made of cardboard or of some delicate color, instead of plain white.—New York Tribune. oooooooooooooooooooocooooo I WHY FUKSARE COSTLY § 6 Tliev Are Battered With Be»t Creaui- O O evy Greane, Powlincl»i«»votiH Puppv. One day a little puppy had just re ceived a bath aud his mother told him not togo out until he was quite dry, but the little dog, who never did a thing his mother told him, thought it wouldn't do him any harm togo out for a walk, and while his mother was sleeping he went out very quietly, so she wouldn't wake up. When onco out of the house he rayed aud jumped aud barked and chased the pretty butterflies until he was so tired out |he didn't know what to do. At last i he came to a muddy pool of water aud j he walked right through it, and so of | course he got all dirty. The little puppy began to feel so tired that he lay down to rest,and fell asleep. He slept for a long time, and when lie awoke it was very dark, aud the moon was. shining on him through i the trees. He started up in a fright : and began fo whine, but no one an swered him, so he stopped and lay | dowu again, but he could not sleep and he didn't know where he was. The disobedient puppy began to think of his home in the barn and i wished he had never left it. When daylight begun to dawn be thought he i heard a noise in the bushes close by and when he looked he saw two ; shining eyes fixed upon him. He did not stay there a minute longer, but started to runaway as fast ; as ever his legs would carry him. | Then he heard whatever it was com | ing right behind him, and he tried to ; run faster and faster, but lie could j not run fast enough, and pretty soon ; lie shut his eyes and gave himself up j for lost. He dropped down on the ! ground, and right on top of him CRine ; two big paws, and then he heard his • name. He opened his eyes,and there, ; looking into his face, was his own mother! It was she who had been watching him from the bushes and chased him when he ran. With a joyous bark aud one leap he was on his feet, asking forgiveness. His mother took him home and read | him a very serious lecture on disobe ! dience, and then washed all the mud and dirt off him and put him to bed. Cowboy Feats In Hawaii. The Hawaiian cowboy would put many of his western prototypes to 1 blush as to feats of horsemanship, for ' some of the country ridden over by a , Kanaka "spaniola" would cause cold chills to run down the back of a cow '■ puncher from the plains of Texas or : Nebraska. The latter country is level or at least undulating in its general character, while in the Hawaiian Islands it is quite the reverse. The cattle there have comparatively very little grazing laud, and as a conse quence stray far up on the mountain : sides aud iuto "the bush" looking for I sustenance. When the time conies ! for rounding up and branding, the j Kanaka has no "soft snap." Some of his riding is a little short of niarvel ' lous. Now down a deep grade on ' tho mountain side, floored with loose rocks and lava, next into a belt of ! timber over fallen tree trunks and through a tangled undergrowth, only to bring up on the edge of some pre cipitous gulch. Nothing daunted, horse and rider scramble dowu to tho bottom, ford tho inevitable stream and up on tho other side as if the devil were after them. All this on a keen jump, too, whenever possible.— New York Post. A Wonderful Yarn. Seven years ago a farmer living west of Webster City, la., hung his vest on the fence in the barnyard, and as a result of it a wonderful story is told. A calf chewed up a pocket in the garment in which was a standard gold watch. Last week the animal, a staid old milk cow, was butchered for beef, aud the timepiece was found in snch a position between the lungs of the cow, that the process of respiration, the closing in and filling the lungs, kept the stemwinder wound up, and the watch had lost bnt fonr minutes in the n«ven years. —Chicago Times- Herald.