Show RELIC HUNTING NEAR HAVANA Fred A Toolen of Second Dliois Tell His Experiences I Cuba Chicago InterOcean A letter describIng the gloom dun goons and bloodstained walls of the ancIent Case la Cabana near Ha a and rcatng the incidents of a relichuntng trip among the Sps fortfcatons and to the wreck of the Maine was et ray received by Deputy Dep-uty Commissioner of Public Works k 1 J Toolen from hIs brother Fred A Toole of the Second Illinois infantry now encamped at Camp Columbia In the Cuban capital The letter Is as follows folowsTo climate in the United States cannot at any time be c mpare wIth the climate we are enjoying here The days are war but not oppressive and the ocean breezes at night cool the atmosphere at-mosphere so that a goo sound comfortable com-fortable and peaceful sleep can be enjoyed en-joyed joyedHavana and Its vicinity are very interesting in-teresting and I have had a few oppor tunites to satisfy my curiosity and visit some of these interesting places Last Saturday I went to see Castillo del PrincIpe and from the hill upon which that strong fort is situated I had the best view that can be obtained of the city ot Havana and Its harbor Mono caste La Cabanas Punta caste the Santa Clara batteries the wreck of the MaIm Ats castle Colon cemetery the town of Cerro and tle beautiful harbor wIth its reTry boats plying to and fro warshIps and ships of all nations na-tions lyIng at anchor and the little sailboats sail-boats with what the boys call chIcken cops in the stern sailing around the harbor made a fine panorama As to lIorro caste and La Cabanas I was more fortunate for In the latter part of January I and three other ser grnts and LIeutenant Colonel Hatch kiss explore the musty and basmel Ing dungeons of these forts to our hearts content Ve entered Into the moat of Cabanas by a long and step covered ascent and after showing our passes several times we wee allowed to enter Cabana proper I wa more like a tomb than a fat 01 prison A musty odor greeted our nostrils The echo of our voices and footsteps re mInded one of ghost stores The enormous enor-mous locks on the iron doors clanged and resounded along the corridors as we went from cell to cell investigating and searching for relics Blood staIns on the wails of various cells and C ls whose darlmess the light of matches would not penetrate and from which a stench came that was beyond human endurance suggested to our minds tr rIble and unholy deeds whIch a cruel race alone could perpetrate But there were better parts to this large prison The officers quarters with beautiful fow gardens arpund the were a great contrast to the dark and dingy cells not more than 200 fet away There ale very few guns in Cabanas and I those that are there are oldfashioned guns whIch would not count for much j against the modern guns on our warships ships Carloads of shells ot all sIzes I are lying around in both Cabana and Moro getting rusty I picked up quite a number of relics II Cabanas two old I SpanIsh caps a cartridge box a hool off one of the doors and a spike cutoff cut-off one of the cells whose wails wee covered wIt blood stains Then we went out of Cabanas across the drawbridge and over to Morro which Is far more famous than Ca bands We explored the different room and dungeons of Moro and here we also picked up quIte a few good relics I found a candlestick whIch I am now usIng In one a ltoros dark rooms I got a sight off of one of her large guns and I also cared away a three Inch shell Of course I got a small piece of her walls The lieutenant colonel col-onel was almost afraid to go around wIth us for fear that we would get ar reed for stealIng Mono caste But of course we had to have somethIng to remember this place r we helped ourselves our-selves to ewrythlng In sIght On this same day we all were lucky enough to get out on the wreck of the ltalne We stood upon her starboard gunwale and each of us secured a pl cc of woo from the gunwale and a piece of rope from the lades whIch lead to the fighting top I have not as yet had a chance to visit Punt caste Atares caste orte Santa Clar btere but 1 hope to dos do-s before I start for home |