The Politics of Intervention

The Pacification of Cuba 131

Congress in 1899), was $20,000. During the Second Inter­

vention, the Military Information Division provided the Pro­

visional Governor with much of the political intelligence he

received, and, as his files show, he relied heavily upon its

analysis of Cuban political developments.^22

Among the methods used to maintain peace in Cuba, the

Army attached great importance to mapping the island. Gen­

eral Bell regarded the mapping as absolutely essential to the

pacification operations and began the work in October,

1906.^23 Although the Military Government had started map­
ping Cuba in 1899, it had not finished the task. The Spanish
maps were inaccurate; only the railroad surveys were depend­
able. Because of such difficulties, General Bell asked for and
got an additional engineer battalion (the Third) which ar­
rived in February, 1907. The Army's Chief Engineer super­
vised the work (assisted by the Military Information Divi­
sion) and fully employed his men, but more than half the
mapping was done by line units. Reconnaissance parties (one
officer, four to seven enlisted men) did the leg work, sketch­
ing all topographic features.^24 The sketches were rough and
emphasized roads, trails, old Spanish fortifications, and land­
marks. The completed map, finished in the spring of 1907,
was detailed beyond complete belief. The master copy is
composed of seventy sheets, each sheet 32 by 35 inches.
Reproduced for field use, the map was distributed to the
troops in 1908, and corrections were continuously made. If
even close to accurate, the map would have been an
invaluable aid in military operations.^25

The reconnaisance parties were seen throughout Cuba and
the result of their work was publicized to reassure some and
discourage others. One officer wrote General Bell that the
map was good, a vast improvement on the Spanish maps. The
officer admitted the map had errors, but through personal use
he had found it basically accurate.^26 A New York Sun dis­
patch praised the map as crucial in preventing or defeating
revolts. Refuting claims that Cubans could still go into the
hills and confound American troops, the Sun retorted: