The first school in La Gloria was started and taught by Mrs. Whittle of Albany, N. Y. It occupied a large shelter tent on the reserve, near Central avenue. It was fitted up with a board floor, wooden benches, tables, etc. The school opened February 26 with six scholars, and though text-books were few in number, the pupils made good progress in their studies. Mrs. Whittle was an attractive and cultivated lady, and an inspiring and tactful teacher. Before the middle of March the school had sixteen scholars, and a little later twenty-one. There was also at the same time an evening school for men, in which Mrs. Whittle taught grammar and spelling, and Mr. Max Neuber of Philadelphia, a prominent colonist, gave lessons in Spanish. Tuition was free in both schools, which were kept up until Mrs. Whittle and Mr. Neuber returned to the States in April. [Illustration] CHAPTER XII. THE FIRST HOLIDAY IN LA GLORIA. The first holiday in La Gloria was marked by incidents that will be long remembered by the colonists. The credit for the inauguration of the movement for such a day belongs to John A. Connell, whose warm Irish blood craved athletic sport. Some of the rest of us were not far behind him in this particular. Mr. Connell arranged a program of running, jumping, wheelbarrow and potato races, etc., and after a conference of those interested, it was decided to ask the president of the company to declare a general half-holiday. I was delegated to bring the matter before General Van der Voort, who entered heartily into the spirit of the affair and readily granted our request. Accordingly, a formal proclamation was drawn up setting aside Saturday afternoon, March 24, as a holiday throughout the colony. The first draft was copied in the elegant handwriting of Chief Engineer Kelly, duly signed by President Van der Voort and attested by his secretary, and then conspicuously posted on the flag-staff which graced Central avenue. Further preparations were made for the red-letter day, and a baseball game added to the program. I found in my trunk a baseball, which I had brought to Cuba, I know not why, except, perhaps, with the American idea that a baseball is always a good companion. Simultaneously, the indefatigable J. L. Ratekin--one time a soldier in Col. William J. Bryan's Nebraska regiment in the Spanish War--dragged out of his kit a good baseball bat. Why Ratekin brought this bat to Cuba I cannot say, but I half suspect that he thought he might have to use it in self-defence. I am glad to be able to state, however, that it was put only to peaceful and legitimate uses, and killed nothing save "in-shoots" and "drops."