On Sunday, April 1, Colonel Maginniss and about twenty of the colonists
left La Gloria for Nuevitas preparatory to sailing for the States. This
was the largest number of colonists that had departed at one time since
mid-winter, and their leaving caused some depression throughout the
colony. This was quickly over, however, and new arrivals soon made up
for the numerical loss. The Maginniss party included M. T. Jones of
Pennsylvania and H. E. Mosher of New York state, who had been his
assistants in the work of the camp, and Mrs. Whittle of Albany, N. Y.,
and Max Neuber of Philadelphia, Pa., who had been the teachers of the
day and evening schools. Mr. Neuber and some of the others expressed the
intention of returning to La Gloria later in the year.

The departure of the score of colonists at this time was marked by a
most melancholy incident, which was speedily followed by the first death
in La Gloria. John F. Maxfield of Providence, R. I., a man past middle
age, who had come to La Gloria on the first _Yarmouth_ excursion, had
been ill for several weeks with a complication of ailments. Although he
had the watchful care and companionship of a friend from the same city,
Capt. Joseph Chace, he became very much depressed and sadly homesick.
When the Maginniss party was made up to return to the States, he
believed himself sufficiently improved to accompany it, and braced up
wonderfully for the effort. When the day arrived, he announced his
intention of walking to the port, and set out to do so, but was quickly
picked up and taken down in a wagon. At the pier he was overcome by
exhaustion, and exhibited so much weakness that it was deemed unsafe to
place him on board of either of the small and crowded sail-boats. It was
feared he would not survive the hardships and exposure of the journey
to Nuevitas. The decision to leave him behind, although kindly meant,
was a great blow to him, and was believed by some to have hastened his
death, which took place the next morning. However this may be, it is
improbable that he would have lived to reach his home in the States.
Heart failure was the final cause of his death. He had good care at the
port, but his extreme weakness could not be overcome. Mr. Maxfield was a
quiet, unobtrusive man, and was held in high esteem throughout the
colony. He was buried in a pleasant spot in the company's reserve, and
his funeral was attended by almost the entire colony and some of the
Cubans. The servi