The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-16

muzzle-leeding rifles. Some of the battalion,
presented A. tolerably decent appearance
while others were il
rKoHTvu1LY RAGGED coNfs11o".
FalstafTs army Of ragamufins press1fed
respectable appearance in comparison, at lean
SO far as the clothes were concerned. Measured
by the standard Of my expectations, the force
was well clothed and equipped; for the
Spanish officers had told me SO many stories
OF the wretched condition Of the Cubans that
Iexpected to find soldiers and officers in uni
forms closely resembling that of
OUR FIRST PARENT ON LEAVING PARADISE
So far from this being true, was astonished
to find all the officers well dressed, and some
Of them even tastefully. There was no attempt
at uniformity, but nearly all were scrupulously
clean. In the ranks there was more diversity,
and many Of the soldiers were not alone
ragged, but very nearly Naked.
ONE sTRAPpMa BROWN MAN
struck my imagination as the impersonation
of heroic patriotism. His costume consisted
Of the rim Of straw hat, through which
appeared the crown of woolly head, and
something resembling ragged and scanty
dishcloth was bound around his loins A rifle
and cartouchiere completed this patriots
equipment To the eye accustomed to the
neatness and order of regular troops it would
have been impossible to present sight more
ridiculous than that varied line of troops pre-
sented, and it was with difficulty repressed
smile as walked down the line; but though
to the eye the scene was grotesquc, to the I'M
agination and
TO THE INTELLECT TT WAS SUBLIME
Shoeless, blanketless; in many cases without
coats, often with piece of ragged linen doing
service as uniform, these men support the
hardships and fatigues Of an unequal struggle
with patience and courage that have seldom
been equalled and never excelled.
IF WE WOULD RESPECT THE CUBAN CHARACTER
we must see it here in the camps Between
the men in the field and the effeminate and
cowardly race of the towns there is separa-
ton SO wide and so distinct that / can
scarcely believe that they are of the same
blood; yet they assure me that the change has
been made in the war, and that four years ago
they were like the men whom cannot help
despising. About
ONE-THIRD OF THE FIGHTING MEN ARE WHITE,
and the majority of the other two-thirds are Of
color other than black. The most perfect
equality exists, the officers taking precedence
by rank, and though the majority of the
officers are white, very large proportion ore
colored.
On the Sd of March General Garcia broke
up camp and
MARCHED IN WESTERLY DIRECTION
through wild and deserted country more
level than usual, and presenting at intervals
sayannas Of considerable extent. The heat,
passing through the tall Guinea grass, was
suAiocatipg, and was aggravated by the
ABSENCE OF DRINKABLE WATER
With the exception of one small stream we
had to depend for our supply on few wells,
the quality of the water being detestable In
the afternoon we halted at wooded hill
called Canadon, about
FOUR MILES FROM JIGUANI,
O town of considerable importance. In front
surrounded on all sides by woods through
which the road from Jiguani to Dos Bocas
passes The forces under General Garcia oc-
cupied the hill OF Canadon, with the tanks
resting in the woods on either side command
ing the road. The timber on the face of
considerable portion Of the hill was felled,
and
A SLIGHT PARAPET ERECTED
at the head of the clearing was informed
by General Garcia that the motive for this
preparation was his intention
TO PROVOKE THE SPANISH FORCES TO BATTLE,
in the hope that they would attack him in
this advantageous position. When we left the
encampment Of Dos Bocas in the morning the
force mustered $40 men. We were afterwards
joined by three companies of the forces of
General Calvar, which numbered about one
hundred men. do not know if there were
other troops; but it appeared to me that there
were some
SEVEN HUNDRED ARMED MEN
on the ground, in addition to some four or
five hundred convoyeros, who were unarmed.
hb ~ Wao SApCStOA uiC oPaAioA AoOpo Woutu
attack the position, the officers of the staff
were anxious to put down the fighting strength
Of the Cuban forces to its lowest figure, and
they admitted there were present over six
hundred men. In the night force of about
one hundred and thirty men were sent on q
reconnaissance to Jiguani with
ORDERS TO FIRE ON THE SOLDIERS
in order to induce them to pursue the party.
Whether the Spaniards were advised or not
am unable to say but when the Cuban de-
tachment arrived everything was as still as
death in the town. A scout was sent forward
twice, and he reported the houses abandoned
as far as the trincherd, or Notifications. The
detachment, which was under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Saladrios,