The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-08-16
BATTLE BETWEEN NEGROES AND
CARIBs IN BRITISH HONDURAS.
About GOO of the Former Killed and
as Many Wounded, and 300 Indians
Slaughtered and 900 Injured.
STATUS OF THE CUBAN WAR
UNITED STATES SEVERELY CRITI-
CIsED BY THE MAYOR OF HAVANA.
Many Spaniards Reported tn Have
Been Killed by Insurgents-Rail-
way Train Blown Up.

PITTSBURG, Aug. 15.-The Dispatch
prints the following dispatch from Trenton.
y. j.: lone of the bloodiest battles that
has been fought in British Honduras in
many a day. says a letter from Belize,
just received, occurred Aug. 3, at Straun
creek and Mullins river. about thirty miles
south of Belize. The district there is set
tied by upward Of twenty thousand Carbs,
hose reservations plantations embrace
most of the ground under cultivation. The
remainder is occupied principally by Eng
lsh planters. who have in their service be-
tween three and four thousand Jamaica ne
groes.
"A few months ago a number Of the
English planters whose plantations are To-
Gated as much as seven and ten miles from
the coast. applied to the Colonial Legis.a-
ture at Belize for permission to construct
railroads from their plantations through
the Carib reservations to the coast. The de-
sired permission was granted and the Sur
veyor-general was authorized to survey the
routes. These English planters claim the
proposed improvement will enable them to
cut, load and dispatch their fruit to the
coast on the day steamers are due. At
present they are obliged to cut and send
their fruit in dories down the rivers two
and three days before the steamers are
due, while the Caribs, whose plantations
are much nearer the coast, only find it
necessary TO cut their fruit day in ad-
vance The result is the Caribs get the
highest prices for their fruit on account of
its freshness, while the English planters
can get little more than half price for
theirs, the steamship people claiming that
much Especially bananas) of the fruit
ripens and even begins TO rot before reach
ing destinations.
1.-The rails for the proposed railroads
rived from England three or four weeks
ago. AS soon as the Caribs found it out
a number of them went TO the English
planters and warned them not to put them
down upon their reservations if they desired
to avoid serious trouble The English
planters laughed and told them TO mind
their own business, at the same time re-
mindng them that they paid the govern
ment $3.50 year for every acre of land
they have under cultivation. while the
Caribs are not obliged to pay anything.
I'm the last week in July the English
planters at Straun creek and Mullins riv-
er. which places, by the way, adjoin each
other set the majority of their negroes to
work constructing the railroads. For sew
eral days their work went on well and the
English were beginning to think the Ca
ribs meant nothing by their threats, when.
late i'm the afternoon of Aug. 3, the Caribs
in large numbers, armed with machetes,
advanced upon the Jamaica negroes at
work upon the railroads and ordered them
to take up the rails which they had put
down. The Jamaicans not only refused, but
threatened to attack the Caribs unless they
cleared out.
"The Caribs went away, but returned
in less than an hour TO the number of
close upon 1000 and Immediately began
to tear up the newly laid rails. The in
furiated Englishmen, on seeing this done,
ordered their negroes to try little fight
ing. The moment the Jamaicans raised
their weapons the Caribs rushed upon
them, and with their macnetes, hacked and
chopped the negroes to pieces. Small as
their numbers were, the Jamaicans fought
bravely and killed many of their antagon-
ists but they could only stand against the
Caribs two hours.
by that time the ground was literally
covered with dead and injured. Some had
either the head or one or more limbs
chopped off. The Englishmen used their
guns with deadly effect. Between 500 and
600 negroes in all were killed and almost as
many injured, while the Caribs had close
upon 300 killed and twice Nas many wound
ed, some mortally. AS soon as the negroes
were forced to beat retreat the Caribs
went to work and tore up every foot of rail-
damaged many of the English plantations
and destroyed fruit and rubber, etc., to the
value of several thousand dollars.
"The Governor, upon hearing the news,
| ordered out the local military forces. Since
| the arrival of the soldiers, who numbered
| 1,5oO nothing further. uD ID the present
| time of writing (Aug. 81, has occurred.
"The Caribs and negroes are doing moth
| ing at present but bVrying their dead. The
| Caribs say they will repeat their attack if
| another attempt is made 10 lly down rails
upon their reservation. The Governor has
| ordered the English planters to proceed
whenever they feel disposed with the con-
| struction of their railroads. which they
| are likely to do in the course of a few days.
at is feared that II the Englishmen per-
| sist, as they have sworn to do. in putting
| down their rails on Carib ground there will
| be many more scenes of butchery attended
| with even greater loss of life. The English
men have ordered weapons for their ne
| groes.''