Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-05-22


 KilIed-Pnshes on and Meets Insurgents,
 Who Lead Him to General Masso. Some time ago the New York Herald
 published an interview with General Masso. the Cuban insurgent leader.
 Following is the story of how that in-
 terview was obtained:
 4 I landed at Puerto del Padre, en route
 for the interior, and put up at the cool
 est house i'll that place. The half naked
 Cubans lounging along the streets of the village eyed mo curiously as passed
 and not few regarded me with suspi-
 cion. had been put down on the steam
 er's books as a "sugar drummer, and $ "sugar drummer" I remained.
 My orders were to obtain if possible
 from the insurgent leaders around Hol-
 guin their plan of campaign for the en- E suing summer and an interview as to ! the probable reception of the peace eff
 forts of Martinez Campos.
 When night had fallen, there came from the rear of the house the click of bridle bit and the rattle of buckles.
 ''There is Pedro, said my host Pe-
 dro was to be my guide. He was tall, broad shouldered, swarthy and silent, land, better than all else, he looked like | man of nerve. By his side swung q
 heavy revolver and long, wicked look ing machete, which he had tied to his leg in such a way that it could not dan gle abroad and elank. The horses were
 the small, sturdy animals peculiar to Cuba, which are able to undergo an
 amount of fatigue that would kil! 0
 mule.
 It was 10 o'clock when we started.
 My guide took up his march straight away for the dark hills to the rear of < the house. We did not ride. It was too
 risky, and all our keenness of eyesight
 was required to keep from running into things. Twice I jammed my face into 8
 cactus thicket, and once my canvas leg E gings had serious misunderstanding with the filelike edges of maguey. = Just before daybreak we rode into an- other range of hills, up which we were
 forced to lead our horses. At the very top was sort of depression, out of which gushed spring of delightfully."- cold wa ] ter. This was Arroyo Blanco, the spot for which the guide had been aiming.
 After our hard nights ride it did not
 take us long to fall asleep. At intervals
 l would awaken, but it was only to turn
 over again and slumber more soundly than eyer. l was aroused at o'clock in
 the afternoon by an exclamation frem
 Pedro. He was on his knees peering
 down the sloping shoulder of the moun-
 tain toward the road
 Something IS on the move but I can't make it out just yet, he said
 As he spoke he pointed off beyond the extreme end of the wagon road, where a cloudlike wisp of dust was hanging above the trees. Suddenly into the dis
 tant line of roadway there came a troop of Spanish cavalry, swinging along at
 brisk walk.
 There were about 100 of them in all,
 ana in the middle of tho line rode four prisoners. with their hands tied behind their backs and their feet apparently
 bound beneath their horses, which were
 led by the soldiers. Without halt the
 troop moved steadily along the strip of road until they disappeared in the heavy
 forests i'll the direction from which we
 had come.
 As the sun sank WIG ate cold supper
 and prepared for our departure. By this x time 1 had become accustomed to tho
 'bushwhacking style of procedure and began to undervalue the dangers of the trip. It was o'clock when the guide
 began the descent down the arroyo, leading his horse, while trailed slowly
 in his wake, keeping my eye open for
 brambles and cactus.
 A hundred yards down the road and # another sentry, probably just aroused a from sleep, rushed out from the bushes behind us and with loud Alta ";be- gan a fusillade upon us. The rear sen .zt,w was still shooting, and from the E eSsstant crack of the rifles it was eyi- dent that the Spaniards thought that an attack was being made on the post. The opening shot of the last sentry apparently went 20 feet wide of us, for, above the quick thunder of the horses hoofs, I heard the shrill snarl of tho ball as it ripped against q tree to my right. The second shot likewise missed,
 but at the third crack of the rifle there came cry from Pedro: ''Dios Miol Es- toy muertoi Estoy muerto!" # Looking back as I ran, I could sec that he was reeling in the saddle and was apparently holding on to the horses mane l pulled up bit and allowed
 him to range alongside, but while doing so some low limbs very nearly swept
 me from the saddle.
 # e'Can you hold on for awhile?' I oried, catching his horse by the bridle. a "Yes," he gasped, "bnt the villains have done for me "s t+y Carrying the bridle over the horses head, continued my wild flight for half 6 mile or more, when the guide groaned heavily. "Get off the road to the west, :" he said hoarsely. ''They Will be along here in few minutes, { and can't stand this. ''