The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1895-06-28

| XIII D s %S2'' oa only la aS2@a
mont OF war hes been her reaping hook.
or cane knife n she forces herself
from Spain the most decisive part Of
the work must be done with the ma
chote. a New York Cuban In giving
his estimate OF the chances Of the Gu
bans said that the conflict hinged very
largely on how many OF the people In
cane fields had good machetes. There
Ia not one Cuban In hundred who
knows how to use a gun, says the 81.
Louis Post Dispatch. The islanders
have been denied the use OF firearms
80 long that those who had fallen into
possession OF guns In the battles OF the
ten years rebellion often threw them
down when they got into battle and re-
lied chiefly upon their cane knives.
The battle OF Baira, In which 80 many
Spanish heads were cut OF. and which
was the bloodlest In Cuban history.
was won by cane knives over tho best
American Springfield rifles In the
hands Of the Spanlards Tho Span
lardH now have a rifle OF ~ calibor and
Of their own make. Cuban leaders have
bought Remington and Mosor rlfeB OF
the Same callber. 30 that they can use
all ammunition captured from the
Spaniards. They are making every eff
fort to encourage their countrymen In
the use Of guns. but have not neglected
to smuggle a great many cane knives
into the island More than n month
ago Spain declared the cane knife n
weapon OF war and contraband goods.
Germany. England and the United
States furnish Cuba with all her cane
knives. and Spain's declaration making
them contraband Is one OF the lntcroat-
ing diplomatic questions that Secre-
tary Gresham is now trying TO adjust
with that country. The best cane
fore and since the uprising ON the
island there has been a great demand
Tor them. Besides the cane crop In
Cuba Is now being harvested and Spain
feels that she can crush the uprising
more easily II she can cripple the har-
vest. The mother country has not only
taken this opportunity to deprive Cuba
OF the one weapon and utensil that Is
necessary both In war ana peace. but
she has sent an agent TO the United
States to buy cane knives. or mnchetes,
as they are called In Spanish. with
which 10 train her own Cuban army.
But the prospect that the Spanish sold
lers VIM learn TO use this weapon Ia
not half 10 promising as that the Gu
bans will learn how to use rifles. A
reporter was recently shown In n little
shop Just what a Cuban cane knife will
do In the hands OF a Cuban who knows
how to use one. The dry head OF a
bullock that had been butchered some
days before was placed before him.
Nov" said the Cuban, II Will split
that head open between the horns with
one stroke as II II were 30 much but
ter This no did. The Cuban said
no had cut OFF horscg' heads In battles
ana had moro than once seen the ghaat-
by sight OF men split down from head
TO foot with such weapon. In the ma
tional museum in Madrid are a num-
Der OF gun barrels cut In two by these
knives. The great execution OF the
nRchctc lies In the wonderful skill In
handling II. There are three classes OF
b these knives. The first Is nothing more
nor less than sword. twenty-olght
lnchoa In length. made OF the very best
American spring steel and incascd In
, "A leather scabbard, Il looks like an
! ordinary sword. but Is much heavier.
II 10 worn by Cuban officers and gentle
men. The next is an oyerseers ma
chotc, very flexible and with a slight
stroke II viii sever mans head from
tho body. hut the broad heavy. six
tocn-lnch knife Is Cuba's peculiar
weapon Of ofCnse and defense and her
principal agricultural and domestic
implement. II Is used for nearly every
service. for which we use a knife. an
AK. cleayer. pruning-hook. or a
scythe Forests are cleared with them
and they are about the only tool In a
= butcher shop. Nowhere else In Span.
4 lsh America ia the machete 80 goncr.
/ ally used. Nearly the whole OF Cuba IL
Z devoted TO the cultivation OF cane and
tobacco, and every stalk OF these crops
a. harvested with the machete. Great
skin In handling them Is the result. An
army OF the most skillful fencing mas
tcrs In Now York or Paris could not
@ stand up before an equal number OF
Cuban cane cutters. In ono OF the en-
gagemonts few days ago whom de-
~ tachmcnt OF Spanish cavalry charged
a., upon the Cuhans IN the opcn ga the on
slaught was made, the Cubans are re-
ported 20 have caught the Spanish
sabcrs In orQuotillas, or forkcd sticks.
and then cut mon on their horses as ll
n they were nothing more than stalks Of
grass These regular cane knives. on
II account OF their peculiar shape. can
not be worn In a scahhard They must
be worn hanging, exposed from the
90 trunk, and the fact that thoy can thus
be worn at all denotes that the woarer
M Is one OF very careful habits. for tho
blade Is always kept as sharp as the
very best steel can be made. Absolte,
n ~ every male Cuban male wears one
II IL Is his most highly valued piece o.
DE- property, and no will do almost any
III thing to secure a good maehete. In IN,