The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-08-01
THE FIGHT In CUBA,
THE STIRRING NARRATIVE OF r.
II. f.. WOODWARD.


Il. r.. WOODWARD.
| Adventures OF the Former St. Paul
Newspaper Man With Gen. MncOe's
Insurgents and His Narrow Es-
cape From Death.
New York World The following Incl.
| dents Of the war now raging in the Island
l8Of Cuba may be depended upon as being ac- i
| curate In color and detail. They come to
| the World from f. r. r.. Woodward,
newspaper writer, who for nearly three
months shared with the Cuban soldiers
much of their toll and danger and all Of
their other .hardships. The meager dis
| patches that have kept the Americans un-
evenly Informed of. the progress of the
| struggle for Cuban independence occasion
| ally contained few words telling of the
difficulties that confronted seekers after
/ news. The Spanish government had thrown
| every possible obstacle in the way of cor
| respondents, and any representative Of a
| newspaper captured by the Spanish soldiers
was liable to be shot as spy. man ca
! pable of confronting this danger and of
| facing the discomforts attendant upon in
| sufficient food, "a lack Of proper clothing
| and the constant menace of q strange Gil
/ mate is not man to lag behind when his
| friends are fighting.
| Mr.. WOodward'S experience as cor
respondent made him familiar with the
| preliminary step necessary to gain an en-
| trance into country guarded by soldiers
| part of whose duty it was to keep him
| out of it. Representative Cubans in this
| city readily consented to aid him in reach
| ing the camps Of the Cuban patriots, ana
! furnished him with letters to Jose Marti,
! Gen. Gomez Gen. Maceo and others.
! Armed with these and few weapons, Mr..
| Woodward started on his perilous journey,
! and on May arrived in the city of Santiago
de Cuba. By adroit management he got
| his letters and his weapons past the custom
| house officers
In Cuba. as elsewhere, when war is rag
| ing, there are spies on every hand, and
| both sides are fearful Of these vermin. A
stranger is as likely to be thrown into
prison by those whom he is anxious to pc
friend as by his enemies, and therefore MT:
i Woodward was not safe even AFTER ne hau
been introduced at the Anglo American
= club. yexing and complicated system of
grips, passw ords and secret signs is USED,
and the slightest deviation from the recog-
nized word or sign might be answered by
slot or thrust with knife. Among
the Cubans, as among all other peoples VINO
| love liberty, an American is an honOfeu
| and privileged person. Not only was
every courtesy shown Mr.. Woodward by
the men conducting the Cuban cause, but
he was taken into their confidence and per-
mitted to share in their consultations HAY
the next matter to settle was how to get
| out of it. The Spaniards swarmed about
it, and the recklessness and cruelty OF these
men is shown by this incident which Mr..
i Woodward tells:
son the first evening of my stay in the
city a man who was employed on the rail-
road was going home from work. 1t was
twilight, and his personality could be plain
ly identified. He was passing the prison,
in front Of which strong guard was con-
stantly kept, and was halted by the chal-
1enge 'Quem vive?' This in Spanish means
who comes? Because the man did not at
once make the stereotyped reply he was
shot through the body and shortly after
wards died.
The heartless shooting was accepted as
customary if not justifable, and so leaving
the city when it was enjoying comparative
peace was as dangerous as if it were being
swept by victorious army.
Early in May Mr.. Woodward got ur.1er
way for San Luis, where a guide to
meet him and show him the way to the
many companies of Spanish soldiers were
seen. Mr.. Woodward describes them as
misunderstanding fellows, many Of them
being less than twenty years old. They
were clad in tattered clothing and with
no covering for their feet, which were
bruised and cut by much tramping over
rough and stony roads. Lack Of proper
food and much exposure had robbed their
bodies of strength. The officers were in
better shape. for they lodged in captured
houses and fed on stolen fowls and cattle.
The sound of their laughter and carousings
was frequently heard by the wretches who
slept in the mud and ate stuff that u
hungry dog would pass by.
The Spaniards are constantly vigilant,
for they have a wholesome fear Of the
Cuban patriots, and at one place, the lit
tie village of Doscaminos, that Mr.. Wood
ward passed through, everybody was in a
high state of excitement, for the news had
come that Gen. Maceo intended storming
it and putting the inhabitants to the una
chete. Arriving at San Luis, Mr.. Wood
ward was met by a guide, and together
they journeyed until they got within the
Cuban picket lines. This was the way the
first Cuban picket looked to Mr. Wood
ward:
A Rebel Uniform.
''This picket was the first fully armed
Cuban l had seen. He was a man of me-
dunn height apparently half-breed, and
his frame indicated remarkable condition
Of physical activity. He was dressed in a
very dirty suit of linen. Ills knees peeped
through ragged rents in his trousers.
i Around his waist he wore broad, strong
, strap, from which hung an enormous knife,
such as is known as the machetc, incased
in leather sheath. Over his shoulder he
carried rusty carbine. Around his Shout
ders he wore a small bag in which he
carried his cartridges and other small ar
ticles. In the front Of the waistband of
his trousers was slipped the 'cuchilla,' the
ever ready and present knife of the Gu
!. ban. This not only answers the purpose
of a part Of his armament soldier, but
also supplies the place Of the knife, fork
and spoon. The machete is used where the
knife proves too weak His head was sur
5 mounted by straw hat, the top of which
had been removed by time, and through
. which could be his thick and curly
hair y.. ....' -. --:'".'.
q Believing that no Spanard would dare
: venture inside of the Cuban lines, Mr.
$ Woodward and his guide journeyed care
$ lessy through swamp and morass, over
rocks and sward and through brooks and
rivers, while the sun beat mercilessly upon
. them. Suddenly the CLEAN of an arm
:. struck their eyes, and then band Of Span
ish guerllas was seen. Then came this
5 stirring adventure:
Captured and Sentenced to Death.
y ''rhey had sighted us at the same time
g and had put spurs to their horses. W.
could hear their galloping hoofs even as
pulled on my bride rein to force my nors'
|. into the thick jungle. The humming OF I
q bullet through the air saluted my ears.
;, did not forget that would be severed.