The evening times., 1896-11-28
WAS NO BIC CUBAN FIGHT.
Lieut.. Rios Denies Report Of the
November Battle.
WAS MISTAKEN FOR ANOTHER
Details of the October Engagement.
However, Remarkably Similar TO
Those of the Fight Said to Have
Taken Place This Month-Mel-
quizo Met Maceo in the Hills.

| New York, Nov. 2S.-Lieut. Jose Felix
! Rios, a special niessenger from the Cuban
| government To the junta in this city, ar
rived herel last night on the Clyde line steam
ship Algonquin from Jacksonville.
This afternoon he told startling story
| in the headquarters OF the Cubans in this
| city, which would 60 To show Almost be
! yond doubt that battle which took place
In the Rubi Hills in October last. and in
/ which 1000 Spaniards are SAID to have
| been killed, had been construed into an en-
| gagement with -Weyler troops in the same
| territory about week ago.
DENIES THE INTERVIEW.
THE details of the October battle are
stnkingly similar to the details OF the
story of Weyier's alleged engagement,
which was attributed To Lieut.. Rios, al
though he now denies that he ever gave
out such all interview. He declares, in
stead, that what he said ABOUT the alleged
engagement with Weyler was simply com
mon talk in Jacksonville while he was there.
His story is as follows:
Il am Il Galician, and went to Cuba when
eleye years of age For long time have
beenIn the com mission business in Havana.
Having worked hard Tur the CuDdn cause /
was some time ago appointed lieutenant
In the Gomez army and took part In the
battle of Saratoga. on October 23 last
was given documents by Gen. Gomez and by
.i,e Cuban government. represented by
Gen Cisuerus at a town called Arancana,
an encam ptnent near Camaquay.
~nIin ,.Is.i. IA ..i len ain part Of
the island in a small boat and set a course
for Nassau We arrived there in five days.
GUNBOAT GUARANTEED.
a So l:4sI lnboa. which hai haen hunt
ing for Us got into port two hours later
but she was quaTantined, and we We're
safe. From Nassau, after some delay, we
went to Jacksonville. thence To this city
Some shrewd questioning at this point
led Lielt. Rios off the subject Of his story
and into tie details of fight that he said
occurred in the Kubi hills, Just where
Gen Maceo's engagement with Weyler's
troops is said to haverakeu place
He declared that he knew it to be an
absolute fact that the Spanish general
MclquiZo, with 3, 900 men, the exact
nuinhc rtLat Maceoi is said To have engaged
few weeks ago, came suddenly uppn
Gen. Maceo, with 5000 Cuban patriots
behind him.
las usual the Cutans got to york first,
and before MelquiZo olld get his line i'll
shape he was greeted with shower Of
leaGen hail that moved great gaps in his
line The hattie continued for sometime
before Naceo, who had evidently been
waiting for Spain's scldiery, tegan 10 slow
V retreat.
MaCeO stih retreated and was followed
slowly by the broken lines OF the Spanish
forces. Then, from an eminerce. this same
eulinence is mentioned in the alleged Wey-
Ter engag ement.
Maceo brought dynamite gun to bear on
the Spanish, and killed off several hundred
of Spain's soldiers before darkness ended
the fighting.
AT this point, as in the story of the al
legged Weyler engagement, the dynamite in
cident comes in. Hundreds OF Spanish sol
diers were Instantly killed by the discharge
Of the dreaded substance almost under their
feet. The carnage was terrible.
NIACEO GOT AWAY.
Maceo and his victorious troops got away,
Lieut.. Rios declared here that the Cuban
loss was only thirty The Spanish, Re de-
clared, lost nearly =, 900 men. Lieut.. Rius
was then asked If the story dated November
20 from Jacksonville, Fla, and purporting
TO he al Interview with him, was rue.
He replied, through an Interpreter, that
the weyler story he knew nothing about,
but explained, when he was told its pur-
port, that he had heard tn" same thing be-
fore leaving on the Algonquin Tor this city.
DO you know whether 1t was trur?''
he was asked. His reply was that he knew
nothing at all about it.
This seems to settle the story of Gen
Weyier's engagement with Maceo's men
in the Rubi Hill district, which he has
declared was an untruth, and which the
Cubans have said was fact.