The Valentine Democrat. [volume] (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898, 1896-10-29

gl0-SaX0n races OF the pidHeL- ihoic
were Americans, Englishmen, Cana
dams, Australians, and South Afri-
cans, and they had come from the ends
of the earth TO take part in such a row
as promised to follow when Cuba Lib
ra set up her flag against that of Spain.
Their leader was a Virginian, there
was not a Cuban or a Spaniard in the
company, and the name of Skaters
Troop was a name of terror to the
government forces from Pinar del Rio
to Sagua la Grande.
To see them thus encamped no one
would have supposed that they were
engaged in one of the most daring raids
that had been adventured since the
war opened in 90. The officers-there
were but two-sat Economically on
the ground among their men; there was
a tinkling of banjos, and a mingled
sound of confused talking and of jovial,
f~ree-handed profanity. The shadows
of the men doomed big on the back
ground Of tropical vegetation, where
the red fire light flashed fitfully from
time to time, and now he form Of a
tethered horse, and now the figure of a
sentry leaning against a smooth coated
palm.
1t was no small affair that these men
were engaged in-nothing less, in fact,
than a raid on the "trocha" itself. 1t
is 0 the policy Of the Cuban leaders
to risk a pitched battle, so to arouse
the enthusiasm of the men, and at the
same time keep the enemy on he's alert,
such expeditions are undertaken from
time to time.
They have encamped some fifty miles
from the Spanish lines and the attack
was fixed for the next night. A dash
across the country, a stealthy advance
on the fertilization, another dash, sa-
bre and revolver, and a triumphal re-
treat-this was the program that Sla-
ter's Horse proposed to itself.
Next morning they rode UP and down
the rolling hills in the early dawn for
two hours, and then rested for the
heat of the day in a cool and very Sc
Guided grove, where they would be
screened from any wandering gueril-
las. Late at night they saddled again
and rode cautiously forward till they
were not more than forty rods from
the trocha itself. They could see the
watchfres on the further side of the
great redoubt, shining between the
strands of the barbed wire fence
stretched along the brink.
Between them and the trocha lay a
dangerous obstacle, an ingenious de-
Tense, composed of a number Of wires
drawn six inches apart and a foot above
the ground. This formed a network
over which it was impossible to ride,
and as its width was uncertain, was
dangerous to leap. Slater knew Of Gs.S
impeachment, however, and had made
his plans accordingly. Half a dozen
then dismounted in silence, and taking
each a pair of nippers from his saddle
bags, crept forward into the darkness.
The rest of the troop sat silently on
horseback hardening to the sounds and
voices from the Spanish camp, and to
the occasional clicking noise right
ahead where their comrades were cut
ting the hostile wires.
In the course Of half an hour the
men came back, and in whispers re-
ported the way clear. The wires had
been cut and dragged aside, so as to
leave a road Of sufficient width for the
passage Of the troop, ever in the hur-
ried retreat which must follow. The
whole party than dismounted and led
the horses stealthily forward, till al
most at the very brink of the trocha.
The Spaniards on the other side were
clearly visible, while they themselves
were hidden in deep shadows, and the
rest scrambled into the ditch and up
the other side.
So quietly was all this done that the
whole performance passed unobserved
tillSlater sprang upon the parapet and
began slashing at the wires with his
machete. Then there was a shout
and shot from the nearest Spaniard.
followed by a miscellaneous rattle of
rifles along the lines. The troops
swarmed out, and saw a string of men
hacking furiously at the wires with
one hand and plying a revolver with
the OJleT. LII Tile ulm ure-I1S1C CQolI
numbers could not be ascertained.
Atthis amazing spectacle the soldiers
fired a volley-that is, discharged their
rifles in the general direction of the
foe. When the smoke blew off, this
operation seemed to have produced nc
effect on the invaders. who had now
cut and torn the strands apart and
were actually within the Enclosure
They bore down in the line on the Span.
iards, revolver in one hand, blade in
the other. No soldier-marksmen were
they, but men whose lives had otter
and often hung upon a pistol shot, an6
now their enemies felt the effect. Ii
ten seconds thirty of the gray uniforms
were writhing on the sod, and the re
mainder beheld the machetes flashing
In their faces. The Castillians are no
without a proverb that teaches that dis
erection is the better part of valor; they
drew back. Their shots seemed tC
have no effect on these madmen, whose
pistols emitted a continuous stream Of