The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-07

in Pinar del Rio a war devoid or the
'barbaric has been carried on.
The supporters of the revolution, ana
there army many in this city and prov
ince, wrote resident Cisneros and Gen
eral Gomez letters asking them not 10
invade the province fearing that the
great tobacco fields would be destroy
ed by the rebel army, or If not, by the
government forces.
1--WE cannot support the movement i
this is done they wrote, because the
crop now ready 10 be gathered VIII De
ruined, and we will have funds neither
TO support our families nor render ma
terial aid to the cause"
But the leaders knew what they were
| doing. They wished to demonstrate
their ability not only 10 enter Matan-
zas and Havana but the extreme west
erly province of the island, and this
despite the thousands of troops Spain
| had massed against them on the mar
row strip of land between Havana and
| its southern port, Batabano.
'As soon as the insurgents broke
| through the line Of troops (Which must
in this instance be called, like the equa-
| tor, an imaginary ine), the Spanish
F! tactics employed at Matanzas were
| transferred to this city. Although the
| rebel army was seventy miles away,
| the city was put in a state Of defense.
! Cannon were placed on approaching
! thoroughfares, and sort of. garrison
| guard mount and picket duty was at
| once instituted. OF course alarm
spread among the inhabitants, for it
| appeared to them that the soldiers
| themselves were terrified by thoughts
Of approaching rebels. As one citizen
| of the place says: 1T was extremely
| ridiculous to see preparations going on
! here and columns of Spanish troops
| that had been chasing DelgadO and
| some of the smaller chiefs coming into
| town to seek refuge behind the stone
walls of the headquarters, instead Of
| going out TO meet the enemy in the
| field"
But the excitement has all passed
| away, and the nhabitants are now
| quite accustomed to the rattle of mus
! kerry and the booming of heavier guns,
that has continued daily for a fortnight
| in the country surrounding the city.
| One would think from the noise that
| each army was annihilating the other,
but the evening reports that come in
! indicate that only a dozen Spaniards
| and eight or ten times as many in
surgents have bitten the dust during
| the days excursion.
The monotony was somewhat allevia-
! ted when, few days ago. the battle Of
/ Las Taironas was fought, within six
miles of the city. ION Linden when
the sun was low cannon never doomed
more loudly, and the good people of
Pinar del Rio prayed feverently, for
| they thought the end of the world, or
| at least this particular province of it.
was nigh. The priests ga thered at the
| ca thedral and hoped aloud that only a
| few soldiers would be killed; on which
| side they did not say, but their prayers
/ were evidently offered fo- the Cubans,
as the Spaniards were completely de-
feated, losing 200 men and their rich
ammunition train.
Las Taironas is acknowledged by all
to have been the most important en-
| gagement since Colon. II was exceed
| ingly so as far as General Maceo was
| concerned. for his force was badly in
need of ammunition and other military
| stores, and would have been in very
severe straits but for the capture of
| the convoy. Besides about $4,000
rounds of Mausur cartridge, there were
500 Mausur rifles and a large quantity
| of dynamite captured in the train. The
| latter will probably be used to good adj
vantage on the railroads between here
and Havana, which, up TO this writing,
is practically intact.
TO CURE 4 COLD IN ONE DAY
| Take laxative Bromo Quinine Tablets. AL
| druggists refund the money if 1t falls to
| cure. 25c.