Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-15
Brass fire sets-Mayberry & Watson.
THE DEADLY MACHETE.
1t Is the Main Reliance of the Struggling
Cuban Patriots.

Cuban Patriots.
people in this country" said an Amer
lean who had spent many years in Cuba,
Cannot understand why the Spanish
forces accomplish so little in Cuba and
why almost nothing is being done. And
yet the explanation is very simple to US
who know the Cubans If Spain could
take from Cuba tine machete she would
end the war in two months.
There lies the whole secret. With the
machete in hand the CubanS are inVinci-
bic. 1t is strange, too, in the last days of
the nineteenth century to see war waged
on first principles. Do you remember the
thrill with which you read when a lad of
the wonderful charges of the Scots in
their border wars, when, claymore in
hand, they swept everything before
them?
Now, after centuries of inventions,
when warfare has been reduced to almost
an exact science. we find on one side ar
rayed all that modern science has done
for war; on the other nothing that Is
modern. We see hundreds of thousands
of soldiers armed with the most i'm
proved implements of war held in check
by barely half hundred thousand men
armed with only a single weapon-the
machete.
NOTHING CAN WITHSTAND IT.
"People in this country cannot under
stand this condition of affairs. They are
aware, | suppose, of the romantic interest
that attaches to a contest of this sort, but
no one who has not seen a Cuban armed
with his favorite weapon can understand
what the machete means.
Have you ever seen a pack of dogs
held in leash? That is what a Cuban
regiment mbles more than anything
else in the world. The men fight brave
ly enough with their guns they handle
the few cannon they possess with con-
siderable skill, but one can plainly see
they are under restraint.
1T is not until the order comes to draw
the machete and charge that one realizes
the difference. Then, as one man, an en-
tire regiment rouses itself There is usu-
ally one great cheer, and then, with this
terrible weapon flashing in the air, the
charge begins. Nothing can withstand
1t.
LET me tell you of one instance. I
saw this myself. The Cuban forces were
charging, machete in hand. The Spanish
forces turned loose on them with a Krupp
gun. single order was given. The
main body hestated, and a cheer came
from the Spanish forces. From the right
and left wings of the Cubans two de-
tachments of fifty men rode forward at
terrific pace.
LAS they rode the men formed their
horses into flying wedge, such as the
college boys use in foot ball. They rode
bright up to the gun OF course most of
the men were killed, but enough got to
the gunners to cut them off.
USED 1T FROM HIS BIRTH.
II know of nothing that can withstand
the machete. The Cuban has used it from
almost the day of his birth. He does
everything with it. In times of peace
have often had occasion to travel through
sections where there were no roads
had to go through the underbrush which
iC xynr hna hat ta1
man hundred feet ahead of me, mount
ed of course.
with his machete HE would cut a path
for me and my horse. He simply rode
along seemingly swinging the long blade
in a desultory sort of fashion, but in re-
ality with the greatest precision and skill.
He lost so little time in this work that
with both horses walking it would take
me three miles to catch up to him.
Once a big fellow down on my plan
tation ran amuck. We got after him and
tracked him to a cave ten miles out in
the mountains. I got a dozen soldiers
and we went to get him. He was armed
with his machete and had killed four per-
sons in his wild run.
1.-THE soldiers lined up in front of the
mouth of the cave and l called to this
fellow to come out. The soldiers stood
with their guns pointed at the spot where
this man must come out, if he came at
all
suddenly he emerged from the dark
| ness and stood carelessly looking at my
men. He did not seem to be armed Sud
denly he reached behind him and drew
from the leg of his boot his machete.
| Then he sprang forward. l saw the
flash of his weapon in the air and then
| the soldiers fired.
When the smoke cleared away the
Cuban was dead, of course. He had
been riddled with bullets, but he had
killed three of the soldiers. Each man
| was cut in two as clean as If the work
| had been done al a saw mill.
THESE things l have seen with my own
| eyes. And these are the reasons why
| the cry Machete! machete! brings ter
| ror to the Spanish forces"