The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-04-23


Maceo. and We spoke cautiously OF his
chances
The rnaneuverlng of both OF the armies
began In the arst days of this month We
learned of the Spanish mansuvers through
the of1eiai reports. but we coaid only
guess at those Of Maceo. or form sucn
Judgment Of them as might be arrived at
from the Spanish references TO his waere-
ahoEts az one tirse and another We had
plenty OF respect fer Maceo's skill as q
strategiSt: but there have been occasions
upon which even the greatest OF soldiers,
men Ike Alexander, Caesar ard Naro-
leon, were IN mighty bad TX, and II we
could call a square fix we might say that
Maceo was IN thing OF that kind for the
first two weeks OF April
But how astounding are our latest dis
patches frtm Havana. They tell US that
the insuryent Maceo has fallen upon one
side of the square. the strongest side OF Il.
and chased II to the edge of the sea, where
it was glad TO get the protection of The
Spanish navy. He has performed deed
which the Spanish stragetist. Gen. Aroias,
had declared 20 be impossible He refused
to permit Spain TO force him 10 fight
decisive battle al this time; he thought IL
best TO fight his own kind Of battle with
out waiting for the Spanish attack. He
determined TO make the assault. made II.
gained the day, and resumed his man
euVer-rg within the broken Spanish square.
We learn from the Havana dispatch in
yesterdays Sun. which We must not smile
at because there was bloodshed, that the
royal troops fought with great despera-
ton, that they were under the command OF
three generals. that they retreated from
the field pursued for seven hours by the
resolutionists. who kept up a constant fire
upon them all the way from Lechusa 10
the seaeoast, and that the losses of the
pursuing insurgents were very heavy
while only four of the fighting and flying
Spaniards lost their lives Spain had a
bigger force than Cuba at the battle:
Spain had cannon. which Cuba had not
until after the battle was over: the Span
ish generals are masters OF Spanish mill
tary science. a thing that Maceo seems to
have no respect for. How In the world
did Maceo manage the business; how shat
ter the fmpregnable; how beat three Span
ish generals; how chase a good part of
an immovable square; how outmaneuver
the strategist Arolas, who has been man.
euvering all his life We can only say
puzzles. puzzles for the thirteen military
academies In Spain. puzzles for Weyler,
for the minister OF Cltramar at Madrid.
and for his majesty Alfonso XIII. We
truly wish that Maceo would occasionally
furnish us with military report as an
Offset to the incomprehensible Spanish re-
ports. We may think for some time, how
ever. about the statement made in the
Spanish dispatch from Havana. that "the
insurgents would have been badly whipped
In the battle II Col. Sanchez Echevarria's
side OF the square had arrived on the field
in time" II was too late.
How. then, did Maceo maneuver upon
this occasion? We get only a hint from
Havana, but 1t is useful one. He drew a
Cuban circle around the Spanish square,
or around part of il, as much of 1t as his
circle would take In. He made an at
tempt" We are told from Havana. ito sur
round the Spa aish force" which was the
square. The Spanish Col. Debos, we are
told further, ordered the retreat because
he OWNED the enemy's intention to en-
circle his column" May be, that's IL.
Perhaps We have got hold of something
The insurgents inside the square formed
circle around much of IL as they could
compass, and then fell upon that much
of 1T from the outside, This must have
been maneuvre of Maceo's, sure 1t
was circle against square. and any
square is sure 10 have bad luck when a
circle runs up against 1t. The Spanish
generals had never thought when they
got Maceo inside the square that he would
rush outside of il unexpectedly and strike
II from the rear. No such manner of man.
euvering is taught in the school Of the
Spanish staff at Madrid. or in the general
y
square is the thing. This Maceo seems
to be regardless of Spanish military SCI
ence. You can't square the circle, but Ma
Geo has shown that he can circulate on
all sides of a Spanish square.
This Is the FIRST time in the war in which
Spain ever got large force of Cuhans in
side an impregnable square. The Spanish
generals In Cuba have tried the single long
straight line many a time. They tried two
parallel lines. each line separated from
the other by distance of ten or more
miles, in the provine of Santiago last year,
They have now two double parallels near
Havana running across the island from
sea to sea, one side of the late square
which Maceo broke. They have tried all
the regular formations, the triangle, curve,
corkscrew, circle. polygon and circum-
hendibus. Not one of them is worth its
shape when Maceo Is around. We had TO
smile a few weeks ago when the revolution
seized a Spanish triangle by its narrow
end. and made all three sides of it wish
they were back in Spain.
We cannot fully explain how it was that
Maceo played hockey with the Spanish
square n few days ago. But IL must be
remembered that he is colored man.
That is something to think of. We have
A right to judge from his complexion that
he is a man not OF negro blood. but of that
Moorish race which once ruled in Spain
and taught the natives how to geometrize
We cannot otherwise account for his sue
cess in circllng the square.
What he may do next in the way Of man.
euvering. no Spanish general in Cuba can