The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1896-01-11
CLOSE TO HAVANA
TIE INSURGENTS DRAWING NEAR
THE CAPITAL

The INSURGENTS DRAWING NEAR
THE CAPITAL
They Are Reported to Have De.
atroyed Property Within Eight
Miles Of Havana and Are Only
Two Miles From the Place Where
the Apparatus ID Located Upon
Which Havana Depends for Its
Water supply.
Havana. Jan. Am engagement be-
tween the Spanish troops and insur-
gents has taken place ut FL Estante,
south of Alfonso MIL, and not far
from the frontier of the province Of
Havana. The official announcement
says that the troops captured the in
surgent positions, but the loss to the
enemy is not known. Ii is admitted
that two Spanish officers and four sol
diers We're killed and nineteen were
wounded.
The insurgents, following their usual
tactics, did not accept decisive ell
gagement, but after the skirmish pro-
ceeded westward, devastating the
country as they marched onward. The
authorities here, in announcing this
skirmish, added the significant state
ment that the troops were moved
closer to the province of Havana"
which would seem to indicate that the
Spanish forces are once more in re-
treat.
Later in the day it was announced
Lshene:that further fighting between the
ards and the Cubans Is taking
in the vicinity of Ell Stante,
ID, with the announced movement
e Spanish troops .clOser to the
Her Of Havana" leads people here
elieve t!Ht the insurgents have
In Pursuit of the Spanish
In that vicinity. The latter are COM
manded by Col. Galvis, who was also
in command of the troops first en-
gagged in The vicinity of FL Estante,
which seems to be confirmation Of
the supposition that the Spaniards
were worsted and that the Cubans are
making for the frontier Of the province
Of Havana, in spite Of all the state
nlents to the contrary
In view Of the fine work and rapid
progress of the insursent cavalry, Gen.
CampOs has ordered the Spanish otti-
cials i'll all the disturbed districts to
seize nll the horses they can lay their
hands on, in order to prevent them
from falling into the hands of the en-
envy. But it is believed that the Gu
bans are already as well mounted and
supplied with horses as they need be,
and there are people who claim that
9 n,S1np. ,,,fspI pI,%
with better advantage some months
sooner.
The damage being done by the Gu
bans is terrible. They have burned the
hest part of the town Of .Jaguey and
the cane fields of Perla, Rosario and
Australia in that district, and in the
Naverrete district the plantations of
Vinas, Mendez. Garay, Eccalunt and
Haza have been destroyed by the red
torches of the SpaniarG's enemies.
In addition the Cuban forces have
burned many houses in the Cardenas
district of the province of Matanzas
and have set fire to and destroyed
| many cane fields in the Onion de
Reyes, Ruena Vista, Jaguey and the
Grande Macurijes districts.
Havana Is Threatened.
The news that the insurgents are
still Oh the borders Of the province of
Havana has increased the feeling of
nervousness, which LIS prevailed here
from the time they entered the PROV
ince of Matanzas, and no explanations
which the authorities can furnish ap-
pear able to dispel the popular impress
sion that there is no real check of the
insurgent adavnce, and that all the
effort Of the Spanish troops to drive
them out of Matanzas have proved
more than fruitless.
Havana, Jan. G.-The authorities con-
fess the grave condition Of affairs by
proclaiming martial law for the PROV
inces of Havana and Pinar del Rio.
Maxine Gomez has declared his in
tentiOn to penetrate into the province
of Pinar del Rio. Although his forces
lave not reached the borders of that
province, the action of the authorities
is understood to indicate that they
have no hopes of preventing him from
carrying out his threat.
1t is not by any means to be cOnsid-
cred that the apparent lack of hope Of
checking the new advance shown by
the authorities has led to the cessation
of efforts to prevent the ad,an The
Spanish forces swarm on all sides of
the advancing insurgents. From time
to time there are massed at salient
point, with the hope of bringing about
Il pitched battle. which the Spanish
military leaders feel certain would re-
suit in cutting the insurgents into
pieces. But the unrivaled skill and
generalsllip shown by Gomez and his
lieutenants in avoiding such traps and
in carrying his army past the most
elaborately planned barriers Of the
Spanish have served to greatly dis
courage the leaders on that side. Their
elusive antagonist seems never to he
| within their reach. and yet always i'll
hicting the most serious damage upon
their territory.
Twenty Miles of Havana.
1t is believed that a large band OF
the insurgents is still trying to force
It's way into Havana by way of the
mountains on the border in she south
ern part of the province Of Havana.
going thence south of San Niceles. \
small force Of insurgents. according to
official reports, has already appeared
in the district of San Niceles, which
adjoins Guines on the east.
Advancing Upon Havana.
Later-The insurgents are apparently
making u swift advance directly upon
Havana. The advance guard of their
cavalry. under Gen. n.Lacret, was. at the
latest accounts, at Tapaste, which is
1S miles from Guanabacoa. the latter
being but a suburb of Havana, five
miles from the city, where a bathing
beach frequented by the citizens of
Havana is located.
Word was received from la Cateli-
Mt 4
about dozen miles from Tapaste, re-
porting that there are indications of a
rapid advance movement in considera-
BILE force on the part Of the wing of
the insurgent army under Bandera.
Nothing definite is known as to the
strength in numbers of Bandera's q
command, but the news of the near ap-
proach of the insurgents has caused
tthe utmost anxiety on the part of the
authorities, and every preparation Is
hastily being made to have the city's