New-York tribune., 1896-01-13
THE CTBlN INST REGENTS.
THEIR SITUATION DESCRIBED BY ONE RE-
GENTLY AMONG THEM.


Hubert Howard in The Contemporary Review.
Iiiile is known 10 the outside world Of the actual
state OF affairs Ia Cupd during ne present war.
Tho greater part Of the news published abroad -
er rom span:f i o[@ igays @G; r-wortng 2s T? ann
Other reports axe made by the agents appontei
by the various newspapers in the principal seaport
towns OF cuba and their dispatches necessarily
consist for the most part Oi 4 resume % t'e
ruiuo.s which are necessarily beng crculatea from
mouth to mouth. ani which whether favorable
30 SPAN or not are usually cthet 80 a,s1oft.i AS
dutou. ia Santiago II was reported with more than
usual assurance tnat cenerai Antonio Mareo had
90. and that ne was either dead or dying | saw
hlm aferNard. as he ana his escor' or 100 horses
rode up at fun galOp 10 present themselves 10
''', t..i-..ai s.,r,e Wncn President ana General
had been In many actions. but hld suffered no
wound tnr9ushqut ne present % war. -, .h, ,,.,,r.
gents. hut the towns are Spanish and In the hands
oi the Spanards are The means OF reportns the
progress of campaign OF what would appear TO
bo almost unbgokcn success for themselves, span
ish troops have been poured into me Island III
thousands upon thousands ana there LOST sght or
Telegram. and reports III England ana AlArrloa
and Killed either side ard always there Is the
end is very near. and that MARTINEZ Campos IL only
waiting tor rclnforecmcntS 10 begin the general
Tho general impression is that the insurrection is
hoins sustained by bands Of faVaSe. undlsc.plined
cety. and negroes who. hunted from place to place
by tn" spanish reEuiars' ana condeinned by by me
ir, woods and moinrains and carrv on u, marauding
A., rf4re oil tann.. ard murder ayo!linc the Span
ish forces save when they are IN vastly superior
numbers
The statements of the victorious progress OF the
spanards ale false and the reports are absolutely
unreliable Il is true that Spain is making every
,ffort ships are bought and blockade coast. yet
arms and ammunition are continually being land
ed and as yet no Hlinuster has been taken
Troops are sont from Sgan; but no change In the
situation taxes place. At the end of october the
Spaniards were everywhere practically standns
On the defensive; they held the towns. certain
positions along the coast and. after fashion. the
railroads which usually run a very short distance
inland. the rest Of the island Is Free cuba and
f. i'm the hands of the insurgents The SpanlaTds
seldom venture inland In any direction away from
@o0' or 5000 mon ana even then the dsorg1uiZation
of their cOmmissarat and the hostility of the coun-
try are such - TO prevent them ifom Keeping the
field for more than "a very few dais at a time.
Almost every cuban ON ne island Is IN sympathy
with th" insurrtcuon, nothing Is more raise than
to suppose that only those who have nothing to
and unedu'aicd, even the chldron born IN the
island of spanish PARENTS an are AGAINST spain.
SO, too Tor the most lait' IN" American ana Eng
lish colonists owners 81 plantations, ana manage RS
Of mines an" the friends OF the Insurgents and wish
them well ana passing tr,ely as tnry do from the
country l" tno tp"lis tu'N "SS'St th' Tth,ls IN
hundred ways. and always AT great personal risk to
thcmeclv's.
In TIE Whrc lSlahd mere were some 2'o~ inSur-
gents under arms. all both infantry and cavalry
carrying, the machete as n sde-arm, and rifle OF
one Kind or another usually a Remngton Here
and there the men were armed with Mauscrs. the
new Spanish magazine rife. which had cit her been
collected from the prisoners taken from the
cases saw il would seem that the wound il inlicts
is easily healed the bullet boring hole through the
bone instead of breaking it.
For the time being there appeared 10 he tocrable
supply of ammunition. but no very large reserve.
on sr'nlir. from abroad Moro ritl"s and or,rnni
tion are constantly being run into the country: and
with the Increased supply OF arms the numbers of
the Insurgents the Held could he very largely in