The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-29

and Apprised OF the retirement OF
Campos - Gomez Declares That lie
Loved Campos Who was More Faithful
to His God Than to His Country and
Sounds His Praises HighIy-Cuban Sol
diers Fight in Their Bare-Heads.
Chicago, Ill, Jan. 2S-The Inter
Ocean has the following:
In the Field, near Caimito, Havana
province, Cuba, Jan. Pot is not more
than sixty miles, as the crow flies, from
Cuban's capital to this point, the camp
ing place for the past twenty-fOur hours
of General Gomez's division of the rebel
army. In another four hours the army
will again be on the move, and by this
time tomorrow night will have advanc-
ed forty miles eastward
Under ordinary circumstances, and
provided with the proper papers, the
reaching of the rebel lines from Havana
is not difficult. Immediately after leav-
ing the city you are halted by Spanish
outpost and your military passport ex-
amined. 4 little further on and you
are for the second time halted, and so
II Is until, perhaps, you nave passed a
half dozen lines.
Each time you imagine you are 10 be
shot, for the sentry appears thoroughly
frightened as he raises his piece 10 his
shoulder and cries out after you have
answered "Vive Espana" for you to ad-
vance sIngly. Even though you are
upon an open road and with open fields
about, he commands you to come up TO
him alone, and you wonder how, under
the circumstances, you could do any
thing else.
CARE OF SENTRIES.
Sometimes the sentry cannot read, and,
although he thinks from the looks of
your papers you are all right, he march
es you 70 the nearest officer in command
OF that district-he may be either a
corporal or a general-and turns you
over for cross-eXaminatiOn Then If
you are thirty miles from Havana, they
become suspicious and demand your
reasons for wanting to go further.
1t is always well in such an emergen-
cy to know the name of some officer
still beyond and inform your questioneI
that your are 10 join his command.
Should the man who endeavorS to bar
your progress then assert that you are
going in the wrong direction to meet
the general named-he must always be
a general in this case-yOu, on the other
hand, insist that you are possessed o:
inside information as TO the where
abOuts of that certain officer that can
not be questioned.
This clash Of opinion and assumed in
formation is not very pleasant, especial
~ TO the soldier but the little bluff
works and you are allowed to proceed.
Sometimes, by way of encouragement
you are informed that the terror of the
Cuban peasantry and lonely travellers
through the country, "plateados," are
numerous in the section just ahead.
MURDERERS GALORE.
Yes, and it is these same plateados
who make the going from one army To
another a dangerous if not difficult
proceeding They are murderers and
cut-throats of the worst order and are
especially numerous in Havana pro-
vince at the present time. \ great
many of them accompanied the rebels
from the eastern end of the island, and,
reaching Matanzas or Havana, desert
ed. They respect neither side, but
kill and rob at every opportunity.
Beyond Bejucal the Inter Ocean cor
respondent was warned by man, who
came out of a house, that a party OF
pla tea dos was up the road about a
mile away He said he expected they
would come and attack the house and
kill his wife and five daughters, who
were hiding in the cellar. Later on
the piateados appeared in the thin cane
about 200 yards away. a victim had
fallen into their hands, and, in plain
sight of the house, they felled him 20
the ground with stones, finished his life
with machetes. and, TobbinS him Of his
clothes, departed.
JOURNEY CONTINUED.
1t was not a sight such as would tend
TO increase the desire to proceed further
in that direction; but, with the infOrma-
ton that they had gone back into the
cane fields, and a knowledge of the fact
that plateadOs carry no firearms, while
the Inter Ocean correspondent was well
supplied with the latter. and rode a
Sood horse. the journey was continued.
For the next TWO leagues 10 the east
ward good time was made.
Not a man, woman or child was seen
in the six miles, although there were
in that vicinity three or four large Span
ISL columns. Bejucal itself was at
tackled by the rebels a few days before,
and the handsome church, used as a
garrison by the Spaniar1s, was almost
totally ruined; but the rebels had gone
again, like the wind, and no one knew
whittier.
About thirteen miles eastward from
AfNJb IIAC Sudtltli u VI NSAl'Ai ' q
rang out. The rebel outpost. or. rather
the rear line Of skirmiShers, was being
neared. This Is readily known by the
difference in the challenges. the Span
iards asking who lives?" and the rebel
inquiring who goes?"
REBEL PASSPORT.
To answer "EspanaW at this time
would mean death, providing you were
unluclxy and the rebel picket We're a bet
ter markSman than a majority Of his
comrades. The opportunity is prOvid-
ed, and. being certain that you are not
in Spanish hands. you dig down into
your riding boot and produce a rebel
pass port. that entities you To ride from
er and guarantees you an escort the
entire distance
You at once appreciate the difference
in the value between the two military
papers you carry. one. given by the
government of Spain, says you may 90
with the forces in operation" but you
are hindered and watched in every
movement you make. The other. is
sued IN the name of the Republic Of
Cuba. wins for you friends at every
turn and valuable assistance il reach
ing any particular destination.
Shortly after passing the first rebel
picket. a rebel party Of perhaps be-
tween 600 and 400 IS met. II was de-
taChment Of the forces under the COM
mand Of General QTintin Be1deras.
whose main body was one leauCe tthrea
miles, 10 the southwark. Here il was
learned that Gomez was moving toward
the CienaCa Zapata, or the great Gu
ban everglades. n southern NatanZas
He was only twelve miles away. but,
as his entire force was cavalry. j would
not do 10 delay II Re was to De caught
up with.
MARCH IN BARE FEET.
Several small detachmelts Of Ban
deras' force were encountered in the