The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-12-09
ANTONIO MACEO'S CAREER.
A Leader Whose Generalship Is Sec
Ond to NOne-SOn.e of His Feats.

If the report tnat Gen. Antonio Maceo
has recrossed the trocha be true his action
will be regarded as additional evidence OF
the military genius with which he has been
credited Maceo all throughout the war
has shown himself to be endowed with the
qualities necessary for a successful COM
mander. AS tactician and strategist he
far surpasses Gomez and Garcia, and could
give Weyler and his Spanish officers points
on generalship they could never be able
to learn from books. Maceo is about fifty
years old. During the last ten-year war in
Cuba Maceo rose from a boyish recruit into
a brilliant and intrepid leader and was the
last TO lay down his arms and disband his
men. In that long and profitess struggle
young Maceo received twenty-one severe
wounds which show the desperate valor of
his personal leadership. His final capitu-
lation to Gen. Martinez Campos was char
acteristic of him. He wrote a naughty
letter and agreed to submit to exile on con-
diton that a Spanish man-of- war be placed
at his disposal to convey him and his off,
GERS to Jamaica. Campos accepted the
terms and the Spanish war ship took him
to Jamaica. where he remained for about
two months. Was he conquered? Had the
dream of free Cuba faded? Note his course
OF conduct comparatively uneducated
man, Maceo suddenly acquired an amazing
fondness for books. especially books relat-
ing TO wars and military tactics. He read
them early and late and dreamed of what
he had read in his sleep: His subsequent
career has been thus related in recent
article:
''Ea-,y in 1879 a brown-skinned, weather.
beaten man arrived in New York on one
of the Jamaica steamers. For a month or
more he lived alone without other COM
panionship than that of books. 1t was
Maceo, and the fire OF liberty still smolder-
an in ia hraa =t Saa n faU
able opportunity TO burst into flame. In a
few months he made his way to West
Point where he obtained employment as a
hoster. Nobody in the academy dreamed
fer moment that the broad-shouldered,
dark-browed man who handled the horses
SO easily had ever smelled the smoke of
battle or heard the song of rifle bullets
Day after day on the parade grounds the
taciturn man watched the evolutions of the
cadets listened to the commands of the
officers studied the discipline of the place,
pored over volumes of military tactics that
he had managed to borrow and added TO
his natural genius the knowledge OF other
great generals.
HIS WORK IN COSTA RIGA
"Then the dark-skinned hostler who was
regarded as book mad gave up his position
| and returned to New York. From New
York he went 10 Costa Rica, taking a hun
! dred or more weighty volumes with him.
! Some wealthy Cubans had settled in Costa
| Rica during the war, and they now offered
| Maceo a tract of land on which to colonize
| his brave followers. Here for ten years
the exiled Cuban worked and studied and
| dreamed and instructed his feilow-veterans
| in the modern theories OF war At times
/ he would lecture them. At other times he
| would give them practical lessons I'm drill
| ing and in cavalry evolutions With each
] day. each week. month and year his dream
i of the freedom OF Cuba was brighter thar
before. Never for a moment did he seem
| 10 forget the points of his purpose.
| 'In 1883, ten years after the close of ths
| war. he began TO scheme for another up
| rising i'm Cuba He took the former officer.
! into his confidence. and the little band o
! revolutionists spent almost a year in max
| ing plans for the overthrow of Spain
! Finally Maceo sailed for Jamaica, and from
! jamaica to Santiago de Cuba. disguised a!
| n laborer. Not for a moment during tn,
1 fCeptinued on Second Paxe.D