The San Francisco call., 1896-12-13

From to-day Cuba will fight harder
than ever before. This will be sad day
for Spain.
az do not know who will succeed Ma
Geo." said Mr.. Haua "but 1 think II will
be Rios Rivera, brave and intelligent
soldier"
ATLANTA, GA, Dec. 12.-The Constitu-
tion's Key West special gives the follow
ing account Of Maceo's death, indicating
his betrayal and duplicating DIR. Ter
tucha:
"Your correspondent is now enabled to
state upon the most undoubted authority
that the death of Maceo was premedi-
tated assassination and that the failure to
produce his body is because tits mutiiated
and would shock even Spanish ofhcial
sensibllities.
ait seems that General Maceo had
planned a successful crossing OF the trocha
and that, taking the sea route with a
bodyguard, he was to rejoin his forces east
OF Mariel This was accomplished IN
safety and while standing alone within
sight of line of skirmishers the general
was shot down by men in hiding, who
were awaiting their victim. His body
was then hacked up by the assassins.
alt has been well known for a year past
that there was price set upon Maceo' S
head and that Captain-General Weyler's
first official act upon reaching the island
was to give recognition to the plateodos,
bands of freebooters. These men, follow
ing in the wake of both armies, would
oh
down by the indignant Cubans would find
protection within the Spanish lines, while
the latter would officially deny all knowl-
edge of the murderers.
"a few weeks ago band of these men
attacked a convent in the province of
Puerto Principe, which was filled with
young girls, who were most shamefully
abused. Some of these men were caught
by General Lacet, the insurgent leader,
and executed, while the greater part of
them found protection within Spanish
lines. Although the enormity of their
crime was known and their victims were
convent schoolgirls the criminals were
protected from molestation and are to-day
free.
These are the men whom General
Weyler has spent hundreds of thousands
of dollars to attach to his cause and
through whom he has ordered the killing
of foreigners whom he dared not call up in
court. He has made offers of reward for
the assassination of insurgent leaders.
For three weeks it has been known in
Havana that a clever bril- was out for the
surrender of General Maceo. 1t was to the
effect that he held the ticket which called
for the grand prize of $4,000 in the Hav-
ana lottery, and upon Weyler's departure
for the hills several days ago it was
breathed about that the man who killed
Maceo could have the prize. The story oi
Maceo's death as told from official sources
sustains fully the theory of assassination.
General Maceo, instead of crossing the
trocha directly with his men, was through
some covert influence induced to pass
Mariel on boat and to reach his forces on
the east side of the death line. There
every thing was ia readiness by the con-
spirators, and the brave leader fell vic
tim to the trap into which he had walked.
It is considered very singular that Maceo' S
physician, Maxine Zertucha, was allowed
to surrender and is treated with distinc-
ton.
"The depression into which the Cubans
were thrown upon the first announcement
of Maceo's death, now that the fact of his
assassination is confirmed, has changed
to that of desperate determination"