The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-01-09

Havana, Jan. 4-Unless all indications
are misleading, the end Of the Cuban
instruction is at hand, and the result,
it would seem. must be in favor of the
insurgents, whose armies, under Maxine
Gomez, Antonio Maceo and Quintin Ban
dera, are nearing this city from three diff
ferent directions.
The above facts, so frequently denied
in official circles during the past two
weeks, are now generally admitted, even
In official circles, although all sorts of
lame explanations of the triumphant ad-
vance of the Cubans are put forth in the
hope of calming public excitement, but
no amount of explanation will alter the
fact that the insurgent cavalry scouts
are believed to have been sighted from
here this morning. AS these advance
bodies of the Cubans were only IS miles
from Gunanabaco, practically suburb
of this city, last night, it is by no means
improbable that the report that the
Cuban scouts have been sighted from
the lines defending Havana is correct.
1t is no longer a cry of "On to Havana"
from the Cubans. They are here, slow
ly but surely surrounding this capital
after the triumphant march from the
eastern end of Santiago de Cuba to the
capital of this island, in spite of all that
the best troops of Spain could do to pre-
vent them. Step by step General Cam
pos has been driven back before the ad-
vance of the victorious insurgent army
until here preparations are being COM
pleted on both sides for the final and
decisive struggle.
General Bandera and his column
camped last night at San Jose de Las
Lajas, a very short distance from Ia
paste, and his forces are now said to be
moving on Guanabaco or it's vicinity in
order to take up the position assigned
to them for the siege of Havana.
The Spanish commander insists that
there is no cause for alarm and that the
insurgent columns will shortly be dis
persed by the Spanish troops.
ENCIRCLING HAVANA.
Havana, Jan. 4.-Late this afternoon it
became known that the body of insur-
gents which had been at San Felipe had
. passed on through Quivacan and had
moved westward on Gabriel and Salud,
burning all the fields as they passed.
Salud is westward of Havana, and lit
tie further on is the railroad line in that
direction reaching into Havana. To
reach Salud the insurgents have already
crossed two lines of railroad leading into
this city, and after crossing the third
they will have extended the half moon
formation of their forces about this city
and will have cut off communication by
rail with the province of Pinar del Rio,
and as they are now threatening to cut
off communication with the province of
Matanzas through the force they are adj
vancing from Lapaste, it looks as if Ha-
vana will soon be isolated. AS this dis
patch is sent, however, communication
between Havana and Jaruco is not known
to have been cut off by the enemy.
Jaruco is the first town of Importance
outside of Havana in the direction of
Matanzas. Apparently the three insur-
gent columns have been divided up into
smaller bodies in order to facilitate the
rapidity of movement. But this is only
a supposition based on the fact that the
insurgents are heard from in about half
dozen different towns and directions
in this vicinity today.
One of the insurgent columns has cross
cd the railroad at Batahano, the extreme
southerly station near the Gulf OF Bata-
naho and almost due south OF Havana.