The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-17
CUBAN CHATTER.
A DESPATCH EVIDENTLY EDITED
BY THE sPANIARDs.
The Scrap Between the Alfonso XIII
Battalion and the Insurgents I'm
der Maceo.

HAVANA, April 16.-Further details of
the fighting between the Alfonso XIII
battalion and the insurgents under Maceo,
at San Claudio, near the northern ex-
tremfty of the military line, across the
province of Pinar del Rio. shows that the
Spanish gunboat Alerta, which so OPP
portunely went to the assistance of the
troops, found the latter had been COM
PEELED to retreat before an overwhelming
force of 5000 insurgents. Although the
latter outnumbered the men of the AL
fonso XIII battalion by over 10 to l, and
in spite of the fact that the soldiers were
led in pursuing the retreating vanguard of
the enemy into the position which almost
enabled the insurgents to surround them
from neighboring heights, the Spanish
REITERATED IN GOOD ORDER.
fighting stubbornly as they did so. Dur
ing the retreat the government troops
inflicted heavy loss upon Macoe's forces,
and succeeded in maintaining . correct
formation until, after a seven hours
fight, the harbor of San Claudio was
reached. and the troops barricaded them
selves in the best position possible, and
determined to fight to the last During
this long and harassing retreat, the AL
fonso XIII battalion only lost one officer
and four men killed, and had only thlr-
teen men wounded. The fire of the troops
was well-directed and the movement of
the battalion so efficient that the 5000
CubanS were unable TO achieve any ad-
vantage further than compelling the
greatly over-matched body of Spanish
infantry to retreat in good order. Be
sides, it is claimed, even this retreat
would not have been necessary had 1t not
been for the SupineneSS of General Echa
aTia VIII a
stronger Spanish column operating in
conjunction with the column of Colonel
Devos the Alfonso XII battalion and in
the latters immediate neighborhood.
Generals EchaVaria, Suarez and Inclan
left Mariel, north of the line, with the
Alfonso XIII battalion, on Monday, by
different routes in an attempt to engage
Alaceo'S forces.
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
The Alfonso XIII battalion became en-
gagged as already detailed, and should
have been promptly supported by the near
est Spanish column, that of Echaravia,
but the latter not only failed to support
Colonel Devos as promptly as he should
have done, but he seems to have delayed
notifying Generals Suarez and Inclan of
the location of Maceo'S forces, when the
latter had attacked the Alfonso XIII ba-
tallion in force, otherwise a combined
flank movement of the Spanish troops
might have resulted in crushing Maceo's
bellion at the same time.
The Alerta heard of firing while cruis
ing off the coast and headed for San
Claudio where the warship found the
Alfonso XIII hastily barricaded in
houses, warehouses, ETC., in and about
the little place of the little port
Colonel Devos while determined to hold
San Claudio to the last, was caring for
his wounded to the utmost and under the
fire of the enemy he succeeded in embark
ing thirteen injured soldiers into small
boats from which they were transferred
to a small schooner which was at anchor
near the landing place when the battalion
entered the place. When the gunboat
GOT WITHIN RANGE
of the insurgents, who were swarming in
large numbers over the hills in the
vicinity of San Claudio, a hot fire from
her gins and riflenaen were opened on the
enemy's ranks causing much disorder.
Then, when the troops under General In
clan arrived and opened fire on the in
surgents the latter beat a hasty retreat
over the hills and finally disappeared,
whereas if the Spanish columns had acted
well in concert, the result might have
been a most disastrous defeat for Maceo.
General Echavaria has been since re-
lieved of his command and is now in this
city trying to explain his inaction to the
satisfaction of the captain general 1t
is understood he claims to have acted
as promptly as possible under the circum-
offered by the country his columns had to
traverse.
The Havana police have detained the
Protestant bishop, Alberto Jesus Diaz,
and his brother Victoriano Diaz. These
two gentlemen are naturalized American
citizens The police report that they
found in their possession certain insurg-
ent documents.
The insurgent leader Bias Alvarez has
been shot in Pinar del Rio for being an
He was confessed by
priest and received the sacrament. He
then wrote
A KIND OF LETTER TO HIS MOTHER.
asking her pardon and bidding her fare
we'll He declined TO take any breakfast,
but drank aecup of coffee and ate few
biscuits. He was unwilling to receive a
visit from a reporter and expressed a de-
sire that nobody should mention his exc
cution. A square was formed by a de-
tachment of the Reina battalion for exc
cutting the condemned man. He fell at
the first fire. but was not killed and it
was necessary to fire three more shots,
which are called 'mercy Shots before
the poor wretch was dead. He died
bravely.