The record-union., 1896-02-03

Cured when the insurgents entered Sa-
banilla has never been told in print.
The authorities prevented the Havana
papers from publishing anything but a
garbled account of the affair and even
that was not allowed to be cabIed to
the United States.
The official account which I was per-
mitted to transmit stated that the in
surgents entered Sabanilla on the 22d,
burned the railroad station and two or
three houses and looted several stores.
The garrison of fifty men made a strong
defense and drove away the insur-
gents, killing seventeen. The Spanish
losses were given as three volunteers
killed and ten civil guards wounded.
The true story is as follows: Saba
nilla an important railroad town, was
entered by about 400 insurgents under
Eduardo Garcia at $50 a. M, January
22d. The main body of insurgents,
numbering over 1000, camped on the
outskirts of the town. Garcia, the lead
er, belongs to one of the best families
of Matanzas, and many of his follow
ers had friends and relatives in Saba
nilla.
Fifty regulars under Captain Juan
themselves up in the barracks, and
after being warned by Garcias men,
they refrained from firing upon the in
vaders. A number of Spanish volun
teers fired upon the rebels from the
church, which had been transformed
into a fort. The rebels returned the
fire, killing three volunteers and wound
ingk two civil guards. One insurgent
|, oh,
tower He was taken out of town on
horseback and is said to be mortally
hurt.
The townspeople received the insur-
gents with cheers, shouts of viva Cuba
Librei" were heard on all sides, and
the invaders were surrounded by men
and women as well, who wished them
success and told of their woes under
Spaish rule. The poor people of the
town told Garcia that they were with
out food, and had eaten nothing but
cane for days, as there was no work
and no money.
The rebel leader then ordered the
store-keepers to open their doors, and
told the people to help themselves. One
shopkeeper who resisted was shot.
About twenty stores were looted of pro-
visions, shoes and clothing. The rail-
road station was burned and the in
vaders then left.
AS soon as they had gone, the Span
ish volunteers issued from the church
and fired into the defenseless crowd of
people, killing twenty -four, including
several women and children. It is
claimed that eight people were among
those who looted the stores, but even
the Spanish papers say some were inno-
cent of the crime of taking food to pre-
vent starvation.
Not satisfied with shooting these peo-
pie in the streets, the Spanish soldiers
took ten Cubans who had been with the
insurgents for a time, but had presented
themselves to the Alcalde a day or two
before the fight, and had been set at
liberty under the proclamation of am
nesty to all rebels who surrendered
their arms. These ten men were shot
in cold blood by the volunteers, in re-
venge for the losses sustained in the
fight around the church. These are
facts
The Alcalde, or Mayor, of Sabanilla,
Don Juan Calves, is now in Havana
and declines to go back until strong
force of regulars is sent to Sabanilla as
a permanent guard. He says the rebels
have been informed of the shooting of
the townspeople by the Spanish vol
unteers, and Garcia has threatened to
return to kill the volunteers and burn
the town.
Fifteen hundred refugees from Sa-
banilla reached Matanzas Monday.
They were men, women and children,
and most of them said they fled for fear
of further outrages by Spanish volun-
teers. Others said they expected the
town would be burned by the insur-
gents.
PURSUIT OF GOMEZ.
HAVANA, Feb 2.-(From a staff cor
respondent of the United Press. Gen
eral Sabas Marin, the acting Captain
General who has taken the field in per-
son against the rebels, is directing act
i've operations with a view to forcing
Antonio Maceo, who is said to be on the
eastern boundary of Pinar del Rio, to
decisive engagement. Yesterday Cen
eral Marin was at Guira de Melena, and
to-day he was at Quivican, province of
Havana.
A freight train consisting of thirty
cars was stopped by insurgents yester
day at Pozo Rekenedo, a few miles
south Of San Felipe, on the Havana and
Batabano Railway. Troops have been
sent in pursuit of the rebels, who
stopped the train by removing the rails.
The engine was badly damaged. 1t is
not known whether the rebels made
away with any of the freight or not, but
it is supposed that they did.
A NJ