The morning times., 1896-03-18
REBELS HIVE $4,000 hiita hifa
Detail of a Conservative Estimate
Of Chief Commands.
CRIMES OF THE PLATEAD0S
The Insurgents Rave Been Outnum-
bered by the Spanish From the First
in the Ratio of Four 10 One-They
Have Escaped Annihilation in Bat
Ties When Ammunition Gave Out.
By United Press

Havana, March IA, via Tampa, Fla,
March l7.-The present strength Of tie
insurgcut army is close TO As, 900 men.
Cubans themselves estimate the number OF
men In the field as high as 60.0C0 men, but
even If unarnlod camp followers, men in
charge Of provision trains, hospitals, and
camps were counted il is doubtful il that
number could be found actually IN service.
There are thousands OF Cubans who would
willingly cast their lot with the patriot
army, but lack OF arms and ammunIuon
prevents.
The insurgent forces operate as rule
IN zones or districts and are organized ON
military lines. The columns of Gomez,
Maceo, Lacret, and Banderas, are, how
ever, limited TO no one province, but pass
from one to another unaer direct orders OF
Gomez. The commandments is now in
Natanzas and the others have re-invadcd
Havana province. The following is a state
nient OF the strength and location OF the
forces OF the principal Cuban leaders:
INsURGENT LEADERS STRENGTH.
Maxine Gorrez, in Matanzas.. =. 5000
Antonio Maceo, Miro, Zayas, Others
in Hawai- ma. O,0GO
seranm Sanchez, in Santa Clara. 1000
Jose Maceo, Rojas, Rodriguez, inSan-
tiagO.. o.ooO
Iacret. in Havana. =. =. e. o.. e. 5000
Quintan Banderas, in Havaua.. 80. 5000
Eunez. 10 Havana. :, :. :. 5000
Pnar del Rio. = :. $500
in Havana. -. -. 2.50o
Naval Rodriguez. Others, CamagUey.. 800
Reyes, Benitez, Yara, Wilson, Bendi-
eta, Santiago. l,OCO
Rafael Cardenas, in Natanzas. 500
Verona, RupOrtO Sanchez, others,
PiHaT del Rio. 800 =. .. =. 500
Olivia, Others, in Pinar del Rio. -. 600
ClOtilde Garcia, in MatanZaS.. ...... GOO
Garlic, Joaquin Garcia, Others in
Santiago. ..n.. ooo
Rolof, Pancho. Perez, in Santa
cara -.'. =. =. - ..'....... ooo
Mlrabel, FeTer, Veita, in Santa
Cara .-.-.--... oVo
Rego, siXto, Rogue, Palao, San
ches, IN Santa Clara =. e. e. 500
Cortana, vidal, Juan Bravo, In Santa
Clara 4Oo
Juan Toledo, el Inglesito, in Santa
Hatagas, in Matanzas ..... 400
Robau, Cebreco, Ruen, Planas, in
Santiago O.. -. AGO
Borroto, LenchO, Sarinas, Eduar-
dom, Garcia, in Matanzas........ 400
Aulet, MORTON, Dimas, Martinez,
sOtolOngo, iu Aatdnzas. 400
VnlanneOa, Acosta, Aguillar, and
others, in Havana. 800
Bunoz. Chapotin, SOcorro, Limo Pc
rez, in Santa Clara q. O.. O.. =. -. e.. 200
Total e.. 42'eVo
The distribution according TO provinces
is Havana, l6. SEQ; Mdtanzas. 5000:
Santa Clara, &, 800; Santiago, $500: Pinar
Del RIO, $780, Camaguey, 800; total,
- SEQ.
MANY LOCAL BANDS.
in addition TO the above, there are innu-
merabIe local bands Of from fifteen men TO
nifty, or even one hundred. These 90 not
form par Of the fighting force. and should
not be counted as part OF the army. Their
chief functions are TO carry out the orders
Of Gomez prohibiting the grinding OF cane,
the movement Of troops and supplies by
rail, the shipment OF provisions TO cities,
Che suppression Of "Plateados," who rob,
burn. and commit other crimes. These
small bands serve as recruiting agencies,
and when they grow too large for local
operation they are attached 10 one OF the
army columns. or the army proper fully
two-thrds are well mounted and about half
are well armed. The others are armed with
ehotgGns, TcvOlverS, or only with the
machete. Some OF Maceo's men have Old
style muZZlel0adDg guns, and lead is so
scarce that telegraph wire chopped into
short lengths is used for the charge. Span
iEh surgeons have on several occasions
reported soldiers wounded with bits of
wire.
The insurgents have a few pieces OF
mountain guns captured from government
troops. There are perhaps a dozen OF
these guns which have been used with
disastrous effect against the small wooden
forts which the Spanish troops have erected
81 various points. The Cuban army Of
liberation. as IL is called, has grown 10
its present size in the face of almost in
sUrmountable difficulties.
From the beginning IL has been out
numbered by the army OF Spain, In the
ratio OF never less Than TO l. II has
escaped annihilation in many encounters
when ammunition ran out. 1t has lived
Oh forage, been almost constantly under
fire, and is, today, a reckless, daredevil
army, with but one idea in view, and that
Is 10 free Cuba. What comes after is not
FiVen a thought