The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-01-16
CONTESTED.
"vthclai" Report Of Battles Wen IL
ihe Spanish Troops.
GOMEZ is "ALL OVER THE LOT.'
Great Distress Prevails In Ha-
nana and MatanZaS.


| HADASA, Jan. l6-rhc opening OF the
wires in Matanzas has brought intelli-
| genco of a hot engagement at Las Charcas,
near the mountains Of santa Maria, in
| that province Tho column OF Spanish
troops was led by Captain Martin Sanchez,
and the numbe? OF his troops Is placed 10y
the official report at 2i).
The insurg nts engaged were under the
| Cuban leaders Lacret. Clotildc, Garcia,
Perez and Inglesito, and the official report
| places their number mt 1900. The battle,
II Is said, ragged iiercely for two hours, the
insurgents pursuing their usual elusive
and haassing tactics. They gave way
before the Spanards, who finally took
their camp, and found there II dead i'm
surgcnts and five wounded. They claim
| that tho insurgents also carried away 6l
wounded. The spanish losses, according
| TO the report given out were: One volun-
tecr killed, five soldiers wounded and 10
| missing. The subsequent movements or
the opposing forces are not reported.
| Still another report of an encounter
with Maxine Gomez at "a point near Sc
barucal has been received. This time it
was General Prat. who reports that he has
had an engagement with Maxine Gomez,
and that he has also put tho Cuban forces
to flight. No details of the engagement
are given, nor is anything stated as TO tho
! amount of the losses inflicted, but IL Is
said that Gomez is proceeding westward,
and that he goes to relieve Maceo and to
! re-enforce him.
The Spanish authorities claim that they
have pressed Gomez hard for two days,
" A.. Ill -.
what they sought in driving him back
into tho heart Of Pinar del Rio province
| They say that the combined forces of Co
mez and Maceo are now in seriously
compromised position, and they do not
fail to disseminate the impression OF their
confidence that they have at last got the
I insurgents ut n disadvantage. and will he
able 70 prevent their escape from Pinar
del Rio.
The Elusive Gomez.
Much confusion is manifest in tho re-
ports given out in this city of the move
| ments OF the insurgents and Of the where
sbouts OF tho different leaders. This is
| due partly TO tho swiftness OF the insur.
gents movements and partly 10 the cutting
OF wires and interruption OF communica-
| tion.
Maxine Gomez seems TO be everywhere,
according To the reports OF his activities
General Suarez Valdes supplements tho
report that Gomez in person led the second
attack on Bejucal, with another report
that his column overlook Gomez at tho
head OF 5000 insurgents moving from
| vereda Nueva In the direction of Hato
| Ariguanabo The insurgents made n
stand and engaged Brigadier General
Cornel, who led Valdes' vanguard II
seems that after an hours hard fighting,
the main Spanish column coming up, tho
| Cubans retreated and their position was
taken.
From the eastern provinces comes the
report that the column OF troops com.
| manded by Colonel Martin have had two
! engagements with the insurgents in the
| Sancti Spiritus district OF Santa Clara in
| one OF which the insurgents are said to
| have sustained n loss of 81, while cap
| tain OF the troops was seriously hurt and
| nine privates wounded.
In a skirmish on tho farm OF Rojo Cifu-
entcs with the band of Roban, the latter
| lost three killed and carried away nino
wounded.
| Devastation Goes On.
Information concerning the damage
| done by the insurgents in the province of
| Pinar dol Rio continues TO arrive here
| from various sources Between Pueblo
| Nuevo and Ballate, in that province, all
the caneflclds have been burned, and at
| Passo Real In Herradura and Los Pala-
| clos the insurgents have not only burned
all the railroad cars. but they have dc.
stroycd all the railway material OF every
description which they could lay hands
on.
At Guareiras. the insurgents burned the
I plantation OF Las Vega and other cane.
fields, and at Manicaragiia, province of
| Santa Clara, they have burned the large
! store and tobacco warehouse, containing
| 500 bales OF tobacco belonging to tho
| Ortiz company.
The distress in the province OF Matanzas
| and other places devastated by the i'm
surgents is very great, and the local au-
| thoritcs in various districts have been
granted the necessary permission 10 col
! lect funds by public subscription for the
| relief OF tho sufferers
Late last evening information was re-
ceved here To the effect that the insur-
gents had also burned the village Of Rio
Blanco, I'm the province OF Pinar del Rio
The prices of provisions, etc. arc rising
very rapidly here, and the expense of liv.
ing Is fully 10 per cent more than IL was
month ago. At the rate things arc go
ing though the Spanish authorities are
still hopeful Of driving the insurgents
eastward aud westward OF Habana, the
cityof Habana will he the most expensive
place in the world to live in.
III this Is tho case, with the insurgcnt
force now in this vicinity, u may bc
Judged that matters will be- considerably
worse IL tho Spanish commanders are un-
ablo to check the advance westward of
the second Cuban army. Business is suf.
fcring terribly on all sides and the mor-
camille community is heartily tired of tho
insurrcction aud everything connected
with It,