The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-12-03
Experts Express Their Opin-
ions.



How weyIer IL Beset by Difiiculties-The
Rubi HiiIs-Maceo's Advantages
Prospects For Independence by Inter-
national Action.
WASHINGTON, Dec Especial. = In
conversation with friend few days ago
General Miles said he would be willing to
risk his reputation upon the prediction that
the United States army II turned loose In
Cuba after General Antonio Maoeo and his
band of insurgents would wipe them out
In 30 days General Miles opinion is
worthy OF confidence, and he bases 1t upon
his experience in fighting Indians In the
| far west. He says the troops Of the regular
army have the science of Indian fighting
down to fine point, as they have shown
| in their expeditions against the Apaches,
the Modocs and the Sioux. All these In
dams, especially the Modocs and the Sioux,
were willy fighters and retreated to regions
In which ordinary military operations were
Just as nearly impossible as they are In the
Rubi hills, where General Weyler Is trying
MS DeBU 10 CHtCn mdCcO Al ohoP.
Guerrilla Warfare.
The way to fight Indians and guerrillas
Is with their own weapons and In their
own style of warfare. Our troops learned
that lesson long ago, and not till they did
learn 1t were they able to accomplish much.
But for native guides and the services Of
friendly Indians, backed up by the skill
and daring of American soldiery, the. Mo-
docs could never have been driven out Of
the lava beds or Sitting Bull have been
overwhelmed on tho Big Horn. If General
Weyler were to abandon his present tactics
of keeping his men in regular fighting
force and deploy them in the mountains as
rangers living principally on the country
and fighting the insurgents In their own
style, he would probably have better news
to send to Madrid.
Another army officer who knows some
thing of the conditions by which General
Weyler Is surrounded takes issue with Gen.
eral Miles and says 1t Is practically impos-
sible for the Spanish to defeat the willy
mulatto or to drive him out Of the coun-
try. On the face Of things, as General
Miles points out, 1t does seem absurd to
have Maceo's 8, 900 or 5000 men defying
an empire within few hours ride by train
of the capital Of Cuba. Not only can Wey-
Ter throw against him 80, 900 or even 75, 900
troops, but Maceo must get his ammunition
and other supplies from the coast, where 1t
is brought by expeditions from the United
States. It seems odd that the Spanish navy
and army together cannot prevent the land
ing of these supply expeditions or cannot
destroy them after they have landed and
before they make conjunction with Maoeo.
In the Rubi Hills. ~
But the conditions are peculiar. The
coast is filled with little bays and priclzed
by headlands. Vigilant as the warships
and gpnboats are supposed to be, the fill
busters find 1t comparatively easy to creep
in during the night, or even in q mist or
fog, and land their supplies, There are
plenty Of places where they can secrete their
boxes Of ammunition amid the underbrush
right on the shore, and as soon as the ship
is unloaded and her boats have returned
she can steam away. -
AS for Maceo, in the Rubi hills, he could
not have a more advantageous place in
which to carry on his war Of delay. 1t must
be remembered that the Cuban tactics are
wholly devoted to maintaining the status
quo. They do not care to force matters. So
long as the war continues and Cuba is I'M
pacified they are content. They trust more
to time than to anything else. Every day
that passes adds to their chances of ultimate
success, for every day Spain becomes poor
er through the enormous expense of her
establishment, every day the 10y
atty of people of both Spain and that part
of Cuba held by the Spaniards is diminish
ed by disappointment and discomfort.
The Rubi hills, as they are described to
me by an army officer who has been among
them, are composed of several hundred
knobs. Their slopes are covered with an
underbrush so dense that it is impossible
for man to force his way through it. TO
make any progress at all he must literally
cut his way with machete. Through
this underground the insurgents have cut
many paths The openings are just wide
enough to admit the passage of file of
men and are not available for heavy guns
or camp accouterments, supply trains or
horses. The mouths of these paths the willy
insurgents cover up, and their courses are
made devious and mystifying. II the Span
ish attempt to follow them, they soon are
lost. They neither know where they are
nor where they wish to go. Meanwhile tho
who have been Watching the
enemy from some convenient hilltop, make
of or attack Mt point of vantage, as they
think best under the circumstances.
Maceo and His Men.
In the ravines between the hills there is
very little clear ground. The surface is
covered either with underground or by
swamps equally difficult to pass through.
In such country it is easy to see that
Maceo's 5000 or 5000 men are match for
Weyler's 40, 900. Maceo and his men know
every foot of the ground. Every native is
their friend and guide and just as willing
to help them as he is to give the Spaniards
a false scent. In the passages which lead
to his stronghold Maceo has set many traps
and Is only waiting to draw weyler's forces
into them. He has ambushes Of sharp
shooters and mines primed with dynamite
Army officers in Washington say there
Is only one way In which the Spanish can
get at Maceo and whip him. and that Is by
an exhibition of daring and of willingness
to suffer hardships which the Spanish
troops in Cuba have never displayed. They
must divide into all no rt;oe