Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-11-24

clares he has excellent success in destroy
ing the rebels supplies and compelling all
detachments to divide into small bands and
flee before him to avoid a conflict. Con-
tinued expeditions are being made in the
hills. searching for some body Of the enemy
large enough to have fight with.
Gen. Weyler expresses himself as Salts
fled with the prospect. and he thinks that
In a few weeks he will be able to press the
operation to completion
Gen. Weyler locates Maceo south Of the
railway ltne or in southern Pinar del Rio
instead OF further north, toward the Gao
ara1icara hills, where insurgent reports To-
cate him. So far. Gen. Weyler says. the
to risk an engagement.
zen. Weyier says that he believes the in
surgents have not in the hills supplies suf-
1iclent to last them for more than three en-
sasements. After these engagements had
occurred 1t would be easier to estimate the
resources of the rebels, but he believes
that 1t would then be found that rhe am
n,unit1on of the insurgents was exhausted
He adds that he has still fifteen or twenty
days work to perform at the camp to COM
pfete his preparations for an advance on
the rebels. but that he would wait until
after Christmas before he moved his troops
forward. Then he intends to strike q
mortal blow at the instruction.
MnceO's Tactics.
Maceo is apparently following his old
possible into the hills from their base of
supplies, when, by dividing his forces into
small commands, he will be able to con-
tinually harass them with guerrilla tactics.
for which they have no liking.
Some distance to the west of San Girls
tobal are mountain passes, where COM
peratively few rebels would be able to hold
their own against any force that Spain
could concentrate there and 1t is thought
CuhanS
Maceo until he comes upon him unexpect
edly in some of these mountain Businesses.
The fact that they have more than held
their own in all recent encounters with the
Spanish forces. would also account not only
for the absence of any details of Gen.
Weyler'S operations in the newspapers, but
for the intense feeling of indignation said
to exist in Havana at his failure to ami
hilate Maceo and his forces immedia tely,
as has been expected by the ultra loyal
since the general took part in the cam
paign.
Gen. Weyler has been constantly harassed
by MaceOs outpoStS since leaving the line
of the trocha at Artemisa for the noun
tain district.
According to the report of a well-in-
formed correspondent in the field of FL
Diario de la Marina, Gen. WeyIer was at
the town of Candelaria on the 18TH where
he breakfasted. and left the same day by
rail- for San Cristoba1. town on the line of
the railroad. between Artemisa and the city
Of Pinar del Rio.
From an account sent by the same corre-
spondent Of the blowing up Of train with
dynamite, 1t Is evident that the Cuban In
surSents had been advised of Gen. Weyler's
whereabouts and were awaiting his coming
Four dynamite bombs were successfully ex-
ploded with disastrous results. The engine
ana -FOUR passenger cars were demolished.
Several other cars were thrown from the
track, more or less damaged. while the
track was torn up for considerable dis
lance. Several soldiers were killed and a
large number Of troops who were being
transported to the front were wounded
The account adds that the ground in the
vicinity of where the explosion occurred
was thrown up as If an upheaval caused
by an earthquake had taken place. All
communication westward beyond Candle
laria is cut off. The impression is that the
object sought by the insurgents was either
the manning of Gen. Weyler OR the check
ing of his further advance westward 1t is
stated that Gen. Weyler did not go on the
train as he expected.
The Country Described.
Grover Flint. writing in the New York
Journal, describes as follows the topogra-
ply of the province:
If you were to go up in balloon above
the city of Havana and look westward
your eye would rest on a fiat tract of land
lying between two sheets of ocean, and Just
twenty-one miles in width.
The country Is gray and desolate waste
Of burned cane fields, with white dobe plan
tation houses smoking from a recent raid,
or charred and in ruins.
A reddish trail" like a great wide
wagon road, extends across this strip al its
narrowest place. Little white posts, some
times of wood. sometimes Of masonry. dot
this trail at regular intervals Of 500
small solid masses Of dirty brown flashing
here and there, with the suns rays re-
Elected from bayonets and rife barrels.
They are the patrols passing regularly be-
tween the little fortresses.
II you looked with q glass of strong
power you would see that on either side Of
this reddish belt, or trail are rifle pits,
and low earthworks, and stubby fences,
bristling with many strands of Yankee
barbed wire.
This is the "trocha," and the fort near
est to you you look from Havana is
strongest The forts are bigger near the
fences Of barbed wire more plentiful. There
are also white cities little way apart, on
either side Of the line, each surrounded by
a string OF white forts, and you see long
columns of infantry, with small advance
guards OF cavalry, moving slowly over the
country.
Eastward of the trocha are the plains
and cane fields; westward the country be-
comes green and rises into abrupt, thickly
WOODED mountains. In these mountains
Antonio Maceo has his strongholds
Columns Of soldiery move out from the
white towns. and march to the foothills of
tie puffs of smoke from the tungles and a
patter of irregular firing. The great COL
umns both return fire with long yolleys
and return to the towns with nothing ac-
complished.
Along the TrOchn.
If you could see far to the southwest Won
would find that the "trocha" becomes a
pianking nailed on logsfoating In the mi
asmatic slime Of the Majana swamps. Here
illness and immunity from attack render
Spanish picket duty lax The insureents
may wade at will between the sentr;es. Int
day spent In those swamps gives a fever
that may last for months
In Spanish. the word "trocha" means a
boundary. It's the same sort of thing that
mas been established in Texas in times of
sickness of cattle. 1t was Conceived in
the last war. when the insurrection broke
out In one end of the island and a omar
antine was established to prevent its
spreading any further. But in this war
the insurrection broke out in, all psrts
OF the country at once, and the "trocha"
became useless.
The "trocha" Is undoubtedly strong IN
spite Of the poor material of which tho
forces are composed and the incompetence
OF their officers. The line between Mariel
on the north shore, and Maneana. on The
Gulf Of Malamano. is guarded by a chain
OF small forts, and an Lrmy corps under