Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-10-20
MANY CRIMES
Committed by spanish Soldiers In Santa
Clara Province Women Tortured. BABES
ayoneted and Invalid. Mnssacred.


Clara province. now in the field with
the Cuban division commanded by
Brigadier |. Gonzalez, sends the fol-
lowing account OF crimes committed by
the Spanish army in that part of the
island.
On September 10 Spanish column
among the hills III Nancy near .Iati-
banico. found seven families OF pacifi-
Goes who had there escaped the evils of
concentration. They were all driven
! to the town OF Arroyo Blanco. on the
way the women were robbed and as
saulted by the soldiers. After march
ing for more than ten Spanish leagues
barefooted, they arrived in the utmost
state of exhaustion. One of the women
demanded her child and was tortured
10 make her keep silent A detach-
ment of Cubans followed the column to
rescue the victims, but without sue
cess, although several vOlleys were ex-
changed with the column.
The Cuban lieutenant. Angel Her
nandez, reconnoitering among the hills
of I'll Nancy. where the families were
made prisoners, found near tree the
missing child of the hapless woman.
The child was dying. wounded in the
chest by the thrust of Spanish bay
onet He was treated by "a Cuban doc
tor, but died in two hours. He was
only years old.
In the department of Palmarito the
poor countryman. Susano Garcia. was
living in IA hut with his wife, his moth
er-in-law. 81 years old and an invalid.
and three children. The Spaniards
t.uiI LODI la.
the old woman. and carried Garcia. his
wife and the children prisoners TO the
town of Naguajay On arriving at
Iagaujay Garcia : wife died suddenly
of heart failure, produced by her suf-
ferings
On September II. near Puerto Escon-
dido. another pacihco Bartolo Ramos.
was found 10y the Spaniards gathering
some vegetables for his family. He
was murdered. The Cubans buried
him. Several bayonet wounds were in
his chest
On September 5 an old Cuban woman
named Ana BOIL was found by Span
ish guerrilla near the same place She
was trying to escape To near town.
with $50. which was all her fortune.
She was robbed and assassinatcd
Ibc same guerrilla. on the same day.
arrested the pacifico Rafael ,Imenez
and carried him fcttcrcd To the town
of Buenavista, where his wife was dy-
ing from starvation. .IimineZ went
out of the town to seek some food for
her. The following day he was muir
dcrcd and mutilated in the streets of
the town.
The most thrilling of all these crimes
IL the one committed on September 20.
ON the sugar estate Dolores. Petrona
Pla Santos and her husband. Ven
tura santos, lived in a hut with their
children. among the mountains of Cam
bao. There a Spanish column discovered
them that day, and they were brought
to the estate Dolores The wife of
Santos. on arriving at the estate. gave
birth to a child The Spanish soldiers
put her ON u box of ammunition and
with their machctcS and bayonetS cut
her to pieces. The unfortunate santos
tried To defend his wife and fought for
her with his bare hands. but was quick
~ overpowcred and shot
\ detachment of the same Spanish
force shot that evening Manuel Fucn-
ties. prisoner of war All those bar
harouS instances of Spanish cruelty
have been corroborated 10y witnesses
who joined the patriotic forces of Brig.
Gonzales. \ sworn Affidavit of all the
facts was made. and Brig Gonzales
signed it himself
In several small engagements which
the sun correspondent witnessed in
September the forces Of Brigadier Con
zalc> were victorious. The Spaniards
never pressed the fighting. and always
retired before il became more than q
They never venture out of
heir fortified towns less than 1000
strong.
The situation of the Spanish troops
in the city of Gcmcdios is desperate.
About 1000 soldiers are sick in the hos
pitfalls and the scarcity of food il caus-
ing terrible suffering.