The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-15

Trinidad hills. in II vast forest Of coffee, the wit.
ness had seen. he said. coffeo two inches thick
,o.".Yog would say, tho army was we'll fed :
Ayes, I hardly think that expresses Il; they
meat, a piece OF bacon, hard tack and coffee Is
well fed. But they have a good deal better than
The witness said the beef was tho best he had
ever SCI, eyes on. although. he had boon a soldier
o. the Western frontier for nearly nine years.
H. said that he had seen 400 cheeses lying
around Corners camp. The country had a great
advantage oyer this country in that there never
was u, drought there. and the water was excop-
tionally good. all tho streams being mountain
streams and practically springs. On the subject
wanted it understood that he had no knowledge
regarding Cubans or any one else in the city. "
there wns a Cuban In The city; he said, he ought
out and work for his country.
The witness said he had not seen a single case
of smallpox or fever In the Cuban army. He
said the Cubans in the country. districts, never
had smallpox or fever, but that these diseases
were confined to the cities. where there was Nth
and where the people did not take care of them.
selves.
lie said that the Cubans had repair shops for
arms and that in Santa Clara province the
Cuban Government had made several, small
guns and one cannon; The Cgbans, he said, pre-.
ed with powder. which they themselves made.
CUBAN HOSPITALS.
Capt. Smith said that the Cubans had estab-
lishcd tirstClass hospitals. He wos asked to
had fallen into tho hands of the Spaniards. He
said that in the province of Las Vegas u TEN.
Mahainsh, and that when the spaniards dis.
covered it there were in it twenty wounded per.
sons, three women nurses, g doctor, and a guard
the place about an hour and a half after the
They had all, including those Of tho women.
been cut to pieces with machetes, he said. and a
R womCn had been BEEN assaulted sSnaif d before tGta e being xii Billed Inc
1T was the worst sight l ever did see,,' he
said. " never want TO have a repetition of that,
for a man who once sees 1t never gets it out OF
i do not think even the dog escaped, - he said
breathes the breath of HE escaped that slaugh.
The witness said that during all the opera.
lions he had seen under Gen. Gomez he had
never known Of any illtreatmcnt of a prisoner
or outr ba esi At q no hospital; IN, want 10 rl,us s :
my own observation regarding Gen. Gomez
three days after We received the Information
ten Spaniards brought In who had been captured
by the Cubans on n foraging expedition. l saw
s GHmss lq }f fb a. i thinr e snaa Id ' SSSp ,n S aRndes Your n
Government that you men would not stand
much show of living. l have no place to keep
Of my sight And he let them go, keeping their
Capt; Smith said that President Cisneros of
the Cuban Government toll him that the white
Cubans predominated by a little over three
9 9naTtsT bd in the ma5 9st nb Of Hb5Im aSks .h Rnd p msI.t shSrt
Capt. Smith said that the white people in the
body Of the Cuban army were as Intelligent as
frequently said they would let tho spaniardss
walk over their dead bodies before they would
lay down their arms. He said he thought that
there were not more than twenty or twenty-five
Americans in the whole Cuban army, but these
were all brave men and n great help to the pa
triots. Asked about the type of men controlling
the Cuban movement on the island, Capt. Smith
said:
81 cannot see much difference between the
people of Cuba and those Of our own republic
have haVep Controlled the esf island and there has not
the large cities. Aside from the rural districts,
l could take you into Gen. Gomez's camp and
introduce you to as fine n lot of gentlemen as
you would want to meet refined. educated gen.
many of the country people cannot read or
WRITE
THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
Capt. Smith said that the Cuban soldiery was
protected by the rights of court.martial, but
that he once saw Gen. Gomez shoot a COM
mandant under circumstances such that he
himself, though an American, would have killed
him. The Spanish were out in force at the
siege Of Cascorra and Gomez had an army OF
decided to annihilate the army. as far as that
province was concerned, and had intrusted to a
carry the dispatches ordering 5000 cavalry
under different commanders to come up. Tho
man never delivered the message. He was a
missioned in the patriot army. The Spanish
army got away, and when Meander came back
and told Gen. Gomez, in answer to the Generals
question. that he had not delivered the de-
spatches. Gomez drew his revolver and shot the
man. Then he Immediately sat down and wrote
to the Civil Government.
Speaking Of President Cisneros Betancourt,
Capt: Smith said that. although so years old, he
could not be kept still anywhere, and would be
in the lighting il he were allowed there. The
entire Cabinet and corps Of clerks travelled with
was kept of everything on the island. the wit
ness said. The i~mpedimenta OF the Presidents
travelling party were something sth immense;
President travelling with him. Gomez moved
without any impedimenta, not even allowing
Capt. Smith said the Spaniards never left the
royal roads. while the Cuban army went every
where. Gomez, he said, never travelled on the
roads except when he wanted to fight the Span.
iards; while the Spaniards never left the roads
except to go to a savannah 10 camp at night; II
the Spaniards. he said. knew the network OF
trails that threaded the island and had v%entured
out on them the war would have been ended
and was simply this: Tho Spaniards controlled
the large fortified towns, while tho Cubans CON
trolled the country entirely. from one end OF the
A Senator, saying that he was not certain that
they ought to publish such information, asked
II there was a coast guard In Cuba. The wit
ness answered that he did not know but he was
saying something that might hurt the Cubans,
men around the island. He thought tho num-
her of these was about 3 900: There were sew
eral reasons for that guard, he said, the Cuban
Government having a perfect line OF communi-
cation all through the island and also a perfect
line OF communication with the United States.
The guard also was to watch for water expedi-
tions and TO protect the salt supply, all of which
came from the coast.
GoMEZs vIGoR AND HIS PERSONALITY
Gomez is only about ten years younger than
the Cuban President, but he did not have a sick
day, Smith said. while he was there. On the
morning Smith came away Gomez adverted to
false reports that had reached the United States
that he was II sick man. and ~vaulting over his
saddle with one hand on the pommel and then
wanting back with the other hand as q rest. no
said, a sick man cannot do that" He asked
smith to do 1t, but Smith declined.
Smith said that there was hardly a day when
some Spanish soldiers did not surrender, and
that on his way here he met fourteen who were
on their way to surrender. He said that most OF
the spanish soldiery were boys from is TO u
years old. The Spanish soldiers were the best
disciplined he ever saw. he said. He wanted to
give them credit for that. He had seen "a Span
ish officer kick a man, throw him down and
jump on him without hearing u word or a grum-
bic from the soldier.
The last question asked of Smith was as to Gen,
GoInez's character and what Smith thought OF
him as n man Of talents, energy, honor. human
ity and courage. Capt. Smith answered.:
He Is well educated and has done u great deal
OF studying and reading In his life; he is a man
who Is hrm, stanch, u true friend, u bad enemy.
but n lust man at all times and ON all OCCasinH. I