Birmingham state herald., 1897-02-20
TRAIL OF BLOOD AND FIRE Left in the Wake of General
 Butcher" WeyIer. WHAT AN EYEWITNESS SAW Suffering Equal to That Now Existing in Plague
 Stricken India
WITNESSED IN TOWNS AND VILLAGES
Homes Laid Waste, Cane Fields Destroyed and People Forced to Crowd the Towns Without Food or Shelter-Some
 of the So-Called Victories.

Key West Fla, Feb. 19.-A passenger arrived on the steamer lAransas this morning who on reliable authority is said through the central provinces, Santa Clara, Mantanzas and Havana, and gives the impressions of his journey in the following terms:
 The ruin and desolation were frightful to witness, he said. The country being bare and wasted, cane fields and planta- tions burned; no vestiges of the country homes remaining except those stone built, blackened walls only remaining. Thatched huts were but heaps of ashes; villages, towns and cities were partially destroyed, but crowded with miserable, forlorn people, with emaciated, hungry looking, starving faces. They were all huddled in small spaces, without commo- dities, with no hygiene, and suffering from diseases of all description and dy- ing by hundreds daily. All this state of things was brought about by Weyler's brutal and -inhuman decree ordering the concentration of the country people into the towns. Weyler, in his march through those provinces, has left trail of fire and blood. Horrible stories are told of the outrages and butcheries committed under his direct personal orders Such is the terror he inspires that the mere fact of his approach creates consternation and the alarm at once spreads to all the people who rush to the nearest town for protection. When this gentleman left Sancti Spiritus, Weyler was reported as encamped near Caibarion, and expected to arrive there that day His forces numbered 15,000 men and as he marches without provisions the result is that on flan nnd iCs Cn1d nIr oil ttn estN as happened at Santa Clara City, which was left bare, with the natural result of increased misery and starvation for the poor people there.
 Near Sancti Spiritus at a place named Guayo, column of Spanish troops when passing last Friday, after killing all the cattle, set fire to the buildings and ranches and butchered the owner, a planter named Ramon Napolea, man of independent means, well known and esteemed in that district. This was re- ported as rebel camp, captured and de- stroyed. il.#t
 The same column found party of reb- els lying in ambush and taken by sur prise they only had time to escape, after a desperate fight in which a Cuban off, cer, Lieut. Perez, made brave defense against eight soldiers. He had to suc- cumb and was hacked to pieces with the machete, after Surrendering. Two other Cubans perished. This was also report ed as a great encounter in which the rebel losses were numbered by the hun dreds. fA
 The result of this destruction and the terrible atrocities committed by the Spaniards has been the means of an in- crease of the rebel forces in great num- bers. All able-bodied men in these prov inceS are rushing to the Cuban ranks and hundreds of families prefer to suf- fer hardships in the woods than misery and starvation in the towns.
 At the estate Gibacy, near Tunas, about 100 families were living in peace. When ordered to move into town they at once took to the woods. This is but a single instance in hundreds of similar cases. Meantime these shocking things on the Spanish side only increase the Cuban army. Scores are constantly fiocking to the rebels.
 The evident signs of weakness which Spain displayed by offering so-called re- forms have all the more determined the insurgents to continue the struggle.
 From reliable sources it is learned that Gomez will now initiate a vigorous cam paign. After arranging with the Cuban government the plans and purposes of his future movements Gomez ordered a concentration of all the rebel forces pre- paratory to his advance into the western provinces. His first step was to send the Cuban government back to Cubtas with headquarters in Camaguey. The party started with an escort of 200 men and successfully crossed the central trocha Saturday night near the best protected part of the line at La Redonda, under the very walls of a Spanish fort.
 This is another instance of the useful ness of the Spanish trochas. Gomez's plans, 1t appears, are to sneak back through Weylers line, and once on his rear guard, commence his campaign by attacking and destroying all the sugar estates grinding against his orders He will also, 1t is said, punish severely all the local Cuban leaders who have toler- ated grinding within their Jurisdiction.
 Gomez's exact location is unknown, as he is constantly moving from Remedies to Sancti Spiritus, watching Weyler's movements in order to seize the first op- portunity to outfank- him. Weyler, as customary, has had no engagement with the rebels He carries with him such strong body guard that no one cares to interfere with his movements, and they leave him to march along unmolested
 Carillo is reported encafnped with 15,000 men near Finuicu, and Jose Miguel Go meg, with about 2000 men near the Tag uasco farm.
 operating around Sancti Spiritus Their organization q is perfect, they are fairly well supplied with arms and munitions, and they are complete masters of the field to such an extent that nothing enters Sancti Spiritus without a permit and the payment of specified taxes to the revo- lution. Jose Valdivia, an American citi- zen residing near Sancti Spiritus, form erly a rich cattle raiser, has been ruined by the Spanish troops. His cattle ranch has been destroyed, the buildings burned and all his cattle carried away by Span-- ish troops,a despite the fact that he. showed his papers proving his citizen ship. His protest was of no avail He will now file a claim through the Ameri- can consul.