The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-18

New York, Feb. 1.-THE Suns Ha-
vana correspondent, writing under
date of Feb 9, says:
Trusted Cuban news has been re-
ceived giving further details of the
battle at Juano Criollo, in Las Villas,
/ reported on Friday last by cable. The
/ first Spanish account of the battle
claimed a victory, as usual. but with
a painful paucity of details. The sec
Ond report which was communicated
| by the press censor to the American
correspondents here, said that Colonel
Arizona made brilliant combined bay
onet charge and cavalry attack on
the insurgents, dislodging them from
their position after two hours of hand
to-hand fighting. In neither of these
reports was the name of General GO
mez mentioned, nor did his name ap-
pear in La Lucia and the Diario De La
Marina in accounts of the battle,
which the press censor permitted them
to print.
ANOTHER PAGE OF GLORY.
All the information proves that the
action at Juan Criollo adds another
page of glory to the history of Go
meZs military career.
The battle decided the campaign in
Las Villas in favor of the CubanS and
frightened Weyler so that. as is al
ready known, he telegraphed to Ha-
vana for seinforcements. declaring
himself unable 10 withstand Gomez
unless he had more troops under his
command. The battle was fought on
Feb. l and lasted from about 5 to 8
o'clock in the afternoon. 1t began
after General Gomez had raised the
siege of Arroyo Blanco upon the ar
rival of the column of Colonel Arizona.
who came from Ciego De Avila in aid
of the besieged garrison of Arroyo
Blanco. When the first shots of Ar
jonas vanguard were heard a few
minutes after o'clock, General Co
mez ordered his troops to abandon |
the siege and concentrate on the es
tate of Juan CrioilO. between two
hills and with several prominent posi- ,
tions dominating the plain in which !
Arroyo Blanco is located. Gomez took |
possession of those strategic points.
Arizona was in command of $500
men, to which he added 600 more gath |
cred on his way from Ciego De Avila. |
He had two cannon, one or u and the |
other of six pounds. His force in /
Guided 500 cavalrymen. Gor.ez has /
only 2,5G0 we'll armed men. Gomez |
had also a pneumatic dynamite gun
but it was not very effective. How !
ever, two or three bombs exploded at
Juan Criollo in the Spanish ranks |
when the fighting began, producing
CONFUSION. Win the ala OF |
General Garlic. Gomez succeeded in
driving the Spaniards to the center of
the estate of Juan Criollo, where
terrible fight began.
WAS MERELY A MOB.
At last the Spaniards, heavily chas-
tised by the combined fire of Garlic
on one side and Gomez on the other.
became panic-stricken, and the Cubans
had before them merely a mob of men.
Just at this juncture the Spanish Major
Posada fell dead, his chest pierced by
bullet. The confusion of the Span
iards now became greater than ever,
for Posada was struck down nearly in
the center Of their forces. The Spanish
surgeon, Dr. Cenicero, went to assist
Posada. but when he lifted him from
the ground to see his wound, another
volley of the Cubans killed him also.
The order. al machete," given by
General Gomez. decided the action.
The Cubans charged from all sides and
then a handto-hand fight began. In
the first moments the Cuban Colonel
Remigio Lopez was killed by bayo-
net thrust. The Spanish lieutenants,
Don Longino Martinez and Don Fred
erico Pena fell dead, Martinez from a
blow by machete, which cut his head
off. Eighty Spanish soldiers were killed
with the machetes, and more than 100
were severely wounded and left on the
field. Before the hand-to-hand fight
began, the Spanish losses were already
more than 100 men.
In great confusion and suffering at
every step from the persistent fighting
of the Cubans. the Spaniards re-
treated to the town, reaching it after
6 o'clock. One section of the column
did not reach the town because it was
dispersed in the plain when Lieutenant
Pena was killed.
All reports agree that Colonel Ar
jona behaved bravely. The terrible
slaughter of his men was due to his
incapacity and the undoubted super
iority of Gomez as a strategist, rather
than to lack of courage on his part.
But his defeat was so decisive that
the Spaniards prefer to preserve 81
lences rather than to praise and pro-
mote him, as they have repeatedly
done in the case of less courageous
chiefs.
The Cuban losses at Juan Criollo are
insignificant as compared with those
of the Spaniards. Colonel Lopez and
Juan Diaz were killed and
a bout 30 soldiers also persisted.