The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-02-06


field hospitals" And again: There
resulted from this battle the deaths of
thirty eight rebels Ono wounded) and
the capture Of quantities of arms etc
Then the report naively concludes;
when nothing more remained to be
done at Gura the column moved away
This is not the fevered dream of
war correspondent, not the talk of a
Cuban partisan, but an official public
report of the murder of innocent people.
Every one in the hospitals was muir
dered in cold blood.
The report of this column, sent from
Whales, ten miles from Pinar del Rio,
whence runs a daily train to Havana,
took six days to reach the latter point.
And yet General Weyler says that the
province is pacifed, and of course he
knows. 1t is certainly quieter than it
was a few months ago, the war center
being transferred nowadays to the CEN
ter of the island in Santa Clara prov
| nce.
| OUTRAGES AGAINST CUBAN WO-
MEN.
There are yet some things done here
| that seem impossible, even in Cuba.
For instance, one entirely trustworthy
| American born citizen who visited
General Melguizo, the guerrilla leader
| in Pinar del Rio, states that that otii-
Ger told him that it was quite true that
| he killed the sick and wounded in the
| hospitals. General Weylers orders
are to do So" said he, "and must obey
but" he continued, II have not a bad
heart / spare all | can. Come with
| me and l will show you" He took the
gentleman across the way and showed
| tlirtV
women, ranging from Is to 25 years of
age. We're confined. These" he said,
ARE of rebel families. 1 found them
in the hills, where they would have
starved, and brought them here. Some
| of them are very obstinate, though.
These two, for instance, tried to starve
| themselves. They ate nothing for three
| days, and / had to open their mouths
by force and make them eat soup But
| they came around after while"
| Game around to what"' do you ask"
The American, whom | believe to be in
all respects a man of truth, says that
on that night he saw General Mel
guizoS officers of high rank go into this
hut one by one and spend the night
there. Oh, yes, the girls came around
after a while What do you think of
this, Christian father, resident of a
country that fought out a bitter civil
war for four long years, and never once
had a woman complain of outrage
through it all?
Even where actual outrage is impos-
sible as in Havana itself, the treat
ment of the Cuban wives, mothers and
daughters is horrible in the extreme,
General Weyler here imprisons ladies
of high birth and standing, whose only
crime is that they are relatives of the
insurgents, in filthy prisons with the
scum of the streets.
Nirtuous women and prostitutes are
confined in the same cells, with the ev-
ident intention of humiliating and in
sulting the former
The truth is that America does not
know the situation here. The Cuban
: junta in New York has lied so steadily
and persistently about the island and
a series of industrious newspa per
fakirs and sensational New York pa
pers have spread broadcast such false
hoods that no one believes the truth
when it is told. But if one 1.-THE of the
things asserted here by credible wit
nesses is true, the Spanish leaders
ought to be blotted from the earth.
SPANIARDS AND "PACIFICOS."
l Al tlle same Tune lneTe is something
t to be said on the Spanish side. There
are no real "pacificos" in Cuba Ev.
/ erybody outside of the cities, and moi
e of Spanish birth, is a partisan of the
h insurgents, and acts as a spy for them
e Most of the country is covered witt
e low hills-lomas they are called. These
p hills are covered with brush, and or
n it the insurgents hide and watch tneil
= nh IN off Str inc =,
Spaniards. BY night they descend anC
, | sleep in the peasants huts to avoid tn,
y bitter cold.
Let us consider their case from {
y Spanish point of view. A captain will
e a hundred men is ordered to go ou
s some day and clear a certain distric
S of annoying parties of rebels. He set
X out, and after awhile he comes to tn
q hut of a pacifico, and asks where tn
y rebels are. The pacific does not know
/. and the column passes on. AS 500
n as they are gone, the pacifico gets ou
= his clothes line and hangs out hi
! clothes-one piece for each twenty fiv
S men in the column. The direction @
t the line shows the way it has gone
c The rebels, perched on the hills, see
/ this signal, although the column ma
. have been hidden from them. The
D. form an ambush in a favorable plac,
le and pour in volley, killing or wound
ing several soldiers. The latter retur
the fire and charge into the brush, bu
" by the time they have reached tn
y rebel position the rebels are gone seal
=; tering like covey of partridge
~ through the brush. If the soldiers ki
>, one of them it is an off chance. Tn
J. thing is repeated two or three timC
~ dtring the day. After each firing II
~ captain asks if any one saw one of II
enemy fall, or got a good shot at OF
NJ of them. OF course, several soldie
ls are sure of their aim. So the capita
r. goes back with his troops, taking
,d dozen dead or wounded and reports
,d the usual formula that he fought Sc
n eral groups of rebels" killing so MAJ
,e. ten or dozen, according to his mo-
nd esty-and the matter ends there. b
oy some day, suspicion lights on Mr.. p
n cifico and the soldiers cut him dow
numerously. Then the rebel press b
reau in New York sends out dispat
about innocent people being murder
no by the Spanish.
iu WEYLER'S METHOD OF RETAIL
.iu TION.
There are no pacificos in Cuba. Ou
,st side the cities all Cubans are rel
re sympathizers. 1t is not possible to n
re- down the rebels in that broken sort
ay country, While there are numberle
re- spies to carry information of eve
nd movement of the troops, and hundre
th of houses in which they can sleep
ts safety by night, sheltered from the co