Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-11-17
CAUSE FOR SHAME.
CoioPcd Immune soldiers Murder Cubans
Wood VIII Puulsh Them.

WOOD VIII Fuuthn Tnems
Santiago de Cuba. Nov. 15.-Several
Cubans were killed last night ut San
Luis. about twenty-five miles north of
Santiago. Two soldiers nlsO met death
In fight over trivial incident.
All the colored regiments are EN-
camped In the neighborhood OF San
Luis. They were sent there virtually
to get them out OF the way. because OF
the difficulty In managing them. The
colOred officers seem to have little or
no control over their men. and officers
and privatcs are often seen drinking
together. with arms around each 9th
er's necks. and behaving In other ways
not calculated to inspire respect for
the American troops among the Gu
bans.
II was not expected that the colored
soldiers could do much harm In the
San Luis district. which was chosen
on that principle. The trouble began
last evening In an attempt to arrest
two soldiers for abusing Cuban work
man and stealing his hog. The outrage
wns committed on the Normas sugar
plantation. Lieutenant Jose FerrOrl.
chief of General Woods gendarmerie
In that section. a Spnninrd. but Gu
ban sympathiZer. and II man whom
General Wood knew to be able and
courageous. attempted to make the ar
rests.
The soldiers. who belonged to the
Ninth Immunes. escaped. Soon after
thirty colored men. wearing the uni
form of the United States army, at
tackled the house where Lieutenant
Ferrora was and kept up regular
fusilade. killing Lieutenant FerrOra,
Antonio Roman, nm old man: Elimio
Betteran. n boy Of II. and ii baby. and
wOunding several others. Two soldiers
were killed In the affrny.
When the news reached Santiago.
General Wood was ut dinner. He i'm
met1iHtely went to the signal Office,
where Chief Signal officer Brady took
charge of the key.
For four hours dispatches were sent
and received. The colored officers all
denied that their men were implicated
in the affair, In spite of all the EVIL
dence to the contrary. After an unsat-
isfactory attempt to get at the facts of
the case over the wires. General Wood
adjourned his inquiry until this morn
Ing. when lie left on n special train for
San Luis.
The American officials here passed
the day with no little anxiety. At 8
o'clock General Wood returned. re-
porting that after long investigation
he had come to the conclusion that all
the colored regiments We're more or
less mixed mp In the ARRAY. He has
offered $1,000 reward for the names of
the men who did the shooting, and be-
fore leaving San Luis he read the col
Ored officers n severe lecture for deny
ing last night that their men were i'm
plicnted.
Eye witnesses of the affair. who ar
,,,, a hn nf In
day. say that the gendnrmes who We're
wounded are expected to die. The I'M
preston among them Is that nll the
soldiers belonged to the Ninth I'm
munes.
Lieutenant Fcrrorn behaved most
pluckily. and even when dying he or
dared his men to defend themselves.
He was shot while outside the house
and trying to persuade the crowd to
disperse. The soldiers had been drink
ing In the town and n crowd of them
was easily got together to make the
attack.
The Independence calls upon Gen
ernl Wood to relieve General Ewers of
his command. claiming that he is '.nb-
solutely incompetent" The paper says
also:
ut is contrary to nll justice to send
here as an army of occupation cut
thronts and murderers, who ever since
they came have acted worse than the
Spaniards ever did. These men are so
bad that they had been sent to far
or town, where their misdeeds have
culminnted in butchery and slaughter
worse than even Cubans have been ac-
customed to-"
Miss wilIard'a Successor. ..