The times., 1898-03-06
GLORY CROWNED CUbANS
The Patriot Arms Successful
OH Every Side.
A DASHING YOUNG LEADER
Gen. Raht Replies with Machete
Cha rye to Overtures From Spain
Pando for It-Traitors Are
"Pusted."

Havana. March 5.-The correspondent
of the New York Sun and Washington
Times at Puerto Principe City writes that
the dry season campaign in that province
is closing with great activity on the part
of the Cubans. Gen. CaIixto Garcia has
appointed Brig. Gen. Menocal command
er-in-chief of the Cuban forces in Puerto
Principe and since MenocaTs arrival the
Spaniards have been in a worse position
than last month, when they were SO badly
defeated by the dashing cavalry leader,
Gen. Lope Recio LoinaZ-
Spanish Gen Jiminez Castellanos has
lost since the lst of February 500 men
killed in battle on the field of Camaguay.
He is hemmed in by the Cubans in Puerto
Principe City and his army is nearly
starving, because the insurgents have
seized all the cattle in the province, and
the trains carrying supplies from Nuevi-
tas and Santa Cruz del Sur are. with few
exceptions. stopped en- route and plumber
ed by the patriots.
Dashing Leader.
Brig Gen. Menocal is one of the most
brilliant military figures in the Cuban
revolution. A young man. not much over
thirty years of age, he won his reputa-
ton as a warrior with Gen. Garcia dur
ing the brilliant campaigns of the latter
in Santiago de Cuba province in 1896 and
1897 He was badly wounded at the cap
ture of Victoria de las Tunas Besides
being a man of dauntlesS courage, with
fine personal appearance and d command
ing influence over his troops, he is "A skill
full engineer in which profession he made
his mark in the United States.
No general in the Cuban army is better
acquainted with the use of dynamite and
all kinds of explosives. For this reason
principally Gen. Garcia sent him to Puer-
to Principe. desiring to strike some terri
BILE blows at the Spaniards before Gen
Jiminez Castellanos abandons all military
operations on account of the rainy sea
son.
The news from Santiago de Cuba is also
very favorable to the Cubans. Gen. PAN
do has lost 1900 soldiers in his fruitless
endeavors to fortify the entrance of the
Cauto River. The situation of the Span
ish troops in the east is terrible The
heat is intense there, and besides the
losses of the Spanish troops in their en-
gagements with the Cubans. yellow fever
and dysentery are making havoc in their
ranks. There are few Spanish soldiers in
good health. Moreover, Pando has ut
terly failed in his attempt to raise troops
among the natives. The hatred against
Spain is so deep that no man is willing to
wear the Spanish uniform, no matter how
large the pay that Gen. Pando offers him.
Rabi's Reply to Overtures.
Gen. Jesus Rabi, indignant over the re-
ports circulated by the Spaniards that he
was about to accept a bribe or surrender
and embrace autonomy, gathered his
forces near Barrancos on February 90 and
tiercely attacked a Spanish column going
to Bayamo. The Spaniards though the
route is the most dangerous in the whole
province and they generally encounter the
CubanS there, were utterly surprised by
the sudden attack. They had scarcely
time to prepare to repel with their bayo-
nets the machete charge of Gen Rabi.
The fight was sharp and decisive Over
800 Spaniards We're killed and the rest of
the column was dispersed. Gen. Rabi Sc
cured a booty of 400 mules loaded with
provisions and ammunition. He wrote n
letter after the battle to Gen Pando,
thanking him for the important convoy he
had sent to Bayamo and the opportunity
he had given him to capture it.
Scoff at Autonomy.
With regard to autonomy. even on the
most liberal scale the news from every
section of the Cuban army is that it is
not a solution that will be accepted by
the patriots. Gen Garcia has ordered the
names of the autonomists in Santiago de
Cuba City to be published for three days
all over the country under this headline:
List of the Traitors Who Sell to Spain
| Their Honor and the Cause of Cuba"
President Bartolome Maseo, in a letter
to friend in Puerto Principe SAYS:
The talk about autonomy is ridiculous
! Those who accept 1t never had place in
our ranks. How can their support of au-
! tnomy help Spain. when we. the fighters
! in the field, reject 1t? Peace must be
| made with the COmbatantS. The non-com-
! batantS are as peaceable now as thpy
| were before the war.