Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-20
QUARREL IN CUBA.
CRITICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN
JOSE GOMEZ AND LIEyT. JOHNSON.
THE AFFAIR AT FL JlBORO
Johpsop's CoIored Regulars Desert
ed Him and Fired Toward Him
c.bap. Trained Guns on Him
johnson yirginian.
washington Post.)

1
Something about the experience OF First
Lieutenant Carter =. Johnson ana ms
colored Troop NJ, Of the Tenth Cavalry,
has been told in the press dispatches
from Cuba. Several weeks ago the Incl
dent Of his pulling down the Cuban nag
from a captured Spanish fort, and, for
lack of Stars and Stripes, hosting his
own blouse on the flagstaff, was COM
mented upon the country over. Last
week the New York Herald, In dispatch
from Habana, which was entirely incor-
rect In details, recorded the fact OF Lieu
tenant Johnson's arrest by order OF Cen
| eral Gomez. Both dispatches were very
meagre in covering the episode, which was
one of the most sensational in the entire
| campaign. as far as It Affects the rela-
! lions between the American army and the
| Cubans. Not only was Lieutenant john
son arrested by the Cubans, but Colonel
| Karl Decker. who was on the spot and an
eve witness of the entire proceedings, Is
authority for the statement that all OF
Lieutenant Johnson's troop OF hfty-tour
negroes deserted him at critical juno
| ture. when the Cubans had trained their
dynamite guns on the fort ready TO blow
| IL and all the American soldiers to atoms
and that the negro soldiers with blas-
I phemy and cursing rode past Lieutenant
| Johnson in the darkness, emptylhs lheir
| revovers in his direction.
| The correct account of the affair. which,
| it would seem, must result in some inVes-
| tigation by the War Department, Is all
| the more interesting, as 1t comes from
| Colonel Decker, a Washington boy, who
was trained here in newspaper work ana
is thoroughly known as an accurate OBJ
server He has been in Cuba since last
| May, being in close contact with proml-
rent Cuban officers all of the time and a
part of the time with Lieutenant John
sons troop. While he did not enlist in
the Cuban army, as he did not wish to
forfeit his American citizenship, he served
as a colonel on the staff Of General La
cret. and was accorded all the privileges
Of that rank.
JOHNSON CONSENTS TO PUBLICITY.
II told Lieutenant Johnson before left
Cuba" said Colonel Decker yesterday,
that 1 should make public, when l reach
ed this country, the facts connected with
his arrest. Meagre accounts, considerably
garbied, have been published. i said to
him that the entire story was certain 20
come out sooner or later, and IT was bet
ter that all should be told at once. lie
expressed his satisfaction with my PLAN"
Lieutenant Johnson, also, Is a character
Of more than usual interest TO Washing
ton. He came originally from Frede-
ricksburg. Va, and from one Of the res
pectable families of the Old Dominion. He
entered the army as private, September
u, 1886, was promoted TO corporal, and
later to sergeant in Company +, of the
Third Cavalry. He became second lieu
tenant Of the Fourth Infantry March q.
1882. a year later he was transferred TO
the Tenth Cavalry. 'He is a splendid
! soldier" said Colonel Decker, I'm speaking
of Lieutenant Johnson, land a most eff
fcient scout He saw long service on the
western frontier, in old Mexico and
New Mexico, and is justly a favo-
rite with Major-General Miley, by
whom he was detailed for scout service
in Cuba He is one of the gamest men |
ever saw, and likewise one Of the best
shots. l have often heard of marksmen
who boosted of being able to shoot two
bullets into one hole. Lieutenant John
son is the first man ever saw who could
actually do it. i have seen him take
Mauser rifle and fire three shots In suc-
cession, all making practically one hole
In the target. While he is a Virginian
by birth, he is a typical westerner Of the
frontier. A long, fierce mustache that
threatens, If 1t keeps on growing, to tam
gle itself I'm his saddle when he rides, is
conspicuous feature Of his appearance
THE QUARREL AT Ell JIBORO.
1.-THE quarrel with the Cubans,' Colo
mel Decker stated, occurred at a town
called Ell Jiboro-most of the newspapers
have spelled II otherwise-after its cap
ture on July 10th Jose Miguel Gomez,
one of the ablest Of the Cuban leaders,
formerly n businessman at Sancti
Spirtus. but not a relative OF General
Gomez, was in command. and was aided
in the capture by Lieutenant Johnson's
troop of fifty-four regulars, who had join
ed him a considerable time previously.
The negroes were assigned TO duty as
sharpshooters. and the firing began at
daybreak. l might explain that ii ]iboro
IS on the south coast Of Cuba, near the
dividing line between the provinces Of
Puerto Principe and Santa Clara. Jose
Gomez had about 1000 Cuban soldiers,
not /, 800, as one Of the New York papers
stated.
1.-THE firing began at daybreak. The Gu
ban infantry were engaged, but the prin-
cipal execution was done by the dyna-
mite guns, which were manned by Co
mez's men, -Four shots were ired from
one OF these guns without effect, because
OF the faultily-constructed range finders.
These were marked for an angle of 1-2
degrees at 600 yards, but we found by
actual experience that an angle of 31-2
degrees was necessary. The town was
protected by block-houses. The fifth shot
from the dynamite gun dropped five
pounds Of nitro-geatine right in the vi
cinity of one of these. Everything living
in that neighborhood was destroyed.
Later we found every man in the block
house either dead or dying. Most OF the
dead men bore not a scratch or scar.
They had been killed simply from the
conclusion. A Spanish lieutenant, in COM
mand Of the soldiers, we found dying
with about forty wounds in his back.
SPANIARDS RUN UP WHITE FLAG.
The remaining block-houses immediate
" surrendered, and the Spanish soldiers
were sent as prisoners TO Sancti Spiritus.
After the surrender Lieutenant Johnson
requested that fort, which was admira-
bly, situated, should be turned over 70 him.
He felt that If the Spaniards did not use
artillery he could defend 1t with his fifty
four negro troopers against great odds.
His request was conveyed TO Jose Gomez,
who returned courteous reply 10 the ef-
feet that the Cuban Government had
given express instructions that all cap
tured Notifications should be destroyed TO
prevent their subsequent use by the
Spaniards. While he would be glad 10
comply with Lieutenant Johnson's re-
quest he did not see how he was at liber-