The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1898-11-24
NEGRO TROOPS IN DISGRACE.
Thirty Of Them Charged With Killing Five
Cubans.

oan LUIS, aDout twenty I'VE miles
north of Santiago, which caused a
great deal of i'll feeling among the
Cubans and considerable annoyance
among the United States military
officials here
All the negro regiments are en-
csmped in the neighborhocd of San
Luis They were sent there viz
tually to get them out of the way,
because Of thu difficulty experienced
in mau igins them. The colored Of
fcars eeen 10 have little or no con.
trol oy er th-'f m, n, and officers and
privates are oft-u seen drinking TO
gether, with ARMS around each
others nc K All behaving in other
ways no. calo latsd to inspire re-
spect for American troops an 1ng the
Cubans
1T wae not expected the negro
soldiers could do much harm in the
San Luis district, which was chosen
on that principle. The trouble DE
gan last evening in IN attempt to
arrest two soldiers for abusing q
Cuban workman and stealing his
hog. The outrage was committed
on the Normas sugar plantation
Lieutenant Jose Ferrera, chief Of
General Woods gendarmie in that
section, Spaniard, but a Cuban
sympathizer, and man whom Gen.
Wood knew to be able and coura
geous, attempted to make the ar
rests.
Tie soldiers, who belonged to
the ninth immunes. escaped Soon
after thirty negroes, wearing the
uniform of the United States army,
attacked the house where Lieutenant
Ferrera was and kept up a regular
fusillade, killing Lieutenant Ferrera,
Antonio Roman, an old man; Emilio
Petteran, a boy of II and baby,
and wounding several others Two
soldiers were killed in the affray.
GENERAL WOOD TAKES ACTION.
When the news reached Santiago
General Wood was at dinner. He
Immediately 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 Of
ficers all denied that their men were
implicated in the affair, in spite of
all the evidence to the contrary.
After an unsatisfactory attempt to
get at the facts of the case over the
wires, General Wood adjourned his
inquiry until this morning when he
left on special train for San Luis.
The American officials here passed
the day with no little anxiety. At 3
o'clock General Wood returned, re-
porting that after long investiga-
ton he had come to the conclusion
that oil the negro regiments were
more or less mixed up IN the ARRAY.
He has offered $1,000 reward for
the names of the men who did the
shooting, and before leaving San
Luis he read the colored officers q
severe lecture for denying last night
that their men were implicated.
Eye witnesses of the affair, who
arrived here during the course OF
the day, say that two gendarmes
who we're wounded are expected 10
die. The impression among them
is that all the soldiers belonged to
the ninth immunes. Lieutenant
Ferrera behaved most pluckily and
even when dying he ordered his men
to defend themselves. He was shot
while outside the house and trying
to persuade the crowd to dispense.
| It seems that the soldiers had been
drinking in the town and that g
crowd Of them was easily gotten
together to make the attack
The Independence calls upon
! General Wood to relieve General
Ewers Of his command, claiming
that he is absolutely incompetent.
The paper says also: 1T is contrary
to all justice to send here as an army
| OF occupation the cut Threats and
murderers who. ever since they