Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-06-06
a CUBAN CHARGE
Much Depends on the Mache etc and Strings
and Thongs Are Factors.

ana Thongs Are Factors,
! Strings, thongs and snap catches
play important parts in the field uni
form of Cuban insurgent. Persons
who have seen the little band of Gu
ban patriots with Buffalo Bills Wild
West Show come dashing into the
arena have noticed that each man, by
a quick movement of the head, throws
off his straw hat. The hat, which is
held by string. bangles upon the
horseman's shoulders during his ride.
The movement, revealing the fine,
alert and spirited faces of the men who
served under Gomez and Maceo, looks
like trick for theatric effect, but it
is what they always do when riding
into action, so one of the little band
explained the other day.
"The Spanish soldiers" he said,
shave the Mauser rifle, which kills at
1000 or 1900 yards, while we have only
the Remington carbine, which is of
short range. 1t is all We can afford.
If we remain at distance, the Span
ish without danger to themselves will,
as you Americans says, wipe us out
SO we must get close to them. That
is the first consideration. The Maui
ser bullet will not kill any more at one
yard than at 1000, but it is different
with the machete. For it close quar-
ters is necessary.
'Now, see how we are prepared for
an attack. The carbine hangs by this
snap-catch from the belt on the left
side. The revolver, suspended by a
strong string through its butt, hangs
on the left side. The machete, by
thong through the handle, swings
from the right wrist. The hat is made
fast by string so that it may be
thrown back, out of the way but not
lost, for We are too poor to lose any
thing, even an old straw hat, and
when the fight is over, if we are alive
we will want our hats. But during
the fight we want our heads bare,
clear, that we may see. The Span
lard pulls his hat down over his eyes.
"The order is given to charged
Three, four, or five hundred yards we
must go very fast--straight for the
Spaniards, who all the time have us
in range of their Mausers, while we
can do nothing to them. Then we
are close enough for the carbine to
have effect and they go bang bang
bang, fast as we can load and fire. All!
If we only had magazine guns like
yours; but they are too costly for us.
Quickly we are close enough for the
revolver to do execution. The carbine
goes back to its hook on the belt and
the revolver speaks bang bang-bang
until it is empty, when it is dropped
for the string to take care of.
''By that time we are on our enemy
with the machete. That is the tool
to kill with. Shots fired in a gallop
may miss, but there is no mistake
about the chop of the machete. The
Spaniard knows it and dislikes it ex-
ceedingly. A man who knows how to
handle the machete can lop off an arm
or head or split man like carrot
with it. A gun may get out Of order,
ammunition may be exhausted, but
the good machete is always ready for
service. Grind it sharp when it is
dulled on bones, and it will not fail to
serve you well.
"When the fight is over everything
is in place. The hat is put back on
the head, for our sun is very hot; the
revolver and carbine hang in their
places ready for reloading, and we are
prepared for another fight. New
York Sun.