The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-11
Gomez Needs Arms, But Wants No
American Troops.
WOULD ROB HIM OF GLORY
SMALL AID FROM THE INSUR-
GENT FORCES.
Gomez Army Consists of But $500
Men-The Old Man Is Ambitious
and Wants to Lick the Spaniards
without Assistance of American
Troops-Has No Artillery.

New York, May 1O.-The Herald to-
missioner, Frank 0. Somerford, who
has just returned from the camps of
General Gomez and other insurgent
forces in Cuba.
The insurgents have now about $500
men in the vicinity of Gomez camp
that is, within radius of so miles,
said Somerford. The best troops east
of the Jucaro- Moron trochas are the di-
vision commanded by General Coma
les. He has 500 infantry, who are well
armed and disciplined.
"One company is armed with Mauser
rifles, which We're captured from the
Spanish. For these rifles there is but
small supply of ammunition. The
other companies are armed with the
long Remington, which throws a bull
let of .43 caliber. This is the weapon
in common use among the insurgents.
Gomez immediate command con-
sists of a body guard of $50 cavalry
and so infantry, under command of
Major Desraepos. The latter is an
American from New Orleans and a
good artilleryman. This force of $500
is all that are in fighting shape just
at present, but if there were arms and
equipments it could be swelled to prob
ably 80 000 Gomez told me he wanted
40 900 guns to equip an army large
enough to drive the Spanish from the
island He wants long Remingtons or
Sprin gfields for the infantry and car
bines for the cavalry of the same char
acter.
Gomez says he can raise 10000 men
in Santa Clara province alone. The re-
cruits will be mostly ranchers.
Gomez is great believer in the eff
! fectivenesS of cavalry. He wants to or
ganize his new army on a basis of LOG
cavalry in Santa Clara province, 800 in
Matanzas province, 500 in Havana
province and 900 in Pinar del Rio. In
Puerto Principe province the insurg-
ents are now all cavalry.
"Garcia's forces in Santiago de Cuba
| are all infantry In the reorganization
they should be compelled to remain in
fantry. They are drilled as such. AND
never having had horses are accus-
toned to make long marches on foot
| Gomez wants TO unite Garcia'S forces
with his own. The old man never
makes his plans known when he car
/ help it. My information, however
| comes from the inside Gomez regards
artillery as very important, but the Gu
/ bans have none. They have the great
/ est contempt for the Spanish artillery
men, and assert that not Cuban has
| been injured during the entlre war Dy
/ the Spanish field pieces.
Gomez is a willy old man, not with
out future political aspirations in the
/ government which will be formed al
| the close of the war. He does not want
! the United States to land an army il
} Cuba. except IL be a regiment of artil-
/ lery 20 operate in conjunction with the
| Cubans. Gomez knows that an army
from America. will defeat Blanco, take
| Havana and practically end the wal
within month after it lands on Cubar
siol. He also knows that the assist
ance he could afford in such a cam
paign would be unimportant and insig
nificant except as an adviser regarding
| the country to the commanders. He
realizes that the insurgents would GU
but a very sorry figure in the RAPID
! operati tons sure to follow an American
/ invasion, unless months pass while
they are being armed and drilled int
military habits other than those o.
guerillas.
! knowing all this, Gomez does no