The times., 1898-05-06
A FIGHT ON CUBAN SOIL
Supply of Ammunition for In.
SurgentS Landed at MarieI.
SPANIARDS ATTACK THE TUG
ihe Wilmington Uses Her Small
Gums With Marked EFect-Cuban
diery With Contempt Dashinls
Exploit of Col. Acosta.

Key West May 5.-The Cubans of Ke,
West made a hero today of Capt Dorst
Fourth United States Cavalry. who re
turned from the Cuban coast early thi
morning after successfully landing
large quantity of ammunition for the in
surgent army few miles east of Mariel
Capt. Dorst left here Tuesday on the
Government tug Leyden. There was a
large supply of ammunition belonging to
| the Cuban Junta here which they had
been trying to get to Cuba for a long
time. They had been unable 10 do so,
| owing to the activity of this Government
but now that the war is on, Capt. Dorst
consented TO take it on the Leyden. A
number Of insurgents were with him.
| The Leyden arrived off the selected
! point near Mariel on Wednesday morn
ing and landed two insurgents. who were
to communicate with the forces and re-
ceive help TO carry away the ammunition.
| Then they steamed along the coast as far
| as Cardenas, returning by agreement
| with the men landed late in the after
| noon The insurgents came down to the
shore and signaled that everything was
| all right
/
munition in small boats. Part of the car
| go had been landed when a party of
| twenty Spanish cavalrymen appeared.
| coming from the westward The work Of
unloading was stopped and the insur-
| gents secreted themselves in the thick
brush, one hundred yards back from the
shore.
Wilmington to the Rescue
The Spaniards came prancing along
with their eyes on the Leyden, when with
out warning the rifles of the insurgents
In the brush commenced shooting and the
spaniards withdrew. They returned.
however, in short time with re-enforce-
ments, but they did not dare go into the
brush after the Cubans The I.eydon.
having no guns, tried to draw them off
by steaming along the coast toward
Mariel The cavalry followed.
Two miles further on there was a little
block-house, around which were clus-
tered perhaps 200 of the enemy. IL an
peared TO Capt. Dorst that they needed
attention, so he went over to the flagship
and got Admiral Sampson to send the
gunboat Wilmington after them. Can't
Dorst went on board so as to point our
the block-house. When the gunboat came
within range Of the fort with her small
Spaniards disappeared like smoke.
In the meantime. however. the Leyden
which had returned 10 the work of I'M
loading her cargo, was signaling thar
she was having a warm time of 1t. and
the Wilmington steamed back there
More Spanish troops had come from the
direction of Havana and secreting them
selves in a palm grove on the highlands
back of the brush where the Cubans
hlV- I..1 81. 81,
den with their rifles and had struck her
smokestack several times. No one had
been hit, however.
The Wilmington again turned lot OF
schrapnel loose into the palm grove The
missiles fell right where the shots had
come from and IN few minutes there
were no more rife shots to be heard.
Some Of the Spaniards were undoubtedly
killed.
The rest of the ammunition was then
put ashore and the insurgent leader hav-
ing declared THAT he was able 10 take
care of 1t. the Leyden and Wilmington
left
They were, all told. on the Spanish
side about four hundred men. The insur-
gents had but thirty and according to
the Leyden's report, appeared TO hoIa
their enemies in the greatest contempt
Spanish Prisoners Sent North.
The first prisoners of war left here
today for the North. They were the
Spanish soldiers captured on the Argo-
nauta by the Marblehead, Nashville and
Eagle. Since their arrival here they
have been on the Guido one of the other
Spanish prizes.
This afternoon they were taken off
and put on steamer to be sent to Fort
Mcpherson. There were twenty of them
eleven officers and nine privates. The
officers are: Col. Cortijo, Third Cavalry
Principe, First, Lieut. Saerzez, Sixth Bat
TALON, Lower Peninsula surgeon; Major
Garcia, sanitary corps, Second Lieuts
Guion, Fowmalli, Cabaza; Tambrana
Ramas, Castro, Alvarez, Marques and one
sergeant. The prisoners were in charge
OF Lieut.. Moss, Twenty-fifth Infantry,
and a detail Of ten colored soldiers.
They took their i'll luck good-natured-
ly and told everyone that they had been
treated so well that they could hardly
consider Us enemies. All Of them were
small, Misunderstanding men and the
comparison Of them to the burly soldiers
of the Twenty-fifth made them ridiculous
Each of Uncle Sans men would make
two of the Spaniards.
The passengers on the steamer Panama.
held here as prisoners of war, were not
sent North. Their cases viii be disposed
of when the courts decide what is to be
done with the Panama
A DnshinE Exploit.
With Capt Dorst on this trip were
Col. Acosta, of the Cuban army, and
Capt. Cartaya, an aide of the Cuban
Brig. Gen. Nunez. They undertook one |
of the most difficult and risky missions |
Of the war
They carried on board as n pilot the |
well known Blanco, an expert in Cuban |
waters, who had landed safely the ma |
jority of the nlibust tering expeditions OF |
Nunez, and their object was TO deliver |
an important dispatch 10 Gen. Alexandra |
Rodriguez, the commander of the Cuban |
army in Havana and return with his
answer to Cen. Miles.
By order from the Secretary OF the
Navy, Admiral Sampson escorted the
Leyden with the New York until she
reached the Cuban shore on Monday
night They landed on the shore west OF
Havana and there the intrepid Acosta
dashed into the interior with his mes.
sage. promising to return on Tuesday or
Wednesday.
The greatest secrecy was kept about
heir departure and no dispatches for the
)ress were allowed To pass about the mat
er. Yesterday a dispatch was printed here
the departure of Col. Acosta
'or Havana province and such indiscre-
ion caused a great deal of concern.
I'Iynn's Business College, Sth and Is.
,5-Summer Course; Day or Nights.