The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-08-12
CUBANS AS ALLIES,

newspaper correspondent, who was with
the American army until after the
c~apitulation of Santiago, returned to
washington today. AS he has probably
peen In closer contact with the Cuban
insurgents than m other American,
Inc has good knowledge of their strug-
giles and their general character. he
was asked to give his views as to the
campaign made by General Shafter, and
also as to the reported difficulty be-
tween the American commander and
Genera Garcia, the Cuban leader. Mr.
Pepper said:
There seems a disposition now TO
question the effectiveness of the On,
pans as allies, and to predict that when
the Spanish forces have evacuated San
tlago the next business of the Ameri-
can army of occupation will be to
settle the insurgents. 1t might be
we'll to await the full statement of the
misunderstanding between General
Garcia and General Shafter, before
drawing conclusions of a
split. There have been misunderstand-
ings between the army and the navy.
and sometimes Observation-Disclosures be-
tween the commanders in the field and
the authorities in WASHINGTON, but
these We're cleared up without serious
consequences. Twenty thousand Ameri-
can soldiers We're engaged in the opera
lions before Santiago. The Cubans
n11m hnrnG 4 n00 1ynt - wa
many that they would show up as con-
splcuously as our own troops. Garcia
was blamed for letting General Pando
get into the city with 5000 Spanish
re-enforcements, but when it subse-
quently appeared that neither Pando
nor the re-enforcements were there,
nothing was said. Silly inventions and
idle boastings about Cubans massacre
ing Spanish prisoners were commented
on without investigation, and when
General Shafter, after Investigation.
discredited them, nothing more was
said. These are not vital matters, but
in forming judgment Of the present
situation, they are worth remembering.
"The Cubans offered as allies to the
American army the men who had for
three years been engaged in a BUSH
Whacking guerrilla warfare. The mass
of them presented themselves at Bal
quiri and Siboney b~arefooted and in
their shirt tails, and most of their
shirts were ribbons of rags. They
were greedy for the rations issued, and
in two weeks they did not succeed in
satisfying a three years hunger. The
American soldiers were also hungry
during several days, but they knew
nothing Of the tomorrow habit, and
they never thought of putting off the
fighting till their stomachs were full.
The Cubans, under the instructions
that had been given, were not placed
in the vanguard in taking the block
houses and forts and it is unuuestion-
ably true that they did not share to an
appreciate extent in those assaults. It
was a method of fighting Of which they
had no conception, but this was not
surprising. The foreign military at
aches who watched the two days bat
TIC "eIe lldIlh Ill lHeli own express
sions of opinion whether trained Euro
pean soldiers could have been led or
driven against a fortified position when
the artillery a failed, as it did in
those instances, and the American
troops took the entertainments by COM
mon impulse without being either led
or driven. AS to whether the Cuban
troops failed in anything that was ex-
pected of them or in any duty assigned
to them, the American commanders are
competent judges. General Lawton, to
whose division most of them were at.
official reports can be trusted to do
justice to their allies.
"However, the part the Cuban troops
had in the Santiago campaign is of
lesser Importance now than the part
they are to have in the future govern
ment of the city. I do not believe that
the Cubans, who for three years kept
up the fight against the Spanish troops
in the bushes and in the mountains at
such tremendous sacrifices, will ever be
a cause of trouble to the United States.
The present trouble is not due to the
Cubans who have been fighting for
three years. 1t seems to be fomented
by those who during that time were in
the United States. Some Of them went
back under the wing Of the American
army, and they were becoming pretty
numerous. Most of them are bad ad-
visers n mischief-makers. It is I'M
fortunate that some of them seem to
hav ingratiated themselves into Cen
era Garcia'S confidence