The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-09-14
IN DARKEST CUBA.
Talk with MIR. N. c. Gonzales as
to His Experience.
WHO HAS JUST RETURNED.
First Council in Freed Cuba.
Things Seen, the Story of
Which VIII Make Enter
tanning Reading. A Hur-
riaI Roci,rno
ried Resume.

''You boys who have been running
The State so well during MY absence,
said Mr.. \. 6. Gonzales, last night,
have made little mistake in assum-
ing in our editorial and local welcomes;
which | highly appreciate, that would
at once take up my old work Of writing
editorials. l simply can't do it.
have lost the hang Of the thing and lost
the run of the news. l feel shockingly
ignorant. Just think of it. Not
campaign speech have read, and am
just now trying to discover by hard
study of the files Of the State some
thing about the battles before Santiago.
About three weeks after Cervera
squadron was annihilated L Habana pa
per with an Incidental reference to it
reached our camp and | think it was
about the 10th of August that two
copies of the Diario de Ia Marina Of
Habana of August and , told US that
Santiago had fallen. I've got to catch
up little with the news before i can
fill my old place"
'sYou are going to take advantage Of
the delay to write about your Cuban
experiences also, aren't you?'
well I may make start, but as |
kept pretty full diary there won't be
much new work in that line. l have
nothing of any exciting interest to tell
and my notes are largely of personal
experiences of no general moment, but
so many friends have asked me to
print them that l will do so. They
will at least throw light on the situa
ton in Darkest Cuba and embody
facts about the country and its people
which the war correspondents have
overlooked. l jotted down all the
information of all sorts could obtain
and had opportunity to put on paper.
It will not tell Of great battles and
sieges but it will at least show what
central Cuba is now and may yet be-
come"
Your own experiences were not ex-
citing?"
NO, rot at all. did not go over
with Inc idea of doing more than to
put -nyself in the position asked the
yong men of South Carolina to take
that is, position in which to be shot
at by Spaniards and to- shoot back-and
as I was not able to direct the policy Of
Gen. Gomez could not provide excit-
ing situations. My fight turned out to
be more against starvation than against
Spaniards, | am sorry to say. | was
only in one encounter Of arms.
''Where was that?"
ssAt Moron, the town at the head of
the trocha. With 10 men we attacked
it on the night of August l2--four
hours. as it turned out, after the pro-
tocol of peace had been signed. There
were three regiments Of Spaniards. in
the town and it was defended by 10
block houses. We tackled eight of
these at distance Of ranging from 80
to $50 yards and kept up the fight for
an hour losing-one man! But may
as well give an outline of my very hum
Bile adventures in order to save myself
the task of repeating it further by word
of mouth. During the last two days so
many kind friends have bombarded me
with questions that my Voice is weary
and I am weary of my voice.
''No, never recovered my horse and
I marched 40 miles in three days and
got rid of 80 pounds in doing it, and
then fast of 40 days from rations kept
me from resuming them. Every body
starts by asking NE if got back my
horse. A Cuban officer took pity on
me and loaned me broken down one,
which by good fortune and good care |
was able to restore and make available
later. I landed on the southeast, and
departed from the northeast. In an
cir line the distance is about 100 miles
but we zizzagged a hundred more. A
command of Gomez army with the two
dynamite guns taken over by our expe-
dition reduced and captured the tows OF
Jibaco and Arroyo Blanco, but | had
not the luck to be with them. We
were posted to protect the besiegers of
the latter place from interference blythe
Spaniards on the trocha. | witnessed
the trial of Gen. Bermudez for outrnges
committed on paci6cos, but did not see
him executed: as he was after second
trial. Not having been at Jibaro did
not see Lieut.. johnson Of the United
States army, commanding the colored
troopers, in his famous defense Of
barrel Of rum against the Cubans, his
tearing down OF the Cuban flag and his
attempt to shoot his non-commissioned
officers for refusing to FIRE onthe Cubans
but know the facts. | have seen
our force reduced one-half by starvation
and disease, have lived days without
food, and weeks on scanty gleanings Of
mangoes and parched corn, foraged for
at distances of from six to fifteen miles.
I have seen the darkest side Of war and
the darkest side Of the character Of the
Cuban forces, reduced almost to saw
agery by privations.
1.-TWO nights after our attack on Mo-
ron we got news that q relief expedition
had landed on the north coast and
and sought the protection Of troops.
Our in" ltry marched 40-odd miles in
two days, most Of it through fearful
swamps, and emerged on the beach at
FL Mamon August Is where we found
the expeditiouaries and ate our first
square meal since July II. Gen. Co.
mez came in next day, bringing news
of the peace, and | was present at a
striking gathering Of chiefs, the first
in Freed Cuba. The war being over |
got an honorable discharge and en-
barked on little 23-toa schooner. sail
ed three days to the Keys north Of Cal
BARREN, Spanish town: met Gen. NJ
nez. there arrived with the Wanderer
expedition, spent week on that steam
er while Gen. Comes army concentra-
ted near Caibarien and met the Spani-
ards under the new peace conditions: