The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-07-16
Spanish General Is Quibbling Over Terms and De-
handing Impossible Concessions.
UNWILLING TO SURRENDER ARMS OF
THE TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND TROOPS
HOStiliteS Will Be Resumed Unless Agreement Is Speedily
Reached SpaniardS Have Neither Food Nor Water.

fallen. and with it all the eastern end
of the island
General Toral. the Spanish command
er. agreed to the general terms of the
General Shaftr this afternoon, at which
General Miles was present.
The armies have had a campaign
of three weeks of unprecedented hard
ships, for both officers ard Drivates.
The victory of the Americans is greater
than expected at first. The Spanish
troops in the Fourth corps, the mill
tary division of Santiago province,
from a line drawn north from Accera-
deros. is miles west of Santiago,
through Los PalmoS, PalmaS Sorian,
AlcantanZa to Sagua de Tanamo, on
the north coast. and eastward to Cape
MaYsi. are surrendered, and the terri
tory is abandoned. Between $4,000 and
10000 Spanish prisoners are taken,
about 10000 of whom are in Santiago
The remainder are at Guantanamo, and
others are garrisoned in the towns of
eastern Cuba All these troops are to
be embarked and sent back to Spain
under parole.
General Shafter bears his honors
modestly. To a correspondent of the
L
has surrendered all the territory and
troops east of Santiago. The terms
were dictated from Washington. 1t
has been a hard campaign, one of the
hardest 1 ever saw. The difficulties to
contend with were very great Never,
during our civil war, were more diff
cult problems solved. The character of
the country. and the roads made it
seem almost impossible to advance in
the face of the enemy. The transporta-
ton problem was hard. but all the diff
cultieS have been successfully sur
mounted. Our troops have behaved
CALAMITY. They fought like heroes, and
l am proud to have commanded them.
During all the hardshios they have
suffered they have shown resolution
and spirit. They deserve to conquer.
The resistance of the enemy has
been exceedingly stubborn. General
TOral has proved himself a foeman
worthy of any mans steel. The nego-
tiationS which eliminated in the sur
render of General Toral have been
dragging along for ten days, with the
intermission of Sunday and Monday,
when our batteries and fleet bOmbarded
the enemy's position. Throughout these
periods of truce General Toral has
shrewdly fallen back when hard press
ed upon the statement that he was
simply a subordinate and Dowerless to
agree to the proposals without the
sanction of his superiOrs, except under
penalty of being court-martialed. At
the same time he seemed to intimate
that personally he thought it useless to
hold out any longer. Bat he and his
garrison were soldiers, ne said. and
could die, if necessary, obeying orders
BROUGHT TO A CLIMAX.
1t was at the personal interview held
by General Shafter with General Toral
yesterday that the American general
made the Spanish commander under
stand that temDorizing must cease,
and that before noon today a categori-
cal affirmation to his offer must be re-
ceived. or the bombardment of the city
would begin in earnest.
In the meantime all our plans had
been perfected. The delay had been
utilized to good advantage. our lines
haG been extended until Santiago was
nearly surrounded. and our light bat
teries had been posted so as to be able
to do more effective work.
In addition, arrangements had been
made to land troops at Cabanas, west !
Of the entrance of the harbor of Santi-
ago. The Spanish batteries opposite
Moro castle were to be bombarded and
their guns were then to be
turned upon the city, and General
Lawton's division, at the same time,
was to fall on the enemy's left flank
under the cover of our artillery fire.
We could then have enfiladed their
ines and have driven them into the
sity.
AUTHORIZED TO CAPITULATE.
General Toral must have realized
hat he was trapped and that to hold |
)ut longer must mean a useless sacri- |
ice of his men, but he made one last !
Effort to gain more time this morning.
While nominally yielding to- the terms |
General Shafter proposed before s |
''clock he sent a communication to |
General Shafter. enclosing a copy of a |
elegram from Captain General Blanco, !
explaining that the surrender of such |
IN important position as Santiago and |
he abandonment of eastern Cuba |
would require the direct sanction of |
he Madrid government and requiring |
more time to be heard from Madrid. |
At the same time Captain General |
3lanco authorized General Toral, if it |
vas agreeable TO the American general, |
o appoint commissioners of each side
o arrange the terms of capitulation of
he forces under his command and the |
conditions of their parole and trans
,ortation TO Spain pending the sane
ion of Spain. He also communicated
ne names of the commissioners he had
elected, namely, Robert Mason, the
British vice consul. General ToraFs
hief OF staff, Colonel Fontaine, and
General Escarajao.
TOO AMBIGUOUS.
This communication was so ambigu-
us that it might all be upset by the
efusal of Madrid to sanction the terms
greed to by the commissioners and
ieneral Shafter resolved to have all
he ambiguity removed before proceed
lg further. At IL O'Clock he mounted
is horse and, together with General
lilies and his staff, he rode to the
ront AT General Wheeler's head
uarters General Shafter. General
lilies. General Maus and an interpreter
st their retinue and passed on over
ur trenches with a flag of truce 10
he mango tree under which the inter-