The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-04
WITH THE CUBAN INSURGENTS.
An Estimate of Their Present
Observation-Disclosures From Camp
and Field.


Thomas R. Dawley, Jr., in New York
Evening Post.
! The prevailing idea is that there is a
marked difference between the Spaniard
and the Cuban, and that all our army has
to do is to land upon the island, and there
finding the Spaniards on one side of a we'll
defined line and the Cubans on the other
they have only to step between and tell
the Spaniards to go away and leave the
others to govern themselves. But when
our troops do invade Cuba, they may find
1t a much more difficult task to separate
these people than any our government
officials have counted upon. AS an illus
tratlon may be cited an incident of Sena-
tor Thurston's experience in Cuba, and
MS subsequent statement on the floor of
the Senate, in which he gave, as an ex-
ample OF the discipline of the Spanish
army, his purchase of a machete from a
Spanish soldier. AS a matter of fact a
man sold his machete to the senator on
the wharf at Matanzas, but he was neither
Spaniard nor Spanish soldier The
man wore blue uniform, was a Cuban
and was appointed by the Cuban Governor
TO escort the party of American visitors
around the city, and his duties correspond
ed to those of our own municipal police
In the year 1897 there were just FIVE
American correspondents who visited the
headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief
Maxine Gomez. The first of these, Mr.
Crosby, was killed; the second, Mr.. Rhea,
returned and wrote book which was so
marked with prejudice that is became
Valueless; Mr.. Scovill, the next in order
wrote to satisfy the editorial policy of his
paper, while the evidence of Mr.. Carl
Decker was never published at all, and
upon his return to New York Maxine Go
mez was deposed and Gen. Callxto Gercia
was set up in his place as commander-in-
chief OF the Cuban army, by the paper
which Mr. Decker was representing.
Upon my setting out to find Gomez. his
headquarters was designated to me upon
the map of Cuba. where he was represent
ed to be making a bold stand against the
combined forces of Gen. Weyler. After
travelling several weeks through a desc
lated and depopulated part of the island
which was being overrun by Spanish sol
diers l found the insurgent chief in a
palm grove, surrounded by his army of
1870 armed men and some 200 naked serv-
ants. mostly black, termed the impedi-
menti. While with Gomez we were joined
by the renowned Gen. Quintin Bandera
who, Gen. Gomez had previously stated,
was on his way from the east with force
of 2,2o0 volunteers. But upon reviewing
Gen. Bandera's new contingent / found
that he had but 80 men, mostly naked ne
groes. In the two weeks that 1 passed
with Gomez, the army occupied itself in
selecting appropriate camping places
where there was grass and water for the
| horses and wild cattle for the men. Dur
ing the day the horses were kept constant
ly saddled ready to mount and run upon
the approach of the Spanish troops, who
were almost constantly wandering about
the country looking for u.s.
Upon my return TO New York after this
visit to Gomez, l found that our Havana
correspondents had been enact.ng all sorts
of maneuvers, battles and victories with
Maxine Gomez and his army during the
very time that had been either running
away or hiding in the bushes with him.
Some of the correspondents had even
brought him and his army into the prov
ince of Matanzas, after having made him
defeat the Spanish army. And, most as
tonishing of all, some of these very corre-
spondents, who had never seen a real live
rebel in the field of Cuba went before the
committee on foreign relations at Wash
ngton and give their testimony regarding
the actual condition of affairs in Cuba
Being friendly myself to the insurgent
cause and the old bushwhacking chief
Maxine Gomez. l accepted the trust of
bringing a package of correspondence for
him through the Spanish lines, although 1
had lost confidence in both his ability and
mis- army. Upon delivering the correspond
ence to the Cuban junta, l attempted to
make them acquainted with the actual
state of their army in Cuba, as far as l
had been able, to carry on my nvestiga-
tons; but like Weyler and his Spaniards
they did not want to hear anything which
might reflect upon the valor of their
arms
Early in 1896 Mr.. Grover Flint Joined the
insurgents and remained with them fer
some five months. Recently Mr.. Flint has
given his experiences in his book, March
ing With Gomez Although Mr.. Flint
tells US that he was made a major in the
rebel army, he makes no attempt to give
any accounts of those glorious machete
charges and insurgent victories which we
have all read in our daily papers. Meth
er does he give us any figures of over
whelmiug numbers of insurgents. Although
he succeeds in finding the provisional gov
eminent of Cuba, he fails to find the re-
nowned capital Cubetas, but informs us
that he found the government quartered
in an abandoned house from which it
speedily took it's departure, and SUISSE
quently pitched camp in the woods.
AS for the number of insurgents under
arms, we have never had any figures ex-
cept those given by the insurgents them
selves, and the various estimates placed
upon them by the Spaniards. AS to the
value of the Spanish estimates, may cite
an Instance where l have known the en-
tire garrison of city to be placed on the
defensive a report having come In that
a large force of rebels was camped within
a short distance. Upon evading the SEN
tries and joining the insurgents, found
that the large force consisted of a major
and four men, three of them armed. On
another occasion 1 have Deen with ten
insurgents at the top of a mountain, keep
ing back a Spanish column, which I'M
doubtedly, fearing the overwhelming num-
bers OF the enemy, failed to come up and
drive the ten men away. In one so-called
battle between the forces of Maxine Co
mez and a Spanish column, in which
participated TO certain extent, the Span
ish general in his official report of the
engagement gave out that he had counted
twenty-five of our dead abandoned upon
the field of battlel The truth was that in
this particular engagement our side did
considerable running, led by the old chief
in person, while sixty of his men tried TO
check the oncoming Spaniards OF the
efxfv vubo were actually In the fight but