The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-07-06
DISTRESS OF GENERAL GOMEZ
SUPPLIES WERE PROMISED, BUT
NEVER CAME.
Thousands of Cubans Are Ready to
Fight, But They Need Arms,
Clothing and Food.

Copyright. 1898. by the Associated Press.)
/ Key West, Fla, June 29.-(Corres-
pondence Associated Press)-ColoneI
BOA, chief of staff of General Maxine
Gomez, who is in Key West. left Cen
! eral Gomez on June 10. He says the
old commander was in good health,
better dressed than any of his SOL
diers and had an excellent horse, but
was eating the miserable food which
the private soldiers lived on. General
Gomez was chatting at his enforced in
/ activity and was looking forward
eagerly to the time when he would be
able to take the field. If he could OBJ
| tain supplies he would move to the
westward. With a we'll mounted army
he would be able to threaten Havana
General Gomez is at La DelicfaS, Santa
Clara province, with his staff and an
escort of 200 men, half of them mount
ed. His company is conducted in the
most soldierly fashion, for General Co
mez would have il so whether he COM
manded ten men or ten thousand. He
rises early, often at o'clock, works all
day and is the last one to bed at night.
He knows very well what horse flesh
tastes like and has also eaten that
other Cuban delicacy, palm buds.
few weeks ago when the Gussie ex-
petition, conveyed by the Suwanee,
set out to carry supplies to General
Gomez, the latter called in his scatter
ed hands until he had gathered 5000
men. With these he waited IA days at
the coast for the expedition. Finally,
giving up hope of its landing, he or
dered the men to dispense. The sacri-
flee necessitated by this mobilization
was very great. For instance, General
Monteaguedo was obliged to kill $50
horses for food.
The little bands are able to forage
about the camp, to catch fish in the
rivers, to puck fruit and dig sweet po-
tatOes, but a large army cannot live
on the country. The bands are back
where they were, but with fewer horses
and somewhat discouraged. The killing
of horses is not resOrted to except when
absolutely necessary to prevent star
walton. Forage for horses is abundant
in Cuba.
Juan F. iowa, ex-consul at Sagua La
Grande, who was intrusted by the
United States government with the
supplies of the GUssie, to General Co
mez, is very much concerned over the
Generals plight When the Suwanee
and Gussie failed to land on the north
coast the Gussie returned to Tampa
and the Suwanee went around to the
south coast, intending to make land
ing on the other side of Santa Clara
province. But Rear Admiral Sampson
called the Suwanee in at Santiago de
Cuba and asked that the supplies be
delivered to his Cuban allies under
General Cabreco. This was done. Mr..
iowa had an idea that the United
States government will feel bound to
deliver to General Gomez the supplies
that were not landed by the Gussie,
and which were taken back to Tampa.
If the government does rot send its
supplies it viii at least furnish war
ship on which the Cubans will be per-
mitted to send food TO General Co
mez.
Mr.. iowa cannot be emphatic enough
in his denial of the oft-published re-
port that General Gomez has said that
he did not desire the aid Of the United
States; that the Cubans were able to
drive out the Spaniards and would look
on American invasion as offensive. Mr..
iowa says:
General Gomez has said to me over
and over again that it would be a
shame TO send American boys to die of
fever in Cuba, while Cubans, who are
immune from disease, who are anxious
to fight and know the country, are
without guns, clothes and food. Let
the Cubans do as much of the fighting
as possible and let the Americans help
us first by equipping our army"