Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-08-26


Away to the left in the following val
ley smoke was rising from burning
house. The yard before it was filed
with Spanish soldiery Two women
stood bound In the center of them.
There seemed to be an alteration. A
soldier began to reeve rope over a
convenient tree bough.
All this flashed before the mems eyes
in n moment. There was no hesitation,
nor We're any orders given. Those Of
Slater's troop We're accustomed to fol-
low where Slater led, and they galloped
at his heels us he spurred furiously
down the hill slope. The Spaniards by
the house were suddenly aware of n
mingled rattle of hoofs and pistol shots
and beheld rush of men sweeping
down upon them, brandishing weapons
and volleying forth curses and bullets
at once. A moment, and they, were
struck, crushed, ridden down. The
sheer weight of Slater's headlong
charge scattered and hurled them In
every direction. AT the same time the
uGtluly lllCuSlt anu utuuly
shooter We're at work.
Throw the women across your sad
dies" roared Slater. They were jerked
up in an instant by two brawny troop
ers. 1t was no time for ceremony.
Now, hard ahead" And before the
Spaniards had recovered from the
shock their assailants were dashing
past the outbuildings of the hacienda
and had disappeared behind the sheds.
At the same time the guerrillas. swarm
ed in, and the soldiers also mounted
and followed the chase.
Meanwhile Slater's men had met an
unexpected obstacle. A high and strong
wire fence stood firmly across their
way. 1t was apparently designed to be
horseproof. There was no gate, and
the ends were not in sight.
swell, cut it, then!' shouted the lead
er, with n rattle of oaths, when its i'm
pregnability became apparent. And
quick too!' He drew his machete and
slashed as furiously at these wires as
he had done at those of the trocha.
In a minute or less an opening was
made and the riders were through.
When the Spaniards arrived at the
same point, their greater numbers and
the narrowness Of the gap caused n
tremendous crush, which gave the In
surgents Il much needed start.
1t was soon lost, however. The fresh
horses of the Spanish reinforcement
rapidly oyerhauled the little troop, and,
to add to. their difficulties, a deep ra-
vine suddenly appeared ahead. To
scramble in and out of 1t with suffi-
cient rapidity would be impossible for
the tired horses, two of which carried
double loads. To have cast the women
aside might have facilitated their es-
cape, but no one seemed to dream Of
such an act, nor was there a word Of
regret for the delay which had caused
them to be overtaken. Slater drew IN
his horse, and the others gathered
round.
ways closed said the leader SEN
tentiously. Got to fight here or sur
render"
"Or cut our way through" suggested
the man from Harvard.
uG WOuIGu.f EGludTkeu olul6T, uLu
the other accepted the fact.
ST they were only mountedp' NUT.
tered trooper.
The Spanish riders were now draw
ing in, and a volley of carbines ran be-
fore. They had aimed high, with the
result that three men of the troop top
pied from their saddles. This left that
number of mounts free.
"Can you ride, senora7' said Slater.
Both replied In the affirmative.
'.Then mount here, if you please.
We must try to cut our way out. Are
you afraid?"
ut is the privilege of Cuban wom-
IN to fear nothing, except capture by
thesev'
The man from Harvard was struck
by her courage, but he could not stop
to admire 1t. The women We're helped
astride the dead troopers saddles 1T
was no time for false modesty), and
the rest formed up around them. One
Of the women held out her hand toward
Slaters holsters. but he pointed out
the fact that there were pistols already
in the holsters before them. They took
these out and handled them with ia
miliarity.
The Spaniards had paused q few hun
dred yards away and were scrutinizing
the men they had pursued. l do not
know why they did not rush down and
overwhelm them by sheer weight. Pos
sibly SO much GOODNESS made them sus-
pect ruse or ambuscade. AT any rate,
they stood still moment till they saw
the band form in hollow square, with
the women in the center, and charge
down upon them.
Slater was leading. The guerrillas
essayed to move forward to meet the
attack, and when they came within fif-
| ty yards the pistols began to crackle
on both sides. A charging horse STUN
bled heavily to the ground, throwing
his rider headlong. An incessant vol
ley poured from the deft revolvers Of
the assailants, and the Spaniards re-
coiled from the spot on which 1t was
directed, where men and horses rolled
together on the earth. A moment. and
the little company, with the impetus of
bullet, had crashed into this shrink
ing spot and sunk right in for five
horses lengths. There was a simmer
all about as the men swung the ma
chetes above their heads and urged on
the plunging horses. The Spaniards
directly In front strove to get clear, to
have more room for fighting, and the
insurgents pushed forward to the far-
thest inch. 1t really seemed fora little
that they would win through the Span
ish ranks.
The guerrillas next the troop were
exchanging desperate sword strokes
with their antagonists. while those far
Their out We're pressing closer ind firing
wildly into the swirl of the fight with
reyolvers. Five of Slater's men Ind
gone down beneath the blows that came
from front and rear alike. There were
but twelve left. and these redoubIed
their efforts to break through the trap
that held them so fast Slater rode In
front, slashing to right and left with u
huge machete. He cut down an oppos-
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