The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-07-31
I; ;,s,ss.is ~ 4; l: I
NO. 9 .,''S
s;RED l:|,.l4lIl[ HAN Z I ND)E D
a i Most Horrible Battle ~ bile #Itls
Lasted; Says q sDispat tch. 81 81 ssS II

LASTED, Says g Dispatch. \ 81
BLOOD FLOWED LIKE WATER " n s1HS
ouidad, whose streets |, were N sw,,epl.t; opt.
by Shot and Shell, FiiIin,. II Il
Them with Dead and d. S3,
DYING soldiers. sSs Il
"a dispatch from Soledad, yenezue:
la, says for hours on Tuesday after
noon the battle between tile @reyolu.s
tionary forces at Ciudad Bolivar and
the Venezuelan government army
commanded by General Gomez, has
ragged madly. Block after block was
disputed, the government troops en-
tering the ciGy slowly. AL the houses
had been barricaded and the revolu-E
tionists had been forced from fat roofs
called Azotoas. When the revolu-
tlonists finally abandoned the houses,
after having taken all that could be-
used for barricades or to otherwise
stop the advance of the government
troops they we're Immediately occupied
by the government soldiers who. bored I
holes in them So as to communicate.
with the next house. The city ap-;
pears to have been struck by q cyclone.
At Z O'CLOCK In the evening the gov
ernment forces, which were advancing
from all directions arrived near the
center of Ciudad Bolivar. For two
hours previously; firing had diminished; (
but 1T was renewed. with more vigor at
10 o'clock at night and Illuminated the
sky. AT 3 O'Clock in the morning when
the Inhabitants Of the commercial and i
foreign parts Of the city near the Ala
media saw the advance Of the govern
ment troops they all abandoned their
homes and sought refuge, in other
parts of the city crossing the Streets
amidst a hail of bullets aud
shells, the women carrying their chill
dren; the strong helping the weak:
many men in trying TO protect the
women falling, struck by bullets. s4s ass
In the middle Of the streets what
with the firing, the yell of the wound
children, a terrible scene was witness
ed, bad enough to disgust anybody
forever with civil war, The govern
ment troops, however, acted with hui
manity, especially the forces Of Gen
eral Riyas, who fighting brayely, was
the first to order the attacking force
be- merciful. AT 8 o'clock the govern
ment generals having effected q juno:
ture Of their forces, north and south,
and having received further supplies 4
and ammunition, decided to push the
attack on the center OF the ci ity.f5 q !;
~ At 10 o. CLOCK the. government tr0opSS
had captured the north sid Of thsg
Alameda, the put plic park of CIndads
Bolivar. which has beer defeHded; ;bya&
double row of barricades. Behind one
of these. were found more than 80 dead I
soldiers lying on top of 4 each other
while wounded men were seen on all {
sides. At 10 o'clock the government
commanders seeing that only the ar
tillery could make a breach In the bar
ricadeS Of the Alameda ordered twelve
guns to open fire on them and at the
same time the Venezuelan fleet which
changed Its anchorage so as to bring
its guns to bear effectively on the city,
opened fire.
The soldiers on both sides have had
no food for two days, no ambulances
are being used and yet the fighting
continues. The old custom house and
waterworks have been taken. The
Dalton block, the property OF the
United States counsel, where all the
leading German and French families
reside are now being attacked. The.
jail Is the centre Of q terrible resist
ance. All the defeated revolutionists
have concentrated there. 1t is esti-
mated that more than 200 men have
been killed in that vicinity. The ar
tillery Of the revolutionists is tiercely
replying to the attack of the fleet.
Early in the afternoon 5, 200 govern
ment troops stormed and captured the
''Zamora," called the Sebastopol of
Ciudad Bolivar. Ninety-four dead re-
bells were found inside, among them
being General Azanza, one OF the rev.
olutionary leaders, whose head had
been blown off by shell. The escape
Of the reyolutionists after the capture
of the capitol, which is inevitable,
seems impossible. They must either
surrender or die. Att o'clock Tues
day night the custom house was taken
after ten-hours fight. The Associ-
ated Press representative counted
sixty killed as a result Of this fight.
The Dalton Block, where's the Ameri-
can consulate and most of'the foreign
business houses are located, was cap
tured at 8 o'clock. The revolutiopists
are without provisions and water, the
supply pipe having been cut Monday.
Their situation is considered desperate
and hopeless. The shops are being
pillaged.
Foolhardy Practice.
For some years there has been a
tendency on the part of people giving
or participating in public performan-
I<,at, f< l,pt, H.. -