The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-16
Black Fighter Whose Name
Maceo Conjured With
He WAS BORN A SLAVE
Distinguished Himself In the First
Cuban War for Independence.
Gomez's Way of Dealing
With Him.
From the New York Sun.

| Cuba. He Joined the insurgents in the
first war for independence against Spain
and distinguished himself by leading in
an assault upon Spanish column party
armed with no other weapon than the long
cane knife which is an evolution Of the
cutlass of the early spaniard.
Quentin, as he was then called, was
young, strong, energetic, a perfect speei-
men Of the pure blooded Ethiopian, and he
soon proved himself such foe to the
spaniard and so valuable an acquisition
to the cause of Cuban independence that
he received a commission as colonel in the
| insurgent army.
Upon the breaking out of the last in
snrrection against Spanish rule he was
one of the first to appear in the field, with
following composed of pure-blooded Al
ricans. Great hopes were based upon his
ability to secure and lead an African
contingent for 1t was well understood
| by the patriot leaders that the blacks,
the best guerilla fighters in the island,
would fight as quickly on the side of
the Spanards as against them, and so
| Quentin was at once commissioned as a
| brigadier general.
He marched with Maceo and his negro
following through the island to the prov
ince of Pinar del Rio In what was then
known as the invasion, but he proved to
be a poor fighter and a poor leader as
we'll Yet his name became one TO IN
spire terror in the hearts of peaceful
Cubans and Spanlards alike.
| In those days, owing to the restrictions
put upon newspaper correspondents by
the captain general little was known OF
what was actually going on In the neid,
especially among the insurgents. IL moce
had been known the history OF Cuta
would have been written differently.
Was Living High,
While Maceo was pursuing Gomez
policy of concentrating all non-sympa-
thizers in the Spanish towns and laying
waste the country about, Gen. quentin
was spending most of his time up IN
the mountains, where he maintained
sort of seraglo and lived on the fat or
the land Upon his entrance into the
province he had been surprised by
small force of Spanlards. mostly Guardia
Civlles and he and his band had been
put to ignominious flight. Maceo mad
reprimanded him for this and 50 ne re-
fused to take any more chances of de-
feat.
Maceo however found the name of this
duslky old warrior one to conjure with.
This resulted from a method which Quen-
tin had adopted of carrying a cuban
| flag and taking possession of every little
hamlet which he found undefended by
| Spanards.
splcucus place and then post a proclama-
ton announcing the capture of the town
and signed with his own name, which ne
he had learned to write with great
serawl as though it were done with
paint brush. He was also very iona OF
issuing military orders and DEGREES ana
sending warnings to the Spanish military
| commanders. which his secretary wrote
and he signed with his tar brush sigma
ture.
Tins his name came to be well known,
and Nacea took advantage of the fact,
first facetiously and finally as good pol
lev He found that the people mad
sort Of dread for the negro general. whom
they had not seen, but had heard OF as
| fierce black warrior who rode fiery
stood and led a band of negroes naked
to the waist and armed with long cane
| knives with which they split open Span
| ish heads as readily as pumpkins.
Maceo in his raids would warn the coun-
try people against giving Information to
| the Spaniards or assisting them In any
way, telling them that If they refused
| to heed his warnings he would send Quen-
tin Banderas to settle with them. The
country people in turn would express
| their terror to the Spanish soldiers, and
| so the fame of Quentin Banderas spread
without his ever doing much OF any
thing beyond leading life ofscompara-
tive ease in the mountains.
Frightened BY His Name.
As an example of the dread inspired
by his name, the Spanish battalion of
! San Quintin upon approaching a garri-
1 .s-r<1 fl.C fa1ao IL
lenee of the sentries by calling out its
own name The sleepy soldiers garrison
ing the town heard only the name of
Quintn but 1t was enough to rouse them,
and grabbing their rifles they opened
frece fire upon their countrynien who
were approaching
The soldiers thus fired upon believed
that the Insurgents had possession of the
town and returned the fire. A hot fight
ensued, all caused by the simple name
of San Quintin.
After Pinar del Rio had been. reduced
to a Wilderness General Quentin Ban
IDEAS concluded that the time had ar
rived for him TO leave He sent cir
cular letter to the Spanish commanders
announcing that he, the lberator of his
country, was going to cross the trocha.
When next heard of. the dusky patriot
was in Havana province and was supposed
to be marching with his army through the
southern part of the island; but the sup
posed army consisted in reality of less
than a dozen negroes, their nakedness
covered with shreds of clothing, sugar
sacks or blankets. With this remnant of
his following Quentin made his way to
the general headquarters of Maxine Go
meb in the central part of the island,
where the doughty old warrior heard his
tales of great achievements in the west
with some incredulity.
He ordered Quentin to go into Santiago
province and recruit another army of
black soldiers, promising him that great
er fame than that already achieved would
be his reward. The black general depart
ed and after the lapse of a month or two
sent Gomez word that he had recruited
an army of 1000 men and was returning
with his soldiers to join him at La Re-
forma.
Gomez waited anxiously for the appear
ance OF his army. When at last 1T did APP
pear it proved to consist of n band of
ragamufhn negroes without clothes or
hats worthy the name, and to number
less than $50 men. Gomez must have been
greatly disappointed, but, he made an ad-
dress to the tattered negroes conclud-
ing by pointing to the west with his gilt
tering machete and telling the oahd that
they were about to proceed IN thai direc-
ton and avenge the death oil Naceo. who
had been killed at Punta bisva.
DIDN'T Fight the Spaniards.
He then told Quentin to go and taae up
the work left unfinished by Ma.eo's
death. Quentin, however. did not seetn
TO have any great hankering for fighting