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Outline History of Cuba from May, 1896, to January, 1897: Guira

At Guira de Melena we passed the church which was held by volunteers against Gen. Gomez's forces last January, the ruins of the houses he burned and the remains of the remains of the railway station-houses. They were the only visible evidences of the raid between Guira and Artemisa. Finally the train, crawling along at the rate of ten miles an hour, reached Artemisa, now a garrison town only, and the famous trocha was in sight. This trocha is a line of earthworks, dotted with tiny block-houses. It stretches across the level country, north and south, as far as the eye can see. The town is filled with Spanish soldiers. They have nothing to do since the death of Maceo.

The soil is a rich clay, like that of Virginia; and the doctor says, of the hills that Maceo occupied so long:

They are scarcely high enough to be called mountains, but are thickly wooded and seamed with deep ravines which offer a splendid refuge for the insurgents, who, warned by the pacificos, are able to double easily and elude their Spanish pursuers, whose search is prosecuted in a hostile country. I passed the place where Maceo camped in October, when he conducted his last military operations there. The camp was made of little huts of palm-leaves and grass thatched so as to offer a protection against the heavy rain. These huts were scattered about irregularly. There was no pretense of military regularity about them. Back of them was a thicket, a dense undergrowth, in which the Cubans could take refuge if attacked. It was a splendid vantage-point for guerrilla soldiers.

Westward of this region the country grows poorer, and is only used for grazing. To my intense surprise I found large herds of cattle here grazing as quietly as if a war in Cuba had never been known.

A desolate town was struck, however, at Palacio, and the famous Vuelta Abajo region, where the finest tobacco in the world is grown. Tobacco has been planted this year a little later than usual, it is true, and the green fronds may be seen waving in the sickly breeze as far as the eye can see. I saw no field in which tobacco had been planted in the past which is not under cultivation now.

General Mulquiso had just returned from a fortnight's expedition, and said most of the rebels had hidden their arms and were posing as pacificos, and remarked of Maceo that his death was a terrible blow to the rebellion, and His black followers sacrificed their homes in their devotion to him. His white adherents are worthless as fighting men. I found much suffering among the people of the hills. In many cases young children brought into camp were so nearly starved that they could not retain solid food. The plan of compelling the families of rebels to go to the towns is wise from a military standpoint. Your Sheridan swept clean the Shenandoah Valley, not because he wished to, probably, but from a military necessity. I presume the time is not distant when the regular Spanish troops will abandon Pinar del Rio, leaving order to be restored by the civil guard and volunteers. The doctor returned to Havana on a train packed with sick officers and men going back towards the capital city, and possibly towards home. The most prevalent complaint was chills and fever, but some who had yellow fever were taken on.

The most interesting matter communicated by the doctor is that he saw tobacco-fields in good condition, and herds of cattle. This is a surprise. There are certain verities avow themselves--and making allowances for the required friendliness toward Spain that permitted Mr. Bowen to go to the disputed territory, and have his dispatch passed--there remains a good deal of matter-of-fact of value.

A correspondent of the Herald was permitted to accompany Gen. Weyler to the field, and interviewed him in his tent on the day before Christmas. This was in the midst of a camp of 10,000 men at the foot of the Ranzil Hills. The correspondent says the General is approachable and unpretending, and said, "the complete pacification of the Province is a matter of a few days." The General thought the rebels had hidden their guns and were posing as pacificos, and many would come in and surrender, if they had not heard he would kill them all. He declared of the insurgents willing to lay down their arms: I know that they have held meetings with the idea of coming in as presentados, but have been told that I would murder them all, which is absurd, is it not? Certainly I shall not harm them; but, not knowing that, they hope to throw away their arms and pose as pacificos still. "When the presentados begin to come in crowds, and the rest find that they are not killed there will be a general rush to surrender." Much was not heard of General Reviera. Speaking of his force, General Weyler said: "I have twenty-six battalions, ranging from eight hundred to a thousand men each, occupying all the hills of the Province. These columns have destroyed everything in sight, and have been able to subsist on the cattle of the insurgents, which were found grazing in the hills, and with whose destruction died their remaining hope of sustenance. They must either starve now or submit, and some may prefer to do the former, owing to their remarkable apathy."

Gen. Weyler invited the Herald man to dinner, and at the sound of the bugle at the troops were called to get an extra ration of wine. There was a supply store with 100,000 rations kept for an emergency. There are two further passages of importance in this letter, as follows:

I arrived in San Cristobal December 23d, after a seven hours' journey in the train from Havana. We met troops all along our route. Trains with troops are arriving here every hour, and troops filled the road between each station. Half the passengers in the train were officials. From the train windows we could see all the roads clouded by large masses of soldiers. Cavalry columns were everywhere seen moving toward Pinar del Rio by all roads leading to that city.

Everything looks sombre here for the insurgents. The friends of the insurgents here say that the rebels, although well equipped, are desperate on account of lack of food, and that if General Weyler follows the plans he proposes the insurgents on this side of the trocha will have either to fight and be killed in battle or starve. Unless assistance from General Gomez or Calixto Garcia comes to them, they will have to cross the trocha in small bands. The willingness of the Spaniards to allow the correspondents to see the inside of the Province where Maceo so long maintained himself, argues that they feel very sure of being in complete command of that part of the country. But the representatives of Cuba strenuously deny any approach to pacification in the west, and say there is an insurgent army of six thousand intrenched on the hills, provided with provisions and armed with dynamite guns, and if that is so, Weyler has another tedious campaign before he can proclaim order and move east. The cause of Cuba ought not be trifled with, as it is by the "news" Bureau at Key West, but it will go on in competition with the Spanish official romances, and the provocation given by the military censorship. Here is an example of the Key West production:

ALMOST CAUGHT WEYLER--INSURGENTS SURPRISE THE SPANISH CAPTAIN GENERAL--HE WAS FOUND ON THE ARTEMISA MILITARY ROAD WITH A SMALL ESCORT--SAVED BY THE ARRIVAL OF CAVALRY.

KEY WEST, FLA., Dec. 25.--Havana news indicates that Gen. Weyler is having more trouble in the Pinar del Rio section than he expected. As he was traveling the military road from Artemisa to San Cristobal, the second day of his arrival, with a smaller escort than usual, an attack was made on him, and but for the sudden and unexpected appearance of a company of Spanish cavalry he would have been captured.

This road is one that Weyler keeps strongly guarded, but on that day a part of the troops was on another portion, and where Weyler was traveling the force was small. While crossing a bridge over a small creek, ambushed Cubans poured in a sudden fire, killing nearly half his escort.

Weyler's horse shied and ran off, carrying his rider out of range. Dozens of Cubans pursued on foot. They fired at him, hoping to disable his horse and effect his capture.

The sound of firing brought up a squadron of cavalry that was passing to Artemisa, and Weyler plunged into their midst in somewhat undignified haste. The skirmish was continued for half an hour, but, finding that they were outnumbered, the insurgents withdrew. Since that Weyler has not gone out, except when guarded by a large force.

There was no foundation whatever for this story, and it is a folly to invent that sort of thing to be pumped into the country through the wires. There can be no mistake about it. The case is one of falsification, descending to particulars of elaboration.