The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 23, 1898, Page 1

The Call | to be taken mive ' the Library.**** 53. "VOLUME LXXXIV.—NO. SAN . FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1898, PRICE FIVE CENTS. REPORTED ATTACK ON SPANIARDS TREACHERY CHARGED TO GEN. GARCIA His Army Said to Have Ambushed Prisoners of War. Though Taken by Surprise, the Spanish Force Succeeds in In- flicting Heavy Loss. Specinl Cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Ceopyrighted, 1808, by James Gordon Bennett. SANTIAGO DE CUBA, July 21, by the Call- Herald dispatch boat to Port Antonio, Jamaica, July 22.—Great excitement was caused in San- tiago to-day by a story brought in by Cubans to insurgents, comprising General Garcia’s army of the east- ern department of Cuba, have been routed in a fierce engagement with a detachment of Spanish In this battle, which is reported to have taken place at a point several miles to the north of this city, forty-one Cubans were Killed and many more were wounded. The Spanish- loss,-1 am .in- 1 was unable to verify the story and give it as the army here| the effect that 4000 Cuban troops bound for Santiago to surrender. formed, was much smaller. heard it. Nothing happening in this vicinity recently has taken the American officers and troops so completely by surprise as this reported battle between Cubans and Spaniards. Our troops had come to look upon the insurgents as eaters rather than as fight- ers, and they scarcely believed that Garcia’s men had laid an ush and had opened the fight by attacking the Spanish troops. I have been unable to learn as yet whether General Garcia re of the number of the enemy he was attacking. If he > had encountered a small force of’ Spaniards and Id overpower them easily it was a grave mistake. There least 5000 Spaniards in the body, according to the ac- ey drove Garcia’s men into full retreat a few hours 1fter the battle began. This defeat of the insurgents, if the report is true, is the first f | Garcia’s petulant disagreement with General Shaiter and of his decision to no longer co-operate with the American forces. When the Cuban general withdrew his troops to the mountains, as already has been told in these dispatches, he resolved to move on to Holguin, about sixty miles to the northwest of this city. If the Americans would not allow them to wreak vengeance on the Spaniards in Santiago, the Cubans proposed to storm some other important place and take posses- sion of it on their own account. It was with this object in view that General Garcia withdrew his troops from the American lines and refused longer to act as an ally of General Shafter. He decided to capture Holguin, if possible, and to there set up an insurgent government, making that place Cuban headquarters for the eastern department. It is not related how far to the northwest of Santiago General Garcia’s army had proceeded upon this mission when the Spanish troops were encountered. They had been march- ing for many hours, however, and must have been well started on their journey. T am told it is a question as to which were the most sur- prised, the Cubans or the Spaniards, when the two bodies of troops met on the road between Santiago and Holguin. The Spaniards had been gathered from fortified towns in the vicinity and were proceeding to Santiago under the terms of surrender agreed upon by General Toral. They were seeking to carry out in good faith the agreement made with General ter. They were not looking for a fight and were caught off guard. General Garcia ordered his men to form so they would be concealed in the chaparral, hoping to annihilate the first sections of the Spanish troops. His plans were promptly put into execu- tion, but the Spaniards, quickly recovering from the demoraliza- tion caused by the opening shots, fought fiercely, and General Garcia’s ambuscade was a failure. their Although unsuccessful in his plan to entrap the Spanish,. General Garcia sent word to them demanding that they surren- der forthwith. To this demand the Spanish commander re- turned an emphatic refusal. “General Toral,” he notified General Garcia, “has surren- dered to the American army, not to Cubans.” Despite the information that these Spanish troops were part of those included in General Toral’s surrender, General Garcia GOING IN TO SURRENDER 2L s THE AMERICAN ARMY MOVING ON MANILA. {Birdseye View of the Vicinity of Manila ‘and Cavite Showing the Landing of the American Troops Above and Below the . City, ‘With the First California Regu;)oat in the Advance,. qnd the Positions. of~Adm1rql Dewey’s Squadroen, the Foreign War Vessels, Merchuntmr&, m i, 3 MERCHANT VEDSELS 1 < E:Z) ,m.a, &4 /POREIGN WAR VESSELS AMERICAN - WAR SHIPS SECOND EXPEDITION LANDS thereupon ordered his troops to prepare to fight. The Cubans quickly. took the positions to which they had been assigned, and the order to fire was passed along the line. General Garcia had decided to attempt to carry the Spanish position by assault, and his troops pressed forward when the word was given. Their progress was firmly resisted at- every point by the Spaniards, who, after several hours’ fighting, put the Cubans to rout with the loss of forty-one killed and many wounded. The Spanish suffered smaller loss. This battle, with its disastrous results, has greatly excited the Cubans. They are demanding vengeance and cannot.under- " stand why the Americans do not annihilate their Spanish pris- oners of war. General Garcia, prior to this reported exploxt had been caus- ing great trouble for General Shafter, the American commander having been met at every point by the Cubans with.claims for precedence. All the Cubans violently opposed:the terms upon which General Toral surrendered to General Shafter. These ‘terms were dictated by General Shafter,. but the Cubans ever since the city formally surrenderéd last Sunday have done everything in their power to render the carrying out of the terms difficult or impossible. This reported exploit of Garcia in attacking a'detachment of American prisoners of war is regarded here as characteristic. Tt is in line with the course he has pursued ever since he discov- ered that he was powerless to interfere with General Shafter’s plans about the Government of Santiago and the treatment of the Spanish troops who had surrendered. NO CONFIRMATION AT WASHINGTON NEW YORK, July 22.—The Herald’s ‘Washington correspondent telegraphs the following: No official confirmation has been received here of the report that General Garcia attacked a body of Spanish troops on their way to sur- render to General Shafter under the terms of capitulation agreed upon with General Toral. Such action on the part of the Cuban commander would be so totally foreign to all usages of civilized warfare that the authorities here are reluctant to belleve the report, and should it be con- firmed it would bring about a total change in the relations between the American forces and General Garcla, if not between them and all the Cuban insurgents on the island. Even though General Garcia’s course should be disavowed by General Gomez and other Cuban leaders, the American commanders would not be able to re- pose confidence in them agag. If General Garcia has taken any such action he has greatly damaged his cause and that of all Cubans in the eyes of the administration and has| justified General Shafter in neglecting to consult him as to the surrender of ‘Nantiazo. COLONEL wo0D Now MILITARY GOVERNOR Succeeds General McKibbin as Chief in Authority in Captured Santiago. PLAYA DEL ESTE, Cuba, July 22— General Wood of the Rough Riders was appointed Military Governor of Santiago de Cuba yesterday, succeeding General McKibbin. who returns to his old duty, and who is on the sick list. Squads of natives were sent to-day to clean the streets and bury the dogs and horses whose remains have been lying about for days and weeks. Other steps to improve the sanitary condition of the city are being taken. NEW CABINET FORMED IN PORTO RICO MADRID, July 22.—A dispatch from San Juan de Porto Rico says a new insular Cabinet has been formed under the pres- idency of Senor Nunez Riviera. i FAILED TO MUSTER IN. Six Californians Get Cold Feet and - Skip From Carson. CARSON, July 22.—Six members of having skipped out. All of them came from California originally. - TWO MILES FROM MANILA FIRST CALIFORNIA TROOPS ENCAMPED AT PARANAQUE Surgeons Called Upon tov Care for Wounded Insur- gents, Many of Aguinuldo’s Men Falling in dttacks on tbe Outposts. Special Cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Copyrllhted, 1898, by James Gordon Bennett. MANILA BAY, July 19, via Hongkong, ]uly 22— The disembarkation of the second expedition of American troops.from the transports is fairly under way: to-day. being landed at Paranaque, two miles south of Manila. The troops are The Boston and ;Callao have moved across the bay to a point as close to the shore as they can go, and .are covering the landing: of the troops with their guns. It is strongly suspected the presence of the warships is intended to-influence the rebels more than the Spaniards, as there have been serious disagreements between Genéral Anderson and Aguinaldo. Although the rebels still are nominally friendly toward the American tréops, I have seen enough of their spirit to make me doubtful of their attitude toward us;in-the near fu- ture. The voyage of the second ex- pedition of American troops was without any incident of impor- tance after leaving Honolulu, ex- cept the stop at Wake Island, on July 4, to hoist the American flag. General Anderson and General Greene early this morning went to Paranaque in a launch from the- Olympia. They examined sites for the First California Reg- iment. After selecting a spot for the camp and when the troops were arriving the generals recon- noitered along the Spanish lines at Malate, where a hot fight was in progress. The rebels evidently were los- ing more men than usual, for the wounded have- begun to pour into’our lines for treatment. Our surgeons:have established a tem- porary hospital under a large Company A failed to muster in to-day, | mango tree, where several seri- ous operations have been per- formed. The wounds of the rebels were made by Mauser rifle bullets and are very clean and merciful. Out of a dozen severely wounded men who were brought in while I was there none had bones badly shat- tered. One captain was shot in the left side just above the hip, but he probably will recover. A very young man was struck on the left cheek and the bullet lodged in his head. He also probably will recover, though he walked a half mile in the burning sun to camp. Arm and body wounds gener- ally 'do not prevent ‘the victims from walking to the hospitals. In very serious cases the wounded are carried in canvas hammocks attached to a bamboo pole which is borne by two men. After leaving camp the launch passed along the water front, passing so close to the Spanish | docks that the soldiers could eas- ily have killed all of us with one volley. Lieutenant Calkins, who was in charge of the boat, headed up the beach, expecting the gen- erals would tell him when they had seen enough. But the army officers were evidently unwilling to change the boat’s course as long as the naval officer se- lected it. The Spaniards watched us cur- iously. Twice squads of soldjers came from behind the sandbag works into full view, as if to fire, but finally we passed close under their guns without drawing a sin- gle shot. As we approached the famous Lunetta battery, where the Krupp guns are mounted, General Anderson said that a half mile out was close enough to it. This battery was examined through glasses, and then the launch returned to Cavite. The fighting around Manila