Show E I J GENERAL MAXIMO GOMEZ A CHABACTEB SKETCH OF THE COMMANDEBLNCHIEF OF TH CUBAN INSURGENTS BY A WAR CORRESPONDENT WHO HAS SEBVED DURING THE LAST YEAH TJNDEB HIM AT HEAD I QTTABTEBS AND I THE FIELD MTLITABY TACTICS OF THE GREAT STBATEGIST LOOK OU FOB TH OLD FOX WHEN W HE COMMENCES TO FALL ACKA MAN OF mON WITH A T TENDER HEABT FEAEED AND WORSHIPPED BY THE BANK AND FILE HIS STERN DISCIPLINE I FELT THROUGHOUT THE OCCUPIED PARTS OF THE ISLAND t Copyright 1S97 the S S McClure Co I has been my privilege and pleasure f k during the last year to study in tho camp g ana on the field of battle the leaders of t tho Cuban revolution As to which may bo tho greatest It does not matter now Time and the historians of the future will k decide that point But General Mazimo Gomez as commanderlnchlef of the insurgent i in-surgent forces is today the center of r interest The eyes of the civilized world f are watching him Suffering Cuba is looking to him to free her from her oppressors f op-pressors His staff adoreg and swears I by him The rank and file of the army I t admires fears and worships him On every hand you hear Maximo Gomez I t has never yet been defeated in battle I True he has often retreated before the I enemy butjf followed he has invariably pljc J his jiharjlootra in ambush di vlrtrri rnj outer marched his column outl uiKed th > rtonfdent Spaniards and by fuiiing urn xpef te < Jy l on their rear turned apparent < of < > jt into victory Time and cain dir his wonderful march from thf Orit i t i Pinar del Ro this stratagem wa = < = uccsfully practiced until CairKJS in wriiiig to his cfllcers t one cid Iocr out tor the old fox whpr N comrren tJ f11 back Napoleon never more completely enJOYed en-JOYed the ronfdrme of his followers tl in < 3i this wonderful strategist Even r rtcuits fight well under Gomex It s tad that no man ever flinched no mU 1 now tMck the bullets tlew while GomEzs eye wa on him At the battle of Saratoga he hastily gathered < o together W men to meet the advancing column of Casteilanos on its waj to te r < icf of Guavnaro en ttv command rinohif > f arrived in Cama tty h < had with him only his nersoral cort of 6 rmr his army havng been 1er in t1te wet wti Maieo This Ittle body of S60 m < n 11 defeated and drove > ak tif 2W > Siinir troops under Cas ttllanos in spit of art lery and unlimited TjnltIon t te hands 1 of the onemv Ti fight lasted four dave The Spansh f = rd 5 iiOO rounds the nsurpent 12000 Tnroe hundrcl old tw > nttwo of the i rnn ur fore were buried between Sar toSi nd thc < it of Puerto P lrcipe Tlf tibans lost c > killed and 133 woundd ruE the Cubs hat the advantage of positioi The away have Less than a hunderd of General I Gomezs forces had ever before been under tire but no men ever fought more calmly and courageously courage-ously The eag eve of Gomez was on them nnd bv hs presence and Personal mgt m he made these raw recruits tight like old tI = I was in this bat that Brauolio Pena won Gomez Tliitini esteem and the title of famagut lighting coloel while Goneial Sunres through his failure to vomc to the front with 400 reInforce ratnts met the rebuke and disgrace which aftprw id caused his death I was noon of the second days fight when Colonel Penn and his escort amen SO a-men tired hungry and overheated rode into General Gomez presence Whore can YOU use me and my men general asked the panting colonel You look worn out remarked General Gomez Perhaps but our guns are in good order replied the colonel You had better get a bite to eat before going into action suggested Gomez Our appetites will be better after we have burnt a little powder pleaded Pe PeBut you have ridden all night urged Gotiez Yes general we have ridden 70 miles to rcarh this battle we have used up CO horses to get hero We axe tired and hungry hut we have been listening tote to-te ound of the Spanish cannon since daylIght We have lived for the lat 15 tours on the hope of taking pat in this fight For Gods sake general dont stop us now that wo are in sight of the enemy I wont replied Gomez Take possession pos-session of yonder hill to the left and hold I i position It until you get orders to abandon your positon I had to send an orderly twice General Gen-eral Gomez afterwards told me before I Cud get Pena and his men oft that hill The Spaniards had almost surrounded I when he discovered that he had barely time to cut his way out and retreat t Poor Suarez met his overthrow at the samo time The day after the battle he rode into Gomez camp with 500 men He had been but six miles away during tho fight and had failed to put in an appearance appear-ance Gomez looked at him for a moment mo-ment Ih undisguised contempt and then commenced to study the surrounding forest trees Why are you here Gomez finally asked I came to report answered Suarez answered Gomez After the battle Gome I could not reach you sooner You could neither cross nor go around hose hills Inquired Gomez My practice guide could not find tea Gomez motioned the guide who stood near to approach nea c you a honest man asked the general Pee been so brought up answered the practice You know the trails In the Jvajassa district dlstrct general You could have conducted that man to md could you not I could have led his column to you twohours after tho battle began but General Suarez seemed fo prefer ways other than the most di ct and EnolighT He is General Suarez no I gfr longer Turning fiercely upon the la I 1 ter he continued You needed no guide to bring you here The sound of battle is sufficient to lead any soldier to the front Six miles only separated your command from mine No true Cuban would have slept until he had joined his I comrades You are not a patriot you area i are-a coward Your men bow their heads in I shame for you You are disgraced and degraded Quit my sight before I hang IOU I-OU for a cur Go to the government let I it deal with you you will get no mercy I from me General Gomez Is loyal in his likes but bitter and relentless In his hatred That which most excites his cro is to discover a man trying to profit by Cubas distress dis-tress Heaven help the officer found disposing dis-posing of any privilege for private gain No matter how insignificant the offense mirht be in the eyes of the world with Gomez i Is a matter of principle and there is no forgiveness for such a crime 0 I I 2 t r l t ti f V ij GENERAL GOMEZ AS HE APPEAES TODAY Fpr this reason he has forbidden all loyal Cubans to accept money for any service rendered or any eommodltj furnished during the revolution While traveling through the interior with an escort of seven men I once offered of-fered a poor pacifico non combatant 5 cents for a cheese The man smiled his thanks but refused the money saying say-ing I I were to accept that silver sir General Gomez would send me to the salt mines for six months I I Any man Cuban American soldier or ppcifico may travel from one end of Cuba to another without a cent He will receive food shelter and whatever courtesy may be in the power of his hOSt to extend but he will find no one who will accept pay for service rendered Scattere through the central and eater eat-er portions of the Island are Insurgent factories where hats shoes saddles and oven clothes are made I a friend of Cuba Libre you are welcome to fit yourself payment your-self out but no money will be taken in I will neer forget the rebuke administered ad-ministered to a certain brigadier in southern Camagui I is not necessary to mention his name for he has since redeemed re-deemed himself by courage displayed in battle Heedless of General Gomezs orders or-ders he had been not only permitting paclficos iii ns district to sell ram padura brown sugar in cakes to some of the Spanish garrisons but it was proven that ho had received S400 for allowing al-lowing the forbidden traffic General Gomez sent for him As the offender appeared the bugler sounded the assemble Turning to his force Gen eral Gomez said You see before you 1 man who has been known as Brigadier He is brigadier no more but Brigadier Baa padura sugar cake From this time forth I want no man in Cuba to either address him or speak of him other than as Brigadier Rasoadura Then turning turn-ing to the culorit he continued Takeoff Take-off those stars Give thorn to me quick You disgrace them You have sold yourself your-self for 3400 You can be bought for a cake of brown sugar You are not a patriot you are a common peddler of I privileges You are not fit to command men Down to the ranks afoot where you belong and be grateful If my soldiers sol-diers condescend to march alongside of you General Gomez is n disciple of the old French cardinal in many respects With him there is no such word u fail For the man who fails he has no further use Nor will he listen to excuses from ant one If you have not succeeded make excuses ex-cuses to yourself I have no time to listen to them He seldom Invites counsel he may listen lis-ten to oainlons but he invariably acts upon his own judgment and no man living liv-ing knows his plans for the morrow He is erratic In his marches and may order a halt or an advance at any hour of the day or night General Gomez IS 1 exacting in his requirements re-quirements of younger officers but most generous in his praise when I Is merited Although known to the world as a man of iron beneath his mask of sternness beats a heart as tender a a womans Ho worshiped Marti as one Inspired The trust placed in his hands by the dead martyr is to him more sacred than anything else on earth Not less did he love Antonio ilaceo Maceo was his right hand Maceo could comprehend Gomezs plans and execute his orders through a kind of military telepathy which never failed Those two leaders never misunderstood each other The shadow of a personal jealousy never crossed their lives Gomez derived far more pleasure from Maceos success than did the victor himself One of the saddest hours of his life vn when the news was brought him of th3 death fit this patriot brother who knew no fear and of the son whom he loved better than lifeThe old commanderlnchlef Is equally fond of Callxto Garcia On my return from the Oriente where I had accompanied ac-companied General Garcia in his triumphal trium-phal march through tno Holguin rEstrict I met General Gomez at Santa Ana In the province of Camaguey He questioned me closely In regard to Garcias strength and vigor and when assured of the tatters tat-ters health and desire to once more embrace em-brace him in Cuba Libre a tear of pleasure stole Into Gomezs eyes Ah he sighed with Callxto and plenty of cartridges we could soon free Cuba These two old veterans of the ten years war are the exact opposite In appearance I ap-pearance and In temperament bqt they are one In thought soul and desire They both live for one purpose alone the freedom of their beloved country and the future of Cuba Is today In their hands r I General Gomezs weakness It such It would be called was his love for his son Francisco To his father and friends he was known as Panchlto A dozen times a day General Gomez would turn the topic of conversation to his beloved boy The possible recognition of belligerency bel-ligerency did not Interest him half so much as whether Panchito enjoyed his visit to New YorK uld he go with you to the theatres Did he tell you of the paper he Is editing in Monte Crlsto Are his eyes a bright and his face as brown as of old He h not forgotten his English Tell me of him and you are my frJ nd And when I told the general of Ms sons one great desire to join his father I and help light for Cuba the old man grew sad and silent AI am no coward he said but I I have not sufficient courage to JTQ Into battle knowing that my boys breast I I exposed to the bullets of the Spaniards I he should fall In my sight it might unnerve un-nerve e I Panchito must come to this unhappy island let it be to Szht with General Maceo or some other force than mine Fate decreed that the boy should fall beside that hero Although General Gomez confesses to 7 years itts hard to believe him more than C He is about 5 feet 7 Inches < n height and straight as a arrow with a slender strongly knit frame The bal which passed through his leg a year ago has caused him but very little trouble The glance from his keen penetrating eyes will make a guilty man feel very uncomfortable General Gomez Is seldom I seen In repose or absorbed In deep thought The restless wary look of the eagle is always present no matter how quiet or peaceful mav be the surroundings surround-ings His bearing Is seldom Impressive but a strange unaccountable magnetism seems to emanate from this remarkable little man at all times No ono can 4es cape It influence J It puts courage Into the hearts of cowards and maces the culprit tremble In spite of himself He Is a man of moods When in a hay frame of mind he will look you straight In the face and listen quietly tb what you may have to say But If annoyed his glance I to one side and down His brows knit and the point of his neatly trimmed Irongrey beard receives a peculiar pe-culiar petulant beating from his restless right hand Go on 1 hear you ho will say But when encountered In this mood I is policy not to go on but to retire with mt as little delay as courtesy will per Upon the possible recognition of Cuban belligerency by the United States government gov-ernment he is most sensitive I have forbidden the discussion of that topic In my camp he once said to me At onetime one-time we all hoped with reason we thought that your great and glorious republic re-public would show a little consideration if not absolute justice to a people struggling strug-gling for the most precious of all boons liberty But we have long ago abandoned the hope We realize fully that no matter mat-ter how uneven tha contest we must fight It out alone I want my officers to understand the situation to expect only death and to rely on nothing but our own individual efforts to free this unfortunate Island from the cruel grip of Spain The occasional allusions to Gomez as an adventurer seeking fame or fortune In Cuba arc most unjust and unfounded No man ever held a cause more sacredly at hea There Is nO hardship no exposure ex-posure no danger which he > oes not willingly share with the commonest soldier in his army The pomp and glitter of rank have no charm in Gomezs eyes Two small gold stars on the collar of his dark blue sack coat alone indicate that he is commander aone lnchlef of the Army of Liberation His gray trousers are much the worse for wear and a vest minus two or three buttons partly covers a flannel negligee shirt laced at the neck with a small blue silk cord Some ones fair fingers I perhaps the mother of the martyr boy PsjChito have worked a little tracing of autumn leaves down tho front of the fauncolored shirt Perhaps this vest the only one Ive seen In the insurgent I army Is worn to protect the embroidery and thus preserve a link between cruel war and tho peaceful fireside in San Domingo Twelve years of this mans life have been given to free a oppressed people I fate spares him to witness the Independence no Inde-pendence greater of reward Cuba Gomez will ask for r 0 |