| Show TWENTY THOUSAND SPANIARDS Preparing For a Desperate Resistance at Santiago Copyright 1S9S by the Associated Press On Board the Associated Press Dispatch Dis-patch Boat Wanda off Santiago de CUba Thursday Afternoon June 9 1 via Kingston Jamaica June 10ln Santiago San-tiago de Cuba there are now about 20000 Spanish soldiers chiefly infantry infan-try but with a fair contingent of cavalry cav-alry and field artillery drawn from the surrounding country During the daytime day-time the cavalry skirmish in the vicinity vicin-ity of the city returning at night to barracks During the last few days the activity of the Spaniards has been particularly par-ticularly noticeable Oxen trains have been making their way to the batteries detachments have been working in emplacements em-placements and there have been other sins showing that the Spaniards are preparing a desperate resistance Some guns from Admiral Cerveras ships maybe may-be moved to the forts The insurgents about 5000 strong have taken a position on a mountain to the westward Two thousand insurgents in-surgents of this gathering are unarmed un-armed General Maximo Gomez now about 150 miles inland Is making his way toward the coast Admiral Sampson Samp-son is actively cooperating with the Insurgents Today General Mlniet of the insurgent insur-gent forces and his staff went onboard on-board the New Xork for a long consultation con-sultation The naval officers have been doing splendid and daring work in carrying communications and arms to the insurgents In-surgents and making trips ashore for the purpose of gaining information Upon the gunboats Suwanee and Vixen this work ha chiefly devolved Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Sharp of the Vixen and Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Commander Delehanty of the Suwaneq have been daily entrusted with important missions and have carried car-ried them out successfully The Vixens work has been chiefly confined to carrying messages to and fro but the Suwanee has been occupied in amore a-more serious task This little gunboat ha landed 300000 rounds of small arms ammunition 200 Springfield rifles 100 carbines 2000 machetes with equipments and provisions They were landed yesterday Wednesday about 15 milts west of Santiago to some 800 insurgents who came down to the beach the main body remaining in the mountains The debarkation of supplies sup-plies was tedious but uninterrupted The insurgents reported that irregular engagements between their forces and the Spanish cavalry were of daily occurrence currence The Cubans were hard up for supplies sup-plies and ammunition and were overjoyed over-joyed at the sight of the Suwanees cargo Some almost ravenous hacked at the slices of bacon and ate raw beef They had been living on limes cocoanuts cocoa-nuts and sweet potatoes Ensign Gilpm of the Suwanee went ashore and accompanied the Cubans to their temporary camp inland where he found 10 or 1 wounded men badly in need of surgical attendance Bandages Band-ages for them were sent from the Suwanee The casualties were the results re-sults of a brush on the previous nisht with Spanish cavalry To the correspondent of the Associated Associ-ated Press Ensign Gilpln describing his experiences at the camp which is about ten miles inland said I found the insurgents a roughlook ing and mixed lot of boys and old men rigged out any way carrying arms of all sorts and all anxious to borrow everything I had on from my blouse to my revolver Four Spanish soldiers in uniform carrying rifles marched into the camp while I was there and said they wanted to join the insurgents They were enrolled but a close watch was kept on them as they belonged to the civil guard A Cuban soldier told me such additions were not infrequent The Spaniards had Mauser rifles which were in fairly good condition Conservative authorities believe the troops will have to carry out their plan of campaign without placing much reliance upon the insurgents Several plucky young officers like Ensign En-sign Gilpin have made trips ashore and taken observations of the interior harbor and the fortifications locating the exact position of Admiral Cerveras four ships I is hardly likely however how-ever that the Spanish admiral keeps them moored at the same place both day and night |
