Show HUNDREDS REBELS SLAW I Commander of the Spanish Troops Was Too Smart to Bo Caught in a Trap According to tho Spanish AccountDefeated 1500 Cubann and Killed 280The Spanish Loss Was Light Havana July 8A severe engagement engage-ment has taken place between Spanish roops under command of Major Azuar and General Antonio Maceos large force Two hundred and eighty of the liter were killed It appears that Major Sanchez re elveu information that a force of 1500 Insurgents under the command of Haul had occupied strong positions ear Manzanlllo province of Santiago de Cuba The Major sent a messenger to his superior officer Colonel Azuar proposing to him that they shoulu Join their forces and make an attack upon the Insurgents The messenger however fell Into the hands of the insurgents in-surgents who hanged him and sent word to Major Sanchez In the name of Colonel Azuar to make an attack upon up-on the Insurgent position from a point which compelled the troops to approach roach the Insurgents through a nar row thoroughfare Major Sanchez recognizing the dllll culty of the movement which he was apparently directed by his Colonel to execute seht forward two advance Ickets of twelve and thirty men respectively I re-spectively with Instructions to push forward to the right and to the left of the narrow thoroughfare far re moved from them and be careful total to-tal < e up advantageous positions from which they could protect the advance of the main body of troops under San chezs command The pickets cleverly followed out the Instructions Major Sanchez then advanced care fully upon the Insurgent position pro ecting his men by every Inequality of the ground But as he expected the troops were no sooner Inside the defile than the Insurgents attacked them In force The first charges of the insurgents Insur-gents were made with enthusiasm and heir machetes played havoc among the troops who wero hemmed In and unable to deploy on account of the idrrow road they had to follow But It was here that the advance pickets came to the rescue From their elevated position they kept up a continuous tinuous and welldirected fire upon the Insurgents within range and eventually eventual-ly assisted by a charge from the Spa sh troops compelled them to retreat outside of the defile The Spanish rushed forward after then and once in the open they charged the insurgents with great courage and compelled them to retreat hastily The Insurgents then sought refuge in the strong position they had previously left In order to attack at-tack the troops but the soldiers carried car-ried the position and put the enemy to flight with the loss upon the field of 280 killed The troops lost fifty ipn tilled and wounded It was at first reported that the Insurgents In-surgents were commanded by General Maceo but It was later learned they were under Rabl alone and that Maceo took no part In the engagement |