The single survivor, the man whose words are quoted above, contrived to get back to his own party and brought them to the scene of the tragedy. The Spaniards were driven away, Maceo's body was found stripped, and young Gomez had been stabbed, and his skull was broken.
The traitor Zertucha surrendered to the Spanish by whom naturally he was treated with the utmost kindness and consideration.
Afterwards Zertucha attempted to blacken Maceo's memory by declaring that he was disheartened and desperate, and that his death was the result of his own folly.
Senor Palma says of this:
"General Maceo was loved and supported by all men struggling for Cuban independence, whether in a military or civil capacity. If a man was ever idolized by his people, that man was General Maceo. Dr. Zertucha knows that, but perhaps he has an object in making his false assertions."
An object? Of course he had an object—the currying of favor with the Spaniards, the saving of his own wretched carcass and the obtaining of the blood-money due him.
So perished the last of the Maceos, eight brothers, all having died before him in the cause of Cuban liberty.
The following poem on Maceo's death appeared in the New York Sun:
| Antonio Maceo. |
| "Stern and unyielding, though others might bow to the tempest; |
| Slain by the serpent who cowered in hiding behind thee; |
| Slumber secure where the hands of thy comrades have laid thee; |
| Dim to thine ear be the roar of the battle above thee. |
| Set now is thy sun, going down in darkness and menace, |
| While through the thick-gathering clouds one red ray of vengeance |
| Streams up to heaven, blood red, from the place where thou liest. |
| Though the sword of Death's angel lies cold on thy forehead, |
| Still to the hearts of mankind speaks the voice of thy spirit: |
| Still does thine angry shade arrest the step of the tyrant. |
| "V. B." |
Maceo's death was a terrible blow to the insurgents, but, with indomitable spirit they rallied and plunged with renewed energy into the fray.