"These articles shall be enforced by all the generals and subordinates of the Cuban army in the West and Santa Clara, the general commander of the East already having orders to enforce our laws on the matter. For country and liberty.
"Maximo Gomez."
It is said that the publication of these proclamations has created a deep impression in Havana.
Under these proclamations, any person who seeks the Cuban lines to offer home rule to the soldiers will be hanged as a spy, and any Cuban listening to such proposals will be shot as a traitor.
The two brave commanders have therefore made it very difficult for Spanish agents to approach their soldiers and corrupt them.
Very few battles are reported from Cuba. It is said that the Spanish troops are massed in such large numbers that the Cubans do not dare to attack them. It is also rumored that the present season being the one in which the supply of vegetables is scarcest in the island, the insurgents are not well enough supplied with food to venture on any long marches.
The Dauntless has again succeeded in conveying an expedition to Cuba.
She left Jacksonville with a schooner, the Jenny Thomas, in tow. When she reached the mouth of the St. Johns River, she was overhauled by the cruiser Vesuvius. Nothing contraband being found on her, she was allowed to go on her way after an hour's delay.
Unfortunately, it never occurred to the officers to search the vessel in tow, and so the daring little vessel got safely away.