The men hitherto, it may be imagined, had not paid much attention to their appearance, but now there was a regular conventional dress parade.  A barber was requisitioned, accoutrements were furbished up, and weather-beaten sombreros were ornamented with brilliant ribbons.  When the metamorphosis was complete, De Robau placed himself at the head of his dashing troop, and went in state to call upon the lady of his affections.

His march was a triumph, as everywhere he was attended by crowds of enthusiastic people, who had long known him, and who now hailed him as a distinguished champion.  How he sped in his wooing may be gathered from the fact that an orderly was soon dispatched for the villa cura, and that there was a wedding which fairly rivaled that of Camacho, so often and so fondly recalled by the renowned Sancho.  Since then the Senora de Robau has accompanied her husband throughout the campaign, sharing the hard fare and the dangers of the men, and adding another to the noble band of patriotic Cuban women, who vie with their husbands and brothers in fidelity to their native land.

Other commanders of note.

The cause has many other brave leaders, among whom may be mentioned General Calixto Garcia, General Serafin Sanchez, Francisco Corrillo, and Jose Maria Rodriguez.  They are all veterans of the war of 1868-1878, and are ready to sacrifice their lives in the struggle for liberty.

CHAPTER XXI.

Desperate battles with machete and rifle.

The Sword of Cuba—­Battle Cry of the Revolutionists—­Cavalry Charges—­The Strategies of War—­Hand-to-Hand Encounters—­Maceo at the Front—­Barbarities of the Spanish Soldiers—­Americans in the Cuban Army—­A Fight for Life—­A Yankee Gunner—­How a Brave Man Died.

There is a story told of a great Roman General who, after having conquered in many battles, beat his sword into a plowshare, and turned from war’s alarms to the peaceful pursuit of agriculture.  The Cuban has reversed the story.  When he left his labors in the forests and fields to fight his oppressors, he carried with him the implement with which he had cut the sugar cane on his plantation, and made paths through dense tropic vegetation.  The machete is the sword of the Cuban soldier, and it will be famous forever.  Its blade is of tempered steel, curved slightly at the end, with one edge sharp as a razor.  It has a handle of horn, and is carried in a leather scabbard, attached to a narrow belt.

The weapon in the hands of one who understands its use is terribly effective.  Instances have been known where rifle barrels have been cut in two by it, and heads have been severed from their bodies at a single stroke.  Its name, shrieked in a wild ferocious way, is the battle cry of the insurgents, and when shouted from an hundred throats, it carries with it so awe-inspiring a sound, that it is little wonder that the enemy is stricken with fear, for it means in reality “war to the knife.”