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." CAVALRY CHARGES. The Cubans are among the most skillful and daring rough riders of the world, the equals of the cowboys of our western States, and the far-famed Cossacks of Russia. The horses' backs have been their cradles, and here they possess a decided advantage over their Spanish foes, who know as little of the equestrian art as they seem to understand of other's rights, or the amenities of war. A mounted band of insurgents, rushing down on a detachment of the enemy, waving aloft the terrible machete, will carry with them terror and death, and conquer twice their number. The heroic mulatto brothers, Antonio and Jose Maceo, adopted this manner of fighting on every possible occasion, and it is a coincidence worthy of note that they both met their death while leading machete charges against their hated foes. LACK OF AMMUNITION IN THE CUBAN RANKS. The lack of ammunition is one of the weaknesses of the insurgents. Courage, ability and men they possess in abundance, but the lack of cartridges has interfered with many of their best laid plans, and has often prevented them from availing themselves of favorable opportunities. Three or four rounds a man is nothing in action, especially when the Spaniards are always so abundantly supplied. However they are determined, and as Spanish incapacity becomes daily more apparent, they feel that it is only a question of a few months until the cause for which they have so long and bravely fought will be gloriously won. MACEO AT THE FRONT.