The Cubans assert that if we would only recognize that they were engaged in a real war, and give them the right to fit out a navy for themselves, the war would be over in a very short time. They have now no fear but that they will gain their liberty; they say, however, that with the Spanish navy guarding the coast, and preventing the landing of help and supplies, the war will last a good deal longer than it ought. The Spaniards are very uneasy, and Havana is greatly alarmed over the last expedition of General Weyler. The Spanish general has determined to force a battle on General Gomez, and to make one great effort to subdue him. It is reported that General Gomez is in Santa Clara, and Weyler has gone thither with all the troops he can mass together to meet him. [Illustration: The Filibuster Bermuda near the Cuban coast] All Cuba has, however, learned by this time that the whereabouts of Gomez and his army are never to be relied on. The Spaniards go out to fight them in a certain place, and when they reach the spot where they expect the enemy to be, they find that the Cubans have made a forced march and escaped them, and are making war in quite a fresh section of the country. The Cubans have accomplished some of the most wonderful marches in the history of war, and have won many of their advantages by stealing past the enemy that was advancing to fight them, and capturing towns and stores left unprotected in the enemy's rear. It is therefore not to be wondered at that there is a report in Havana that Gomez has slipped past Weyler, and is advancing upon the city to capture it. If Gomez feels himself strong enough to fight a real battle with Weyler, it may perhaps be the decisive battle of the war. All the Cuban generals have had good luck lately, but the most successful and brilliant work has been done by General Calixto Garcia in Santiago. Lest you should feel confused when hearing of so many generals, and so many provinces, it is perhaps as well to explain something about the formation of the island of Cuba. It is a narrow, mountainous strip of land, 760 miles long and in some parts only 28 miles wide, the very broadest part being 127 miles.[A] You can readily see that no one general could control the whole of such a country. The Cuban army has been divided into three parts: The Eastern Division, under General Calixto Garcia, which is fighting in and has brought peace to Santiago de Cuba, the most eastern part of the island. The Central Division, under the leadership of General Maximo Gomez, against which Weyler has set out, and which is supposed to be in Santa Clara. The Western division, consisting of the bands that have been raiding the suburbs of Havana, and making so much trouble in Pinar del Rio, the most westerly province of the island.