The war in Morocco has made some progress. The first
object of the Spanish General appears to have been to seeure possession of his place of debarkation. For this purpose he constructed Lines from sea to sea, and connected their principal points with roads. The Moors offered every resistance, but, badly armed, without cannon and cartridges, innocent of any military know- ledge, their heroic efforts to frustrate the invaders were power- less. The climate and the cold clayey soil of the bleak hills fought for the Moors with deadlier effect, and considerably diminished the Spanish army. Marshal O'Donnell's object was Tetuan, a town on the sea-shore, lying but a few miles from his base. After a delay of six weeks in the Lines, he set out, but marched only two or three miles a day, being compelled to make roads for his guns as he went, and to take the greatest precau- tions against an attack upon his flank or rear by the Moors, who were among the hills on his right throughout the march. O'Donnell even entrenched himself when he halted. On the 1st of January there was a smart combat, in which the yielding masses of the enemy inflicted greater losses on the Spaniards than they sustained themselves. The subsequent progress of the invaders has been only imperfectly sketched by the tele- graph; but they seem to have continued the practice of short marches, and to have taken the utmost care of their flanks and rear, holding on to the sea, and making the most of every de- fensive position. Another action was fought probably on the 6th, and on the 13th the Spanish army had passed the defile of Cabo Negro. Tetuan lay before them.
Previous page
