Diary of a Combatant

by Ernesto Che Guevara

  6

  Before dawn we set out on the main road, but at daylight everyone came out to see us and immediately everyone wanted to join us. We stopped at a little house in a place called La Uvita where I gave medical check-ups to a large number of women and children. Almost all had symptoms of vitamin B deficiency. I prescribed more or less the same thing for everyone and gave some money to a man to buy all the medicine.3 We left late in the afternoon and stopped at another little house where we slept. Before we left the first house, Fidel promoted Guillermo García as captain and put all the newly incorporated peasants under his command.

  7

  At dawn we set out with the intention of not being spotted, which was very difficult to achieve as we passed several houses. Finally we encountered some really good people, who showed us a place where we could hunt jutias [a small rodent] and Fidel got one. Those people were able to take Haydée out with them, as she was very tired and suffering from asthma. One of the young men from Guillermo’s squadron (the photographer) had an attack of malaria and we had to leave him there. We kept walking until almost nightfall, then we rested.

  8

  We got up late and rested part of the day, resuming our march in the afternoon with terrible news: Nicaragua, the person in charge of bringing us weapons, had been arrested in Havana. We didn’t go very far because of the rain and rested quite a distance from our destination.

  9

  We set out in the early morning and soon reached a zinc-roofed house where we left everything heavy and then set out with almost empty backpacks: a nylon and something to eat. The reporter stayed behind, along with some sick people. We continued our quick march until we reached a clearing where Mora and Ignacio Pérez went off to explore. In the meantime we captured an army corporal who had come on horseback as liaison with the army platoon that had remained behind. The squadron had passed along the same road two days ago. The two scouts returned with a young man who sympathized with our cause and who gave a good report of the people in this area; according to him, the warehouse we were aiming for was an hour’s march away. Earlier we had sent three men to explore the road and announce our arrival; Mora’s brother set out on horseback to go there. We crossed some hills and waited for news next to a clearing. The radio announced the arrival of the two young gringos in Guantánamo; they were turned over to the consul in Santiago by the [CBS] journalist Bob [Taber]. At night a man arrived on horseback to tell us there was no news and explained we were a long way from our destination. I took the horse and headed off to the warehouse, a tiring three-hour ride, but less than if I’d gone on foot. The people who were expected at 7:00 didn’t show up, and all we could do was to buy some food.

  10

  At 2:30 we got up, setting out at 3:00, me on horseback. The climb was 600 meters straight up and several kilometers; it was very tiring for the men and took us the whole morning to make the rocky ascent. The people were all excited and came out to meet us, when at around 11:00 we heard some shots, but we could not tell exactly where they came from. Some of our people had gone in that direction and we feared for the fate of Guillermo Domínguez, the photographer. We remained with that uncertainty for several hours until a young man from Manzanillo, Fiallo,4 came and told us that the skirmish had involved Crescencio’s people, that four Guards had showed up and that there was one unidentified person killed. At dusk we set out and found the body of Guillermo Domínguez, naked from the waist up, with a rifle shot in the left elbow, a bayonet wound in the area above the breast and the back of his head was blown off by what appeared to be a 12 gauge shotgun, which was the weapon Guillermo carried. We buried Guillermo right there.

  We were able to reconstruct the episode with Crescencio’s help: Fiallo had been sent as liaison when, on arriving at a certain spot, he saw some soldiers from behind; immediately he went to warn Crescencio, who gathered all the functional weapons and resolved to attack them, sending Agustín Lara and one of Mora’s nephews to warn us. Meanwhile the soldiers had taken Guillermo prisoner and, assuming that our people were on the other side, climbed up the Sierra Maestra slope and surprised Agustín, shot at him, but both he and [Mora’s nephew] escaped. Shortly afterwards the soldiers exchanged fire with Crescencio and then retreated, killing poor Guillermo on the way. The rifles performed very badly, and Ermo was killed when his gun jammed. Crescencio brought 24 men, very poorly armed.

  The horse was sacrificed, giving each man a big piece [of meat]. We went to sleep at 3:00 in the morning, absolutely exhausted.

  11

  We awoke early. While Fidel inspected the camp we saw four individuals who seemed to be snooping around about 500 meters away; I sent someone to advise Fidel to locate those people with a patrol but he didn’t pay any attention. Shortly afterwards, while I was distributing all the medicines that had come recently with one of Guillermo’s squads, Marciano Oliva arrived with news that all was going well and that the weapons were coming by other means that Luis Peña would explain. But Peña didn’t appear; he had gone to the saw mill to return an old man he had as a guide, and no one knows what happened to him. Fidel is reluctant to shoot the prisoner, despite our unanimous desire that he be shot.

  The news on the radio is very encouraging: the interview5 was played on the radio this morning on all the gringo media networks, and on the following Sunday on television. The Santiago court pronounced the sentence against the accused,6 convicting only 40 of them, with the dissent of the president of the tribunal, who stated that the abnormal conditions were such that those young men were upholding the constitution when they rose up in arms. The prosecutor stated that he had no charges to bring against them and that they were within their rights.

  We kept walking but a heavy downpour detained us for two hours; later we reached a clear patch that was hard to get across so we slept there.

  12

  We spent the whole day waiting in ambush in a clearing above the trail we had made to go to Burro Hill, but nothing happened. In the afternoon Peña, whom we had feared had been taken prisoner, arrived with the news that two are coming from Santiago; Fidel sent out people to look for them and at dusk they arrived: Carlos Paso and a heavyset man called Andrés, who was very generous and gave me a lighter. They had fresh news about everything that was coming, and we decided on the best way to bring it all. The shipment is now up to 50 weapons. We chatted until late in an abandoned house where we cooked. At 12:00 we left on a short march to the place where we had made camp three or four nights ago. The fat guy gave us a woman’s fur coat to make hats out of.

  13

  This morning the gringo reporter7 asked me whether or not Fidel wanted to do the interview, and I invented some pretext to excuse him; but the truth is that his behavior is really upsetting; when it was time for the photos he didn’t get out of the hammock where he spent his time reading Bohemia with an air of offended majesty. Finally he threw out all the people from the general staff. The radio interview has been translated already and all that’s needed is to tape it; tonight Fidel was still in a bad mood and he didn’t want to tape it, postponing it to the following day. He didn’t want to eat with us, complaining about how bad the meal was.

  14

  Just when it seemed that everything was arranged for the interview, reports came that troops were nearby and we had to move without doing it. We walked a little farther and were hit with a very heavy rainstorm. The journalist was really pissed off and complained bitterly to me about how deceitful we were in putting off the interview; I didn’t know how to apologize to him. A man who had been ill with malaria, and whom we had left behind, reached us; he seemed to be having a nervous breakdown and was on the point of tears. He had spent three days wandering around alone after a group of rejects was taken prisoner and they had betrayed him; his story was incoherent and he was quite confused; it was decided to let him go.

  We camped by a swollen stream and we ate there. The interview couldn’t be done because of the noise of the water, but Fidel promised to do it t
omorrow. There was an incident because Beto Samuel, a 15-year-old boy, asked to leave for health reasons, and another man offered to go with him, meaning that he too intended to abandon the struggle. Immediately another 16-year-old kid asked to be released and another big guy said he also wanted to leave because he felt weak. Fidel ordered the detention of the adults and left the young ones free until they could be sent back. We heard that seven of the men who had been sent back had been captured and that they had told everything they knew. In this case the situation is particularly dangerous because the whole troop knew the way that the weapons are going to be coming. We put up the hammocks in a most unsuitable place, and one of the poor journalist’s poles collapsed; when I climbed up to go to sleep a little after 3:00 in the morning I found him rolled up on the dirt with a pole on top of him and with the nylon all ripped; I arranged him as best I could so he could have a peaceful night.

  15

  We got up early and set out along the stream beside the scrubland, so there was no way we could do the interview. Later we were caught in a heavy storm that detained us for two hours. We kept walking and, as we approached the house where we were finally going to do the taped interview, I was told about a man in Guillermo’s squadron who had been badly hurt, and I had to go back to examine him. The man had fallen on his back against a tree trunk and had a probable fracture of his last rib. We carried him with difficulty, but in crossing the Peladero River, I fell behind because I took off my shoes to cross it and, meanwhile, Guillermo and the other guy who was helping [the injured man] walk decided to leave him in a little house without telling me. When I found out I stayed with him to assist him, but the medicines were gone. Acuña’s nephew arrived shortly with the order to move to a little house nearby and await orders; but we couldn’t do this because it was already night and the trail was very difficult for carrying an injured man. I prepared a meal for the three of us and left Acuña on guard in the first house, staying with the wounded man in the second one, where we slept.

  16

  It rained during part of the morning and there was no news from the command post. I was about to follow the trail to look for the group when Bruno Acuña appeared with the order from the commander to leave the injured man in a safe house and continue with the rearguard. They sent me the medicines I’d asked for, and I put a cast on the wounded man and then left him in an abandoned house; unfortunately, some neighbors saw him, so I resolved to move him after dark. The command post wasn’t too far away, and after walking about a kilometer we reached a farmhouse where the general staff was. We spent the rest of the day there, while I was besieged with medical examinations of the local peasants and our own soldiers. At one point, it was announced that there were soldiers nearby, but it turned out to be a false alarm caused by the confusion of a peasant who had seen us with the wounded man.

  17

  We set out in the morning heading south, climbing up a hill and down to a stream where we camped and slept. We got news that the weapons are on the way. One of the Mora brothers deserted, the other two have a certain responsibility; he stayed a little behind with the apparent intention to take a shit and disappeared. Andrew [St. George] still couldn’t leave but he’s more resigned now.

  18

  We spent the whole day in the same place, trapped by persistent rain that almost stopped us from cooking. News came of the arrival of 25 guns and 6,000 bullets. The weapons are: 10 Johnsons, 10 bolt-action rifles, three machine guns and two other weapons. Some 10 arroba [about 11.5 kilograms] of cow meat came to brighten up our diet and this was immediately consumed. The radio news focuses on [CBS reporter Bob Taber’s] film about the Sierra Maestra that will be shown on television tomorrow in the United States. Surprisingly, and when nobody expected it, Andrew left with a guide and all of his things; he will take a yacht to Santiago.

  19

  The radio was broken so we couldn’t hear [Bob Taber’s] interview [broadcast] from the United States. The morning passed without any major incidents. In the afternoon one of the two men who wanted to leave escaped and two young men were sent after him; but nothing is known of them yet. Fidel was worried and was thinking about immediately moving camp when the news came that the weapons were already in a truck at the appointed place. There was an anxious moment when we learned that a truck loaded with Rural Guards had come down from the saw mill in the opposite direction, but they were just going to the beach. Twenty-five men were sent and they returned at dawn bringing the precious cargo of three tripods, three Maxim machine guns, nine M-1s and 10 Johnson rifles, plus 6,000 bullets. The only inconvenience is the lack of ammunition for the M-1, which only shoots up to 45 shots per carbine. In general, these [weapons] will be distributed as follows: one M-1 for Ramirito, two for the vanguard, two for the rearguard, and four for taking care of the two tripods. The Johnson still doesn’t have a destination; the Maxims will go to Jorge, Almeida and one for the general staff, which I will probably handle; Raúl, Guillermo and Crescencio will get the tripods.8

  Notebook IV

  20

  At dusk we got out of our hammocks and slowly began the climb up the mountain in the direction of another little house, which was in a good place to wait for the truck. Before we left, the weapons had been distributed more or less as expected. The man who had been sent to pursue the fugitive arrived, informing us that he had headed toward the coast and taken a boat to Santiago, probably to inform the government of everything. It was already night when we reached the new camp, installing ourselves for the night in a little ranch belonging to some workers. A new mini-squadron of four men was formed to carry the machine gun that I’m going to use; the men are Pupo, Beatón,9 Oñate10 and a kid who recently joined called Joel.11 This kid had come with two others to join us without any advance contact; two were accepted and the third one was rejected.

  21

  The day passed without any major incidents. In the afternoon Dionisio arrived with messages and another of Crescencio’s sons. It was decided to release two more: one of Crescencio’s men, who had a real hernia, and one of Guillermo’s men with stomach pain, which may or may not be real. At night, taking advantage of a trip the men were making to get supplies, I went to see Enrique López’s little girl. He’s an old friend of Fidel’s, who is the administrator or foreman of the Babún Company. They welcomed us magnificently and invited us to a large and plentiful meal seasoned by a woman’s hand. We arrived back at the camp at midnight and distributed the provisions by squads.

  22

  In the morning we all headed for some high ground overlooking a road to set up an ambush. We spent most of the day there. Before that I had to treat a huge man called Muñoz, from René’s squadron, who is a real coward; he had been hit in the arm and used this to ask permission to leave. At noon Enrique appeared at the ambush site, giving us information about the supplies that are coming. We decided to visit the batey,12 and we headed that way. It was still daylight; we had to take a kid prisoner, as he was too talkative but claimed to be our friend.

  At dusk we reached the hamlet where Jorge [Sotús] was, having arrived by another route to bring us letters from the movement people in Santiago. Among them was a report from René [Ramos Latour] announcing the arriving of new weapons and another from David [Frank País], which was very clear in terms of revolutionary tactics he proposed, and also saying that more things were on their way, including several 61 mm. mortars. In the hamlet we proceeded to visit all the little shacks, and then we ate a sumptuous roast pork dinner with rice. At about midnight, a truck came loaded with supplies for the warehouse of the hamlet, but they gave some things to us. We slept in Enrique’s house.

  23

  We got up at dawn and we went by truck to the camp. All the provisions were handed out there, and in the afternoon an enormous bull was brought and killed. Twenty-two arrobas of meat were handed out among the hungry troops, who ate like lions. To do a bit of house cleaning, everyone who wanted to leave was permitted to do so; one of those who responde
d was the big guy with his hand in a cast, along with two of Crescencio’s men and almost all of Efigenio’s [Reyes] squadron from Guillermo’s platoon, including [Efigenio himself]. Only one remained from that bunch.13 After Fidel spoke harshly to them, some wanted to take back their decision, but that was not allowed. In all, nine left, leaving a total of 127, almost all armed now. The man with the broken rib has already rejoined us, and he seems to be okay. What’s curious is that one of those who had tried to leave before and was detained for that reason now doesn’t want to go and is content to be in Nano’s squadron.

  24

  With the enormous weight resulting from [eating] the bull we set out on our march up the slope, which brought on my asthma. We climbed to 1,625 meters, and on the other side, on the road, we set up an ambush. I went with the bipod14 to set up on the road itself, in a good position to sweep the column, but not at all enviable in terms of a place to hide if someone should come along, which is what occurred. So when a peasant spotted us, we had to detain him. In the end he turned out to be the brother-in-law of Enrique [López], so no blood was shed. No Guards passed by there, and at dusk we went to set up camp by a stream that was very cold and most uncomfortable.

  25

  We spent the day there with nothing new happening, except that the radio announced a rebel landing in the Mayarí region.15 According to the radio, of the 27 who landed, five were already captured; it seems to be Trujillo’s group. At night a man from the vanguard ran away; he had a stomach problem and seemed to be a coward. There isn’t much possibility that he’s a snitch. Lalo came and left.

  26