Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1851-09-04
Barbarism at Havana.

All the accounts Of the execution Of the fifty
two unfortunate men Of the expedition of Lopez,
who were captured by the Spaniards on the coas.
e Cuba. are filled with details of the most cold
loodcd cruelty, and Of barbarsm hardly less
revolving TO the sympathies Of human nature
than cannibasm itself. The outragcs commit
| Ted upon the bodies of the dead would have ava
kened the blush of shame upon the cheek Of
! New Zealander; but committed as they were in
a civilized, and, forsooth, Christian country, they
| naturally awaken in the bosom of every man
| feeling of odium and disgrace which no excuse
| can paate or relieve.
| Reliable accounts from Havana, published in
the n. Y. Tribune, state that after the cowardiy
execution Of the fifty-two men, the bodies of
, certain number Of them were given up to the un-
bridlel rabble, who like vultures divided The IN
| animate rtmans among themselves, III their say
! age excitement utterng the most horrible excla-
nations, and declaring they were going 20 dine
that day OF the brains Of Yankee
The Tribune has The following letter from
| Spauiara TO friend in New York:
.'While | rejo:ec in the success Of our arms,
! this is from Span.ard and refers tn the cap
tGre OF the fifty men in the launches. | cannot
| bat lament and blush for the excuses which have
been committed by the Robbie upon the corpses
of those unfortunate men who perhaps have been
| deceived by Our enemies 10 come here. have
| seen pieces Of the bodies Of those men, and parts
of their clothes and their saoes. in the hands Of
| some of nv countrymen. and have been tod that
| in front of the palace OF the General, There is
! situated the Dominica establishment they have
been showing and trumpAng over a piece Of a
! skull"
| The following is from different source:
al remains onlv for me 10 relate TO Won what
! Havana has been the witness Of; a scene which
| has no parallel in the annals of civilized nations.
! The steamer iIabanero entered this morning with
| 80 American prisoners. who were shot to dav al
| eleven. wthou: any form of trial, and without
| having given them even the time necessary 10
! prepare for death as Christians. The troops
marched ont to the Castle Of Atares. the place OF
| the execution. where was found assembled nu-
merous multitude Of Span;arls, since there did
not remain a clerk in a shop who did not go TO
| be present at the act. This circumstance would
| be nothing in itself had it not been for the bar
| barities that followed for after the prisoners
were shot in the back, their bottles were mutiI-
ated in the most horrId manner, and not only SOL
! diers bat officers themselves took pleasure in
| stabbing and tramp'ing on the corpses. which
were tied by the feet. their members being mn
| tilated, which Were exhibited as trophies of VIC
! tory"
| The barbarities above related are said to have
| been the work Hf the Spanish rabble Of Havana !;
and the correspondent of the Tribune says that
no Cuban heheld the scene with ether emotion
/ than horror. To the former it was day OF jog
and exulta:ion. No person familiar with the
| history OF the Spanish Civil Wars, win receive
with any surprise this specimen Of the ferocious
| instincts of the Spanish character, one of the
symptoms of which is seen in their bloody bull
! fights, and fights Of wild beasts. Hundreds Of
| far more horr;d atrocities are well known TO have
occurred in their massacres OF prisoners, AMI
| treatment of their remains. Even cannibalIsm
! is not unknown on such occasions, to the expert
ence of some of the Spanish provinces.