Washington telegraph., 1852-12-15
Spanish Atrocities,


Some of the Spanish journals contain de-
tails OF acts OF unnatural atrocity committed
in that country. which are more worthy of
Southern Africa than Southern Europe. "A
Granada journal states that the public exc
cutioner was about to visit Villacarrillo in
the discharge of his duty The criminals
who had been sentenced to die by his hand,
and had confessed their crimes, had seized
on person of some property, in the expec-
tation of getting good ransom from his
family They bound him hand and foot,
and left him exposed to the sun 5 rays, with
out food or drink, for three days; at the end
Of that time they gave him some bread and
water; but at the end of two days more, find
ing that the money did not come, they un-
bound him, and put spade in his hand,
compelling him to dig his own grave, and
when completed, ordered him to step into it.
The unfortunate victim in vain begged
them to kill him. They bound him again,
threw him into the grave, and pointing a
gun at his head. killed him, and filled up
the grave with the earth and stones, which
he had removed. Another case is before
the court martial sitting at Barcelona, to try
four persons-one of them, Mauricio Belt
ran, the son of the murdered man. Jose
Beltran, and three men. who are part of a
gang employed by him to commit the crime:
they entered the house of the victim by the
window, and seizng him, bound him and
secured him by cords to hooks in the chin
ney, over the fire, and burnt him to death
The court martial met on the 18th, and was
still sitting on this case.
The third and most extraordinary case of
all, is that which occurred lately in Galicia,
in which the criminal, Manual Blanco con-
fessed to d long series Of the most horrid
crimes. 1t would appear that having previ-
ously committed several murders in the pro-
vince of Leon, and being pursued by the
courts there, he took refuge in the out of-the-
way village of Rebordechao, in Galicia, a
village enclosed by mountains, and with very
little communication with any other part;
there he practiced great austerity, and by
daily attendance at mass, and constant read
ing of devout books, &C., he acquireda "A repu-
tation for great piety, and all the houses
were open to him.
Affecting to have property at Santander,
he awaited himself of the influence he had
acquired over the minds OF no less than nine
poor persons-widows and children in most
cases-to induce them one after another to
set out with him from the village across the
SIERRA promising them good positions and
employment at Santander but numbering
them, and partly devouring them. as it would
appear, when involved in the intricacies of
the mountains. His first victims at Rebor-
dechao were one Manuea Garcia and an in
fant child whom he promised to provide for
at Santander He returned three days af-
ter setting out, and said that he had left
them on the way, very happy, and in COM
pany with currier; and in a short time pre-
tended to have received letter, in which
they described their good fortune at Santan-
der, and the result of which was that sister
of Manuela Garcia, named Bonita, who
lived at Laza with her son, desired also to
90 there. and he set out with them, and dis
posed of them in the same way; and so on
till the number of victims reached to nine.
He also confessed to many other murders at
different places. The skull of one of his
victims was found and produced before him,
but it made no impression on him, and his
pulse remained firm and quiet. All his vic
tins being of the poorest class, plumber could
hardly be the incentive to these crimes
His own statement is that his nature is
changed from time to time into that of a
wolf, and it would really appear that the
savage pleasure Of tearing his victims to
pieces was the sole motive Of his actions.