Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-05-28
STORY OF THE GRAPEsHOT.
Statemtut of Her Commander, Captain
kHH Henry Wall.

from the New YORK sun,
Captain Wall had read the state
ment of Consul Phillips with a great
deal of satisfaction; but having no
ticed a few inaccuracies therein, he
desired to correct them in the columns
of the San, and to that end gave the
following particulars of his voyage:
The GrapeshOt, of which, was part
owner, was chartered by the Cuban
Junta of New York to take forty pas-
sengers from this port to Falmouth.
Among these were General GOlabar,
formerly in the employ of A. T. Stew
art; Wyeth, a telegraph operator;
Colonel Imogenez, - leader of the
expedition, and an Intimate friend of
Wyeth; and a Mr.. Casner, now the
night operator in the telegraph Office
OF the Fifth Avenue Hotel. l shipped
my living freight at Hunters Point,
and we had a good run to Beaufort,
N. c., where l put in for supplies.
Here l was taken sick, and tele-
graphed to my partners in New York
to send a captain to relieve me until L
should be able to assume command
myself; and Captain Welsh came
down in due season.
Everything went on we'll until n
day while under sail for Falmouth.
for which port we had cleared, I dis
covered that several bottles of nv
Bass ale had been taken from nv
cabin. An examination of the prem
ises in the neighborhood of the barrel
in which the ale was packed showed
that a hole had been cut through the
partition just above the top of the
barrel, and through this opening the
ale must have been removed.
For a time it was impossible to find
out the thief, but, unfortunately, Capt.
Welsh at last succeeded. He told me
that he had seen Charles Speakman
drinking ale with anumber Of Cubans,
and on going upon deck | had ocular
evidence of the fact. Speakman was
not a passenger, as asserted by Consul
Phillips, but a seaman, who had no
intention to 60 to Cuba, except in the
capacity of a sailor employed at regu-
lar wages. His death was due to the
simple fact that he had stolen my ale.
Well, Captain Welsh went forward
to where the men were drinking.
Poor Speakman was just pulling the
cork of a fresh bottle. Welsh jerked
the bottle from the mans hand and
struck him a heavy blow on the head
with it. Speakman drew a pistol
which one of the Cubans had given
him that morning, and fired it at his
aSsailant. The shot missed, but the
bail passed within an inch of my head.
He fired a second time, and Welsh
dropped with an ugly wound in the
3eg. l at once requested Colonel
aanIeSenez to place Speakman under
TSS, aa-Sd the guard put him in irons.
hot1a olES- this affair, when we were
Do@ssanaar NlcCSq Mole and Cuba. the
P@NSoI LOOK Possession of tha ves-
SET anu oDLlged me IT, ~ 49, SNS
t0namo, Cuba, instead ~
On Friday, May 80, we raacba4ouIIl-
Cuban shore, and the man
barked, Speakman with the resi-. 90
vious to landing, Speakman, knowing
that Welsh would kill him if he re, |
manned on board, determined to run
the chances, so he went ashore with
the rest. On Saturday we landed the
arms and ammunition.
Speakman, Wyeth, and a man
named Nayher, the English speaking
men, kept together, while the Gu
bans were scattered in squads here
and there in the woods. That after
noon 500 Spanish volunteers came
down upon the insurgents, and / saw
that itlwas all up With them. j had
just got my receipt for the arms and
ammunition, and was putting out in
a gig for the schooner, when the SER