Connecticut western news., 1873-08-15
A Mexican Story.
Horrible Cruelty to a Child.

The San Diego World tells a story of horrible barbarity that we have never seen equalled. It says:
 The Pacific Mail Southern coast steamer California put into San Diego to coal. Little dreamed those who went down to the wharf of the Pacific Mail Company of the terrible story which was told of mere child of eleven years, who was on board, named Lola Arroa.
 On a stretcher in the steerags lay a girl who certainly was not twelve years of age. As the experience is with Southern females, she was far advanced to womanhood, and the lines of her form indicated a sensuous and beautiful physical development. It is we'll to dwell upon such engaging characteris- tics as the poor creature retained, for the ruin which had been wrought upon her is almost too fearful to detail, and the story of the atrocity is such as could hardly be paralleled elsewhere on earth in this nineteenth century. Lola must have been beautiful girl, for her form retained grace and symmetry that na- ture must certainly have carried to com pletion in her face.
 d us A fire-brand had been held to her nose, burning it almost completely of. Tine blistered flesh was still angry and in- some and pitiable aspect to the poor creature. Her cheeks were one mass of charred flesh, pulpy and erubescent with the recent passage of irebrand. Her eyebrows and lashes were burned of, and her eyeballs were scared by the blasting flame. Liberal as is the en- dowment of the Mexican woman with wavy masses of black hair, not hair was left upon Lola's head. One is obliged to recur to some of the terrible pictures of Dante or Spenser to get an idea of the fearful and yet appealing de- formity of this poor girl. The auto de fe was merciless thing in the old days, but that was carried to decent end and left merely mass of calcined rubbish. Here the destruction was as complete, but the victim was allowed to live to be an object of horror during 8 life time, instead of thing of beauty and a joy forever, as nature intended her to be.
 The story of Lola and her mother is incredible. They were taken on by the California at Mazatlan on the 4th of July. They had been living at the vil- lage of Copala, about fifty miles from Mazatlan. A word as to the mother may not be amiss. She has noble features, 8 clear skin, and splendid masses of blue-black hair. ..
 They lived on the outskirts of Copala. On the 18th of June, Antonio Murillo, one of the lieutenants or under chiefs of the ruffian Lozada, with small force, came into the neighborhood of Copala. The Arroa house was detached. The husband, wife and Lola were its sole inmates. They seized upon the mother, doubtless attracted by her personal charms, and the child Lola. The hus- band offering resistance, he was shot down and the house fired.
 Hurrying swiftly from the scene of blood, mother and daughter were swept with the brigands, who were on horse back, toward the mountains. The trage- dy was enacted about four o'clock in the afternoon. The brigands had been as the mother could guess, twenty miles from Copala, they camped for the night. They were too tired to think of aught butsleep that night and after dispatch ing hastily prepared meal and quafing literally of mescal they lay down to sleep, binding the mother to one of the brutes and the child to another. The mother watched her chance, and when the ruffians were in the deep sleep of fatigue she succeeded in slipping the withes which bound her and making her escape, arriving the next day at Copala with bleeding feet.
 She did not release Lola, because she was afraid of arousing the ruffians, and did not think the child could make the journey. She thought, besides, that Lola's tender years would protect her from abuse.
 The brigands, on awaking next morn ing and finding the mother gone, vented their fury in blows upon poor Lola. They pursued their journey to the mountains, and from thence sent in a demand for ransom for Lola. They made it so large that it was beyond the mothers ability to pay it. A govern ment force was sent in pursuit one week from the day of capture, on the 2Oth of June. The rufians not receiving the ransom demanded, took frebrand and scared the child as we have described. The object undoubtedly was to put her to lingering death by the most fiendish tortures, protracted from day to day. The government forces came upon Mu. rillo and his band in the night time, routed them and rescued the maimed and ruined Lola
 Mother and child left country ot such atrocities and horror, and are now o,, tbair uau to San FraociSco OO the California. One may we'll exclaim, "Can such things be ?'