The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-12-09


in trouble How the four condemned men
spent the night before their execution Mr..
Coffin did not know. Ryan obtained per-
mission to make his will, after first taking |
an oath not to attempt to escape.
About } o'clock. the next morning (Mon-
day. the iLtcd iour wcrr marched to the |
Observation-Disclosures" Ryan was dressed in |
blue flannel shirt and light pantaloons,
wore white felt hat Topped up at the side, |
and carried small silver star on his left |
breast. He showed more grit and courage |
than one would have thought possible. A
person would imagine he was going to his |
wedding instead of his death. The others,
too, acted like brave men, especially Ces- |
pedes, the youngest Of the three, whose
courage never for an instant quailcd. On
the way to the execution ground Ryan
spoke two or three times to the Spanish
officer who walked beside him. protesting
that his execution was without justification
rs he had not tair trial, or any trial at all
in fact. \ Catholic clergyman offered his
ministrations to Ryan. but he refused to
speak to him and moved away. On arriv-
Ing at the slaughtcr-housc, Mr.. Coffin
states that the Spanish officers directed the
condemned men TO knccl down with their
faces to the wall. Ryan and Ccspcdcs pro-
| tested against this ms an ndignity, and ask
| turned toward their cXccutiOncrs. Finally,
however, they submitted and assumed the
required position. Then there was u pause
for an instant, followed by flash and a
| report, and the four were writing in the
agonics of death. Their sutierings did not
| last long and all were dead within the space
of four minutes. The reports circulated
that Spanish officer thrust his sword
through Ryans heart, and that the heads
were chopped off the four murdered men
and carried in triumph through the streets,
Mr.. Collin pronounces altogether untrue.
The moment life was extinct, the four
bodies were placed in a cart and taken to
the cemetery, where they were tlown into
"A rude hole hastily dug, and some shovel
| fulls of clay thrown over the remains.
Meanwhile the house of Mr. Smith, the
American consul, had been placed under a
| guard of Spanish soldiers, and Mr.. Smith
was compelled to remain within doors, and
| not allowed to hold communication by let
ter or otherwise with any one outside. He
was not even permitted to come out on his
veranda.
The massacre of Capt. Fry and the crew,
Mr. Coilin describes as follows The exc
cution took place in the afternoon. talk
ed with Capt. Fry on the way from the
jail to the slaughter-housc | asked him
| WHERE WIS thc lSlillus witch Snt was cap
| tured. He said she was Just IS miles
south-southeast from Fort Morant on the
coast of Jamaica, and that when he saw
they were certain to be captured he sent
for Narona and asked him what he pro-
posed to do, to fight or surrender. adding,
"It's all one to me-" NarOna replied that
he thought it best To surrender. There
was a slow match to the magazine, but he
had got the men into their present position,
and thought he ought to give them chance
for their lives. Accordingly, they had sur
rendered. AT the place of execution"
continued, Mr. Coffin, zone of my mates,
Charles Bell. the steward of our vessel,
gave poor Fry glass of water The
SpaniarGs treated the captain well, and
never pinioned him from first to last. He,
and indeed all the others, bore up bravcly,
and never flinched for an instant. When
the crew had knelt down the captain walk
ed along the line and babe good-by to all
the men in turn. white and black. for there
were several negroes in the crew. AS the
men knelt they were distant from the wall
that surrounds the execution ground about
three feet, while about three PAGES behind
them, with leycled muskcts, stood the de-
tachmcnt of marines detailed to execute
the sentence. Just before the fatal vOley
was fired, Capt. Fry took off his hat. He
seemed rs if he was saying prayer. Of
the whole 81, Capt Fry was the only per-
son who fell at the first fire. His body
was riddled with bullets and he died al
most instantly. All the others were but
slightly wounded. The scene that follow
ed was the most frghtul | ever Witnessed
and | have been on many a battlefield
After the first volley jumped upon the
wall, and from there could see everything
that happened. The poor creatures who
were wounded lay upon the ground rolling
: about frantically in their own blood, and
. uttcring shrlcks of pain and agony, and
loud appeals for mercy. Their appeals for
mercy fell upon men deaf Ia compassion
The murderers rushed upon them like de.
t mons, and, thrustng their mlskcts into the
, mouths and ears of the unfortunate
wretches. absolutely blew their heads off.
Some of the poor creatures trantically en-
deavored to burst their bonds and seize the
muskcts, but, of course. could not succeed
,, shall never forget the awful groans and
shrieks that rcsoundcd from the place of
slaughter Fully ten minutes. that looked
as ii il might have been an hour, elapsed
.. from the time the first volley was dis
, charged until the last of the unfortunate
men was dead | heard men say who
were ON ships in the harbor that, after the
first vollcy was fired, the reports of the
guns subsequently discharged continued to
, sound like the cracking of fireworks on
the Fourth of July in this city. 1t is Il
positive fact that, with the exception of
; Capt Fry, the head was blown of every
man of the thirty-six. The marines seem
,. ed to cXult in their work of blood. felt
= ashamed, that day, of being an American
= After all the party were dead, in the
: cases of Ryan and his companions, the
. bodies were thrown into a cart and carried
oil to the cemetery. As many as "A dozen
bodies were thrown into the same hole"
:, Mr.. Coffin states that the remainder of
the passengers, 80 in number, were to be
:, executed on the ith, but ON the morning of
!, that day an English man-ot-war, the Niobe,
arrived in port "rhe captain, on coming
. into the harbOr did not salute the Spanish
!. forts. lie was in his boat before his
y anchor had touched the bottom, and on
, landing proceeded straight to the COVER
nors house, and peremptorily demanded
that the executions should cease. The
u governor at first declared that he had no
=, right to interfere, but the captain said that
in the absence of an American man.of- war
: lac would take the responsibility of protect.
= ing American citizens, and guarding the
: honor of the American flag. 1t is said he
gave General Burriel his choice between
: yielding to his demands or having the city
: bombarded, and the governor accordingly
t gave away. Only for the arrival of the
$ Niobe, there can be no doubt but the 80
o would have been shot that afternoon. All
r the Americans in port were loud in praise
of the manner in which the captain of the
Niobe acted. | ascertained, few days at.
4 ter his arrival, that he came in answer to O
: telegraphic message from the American
o consul, sent after the massacre of Capt
!. Fry and the crew, asking to have an Am
t erican man-of-war dispatched to Santi
y ago de Cuba. There happened to he nc