Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-12-04

AllCIlCitu niiS "HlCli ''o d l'i'"Ie, ~ i'"" -"
right to use, and having hoistcd the Spanish
flag in its place
THE SCENE OF THE SLAUGHTER.
A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF TIE PLACE OF
EXECUTION AT SANTIAGO.
4 gentleman who recently resided in SAN
tiago de Cuba, gives the following account of
the scene of the massacre to the New York
World:
The harbor is sapproached by a narrow wind
ing channel barely wide enough for two YES
sells to pass up the river Santiago, several
miles long, and defended by an old fort on the
riuht of the entrance. built of the white crum-
bling limestone of the island, and mounted
with few smooth bore cannon, whose first
fire seemed likely to bring the tottering para
pet to the ground. At the city the channel
wdeus into contracted basin fringed to the
left with swamps that surround the river
while to the right rises the high ground on
which the city stands with its plaza and cathe-
dral mile up the hill; lower is the low brick
prison in the heart Of the town, and directly
above the harbor, prominent object, are the
whitewashed walls Of the slaughter house.
All entrance from the sea is over the captain
of the ports wharf, and here the Tornado-a
British built vessel, fourteen guns, brig rugged,
with the low, black hull, the sloping smoke
stacks and raking masts of q blockade rum
ncr-landc,l her prisoners on the forenoon OF
the 9th instant. They were marched up the
CaiSc del Tcatro to the prison. There they
passed the night their trial was hurried to
its termination the next day, and late i'll the
afternoon the men were marched out to exc
culion. AS in previous occurrences OF the
same nature, often enough witnessed by this
gentleman, the whole garrison formed an es-
cort, the prisoners coming first IN irons.
Among them we're the monks, who accompa-
nicd them to the last with crucitiX and prayer,
and at the head was the only music of these
ghastly processions-a huge drum, whose mo-
nolonous tap beats the dcath-march. The
route files down the street already mentioned,
narrow and lily paved, past the Hotel univcr-
so, with the American consulate and its flag
staff and flag, whose shadow falls across the
road, past the warehouses Of foreign resi-.
dents, to the British consulate half way down
to the harbor, where an abrupt turn is made,
and the party move out of the town on the
broad turnpike in the suburbs. The station
of the Santa Cruz Railroad lies to the right !;
further on is the machine shop, and then the
last house of the bare and dcsolate suburbs; on
the left Of the road is the slaughter house, IL
square low building of adobe, the whitewashcd
walls fifteen or twenty feet high, and above the
roof of dark red tiles, with its projecting caves;
under them is dug Il shallow ditch, two feet
deep, to catch the dripping rain drops.
When it was dug, the soil was hcapcd in Il
low mound along the outer cdgc-carth bare
and wcll.troddcn. Along one wall the light
colored soil has darker tlrge. The building
fronts, if the rude aperture of all adobe hut can
be called front, to the south of cast, but
path, better worn than that which leads to the
door, leaves the road and seeks the corner, to
the left on entering. and the wall beyond.
Wall and corner scanned and SCARED, and
pittcd with bullets breast high great flakes
of adobe are knocked clear Of whitewash, and
bullets have bored their way deep into the
clay, for they flew wild over the heads Of
kncclng prisoners. Lower down bullets have
sometimes been, at the distance Of Il dozen
PAGES, spent balls, and the above is scarcely
penetrated lower still, where the ground rises
towards the firing party, the wall is one mass
of bullets and dark stains. Corners and
wall are scanned, for the sun must be behind
the firing party and one is chosen in the
early morning and the other lale in the after
noon. 1t w,s before the bare blank window
less wall that Captain Fry and his crew were
halted. To the left, were the swampS around
and beyond the Slauyhtcr rhouSo, falling to the
river, before which wis the harbor with its
vessels. The town and its buildings, its flags
of England and America, vas on the right
and higher, for the road leads down to the
place of execution. The garrison forms in
ihrrc.si,lcl square, its left and right resting
on the angles of the building. Directly oppo-
site, on knoll that rises outside the ranks,
gather curious spectators. Once from that
knoll the speaker saw, in group OF insurgents,
IL baby girl scarcely four years old; she knelt
in her dark clothing with the rest Her tath-
er, Il fisherman, bad been detected in carry
inc ,lispatchrs to the in<urgcnt leaders; he
cludcd capture and was known to lie conceal
cd near the town. 1t was found that the
little girl had been trusted with the secret; no
threat could cxtort it from her. and there she
was with the full grown men. In the hollow
square the prisoners stand in confused group
with their spiritual advisers At last the
firing party is drawn up. The prisoners arc
in irons, but before they knccl hands and feet
are bound, and are forced down, facing the
wall, ready, when the bullets strike, to fall
hcadong into the ditch below. The priests
separate, and stand in Il group to the right,
with uplitcl crucilx. The prisoners arc not
usually blindto!,lcd. On the left, facing the
Suuad-in ihis case Il line of marines stands
the officer in command He raises his sword,
and calls for viva ofSpain. The hats come
off promptly in the crowd beyond the troops.
Instances have been known when, after Il lit
tie lack of warmth or promptncSs in the
cheer or hat.raisng, a man has found himself