The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-11-28
THE BUTCHERY IN CUBA.
Details of the Sea Race-Spanish Re
joicIngs-The Executions.


, The news of the Virginius having
! fallen into the hands of the Spaniards
was received here on the morning of the
4th. By the Peninsulars it was hailed
; with the utmost demonstrative Joy, and
the Cubans received it with the greatest
CONSERVATION. At once it was all ovel
,, the town. The papers printed special
i supplements, giving the telegram as re
i ceived by the commander general of the
, navy, and the streets were hung from
end to end with the national colors.
HOW THE CAPTURE WAS EFFECTED.
On the afternoon of the 31st the Tor
, nado corvette, while cruising near the
Aserradero, sighted a steamer whose
J appearance looked suspicious, and al
2:30 the chase commenced, the Tornado
} going at the rate of thirteen or fourteen
} knots an hour, and gaining steadily on
J the flying steamer. Night came on, but
the moon shed her light over the waters
and made the forms of both vessels dis
tinctlv visible. The chase lasted until
ten at night, and by this time the Vir-
ginius was within cannon shot of the
Tornado. The corvette then fired gun
} as a summons for surrender, but no
notice was taken. Three or four Others
followed, and the capture was complete,
being effected within a very short dis
tance of the Jamaica coast. The COM
mander of the Tornado gives it at
twenty miles.
SPEECH OF vARONA WHEN CAPTURED.
Not the slightest resistance was
offered by those on board the Virginius;
all were made prisoners, and brought
| 41,a do Al q
say that when Barnabe Varona came on
board he expressed a desire to speak
with the Spanish commander, and his
request having been granted, spoke as
follows "I congratulate you on the
capture which you have just made, and
the importance of which you can not
we'll appreciate in this moment. You
are not aware of the materials which we
were bringing, nor do you know the
effect which they would have produced
had they been spread through the island.
The capture of the steamer Virginu s
may quite we'll put an end to the ins T.
rection."
THE SPANIARDS WILD WITH JOY.
Duri the chase the Virginius was
engaged in throwing everything over
board that could help to Tighten the
vessel, and hams, tallOw, an petroleum
were used for the furnaces in the vain
endeavor to escape. This has reduced the
value of the prize to the steamer and
prisoners. The Tornado, with her prize
in tow, arrived at Santiago de Cuba
about P. NJ. on the 1st, and the excite
ment when the capture became known
may be imagined. People scarcely
knew what to do, perhaps from the alb
solute want of practice in receiving
such trophies. Steamers with steam up
blew their whistles, and rung bells, and
several crews cheered. At intervals,
the Spanish vesselsin the harbor hoisted
more flags, as fast as they could hunt
| them up. The chief demonstration was
made by the Don Juan de Austria, a
sort of cross between a gun-boat and
bathing machine, and remarkable for its
extreme antiquity. This noble vessel
fired five guns, no doubt to celebrate
the capture and it's own retirement into
private life until the next expedition.
The Virginius was brought in with the
Spanish flag flying, the American flag,
which had been hoisted during the
chase, being twisted about the taffrail.
On the return to Santiago, it was found
that she was making so much water that
it was necessary to run her on shore.
THE TRIAL OF THE PRISONERS.
The prisoners trial as pirates was
commenced in court-martial on the
morning of the 2nd, and by the time
the news of the capture reached us III
Havana the fate of four was decided.
THE CONSUL NOT ALLOWED TO INTERFERE.
The American consul was not allowed |
to interfere in any way. A telegram to |
his colleague in Jamaica, asking about F.
the nationality of the Virginius, was
not allowed to pass by the government. |
The four executed are the only members |
of the iIl-fated expedition who have |
been identified so far. Ninety are said |
to be Cubans, and twelve foreigners |
the rest of the 165 being supposed to /
compose the crew. The crew, it is re-
ported, will be brought round to Ha-
vana, and it appears probable, as two |
Spanish men, of-war have been dis
patched to Santiago-One from here, |
and the other from Batabario.
CONTINUOUS CELEBRATIONS.
From the afternoon of the day on
which the news of the capture arrived |
in Havana, serenades to the captain gen
eral, the general of marine, and other
day, and even up till now, when write,
the palace and principal streets are dec
grated with flags. 1t is not known yet
whether Santa Rosa formed one of the
for, although his name does
not appear in the list, which has been
published, it is possible that he may
have been, but under an assumed name.
OF THE CREW OF THE VIRGIN IUs
Yesterday afternoon the whole of the
members of the Virginius expedition
were brought on shore. Forces from
the men-of-war guarded them to the
shore, and, aided by volunteers, con-
Quoted them to the prison. The pris-
oners walked four in a row and with
their arms tied, mostly all in their shirt
sleeves, and had generally dirty ap-
pearance. Nearly all walked firmly,
with their heads up, and with a reckless
look on their faces. Many were smil-
ing none appeared much affected by
their situation. Bembeta was landed
by himself about half an hour after
He also had his arms tied, and was es-
corted by four marines, a corporal, and
an officer. He marched firmly up the
street to the jail. The wharf and
were crowded by a curl
OuS GnrOuR, u uOGlCedDl0 l0dIuI0 U0luB
a large cOnaparsa of negroes, with their
flags flying and drums beating.
THE LAST HOURS OF CAPT. FRY.
On Friday afternoon, the 7th inst,
,hirty-seveu of the crew of the Virginius
we're brought on shore and taken to the
prison, to remain there until their exc.
,ution, which was ordered for that after
noon. Capt. Fry, a noble-looking old
nan, fully head taller than the rest of
he crew, when he met his men on the
wharf, previous to the march to the
prison, saluted them all. The salute ,
vas returned with affection. At 4:45
Japt. Fry and thirty-six men and Off :
,ers, were publicly shot, despite the
protest of all competent foreign author !
ties. The marines were seven minutes {
ilIing the wretched prisoners. 1t
eemed as if they would never finish.
1t last the sailors marched off and the I
roops fled past the long row of corpses.
Then the dead carts were hurried up
nd loaded indiscriminately with the
nangled remains. The American vice
onsul did all that could have been 1
lone. Indeed, it was threatened that J
lis exequatur would be withdrawn for I
.;a ovor+;o,,e -, IoboIe oF +ha ,Nria0,,ars ! s