Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-01-08
THE IOWA VOTER.
Atrocities against Free MasOns
I'm Cuba.

A letter, Of which the following lie
an accurate translation, has inst been
received in this city by IA gentleman,
well know broker of South street
from an acquaintance in Santiago de
Cuba. The writer is a magistrate or
justice in that blood-lUving city, and
is a Free Mason also, az Is the gentle
man who received it:
SANTIAGO DE CUBA,
Nov. Is, 1873.
My DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER:
know you will pardon me for not
answering your letter of last April,
in which you desire " full information
i'm regardto the massacre Of the Grand
Lodge OF Santiago de Cuba and the
present condition Of their wives aud
orphans" When your letter was re-
ceived it had the appearance Of hav-
ing been opened. This fact and the
contents Of the letter convinced Inc
that if the reception Of the letter By
me was known by the Governor, my
life in spite Of my high official posi-
ton, would not be worth u moments
purchase. Immediately burned the
letter, and, beyond my usual cores
pondence on business matters, have
not thought it advisable to touch on
matters and things Of our unhappy
island, much a. | should have desired
you to have the horrible facts to pre-
sent them to the Grand Lodge Of New
York at their last sitting. But this
you know was impossible, as every
mail was searched, and life here Is
n 4 r. ,I~.s I.,.
affairs Of the last few days and the
savage acts Of the Volunteers have
compelled manyto leave here secretly,
rs there is nOknOWing where this may
end, and by this mode | send you
this letter, though when it will reach
you God only knows.
The Grand Lodge in 1869
met there rs was their
custom since their organize
ton. they had never been disturbed
by the government, although their
time and place of meeting was well
known 10 all of US. The night before
the meeting ! was informed that the
arrest was to be made, and that should
there be any resistance 0m the part Of
the Tyler 10 the free entrance Of the
office g, the troops were to fire into
the building and burn il, with all
those within. | personally informed
the Grand Lodge of these intentions,
and the next morning learned they
intended 10 hold their session with
open doors. They did so and were
arrested, and that night confined in
jail. The next morning they were
informed that they should be taken
To Havana for trial, but three hours
after sunrise they were all taken
outside the city and shot. This act
created considerable excitement at
the time, but rs it was imprison-
ment to speak Of it, it was soon hush
ed up.
The families Of those men who
have been thus shot were placed on
trial for the acts OF the heads of those
families, and, as result, their prop
eTty was cOnii5cated, they were de-
clared paupers, and, at the same
time, the population was forbidden,
under pain OF Imprisonment, to rem
der any Of them any assistance.
Thus, being deprived Of home and
shelter, food, and the means of OBJ
taining il, forbidden to leave the iu-
risdictiun of Santiago de Cuba, these
poor helpless creatures sought shelter
in the woods near here aud became
one common family.
But the inhunanfties, cruelties, |
and barbarigies which these women
and children have been subjected to
passes the belief of civilized being. |
/ could not describe what ! have |
seen and been unable to prevent. |
All r0bberics are laid to their door,
and even supposed robberies were
gotten up so that the chase Of the !
bloodhound might be witnessed by |
the rabble aud the suffering Of come !
one Of the poor beings added to their |
thirst for morbid depravity. 1t was !
not two months after tho execution !
that | saw one OF the women, who |
was about TO become mother, |
placed between two boards, upon !
which sat II heavy, bury savage.
surrounded by dozen soldiers and
saveral officers, who were trying To
compel this helpless being To con Tess
crime of robbery which ! had pre-
viOusly Investigated and could find
1lptItillS liiit NdIEduteu ltlt .Dtl1tl
that robbery had been committed.
Her dead body was left there, and
four days after, when the stencil com
PEELED its burial, it was found to be
partly devolred by dogs. Since that
time To the present these poor crea-
lures have been subject to outrages
beyond description or comprehen-
sion by the people OF community
such as you live in.
There are but few living, thirty or
forty souls, though in 1869 they
Numbered In all over 300. SonIe died
rom starvation, others from expos
ure, while the majority OF them were
killed by bio0d-hounds, for it is one
of the sports Of these brutes to hunt
these poor people us game. ! have
seen the bodies Of those thus killed
whose sex could not be distinguished
byreason of mutilation. An attempt
was made TO exterininate them u few
days ago by the volunteers and some
OF the crew Of the Tornado. When
the Virginius was brought to the