The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-05-20
A DESPERATE STRUGGLE.

CITY last OctODtfi Win lOur hshlsldnlss
for the purpose Of boring a tunnel
through some mines at a place in Mex
leo called Angangueo,~ recently returned
with one assistant. The other three
two Americans and a Canadian-had
been massacred by the natives under
circumstances Of peculiar atrocity. To
a Herald reporter Mr.. Stephens told the
thrilling story of the tragedy as fol-
lows: Angangueo is entirely n mining
settlement, distant from the city O.
Mexico some one hundred and ten Eng
lish miles, and is inhabited by an almost
equal number of Indians and Mexicans,
who TO us were known as "greasers."
Tue town is not built as here, but is
scattered all over the mountain, which
is some ten thousand feet above the level
ofthe sea, none Of the houses being very
close together, and the nearest from ours
at least four or five hundred feet. Thus
we were to an extent isolated. Every
thing worked well with us at first, and
though the style OF labor was new to the
"peons" and Bareteros," they didn't
seem to mind and did what they were
told without question. The only fault
we had to find with them was their con-
slant in and out of season desire to be at
their devotions. All this, however,
did not hinder them from being the
greatest thieves, and we had 10 watch
them closely for fear that they would
even try TO steal a half Of the dynamite
charge that might have been given
them TO put into a hole for a blast.
The poems (aborels) at our mines, so
far as we knew, were very friendly to-
ward us. We treated thom well and
never personally maltreated any OF
them; but those at some of the other
mines in the neighborhood seem to have
taken a strong dislike to us " Yankees,
as they termed us. Just a week before
the fatal day, some of our party went
over to inspect the mines of Senior Soto
Mayor. a large mine owner who was
DESTROYS that we should take a contract
to make a tunnel in his mines similar 10
the one we were boring at the Trojes
mines.
Unknown to us this gave great ofieDse
TO the poems employed at these mines.
who, it seems, determined to be re-
venged on us. The following Sat urday
one of these fellows applied to us for
work and vas sent down with the shift
Once down in the mine he refused to
work, but was allowed to remain, as no
one of US cared to interfere with him for
fear of breeding i'll feeling with the rest.
On Sunday morning, when the men came
for their pay, this peon was handed
three reals. like the rest of the men. He
refused the money and demanded four
reals, which being refused he became
very saucy and impudent, until finally
Mr.. Connolly, who was paying the men
off, was forced to put him out of the Of
fee, when he went away muttering that
he would be revenged. After dinner
Pagan started TO go TO Tro,
jes, and a little after that ] went to the
engine house, which was distant from
the house some four hundred yards, to
do something to the machinery, leaving
Connolly, who was lying reading
on the veranda, with Mr.. Arnold and
Mr.. Yeoumans inside the house. Owing
to the door of the engine house being at
the far side / could see nothing of the
house, even though the door was wide
open; but, though l could not see, !
could hear, and the sound OF three OF
four shots from a revolver, fired in
succession. together with a con
fused sound of voices, raised in angry
dispute made me run out quickly. just
as l turned the corner of the engine
house l heard the report of a gun, and al
the same moment saw q man, dressed
like a Deon, who was at some little dis.
lance from the veranda, fall, and u
moment later, in passing him, OBJ.
served that he seemed to be wounded
in the legs. At the house / found Con-
nelly, Arnold and Yeou mans, all CON-
siderably excited, and it was with diff
Guilty that | at last could get them to
tell what the cause of the firing was.
Connolly, it seems, from his account,
was lying where ! had left him, still
reading, when the peon with whom
he had the dispute in the morning came
up on the veranda and began cursinG
Ordered away, he retired to a
short distance off, from whence he be-
gan throwing stones, smashing the chair
Connolly had been sitting on and doing
otner damage. Connolly meantime had
gone into the house and closed the door.
Finding that he could not get him tc
come out that way the rufian came
upon the veranda, and, with huge
smashed in the door. It
was then that Connolly fred the
shots from his revolver, not at him,
but over his head, to frighten him. In
of this it seemed TO make the fel
low worse, for, drawing a sword which
he had concealed beneath his cloak, he
rushed at Connolly and tried 10 strike
him, but was driven of by Arnold and
who came to Connelly's res
cue. Retiring, the peon again began to
lssail the house with showers of stones,
and as a last resource, Connolly had, he
said, taken his shotgun and fred at his
legs to stop him. While I was %learnine
these particulars, a few minutes passed,
efficient time though TOR several nun
ired of the poems in the neighbolhood
% have ga hered round the wounded