The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-05-21
A SINGULAR STORY.
Alleged kidnapping of a Number o,
Men for Guatemala

| MEL IOI Ouhtema1a.
NEW YORK, May 18.-The Herald this morn
ing publishes a story from Key West, Florida
| which gives on account of the kidnapping o
Edward santa Rosa. a youth OF sixteen years
story, Which, if true, would call for full in
vestigation by our Government. Rosa states
that last September, at New Orleans. he wa:
enticed on board a vessel, the Captain O.
While he was talking with the Captain the
vessel sailed. and h and sixty-six others, who
had also been entrapped, were, carried to
Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, by the schooner
| EIla Wright. We arrived at Puerto Balrios
| Guatemala, about shutdown, of Wednesday
October 8, after voyage of a little over SLY
| days Owing to eating poor food and drinking
brackish water. neatly all the party were
| sick. Five were for four days unable to get
on deck. Altogether, thu passage was a dis
agreeable one. We anchored in the open har-
shore. when Jim O'Donald, of Glasgow, Scot
land. OF Ir sh descent, the man who entrapped
nae at New Orleans, along With the captain
| aud mate, went ashore, when l heard him
call out Here are my cattle, for which [ am
| to get $40 per head" We landed in small
| boats, whereupOn O'Donald went up to the
office of j. P. Bousecarren, President Of the
railroad company, and received 500 for this
shipment OF sixty seven men. B3us arren,
though a Kenturkian spoke French fuently.
III. b. Day, of Chattannoosa. 1enn., Is Vice
President of the railroad.
When left New Orleans had $40 in my
pocket. AS we were landing Day. sung out,
''huI rah look at the boys, there is plenty of
money tn re-" Bouscarron said to the soldiers
Ego to searching" The soldiers were native
blacks and spoke English and were under
command of a tall white man. If any of our
party OBJ 'cted 10 being searched his money and
arms were taken from him by violence.
The hospital was an old ragged tent, infested
with Lizards. enats and mosquitoes. Quinine
was the general Ell edy i'll sickness, and the
men were stuffed with it.. One poor French
man bee me fiighty with it,, and fled to the
woods TO die in the marshes OF San Francisco,
five miles away. There were no burial
grounds. When man died he W IS wrapped
in a blanket, and hole was dug III the
spot most convenient and the body put away
without any ceremony. The woods and moun-
tain ide5 about Puerto Barrios bt came so full
of exposed decaying bodies that the place for
most of the season was more than usually an
unhealthy place to live in. Rosa says he made
Ills escape last January, and has just land.d in
this country,
was taken to show him that he would be tied
up and whipped. AS we were brought ashore
in small parties, those remaining on board
didn't know what was in store for them until
they tOo were forced to Civ, up their property
Pres dent Bouscarron sat at a table with a box
at hand, into which he dropped the money as
never intended that the workmen
should ever earn and be paid
money enough to get away from Puerto Bar
beS b 5dy rogab Tit6 tRem in order fbsy
a door of scape might be closed against trtm |
Work at Puerto Barrios was commenced but |
not mauy men secTred- In October |
they begin to get their supplies. few Orleans |
was filling Up with people and OI'Onald and /
alings knew how 10 get them to Puerto /
Barrios 1 figured six of the foil wing |
reports CT laborers up TO L
January 14th. When our party arrived there |
were at work about 80; our party per the |
Ella Knight, g.; brought by the WardeTer, 173;
brought by the Blanche He: derson; 100;
brought by the Ell Knight IL. Total, 677.
There were at work when left about 200: To
be accounted for, Az.
If a laborer would not go out tn work he was
lenied food. The men were kicked till they
eft the sick beds to return to work.
he men only cost the Company $40 each.
It was President Bouscarron's habit to pay us
monthly vi it from the interior, riding a
mule. If unable to come. he sent his agent to
inspect the work aud report. The men were
worked in gangs of ten, seventeen or twenty,
md whatever man was fold do he was ex-
,ected to do. There were no STRIKERS" al /.
owed at Puerto BarriOs. There were no min.
sters, churches or religious services of a
ind while l WIS there.