The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-02-06

OF his mon who were upon leave; that
selves with propriety, saluting Chilean and
other officers as they met them. Other officers
of the ship and Capt. Jenkins, Of the merchant
ship Keweennw, corroborated Capt Sohley as
10 the general sobrlety and good behavior of
our men. The sisters OF charity Of the hospital
h 70 which our wouadea men were taken, when when
received. II the situation had boon otherwise
we must believe that the Chilean police author
tiles would have made arrests. About p. m.
the assault began, and IL IN remarkable that the
investigation by the Judge Of crimes, though 80
protracted, does not enable him 70 give any
moro satisfactory account Of Its origin that IL
found In the statement that IL began between
drunken sailors Repeatedly In the correspond
enoe It is asserted that u was impossible to
learn the precise caust he riot. The minis
ter OF foreign AFFAIRS, Ma, his telegram to
Mr. Montt under date OF oetnber 81 states
that the quarrel began between two sailors in q
tavern and was continued in the street. persons
who were passing joining In II.
The testimony OF Talbot, an apprentices who
was with Riggin, Is that the outbreak In which
they were involved began by Chilean sailors
splitting in the face OF Talbot, which was re-
sented by q knock-down. 1t appears that
Riggln and Talbot were at the time unac-
companied by any others of thor shipmates
These two men were Immediately beset by a
crowd Of Chilean citizen, and sailors, through
which they broke their way to street cor and
entered it for safety, They were pursued
driven from the car and Riggln was so seriously
beaten that he fell in the street apparently dead
There IL nothing in the report of the Chilean in
vestgation made 10 us that seriously impeaches
this testimony. 1t appears from Chilean
sources that almost instantly with u suddenness
that strongly implies meditation and prepar-
alton, mob, stated by the police authorities at
one time to number 1000 and at another 1000,
WINS engaged in the assault upon our sailors who
are represented ~ resisting with stones, clubs
and bright arms" The report OF the intendente
of October 30 states that the fight began ut p.
m. in three streets which are named; that infor-
nation was received at the intendencia at 6:16,
and that the police arrived on the scene ut 6:30
q full half hour after the assault began. At that
n nnh nf m
lected and that for several squares there was
the appearance of a real battlefield"
The scene at this point Is very graphically set
before us by the Chilean testimony. The
American sailors who, after so long on exnmina-
tion have not been found guilty OF any breach
| of peace, so far as the Chilean authorities are
able to discover, unarmed and defenceess are
fleeing for their lives, pursued by overwhelming
numbers, and lighting only to aid their own es-
life is in greater peril. Eighteen Of them are
brutally stabbed and beaten, while one Chilean
seems, from the report, TO have suffered some
injury; but how serious or with what character
of weapon or whether by ~ missile thrown by
our men or by some OF his fellow rioters, IS un-
ascertained.
The pretense that our men were fighting with
| stones, clubs and bright arms Is, in view of
these facts, incredible. 1t is further refuted by
| the fact that our prisoners, when searched were
absolutely without arms, only seven penlSnives
being found in the possession OF the men arrested
while there were received by our men more than
thirty stab wounds, every one of which was in
| hicted in the back and almost every confused
wound was in the back or back OF the head. The
evidence of the ships officer OF the day is that
| even the jacRlniyes of the meE were taken from
| them before leaving the ship.
AS to the brutal nature of the treatment re
| ceived by our men, the following extract from
| the account given of the affair by the La Patrts
| newspaper of Valparaiso of October II can moi
| be regarded ms too friendly: THE Yankees, q:
| soon as their purSuers gave chase went by way
| OF the Gale del Arsenal toAards the city cal
| station. In the presence OF an ordinary number
of citizens among whom were some sailors th,
North Americans took seats IN tne street car t'
| escape from the stones which the Chilean'
| threw at them. 1t was believed for an lnstan
that the North Americans had saved themselves
| from popular fury, but such was not the case
| Slowly had the car begun to move when " crowC
| gathered around and stopped its progress. Un
der these circumstances and without any
Of stones at the North Americans, tn,
conductor entered the car and, seeinl
tho risk OF the situation to the vehicle
ordered them to get out. At the instant th
| sailors left the car, in the midst OF hail o
stones, the said conductor received stone blow
on the head. One of the Yankee sailors man
aged to escape in the direction OF the Plaz
| Wheelrght, but tho other was fellcd to tn
ground by a stone. Managing TO raise himsel
from the ground where he lay ne staggered IN 81
opposite direction from the station. In front o
the house of Senior MaZzinl he was again wound
ed, falling then senseless and breathless
No amount of evasion or subterfuge Is able t
cloud our clear vision of this brutal work.
should be noticed, in this connection, that tn
American sailors arrested, for an examination
We're, during the four days following the arres
every one discharged, no charge OF any breac
of the peace or other criminal conduct havin
been sustained against single one of them
The Judge of crimes, Foster, in note to the in
patch from this government of the followin
day, which aroused the authorities OF Chile TO
Having presided temporarily over mi
the United States cruiser Baltimore, ~
hare been tried on account of the deplorabl
conduct which took place" ETC., The notice
able point here is that our sailors had bee
re rCsnted '91 m their i oc1ute anS @ retn W
their vessel 1t is quite remarkable and quit
characteristic of the management of this anal
by the Chilean police authorities, that we shoui
now be advised that Seaman Davidson, of tn
Baltimore, has been included in the Indictment
his Offense being, so far as have been able Il
ascertain, that he attempted to defend ~ ship
mate against an assalant who was striking u
him with u knife. The perfect vindcaton o
our men is furnished by this report: one only i
found to have been guilty of criminal fault an
that for an act clearly iustitiablc
AS to the part taken by the police in the al
fair the case made by Chile is also far fror
satisfactory. The point where Riggn wa
station and not more than twice that distanc
from the intendencia; and yet, according t
their official report, a full half hour elapsed al
ter the assault began before the police wer
upon the ground. 1t has been stated that all bu
two of our men have said that the police di
their duty. The evidence taken at Mar
Island shows that If such n statement wa
procured from our men it was accomplished b
requiring them TO sign a writ in languag
they did not understand and by the represents
tion that 1t was n mere declaration that the
had taken no part in the disturbance. Lieut.
McCrea, who acted as interpreter, says in hi
evidence that when our sailors were examine
before the court the subject of tn
conduct of the police was so carefully avoide
that he reported the fact to Capt Schley on hi
return to the vessel The evidence OF tho exis
ence of animoslty toward our sailors in tn
minds of sailors of the Chilean navy and of tn
,la.. sNf rI,,yp too .lt,..I .I,,,,
and various as to leave no doubt in tn
minds OF any one who Will eXamin
the papers submitted. 1t manifested itsel
In threatening and insulting gestures tC
ward our men as they passed tho Chilea
men-of-war in their boats and in the derisiv
and abusive epithets with which they greete
every appearance of an American sailor on tn
evening of the riot. Capt. Schley reports tina
boats from the Chilean warships several time
went out OF their course to cross the bows 9
his boats, compelling them to back water. H
complained of the diScourtesy and IL was COZ
rected. That this feeling was shared by me
OF higher rank Is shown by an incident relate
by Surgeon Stitt, OF the Baltimore. After tn
battle OF Placilla he, with other medical officer
of the war vessels in the harbor, was givin
voluntary assistance to the wounded in the hos
pitals. The son OF q Chilean army officer hig
iu rank was under his care, und when the fathe
discovered it., he flew into passion and said h
would rather have his son die than have Amer
cans touch him, and at once had him remove
from the ward. This feeling is not well cor
cealed in the dispatch Of the foreign Office an
had quite open expression in the disreSpectfu
treatment Of the American legation. The Chi
can boatmen in the bay refused even for larg
crowded the Mole TO their ship when they wer
endeavoring 10 escape from the city on the nigh
of the assault. The market boats OF the Bait
more We're threatened, and even quite recentl
the gig of Commander Evans OF the YorlStow
was stoned while waiting for him ut the Mole.
The evidence of our sailors clearly shows u a
the attack was expected by the Chilean people
that threats had been made against our mel
and in Que case, somewhat earlier in the aftel
noon the Keeper OF one house into which som