Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1892-02-03

81
hey were sober and were 90 ,ductsns ,n,,s
s SECS With propriety saiutins Chilean ana
OF the shipnnd Capt. Jenkins, OF the mercssrs
ship keveenaw. corroborated Capt Schlrs ny
our men The sisters o. chariSy 81 sSc ss 9,
70 which our wounded men were taken whsr
, inquired CT stated that they were sober when
received II the situation had been otherxis..
we must believe that the Chilean police anthor-
,ues would have made arrests About % m
tne assault began, and IL Is remarkable that the
investigation by the judge OF crimes thouyh =,
protracted. does not enable him 10 give asy
foSrd s =, account OF It's origin that Is
urunx 81 sailors Repeatedly in the Correspond
s nee ~ Is asserted ,t'i IL WAS impossible 10
&C., saru ~ M M plees.e ears - riot The minis
MT Montt. under date OF .s.lnbs.- 81 sfa,es
that the Quarrel began between two sailors Ina a
tavern and was continued In the street. persons
who were passing Joining In IT,
ne .Ss,lmony OF Talbot An apprentice Who
was Win higgin, ~ that the outbreak In which
they were involved began by Chilean sailor
splitting in the face of Talbot, which was re
Riggin and Talbot were NJ the t,Y,s , ,na.
conranied by any others OF their shiptnates
these two men were Immediately beset bv a
which they broke their way to a street car and
entered II for safety, They were pursued.
driven from the ear and Riggin was so srriouslx
beaten that he fell in the street apparently dead
incrc Il nothing in the report OF the Chilean in
.,essusauon made 10 US that seriously impcaches
enls testimony IL appears from Chilean
sources that almost instantly with a suddenness
that strongly implies meditation aud prcpar-
one time To number ZOO and az another i.oSo
was engaged in the assault upon our sailors who
ad Ieprssented as resisting with stones clubs
OF October % states that the light began nj o n
IN IN three streets which are named. that irfor-
and that the police arrived on the scene at O. 30
iull half hour after the assault began At that
time he says that mob of 2.0oo men had col
the appearance OF a real battlefield"
The scene ut this point II very graphically set
American sailors who. after so long an examina-
tion. nave not been found guilty OF any breach
OF peace so far as the Cnilcan authorities are
aole 10 discover, unarmed and defcnceess are
necirg FOR their lives, pursued by Overwhelming
numbers, and lighting only TO aid their own es-
cape from death or 10 auccor some mate whose
NE Is In greater peril Eighteen OF them are
brutality stabbed and beaten. while one Chilean
seems. from the report. TO have suffered some
INJURY Dnt 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
the TACT that our prisoners. when searched. were
absolutely without arms. only seven pcnknives
being found In the possession OF the men arrested
wniie there were received by our men more than
thirty stab wounds, every one OF which was in.
nictcd in the back, and almost every confused
wound was in the back or back OF the head The
evidence OF the ships onfcer of the day is that
even the iackinives OF the men were taken from
them before leaving the ship.
ceived by our men, the following extract from
the account given OF the affair by the La PatriA
newspaper OF Valparaiso OF October IL can not
be regarded too friendly: Tho Yankees az
soon as their pursucrs gave chase. went by way
OF the Gale del Arsenal towards the city car
station In the presence OF an ordinary number
OF citizens, among whom were some sailors, the
North Americans took seats In the street TO
escape from the stones which the Chileans
threw at them. II was believed for an instant
that the North Americans had saved themselves
from popular fury. but such was not the case.
Slowly had the car begun TO move when "A crowd
gathered around and stopped its progress. I'm
der these circumstance and without any
OF stones at the North Americans ans" the ne
conductor entered the car and, seeing
The risk OF the situation to the vehicle,
sailors left the car. I'm the midst OF hail OF
stones, the said conductor received a stone blow
on the head One OF the Yankee sailors man
aged to escape in the direction OF the Plaza
Wheelright, but tine other was felled TO the
ground by "A stone. Managing to raise himself
from the ground where he lay he staggered in an
opposite direction from the station. In front OF
the house OF Senior Mazzini he was again wound
ed, falling then senseless and brcathlcss.
No amount of evasion or subterfuge is able TO
cloud our clear vision OF this brutal work II
should be noticed, in this connection that the
American sailors arrested, for examinat ton,
were, during the four days following the arrest
every one discharged, no charge OF any breach
of the peace or other criminal conduct having
been sustained against single one OF them.
The Judge OF crimes, Foster, in q note 10 the in
tendente, under date Of Oct 2s-before the dis
patch from this government of the following
day. which aroused the authorities of Chile TO a
better sense OF the gravity OF the afair-says
canrs ns pres rsgara temporarily over this
the United States cruiser Baltimore, ,ChO
hare been tri,d on account OF the deplorable
conduct which took place" etc. The notice
able point here Is that our sailors had been
tried before the I'D OF October. and that the
trial resulted in their acquittal and return 10
Il N nf IL.
characteristic OF the management OF this al air
by the Chileanpolice authorities, that should
now be advised that Seaman Davidson OF the
Baltimore, has been included In the Indictment
his onense being, so far as have been able TO
mate against an assailant who was striking AZ
him with knife The perfect vindication OF
our men is furnished by this report: one only is
found 20 have been guilty of criminal fault and
that for an act clearly justinable
As 70 the part taken by the police in the az
fair the case made by Chile IS also far from
satisfactory. The point where Rggin was
killed II only three minutes walk from the police
station and not more than twice that distance
their official report fun half hour elapsed az
ter the assault began before the police were
upon the ground. IL has been stated that sll but
two OF our men have said that the police did
their duty. The evidence taken at Mare
Island shows that II such a statement was
procured from our men IL was accomplished by
requiring them TO sign q writ in language
they did not understand and by the representa-
ton that IL was mere declaration that they
had taken no part ia the disturbance Lieut.
hcCrea, who acted as interpreter. says in his
evidence that when our sailors were examined
before the court the subject OF the
conduct OF the police was so carefully avoided
that he reported the fact TO Capt. Schiey on his
return 20 the vessel The evidence of ths,cxist-
ence OF animosity toward our sailors In the
minds OF sailors OF the Chilean navy and OF the
popuiace OF Valparaiso are so abundant
and various ~ 20 leave doubt in the
minds OF any one who will examine
the papers subnittcd IL manifested ftself
in threatening and insulting gestures 70.
ward our men rs they passed the Chilean
men-of-war In their boats and IN tho derislVe
and abusive epithefs with which they greeted
every appearance Of an American sailor on the
roats from the Chilean warships several times
went out or their course TO cross the bows OF
his boats, compiling them 70 back water. He
complained OF the discOurtesy and II was cor.
rected That this feeling was shared by men
OF higher rank II shown by an incident related
py surgeon slit, OF the Baltimore. After the
battle Of Placilla he. with other medical officers
OF the war vessels Ia the harbor, was giving
voluntary assistance To the wounded In the hos
pitfalls. The son OF q Chilean army ofHccr high
~ rank was under his care, aud when the father
discovered 10, he few into passion and said he
would rather have HIS son die than have Ameri.
cans touch him, and At once had him removed
from TIE ward. This feeling a. not well con
cealed IN The dispatch OF the foreign once and
had quite open expression In the dlsrespectfui
treatment OF the American legation The Chii-
can boatmen In the bay refused even Tor large
Oners o. money 70 return our sailors who
crowded the Mole 20 their ship whom they were
endeavoring " escape from the city on the night
o. the assault The market boats Of the Balti.
more we're threatened, and even quite recently
the gig on commander Evans OF ths Yorktown