Alpena argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1893-1909, 1893-08-09
WHOLE NO. 1148.


fully one hundred feet above us.
Where we lay we could have been
blown out of the water.
mo sooner had the tug grated
against the dock than out sprang
the Spanish youngster, and close at
his heels followed his men.
"The boy said something brusque-
ly to the sentry, and l saw the man
salute. Leading up to the fort was a
winding road, and without any hesi-
tation the boy placed himself at the
head of the men and commenced the
ascent.
II could hardly believe my eyes.
Here was a mere boy with a hand
full of men advancing against the
strongest government post in Nj
caragua.
II knew the boy had some fine
old Spanish blood in him, but this
seemed like downright madness.
."Instinctively l found myself on
the dock and climbing up the road
way.
THE men swung along in the
most Indifferent fashion. Any one
to have seen them would have fam
cied it was reconnoitring party re-
turning to barracks.
Right ahead was the closed
massive gates of the fort. AS the
men advanced the gates opened and
out stepped an officer.
"He evidently believed from the
uniform of the men coming up the
road that it was either a relief for
the fort or reinforcements.
Inside the gateway the guard
was drawn up. The officer of the
day advanced well out from the
gate, calling out as he came,
Where are you from?'
"The young Spaniard was we'll
in the lead of his men. He said
something in reply half carelessly,
and then suddenly remember see
ing a whirl, the CLEAN of steel in
the air, followed by sharp cry, as
the next moment the body of the
officer of the fort lay writhing up
on the ground.
without so much as a glance at
the man he had cut down, the young
Spaniard sprang like a panther be-
tween the open gates, and quicker
than it can be told, the bodies of
two more men were writhing on
the ground.
Like a whirlwind, the thirty
men behind him rushed through
the open gateway.
81 followed them, passing as ! did
so over the dead bodies of every man
of the guard.
"The entire guard had been quiet
ed by the use of cold steal alone,
and up to now not a single shot
had been fired.
"As the men rushed in, they
spread out in skirmish order and
rapidly advanced across the enclos-
ure.
Suddenly pistol shot rang out.
1t came from the young Spaniard.
"The commandant of the fort
hearing something unusual outside
had sprung out of bed, and, stepping
out on the little veranda before his
door, had been shot down in his
tracks.
"The Spanish youngster hit him
at distance Of one hundred feet.
The ball struck the commandant
between the eyes, and the next mo-
ment his body rolled and tumbled
down the stairway to the walk be-
low.
"As if by magic, men seemed to
spring out from everywhere, and
their appearance threw into action
every rifle in the parade below.
"The scene which followed was
just what might have been expect
ed in slaughter pen.
Men cursed, yelled, begged for
mercy and shrieked in agony. The
defenders had stacked their arms
apart from the barracks and were
cut off from them. They were con-
sequently being shot down without
being able to defend themselves.
"The young Spaniard was every
where, and it seemed as if living
flame was continually in front of
him. Hc.was operating pair Of
revolvcrs.
HE finally gave the order to
cease firing, and his men dashed in
to the barracks and made prisoners
of all those inside.
"The firing did not last more than
six or seven minutes, but in that
time twenty men had been shot
down.
at looked at one time as IL the