Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-22
THE TURK MUST GIVE WAY
The Spaniard the FouIer Fiend
of the Two.
BRUTALITY BEYOND BELIEF
A Story Which ChIIs the Blood and Benumbs
the Brain.
ALTOGETHER TOO HORRIBLE TO BELIEVE,
But the Details Are Well Attested-Civili-
zation Put to Shame in Her Favored
Quarter-The Dark Ages Out
done in Darkness.
ALTOGETHER TOO HORRIBLE TO BELIEVE,

Havana, Sept. 19-Via Key West,
Fla, Sept. 21.-Well authenticated stories
or barbarious acts by the Spanish troops
continue to reach here. Recently the
Havana papers published an account of
an alleged battle near Chucho de Arco, in
which after an hours desperate fighting
the Spaniards drove away the rebels,
killing nineteen and taking many prison.
ers The papers suggested that the gov
ernment should reward Colonel Agueil-
era, the Spanish commander, for his
bravery
The facts in regard to the battle are as
follows:
On September Is, ten rebels went to
attack a guerilla band that had started
from Vegas to the field. When the reb-
els in ambush, were ready to attack they
noticed a strong body of soldiers coming
toward them. Hidden in high grass, the
rebels net the soldiers come close and
then fired a volley, killing two officers
andswounding three soldiers The troops
fired back volley into the grass. hit
ting nobody, as the enemy could not be
seen. Lieutenant Colonel Aguerila, who
commanded the troops, and came from
his headquarters, went after this action
towards colony named Pablo Diaz.
There he found family composed of
twenty-five persons, men, women and
children. He asked if they had seen any
rebels in the neighborhood. On receiv-
ing a negative answer he ordered a gen.
eral slaughter of everybody, including
children from 1 to 10 years old.
A young man begged to be killed in
stead of his mother, who was in the
eighth month of pregnancy, but he was
killed with a machete and bayonet in
the presence of the mother. Then they
transported the abdomen of the mother
tt
embcwled her with machete. The lit
tie children were first pinched with the
end of a bayonet, then finished with
the inachete. OF the twenty-five human
beings present in that colony, nineteen
were butchered and six made their es-
cape. hiding themselves in the cane where
they remained until late at night when
they could come out safe. Besides truth
full witnesses, the men of the guerillas
boasted of what they had committed
when they went back to Vegan, about
two miles from the colony. On the 18th
of September, three days after the
slaughter, traveller passed by the spot
of tie murder and was Mortified at the
number of carrion crows devouring the
bodies. None had been buried.
On. September IS Colonel Agueilera
started with his troops and the guerrillas
from Nueva-PaZ towards the sugar eS-
tate Of Cuervo. Near place called CuZ-
co he saw house, went to 1t and found
only three children in it. He asked where
the parents were. They answered that
they had gone after some fuel to prepare
their breakfast, and would soon return
The colonel ordered the three children 40
ITO IA years old) to be locked up in the
house, and after this was done he ordered
the guerrillas to set fire to the house. The
guerrillas, Mortified, disobeyed at first,
but under the threats of Agueilera they
acted and the house was burned down
with the children in It, On their return
to Nueva-Paz the guerrillas told the peo-
pie what had been done. This informa-
tion is from Spanish source.
After that house was burned Agueilera
went on and met on his way an old man
70 years old carrying vegetables, who was
accompanied by two negroes. He was
asked where he was going. He answered
that ne was taking the vegetables home
to Nueva-Paz The colonel ordered him
to be killed with the machete, and the
negroes also. The body of the old man
was thrown into we'll near by, where
he was found two days afterward, being
traced by his hat, which was found near
the we'll The bodies of the two negroes
were chopped to pieces and thrown into a
cave, where they were found. All this
was related by sergeant and the SOL
diers