The Grenada sentinel., 1896-09-26
SPANISH VICTORIES.

Samples Of the Methods Of Chtvairous
Dons In Cnba--W Wholesale Butchery E"-
gagged III, " itII Nom-COmbatants. lhciud-
ing Young Children and Delicate WoE'-
EN- A. the Victims-Titey're Rivals OF
the Turks.
WEST KEY, Fla. Sept. @3. --Advices
from Cuba give details OF ticndish
massacre by Spaniards near Vegas
few days ago. The Havana papers re-
ported the affairas battle, ".in which
the Spaniards were victorious, but the
stories of eye-witnesses show that un-
armed men, women and children were
slaughtered without mercy. The facts
are as follows:
On September Is Col. Aguillena. with
500 Spanish troops, left his headquar-
ters at Nueva Paz near Vegas, on a
scouting expedition. About two
miles from Vegas the Spaniards
were fired on by Cubans in am
bush, and eight were killed. The Gu
bans then fed before the Spaniards re-
covered from their panic. Col. Aguil-
lena was greatly enraged at the attack
on his troops, and swore to make an
example of the next Cubans encoun-
tered
The Spaniards proceeded to Pablo
Diaz, and near there found family
composed of ?j men, women and chill
dren. Aguilena asked if they had
seen any rebels in the neighborhood.
On receiving negative answer he Or
dered general slaughter OF every
body, including children from one to
ten years old. A young man begged
TO be killed instead of his mother, who
was in the eighth month of pregnancy,
but he was killed with machetc and
bayonet in the presence of the mother.
Then they pierced the abdomen of the
mother with bayonet. after which
they disemboweled her with ma
chete.
The little children were first pricked
with the end of the bayonet, Their
finished with the machete. OF the
% human beings, 10 were butcherec
and six made their escape, hiding
themselves in the cane. where they re
mained until late at night. The
| Spanish soldiers bOasted of what they
had done when they went back to We
gas.
About two miles from the colony OF
September Is, three days after th'
slaughter, traveller passed by th'
spot of the murder and was horritiet
at the number of buzzards devourinl
the bodies. None of the bodies haC
been buried.
| On September IS Col. Aguillen;
started with his troops and the guer
rillas from Nueva Paz toward tn
sugar estate. Cuervo. Near a plac
called Cuzco he saw a house, went t.
it and found only three children in ii
He asked where the parents were
They answered they had gon
after some fuel to prepar
their breakfast and would 500
return The colonel ordere
the three children to be locked up il
the house, and after this was done h
ordered the guerrillas to set Are to tn
house. The guerrillas, Mortified, dis
obeyed at first, but under the threat
of Aguillena they acted, and the hous
was burned down with the childre
in it.
On their return to Nueva Paz tn
guerrillas told the people what ha
been done.
This information is from 4 Spanisl
source After the house was burned
; Aguillena went on aud met on hi
way man 70 years old. carryn!
vegetables, who was accompanies
by two negroes. lie was aske
where he was going. He answered h
was taking the vegetables home t
Nueva Paz. The colonel ordered hil
to be killed with the machete and tn
negroes also The body Of the ol
man was thrown into well near b.
, where he was found two days afte;
warS, traced by his hat that was foun
near the we'll. The bodies Of the tw
negroes were chopped to pieces an
thrown into q cave, where they WEI
found. All this was related by Sc
geant and the soldiers.