St. Paul daily globe., 1896-04-18
THREE PRISONERS OF WAR Exc
CUTED IN THE FORTRESS OF
CABANAS.
ALL MET DEATH BRAvELY.
ONLY ONE OF THE MEN WAS
KILLED BY THE FIRST VOL
LEY,
CONVICTED OF 1NcEND1AR1sM.
The Victims Were Insurgents Con-
nected With the Band of Zayas,
That Attacked Managua.

HAVANA, April 17.-Three prisoners of
war, Gregorio Borges, Estaban Hernandez
and Jose Bacallao were executed this morn
ing at the Cabanas fortress. They belonged
to the insurgent band, commanded by Zayas
and were captured by the soldiers of the
Arapiels battalion during the attack made by
the enemy on Managua, this province. Bor-
ges, while in the death chapel of the fortress,
was very nervous and would only drink a
little lemonade. Hernandez displayed ad-
mirable coolness. He presented DR.. Gomez,
who had been appointed to care for the pris-
oners, with yellow belt, and asked him to
write to his mother and beg her to pardon
him for his misdeeds. while assuring her that
he died In the bosom of Christianity. Bacal-
lao, in his deathbed, as he termed 1t, seemed
full Of life. He tried to run away from the
chapel. as If by SO doing he could shorten his
period Of torture by being shot and killed by
the soldiers on guard. But he was watched
so closely by the officers on duty that 1t was
impossible for him to carry out his inten-
tion.
Bacallao and Hernandez confessed to sew
eral priests, having been entreated to conform
to all religious customs This caused Bacallao
to remark: What is the use of conforming
In my case, Father, considering that within a
short time have to die?'
At o'clock the square was ready and the
troops were drawn up under Maj. Justiz
The prisoners were conducted there in the
usual solemn manner. Bacallao and Her
nandez were courageous and cool, but Bor-
ges, who had been so nervous In the chapel
and who had refused any stimulant with his
breakfast, turned out to be the bravest of
all, and met his fate with the most remark
able courage. Bacallao smoked a cigar dur
ing his last moments and calmly threw it
away as he knelt down with his face to the
wall and his back toward the firing squad.
pockets and coolly turned his head toward
the soldiers who were to shoot him. Her
nandez attentively watched the shadows Of
the soldiers on the wall in front of him.
When all was ready the officer in command
of the squad lifted his sword. The rifles were
aimed. There was another movement Of the
sword, and the report Of the volley echoed
from the fortress walls. Borges was killed
outright but Hernandez and Bacallao writhed
on the ground after the shooting, and 1t was
found necessary to finish Hernandez with one
more shot. Two more shots were necessary
to send Bacallao to his account. When the
execution was over and the bodies had been
carried away, the crowds on the fortress
heights silently wended their way to more
congenial scenes, and only three pools Of
dark blood, half hidden by sand strewn over
them by the soldiers, remained to mark the
place where three more of the insurgent
army had fallen for Cuba. 1t is true that
there were few more bullet marks on tho
fortress walls, but few such tokens more
or less are of but little account in these days
and arouse little or no interest among the
passerby. All three Of the men executed to-
day had been charged with incendiarism and
had been convicted of that crime. They took
part in the attack on Managua, as already
told, as members of a so-called insurgent
band, and naturally property was destroyed
by fire.
Mr.. Williams, the United States consul gen.
eral, has made active efforts today to see
Bishop Diaz, but this has proved to be i'm
possible, as the bishop is still cut off from
communication.