Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-03-22
A PAGE OF CUBAN HISTORY.
Atrocious Treatment of Americans
 by the Spanish in 1878.
Has Spanish Temper Changed?-The "vir- ginius'' Ruthless Slaughter of Prisoners Dying Men Trampied Under the
 Hoofs of Horses
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The Sehement Remuneration in the United States senate of Spanish cruel ties and bloodthirstiness in the conduct of the war against the Cuban patriots has called forth a storm of protest from the Spanish nation. Senor Dupuv de Bome, the able representative in Wash ington of his most catholic majesty, has even gone to the trouble of anaIyzing some of the accusations hurled at his eountrymen, and has succeeded in ex- posing minor errors of fact in Senator Sherman's presentation of the case against them. But here his success has ended; for tine evidence of Spain's reign of terror in the green girdIed isles is so overwhelming that mere juggling with words, mere diplomatic phrases, will be of little avail to stem the current of American public opinion now rapidly rising to flood tide.
 Is it to be supposed that the leopard has changed his spots; that Spain, which, twenty odd years ago. turned the fair Eden of the Antilles into a charnel house is to-day disposed to treat her down-trodden sons with common hu- manity-much less with ordinary jus tice! Many readers will recall some thing of the terrible ten-years war of 1S68-'76. It is not my intention to re- capitulate it's manifold horrors; but one event, printed in letters of blood, con eerns this country more directly, and at this juncture it is worth retelIing. It is fearful illustration of the persis- tent and tigerish ferocity of the race that gave the world an Ava and | Torguemada!
 Late in 1870, the Cuban revolutionary party purchased in New York a Clyde built iron sidewheel steamer, called the Virgin" and rechristening her "Vfr- ginius," fitted her up as a cruiser and transport for landing men and supplies on the island of Cuba; and in the follow ing year she sailed on her first expedi- tion under orders from Gen. Raphael Quesada, the revolutionary chief. She succeeded on this occasion in landing a force near Santiago de Cuba, and rem dered similar services some time later. In the fall of 1873, an expedition on q still larger scale was planned by the revolutionary committee, and on 0cto- Der of that year 175 volunteers and a full complement of able seamen. the ma iority native Americans. left New York to embark on the Virginius. then lying in the harbor of Kingston, Jamaica. The ship was commanded by Capt Joseph Fry, of Louisiana. who had dis tingu1shed himself as blockade runner during the civil war; and among the revolutionary leaders who boarded her at Kingston were Gen. ". \. C. Ryan. q native New Yorker, who had already fought in Cuba; Pedro Cespedes. q young brother of Carlos Manuel Cespedes, ,presi- dent of the Cuban republic. and Gems. Jesus del Sol and Varona, prominent patriots.
 It was the 24th day of October, 1873- take the story from reliable contem- poraneous aecounts-that the Virginius steamed out of Kingston harbor. The original intention W as to sail direct for the shores of Cuba, but a damage to the machinery necessita'ed a stoppage at Port au Prince, Hayti. A second start was made on October 90. Meanwhile the Spanish consul at Kingston had been keeping watch on the movements of the cruiser, and this resulted in Gov Burriel, of Santiago de Cuba, order ing the commander of the warship Tor. nado to sail in quest of her. On the morning of the 31st, the Spanish vessel sighted the flibuster on the high sea. The former was at the time under full sail with little steam on, as her engine was undergoing repairs. The captain of the Nirginus mistook the enemy for an ordinary sailing craft, and did not alter her course until too late. At two o'clock in the afternoon the Tornado,s engineer announced that his repairs were completed. Thereupon the chase began in earnest, the warship heading for the Virginius under full steam. At this point the filibusters suddenly re- aIized their danger, and started to make a run for the Jamaica coast.
 By strange lack of foresight on the part of her commander the Nirginius had run short of coal; but as it was an issue of life or death, no eXertion was spared to reach the protection of the British waters. To supply the lack of fuel all the greasy substances on board, such as oil, fat and hams, from the provision stores, were thrown into the furnaces; all the weapons, the horses and the cargo were consigned to the waves. But all to no avail. Even the coming on of night proved of little ben eft to the fugitives, for the moon rose n full tropical splendor. Finally toward ten in the evening shell was sent across the bows of the ill-fated cruiser. There was now no alternative; sur render was unavoidable. Presently two armed boats from the Tornado came alongside, and taking possession ot the Virginius, made all on board prisoners
 The first order of the Spanish officer in charge was to lower the American flag, and hoist in it's place the spanish ensign notwithstanding the fact that Capt. Fry presented his papers, dem