Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-10-15
DECKER, THE HERO.
REsCUER OF MISS CIsNEROs AR
RIvEs AT NEW YORK.
HOW he FREED THE SENORITA.
Clever Performance of the Young
Lady I'm Avoiding suspicion-Wey-
Ter Mad when He Learned of the
Escape.

NEW YORK. October 1L-Karl Decker,
one of the rescuers OF Evangelina Cossio
Y Cisneros from the Casa del Recojidas,
Habana. arrived in this city on the Span
ish line steamship Panama this after
noon. He was met down the bay by a
number of newspaper men. and SAID:
"I was commissioned to go to Cuba
and deliver Senorita Cisneros from the
filthy prison. I started from New YORK
August 2sth, determined TO free the wo-
man. though / did not see my way clear
as to the adoption of any plan. After
reaching Habana. many plans suggested
themselves to me, but each one proved
impracticable. j tried to bribe the jailer,
or alcalde, but he wanted $4,000 for the
lob. and positive assurance that he
and his family could get to the United
States. This was too rich a proposition
for me-"
Mr.. Decker repeated the story of the
rescue from the jail. as already told in
his dispatches, and then related what
happened after the girl was out of the
prison. He said:
when Senorita Cisneros entered our
shanty adjoining the jail we let her rest
a few moments, and then took her 10
carriage waiting outside, and drove TO the
house of friend. The friend was hold-
ing a reception that night, which was
part of the plot. The man who drove
the carriage was one OF the conspirators.
Senorita Cisneros was exhausted from
excitement when she reached the house,
but she did not give way.
"On Thursday morning she was taken
to the home of a friend, where she re-
mained in secrecy until Saturday after
noon. To reach the steamer for New
York she was obliged to walk down
Obispo street. the principal thoroughfare
of Habana, at a time when the street
was crowded, and yet take her time
and smoke a cigar. If she had skulked
about the back streets she would imme-
diately have been suspected. II was
over mile from the house to the pier
She had a passport made out under
name assumed. All the steamships an
chor out in the stream. Senorita Cisne-
ros walked down from the house, clad as
a rancher and my companion and L
followed behind. She sauntered along
leisurely, and once i'm awhile turned about
to see IL we were following. We mo-
toned her to go on. She grew more
confident as she went along, but We
could see that she was under a strain.
She got on the launch, and we waited,
and when the launch returned from the
vessel and she was not on 1t, we knew
that the scheme had worked like a charm.
WEYLER WAS MAD.
1.-THE day after the jail-break there was
a stir over the escape of the Senorita,
to I, rob.
and would have been kept up had not a
telegram from Minister Dupuy de LONE,
at Washington, informed Weyler that the
girl was on the high seas, and expected
any day i'm New York. Then Weyler
was mad. He threw the jailer. Jose Quln-
tan. into Jail, whereupon the jailer told
about my attempting TO bribe him. This,
in connection with the surmise OF De
Lone placed suspicion on me.
81 gave IT out that i was going TO take
steamer for Mexico. There was only
one steamer leaving Sunday. and that
was a Spanish steamer l waited for
instructions from New York. and had
almost made up my mind to start, in
structions or no instructions. MY IN
structions came, happily. My passport
was made out In the name OF Kari
Decker. In order to take the Panama
SUNDAY DlBnl anu lh' So"heASNf -
was necessary TO get my passport vised,
ard stamped with the seal OF the secre'
tary of the Captain-Cieneral. L knew
that my passport would never be signed,
ana I learned that an order for my ar
rest was determined on, and that [ was
TO be arrested at o'clock Monday morn
ing. I was in bad pickle. l got q
glimpse of the writing Of Senior Carnival.
the secretary Of Weyler, and L copied
II so that | had ii down fine. Then L
forged the wise signature. / determined
TO do without seal.
"At the last moment | went to the
wharf and took the launch for the
steamship. The inspector looked at my
passport and asked where the seal was.
/ assumed a nonchalant air, and told
him that Senior Casjoval was at the In
glaterra Hotel, and having no seal, he
signed his name to statement, saying
IL was all right. The inspector hesitated,
and showed the. signature to another
inspector He said All right and
was safe.
THE Spanish authorities never thought
for a moment that l would take a Span-
ish steamer. Nearly all the Americans
take the American line. They did not
think to guard the Panama and watch
for me-"
THE SENIORITY RECEIVES.
Senorita Cisneros received a number
of visitors al the Hotel Waldorf to-day.