The evening times., 1897-02-03
LOPEz's TALE Of TORTUREs
He Was Made to Suffer Many
CrueltieS i'm a Cuban Prison.
HIS WIFE AND SON WITH HIM
They Were Banished to Spain and
Managed to Escape Weyler Tried
to COerce Them Into revealing
Secrets, But He Was Unsuccess-
full in the Effort.

'''ODN
ing tale OF Spanish cruelty, barbarous tor
ture and OF heroic Cuban endurance that has
yet been told was unfolded yesterday by
Capt. Alfonso Lopez, who, with his wife
and tenyear-old boy, arrived here from
France Monday, on La Bretagne.
Senor Lopez was the leader OF the Cuban
Junta at Havana, just as Gen. Tomas Es-
trada. Palma is it's head in this city No
more important diplomatic post is in the
gift of the Cuban republic than that which
was intrusted to Senor Lopez, and no one
of the patriots was more fit to occupy it
than he. Young, OF brilliant mind, learned
in the law and a social leader, Alfonso
Lopez sacrificed all to take up the cause of
the Cubans.
He was "a man OF great wealth and pos
sessed of many large plantations on the
fruitful island. His sweet faced wife, she
was Senorita Maria Josefa Garcia, was
known as the belle of the Island of Cuba.
Senor Lopez is thirty-seven years old. He
looks all of fifty. The terrible hardships
and tortures to which he was subjected
have tinged his hair with silver and fur
Towed his brown face.
Alfonzo Lopez de Santa Marina was ar
rested by agents OF Gen. Weyler on April
16 in Matanzas, and put into a dun
geon in the Castle San Savarino His
young wife was also taken and was sub
jeCtcd TO the greatest indignities. She was
put in the dirtiest part Of the prison, hud
died in a small cell with fallen women,
negrcsses and the lowest creatures OF
humanity.
The soldiers ins ulted her every day and
threatened what she dreaded more than
death IL she refused to give up her hus-
bands secrets OF state. Still she main
tanned a heroic silence, and finally was
allowed 60 20. only tO be rearTested.
The captain was putin the common town
jail, most unhealthy place, where he
would have died had m not chosen the al
tentative OF going willingly TO the Ca
banas and remain ''inccmmunicado.' This
awful lonelinels continued for twent y-two
days.
During this time l was tortured beyond
description, said Capt Lopez. Zone of
tile many agonies endured was the awful
bow -strng--thc most frghtful torture l can
imagine 1t squcezcs tie brain. But my
brain was beng squeezed by the fear that
my child would he cut to pieces and my
wife's honor snatched from her by those
brutes
After they had wantonly destroyed all
my furniture and personal property they re-
moved ME to that terrible MORO Castle,
where l was "a fellow prisoner with the men
OF tie Competitor. Afterward was taken
from there to the police station in the filthy
Black Maria. During all this time, although
apparently good care was taken of me, |
was sub jeCted to TIE most tantalizing treat
ment.
lone example OF tie depths of their lit
tleness is this: One Sergt Barcello, No.
233 OF tic Second Company of Police,
placed a glass OF beautiful, sparkling water
Just out OF my reach through the bars OF
my cell, AMI had not had drop OF water
for days and days. My parched tongue
Glove to the roof OF my mouth as groaned
for the water that | could not get
"'Ha! hal laughed the brutal wretch,
'Groan on rebel; you will die OF thirstv
This is the man who took leading part
in the notorious massacre of Guato. where
fifty or sixty non-combatants were in
hUrnanely put to death in cold blood
senor Lopez was originally arrested on
suspicion OF being implicated with an
American in planning TO lead force of in
surgents into MatanZas. He was also-On
general prncipleT-charged with general Sc
dition, although it was not known by the
Spanish authorizes that he was a leader in
the Junta.
At last, after months of torture, Weyler
was unable to obtain evidence against the
captain and his wife sufficient o put them
to death SO on their promise to remain
neutral to the end of the war-a promise
they never meant to keep-they were de-
Ported to Cadiz. Spain, on October 4.
On the voyage they were treated no bet
ter than the dogs. They succeeded in
escaping at Cadiz by bTibing the Tolice
with what little II mouey the Spanish sailors
had not stolen from them on their way
over. They walked to Bayonne, across the
steep Pyreuees, through snow and ice.
They managed to beg enough to reach
Paris, and were finally sent to this country.