The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-11-23
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Enthusiastically Received by Their
New York Friends.
HOW QUEsADA ESCAPED DEATH,

~
the spanish Army-Captain Laborde
Denies the stories ofCruelty I'm Span
ish Prisons-Melton's Surprise.
New York, Nov. 23.-The steamer sar-
atoga, from Havana, having on board
the released members of the Competi-
tor fHbustering expedition, arrived
here last evening. The men are Cap
ain Alfredo Laborde, William Gildea,
Ona Melton, William Leavitt and
Charles Barnett. an Englishman. The
men are in fairly good health and eX-
cellent spirits. Captain Laborde suffers
somewhat from paralysis, which he
contracted during his long confinement
in the Cabanas fortress. Joseph A.
Springer, the United states vice consul
at Havana was also a passenger on the
Saratoga. Mr.. Springer declined to
talk for publication.
The released men wore clothes in
which they were clad at the time of
their capture on April 25, 1896, at Ber-
races, San Cayetano, Cuba.
Another happy passenger on the Sar-
atoga was Julio Arteago Quezada, the
young Cuban insurgent who was or
dered to be shot by Weyler, but was
pardoned by General BlancO, a friend
Of the prisoners father.
The six men who had escaped the
fate of the Virginius captives were
greeted upon their arrival in New York
by an enthusiastic crowd, who gave
them a hearty welcome. The poor
wretches were too weak to respond to
the cheers which had been given in
their honor. Their friends cried for joy
as they grasped the hands Of the re-
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en-, faces pallid and forms emaciated.
In telling the story of his release
young Quesada declared that it vas
owing to information he possessed re-
garding two Spanish generals. After
detailing the manner of his capture and
his sentence to death he continued:
1T was at this juncture that my
knowledge stood me in good stead.
Two prominent Spanish generals, one
a brigadier general whose name I do
not care to mention, and General Aro-
las. concerned themselves in my release.
They feared me because they knew ]
had disclosures to make which would
ruin them. They thought that if I had
to die I would tell what l knew. These
men are either base towards or desire
to hold their positions overcame their
scruples.
''They were in constant c~ommunica-
ton with the insurgent generals, hav-
ing written letters to them, which I
saw while in the Pinar del Rio district,
in which they stated that they wanted
to make arrangements by which Span
ish soldiers would not be attacked in
the districts controlled by them. In
return the insurgents were to nav free
access to the trocha and be permitted
to pass it at will. This proposition was
accepted, and in this way we were able
to keep in constant communication
with Gomez, Maceo and Garcia"
The friends of young Quesada were
surprised to learn that be had secured
his release by giving away a secret
which betrayed the allies of the in
surgents in the Spanish army. It was
this information, and not General
Blanco's friendship for the late Profess
sor Quesada, that secured his pardon.
Probably the most wretched of the
Competitors crew was Ona Melton, the
newspaper correspondent, whose lnten-
ton, on going to Cuba, was not to par
ticipate in the war, but to represent
the true situation in that country.
In describing his capture and subse-
quent treatment Melton said that when
the first shot was fired by the Spanish
gunboat he and two of his companions
lowered a small boat and tried to es-
cape. They were pursued and captured
q short distance from the shore. On
board the gunboat they were cruelty
bound with ropes and were prodded
with sharp pointed sticks, which pune
tured their flesh. They were after
wards thrown into a cell and fed but
once a day. After the first six days
the prisoners were permitted to see
Consul Williams, and were fed twice a
day, but just the sort of the food it
was Melton is still unable to say. 1t
barely supported life, that was all.
After the respite Melton said he and
his companions were placed in a large
cell containing 40 other prisoners, both
political and criminal, in the Cabanas
fortress, and there he remained in
trembling and fear. Las Thursday
afternoon he was aiken out of the dun
geon as he supposed to be shot, but in
the corridor he met Consul General Lee,
who, to Melton's surprise, informed him
that all of the Competitor prisoners had
been pardoned,
Captain Laborde, speaking of his
prison life, said: 1.-The stories of cruel
ties in the Spanish prisons are utterly
unfounded. I have been there long
enough to know. The jailers were as
kind as could be expected, and Matteo
Fernandez, the warden of Cabanas, was
especially Kind and c~onsiderate, so
much so that we called him father
We knew more about what was going
on than you did. How did we learni
Well, 1 can't tell that, as it might hurt
those I nave left behind. Yes, Ameri-
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