The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-30
DUE TO A CONSPIRACY
LETTER THAT THROWS LIGHT ON
THE WRECK OF THE MAINE.
Important Testimony That Was Sub
mitted to the Naval Court of
Inquiry at Havana.

WASHINGTON, March 30 An interest
ing feature of the published report of the
Maine testimony issued from the Govern
ment Printing Office to-day was the famous
Anonymous letter mentioned in the testi-
mony of Henry Drain the clerk of the
American consulate at Havana. The letter
was received by General Lee few days
after the Maine disaster 1t was dated Feb.
is, 1898, and signed IAN Admirer." 1t was
in Spanish written apparently by fairly
well educated person. The certified transla-
ton is as follows:
'It should be remembered that at dawn
of the day of the terrible catastrophe an in
dividual was killed in small boat, together
WITH another who was found wounded and
q prisoner. They were going about the
cruisers Maine and Alphonso XII, and as
the said individuals are OF the worst ante
cedents as harbor thieves l have interested
myself in investigating what connectloh TINS
occurrence could have had with the ex
plosion of the Maine, and nave discovered
that those two men, together with another,
who is called Pope Taco, had bought IN
hardware store in Mercaderes street called
La Marena, hose such as is used by divers,
and that the three left kegia IN snan
boat, which they placed under the WnarveS
of Santa Catalina and they were lettering
about more than an hour and half while
Pope Taco, who is a caIker and diver, prop
ably the best in these parts, did the work
to bring about the explosion of the Maine
With the data went to Regla and discoV-
ered tnat the FAMILY or the ueau man, WHO
lived in the utmost misery in a house In
Rodriguez Batista street, had moved TO
well-furniShed one on Gelebert street. There
1 learned that they had an agreement with
some merchants of Muralla street for the
work of blowing up the ship for the sum of
$6,CJ0-$2, 600 in advance and the other 1900
after seeing the result. But as they did not
come out or the adventure very Well, having
been attacked when they were retiring, the
result of which was the death of one, who
left his teeth in the boat, and another one
wounded.
sented himself to collect the rest of the
money, and it could be probably secretly
done that, by paying him the rest that the
others will not now pay him. he would de-
clare the truth of all this. The one whom
l called the third is the diver Pope Taco,
who is unwounded, who is no doubt afraid
to present himself to collect the rest
I'm Muralta street they tell me was the
place where the business was arranged with
Messrs. Garcia Corujedo Villasuso, Mari
bona and others whom | do not remember.
The man who is arrested is being admin
istered morphine constantly to see If he will
die and not give evidence, so as not, as they
express it, to spoil the affair after it has
come off so much to their taste
A. Mark, lieutenant commander United
States navy and judge advocate, testifes
that the foregoing is true copy of the let
ter. Drain, the consular clerk, stated in his
evidence that an effort was made to aScer-
tain the authenticity of this letter although
the consulate was handicapped, having no
secret service fund. Witness discovered,
however that the name Pope Taco must
had died a few days before the explosion
took place. Witness thought the name
should have been Pope Barquin, who had
died a couple days after the explosion.