The record-union., 1898-05-04

ounces of bread and handful Of dried
beans.'
The news Of the. sufferings Of these
men reached Sir Charles Cotton, the
English Admiral at Minorca. and al
though according. to international law
it was no affair of his, he sent Mrs.
Latimer's. father, then in command of
the Minorca, sloop of war, to make a
report to hirp on the subject. She thus
describes their sufferings: Almost all
of them were naked. Two French Off
GERS, a Major and a Captain, swan off
to the ship as she approached the land
ing place; they were taken on board
fed, clothed, made comfortable and my
father gave them passage to Minorca,
where Sir Charles soon after arranged
for their exchange. The sailors of the
Minorca, struck with pity and horror,
subscribed three days rations for the
sufferers. Sir Charles Cotton, on hear
ing the report, at once had the Minor
cas- deck loaded with black cattle, and
sent her back to land them at Cabrera.
She reached the island at one of those
periods when the bread boat had been
delayed and as the English ship APP
preached, every tack she, made which
seemed to take her out of her course
was watched with the utmost agitation.
The sick and dying had been brought
down TO the sea shore by their debili-
tated comrades, and were encouraged
to fix their eyes on her approach that
they might live till food arrived. She
let go her anchor within two hundred
yards of the little beach, and in a mo-
ment the sea was alive with men swim
ming out to her. Not only were the
cattle landed, with a supply Of food for
immediate use, but slops were served
out to many a wretch wholly destitute
of clothing"
This horrible condition of affairs was
brought to the attention Of the Govern
ment of Spain by. England, and mat
ters improved in Cabrera during the
few months the prisoners continued to
remain upon the island After the
treaty Of Valencay, at the close of
1913, they were released.
In describing the cruelties practiced
on French soldiers by the Spanish peas
antry, Theirs says that they were some
times put between two planks and
sawn asunder; they were mutilated and
tortured in every way; sometimes they
were hung up by the arms, While fire
was lighted beneath their feet, and
other similar atrocities were commit
ted
During the first Carlist war, when
Carnicer was succeeded by Cabrera, the
war became a butchery. In an article
in "Blackwood's Magazine" September.
1916, the writer says: Thenceforward
the infant in the cradle the bedridden
old man, the pregnant matron, were in
cluded among its victims. A mere sus-
picion of liberal opinions. the posses
sion of a guardsman's uniform, glass
of water given to a wounded Christine,
a distant relationship to partisan OF
the Queen, was sentence of death. The
rules of civilized warfare were set at
naucs7t and Cabrera, in obedience to
his sanguinary instincts, committed MS
murders. not only when they might
possibly advance, but even when they
must positively injure, the cause OIL
him whom he styled sovereign. Those
days that 1 do not shed blood, said he
in JuIv. 1887, when waiting in the
ante-chamber' of Don Carlos among
group of Carlist Generals, 1 have not
good Digestion During the five years
of his command his digestion can rare
lv have been troubled"
In Cuba. during Pieltan's administra-
tion in 1878. an American steamer, the
Virginius, with supplies OF men anu
arms for the insurgents, was captured
bv the Spaniards. Fifty-three OF those
on board were instantly executed, IN
Guiding the Captain; and the hundreo
and two survivors would have peen