Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-09-26

knows exactly how Tweed reached
Santiago when he should have been
in Jail attending to the expiration Of
various sins committed against the
treasury of the city of New York.
He found that life dragged in Lud-
low street, and he arranged to make
his escape Awaiting himself of the
lax rules of the prison, he drove up
to his house in Madison avenue for q
change of apparel, and subsequently
took passage on an American yacht,
which put him ashore upon the coast
of Cuba, after which she pursued her
course to Jamaica. History jealousy
guards the name of the yacht, and Mr..
Tweed never cared to dwell upon his
adventures in southern chimes.
He landed upon the scorching sands
of Cuba within 10 miles of our present
city of Santiago. The boss was &C
companied by man named Hunt,
who was supposed to have been a
faithful servant. He was, as a matter
of fact, a relative. Tweed had Sc
cured passport before his precipi-
tate departure. The document duly
recorded that the bearer was John
SecOr," an American citizen. Even
the childlike fisher folk who first har-
bored him suspected John Secor,"
and they watched him narrowly. He
aroused their cupidity by offering
them a gold piece to guide him into
the city of Santiago. The gold
tempted them, and they guided him
safely.
He requested the fishermen to lead
him to the nearest hotel. They made
sure of the gold piece which he had
offered them and then conducted IN
and his companion to police head
quarters. The fishermen were igno-
rant of the identity of the man, yet
they felt moderately sure that they
had trapped some one Tor whose cap
ture large sum might be paid.
Righteous indignation rested upon
the face of the Boss when he was
informed that he was under arrest
He sent at once for the United States
consul at Santiago and demanded to-
know what it meant that a worthy
American citizen should find himself
in such a predicament. The consul
examined the passports of John Sc
corr and made protest to the Span
ish authorities. In this he was Sec
onded by Mr. Ransden, the British
CONSUL Mr.. Tweed had in the mean
time been imprisoned on Spanish
war ship in the harbor. Through the
representations of the consuls he was
finally released.
John Secor" took up his residence
at one of the less pretentious hotels.
He and his companion did not mingle
much in the life of the Oldest Of
Spaniard settlements in this western
hemisphere. He was regarded with
suspicion, and even his champions,
the consuls, began to make furtive
inquiries about the observation-disclosures
ing parsonage who had come to them
in small boat. The news OF the es-
cape of Tweed had by that time
reached Cuba, and the United States
consul-general at Havana was max
ing inquiries.
Things reached such a pass that Mr..
Tweed concluded that he did not care
to longer remain in Santiago. A
Spanish bark was about to sail. John
Secor" applied for his passports.
Spanish officials transact business in
leisurely manner. They told him
they could not give him the docu-
ments in less than four days. So
from July % to July 26 the Spanish
bark was in waiting. Mr.. Tweed
cheerfully paid the demurrage
charges. He secured his passports
and set sail for Vigo, Spain.
Mr.. Hall, the consul-general, had
meantime convinced himself that
John Secor" was William M. Tweed.
His telegram to the Santiago police
ordering the arrest of Tweed did not
however, reach it's destination until
several hours after the BAR had
squared away for the coast of Spain.
Officers were waiting at the dock
when the bark arrived at Vigo, and
it was not long afterwarC that Tweed
was in a Spanish prison. He was
brought back to this county in No
vember, 1876 on the American man
of-war Franklin York Herald.