The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1898-03-31
TELLS OF A PLOT.
Text OF the Anony nous letter to Con-
sui General Lee

Text of the Anony nous letter to Con-
sui General Lee
WASHINGTON, March 80. An inter-
esting feature Of the published re-
port OF the Maine testimony, issued
from the government printing office
yesterday, was the famous anony-
nous letter mentioned in the testi-
mony of Henry Drain, clerk of the
American consulate at Havana. The
letter was received by General Lee n
few days after the Maine disaster. 1t
was dated February 1s 1898, and
signed IAN Admirer" IL was in
Spanish, apparently by fairly well
educated person. 1t follows:
ut should be remembered that, at
dawn of the day OF the terrible catas-
trophe, an individual was killed in a
small boat, together with another who
was found wounded and a prisoner.
They were going about the cruisers
Maine and Alphouso XII, and as the
said individuals are of the worst an
tecedents as Earbor thieves, l have
interested myself investigating what
connection this occurrence could have
with the explosion of the Maine,
and have discovered that those two
men, together with another who Is
called Pepe Taco, had bought in a
hardware store in Mcrcadores street,
called La Marina, a hose such as is
used by divers, and that the three
left Regla in n small boat, which they
placed under the wharves of Santa
Catalina, and they were lettering
about more than an hour and a half,
while Pepe Toca, who is callSer and
diver, probably tho best in these parts,
did the work TO bring about the explo-
sion of the Maine.
with the data, went to Regla,
and discovered that the family Of the
dead man, who lived in the utmost
misery in u house in Rodriguez Bas-
lisa street, had moved to well fur
nished one on Gelabert street. There
l learned that they had agreed with
some merchants Of Mrralla street for
the work of blowing up the ship for
So, G,0O0-S2, 600 in advance and the
other 81, 900 after seeing the result
But they did not come out of the
adventure very well, having been at
tackled when they were retiring, the
result Of which was the death OF one,
who left his teeth in the boat, and
another one wounded. The third one
has not yet presented himself to coll
lect the rest of the money, and it is
probable that II it could be secretly
done, by paying him the rest that the
others will not now pay him, he would
declare the truth Of all this The one
whom l called the third Ia the diver
Pepe Taco, who is unwounded, who Is
no doubt afraid TO present himself TO
collect the rest.
''In Murralla street, they tell me,
was the place where the business was
arranged with Garcia Corujedo, villa
sussa, Maribona and others whom !
do not remember The man who is
arrested is being administered with
morphine constantly 10 see II lac will
die and not give evidence, so as not,
they eXpros il, TO spoil the affair
after II has come of SO much to their
taste"
Drain, the consular clerk, stated in
his evidence that an effort was made
to ascertain the authenticity Of this
letter although the consulate was
handicapped, having no secret service
fund Witness discovered, however,
that the name Pepe Taco must have
been a mistake, as the man mentioned
had died a few days before the ex,
plosion took place. Witness thought
the name should have been Pepe Bar,
quin, who had died couple Of days
after tho explosion.