The record-union., 1898-05-25
SUPPOSED SPANISH SPY.
Important Arrest by a U. S. Mar
shall at Key West.

KEY WEST F1a), May 24.-S:30
p. m.-An important arrest of a sup
posed Spanish spy was made last even
ing by United States Marshal Hoar.
The prisoner is Romigno Salpero Jim
inez, who was among those captured
on the steamer Panama, and has since
been held prisoner of war.
Jminez is supposed to have obtained
information concerning New York Hor-
Dor and it's defenses, with charts of the
harbOr, which he is attempting to get
to the Spanish authorities He IS
about 10 years old, a Spaniard and a
civil engineer.
Late this evening Marshal Hoar, with
several deputies and United States
Commissioner Otto, received informa-
ton from the north, in consequence
of which they slipped quietly out to the
Panama, arrested Jiminez and brought
him ashore. He was taken to the Key
West Hotel, and put through vigorous
examination in private.
Jiminez stoutly denied the accusation
that he was a spy, but his story was
of such a contradictory nature that
it confirmed the suspicious of the Fed
eral authorities. The examination will
held under arrest meanwhile.
The Panama case was before the
court to-day Arrangements on both
sides were heard and Judge Locke re-
served decision 1t has been decided
that such ships as are held to be legit-
innate prizes of war shall be sent north
for sale so as to bring better prices.
This will probably not be done, how
ever, until all the cases have been fin
ally determined.
new aspect was given to-day to the
engagement at Cardenas, where En-
sign Bagley and four men Of the Uni
ted States torpedo boat Winslow were
killed, by statement of Insurgent Col
oneI John J. iowa, who has been fight
ing under General Gomez. Colonel iowa
has been in Cardenas since the engage
ment, and he says the mortality on the
Spanish side was by no means so great
as reported at that time in the United
States. According to his information.
which seems to be corroborated by the
testimony of other Cubans taken aboard
from Cardenas by the vessels of the
bIockading fleet, only nine persons were
killed on the Spanish side. A shell
from one of the American ships fell
on one of the streets of the town, kill
ing two women and three children,
while three sailors and one medical Of
ficer on a Spanish gunboat fell under
fire of the Americans.
The firing from the shore was not
from a masked battery, but from the
three Spanish gunbOats, to attack
which the WinslOw was sent in. Two
of them were disabled, but not perma-
nently and the third ran away, ac-
cording to Jova's information. NO
fewer than three Spanish flags were
brought down by the stray shots from
the Wilmington's guns. One shell
struck the fiagpole on the Casino, IN
the heart of the town, crashing
through the roof and exploding in
China shop below. The place was
wrecked. but no one was hurt. The
second flag to come down was flying
in the Spanish barracks and the third
from a building formerly used by the
American Consul, flying defiantly on
the very pole where the Stars and
Stripes had once waved.
1850 o. m.-The United States auxil-
iary tug Waumpatuck brought in to-
day a story of a sharp skirmish off
Santiago de Cuba last Wednesday, The
tug with the auxiliary cruiser st.
Louis, went into the Santiago Chan
mel to cut the cable. While the ves-
sells were engaged in the work, they
were fired upon by the shore bat
teries The St Louis returned the fire
and a lively fusilade ensrad for about
half an hour. The Waum patuck even
tually succeeded in cutting the cable.
None of the Spanish shots hit either
boat while neither of the boats in turn
inflicted any damage on the enemy.
From Santiago the two ships proceeded
to Guantanamo, the Waumpatuck go
ing in about four hundred yards from
shore to cut the cable there, the st.
Louis lying out of range. The shore
batteries again opened fire and the
st. Louis signaled the tug to come out
which she did, without having cut the
cable at that point. This adventure
was equally harmless. Accounts of it
reached here to-day in a grossly ex-
aggerated form, including report tnat
the cruiser and the little tug had si-
fenced the Spanish batteries on shore.