The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-15

AOA Tia lHt SitkcnlHk tfkuts We inn
seen caused this announcement to MI
us with horror. Not a man was be-
Ing acquitted. every one killed. We
had been compelled to see them shot
In all manners. Sometimes the order
was to place the muzzles Of the guns in
their mouths, and their brains were
thus blown out. other times they were
lined bach against the walls. and after
q hollow mockery Of religion had been
rome through with they were riddled.
You have seen the pictures Of Maximil-
lian's execution: that was the way most
of them went. and they died bravely,
but X dumb beasts led to slaughter.
"Brt h worst sight. and the n
that terrified us most. was the death in
ficted upon General Lopez. He was
garroted. 1t was one of those slow
processes in which the garroter. who
can dispatch a man by a turn OF the
screw, prolongs h agony for hours. 1t
was terrible-it makes my blood freeze
when / recall the scene. His last
words were: I die for my Cuba AZ
ter passing through this theater Of hor-
rors l can appreciate. to a slight de-
gree, at least. the horror of Spanish
rule, vanity and cruelty.
1t was the morning before u trial.
The turnkey of our division was a very
old Spaniard. and 1 often tried to en-
gage him in a conversation In different
languages, but he would always shake
his head asked him IL there was a
German consul in Havana, blu he only
repeated, Consul Consul n shook
his head. I have a little German blood
in my veins. and, though IL Is covered
with the American. IL served me well
in that incident. Then / said to him,
Ambassador Prussia n he nodded
his head. Every morning at about
s O'Clock he would bring us a loaf OF
dark bread. II looked as IL 1t was
made out of oats. and we found oat
chan In IL. He usually opened u cell
door and handed us a jug of water and
threw US in our loaf.
But this morning he brought our
bread wrapped in paper. l told Wealth.
ers they were getting stylish In serv-
ing bread with paper on 1t. BY that
time weathers had torn OF a piece OF
the bread and put 1t in his mouth. He
ripped out a big oath and said: Yes
the scoundrels want to feed US on nails
now ] told him he was getting crazy.
why, look here he said, and ne
handed me = piece of wood about an
inch and a half long. 1 went to the
key hole in the door. which was the
only light we had. and. 10 n behold.
I held a piece of lei pencil In my
hand. 1t then began to dawn on me
what that paper meant that was
wrapped around the bread. I took II
and tore off a piece and wrote a note
to the Prussian consul. I cannot recol-
lect what 1t was now. but you can well
surmise the purport. The turnkey re-
turned that afternoon and l wanted to
give the note to him. but he wouldn't
take 1t. My heart sank n I never
felt so forlorn. l tried to press II on
him. but to no avail. and at last in an
agony of mind / unthinkingly crumpled
and threw it into the basket inc then
sank down on the straw and cried like
a child.
THAT evening. at the usual time for
the turnkey. l heard a strange noise in
h gangway. which was laid with
stone tagging. 1t sounded like metal
striking the rock. Directly the key
turned in the cell door n 1t opened.
Before M in the dusk I could maxi
out the form of our turnkey, but with
him stood a tall gentleman. covered
with a black cloak that reached almost
to the floor. I saw the tip of a scab-
bard showing out, hence the noise I
had heard. 1t was the Prussian con-
sui. I realized that my note had
reached the right point. and there is
one Spaniard In this world. IL he In still
alive, that I W my life to. After ask
ing questions where / was born. when
/ came over and how l rot there, he
said: I will do the best I can for
you. but IL will be a difficult case.
These Spaniards are a blood-th1rsty
people
He then turned to my partner and
asked him where he came from. Being
a Tennesseean he could not understand
the German. The consul understood
the case at a glance. but he whispered
to me that II would be well for us to
pretend to be brothers and for me to do
the talking. He succeeded In having our
trials postponed and we were finally ac-
quilted. He afterward furnished us
transportation to New Orleans. He even
got US our accoutrements and ! brought
mine home with Inc. i afterward learn
ed that of all the 400 only Weathers and
/ escaped death. I had with my own
eyes seen over $50 of them murdered.
and the others shared the same fate.
Weathers. however. was broker In
health by the strain m the damp cells
and died shortly. so l am the only m
of the flibusters left to tell the story.
When we sailed out of Havana harbor
that day we knel and thanked an all
governing infinite power. and when we
saw the stars and stripes as we steamed
into New Orleans we wept like children.
MORO castle so years ago vas thought
to be one Of the most formidable forts
in the world. 1t carried guns of heav-
lest caliber. To me IL fills every require
ment Of a model hell"