The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-04-29
THE FAMOUS LOPEZ FlLL,BUSTERS,
Cant. ]. j. Allies, a Dubois County Vete.
ran, One Of Only Two out OF I50 VOL
unteers Who Were Not Shot
His RecolIections Of Spanish Barbarity
Which Has Made Spain Infamous.
lis Pity France. England and P"rtugh'
do Not Destroy the Blot aud Parcel
the Territory Between Them.

U ~
DO Not Destroy the Blot aud Parcel
the Territory Between Them.
Capt. J. j Allies, veteran OF the
10Th Ind. Vols, in the late rebel
lion, writes entertainingly TO the
Huntingburg Argus as follows
CELEsTINE, ND, Apr. 1G, '9S.
For the Argus -
Yours Of the 1lth inst. came to
hand and in answer will try TO COM
ply with your request.
In the year 1850, in the month OF
November, | went to New Orleans
with a raf<of timber from the lazOo
swamps, and on my arrival found
they were organizing an expedition
to assist the Cubans to their free
dom. |, being young and anxious
for adventure, joined them as did
also my partner, Robert Weathers,
of Tennessee, under General Mar
cesso Lopez. We were paid $50
down and if we succeeded in freei lg
the island, were to have farm
apiece. :,
There were nearly four hundred
of Us end we went into camp be-
tween the u. :. barracks and Jack
son battle gr ,und. We were under
regular military regulations and dis
cipine and could not 90 to the city
without pass. After camping
there two or three weeks Pres. Fill
more issued IA proclamation stating
that the United States was not at
war with Spain, and all these who
would 90 to Cuba would rot be pro-
tected by the Government, and Tor
us to Immediately disband. OF
course we were not allowed to know
about this. The same night OF the
proclamation came an old ship, |
believe her name was Pompero,
landed in front of our camp and we
were ordered aboard. The next
. morning we were ninety miles be-
|, low New Orleans anchored in the
Gulf of Mexico. After about ten
hours we lifted anchor and moved
, further out into the gulf.
Our officers, it seemed, were
afraid the Government would send
|, vessels after us and take Us back.
SO YOU see the Government had
, nothing to do with the affair, it was
a filibustering trip, pure and simple,
r started by spectators from New
! York, Baltimorc and Philadelphia,
/ and other places, and the date OF
! meeting and place of rendezvous
. were all arranged before hand at
J cer,ain point out in the gulf. The
/ orders to move had not come wher
, we left but we could not stay Longer
under the circumstances. We cir
cled around in the gulf waiting fol
the other companies to arrive at thu
| place of rendezvous, when one nice
! morning a Spanish cruiser came
, along and gobbled us up and tool
! us prisoners to Havana. There W.
; were put in Moro Castle, the historic
: battlements that bave been talked
: so much about lately. The othe
Z companies on hearing the news 0
q our misfortune disbanded anC
; STAYED at home. The most OF u'
:. were raftsmen and steam and Goa
boatmen-a pretty tough set.
Our officers were all Spaniarc
living in Cuba. My captains nam'
/. was Rodrigez. They told us whel
g we enlisted that when we got t
d Cuba all the people would be ou
d friends and would join us in fight
sing the Spaniards, but we found
J. quite otherwise, all the Cuban
r seemed our bitterest enemies, whicl
J. showed that Cuba was not ripe a
@ that time for free government.
O About two weeks after our i'm
u prisonment they convened cour
i martial and we were called on 10
e trial. We called on the American
e consul to assist us. | believe hi
5 name was Russell. He came to Sc
,r us. not as consul, but as a privat
!, citizen. He told us he was yer
J. sorry for us and regretted very niue
[. that he could do nothing for Us
i that he was instructed not to intel
,e fere. So the court went on. The
Y, appointed a Span;ard as Our ludg
~ advocate and when through tn
" mockerr of trial they had foun
IS from twenty-five to fifty guilty, the
10 would order them shot and the r
~ mainder of us had to march out
at the yard and witness the revoltll
he and sickening scene. After abo'
$50 Of our company had been she
our turnkey told my partner and