The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-07
Tweed Fled to snntingo.

Santiago was once a very warm place
for a distinguished person. William Marcy
Tweed by name. He did not take the
town by assault, but was conveyed into It
by benevolent fishermen, who found him
wandering sunburnt and forlorn upon the
desolate Cuban coast Cottages and huts
are occasionally pointed out as the abode
of the great boss" who fed from Lud-
low street jail to make his home among a
strange people
Nobody knows exactly how Tweed
reached Santiago when he should have
been in Jail attending to the expiation of
various sins committed against the treas
ury Of the City of New York.
He found that life dragged in Ludlow
street. and he arranged to make his es-
cape. Awaiting himself of the lax rules
of the prison, he drove up to his house in
Madison avenue for a 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 up
on his adventures in Southern clmes.
He landed upon the scorching sands of
Cuba within ten miles of our present City
of Santiago. The boss was accompanied
by man named Hunt, who was supposed
to have been a faithful servant He was,
as a matter of fact. relative.
Tweed had secured a passport before his
preclpitate departure The document duly
recorded that the bearer was John Sc
cor an American citizen. Even the
child-like fsherfolk who first harbored
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 him and his compan-
ion to police headquarters. The fishermen
were ignorant of the Identity of the men,
yet they felt moderately sure that they
had trapped someone, for whose capture
a 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 San
tiago and demanded to know what it
meant that a worthy American citizen
should find himself in such predicament.
The consul examined the passports of
John Secor," and made protest to the
Spanish authorities. In this he was sec
oned by Mr. Ramsden, the British consul.
Mr.. Tweed had in the meantime been i'm
prsoned on a Spanish warship In the har-
DOT. through the representations Oh 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 mngle much in
the life of the oldest Of Spanish settle
ments in this Western Hemisphere He
was regarded with suspicion, and even
his champions, the consuls began to
make furtive inquiries about the benevO-
lent-looking parsonage who had come to
them in a small boat The news Of the
escape of Tweed had by that time reached
Cuba and the United States consul-gen-
eral at Havana was making searching in
quiries.
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" APP
piled for his passports Spanish officials
transact business In a eisurely manner
They told him that they could not give
him the documents in less than four days.
So from July p TO July 26 the Spanish
bark was IN waiting. Mr. Tweed cheer
fully paid the demurrage charges He
secured his passports and set sail for
Nigo, Spain.
Mr.. Hail the consul general, had mean
time convinced himself that John Secor''
was William NJ Tweed. His telegram to
| the Santiago police ordering the arrest
| of Tweed did not. however. reach its des-
tnation until several hours after the bark
! had squared away for the coast Of Spain.
| officers were waiting at the dock when
| the bark arrived al Vigo, and il was not
| long afterward that Tweed was in a
| Spanish prison. He was brought back 70
this country in November. 1876 on the
American man-of-war Franklin.