The Florence tribune., 1898-05-14

these expeditions was the Virginius,
 flying the American flag, commanded
 by Captain Frey of New Orleans, an 1 American citizen and veteran of our
 civil war, and manned in part by American and British sailors. The
 Virginius slipped in and ont of Cuban i harbors with wonderful success, but the pitcher went to the we'll once too often.
 Tn October, 1873, tue virginius was captured in neutral waters, near the I British island of Jamaica, towed into into Santiago de Cuba, declared pi- rate, and fifty1two of the officers and crew were executed against protest of the United States consul. The whole thing was irregular. A fraudulent use was made of the stars and stripes, and the flag could afford the ship no protection. International law had been set at naught by captnriag the ship in neutral waters, and in executing the captured, some of whom were nataral- ized Citizens of the United States. The incident served to inform the world of the wholesale, lawless butchery going on in Cuba and distinguished by Spain ss legitimate war. The four principal officers, General Washington Ryan, Va- roma, Jesus del.So and Pedro Cespedes, were marched to the slaughter house ofSantiago de Cuba and murdered. They were in irons when they were marched against the low square structure of adobe. Fifteen feet above them the red tile roof projected. At their feet was a ditch to catch rain drops. They were made to lsneel facing sthe wall. The wall above them was pitted deep with the bullets that flew over their heads. As they fell into the ditch the cavalry rode over the warm bodies and MILITARY WAC ONs CRUNCHED and SLIPPED on the BODIES. Cuban negroes cut of the heads and carried them on bikes through the city, and the mutiiated bodies were dumped into pit of Quicklime.
 t<The North American continent thrilled with indignation in view of this outrage. The press voiced the demands of the people for apology, in- demnity, revenge and the recognition of the Cubans, unorganized as they were, as belligeFents. The government seemed to share the popular feeling to 8 considerable degree. War between Spain and the United States seem to be imminent and unavoidable.
 "oar poor little navy consisting of wooden vessels of antiquated models and of ironclads dusty from disuse, was patched up as quickly as possible and ordered to rendezvous at Key West, whence it might descend upon Cuba in night. Admiral Scott com, manded the North Atlantic squadron such as 1t was. The flagship was tn. old Worcester, Captain ". D. Whiting The Wyoming was there under Com mander Cushing, and the Juniata, un der Lieutenant Commander Merriman
 Captain Jouett commanded the side
 wheeler Powhattan. remember alse
 the Ossipee, the Pawnee and som,
 others, eleven or twelve in all. The
 dispatch boats were the Pinta, Captain
 Gorringe (afterward of 0belisk cele
 brity); the Dispatch, Captain Frede
 rick Rodgers, and the Fortune, Lieu tenant Commander F. M. Green. Thel
 there were the iron-clads, which cam,
 very near swamping on their tedious
 cruise down the coast.
 f"These war vessels, insignificant a
 they appear in retospect and unformid
 able as they must have looked in tn eyes of naval experts, made yer pretty and warlike show as they lay a anchor in the harbor at Key West, an if they had put in an appearanc promptly at Havana would have com ) manded some respect from the ex : pected enemy. But half bluff l worse than no bluff at all. It was 500 ) apparent that the Government a Washington did not mean business an ) farther than requiring the surrender ( ) the virginius, and of the survivin r members of her crew, and an indemni ' ty, trivial in amount, for the blood { ? those American citizens whose nation ality could be proved peradventure 7 The State Department did not shar nI the belligerent dispositon of the Nay