The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-09
NARROW ESCAPES
BRAVE YOUNG AMERICAN VISITS
PORTO RICO
Penefrates to the Center of the
Island and Is Made u Prisoner
Escapes the Vigilance of a Span
fsh Warship Commander by As
Stunning the Garb of u Sailor
Brings Valuable Information.

NEW YORK, June 8.-Edwin Ener-
son Jr., an attache of the war depart
ment bureau of information, arrived
here today on board the steamer Madi
ana from ST. Thomas, after having per
formed some hazardous service and un
oefgone some thrilling experience in
forto Rico. Transforming his name
into EmerSohn, he procured a bogus
German passport and went to San
Juan, ostensibly as correspondent of
the Berlin Deutscher Zeitung.
AT San JUAN" said Mr.. Emerson
today, they would not permit me to
go through the Notifications, nor
would they allow me to make a visit
10 the newspaper correspondent, Hal
stead, who is held in prison as a SOY.
was permitted to walk through the
streets, however.
The war department, I may say,
need have no fears of it's difficulty in
taking San Juan whenever the at
| tempt is made. While I could not see
that any great damage was done by
the bombardment in the city, the forti-
hcat1ons are in such shape that they
offer almost no resistance.
1 succeeded in penetrating to the
exact center of the island, to a place
called Caguas, when my papers were
examined and the alcalde was not al
together satisfied with their regularity.
l said that I had been employed as
the oVerseer of a sugar plantation be-
longing to German, situated beyond
that place, but I was promptly thrown
into Jail. The alcalde said he would
nave TO communicate with San Juan
10 ma whether or not I was all right
How long will that take?' I inuuir-
ed.
1t may take two or three weeks,
he replied. We will have an answer by
the middle of summer anyhow
rms was not a cheerful prospect
especially as feared that my identity
had been discovered at San Juan. T
wrote a telegram to the German consul
and also offered to pay for a. telegram
to the governor of San Juan. This
gave me little better standing with
the alcalde, and 1 was allowed a meas
ure of liberty.
EMERSON ESCAPES.
ut was on May %, when I walked
some distance from the prison at noon
and found number of horses stand
ing outside a blacksmith shop. The
| hostlerS were taking their noOndav
| s1esta, and I appropriated the best
horse 1 could find and decamped. To
| get to Ponce I must go to the west,
nut as that seemed dangerous 1 went
in an opposite direction, riding bare
\ =
| 1t was then that l met a shepherd
| boy and offered him jack knife if he
| would draw me map of the surround
ing country. From that grew the pub
lished statement that foreigner had
| CONF PEELED boy to draw a map, under
threat Of Sitting his throat That map
| L nave now in my possession for the
war department, and 1 found it cor
| rect in every detail.
When L rode again to the east, I
crossed range of hills to find the en-
tire eastern end of the island in the
possession of the insurgents These in
surgents welcomed me and gave me an
escort to the coast, where I found a
| small schooner at anchor.
DISGUISED AS A SAILOR.
Though this schooner belonged to
a Spaniard the captain was prevailed
upon to take me away. We had Just
lost sight OF land, on May %, when a
Warship hove in sight that we took for
an American. Our captain was great
! ly excited. and began to pray, until I
| discovered that the steamer flew the
Spanish flag. 1t proved to be the tor
pedo boat destroyer Terror.
! she steamed up alongside and an
! officer was sent aboard. 1 was dressed
as sailor, and had taken a position
| at the mast head. After an examina-
ton Of the boat the Spaniards left her.
and we headed for Santa Cruz. There
l boarded the Madiana, and found q
number Of newspaper correspondents
and artists aboard
''The Spanish aicalde had sent a tel
egram to the Danish authorities, he
said, to hold me as horsethief Mai.
Moore, the United States consul at St.
Thomas, positively refused to surren-
| der me, and even took me in a boat
! himself out to the Madiana."
When Emerson left San Juan he
saw four Spanish war vessels in the
harbor-the Isabella II, Alicante, Con-
| ho an1 TorrOr