The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-10-07
DOWN 4 DICTATOR
MEMORABLE DEED OF A SPANIAR9
AND AMERICAN.

MEMORABLE DEED OF A SPANIAR7
AND AMERICAN.
United States Consul Philip C. Hams
of San Juan, Porto Rico, and Capt
Eulate, Now Spanish Commnndanl
dozn of Venezuela and Afterward
Have Remarkable Experiences In
tine Spanish War-A Friendship
That Survived q Critical Test.
A letter which has just been received by
Philip c. Hanna, the American consul,
to San Juan, Porto Rico, who is now i1
New York on a vacation, from Antolno )
Fiery Eulate, a Spanish naval off1cs ;,
brings to light a romantic story, in which
war and friendship play conspicuous
parts The early incidents in this drama
of real life were made the subject of a
speech In the house Of representatives
three years ago by Amos J. Cummings,
but the incidents made possible by the
Spanish-American war have never been
told. The letter, which contains the in
formation that Capt. Eulate is now a
commodore and in command Of the navy
yard at Cadtz, reads as follows:
Cadz, Spain, July 20, 1s99.-My Very Dis.
tingutshed and Highly Appreciated Friend: II
gives me great pleasure, now that our govern
nlents have seen At to resume their old time
diplomatic relations, to felicitate you upon the
same and to convey to you the sentiments Of
my heart You can never know how much OF
the balm OF consolation was contained in your
messages and letters during the late trouble,
and thereafter, when my mental agony pro-
duced greater pains than my wounds. In spite
Of the excitement Of war and the load Of re-
sponsibility upon YOU, you consoled me by
showing that your friendship was Of charac-
ter that stood the test. = -..-. IS
We have both been loyal to our countries;
we have served them the best we could; we
have no apologies to make to the public for
behavior, neither have we apologies to
make to each other as friends. The ladies join
in wishing the highest prosperity and
happiness. I am now commandante here, with
the rank of commodore. remain, my dear
friend, your faithful Antonio Y F. Eulate.
1t was on September morning in 1892
that the story really begins. Venezuela
was in a revolutionary tumult, it is re-
called by the New York Herald. A die
tator, Mendoza, had seized the govern
ment few months before and installed
himself in power at Caracas, the inland
capital. He had gathered about him an
opera bouffe army and had captured the
place without much bloodshed, but the
deposed president had afterward made a
determined stand. The war had grown
rather serious by September. Mendoza
had suffered one or two reverses. His
troops clamored for pay. That was a cir
cumstance the dictator had not looked
forward to. The treasury had been de-
pleted long before, so there was no money
to be had in that quarter. fs
Gen. EscheYerra was Mendoza's princi-
pal supporter 1t occurred to him that
the quickest way to get money was to
take it by force from whomsoever had 1t.
So he arrested eighty-flve of the WEALTH.
est people in La Guayara, the seaport and
commercial metropolis of Venezuela. The
prisoners were mostly merchants of for
eign birth, but the really serious part OF
the affair was the fact that seventeen for
e1gn consuls were included in the arrest
the consuls of Russia, France, Belgium,
Hawaii and nearly every Latin country.
They had money as well as the mer-
chants, and in the desperate straits of
his chief, Gen. Escheverra did not hest
tate to lock them up. A Venezuela troop
was stationed outside the fortress, while
inside the gates the prisoners had the
greatest freedom compatible with their
surroundings. The officers quarters, car
peted luxuriously, were given up to the
more distinguished; that is, the richest
ones. A Est was kept Of the names Of
the prisoners and of the amount of money
expected from each before he could be lib
Grated. In all the ransoms demanded
footed up more than quarter of mill
ion dollars. sr.. w. $751;
There were two men in La Guayra, how
ever, upon whom Escheverra had not
rc| ny,1
American, with an acquiline nose, a
smooth face and pair of gray-blue eyes
that dilated In mild surprise or flashed
In anger as occasion arose. He was
phil Hanna, an Iowa man, the Ameri-
can consul at, the port. Escheverra had
either ignored his existence or forgotten
him. Anyway, whether from prudence or
d1sdain, lie had not imprisoned the young
man..
The other man who was destined to
interfere was a lieutenant Of the Spanish
navy q darE-visaged, taciturn man, who
had taken liking to the Iowa boy and
whose vessel was lying in the harbor
This vessel. the Jorge Juan, was about
the size of the little Concord of the
American navy.
The two men had been acquainted about
six months, Lieut.. Eulate-for such was
the Spaniard's name-visiting the bachelor
quarters at the consulate for O. smoke.
and chat, and Consul Hanna going
aboard the tiny warship whenever It came
In from coast survey duty. There was no
war anywhere, except in Venezuela. Spain
was friendly to the United States and in
different to the revolutionary quarrels OF
Crespo and Mendoza.
On the morning In September referred
to, the day. Of the wholesale arrests, Con-
sul Hanna received note from the
prison, telling him there was an Amer1-
can locked up, a man who had been
naturalized and who had acted formerly
as a sort OF consular agent. The consul
was alone. He tried to telegraph to Min
lister Scruggs at Caracas for instructions,
but the local authorities shut of his dis
patch. Then he tried to get word to
Washington by. the Central and South
American cable and telegraph route, but
the La Guayra censor refused to send 1t.
BY this time Phil Hanna was
aroused. He was fighting mad. He
would have given a years salary for a
squad Of United States soldiers, or even
q dozen Dubuque policemen. But he
hadn't a man Of that sort within a radius
of two thousand miles. Escheverra's
troops were lounging in front Of the
fortress when the consul strobe UP and
demanded the release Of the prisoners.
Escheverra replied that 1t was impos-
sible unless the ransoms were paid.
II you don't let them out said Han
ma, 7 will land troops and take charge
of them myself"
Escheverra only shrugged hts epaE!et-
ted shoulders. It was = bluff and he.
knew It. An inspiration came TO Mr..
Hanna as he turned away, enraged at his
powerless condition. He would ask Euiate
to land him some marines. The lieu
tenant looked at the consul for a mo-
ment, and exclaimed:
You are my dear friend. will blow