The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-03-19

/ man, as DEAD men were rather numerous
in that locality then, and the unfortunate
! sailor whose mangled body was left lying
in his own blood on the sun-blistered rocks
| of Cuba shared no worse fate than scores
| of others whose bodies 1 saw that day
| floating in the sea, either 10 be food for
sharks or to be ground TO pieces when
| the incoming tide should throw them
against the rockbound shore.
When the Gloucester sailors finally re-
| turned TO their vessel they undoubtedly
| left the Wanda's chair on the shore and
| I believe there IS not the slightest doubt
] that that chair afterwards became the
| death couch and then the tomb OF Adr1i-
| RAJ Vilamil. He was doubtless lying near
US at the time 1 was on shore, but none
| Of the Americans found him, which was
not remarkable. as there We're very few
| Americans on shore and he could easily
have been concealed behind the rocks
| along the beach OF in the thick brush back
| of them. If the Spanish sailors who had
! been captured knew the admirars hiding
| place they did not divulge it TO the Amer
| icans 1t may be that 1t was by the Off
| GERS own orders that his men had carried
| him 20 some lonely spot in the thicket
where ne preferred 10 have the spirit
! leave him while ne was still a free soldier
/ Of Spain, rather than die a prisoner in
! the hands Of his country's enemies
/ Whether he was placed in the chair be-
/ fore or after he was dead can be told only
! by the Spanish sailors who placed him
there and they only can also tell wheth-
/ er they left him alone 10 die or waited
beside him until after the breath left his
( body. L seems hardly possible that Cen
eral Wood and the other American officers
can be mistaken in their Identification of
the body. but if they are. there can be
but ore theory in regard to it, and that IS
that the body was that Of the sailor whom
left in the pool and for whom the chair
was sent ashore. He may have been plac-
ed in the chair by the American sailors
and died heretofore he could be taken TO
the Gloucester. But This theory I regard
as extremely doubtful. and at any rate
its truth or falsity can be demonstrated
by the Gloucester officer and the sailors
who remained on shore after I left.
But when the report of the finding Of
the body was first received here from San
tiago and il was said 20 be that Of the
Pluton's captain. I felt confident that that
could not be correct. For I had the
strongest reasons for believing the con-
| trary. reasons which were founded on the
fact that less than an hour after the oc-
currence related in the foregoing I was
introduced by Lieutenant Commander
Wainwright, the commander of the Glou-
cester, to a Spanish officer. entirely unin-
jured. who represented himself as the cap
tain Of the Pluton. He was afterwards
taken to the United States with the other
Spanish prisoners. and. as far as l know,
was returned to Spain when the war was
over.
when I got back to the Wanda after
having left the chair on shore with the
Gloucester sailors, was very much sur
prised 10 find that during my absence
three officers and six sailors belonging to
the Pluton had taken refuse aboard the
Wanda. They had easily escaped from the
small guard Of American sailors on shore
and had put out to the Wanda in one Of
the PlutOn's boats which had foated
ashore Their reason for going to the
Wanda was that the yacht had British
registry and flew the British flag. but her
flag was the only thing British about her,
a fact which the Spaniards did not know.
She had a big-hearted Yankee skipper in
Captain Miller and when the boatload OF
half-drowned and half-starved Spaniards
came alongside. he forgot all about the
color Of the Wanda's flag and the posi-
bility of any annoying complications that
these Spaniards might cause US. He could
have directed them to go TO the Glauces-
ter. which was not then more than a mile
f,r-+ 10 If
the Marie Teresa and the Oquendo. re-
ceiving more prisoners than she could take
care OF. while the Brooklyn, Oregon. Texas
and New York were chasing the Cristabol
Colon along the coast fifty miles to the
westward. But Captain Miller did not re-
pulse the appealing Spaniards. His in
stinct Of humanity was too strong. and
he told them to come aboard. Not only
that. but he gave them dry clothing and
food and drink, so when I came over the
side of the Wanda I found our tackles
pouring Jamaica rum down the threats of
the six Spanish sailors on the forecastle.
and in the cabin We're the three officers
telling their troubles to Captain Miller.
while the steward was dealing out TO them
libations Of Scotch whisky and soda.
This was all right from humanitarian
standpoint but 7 found myself confronted
with the absolute necessity of getting
these Spaniards of the Wanda at once.
Our yacht was ready to put out immedi-
ateIy for Port Antonio. the nearest neut-
raj port at which We could reach a cable
station and send the news of the destruc-
ton Of CerveTa's feet. We had then
been running back and forth between
six weeks past and several times had the
British quarantine regulations at Port
Antonio impressed upon us very forcibly.
knew. tOa certainty. that Il I went into
Port Antonio bay with these SpanSard4
aboard who had been living in the pes
tlen,ial climate Of Santiago for a month
or two past. the quarantine officials would
not permit us to enter but would anchor
Us about four miles 70 leeward OF the
town and not permit US 10 have any COM
municauon with the shore, thus shutting
US of from the use Of the cable and end
ing the Wa1da's career as an Associated
Press dispatch boat. 1 felt certain that
Captain Wainwright. whom I had known
personally for some years. would not care
to take The SpaRisr5s forcib!y of a ves-
Sc flying the British flag. and Captain
Miller and myself seemed 10 be confronted
with a proposition which meant that We
would either have 70 throw our refugees
overheard or else land them on Cuban
soil where the chivalrous Cuban army
would give them a quick finish sIg-
gested - the Spanisrds thai they 20
aboard the Gloucester and surrender 70
Captain Wainwright. bur they found
themselves too comfortable aboard the