The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-07-31
ALL READY TO FIRE.
EXCITING INCIDENT AT a CENTRAL
AMERICAN EXECUTION.

Been Condemned to Die.
"As was brought home to the Ameri-
can mind during the Spanish war the
Latin races place slight value upon hu.
man life, aad the Indifference shown at
executions is o marked characteristic
Of their natures" said Boston man.
81 am reminded of scsne ffcyitness-
ed while travelling In one Of the Gen.
trail American states several years ago.
| AS we all know, revolutions there arc
OF frequent occurrence. The success.
ful general, who usually succeeds to
! the presidency. sometimes eettiey his
Differences with the leaders Of the van
qulshed. by exiling them or having
them stood UP against an adobe wall
before flle OF soldiers. ahot and buried
where they fall--usually tho latter.
"While at the capital Of one Of these
states shorty AFTER the termination OF
q revolution made the acquaintance
Of the president and several Of his off,
GERS. as speak spanish fluently. One
morning as was passing the entrance
to the palace I encountered an officer,
q colonel, just as he emerged from the
porticO. He greeted me pleasantly and
asked me IL would care to accompany
him to the barracks, about quarter
Of a mile distant, saying thnt one Of
the leaders Of the just finished revolu-
tion had been unexpectedly captured
in the mountains. brought to the capt
ta. and was TO be executed at noon by
order Of the president.
"He had, lie said, since the revolu.
Zionist was related to him by family
ties and because he personally stood
high in the favor of the president, vain
ly interceded to secure the prisoners
release or communication Of sentence to
banishment. The president, however,
had ordered the execution to proceed,
and as he (the coloneD wGs In COM
mand Of the barracks 1t became his
painful duty to personally carry out
the order.
II assented, as l had never seen an
execution, and, though pitied the vic
tim. I knew that anything could do
would not save him, excusing my con-
science on that ground.
Arriving IN the courtyard Of the
barracks, I observed file of soldiers
standing at rest short distance from
high adobe wall, close to which stood
man Of middle age calmly smoking n
cigarette. Beyond q quick glance at
the coloners immovable features he
betrayed no sign OF recognition or of
the peril of his position. He must
have known Of course that the latter's
mission had been fruitless one. The
execution was set ut IL o'clock noon.
A young lieutenant stood idly by lean
Ing on the hilt of his drawn saber. 1t
was then five minutes of the hour.
'The colonel Informed the lieutenant
that he had left another friend of the
condemned man With the president.
and 1t was agreed if the president
yielded to his pIeadlngs he would step
out on one Of the little balconies pecul-
lar to all Spanish buildings and dis
charge q pistol. All present heard the
colonePs remarks, including the man
against the wall, and all .eyes sought
the balcony of the palace. which on
slight rise Of ground could be plainly
seen In the clear. tropical sunlight.
ITO me the suspense brought on q
nervous chill which was decidedly un-
pleasant. The doomed man puffed
quietly at his cigarette. and the little,
undersized soldiers arrayed themselves
hand, stood near to give the fatal word.
The lieutenant raised his sword pre-
paratory to making quick downward
sweep as he would give the word TO
frc.
"On the other side OF the barracks
was the old mission or cathedral to be
found in every Spanish town, with
its bells in the tower which toiled the
hours. At about one minute before
II the colonel said:
It's not IL o'clock until the last
stroke Is struck, lieutenant
Just as he finished the first stroke
Of the deep. mellow old bell rang out
on the still, hot atmosphere. The con-
demned man dropped his cigarette to
the ground, turned a ghastly pallor, but
Strengthened his figure upright and full
to the soldiers who were then lined uI.
with rifles cooked, pointed at his heart.
The colonel shifted his eyes from his
watch to the balcony.
''It seemed an hour to ne as the
strokes slowly sounded Awo, three,
four. five, six, and then as the seventh
stroke was reverberating we saw the
figure Of man leap through the win
dow on the balcony, and tiny puff OF
white smoke ascended from his up
lifted arm.
"The colonel cried out sharply: AT
tention! Right about face; marchr
The lieutenant slipped his sword in its
scabbard with snap. drew the In
evitnble package Of cigarettes from his
blouse. and as the pardoned man ran
toward us and clasped his CRATE
fully in his arms he was politely offer
ed a cigarette from the hand which
the moment previous had been raised
to give the signal OF his death.
II afterward learned that the friend
whom the colonel had left at the pal
ace was one OF the most prominent
merchants In the country, who had
furnished considerable portion Of the
funds with which the revolution had
been conducted. and that at the last