New-York tribune., 1901-09-07
00RTTRED THEIR PRISONER.
v.TURALIZED AMERICAN CITIZEN
TELLS OF CRUELTY INFLICTED
on HIN N VENEZUELA.

tee lambert 4 naturalized American citi-
= srr,ved yesterday the Clyde Line steamer
,-.ryork He tells a story OF cruel and inhuman
.-.,nspt inflicted on him by Venezuelan officers
ssssvs he Will report 10 the State Department az
-T,.sbinpton and attempt 10 have this government
.ts cognizancc Of the torture he suffered He is
s,ss with sears and wounds. and is in feeble
ks.rb from confinement and pain. He declares he
,rss nrodded with bayonets. trussed up and beaten
.-,h the butts of guns and starved in dungeon.
The reason for this. Lambert says he does not
know
Lambert told his story while on his way through
,h,s city 10 his brothers home in New-Jersey. He
showed his naturalization papers. which were is
snsd by the Court Of Common Pleas OF this city
an seDtember o. 1881. He also has certificates
srom the United States consular agencies at Ca
raoas, Venezuela, dated May %, 1891, and at San
chez santo Domingo, dated July p, 1901. Here is
Iambert's story as he tells it;
arrived at la Guayra on May Is last. On July
x secured eT1pIovrnent as a cook ana stepped
with friend into a barroom 10 have a glass Of
ruu We had only been in The place & minute or
s, - y,bsn the nrefeet and four policemen entered
ana arrested us. ] protested that l was guilty
q no wrong, but I was searched and my Halise
was demanded I told The police that my valiss
was stiH al lhe MOTEL .hG they sent there ane
got possession OF my effects and papers The lat
ter they viewed with me greatest suspicion foF m
made for years concerning socialism ano the con-
dtion OF workingmen in the different countries L
paper which is an organ Of the socialists and two
photographs. One Of these a portrait OF the
man who killed President Barrios Other papers
told them that ] had been mixed up in reyolu-
tons in San Salvador and Guatemala. but that
was before / became American citizen.
The discovery OF these papers. however. made
the KeneZuelans very bitter against me, and they
placed me 'incemmunicado and threw me into
dungeon. ! protested against such cruel treat
ment and repeatedly demanded 10 be put in COM
refused, and 10 suhdue me my jailers gave me
twenty iashes with heavy whip. on July 1e
was placed in a military prison in La Guayra, af-
ter protesting that was a citizen OF the United
the American consul I resisted with all my might
and broke away from the soldiers who had before
Ist butted' ne with their guns They chased
ne about the prison yard with fixed bayOnets and
pfoooeo me with their weapons. Some OF the sores
are still unhealed I asked for a surgeon 10 dress
ny wounds, bur they laughed AZ ne. on July Ie
told them they were starving me TO death They
eLswered NE with the butts of their muskets,
Nnen were poked through the bars of the dun
eeon- They struck me several times, and nv sides
were black and blue. On the same day they took
me out OF the cell for a little while and tying my
thumbs together. hoisted me up until my toes
oafely touched the ground. When lowered / was
n an exhausted condition, but was flung back into
my cell The next day the guards "trussed" me
This mode Of torture was to double me up like a
Jackkntfe. place a wooden stave under nv knees
and bring my arms underneath the parts OF the
WOOD that projected, and at the same time tie
my nancs together so that / was helpless. In this
position remained for what seemed to me az least
nan an hour, with ten rifles lying across my back
becoming unconscious under this cruel treatment
was put back IN the dungeon. and there I re-
malneo. sick with fever, until July p. when was
Informed that had been exiled from the country
NE 10 santo Domingo.