The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-03-24
FRED LAWTON, AN AMERICAN FILIBUS1tR, SEEKS
TO KILL PRESIDENT HLAYA, OF NICARAGUA

my nephew and myself were taken into
the prison yard. stripped to the waists,
our hands were dashed behind our
backs and a heavy iron rail was fas-
| tened TO our necks by short pieces of
rope, SO that we couldn't stand up
right, but were bent nearly double And
| then the wretcheS took great rawhide
whips and dashed our backs until they
were raw and bleeding and then hus-
tied us back TO our cell where We lay
exhausted on the earthen floor, sick
from the heat of the tropical monday
sun A couple of days later this treat
ment was repeated and continued at
fairly regular intervals during our
whole fourteen months Imprisonment.
Sometimes old Zelaya would be on the
scene and while we were writhing I'M
der the lashes of his soldiers whips,
would ask us how we liked his ''medi-
cine We tried every means we
could think of TO escape but never sue
ceeded. Finally, just about fourteen
months after we had first been captur
ed, | hit on a scheme, desperate to be
sure, but in our condition we didn't
care about that. One day I pretend
ed to be very sick and sent my neph-
ew to the commandant asking medical
aid. Late in the afternoon of the
same day. an old priest and his ser
want were ushered into our CELL The
old priest came to the couch upon
which I was lying and bent over me.
As he did so | caught him by the
throat, to prevent his crying out and
bound and gagged him. At the same
time my nephew caught the priests
servant a good blow on the jaw and
sent him down and out, and he like
wise was bound and gagged
In Disguise of a Priest.
Then | put on the priests clothes
and my nephew put on the servants.
In these DISCUSSES We had no difficult
ty in getting out of the prison and past
the lazy, Indifferent native soldiers, on
guard. We made our way through
the streets of Managua in the growing
twilight down to the shore of Lake
Managua. After it was quite dark we
took possession of a small sail boat
and set out for the straits through
which we could enter Lake Nicaragua
We made the straits before daybreak
and finding a convenient inlet, pulled
our boat up on land and concealed it
and ourselves in some bushes. Wei
remained hidden there all that day,
and had the pleasure about noon time
of seeing a small lake gunboat come
tearing through on its way into Lake
presumably after us. That
night we set out again and owing to
there being no wind we were compell- |
ed to row our boat all night, manag-
ing to get past the large lake city of
Granada on the west coast of the lake, !
and taking refuge again just before
daybreeak on a small, uninhabited is
and near the large island of Zawat- /
gro. We were heading for Sapoa, a
small town near the end of the lake
and only five miles from the Costa
lican republic, which if We could
once make it, would render us secure
rom further pursuit by Zelaya's Sorc-
IS. The next night we set out under
'ail with a stiff breeze blowing, which
asted until we reached the island of
0metepe. Then it died out and we
we're forced to take to the oars again
md row around the western shore of
his island
Reached the Open Lake.
1--WE reached the open lake again by
and as there was good
,reeze blowing there, we decided to
'isk sailing by daylight in order to
each Sapoa. some fifteen miles far
her on. We had just gotten beyond
"a Virgin and were only a few miles
rom Sapoa when we saw that we were
icing pursued by a launch that had ev-
IDENTIFY put out from La Virgin. We
we're sailing close to the lake shore,
nd at a pinch could put into land and
AXE our chances there. But luck IA
ored u.s. and we made Sapoa about a
nile ahead of the pursuing launch. Sa-