Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-18
A CAPTAIN UNAFRAID

five thousand dollars was the ordinary
price,, where he was to land. When the fill
busters and their arms had all been put
ashore they would find themselves sur
rounded by a concealed force of waiting
Spanish troops, and in few minutes they
were maSsacred to man; for no prisoners
were ever taken in such cases. It seems in
credible that Captains could be found who
were vile enough to sell mems lives for few
paltry dollars, to take patriots to what they
knew was certain death; to travel with them
as shipmates for days and then put them
ashore, knowing they would be murdered in
half an hour there were a number who
did it. Of course these vi1lainous Captains
suffered no injury: that was part of the
agreement. If it was necessary for the sake
of appearance to seize the ship that landed
the filibusters, the vessel was invariably re-
leased within few days, and the Captain
was given a bonus to compensate him for
his polite detention
IN consequence of the activity of the horde
of spies and their willingness to hand out
money to anyone who would betray secret,
there was much treachery, though never
among the Cubans who had anything to do
with the organization, and for some months
things went strongly against Palma. Gomez
and Maceo were calling for arms and sup
plies with which to continue the war; but
none could be delivered to them. Numerous
expeditions were planned; but all of them
were either held up just as they were ready
to sail, sunk at sea, or run into traps when
they reached Cuba, involving great and I'M
necessary loss of life, heavy and useless
%1,o
bitter disappointments to the rebels.
In January, 1896, the steam fisherman
Hawkins, under Captain Hall, was sent
away from Montauk Point with cargo of
arms and a party of Cubans who were
going down to join Gomez. Her seacockS
were treacherously opened few hours after
her departure, and she sank off the south
shore of Long Island, carrying down Jack
Lynch, the chief engineer, and ten men. The
man who was paid to sink the ship went
down with her; but have always suspected
that he did not meet death by drowning.
The cargo of course, was a total loss.
About the same time it was discovered
that the Captain of the Commodore, which,
after having been held up for long while at
Charleston, was then lying at Wilmington,
had accepted five thousand dollars to reveal
to the Spaniards the landing place of an ex-
learning this, Horatio Rubens went to Will
mington, BORROWED" from the Captain all
he had left of the bribe, which was two hun
dred dollars Che had sent the rest to rela-
tive in Brooklyn, and kicked him off the
ship This Captain subsequently admitted
that he had received five thousand dollars
from the Spaniards; but insisted that he
had intended to "double-cross' them by
telling them he was bound for some point
far away from his real destination. He was
drowned in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the
spring of 1909, when bringing ship around
from the lakes to New York.
In that same i'll fated month of January,
1896, cargo of arms was seized on the
steamship Bermuda when she was lying off
Bedloe Island in New York Harbor, just
as she was about to sail for Cuba with Cen
eral Calixto Garcia, who was known in the
Ten Years War as @The Terror" and sew
eral other prominent Cubans. There was
Pinkerton man on the Bermuda who sent in