Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1916-03-24
CHARGES DENIED
BY AMERICANS:
GIVE STATEMENT
SAN BENITANS WHO WERE ARREST
Ed IN MATAMOROS SAY WERE
NOT CREATING ANY DISORDER.
WERE MERELY SPENDING FEW
HOURS IN CITY. AND WERE NOT
AWARE OF DISTRICT REACHED.

n. tralg ana U. w. Nllker>on, MEM
bers of the party of five Americans who
were arrested In Matamoros Tuesday
night along with G. II. Woods and +. +.
Wilds, and another young man, today
gave The Herald their statement of the
events that led up to their arrest in that
city and their succeeding adventures. All
the party are well known residents of San
Benito. and have wide acquaintance in
that city
Mr.. Craig. referring particularly to the
statement of the officials in Matamoros,
said that they might have been in front of
the house of questionable character re
ferred to, but that if they were they were
not aware of the fact.
Referring to the first story of the trou-
BILE, printed in a Brownsville morning pa
per Thursday, Mr.. Craig said that The
story was misleading and was not given
hx him or any st hls. party .to y-rcpres.
sentative Of the paper He said he did
not calm to have been robbed.
In Justice to Mr.. Craig and his com
panions, The Herald j. glad to give space
to their statement, which j. as follows and
was sworn 10 before q notary public:
ION Tuesday, March 2l, we left San
Bento about 5 o'clock p. m., and came 10
Brownsville, arriving in Brownsville about
9 30 y. IN. We stayed in Brownsville
about twenty or thirty minutes and then
went over 10 Matamoros. We consulted
authorities both on the American and
Mexican side and were told that it would
be all right to 90. We stayed i'm. Mata-
moros around the plaza about forty min
utcs or an hour and then went backwards
and forwards over town for an hour Just
riding around About ii or IL 80 o'clock
we were arrested by two armed men,
dressed in khaki and taken TO military
headquarters. While being taken TO head
quarters both men drew their pistols,
pointed them nj H. and said to u in Eng
lish I've ought TO kill YOU American -
- ." Upon arriving at military
headquarters the two armed men who had
captured u entered into a discussion with
the officer, presumably In charge. They
talked together ten or fifteen minutes IN
Spanish. but We could not understand
what they said. BY making figures on
piece of paper they finally made u under
stand they wanted $50. We told them we
did not have that much money.
"Then they took u into back room
and locked u up. After about an hour
and a half or two hours, an American. who
told II he was a saloon man, came and
talked to u through the lattice work of
the door lie suggested that We pay the
$50 that had been demanded We told
HIM We did not have $50 Then a discus
sion IN Spanish enSued between the Ameri-
can and the guards. He then said If we
would pay them = each we would he re-
leased. We told him we wonld not paw
the S25 but would rather stand trial. The
American then talked with the guards and
came back and told us that If we would
| put up the S25 We would he released and
that We could come back and stand trial.
We then told HIM that we did not have S25.
tie talked with the guards again and then
asked Us how much money We had. We
told HIM we possibly had SO between
u lie then talked with the guards
again and then told u they would take
the Slo and our check for SIS. This we
agreed te and were released from the room
We were locked up in and taken before
the officer IN charge IN the outer roor. We
paid the sl0 and issued check for SIS,
and were told that We could come back TO
Brownsville.
I'VE cot IN the ear and left for Brsv n
vllle. When We got within about 100 wards
Of the international bridge trTo soldiers
-rere standing about fifty yards from the
bridge, possibly eight or ten feet to the