New-York tribune., 1919-12-01


lection of American Rights in Mexico
received telegram yesterday from
Nogales confirming news of the death
in Mazatlan, Mexico, of Otto Land.
Land died as the result Of sutfcrings
and privations experienced while he
was held for ransom in the Sierras,
Of the Mexican state of Nayarit, by
bandits under the command of Gen
eral" Felix Diaz, who is to be dis
tinguished from the other Felix Diaz,
a nephew of the former President of
Mexico
In the files here of the National AS
sociation for the Protection of Amer
lean Rights in Mexico are copies of
reports of the kidnapping Of Land and
Gustave A. Whitcford, which ended
with the murder of Whiteford and the
release of Land after their captors had
severed finger from hand of each
of them and sent it to their friends as
proof of their unhappy condition.
Held Two Months
During the two months, according to
these reports. these two men were held
by the bandits, and while their friends
sought by every means to gain their
release practically nothing was printed
in newspapers about the affair. Ac-
cording to little memorandum filed
away with the record of the case in
the possession of the association, the
story was suppressed in American
ot t1o Of N1rc !,
ton because the whole thing was
known to be a German plot to cmbroil
and distract the United States. It's
high lights, as disclosed by the re-
ports, were:
Land, after his release, appeared be-
fore United States Consul W. Z. Chap
man at Mazatlan and set down his ex-
periences in the form of an affidavit in
which he laid claim against the MeXi-
can government for compensation for
his sufferings, indignities to which his
who kidnapped him, and loss of prop
erty But now Land is dead and the
future comfort Of his wife and son
Wilhelm depends pretty much on the
settlement of that claim
In his sworn statement made before
the consul, Land. who was born in
Sweden and naturaizcd in FL Paso in
1904, told of the arrival at FL Frontal
mining camp on April 7, 1913, of $40
armed bandits under the command of
"ColoncP Jose lzquierdo These dark
skinned horsemen then began to kill
the fowl and hogs he had acquired dur
ing eight years residence at FL Frontal.
They burned valuable papers wantonly,
wrecked the mine, and then they forced
Mrs. Land to disrobe in the presence of
her husband and son and all the laugh
ing, jeerng bandits and the Mexican
mine laborers.
Wife Is IEsuIted
Her clothing was searched and She was
subjected to indignities. Then Land
was forced to mount one Of his own
mules and was taken to the mountain
camp of the bandits. For two DAYS he
was given no food and finally IVES
brought to Las Carpas and taken before
General" Felix Diaz, who is known
as Felix Diaz Of the West"
The General" promptly demanded
that Land pay him 5000 pesos in gold
to win his release. Land explained
that this was an impossible demand
but said he could raise 500 pesos. and
if given his release promised to send
1000 additional pesos which he ex-
pected to realize from the sale of a
quantity Of cyanide he had stored in 5.
warehouse in Rosa Morada.
Dlaz lost interest in the prisoner
then and Land was herded with three
other prisoners, one Of whom was
Whiteford The other two were Jose
Allende, Spanish subject, and Crilo
Rendon, Mexican. This unhappy
quartet were in the charge of "Colonel"
Genero Covarrubias, who made them
walk under guard to ranch called
Aacatlllas, south of the Santiago River.
| Their captors, Of course, were mounted
Oh that long journey up Hill and down
dale under burning sun, and finally
Land collapsed utterly and the bandits
were forced to put him astridc a hors
| Whiteford nearly died from heart
strain. They finally reached the ranch
house, collection of jacals, rude
thatch rooted huts of sticks and sun
baked mud There they were tightly
bound and occasionally, when their
captors thought of it, we're tossed a
few mouthfuls of beans and corn bread
in much the same spirit that peanuts
are thrown to bears in cages at ZOO
Held in Nermin Hut
The jacals We're high up in the
Sierras. The nights were bitterly cold
and none Of the prisoners was dressed
warmly and none was given anything
additional for cover at night. The mud
walled room in which they were kept
was infested with all sorts of vermin.
These four among themselves had
agreed after several weeks of this that
they were in an intolerable situation,
when an order came from Diaz to bring
them back to Las Carpas
Lands story of the experiences of
| the prisoners after that was slightly
blurred, for his sufferngs increased as
time went on, but he told of the kill
ing OF Whteford and named his
murderer.
The story of Whiteford's capture,
the unsuccessful negotiations for his
release, of the mutiation of his hand
and finally of his killing, has been
pleced together by government agents
rom correspondence that passed be-
tween Whiteford's partner in a minino
venture, f. G. Thomas. and W. !
Ferris, who was retained by Mr.