Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
General Lopez was attacked on the 13th by a large body of Spanish troops
at Las Pozas; the action was severe, and the Spaniards were repulsed.
The loss of Lopez was considerable, and among those who fell was Colonel
Pragay, an officer who had served with distinction in Hungary. He lost
in all about fifty men, but retained possession of the place. He soon
perceived that all his hopes of aid from the inhabitants were
groundless, and that it would be impossible to maintain himself against
the Spanish troops; and determined to conceal himself in the mountains.
On their march thither they met several Spanish detachments with whom
they had successive engagements, suffering severely in each, and
inflicting losses more or less serious upon their opponents. Among the
Spaniards who fell was General Enna, a distinguished officer, who was
buried at Havana on the 21st, with military pomp. At Martitorena on the
24th, while the remaining body of the invaders were breakfasting, they
were surprised by an overwhelming Spanish force, and completely
scattered; and from that time forward they seem to have been zealously
hunted by the inhabitants of all classes, and by every means. The
official reports of the Spanish officers state that the peasants pursued
them with dogs, that the negroes aided in their capture, and that every
part of the population evinced the most active and devoted loyalty to
the Spanish government. On the 28th, Lopez with only six followers, was
endeavoring to conceal himself and escape to the sea coast, and on the
29th, he was captured in the Pinos de Rangel, by a guide named Jose
Antonio Castañeda, with fifteen peasants. He was at once handed over to
a military force under Colonel Ramon de Sago, who had him conveyed by a
night march to Havana, where orders were immediately issued for his
execution, which took place at 7 o'clock on the morning of September
1st. He perished by the _garrote vil_, an instrument in common use among
the Spaniards. It consists of an iron chair, with a back, upon which, at
a point even with the head of the person sitting in it, is the
instrument of death. This consists of iron clasps made to fit the sides
of the head, and a clasp to pass round the throat. From behind is a long
iron bar attached to a screw, which put in motion by the executioner
giving it a single turn, draws the throat and side pieces tight and at
the same time sends an iron rod into the spinal marrow at the neck from
behind, causing instantaneous death. This machine was placed upon a
scaffold about ten feet high, in the middle of a large square,
surrounded by troops. An eyewitness has given an account of the
execution. He states that Lopez behaved like a brave man throughout--and
walked, surrounded by a guard, to the steps of the scaffold, as coolly
as if he were at the head of his troops. He was dressed in a long white
gown, and a white cap; his wrists were tied in front and above his
elbows behind, with the cords held by soldiers.
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