People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1896 — BLOW TO CUBAN CAUSE [ARTICLE]

BLOW TO CUBAN CAUSE

i FILIBUSTERING EXPEDITION IS LOST AT SEA. | The Steamer J. W. Hawkins, Carrying , Ou n and Ammunition for the Cabin . Insurgents, Wrecked Early Monday Morning—Some of the Party Lost. * Vineyard Haven, Mass., Jan. 29. ' The steamer J. W. Hawkins, recently purchased at Baltimore for an alleged cruise, and whfch sailed from New York last Saturday night, having on beard between seventy-five and one hundred men, bound, it is claimed, to join the Cuban insurgents, was wrecked off Long Island early Monday morning. Particulars of the wreck of the Hawkirs gleaned from the men by the officers of the rescuing vessel shqjv that the steamer sailed from New York Saturday ostensibly bound to Bermuda on a winter excursion. She carried, however, about eighty "men, mostly Spaniards, a cannon, and several hundred pounds of ammunition. It was intimated that several wealthy Cubans were in the party. Early Monday morning they ran Into a northeast gale and the heavy cross seas which sv.-pt the steamer caused her seams to open, and she began to fill rapidly. Signals of distress were set, but before those on board had time to do more than clear the boats she went down, about sixty-five miles southeast of Sandy Hook lightship. The schooners Leander V. Beebe, Alicia B. Crosby, and Helen H. Benedict had seen the Hawkins’ signals, and immediately bore down on her. The crew and passengers had already taken to the boats, and were picked up with much difficulty on account of the gale and high seas. The Benedict picked up twenty-five men, among them being the steamer’s first officers and steward. The Crosby saved thirteen out of twenty-three in another boat, but the other ten were unable to paddle the boat in the rough seas and were lost. The rescued men were nearly exhausted. The Beebe succeeded in rescuing those in the other boats, but she put back, probably for Delaware breakwater or some other middle Atlantic port. Ndw York, Jan. 29. —Jose C. Hernan- j dez, a Cuban who was on board the steamship J. W. Hawkins, tells the following story: “We left New York on the Ha .vkins last Saturday night. The steamship belonged to the Cuban revolutionary party, having beer, purchased recently by them for filibus- j tering work against the Spaniards. I We put out quietly in the dead of night ; and in a few minutes were steaming for j the sound. We ran smoothly enough, I and all the next day. We had no trouble until 3 o’clock Monday morning. At that time the sea was beginning to get pretty rough, and the engineer asked for help. He said the engine room had sprung a leak and that the pumps were choked up. Two men from the revolutionary party were detailed to assist in bailing she engine room out with buckets. Later more men were detailed for the same purpose, but the water kept gaining on them. W’e could not get the water out of the engine room as fast as it came in, and the sea was geting rougher all the time. At last the water came into the engine room so fast that Capt. Hall told us to lighten the ship by throwing over bags of coal. We threw it over as fast as we could, but it did not seem to do any good. Then we began to throw over the cases of arms and ammunition. There was over SBO,OOO worth of arms alone. We had two Hotchkiss guns, 1,200 Remington and Winchester rifles, and 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition to this there were 3,000 pounds of dynamite and a lot of raw material for making heavy explosives. All these things we threw into the sea. We worked all night, and when daylight came we had thrown all of the cargo and coal overboard. Still the water continued to gain on us in the engine room, and at last it put ; out the fires. ; “At intervals we burned rockets and fired signals of distress, but it was not until 8 o’clock in the morning that we saw another vessel.” The story is to the effect that the revolutionary party had recently purchased the steamer in Baltimore. She had been : engaged in the fishing trade, and wds of 125 tons net and 188 tons gross. She i was commanded by Captain Hall, and . her mate was C. H. Crowell. In comI mand of the revolutionary party was Calisto Garcia, and his son, Carlos i Garcia, was second in command. The reports at Cuban headquarters are conflicting as to whether every one escaped i or not. It was not until 7 o’clock at night I that about a score of newspaper men I succeeded in getting an interview or j statement from Minister Palma perI sonally. He declined to say anything i about the wreck of the Hawkins, or I whether he had received a dispatch from Woods Holl, Mass., and from Boston, that those of the revolutionists who had not been taken to New York had arrived safely there. He did admit, however, that he had received a dispatch from Boston. He also admitted, after a great deal of pressure, that a young man had called upon him who was in need of financial assistance, and that he had given money to him. What his name was, or what he wanted the money for, Minister Palma would not state..