"At six o'clock this morning, we shot in this city, for being traitors to their country, and for being insurgent chiefs, the following persons, styling themselves 'patriot generals': Bernabe Varona, alias Barnbeta, General of Division; Pedro Cespedes, Commanding General of Cienfuegos; General Jesus Del Sol; and Brigadier-General Washington Ryan. The executions took place in the presence of the entire corps of Volunteers, the force of regular infantry, and the sailors from the fleet. An immense concourse of people also witnessed the act. The best of order prevailed. The prisoners met their death with composure."
There followed a summary court martial of the remainder of the company; conducted according to the ruthless Spanish fashion, and under the domination of the implacable Volunteers. The result was that Captain Fry and forty-eight of the crew and passengers, including a number of Americans and Englishmen, were sentenced to death. The sentence was promptly executed, despite the earnest and urgent official protests of the American and British consuls of Havana and their demands for at least a decent delay of proceedings to enable them to consult their governments and to have interviews with the condemned men. In fact, the American consul was prevented from doing anything more than to protest by being made a virtual prisoner in his own house, under a strong guard of Spanish soldiers; under the pretence that in the excited state of public feeling it would be unsafe for him to go upon the street.
The tragedy began on the afternoon of November 7, at 4 o'clock. The scene was the chief public square of Santiago. It was ordered that the victims should be shot in groups of four; all the others being compelled to witness the fate of their fellows. As on the former occasion, a great company of the Volunteers attended the butchery, together with a multitude of the populace. In the first group of four was Captain Fry himself. He refused to have his eyes bandaged, or to turn his back to his slayers, and with his latest breath spoke words of comfort and cheer to his comrades. The other victims of that day's slaughter were James Flood, mate; J. C. Harris, John N. Boza, B. P. Chamberlain, William Rose, Ignacio Dueñas, Antonio Deloyo, Jose Manuel Ferran, Ramon La Wamendi, Eusebio Gariza, Edward Day, Francisco S. Trujillo, Jack Williamson, Porfirio Corbison, Pedro Alfaro, Thomas Gregg, Frank Good, Paul Plumer, Barney Hewals, Samuel Card, John Brown, Alfred Hosell, W. F. Price, George Thomas, Ezekiel Durham, Thomas W. Williams, Simeon Brown, Leopold Larose, A. Arcey, John Stewart, Henry Bond, George Thomson, James Samuel, Henry Frank, and James Read--35 men beside the Captain. More than two-thirds of them were obviously, judging from their names, Americans or Englishmen. It is probable, however, that many of these names, as also those of the passengers, were assumed, in order to conceal the identity of their bearers in just such an emergency as this.