Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude
in custody of the latter. It was a strange and unhappy scene, and every
one felt extremely awkward and ill at ease, especially the writer. In
the rear of the dining room was a large sitting room, where I kept my
valuables in trunks and did my writing. I turned to Mr. P., and said:
"Will you come in the other room?" "Certainly," he replied, without the
slightest hesitation. The room was brilliantly lighted. Motioning him to
a seat, I said:
"Will you have a glass of wine?"
"Yes, but I never drink anything but Cliquot," replied Mr. Pinkerton,
pleasantly.
A servant brought in a bottle and glasses, and I turned the conversation
upon the subject of money. The captain, being a stranger to me, guided
by former experience with Irving & Co. I fancied he might be bribed.
Sometimes the police are susceptible to this form of temptation, and I
was at bay and desperate. I intended to offer him a fortune for a bribe.
If he refused to take it I resolved to shoot him and dash out of the
window, for at my elbow was an open drawer, with a loaded revolver ready
at my hand.
I said: "You know the power and value of money?"
"Yes, and I need and want plenty of it."
Pointing to a trunk I said: "I have a fortune there. Sit where you are
ten minutes, give no alarm, and I will give you $50,000."
Then a scene ensued that if put upon the stage would be deemed
farfetched, if not incredible. When I said this the captain never moved
a muscle, but looked at me seriously, earnestly, then dropped his eyes
to the bottle. As he did so I placed my hand on the revolver. He took
the bottle up, filled his glass, and, looking steadily at me, drank it
off, and, replacing the glass on the stand, coolly remarked:
"Why, sir, that is $5,000 a minute!"
"Yes, and good pay, too," I said.
"But I won't have it!" he interjected, and sprang to his feet as he saw
me make a movement; but I was too quick for him.
I fired point-blank, and down he went as if felled by lightning.
I rushed to the window, when the Venetians were torn violently down, and
one of Curtin's subordinates, revolver in hand, sprang from the outer
darkness through the window into the room, and the others came with the
soldiers. My wife, too, white faced, rushed in from the dining room. A
lively struggle followed, in which Curtin, having risen from the floor,
joined. The struggle was soon over, leaving me a prisoner under close
guard.
My bullet had struck the captain, breaking a rib and glancing off, but
he was game, and when we shortly after departed for the city he rode
with me in the same carriage. I tried to soothe my wife's fears, but it
was attempting the impossible, so we drove away to the city in three
carriages, Mr. P. assuring my wife that I would sleep at the hotel.
By the time we arrived the news had spread among the American colony,
and as the hotel was a sort of American club delegations of my
acquaintances speedily arrived. All were loud in the denunciation of the
outrage. Of course, they saw things on the surface only. Soon our
Consul-General Torbet arrived, and assured me he would see that I should
be treated with every consideration until such time as the unfortunate
mistake was corrected.
That night I slept at the hotel with Curtin and his two companions for
roommates. Mr. P. took his wound and close call very good naturedly, and
said he did not blame me at all, but felt taken down to think I had got
the drop on him. Early the next morning my friend, the chief of police,
Col. Moreno de Vascos, called on me, indignant and angry that I should
suffer such discourtesy. He was particularly indignant over the insult
to himself in not being consulted, so that he could have sent me a note
to call on him and explain. Then he turned to Pinkerton and told him to
liberate me, as he would be responsible for me whenever wanted. But the
captain knew what he was about, and knew his business too well and the
backing he had to pay any attention to Col. Vascos. I claimed the
protection of our Consul, but Torbet regretfully told me that on account
of the orders Pinkerton bore from the State Department at Washington he
was forced to consent to my detention, but he would not permit me to be
kept in the ordinary prison. So about 12 o'clock next day I was
transferred to the police barracks, and put into the lieutenant of
police's room and a guard of soldiers placed over me.
The New York Herald of the next day contained the following:
(Editorial, New York Herald, Feb. 26, 1873.)
"CUBAN AFFAIRS--BIDWELL'S IMPRISONMENT.
"The special telegraphic advices which we publish to-day in
reference to the arrest and imprisonment at Havana of Bidwell, one
of the parties accused of the recent forgeries on the Bank of
England, are very interesting, touching the jurisdiction of the
Island authorities in this matter. It appears that Bidwell was
arrested at the request of the British Government on the
supposition that he was a British subject; but it is represented
that he is a citizen of the United States of America, and that his
arrest in Cuba is not justified by any extradition treaty with
England, nor by any authority, except that of the Captain-General,
whose will over the Island is the supreme law. If it can be
established that Bidwell is a citizen of the United States his case
certainly calls for the intervention of the Secretary of State. The
prisoner, it seems, desires a transfer to New York, which is
perfectly natural, but we suspect that the international
difficulties suggested touching his detention in Cuba will not
materially improve his chances of escape. Such proceedings could be
carried out in no other country than Cuba, where the
Captain-General does not always act in accordance with law.
Distinguished lawyers and judges of that city, in conversation with
the Herald correspondent, denounced the act as being utterly
illegal and without precedent."
(Cable dispatch to the London Times, March 3, 1873.)
"Havana, Cuba, March 2, 1873.
"Great efforts are being made by the lawyers and prominent citizens
here to obtain the release of Bidwell, supposed to be Warren.
To-morrow the American Consul will demand his release on the ground
that he is an American citizen. The British Consul-General, E. H.
Crawford, is doing everything in his power to counteract these
efforts. There is great excitement here over Bidwell's arrest and
the popular sympathy is with him."
(By cable from Havana to New York Herald, March 31, 1873.)
"Bidwell, the alleged Bank of England forger, whose arrest caused
so much excitement here, escaped by jumping from the second story
balcony of the police barracks late last night in the presence of
his guards. He was partly dressed at the time. Bidwell and his wife
are greatly liked here, and no doubt his Havana friends, seeing the
impossibility of counteracting by legal means the efforts of the
British Consul to secure his extradition, planned the affair.
"It is the general opinion that John Bull has seen the last of
Bidwell, there being dozens of planters in the district ready and
willing to shelter him, which they can do effectually."
CHAPTER XXXII.
NIGHTLY IN MY DUNGEON THE MAGICIAN MEMORY WOULD UNROLL THAT SCENE.
So at last justice had laid hold of me, but I thought it a very shaky
hold--so much so that I was confident that I could break away from her,
so that she could never weigh me in her balance.
I will not enter into the details of events in Havana for the next few
days--briefly told, I was nominally a prisoner; actually so, as regards
leaving the barracks. The commander, Col. Vascos, was a warm friend,
and, living in the barrack, he wanted me to dine at his table, but as I
was already planning an escape, I deemed it best not to accept.
My wife spent many hours with me daily. All my meals were brought from
the hotel. Nunn was kept a prisoner for two days, then liberated. I took
him into my confidence, telling him I was going to escape, and directed
him to make all outside arrangements for that event, and he was greatly
rejoiced when I told him he should accompany me in my flight.
Pinkerton, was awake to the danger of losing his man, and had lodged a
written protest with the English and American Consuls against my being
confined in the police barracks.
The only result was that Col. Vascos issued an order to keep him and his
men out of the barracks.
I had a great many visitors, including officers of the army and navy,
and all were loud in protestation and indignant at my arrest. None
seemed to care whether I was guilty or not, but all demanded my
liberation, as there was no extradition treaty and no law to surrender
me. Even my lawyer, the most influential in Cuba, assured me there was
not the slightest danger of my surrender, but I knew that the bankers
Rothschild would ask Spain to give me up, and to an impecunious
Government like that of Spain the word of a Rothschild was more potent
than that of a king.
Then I knew such bright men as William A. Pinkerton (who had arrived)
and his lieutenant, Capt. John Curtin, would never have made the mistake
of coming to Cuba without full powers; therefore, feeling confident that
my surrender would be only a question of time I resolved to escape.
At my request Col. Vascos had sent a guard of soldiers to my house and
brought to the barracks two of my trunks. I had $80,000 in cash and
bonds, besides many valuables as well, in them. I gave my wife $20,000
and my servant $1,000 in gold and $5,000 in Spanish bank notes. Curtin
had in vain tried to seize my luggage, but the Spanish law stood in his
way.
All this time the rebellion in the island was in full blast, the
insurgents--consisting of native Cubans, mulattoes and negroes
(ex-slaves)--held possession of the greater part of the Eastern
provinces--that is, the whole eastern end of the island, and the western
end, called Pinar del Rio. They had kept the flame of rebellion alive
for six years and were still making a desperate and fairly successful
fight to maintain themselves. The sympathies of the American people were
with them, and they looked to our country for arms and recruits. The
former were smuggled into the island as opportunity offered by a Cuban
committee in New York. Not many, but yet some, recruits went, for it was
death to be caught going or returning, and few ever returned. The civil
conflict was murderous, neither side giving quarter. The spirit of
adventure was strong upon me, and I resolved, if I escaped, to make my
way to the Western Province and join the insurgents for a year, then
make my escape by crossing the narrow body of water between Cape San
Antonio and the mainland of Central America.
Once among the rebels all pursuit of me was at an end, as army after
army had been sent from Spain to crush the rebellion, and each had in
turn melted away before the valor of the rebels or the deadly climate.
Nunn volunteered to accompany me, and I gave him $2,000 to send to his
wife in Paris, that his mind might be easy on that score. No one knew my
real destination save Nunn and my wife. It was hard to obtain her
consent, but at last it was given. I arranged with her that she was to
leave Havana as soon as she knew I was off, cross to Key West, wait one
month there, and, if she then heard nothing of me, she was to telegraph
my sister to meet her in New York, take the steamer to that city and
live with her until I rejoined her.