I, Joseph Gutman, jr., a commissioner of the United States circuit court for the southern district of New York, duly appointed and commissioned, and dwelling in the city of New York, send greeting: Know ye, that on the twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, before me, at my office, No. 29 Nassau street, in the city of New York, appeared as a witness John Furlong, a mariner, formerly on board the steamship Virginius, produced by the consul-general of Spain for the district of New York, in the United States of America, and that I was attended at the same time by Sidney Webster, esq., counselor at law in said city, representing the aforesaid consul-general of Spain, and by George Bliss, esq., attorney of the United States for the southern district of New York, attending by the direction of the Secretary of State of the United States; and that the aforesaid witness, having been first duly cautioned by me to declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in respect to the matters concerning which he should be interrogated, and having then been duly sworn by me according to the laws of the United States, did, in answer to the interrogatories addressed to him in my presence, voluntarily, freely, and solemnly declare and depose in my presence as follows, that is to say: 1. Question. State your age, occupation, place of birth, and citizenship.-Answer. My age is 33 next April; I am a steamship-fireman; was born in Ireland; and am not a citizen of the United States. 2. Q. In October, 1870, did you ship at this port on board the Virginius?-A. Yes, sir. 3. Q. For what voyage did you ship?-A. Mobile, Cedar Keys, and Havana. 4. Q. Who told you that that was to be the voyage?-A. The chief engineer, Marquiz. 5. Q. Did you sign the shipping-articles?—A. I did, but the articles were not read to me. 6. Q. Where did you sign them?-A. On board the ship. 7. Q. Did you write your own name?—A. No, I made a mark. I cannot write my own name. 8. Q. The ship proceeded, did she not, directly to Curaçoa?-A. Yes, sir. 9. Q. Did you pull a small boat of the Virginius from the Virginius to a Venezuelan man-of-war, and was Quesada in it?-A. Yes, sir. 10. Q. What flags did this small boat carry on that occasion?-A. First the American flag, then the Cuban flag, and then a flag of truce. 11. Q. Who asked you to go in the small boat?-A. Mr. Marquiz, the chief engineer. 12. Q. At this time had Captain Shepperd left the Virginius?—A. Yes, sir. 13. Q. Who was captain at that time?-A. Mr. Marquiz acted as captain in port, and one of the Cubans acted captain outside. 14. Q. How many persons were in the small boat, and who were they?—A. General Quesada, Dr. Varona, and another man-I cannot tell his name-a Cuban, our second mate, and me, George Miller, Johnny McCormack, and Ed. Luby. 15. Q. Did the small boat on this occasion take Quesada to the beach, where he had a conference with a person?-A. Yes, sir. 16. Q. Were you on board the Virginius when a small fleet of schooners was captured-A. Yes, sir. 17. Q. How many were there of these schooners?-A. Eight, sir. 18. Q. Had the Virginius any guns on her deck at the time?-A. Yes, sir. 19. Q. How many?-A. Two. 20. Q. Did you see them yourself?-A. Yes, sir. 21. Q. What flag did the Virginius fly at the time of this capture?-A. American flag, sir. After they took the schooners they put up the Cuban flag, and then pulled that down and put up the Venezuelan flag. They used the three flags in taking the schooners. 22. Q. Did you see Quesada on the Virginius at this time?-A. Yes, sir. 23. Q. Where were you standing?-A. Standing forward; he was standing upon the wheel-honse. 24. Q. What did the Virginius do with the schooners, if anything, after their surrender?-A. Took them to Laguayra. 25. Q. How many?-A. Seven; one broke loose and got into Curaçoa. Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss: 26. Q. You say the Cuban flag was flown during that time?-A. Yes, sir. 27. Q. From what mast ?-A. The flag-staff. 28. Q. How long?-A. About half or three-quarters of an hour at the furthest time. 29. Q. Was the American flag up at the same time?-A. No, sir; the American flag was pulled down and those put up. 30, Q. When was the Venezuelan flag flown, before the capture or after?—A. After. 31. Q. Do you know who put the flags up?-A. I don't; some Cubans. 32. Q. Who gave the orders?-A. Quesada. 33. Q. You are sure of that?-A. Yes, sir; I could not understand the language he used, but I judged from the motion of his hand in respect to putting up and taking down the flags. 34. Q. Do you know whom Quesada met when you went with him to the island?— A. No, sir. He met the commanders of the two Venezuelan men-of-war; those were the men he met. 35. Q. When did you leave the Virginius?-A. On the 11th November. 36. Q. Where did you leave her?-A. In Curaçoa. 37. Q. Anybody leave at the same time with you?—A. The whole crew of the firemen left together. 38. Q. Why did you leave?-A. Because we were not treated right; we had not the same living such as a crew ought to get. 39. Q. You were sent home by the American consul?—A. Yes, sir; but had to pay our own passage. 40. Q. How large was this Cuban flag that was flown on the Virginius ?—A. O, as big as that desk. 41. Q. How large was the one flown on the small boat ?-A. Not quite as big as the other one. 42. Q. What color was the Cuban flag?-A. A red, white, and blue flag. 43. Q. Red, white, and blue, arranged in stripes up and down or crossways?—A. Crossways. his JOHN +FURLONG. mark. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 29th day of November, 1873. JOSEPH GUTMAN, JR., United States Commissioner, Southern District of New York. And now I, Joseph Gutman, jr., a duly-appointed commissioner of the United States circuit court for the southern district of New York, in attestation, do hereby certify that the foregoing questions and answers, after having been written out as above, were read to the foregoing witnesses, and were in my presence signed by him, and in attestation of the verity and solemnity of all of the foregoing, I do hereby attach my signature and seal of office this twenty-ninth day of November, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three. [SEAL.] JOSEPH GUTMAN, JR., United States Commissioner, Southern District of New York. [Inclosure 13.] Deposition of Adolfo de Varona. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Southern District of New York, 88: To all to whom these presents shall come: I, Joseph Gutman, jr., a commissioner of the United States circuit court for the southern district of New York, duly appointed and commissioned, and dwelling in the city of New York, send greeting: Know ye, that on the twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, before me, at my office, No. 29 Nassan street. in the city of New York, appeared as a witness Adolfo de Varona, formerly on board the steamship Virginius, produced by the consul-general of Spain for the district of New York, in the United States of America; and that I was attended at the same time by Sidney Webster, esq., counselor at law in said city, representing the aforesaid consul-general of Spain, and by George Bliss, esq., attorney of the United States for the southern district of New York, attending by direction of the Secretary of State; that the afo esaid witness having been first duly cautioned by me to declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in respect to the matters concerning which he should be interrogated, and having then been duly sworn by me according to the laws of the United States, did, in answer to the interrogatories addressed to him in my presence, voluntarily, freely, and solemnly declare and depose, in my presence, as follows, that is to say: 1. Question. What is your present place of residence and occupation?-Answer. Surgeon; 21 Clinton street, Brooklyn, State of New York. 2. Q. Are you connected with any public institution in Brooklyn; and, if so, in what capacity?-A. Surgeon to the Brooklyn Homeopathic Hospital; surgeon to the Brooklyn Maternity. 3. Q. Please state your age and country of birth.-A. I was born in Cuba, Puerto Principe, in 1840. 4. Q. Are you a naturalized citizen of the United States; and, if so, about what was the date of your naturalization?-A. I am a citizen of the United States, naturalized in January, 1872. 5. Q. When did you first come to the United States?-A. In May, 1847. 6. Q. Where did you study or graduate in your profession as a surgeon?—A. First, in Philadelphia; secondly, in Edinburgh, Scotland; thirdly, in Havana, Cuba. 7. Q. Were you in Puerto Principe when the Cuban revolt broke out at Yara ?—A. I was. 8. Q. Did you sympathize or take part in that revolt; and, if so, in what way ?—A. I was the founder of the Conspirator centers at Puerto Principe. 9. Q. Did you know Cespedes, the leader of the revolt?—A. I didn't know him personally at the beginning of the revolution, though I was in communication with him; met him afterward in the field, and then became firm friends. 10. Q. When did you enter into the military service of the revolt, and in what capacity ?—A. Immediately on the rising at Yara; I was imprisoned by the Spanish government. 11. Q. This was about what date?-A. This was about the 10th or 12th of October, 1863. 1 was imprisoned by the Spanish government at Puerto Principe, where I was condemned to death, and pardoned by the first amnesty by Captain-General Dulce, and released on the 29th of November of the same year. 12. Q. Then you went where?-A. Then I went immediately to the insurgent army. I left Puerto Principe for the field. 13. Q. And joined it in what place?-A. Joined Manuel Quesada, who had then landed from Nassau. He had brought in a small expedition of arms and ammunition in a small sailing-vessel. Two or three thousand rifles he brought with him. 14. Q. Do you remember the place you joined him?-A. Yes, sir; joined him at La Gloria. 15. Q. Where is that?-A. About twelve miles from Principe. 16. Q. Toward the coast or in the interior?—A. No; toward the center; in the interior. Then I was made surgeon-general of the insurgent army. 17. Q. How long after this did you remain in this capacity?-A. Before the attack on Las Tumas I requested to be allowed to resign my medical commission, and take a more active part in the military operations. I was then made colonel of the artillery corps, and remained in that capacity until I quit the island with Quesada, which was about January, 1870. 18. Q. In what relation to Manuel Quesada did you leave the island?—A. We were appointed a foreign mission, of which he was the president and I the secretary. 19. Q. A foreign mission to what country?-A. To all foreign countries in general, but more particularly to the United States. 20. Q. Did you, as secretary, know the object of that mission, and by whom it was commissioned, if any one?-A. Commissioned by Cespedes, the execntory of the revolutionary body, to purchase arms and ammunition of war, that they might be conveyed to Cuba. 21. Q. Were there any directions in respect to enlisting or procuring men ?—A. We had the power to enlist men. 22. Q. In the United States?-A. In the United States or any other country. 23. Q. By what means did you come to the United States at that time?-A. We left the coast of Cuba in a small dug-out boat or canoe, crossed the Bahama Channel, and landed at Key Labos, an English island a few miles off the coast of Cuba. There we took an English fishing-schooner, which took us to Nassau, New Providence; there we chartered schooner which took us to Saint Augustine, Fla.; thence by rail we proceeded to New York. 24. Q. About what time did you arrive in New York City?-A. About February, 1870; the latter end of February or the first of March; about that time. 25. Q. At this time was not Marcellas Lemus in this country, sent by Cespedes ?—A. He was. 26. Q. Do you know in what capacity he was here?-A. He was acting as minister plenipotentiary from the revolutionary government to the United States in case he might be admitted to act as such; in case a recognition by this Government gave him the power to act as such. 27. Q. As Lemus was here in a diplomatic capacity from Cespedes, what then were the precise duties of Quesada?-A. His duties were to carry out practically the work of purchasing arms and ammunition and conducting men to Cuba. 23. Q. He, then, was to control the material assistance to the revolution?-A. Yes, sir. 29. Q. Now, if you know, will you state what the Quesada mission did when it arrived in New York, first?-A. We interviewed the different bodies of Cubans that had been organized for the assistance of the revolution; tried to get from them the material means-that is, the necessary funds to buy these arms and ammunition. 30. Q. What bodies were in existence at that time, if you remember?-A. I remem ber the Cuban junta, I think then under the presidency of José Manuel Mestre, and subsequently under Miguel de Aldama. 31. Q. Previously to your leaving Cuba, had any expedition from the United States landed in Cuba?-A. To my certain knowledge the Perit expedition, under General Jordan, and the Salvador expedition, under Raphael Quesada, a brother of Manuel. 32. Q. Did you yourself see the expedition by Perit effect the landing?-A. I did, sir. 33. Q. About how many men were there, and under whose command?-A. I could not state certainly; possibly 200, under the command of General Thomas Jordan. 34. Q. Was General Jordan subsequently, to your knowledge, appointed by Cespedes to any command in the island of Cuba; and, if so, what command ?-A. After the removal of Quesada from the command of the insurgent army Jordan was appointed in his place. And when Agramonte was appointed in his place, Jordan left the island and came to the United States. 35. Q. What, within your knowledge, was the first steamer purchased by the Cubans after your arrival here ?-A. The Florida; by the seizure of which, I suppose, the Cubans lost between fifty and seventy thousand dollars. 36. Q. Do you know, of your own knowledge, of the purchase of the steamer Virginius?-A. I do. 37. Q. Were you one of the party which went on board the Virginius from the tug Virginia Seymour, and proceeded in her to Curaçoa?-A. I was. 38. Q. In what capacity on that voyage did you act in reference to General Manuel Quesada?-A. In the capacity of chief of staff. 39. Q. Did you leave the Virginius on the Billy Butts and proceed to Cuba?-A. I did. 40. Q. What happened to you in Cuba, and when did you again return to the United States?-A. The Billy Butts left me in Jamaica, and I left Jamaica in a small boat-a boat about two or three tons burden-which left me in the coast of Cuba. I then proceeded from the coast toward the interior in search of the insurgent forces, but met instead the Spanish outpost, and there I was shot through the right lung and left in the field for dead. I was picked up by Cubans, cared for, and returned to Jamaica, also in an open boat; thence to Saint Thomas; from Saint Thomas to New York, arriving about the 26th of December, 1870. 41. Q. With what object did you leave the Billy Butts on this expedition to Cuba!— A. To carry dispatches to President Cespedes. My dispatches were merely a letter of credit, and I was to state verbally that the affairs of Cuba in this country demanded that General Quesada should be appointed the sole agent of the republic in this country. 42. Q. Your object then was to procure from Cespedes the appointment of Manuel Quesada as sole director of the insurrectionary forces in the United States?-A. Yes. 43. Q. Do you know from what funds the steamer Virginius was bought and paid?— A. I do. 44. Q. Please state the character of the funds you procured, as nearly as yon can, and the source of your information.-A. The funds were raised by personal subscriptions from Cubans, both rich and poor, in the United States, and placed with the treasurer of the foreign mission, Costello. 45. Q. Did they have a committee or chief managing party for the purchase?—A. Yes; I suppose there was a circle of three, who did all the purchasing of steamers and arms and attended to the outlay of funds. 46. Q. Who composed this committee?-A. I can only remember Martinez and Mora. 47. Q. Please give their full names, if you can.-A. Ramon Martinez and José Maria Mora. 48. Q. Do you remember to have met a person by the name of Patterson, who had to do with the Virginius, at the house of Mora, in the city of New York, in company with Quesada and Shepperd?—A. I remember the name, but I do not remember the person; I remember that he was there from the name, but I cannot picture him to myself. I do not remember the man at all. 49. Q. Was the steamer Virginius bought and paid for with these funds thus collected-A. Yes, sir. 50. Q. How do you know that?-A. I, by being secretary of the mission, knew the details of all the transactions which were being made. 51. Q. Do you know what sum was paid for her out of the funds?-A. I do not know to a dollar, but it was in the neighborhood of $15,000. 52. Q. Was this payment of this sum for the steamer out of the Cuban fund a matter of notoriety among the Cubans at that time?-A. It was known in the small circle of the foreign mission. 53. Q. Was the cargo of the Billy Butts paid for out of the same fund?-A. Yes, sir. 54. Q. Do you know of any arrangement or understanding by which Patterson was to be the nominal owner of the steamer?-A. I do. I knew that that was to be the case. 55. Q. Will you give as many as you can remember of the names of the persons who went on board the Virginius with you and General Quesada?-A. I remember the number was about twenty; I remember the names of General Ausmendi, Pablo, Yglesias, Eloy, Camachio, Dr. Bravo, Domingo Mora, (a son of José Maria Mora, of whom I have before spoken,) Lamadriz, (I do not remember his first name,) Francis S. Wilson. There were several others, whose names do not now occur to me. 56. Q. Do you remember an incident on the voyage in the Virginius from New York to Curaçao, when the sail was sighted, and the suggestion was made to Captain Shepperd to capture the vessel? If so, please state what it was, as nearly as you can.-A. Such an incident occurred, I believe, when off the coast of San Domingo. I do not exactly remember the particulars, but I remember that something of that kind did occur, as the sighting a vessel and speaking of trying to capture her. She turned out to be an English or American vessel; she was not a Spaniard. 57. Q. Had you any doubt on the voyage and afterward that General Quesada had a right to control the Virginius as owner?-A. No doubt whatever. 58. Q. Had it been your duty to examine into the matter carefully?-A. As I was convinced of the fact, I do not remember that I examined into it. was convinced of the fact, and knew that we were prepared to prove it if necessary to assume all authority over the vessel; although I do not remember having made it a subject of special examination, I knew it to be the fact. 59. Q. Was this question of ownership in Quesada conceded in respect to controlling Captain Shepperd?-A. Yes, sir; and we made it known to him as soon as we sailed. We made known to Captain Shepperd that the vessel was really ours, and not Patterson's or any one's else. When I say "ours," I mean belonging to the mission. 60. Q. Who did you understand in New York had most to do with Patterson in procuring her?-A. José Maria Mora. 61. Q. At Curaçoa, did you have any conversation or interview with the American consul in respect to the Virginius?-A. We saw him and showed him the American papers, &c. 62. Q. Did you see him yourself?—A. I did. 63. Q. You mean that you showed him the American documents of the vessel ?—A. Yes. 64. Q. Did you state or explain to the consul at the time the real ownership and business of the vessel?-A. I did not. 65. Q. Did any one ?-A. I cannot say that any one did, although I took it for granted that he knew, as everybody knew in Curaçoa. 66. Q. Will you please state when you were first asked to give your testimony in respect to the ownership and history of the Virginius ?-A. This morning. 67. Q. By whom?-A. By Mr. Craig. 68. Q. Has there been at any time any suggestion to you, or to any one in your behalf, in respect to any pecuniary compensation for this testimony?-A. No, sir; I am not considering that. I am rendering service. I am merely answering the service of a summons from the President of the United States. I am answering the truth. 69. Q. Will you be good enough to produce the summons handed to you by which you appear? [Witness produced paper.] Cross-examination by Mr. Bliss: 70. Q. Where did you finally leave the Virginius?-A. I left her near Curaçoa. 71. About when?-A. When I went on board of the Billy Butts, and have never seen her since. 72. Q. Since your arrival here in December, 1870, have you remained in the United States-A. I have, sir. 73. Q. Have your official relations to the insurrectionary government ceased or continued?-A. Ceased completely from the moment I intended to become an American citizen. 74. Q. Just tell us when that was.-A. That was immediately on my arrival. 75. Q. In December?-A. Yes, sir; immediately I made up my mind to do so. 76. Q. When did you become an American citizen?—A. In January, 1872, or there abouts. 77. Q. Did you terminate your relations by a resignation or anything of that na |