THE ACAPULCO MASSACRE.

Evening Star, Issue 3798, 27 April 1875, Page 3

THE ACAPULCO MASSACRE.

In our telegrams yesterday mention was made of the affair at Acapulco, in M-xico, where a Protestant Church was attack*, d by a band of Homan Catholic zealeta. The c'rcuo.stances which led to the massacre may be briefly stated thus:—About four year** igo Acapulco was visited by a Mr Butler, the agent in Mexico of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who offered for sale a number of Bibles printed in Spam'sh. One was purchased* by' a shoemaker named Franco, who, after studying it, abandoned thd Catholic religion, in which he bad been brought up, and embraced Protestantism lie read the book to a few friends in the same class, of life, and gradually drew abound him a little body of believers in Protestantism. On January 14 the congregation was organised by Mr Hutchison fiftythree members making a profession of faith, and taking part in the Lord’s ' upper. Soon after Mr Hafcchison appeared in Acapulco there were threatening which portende i ischief to him and the movement which he had come to organise. On several occasioas stones were thrown at the doors and windows of the church, but, beyond this, no hostile movement was made, and for a month the services progressed uninterrupted. The intolerant feeling prompted attack was, doubtless incited greatly by the preaching of the Catholic ettra, who, in a'l his dsil intercourse with bis people, bitterly denounced the Protestant movement. So violent did his course become that the authorises found it necessary to warn him that if he continued to incite his flock to lawless proceedings, he would bo prosecuted, under the provision of the new law of reform. He is said to have answered that he would persistently denounce the heretics, and if arrested, the faithful Indians would rally from the surrounding country and rescue him. It was also rumored (but this has not iieen verified) that t>.e cum advised these Indians that the time had come to suppress the Protestant congregation, before it increased in strength On the evening of uesday, January 26, services were held as usual, but Mr Hutchison was so unwel ; that he did not attend. There was no unusual indication of hos’ility that day. but after the family in which Mr Hutchison was stopping had gone to churdi, be felt a presentiment of trouble, and took the unusual precaution of locking the bouse, in which were, with Mm, his servant and some children. Meanwhile, at the church, a scene of horr t was being enacted. Shortly after the services began, a few men came 1 quietly in, a~d one you-'g Indian, with his left arm wrapped loosely in a eerape, in which was concealed a machete , walked up the aisle towards the desk, where Senor Dias was. Arriving there, he suddenly darted at the Senor. and bnuged at him with his machete. Immediately everything was confusion and contention. The Indian's companions rushed into the fray, and the main body of the assailants began to pour in from the outside Members of the congregation rushed to the door, and succeeded iu closing out a portion of the crowd. An American (an old resident, the same whose wife had been warned two weeks before), believing he would have influence with the mob, went outside to harangue them, but was at once shot and killed. Another member, also, was shot on the outside. Inside the church a hot fight raged. Che wife of the American who had gone outside to his death the first to spring to resist the attack. She drew a pistol and shot the Indian ; and throughout the melee she continued to fight like a tiger. The assailants were armed with machetes, and slashed right and left, cutting down a number of persons, besides demolishing the organ and pulpit. Many in the congregation however, were also armed, and they offered a determined and fierce resistance to their assailants. After the fight bad progressed fome time, the garrison of the city, numbering only about one hundred soldiers, arrived on the scene, and succeeded in quelling the disturbance. They arrested about fifty of the attacking mob, ami marched them off to prison. The rest of the mob escaped. Besides the two uv inhere of the congregation killed at the door, rhree others were killed and ten seriously wounded, oue of the latter dying next day, making six deaths in all. The Chief of Police, who, with all the members of his family, belonged to the congregation, received four wounds. Of the assailants, two wore killed outright, and the Indian who attacked Senor Dias died on the following day from the pistol wound inflicted by the intrepid ftlexican woman, whose bravery has been already mention- d. A number o them were wounded, but esoped to the mountains. It was afterwards rumored that their wounded numbered thirteen, of whom five have died, doubtless from ixposure and lack of care.