Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-05-19

be Estefanto, the Spanish captain. Seeing
one of their number fall, the other two
took to their heels. The Doctor and White
also quit the place and arrived safely at
their lodgings, leaving the wounded Span
lard to the care. of some stragglers who
had been attracted to the spot by the strug-
gle.
The next morning White and the DIR.
were arrested and put in jail. Shortly af-
ter an examination took place before a
magistrate, the eresult of which was, White
was convicted and the Doctor acquitted.
Strange as it may appear, the mate was
convicted by the testimony of the two ac-
completes who attempted his life. The
Spaniard Estefanto, lived three days after
the affray, and was honest enough to state
the whole circumstances of the case, ac-
knoWledging that White ran him through
in defence of his own life, which he and
the other two had determined to take.-
These facts were all presented by the DR..
for the final trial, not doubling that they
were sufficient to clear his friend The
trial was put off from time to time, and it
was three months before it came on. 1t
came at last and White was arraigned.-
He had no counsel-no friend but the DR.
He was at the mercy of a Spanish Court,
whose most tender mercy is cruel. An
English merchant, who had heard Of the
case, and who commisserated the isolated
situation of poor White, volunteered to de-
fcnd him.
Objections were made by the Court to
the testimony of the Doctor, but the Eng
lishman strenuously insisted that his evil
dence should be allowed. After long
and heated debate, and with the aid of
gold-the most persuasive of all argu-
ments-the Doctor WAS permitted to give
in his testimony. In a clear and lucid
manner, he related the circumstances of
the case-statcd that the Spaniard gave
the first blow in the billiard room--that
Estefano with two others attacked the
prisoner on his way to his lodgings, and
that it was by the mere chance of Whites
getting possession Of one of the weapons
that he was not murdered. The confess
sion of the Spanlard duly attes.cd to, was
presented /; but all was in vain. Plain
was the case, the Court condemned the
mate to eight years imprisonment in the
Moro Castle.
1t was on the 10Th Of May that White
was placed in the dungeon of the Moro
His cell although not entirely dark, was
dismal enough, being forty or fifty feet
below the fort. Above the dungeon stands
a strong fort, called Moro Castle, which is
situated on point that makes the eastern
side of the entrance of the port of Hav-
ana-Punta making the western side, al
SO a strong fort The entrance is quite
narrow, not more than half mile wide,
with deep water. The Moro is a huge
rock, perpendicular on the harbor side,
and nearly so on the side facing the sea.
The water is SO bold at its base, that yes
sells of the largest burthens can approach
within foot of the rocks. The rocks
run up almost sheer about sixty feet 10
its summit. In the belly of this rock,
nearly on level with the sea, was con-
fined this unfortunate mate. Not ray
of light or breath of air could reach
him. save what came through small holes
in the side of the cliff He had no clothes
except pair of duck trowsers; his pro
visions were served out to him once dav,
and consisted of boiled bullock's head
and corn, with jug of water. In this
dark and gloomy cell he was 10 remain
eight long ycars-buried alivc-with no.
thing to do-nothing to think of but his
bitter fate. Dreary as was the prospect
before him-so dreary at times when he
thought of his far away home, that he
would gladly have welcomed death. A
fact which soon after came to his knowl-
edge, added ten fold gloom to the hor-
ror of his situation. 1t was this In the
same dungeon with White, was a man
who had been there eighteen years, whose
sole crime was the smuggling of tobacco.
He had been put there for one year, at
the expiration of which he had probably
been forgotten. lie could not make his
case known, and for eighteen dreary
years he had been incarceratcd there, hop
ing for release, until hope itself had ex-
'pired-and there he expected to end his
days. He had almost lost the power of
speech, and appeared at times to be de-
ranged. He had not been shaved, and
perhaps not washed since his imprison-
ment and in this dismal rock-flthy and
spirit broken-suHering the greatest cru
clty-with no one to see to his liberation
-forgoitcn probably by every living be-
ing save his kecpcr-his only crime the
petty one of smuggling perhaps few
pounds of tobacco-here was the poor
wretch doomed to linger until death
brought him relief The thought that
such might be his fate, at times almost
drove White to despair. Indeed, it was
enough to shake the frmest nerves.
On entering his dismal abode, the mate
was confined with irons on his hands and
feet but he was told they should be tax
en- off at the end of the first year. Fet-
tered thus, he lived on from day to day,
expecting every moment to be set free
through the interference of the American