Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1885-06-13
A SPANISH BASTILE.
WHO ENTERS CASTLE MORRO LEAVES
HOPE BEnIND.
All the Records of Prisoners Taken TO
spain and there Destroyed.


The severity, and even cruelty. with
which Cuban insurgents are punished
by the Spanish authorities is we'll known.
A oor spondept of the Boston Herald
gives an interesting description of Castle
Moro, at Havana, which has witnessed
many mysterious imprisonments and
executions:
"Who enters Castle Moro leaves all
hope behind. To pass between its por-
tails involuntarily, for any reason, Is
considered equivalent to sentence Of
death, and many who have gone there
cannot even be traced beyond the iron
doors. Some say that the records of ar
! rest and confinement are sent to the
Minister of Justice at Madrid. Others
suggest that the dolly reports of the
commandant are senh to, Spain and de-
stroyed after perusaL. j But, however it
may be, the commoa understanding is
that whoever enters Moro Castle loses
his identity, and never comes ont again.
for the bodies of the dead are said to be
cast over the parapets into the sea.
"This castle stands at the entrance to
the harbor Of Havana; picturesque but
gloomy pile-massive masonry resting
upon the crest of rock which rises
about 200 feet perpendlcularly ont of the
seas. 1t is the point of a peninsula
which embraces the harbor of Havana
and makes the latter, when once entered.
as safe as any III the world Covering
many acres with its walls and dungeons
the castle is one Of the largest and most
| formidable fortresses in the world, sur
| passing even Fortress Monroe in its ex-
| tent. The present castle is not so an
/ cent as some others on the island, as the
! English captured it and blew it up 100
/ years ago, compelling the Spaniard5 to
! spen million or two of dollars in it's
re-er, Ct Oh. Modern artillery would
| batter down the walls, but would make
! 10 iIanraa in upon the eternal rocks.
amoL whose clevices and ravinto the
dungeons cf She castle have been placed.
There is 80 n son IN Europe SO secur
from cap .nrc, either by exterior or ih-
terror attack, for the corridors constitute
q labyriuth in which it is said the com
maDdant himself requires a guide. No
pen will ever record, and no mind can
ever correctly imagine, the horrors
which have taken place within those
walls. The iniquities of the Inquisition
did not surpass them, if the stories that
are told are true; and people say that
the cruelties still continue
"The life of every citizen of Cuba is
the property of the Captain General,
to be disposed of as he chooses, and he
has chosen that many of them be spent
within these castle walls. Nobody
knows how large a number are in con-
fnement; nobody knows who they are
or what they suffer; all the public ever
knows is that Senor So-and-so has been
denounced and taken to the Castle,
and his friends keep mighty quiet lest
they have to join him there. These
Seniors So-and-so seldom, if ever, come
back from the Castle, and it is better for
the family and friends not to ask why.
The Castle is for political prisoners ex-
clusively, and when we were over there
our guide told Us it was full. He
showed US the place-a little parade
pround-where the executions take
place. and the precipice over which the
bodies of the dead are cast into the sea,
but could give no clue to the number
annually shot, or the number who die
in the dungeons; and the officers and
guards on duty were quite as uncommu-
nicative, if they were not as ignorant.
To all IL alirers they have one answer.
II you ask them how many prisoners
are confined in the dungeons, the same
reply will be:
"'Dios sabe. God knows).
"'How many ever come out alive 2
"'Dios 8abe.
"'Do thev ever secure release 2
"' Dios sabe.
"And the words were tDhe. Heaven
and heaven only, knows all that ha.
Transported within these gloomy walls
The officers on guard are changed often
and while they stay it Is their business
to learn as little as possible. When
prisoner is sent there they lock him NJ
and report the fact to headquarters
With that their duty and their knowl
edge end. And il is in this way tha
Cuba is governed. The theory OF gov
ernment which Spain has followed sine
she assumed control of the Western
Hemisphere, and By which she has los
al that she once had. is still IN vogue
The Spaniard has learned 40 lesson b,
experience. He seems oblivious OF tbs
results Of tyranny il Mexico and s ,utl
America, and has seen a nagni6cen
emT-re pass fron his hands withon; re
allz that murder and cruelty are no
the l,>: modes Of securing peace anc
= pr,-o..uc civilization"