Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-05-15

A-A0 O0SSA S9bSn&A0 III G0S OUvI AAC9 ~
Tho harbor 81 Havana; picturesque,
hut gloomy pin, m s. masonry rest
smg upon The crest Of : rock which rises
ibcut 400 feet perpendicularly ont Of
The sea-. Il u the point 81 ! peninsula
which embraces the harbor Of Havana,
and makes the Latter, when once entered;
assafe IS any "a the world. Covering
many acres with its walls and dungeo1ls,
the castlasis one Of The largest and most
formidable fortresses III the world, sur
passing even Fortress Monroe In itssex-s
tent. The present castle is not SO an
;eient as some others on the island %
the English captured it ana blew it up
100 years ago, compelling the Spaniards
to spend a million or two Of dollars in
its re-erection. Modern artillery would
batter down the walls, but would, make
no impression upon the eternal rocks,
among whose crevices and rayines the
dungeons Of the castle have been placed.
There is no prison in Europe SO secure
from capture, either by exterior Of inter
Tor attack, for the corridors constitute q
labyrinth, in which it is said the COM
mandant himself requires 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 eruelties 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. obody knows how
large . numbe aresin confinement; no.
body knows who they are, orwhat they
suffer; all the public ever knows is that
Senior So-and-so has been denounced"
and taken to the castle, and his friend s.
keep mighty quiet lest they may have
to join him there. These Seniors So
and-so seldom, if ever, come back frora
the castle, and it's better for his family
and friends not to 'ask why. The cas-
tie is for political prisoners exclusively,
and when we were over there our guide
told us it was full. He showed us the
place. little parade ground-where
the executions took place. and the prec-
ipice 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 uncommunicative, if they
were not as ignorant. TO all inquirers
they have one answer If you ask them
how many prisoners are confined in the
dungeons, the same reply will be:
''Dios sabe" God knows).
GLOW many ever come OUT alive?"
aDios sabe."
'.Do they ever secure release?"
e'Dios sabe."
And the words were true Heaven,
and heaven only, knows all that has
TRANSFERRED within these gloomy walls.
The officers on guard are chang often,
and while they stay it IS their business
to learn as little as possibly. When a
prisoner is sent there they lock him up
and report the fact to headquarters.
With that their duty and their knowl-
edge end. And it is in this way that
Cuba is governed. The theory of gov
eminent which Spain has followed since
she assumed control Of the Western
Hemisphere, and by which she has lost
all that she once had, is sill in vogue,
The Spaniard has learned no lesson by
experience. He seems oblivious to the
results Of tyranny in Mexico and South
America, and has seen q magnificent
empire pass from his{hands without re-
alzing that murder and cruelty are not
the best modes of securing peace and
promoting civilization. "a e ##