The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-15
A MODERN BAsTILE.
III Unknown Horrors of MORO Castle, In
the HarbOr of Havana.

The Unknown Horrors of MORO Castle, In
the Harbor of Havana.
Havana Letter in Boston Herald.
Who enters Castle MORO leaves all hope be-
nlnd. To pass between its portals involuntarily,
tor any reason, is considered equivalent to a
sentence of death, and many who have gone
there cannot even be traced beyond the iron
doors. Ii any record exists of prisoners who
enter the castle, common rumor lies, for it is
generally said and believed that only in heaven
are the books kept. No one on earth
has ever seen them, and none ever
know positively where they are. Some
say that the records OF arrest and confinement
are sent to the Minister of Justice at Madrid.
Others suggest that the daily reports of the
commandment are sent to Spain and destroyed
after perusal. But, however it may, the com
mon understanding is that whoever enters MORO
loses his identity and never comes out 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
haroor OF Havana, a picturesque, but gloomy
pile, massive masonry resting upon the crest of
a rock which rises about 200 feet D erpendicu-
larry out of the seas. 1t is the point Of q PENN
sula which embraces the harbor of Havana, and
makes the latter, when once entered, as safe
as any II the world. Covering many
acres with Its walls ana dungeons, the
castle is one of the largest and most for
midable fortresses in the world, surprising
even Fortress Monroe in its extent. The present
castle is not so ancient as some others on the
lSltuu, DIS GUG EuSlISn captured IL ana DloW IL 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 ravines the
dungeons of the castle have been placed. There
is no prison in Europe so secure from capture,
either by exterior or interior attack, for the cor
ridors constitute a labyrinth in which it is said
the commander himself requires a guide. No
pen will ever record and no mind can ever cor
rectly imagine the horrors which have taken
place within those walls. The iniquities
of the lnquisition did not surpass
them, if the stories that are told are
true, and people say that the cruelties still con-
tinue. 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 howlarge a number are in confne-
ment; nobody knows who they are or what they
suffer; all the public ever knows is that Senior
So-and-So has been denounced" and taken to
the castle, and his friends keep mighty quiet
lest they may have to join him there. These
from the castle, and it is better for his family
and friends not to ask why. The castle is
for political prisoners exclusively, and
told us it was full. He showed us the place-a
little parade ground-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
liz YIN NO IA OHO AiSOOh 0lo bL0
officers and guards on duty were quite as uucom-
municative, if they were not as ignorant. To
all inquirers they have one answer. If you ask
them how many prisoners are in the dungeons,
the same reply will be:
"Dios sabe' (God knowsl.
How many ever come out alive'"
f'Dios sabe."
'Do they ever secure released"
''Dios sabe."
And the words were true. Heaven, and
heaven only, knows all that has transpired
within those gloomy walls. The officers on guard
are changed often, and while they stay it is their
business to learn as little as possible. When a
prisoner is sent there they lock him up and
report the fact to headquarters. With that their
duty and their knowledge ends. 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
still in vogue. The Spaniard has learned no
lesson by experience, He seems oblvious to
the results of tyranny il Mexico and South
America, and has seen a magnificent empire
pass from his hands without realizing that muir
der and cruelty are not the best modes of secur-
ing peace and promoting civilization.