Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-01-21

HE N-AisIAOlE.
fnitciy better would have boon his fate
had he joined the insurgent army and been
killed on the field Of battle.
Tho ordinary suspect is not executed,
but if he hc proved guilty of treason the
garrotc Will speedily end his troubles
The Farrotc is the official form of capital
punishment il Spain.
Nearly ell Of tho death sentences arc OK
ccuted in tho Pradcra do Ia Ysidro, in
Madrid. Al executions arc public and
are usually held carly in the morning.
Tho criminal is mounted upon the back
Of I. tiny Spanish donkey and goes TO the
place OF execution in Il procession which
consists of citizens, priests and soldiers.
Prior to leaving the prison il which the
condemned has been confined mass is cell
ebTated, and the death sontcTTc is read to
the guilty wretch. When .Ele prisoner
reaches the place OF execution, he mounts
g scafTold, u black handkerchief is tied
over his face. and he is mauacled to q
chair. Then around his Tccl. is placed the
band OF the earrote. Two turrs Of pow
erfui thuinbscrew crush the neck Of the
victim and almost sever the head from
the body.
Death is claimed TO be instantaneous.
After the execution the body of the victim
is allowed to remain for several hours in
plain view of the crowds which have seen
the accomplishment of the deed of Justice.
All executions are looked upon by the
lower Spaniard as being excellent enter
ta!nment.
While torture has been nominally abol-
ishod, the prisons themselves, combined
with the system, are such that the agony
Of the culprit is continuous and long en-
during.
As far rs possible, tho Spanish govern
mCnt sends al Of her greater criminals to
her great convict colonies in Africa or in
the Canary or BaleariC islands. Deporta-
ton 10 these penal colonies is made in the
most shiftlcss and cruel manner.
They are shipped In antiquated ships,
which are CverCrowGcd to the verge Of
positive danger. Herded like cattle in
pens, beaten by ignorant and brutal SOL
| dicrs, they 90 to a living death in the col
| onics, where stripes are given more often
| than food and where brutality is looked
upon smilingly by the superior officers
The political prisoner fares worse than
| the criminal guilty of assassination. The
latter is regarded merely as the enemy of
| the individual, while the former is regard
| cd as the enemy of the king.
Most OF the political prisoners are sent
| to Ceuta, Africa. Ceuta is an old Moor
| ish seaport town in Marocco, opposite Gil
braltar 1t was built by the Moors about
| 95i, and it is probable that there is no
| other one place in the world where so
many devices OF torture are concentrated.
Ceuta is a very small place, and the
Moors constructed a chain of fortresses
| around it. 1t is in the cellars of these
| ancient and decaying fortresseS that the
dungeons are located. They are hewn out
| Of the solid rock, and are in tiers to q
| depth of 80 or 60 feet. The approach to
| them is made through narrow openings in
| the stone floors of the fortresses, and when
the horrible hole is opened the foul odor is
| overpowering.
These dungeons are inhabited almost
solely by political prisoners. and many
| Cubans arrested during the present rebel.
lion arc there. Some are in solitary con-
| flnement. Others are in dungeons hold
ing 80 or 40 men.
When man is placed in solitary con-
! finencnt, a hole is cut in the masonry
large enough to admit the passage of his
body, and he is dropped in. 4 blacksmith
| follows and YIELDS on the letters. Locks
and keys are never used. A heavy weight
with q chain is welded to the ankle and
an iron band is welded about the waist
\ chain attached to the latter is welded &c
IN iron ring sunk in the wall OF solid rock.
Tho hole in the masonry is bricked VI
again with the exception OF n small space
q few inches square. Through this come
the scant dir and the scraps OF food al
! lowed the victim.