The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-08-20

& IiiliN-
| At the new, stop we were unbound
! and'1ny companion was taken away
! He said that he had been in the rebe
ranks, and had presented himself tC
! the government authorities at Sar
Cristobal. claiming the indulgence
promised in Weyler's decree of amnes
/ ty granting pardon to all rebels who
( would surrender of their own free will
but he had been kept a prisoner, and
did not even then know why or where
they were taking him. l was i'm
mediately rebound. with my arms
behind me: and with a sentinel OF
each side of me, my position was not
comfortable one However, the
| lieutenant in charge Of the escort was
a very decent kind of fellow, whose
presence | appreciated, as it was a
signal for the soldiers to stop THEN
1 disorderly clamorings.
Upon arriving at the station il
Havana. / found squad of volunteers
waiting to receive me. but they did
not know what to do with me. After
while two mounted guards appeared
who came to take me in charge.
was loaded into an iron cage, drawn
to the palace. and finally to La Punta
My two guards subjected me to many
insults and indlgnities. and kept me
standing in the rain for upwards of an
hour, until they received definite
orders to take me across the bay tC
MORO Castle At the landing on the
other side the guards tried to force
me to carry my valise, although my
arms were tied behind me. When !
refused, in spite of all their threats
they fastened the valise to the cords
which tightly bound my arms, while a
crowd of Spanish sailors stood by and
jeered They all wanted to whip the
United States, and seemed to think it
a good idea to begin with me.
Fortunately the way to the castle
was not long. We passed variou.
sentinels, and to their challenge the
only answer was, a prisoner"
At the entrance of the castle was n
room which served as an office. A
pleasantly disposed lieutenant receiv
ed Us, and ordered the guards to re-
move the cords from my arms immedi-
ately. After writing my name and
other formalities, he told me to open
my valise and to take what things |
might require in my cell, including
my hammock. He assured noe that
the rest of the thugs he would keep
for me until such time as / should be
liberated. He remarked that he was
always glad when they brought him
prisoners But we do not get many
now," he added, for" drawing his
finger across his throat, they get that
before they get here" This confirm
ed the statement of one of the boat
men who ferried us across the bay
He had said to the guards: ''We get
very few prisoners now, since Gener-
al Heyler is running things He
knows how to clean the rebels out of
the country. 1t is useless to bring
them here to eat up the soldiers bis
cults
The lieutenant showed me the way
through the vauitlike entrance, and
stepping over the PROSTATE forms of
sleeping soldiers who had arrived
that day from {. penal settlement in
Africa, | entered the doorway, the
iron barred gate of which he unlocked
and pushed open. | stepped into a
gloomy vault lighted with an oil
lamp. The iron bars swung to upon
their hinges, and | heard the lieuten
ants good night as the key grated
in the lock, and [ stood with my bun
die under my arm looking at the cur
iOus scene about me.
The vault was twenty seven by thir-
ty feet, with one window. Hammocks
were stretched from posts, and men
We're sleeping in them, and those who
did not have hammocks were sleeping
on wooden platform at one end of
the room. The place itself was stony
and cold. in vivid contrast with the
hearts of the prisoners, who, being
disturbed by my entrance. began to
rouse themselves and to extend the
hand of welcome to me- | was offer
ed food and drink, my bundle was
taken from me, and willing hands pro
ceeded to suspend my hammock be
tween the posts, while hearty voices
assured me that | had fallen among
friends. They seemed to reco ynize
me as an American at once, and a
piping voice from the other end of
the cavelike room demanded. "What
about the rights of belligerency?"
There were sixteen prisoners in this
vault, all hopeless cases in the eyes of
the administration, for scarcely one
of them, according to Spanish juris-
prudence, conld be proved guilty of
any crime As it was late at nigh. |
threw myself into my hammock and
soon went to sleep. The next morn
ing | was surrounded by my fellow
prisoners, all eagerly clamoring for
some news of the outside world |
answered their questions to the best
of my knowledge, and they answered
mine. There were men there who had
hot seen the sunshine for over a year,
for when the iron door once closes
upon prisoner it never opens again
for him unless it is to give him what
is called a trial" to send him to
Cubanas. or to set him at liberty
Their only exercise is that which they
may obtain by pacing up and down
the floor Of the cell There were other
snch calabooses in the castle even
worse than the one we occupied. In
the building facing the court yard
were long narrow dungeons, with a
window at each end, and containing
upwards of one hundred and thirty
prisoners each. One day | heard a
prisoner pleading with an officer for
a little sunlight and fresh air He
barred his shoulder and exhibited his
body, covered with eruptions, as he
said:
Il have been in here going on two
years. | am sick-my blood is going
to water-allow me to sit outside a
little while, even if it be necessary to
tie me up" But the doctor only
smiled. and said that he guessed the
eruptions we've caused by vermin. The
doctor Is SnDDoSad To make his rOun3s