Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-02-13

OF the state of Florida, and the ancient
! city of st. Augustine.
We had made special arrangements with
the sergeant to show us through the dun
geons of the old fort where scenes of hor-
| rible torture were enacted during the days
of the Spanish inquisition. The first of
these is the Pennaucarrab This room is
about 16l%x20 feet in dimensions. 1t
was used as general torture chamber for
prisoners There were six crosses fastened
to the wall upon the right hand side of
this room, to which condemned persons
were chained in such way that they
could neither sit nor lie down. 1t Ger
talnly seemed to be about tie refinement
of cruelty; but it WAS really the least of
the horrors of these ioathesome dungeons
a very brief stay in whose damp heavy
atmosphere and gloomy darkness. would
in itself, have been terrible punishment
for any offender. Opening off from this
chamber is room about six feet wide bv
2n.feet long. This room was the secret
torture chamber of the fort, and the
nortses still remain in its walls that
once held the cross timbers of the rack
where human victims were once subjected
to inconoelvable agonies. The last of this
trio OF dungeons is entered through a
door three feet in width by 30 inches in
height. lt is room 20x13 feet The
entrances to these last two rooms were so
carefully closed and concealed that they
Were not discovered until 1885. In the
last mentioned one two skeletons were
found-of man and woman-in iron
cages boltcd to the wall Alas who these
unfortunates were, and what offences
they were guilty of, must forever remain
hi after OF conjecture
There Were many other i1t arestinp
apartments in this historic fort, and none
more SO than the room where the famous
Seminole Indian chief, Osceola, was con
fined. This had been used as a court
room in the early days of the fort. and
the raised platform at one end of it, " here
the judges sat. still remains. A narrow
barred window at one end of this room
looks out upon the moat. Over the door
at the other end is larger window
heavily barred. Near this door there still
remains three deep inches, cut in the
coquina rock of the wall by Osceola. to
enable him to reach the window ledge.
where he was accustomed to sit for hours
looking out into the quadrangle of the
fort
From the fort we drive along beside the
famous "sea WALL on the city's water
front This work was begun by Spain in
1920. Coquina rock was the material
originally used. This in the course Of
time, was found to present very uneven
surface, and, in 1S35-42, the United
States completed the work, and insured
its permanency with fine Gaping Of
New England granite three feet in width. |
This wall extends from Fort Marion to
st. Francis Barracks, formerly monas-
terry. now occupied by the Third Artillery
L. S. Al a distance of three quarters of a |
mile. We come back from the parade |
ground to the heart Of the city through |
st. Francis street, notable chiefly now as |
the oldest house in America.
This was built in 1869, or less than a |
hundred years subsequent to the landing |
Of Columbus. 1t was occupied by the |
French monks of St. Francis, and. in
1890, was confiscated by the Spanish |
government. In 1882 it passed into the
possession Of DIR. Carver, its present
owner.
We saw. on this drive, large number |
nf well advanced vegetable gardens. |
In the negro quarter of the city. |
named after ths great emuncipator.
Our driver told us that |