The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-12
HORRORS OF CEUTA.
How Cubans Are Treated in the Span
ish Penal Colony.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11.-Eight Cubans
have arrived in New York-five on Sunday
on the French steamer Normandie, and
three a few days previously on the Ger
man steamer Ems-whose friends welcomed
them as from the grave. They were all
fugitives from Spain's dread penal colony
of Ceuta, in Africa When they entered
the portals of the dismal prison there,
Castle Hacho they left all hope behind.
They expected that they would not be any
more fortunate than thousands of others
whose fate it had been to die within it's
wretched walls. Providence was kinder to
them however. They got chance to es-
cape and profted by 1t.
The five who arrived on the Normandie's
decks are Miguel Blanco Gomez, Baldomero
Pimicuta Vargas Narciso Camejo Pimi-
enta, Pedro Meireles Soriano and Jose Yanes
Sosa The other three are Jose Saez
Medina, Ricardo Landa and Juan Antonio
de la Paz. Not one of them committed any
crime or was even charged with commit
ting a crime. They were merely seized and
deported from Cuba because the Spanish
authorities there professed to have SuSpi-
cionS that they were not unfriendy to the
struggle of their countrymen for liberty
They tell a. tale of horrors III Ceuta that
almost passes belief. One of them Juda
Antonio de la PaZ, was a mere boy of
eighteen when sent to the dismal, distant
dungeon. All of them, members of good
and Well-to-do families, were treated as
even criminals of the worst class are not
treated in other countries. They were given
food that was not fit to put before dogs.
They were beaten wantonly by the guards.
They were herded with from twelve to
sixteen other unfortunateS, many of them
sick with foul diseases of tropical Africa,
in cells that were not large enough for two
persons That they lived through it is
their greatest wonder, now that the terri
BILE experience is a thing of the past Cas-
tie Hacho, they say, has about 1000 pris-
oners at the present time OF these more
than half are Cubans who, like them
selves, are imprisoned for no offense.
Senior Saez was one of Havana's leading
lawyers when arrested. He was taken on
other penal settlement. together with six
other CubanS. A few weeks after reaching
Chafarinas they were removed to Ceuta for
safe keeping. They were there seven
15l other prisoners. to Algeras, Spain. The
chief of their armed escort, on turning
them over to the authorities in Algeras,
read off their names from the list that was
given to him al Ceuta. Saez's name was
inadvertently skipped, and he found him
self a free man. He quietly slipped over
to Gibraltar, which is English territory
From Gibraltar he promptly made his way
to New York
The other mems escape was no less pc
culiar For some reason unknown to them
they were discharged from Ceuta and taken
to Spain on the condition that they were
to be allowed their freedom there if they
would consent not to leave Spain. 1t was
to be 4 sort of ticket-of-leaVe arran gement
on their way from Algeras to Cordova
however. they eluded their guard and made
their way across to Hendaya. on the
French frontier. They succeeded in getting
over the border after many hair-breadth
escapes and reached Paris, whence they
We're aided to Havre to take the steamer
for New York