The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-11

aged TO transmit a letter to his friends. in
which he said: "On my arrest spent eight
days without food and drink. being obliged
to walk continually to and fro. ! was made
to trot as though l was a horse training
at the riding school, until. worn out with
fatigue, l fell to the ground. Then the
hangman burned by lips with redhot irons.
and when / declared myself the author of
the attempt they replied: You do not tell
one. but we want to know your accom-
plices.' Another of the tortured prisoners
succeeded in passing letter TO a comrade.
4 gave the judge to understand" he wrote,
that ! did not know the Castilian Ian
guage, still less the Catalonian dialect l
vas taken back to my dormitory to remain
there scarcely a quarter of an hour; the
guard calls me and puts me in the hands
Of the private guards, who make me put
down my meager baggage near the descent
to the staircase to the zero (dungeon) I'm
agine the terrible aspect of such a vast
place at midnight, with two civil guards
following and one going in front with a
candle in his hand: a staircase that reeks
of carbolic. Arrived at the ante-zero,
bound up like a sausage; one of them
opens the door and let's in another unfor-
tunate victim. who passed me like a ghost;
the poor wretch. whose features and APP
pearance l had not time to recognize.
Il am ordered to undress. or, rather I am
undressed; my hands tied by the wrist and
to the height of the biceps. afterward bound
tightly around so that the cord penetrates
the flesh. The civil guard, with a stout
whip in his hand. says to me: You do not
want to speak Spanish? l will make you
speak He showers lashes upon me. Again
| was asked if [ wanted an Interpreter or
if l would make my statement in Spanish.
I make a sign that | cannot talk. Then
the fiogging begins afresh. each lash pro-
of the official. Seeing that I do not speak,
they put a gag into my mouth. l was then
tied down and the torture recommended
l cannot finish the h3ngmen are coming. ,"
The authorities in Madrid however. took
good care that no further news was sent
out from the prison Eight men were sem
fenced to be shot, four were sentenced to
tv enty years penal serVitude; fourteen to
rir eteen years one month and eleven days:
thirteen to nine years. four months; thirty
six to eight years. eight months and one
day and the rest were acquitted" which
IL Spanish means that they We're sent to
the African penal colony for an indefinite
period. Not one Of the prisoners so de-
ported has since been heard from.
Details of the torture have, however,
come to light, and numerous circulars have
been issued describing the treatment of the
prisoners. People who have seen these men
say their appearance was frightful. Deadly
pale, with dull, sunken eyes, reduced to
skeletons, with swollen hands and torn
mouths, they dragged themselves along tn
ground, being unable to stand on their feet
for the reason that their limbs had been
crushed in the ancient torture cages. For
this cruelty Canovas, more than anyone
else, was blamed, and the evidence tends to
confirm the opinion that Golli was chosen
by the Anarchists to avenge their brethren.