The age-herald., 1897-10-13

rication with her, we began work with out losing a day.
 The rest of the escape has already been told. and the journal has kept its word to the 150, 900 women of Am;rfca who had urged the poor girls liberation.
 The Casa de Recojidas is located in the lowest aueh1teTs of Havana, an is surrounded By a fuddEe of squa1ii huts occupied by negroes and Clfinafnet and rocking to heaven by day and night. A single alley, perhaps twenty feet in length, zigzagis around two sides of the building. opening off in front of the. main entrance.
 Compostela street runs along the rear of the building north and south, and from this leads off westwardly Sigma street, by which dignified name is known the alley running along the south side of Recojidas. Turning at right angles to the north, the alley tipsily forsets it's name and loses record on the map of Havana At the north end of the build ing and just in frort of the big door of the prison the filthy lane right angles again, becomes OFarrill street and strikes straight forward as though anxious to leave the jail as soon as pos sible It ends at Egido street, opposite the Havana arsenal.
 This was the scene of our operations. There are single rows of houses in the alley facing the side and front of the jail, and a double TOW on both sides of O'FalTill street.
 A dozen times in half as many hours I passed through this crooked alley try G.,l rrfo Ill that would not be solved. Recojidas was apparently inaccessible; its huge, thick walls lowered far in the air, top ped by a high, thick parapet. The only windows to be ssen from the alley were about thirty-fve feet from the ground, and were protected, as are all windows in Cuba, by massive iron bars.
 Although not known to any of us at that time, as it was invisible from the street. thsre was a window opening from the second story on a zotea, CT fiat roof. over lower rooms In the front of the building. Through this window the es- cape of Miss Cisneros was finally effect ed, but it was not until a week after our survey that any suggestion looking to the use of this window was made
 For the first week we scanned and re- scanned the outer walls. suggesting a dozen plans, all equally worthless A daylight attempt was considered, ard plans weine made Ito get Miss Cisneros to the barred door opening into small court just off the main entrance.
 Don Jose, the alcade, was then to be lt1red outside the door, lured further, into a state of temporary inconsistencies. and our end accomplished by a wild dash Nor liberty. The scheme would probably have worked but for the fact that Miss Cisneros was ncommuncado, and was not permitted to receive vis- ftors, or even to come into the Sala. de Ju5ticia on the inner side of the door.
 The fact that the Havana arsenal, al- ways under a strong guard, stretched It's long front across the end of O'Farrill street on the cidher side of Egido street, and that the barracks of company of the Orden Publicos was located just back of Recojidas on Compostela street, made 'tfls plan decidedly uncertain as to re- suits. It was abandoned.
 As 1t appeared at this time absolutely Impossible to either get into the jail ourselves or ito get Miss Crsneros out, it was considered to 1rave become a case of 'umtar los manos,'' and a sturdy at- tempt was made to reach some of the guards or keepers with bribes, but noth- ing was effected. Finally, when 1t ap- peared as if the only possible way to se- cure the escape of the beautiful Cuban would be to dynamite part of the build ing, a note was smugg4ed into her as a last resort, asking if she could make any suggestion to help us.
 In answer she sent the following mes- sage, tin Spanish, of course:
 My plan is the following: To escape by the roof with the aid of a rope de- | scending by the front of the house at given hour and signal For this I re- quire adRd to destroy the bars of the win dows and opium or morphine so as to set to sleep my companions. The best way to use 1t is fin sweets, and thus I can also set to sleep the vigilants.
 Three of you come and stand at the corners, a lighted cigar win be the signal of allarm for which | may have to de- lay, and a white Handkerchief will be the agreed signal by which I can safely descend. I will only bring with me the necessary clothes tied around my waist. This is my plan; let me know if it is con- yenient."
 Accompanying this was a plan drawn by herself showing the exact location of the window referred to. It was at the end of a second-story apartment running along Sagua street on the side of the prison, but not extending clear to its front. The azotea, or flat roof, on which It opens, was about twenty feet wide and a high parapet along the front of the building hid this window from sight in the street.
 No time was lost in acting on her sug- gestion. The idea of eating through an iron bar with acid was dismissed and the question then naturally presented itse1f as to how tho bars of the window could be cut so as to permit her to crawl through. The height of the building also precluded the idea of letting her attempt to come down by herself. Her plan was to use the rope on the flagstaff.
 Consequently 1t became absolutely nec- eSsary for us to gain access to the azotea, if we were to succeed. TO do this 1t be- came immediately apparent, would ne- cessitate the use of house in the crook