Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1898-09-17
4 PRISON IN MEXICO.
CURIOUS CUSTOMS THAT PREVAIL IN
BELEM JAIL.

NJ Musical Instr uments In the Cells and a
Concert Almost Every Evening by the
Prisoners Dinner Hour Marked by q
Curious Spectacle.
Among the various uses to which
Mexico has put some of her old monas-
teries and converts is that of serving
for the incarceration of violators of the
law. The Convento de Belen at Mexico
City has become, in common parlance,
Belem, the city Jail and prison, accused
and convicted persons, men, women and
children alike being confined there in
different compartments. The building
was put up by the Spanish governor in
1856, as an inscription at the head of
the main stairway tells. A casual visit
paid it by reporter of The Mexican
Herald reveals a condition of prison
management i'll Mexico worthy of pass
ing attention i'll the days of prison re-
form associations and international pris-
on congresses.
The Herald said that Belem had been
commonly spoken of as second Blacl,
Hole of Calcutta but the reporter found
that the prison was kept in state of
comparative cleanliness; not SO, how
ever, the prisoners. Their condition he
described as one of disgusting filthiness
Although there was a hydrant in every
cell and general bathing facilities in
each compartment, the reporter found
only one inmate either at bath or with
any indication of having bathed within
year. 1t was explained to him by the
prison authorities that formerly the
regulations required prisoners to bathe
daily, but that this was regarded as
such hardship that the sufferers man
aged to have it declared form of cruel
and unusual punishment and SO to have
the rule ahrogated. There are in the
prison now 3, ,45l prisoners of whom
2, 933 are men and so are minors.
A curious feature found by the re-
porter was the Spanish regard for the
arts, even within prison walls. He
found in the south wing the writer's of
libel, "and the cells reserved for mu-
sicians, artists and others of the fine
arts" Itwould seem to be charitable
| as we'll as an inclusive provision, that
land others" (besides artists) of the
| fine arts. The musicians are permitted,
apparently, to take their instruments to
| Jail with them, much as mechanics take
into the prison workshop their own
tools of trade. "The walls of the mu-
sicians' cells are decorated with differ
ent musical instruments, and the re-
porter was told that almost every even
ing there was a concurt in one of the
patios."
Men sometimes do in Mexico what in
this colder CLINE they content them
selves with wishing done, for the re-
porter came upon one Adams, under
sentence of 20 years ''for killing wait
er at the Club de la Opera because he
did not bring his dinner quick enough -
Adams has the freedom of his galley.
There are in each galley three TRUSTEES
who go about with clubs and preserve
order, using the club "only when moral
suasion will not do as well.'
There were stoiH among the 81 men
condemned to death. One of these, un-
der sentence for assassinating a man,
expressed his serene confidence as to his
future, but, "if worst comes to worst
"a shrug of the shoulders and palms
up. This man and some others under
death sentence had the run of the COM
mandant's offices. Notwithstanding there
were on the walls, serving as decora-
tions, contiscated weapons of prisoner.
Oddly enough. as it would seem in this
country, though it wouldn't t have been
strange in the Italy of Machiavelli,
there wasn't a gun among these The
nearest to it was bayonet, and the rest
were poinards, scimiters, stilettos,
butcher knives, table knives, penknives,
and shoemakers' knives.
The dinner hour was marked by
curious spectacle. The street outside
the prison was filled with the "wives,
children, dogs and other members of
the prisoners households. These
brought baskets of edibles to the prison
ers, some of whom were permitted to
speak to their relatives through graf
ing. To the convicts not permitted to
come to the grating, their relatives were
allowed to send in notes accompanying
the dinner baskets. This privilege had
given rise to peculiar way of making
a few pennies among persons able to
write-'' itinerant scribes who for a
| SOht VI 0WO WIOto llesSdScn W Guo pIlS-
oners" One woman bade the scribe to
put her message in red ink. She would
have none of the purple stuff"
"Tell him." said she, "that send
him two little tamales and tell him
that la perrita died yesterday"
Says the reporter, "And the scribe,
leaning under the shade of his umbrel-
la, sitting ON rock, with his bottle of
red ink Oh another rock beside him,
worked away assiduously, with an ety.
mology all his own, beginning para
graphs with lower case letters and put
ting in caps in the most unexpected
places, SO that it would take an Igna-
titus Donnelly cryptogram to decipher
the meaning of his hieroglyphics. -