The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-22

In their power. when I asked the gov
ernor. Jacinto de Leon, how many
deaths occurred In the Main Preside
he told me one a month. This. 1 re-
marked to him. broke all health rec
ords. casting London completely In the
shade. He admitted then that pulmon-
airy complaints Increased in March. and
old and young convicts died OF. But
that did not explain the four funerals
per day. Not only are the prisoners
subjected to punishment on every pre-
text, but they are neglected In the
most ~barbarous manner when
which comes to all. sets I'm. During
last March typhoid fever was an i'm
portant auxiliary Of the Spanish in
laying low the inmates OF the prisons.
and IL Is given as much scope Tor play
as cold FLOODED negligence can give IL.
At that time there were 300 prisoners
afflicted with the disease. and 30 per
cent. OF them were succumbing. the
hospital is In a very filthy condition.,
and IL is situated on a height which
allows of drainage only at a short dis
lance from the basin wherein the wa
ter which supplies the prison Is caught,
IL contributes fresh soil for the epidem-
&C. continually. All the attendants i
could see In the hospital were priests.
In the prison wherein are confined
those condemned to chains for life fe-
yer finds a homo year In out. No
attempt is made at isolation, and as
soon as a cell II clear of one prisoner,
whether through death by sickness or
otherwise. IL is ready for another. In
the barrack prisons II Is a notorious
fact that when a prisoner dies of fever
his cell IL made the habitat of some
prisoner odious to the officials. IL this
lack of distinction between infected
and other cells is not the result OF
crime on the part of officials IL shows
hnu. ha rha ratrolv ionnranf thew are
While all the funerals OF convicts
there are conducted with the most I'M
seemly haste, the one that most vividly
impressed me with the monstrous
cowardliness which characterizes Span
ish cruelty was that Of Adriano Fer
nandez. n Cuban patriot. who was
brought there three years ago to serve
90 years. Fernandez had little or no
religion. and did not hold the religion
prevalent there In such awe as suited
those in charge of him. On the first
Sunday he was in Ceuta he declined to
participate in some small religious SER
vice which had been suggested to him.
The next day he was insulted by a SER
geant. and for replying was struck in
the face and afterward placed in a
straight jacket n chains. For -four
months he was compelled to eat his
food off the foor like an animal n to
endure all the indignities and injuries
MS lH1ltIS tbuiu lnliftt uBoi hitit
When his condition became so poor as
to invite death the officials released
him from the chains and straight jack
ct. He was unable for weeks to use
his hands to feed himself. they having
become during the long confinement in
the straight jacket masses of unnatural
flesh. After having spent three years
in /" solitary he died. The cause of
his death was undoubtedly a blow on
the face from the hilt OF n s~ergeant's
sword. resulting in blood poisoning. but
the directors record ascribes IL To cry
sipelas. From the hospital the corpse
was brought by convicts to the GEM
etery. and after arrangements had
been made to lower the body into the
rude grave the officer in charge gave
the order, with a coarse oath. to drop
the body In. n retired while the con-
victs filled the vault without ceremony.
have never before seen so much old
blooded brutality in so short n scene.
II Is difficult while listening during
the still night to the ceaseless and
varied moaning that arises from the
preside to think that there can be n
single prisoner among the thousand
whose case Is sadder than any other,
they are all so sad: but that there are
cases of exceptional misery is too true.
The case OF the youth Enrique RHO. is
one. While only a boy ne was an
insurgent official in Cuba. but was
taken by the Standards. He was sent
TO Ceuta under sentence of solitary con-
fnement for life with chains. This
monstrous punishment seems to have
been aimed more at the boys family
than himself. for II Is such as is met
ed out only to a hardened criminal.
The harshness OF such punishment
may be to some extent conceived when
II Is known that there is no hope of
release.
Forces. a friend of RHO. Is also there,
and Notwithstanding his tender age.
must undergo the same punishment
that Is inflicted on the most vicious
murderers. The worst case of all is that
of a Cuban leader whose name l am at
a loss to learn. This man was brought
TO Ceuta several a ago, condemned
to solitary confinement for life in
chains. Since he has been there the
venom Of every official seems to have
been particularly directed against him.
How he has survived Is a marvel He
has just been released from a dark cell
to which he had been condemned time
after time c~onsecutively for periods ag-
gregating nine months. with additional
irons at every renewal. n a mini
mum supply of bread me water.
Escape from Ceuta would be easy II
assistance could be had from III out-
side. As Il is. all the precaution taken
by the Spaniards to prevent the escape
of prisoners is a standing reward Of so
which is offered to any person return
ing an escaned prisoner. This reward
makes the Moors wary. and n pris-
oner who nay be 50 rash as to break
for liberty and fall into Moorish hands
will first suffer a frightful beating from
the Moors and then a more frightful
punishment from the Spaniards. 1t
seems curious that no attempt at es-
cape has been successful for the past
two years. There have been three no.
table attempts to escape in the past
wear OF two. The first was hat Of the
Cubans. Marin. Saafreda and Reguerra.
whose plan was to take a boat to Glib
raltar IL miles distant. and thence go
to New York They had already ar
ranged with the boatman to take them
across when they We're discovered. La
ter an attempt was made by other Gu
ans. who planned to get into Moorish
territory and await a favorable ppor-
tunity to leave Tangiers for America.
~ ...- 1881. I.-l L..