The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-09-20

who was rescued from it by two ven
turesome Americans three years ago.
Dolores De La Rosa, condemned as
murderess, was a witness of that SEN
sational episode. She could have ac-
companied the Cuban girl and her res
cuers had she desired. But instead of
doing so she lay on her filthy mattress,
surrounded by the most vicious and
unclean of her sex, and refused to go.
When the escape of the Cisneros girl,
now the happy wife of Cuban bank
er, was discovered, Dolores De La Ro-
sa refused to answer any questions
concerning the Identity of the men who
had accomplished 1t. For that she
was beaten brutally until she was I'M
conscious by the Spanish keepers. But
she did not mind that, because she had
become accustomed to 1t during the
seven years of her incarceration.
She told a correspondent of the New
York World, as she sat in front of an
American sewing machine at work on
child's garment, that she had been
beaten many times since she had come
from her palatial home on q planta-
ton Just outside of Havana ten years
ago. 9a
The Spanish jailers were not gentle
with the women who came to the Re
coJedos. The knout figured actively
In the daily routine Of the prison. Dur
Ing her time Dolores has seen more
than 100 women whipped Some of
them deserved it, for the great iron
gates of the prison have opened to re-
ceive the most depraved as we'll as the
purest Of women.
Sonora De La Rosa says that some of
the women were worse than the men.
She describes the horrors of prison life
under the Spanish regime with mani
fest terror, even though 1t lies now far
In her past. In the purest Of Castilian
she told of the cruelty of the keepers,
the utter degradation of her surround
ings, the starvation Of herself and her
fellow unfortunates, the whippings
and worse forms of cruelty practiced
by the Spanish guards.
She is thankful for the change to
American control, because it has
brought with it moral and physical |
cleanliness, clothing and food and a
sense Of protection from insult that |
the women condemned to the Recoje-
dos had never known under Spanish
rule
She rarely speaks to any one, but is
a model prisoner, obeys the rules and
gives no trouble. But she will not talk
about herself or the strange crime for
which she was condemned to serve 30
years.
1T is life sentence" she says sim
ply. II shall not live that long"
1 asked her many times during the
hour that 1 spent with her in the large
stone visitors chamber why she did
not clear up the mystery which sur
her and which would bring her
freedom. 1T is known that you are
said, land that man.
md not you, killed your husband"
rs it?" she asked quietly. "Who
Knows 1t? Who can say that? 1 shall
lever tell. do not even say 1 am in
locent They should forget, those good
Americans. l know nothing. shall
lever, never tell, senior. Please, please
10 not ask further"
That was all could get out of her.
But l came away with the impression.
ust as Others had before me, that she
8 not only an innocent woman, but is
making the greatest sacrifice possible
or a woman to make-to save a man
rom merited punishment.
The records of the arrest, trial and [
entence Of Dolores De La Rosa show
hat she was accused under the Span I
sh procedure of poisoning her hus-
and, Luis De La Rosa, a native of As
urias, Spain, and prosperous planter /
I Havana province. Dolores, whose |
anne In her native tongue meana asSor- :