The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-03-24
TWIN HELLS. OF HAVANA.

men, CnOSe Spanish soldiers The line oil
bullet holes is almost exactly a foot wide,
with hardly a. struggling mark. At any
rate, none brought to execution lived toi
tell the manner of it. Tradition says that
when the first volley failed to kill the
everready machete, or bayonet, made
shanables of the place
Presently permission to proceed came
from the commander, together with a,
young soldier, who had been detailed as
guar" NOT of ourselves, where no dam
ger threatened, burt to check any curio-ac-
quiring propenstties we might be prone to
indulge. During the next two hours that
youthful defender Of Uucle Samuel kept
us on the doublequick. Preferring the
pleasures of camtina off duty he trotted
us hither and yon, above and below,
through darksome dungeons and among
ancient, guns, with speed that made us
dizzy. returning an infexible Don't
know" to every query. Therefore the ina
trtcacies of the great prison viewed on the
run, recllr to mind as an endless labyrinth
Of cells and CORRIDORS tunnels and dun.
geons, in which one might easily lose HIM
Self, to be found no more till the reSur-
rection morning: There are enormous
vaulted chambers cut into The solid rock,
some in total darkness, others pierced by
feeble rays of light from small holes near
the top; cells without cells, far under
ground, and subterranean passages, lead
ing-God knows where.
All the large prison rooms have rows Of
iron rings driven into the walls all around
at regular intervals, and double rows Of
g1bbet-llke framework extending down the
middle-the latter forming two long
benches of solid wood, with beams five
feet above them; and from rings and
beams heavy iron chains are suspended
Here. we are told, prisoners yet I'M
condemned were confned-those who were
merely suspected of hostility to Spain and
held for Observation-Disclosures chained
to the benches by day and to the walls
at night. Some of the inner cells, dark
as Erebus, are hardly wide as a grave
and in each a single short chain, riveted
in the clannnny stone tells it's own story.
1t is "a matter of history that thousands
OF Cuban citizens met mysterious deaths
within the walls of Caibanas. SUSPECTED
Of sympathy with Cuba libre, they were
arrested on the most trivial charges, often
on no charges at all, brought here. and
never heard of again. There is no doubt
that besides the open executions, secret,
but authorized murders were of frequent
occurrence.
The few prisoners who remained to be
released by Americans when the war was
| over, told blood-curdling tales of horror
| and despair. They said that every night
each man was chained to his place against
the wall, and often in the morning some
comrades were missing. Among them
selves it was believed that the guard en-
tered in the silent watches of the night
clapped his hand over the mouth of the
doomed man, cut his throat or stabbed
him to the heart and dragged him forth
One of these lately liberated prisoners.
VINO is living IN the Hotel Roman edu-
Gated man, under thirty, whose hair is
white as snoW-says that one evening
near the beginning of the Cuban revolt
he was arrested while sitting in the
plaza. on what. charge he .peYeg.- knsH.
n0l<e I,1 To-
or the larger dungeons, alternately chain
ed to the wall and the bench, with fifty
others, many of whom were his personal
friends, all respectable citizens of Havana,
and all. like himself, ignorant of the cause
of arrest. Having powerful relatives and
a clear conscience, he hourly expected re-
lease BUT days dragged by, and months,
and years-ttll hope deferred died within
him. FINALLY, having had neither trial nor
examination, he was placed in the third
ana farthermoSt of a nest Of cells a.
narrow hollow in the rock not long enough
to allow man to stretch out on the floor.
and fastened to the wall by a chain too
short to admit of lying down. Fortunate
ly the tomb had no door, so at midday a
feeble glimmer of light was visible from
the aperture near the top of the outer
dungeon, and his voice reminded the care
less guard to bring him food, or other
wise he would have starved. Doubtless
his people made efforts in his behalf, but
ne had no knowledge Of it; and when he
was released, four years later; parents,
brother and sisters all were dead-every
relative sacrificed in the long struggle.
In course OF our eXplora tons we entered
subterranean passage, or rather series
OF them, SO low and narrow that we could
just squeeze through by STOPPING, and so
dark that it was impossible to see an
inch before the eyes. Striking matches
frequently and holding each Others hands
ar nf ,,I{f l..
tunnel half mile or more. The path to
unknown perils sloped steepiy, turning
short curves and diyerging to other pas
sages, all trending downward into the
blackness of eternal night. At intervals
iron gratfngs were felt beneath the feet
and rusty gates were seen, now open wide
and presently the sound Of the sea was
heard daShing upon rocks somewhere be-
low. What diabolicial mystery lies be-
yond was necessarily left 10 conjecture.
Our one box Of matches was almost
spent, and the guide refused to tarry.
Promising ourselves to return with
lanterns at no distant day, we reluctantly
crept back to the world of men. There
is little doubt that here may be found
proof of terrible tales eXtant-of doomed
men driven through secret passages at
the point Of the bayonet until they
plunged through some death trap in the
darkness or dropped into the ocean at
the end of the tunnel. a,.s~--,.- -.~
Moro castle is considerably smaller
+ihan Cabanas, and apparently had fewer
greWson1e secrets. It's dungeons are eimi-
lar, though far less numerous. The large
cells have rings in the walls and rows OF
benches with beams above them and
chains dangling from them Each prison
has Its chapel with altar, now dsmantled,
and holy water fol1rBt-intended not for
the consolation Of terrified wretches con-
denmed to death, but for the spiritual
welfare of their jailers. The Moro con-
ta1ns one horror not found in Cabanas,
viz; a crematory with two ovens, for
reducing the dead to ashes. 1T is all conn
plete and having recently been cleaned
excellent condition. Not far from the
ovens is a kind of chute, cut into the
stone, through which the debris Of bones
was dumped into the surf, which at high
tide comes raging into an immense cistern
like space far below. Probably the last
named spot answers to what is known
outside as 'tthe we'll, into Wfich-so says
tradftion-hundreds of living men have
been dropped, bound hand and foot, to
drown or to be dashed to death on the
rocks, or furnish food for sharks-"Asd
Dlos qlfre'' (as God Wills. The Spaniards
obbterated the worst secrets Of MORO
and CO banas, consigning implements Of
torture which would have sfamed the In
question, cannon and other valuables, to
eternal Oblivion beneath the sea- Few
gums are left, and those neither antique
nor servtceable, the oldest bearing date
Of 1876.
The Greaf Advocafe.