The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-01-22
CHAPTER N.

CHAPTER NJ.
The Spanish gold mine was hell in
the midst of a paradise, a loathsome
canker on the fairest piece Of earth's
bosom. The air was loaded with sweet
perfumes and foul with Castilian |
oaths. 1t murmured with the songs
Z of beautiful birds and shivered with
the crackings of slave drivers whips. !,
The humming music of the waterfall
was married by the discord Of clanking |
letters. Nature had done her best
Man, as if in jealousy, had done his
worst. 1t was the garter of Eden,
but in the midst ef II yawned loath-
some chasm, girdled with unsightly
debris and alive with swarms of filthy.
ragged slaves.
For eight horrid months Alec and l
and 20 of our men worked in the
chain gangs at these mines, and of the
torments we endured no words of mine
are strong enough to give conception.
To the human fends who were our
taskmasters no pleasure was like
\ that of making an Englishman suffer
pain and no spectacle SO humorous as
to see him undergo indignity. They
drove us like cattle to the work; they
made us toll when the fierce heat of
1.-THE day would almost choke the lungs;
i! {they fed us on putrid meat and sour
55lmai-e burgoo when sweet goats flesh
lend. delicious fruit clusters were to be
had as cheaply; they jailed us at night
s,, or
chained us up like wild beasts, so that
ia the end they took from us even the
q over to restore our jaded energies
with sleep.
Once during moonless night we
\ broke the letters and tried to escape.
Once on rainy day we rose on the
guards and made for the woods, but
both efforts were in vain, and those
that did not get cut down or shot out
L of their misery were logged till the
bleeding flesh hung in shreds from
their backs. And of our fellow slaves
the mild eyed Indian peasants mar
yelled in stupid wonder at our foolish
daring. and the fierce eyed Spanish
thieves and murderers gloated over
our recapture and punishment.
Tortured. reviled. despised, we lived
for eight months within sight Of the
beauties Of paradise. enduring the
agonies Of hell, and then came {
change.
We were summoned one morning no
to work, but to toe line before thu
treasury. Great skin covered packs O
metal, as much as man could stagge
under, were brought out and strapped
on our shoulders. Then we were al
linked to chain and driven off dow
narrow trail. Where it led to we dit
not know, and no one would tell us
but, long though the way was. w
marked every inch of it with swea
from our b1ows, with blood from GU
blistered feet and with muttered curse
against our merciless captors Coul
we but have snatched arms and libert
Il for few moments there would hav
been a bitter reckoning among thos
tyrants.
They knew it. too, and tainted U
with our helplessness, but the light Q
hatred in our eyes must have scare
them a little, else why did they hal
starye us if not to keep down til
growth of superintendent muscle? Hig
mettled horses are not fed too we
when they are set to do farm work.
After march of 20 days. durin
which one poor Minehead lad die
through sheer exhaustion, we arrive
within view of the blessed sea ono
more, and the sight of it sent new el
ergy pulsing through the veins of e.
cry man of us. This our Spanish ma
tiers observed and grimly bade us mo-
crate our joy, for the inquisition ha
need Of us. hereticos maldettos tn;
we were.
And then they laughed at their ow
wit and playfully ficked us with Il
slave whips
But the freedom of the sea bree,
had entered into our brains. and "
were sanguine, though heaven know
there was but little cause for hop
The man next behind me in the cha
gang, whose shoulders were smarti1
from one of those humorous lash cut
whispered, "We'll get to wind'ard
these devils yet, Master Topp. al
then
! nodded my head, and, absu
though it seemed, had a feeling tn
he was right and that we should ha'
our turn soon.
d j 4 X