THE SCHANTON TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 10, 1890. 11 WHERE SPAIN SENDS HER CUBA CONVICTS Soaetbloj About One of Spain' Island Aodersoovlllet. '. THE DREAD LITTLE ISLE OF CEUTA In It Cruelties Beyond Conception Are Practiced Dailyllundredi Mould Welcome DcathUraplilc Description of the Horrors of Span ish Sovereignty in the American Hemisphere. From the New York Herald. A bald, gray island, set in a rim of blue Bea. A spectral town, white, like a graveyard, walled like a convent and circled with Impassable moats. Such is Ceuta Spain's pet colony for con victs. Here, from dawn until starlight, day by day, three hundred Cubans wield their heavy hammers over the granltt stone heaps, with the hard faced keep ers hovering1 ever -near with ready lash and horrible blasphemy. Here, night by night, from the heart of El Hacho the prison hell there arise strange cries and moans and the hiss of the descending. lah. . The Span ish priest, black robed and sombre, hears It and smiles, muttering to him elf, "Dlos gracias; another enemy to the good king is catching It. When the half dead prisoners march out to the stone heaos on the follow ing day there are livid wounds and dried blood on the backs of several of the gaunt ribbed toilers. Colled about Ceuta, like the convolu tions of great serpents, are seven gray walls. They are thick and hlirh and Impassable, Bave by the arching bridges that span them at Intervals. Between each wall there is a deep moat of sea water, silent, waveless, lifeless, and sometimes odorous with decay and the damp drip of the sea ooze from the slimy stones. SCAKRED BV ASSAULTS. The outer wall Is scarred by the as saults of the Moors, from whom the island and the old ruined town were wrested In times gone by. Here Is the dull white scar where a round shot from some old bell mouthed brass can non has splashed and spread against the stones. Here the parauet Is torn and shredded away In the desperate endeavor to tear a path to the heart of the town. At present every one of the seven walls about Ceuta 'Is fortilii'd, and Spanish sentries roost like vultures along the parapets, dreaming away the hours and hoping against hope that Borne one of the weary squud of prison ers at the stone heaos may prove In subordinate or run amuck at his keep ers. Then pop! the rllles will go, and the convict will roll over like a shot rabbit. Then the sentries will laugh and re-load and talk over the incident during the rest of the duy. Here and there along the walls one sees the frowning muzzles of cannon. They are never used, however, ex cept for signals, and there are line chances of their bursXintr, even with this exertion. They are ancient and antiquated and oblique In pattern and in accuracy. The modern town of Ceuta is built at the base of a high, stony hill. When the Spaniards wrested the town from the Moors they practically destroyed the old city, building the present one some distance away from it. The ruins of the old city may yet be seen. The walls of the ancient Moor ish houses and mosques may be traced, nnd the ruins of the Sultan's harem. The new town of Ceuta Is divided by a great ditch connected by a big stone bridge. The city was at first built be tween the ditch and the hill, but out growing these limitations. It spread over the ditch, and the walls were ex tended to fence it In. All that part of the town built be' fore the extension was made necessary is called by the Spaniards Intramuros and the outside portion Kxtramuros. Tin Intramuros is inhabited by the lower class of the population, a great many of them being fishermen. Their nets may be seen everywhere, and tnelr boats bob (around the Island in squads. The stench of decayed fish is almost insupportable, until one be comes used to it. The htrc ets of the Intramuros are so narrow nnd tortuous that it Is im possible for two water donkeys to pass on the same street until one has Stepped out at the Junction of the near est thoroughfare and made way for the other. The military duties on the island are performed by the Third Spanish regiment of, Africa, under the command of Colonel Antonio A. Condrera. In the Kxtramuros there are two parks, the Plaza de los lieyas and Our Lady oi Airica. Outside the walled city the land Is covered with huge bowlders, gray with moss and desolate In the extreme. LASH SCARED CONVICTS. At present there are sixteen thou sand inhabitants of Ceuta, including the garrison and the penal colony. The Island is twelve hours from Cadiz. A boat arrives at Ceuta twice a week from Spain, always landing at night. when the convicts are all locked in the depths of El Hacho. At eight o'clock every evening the signal gun booms from El Hacho. Then there is a closing of shops and a slam tnlng of doors in Intramuros, and Ave minutes later not a light is to be seen and not an open door may be discov ered. All that one hears in the empty, pel) ble paved streets after thin hour is the shrill challenge of the sentry, as he halts some belated pedestrian. This evening gun is also the signal for all prisoners who are regarded as trus ties" by reason of the divine influence of money, to return to the prison for the night. Woe to them if they are not back within a reasonable time after gun fire. Their backs will bear the marks of the lash for many a day. Doubly woe to them If a file of soldiers is sent to hunt them. Bayonet stabs, blows over the head with muskets, fractured skulls and even death are often the portion of belated prisoners. This signal gun has nothing to do with the stone breaking squad, whose lives are regulated in a far simpler way, by means of a time bell and the lash. They march to and fro, they do not speak, their hammers rise and fall with monotonous regularity, their heads are bent In constant toil, and their convict uniforms are coated with atone dust. So it goes day by day and month by month. Happy the prisoner who has money at his command. No matter what his offence may be, for a certain compen sation, presumably paid to the gover nor, he is allowed to go about the In tramuros as he pleases during the day, attended by a Spanish soldier as a ser vant, and only reporting to the prison at the sound of the signal gun at even ing. El Pacho, "the hell," as the Cubans call It, stands on the top of a high stony hill. Those who visit the prison ascend a narrow, stone stairway. emerging in a sort of court, huge, ueso late and echoing. In the very center of this court, at your feet, is a square and . grated hatchway, through which you look directly into the large and appar ently doorless .enclosure in which three hundred prisoners are confined. ' c AN AWFUL PRISON. .'; The dawn- Is gray on the roofs and walls of the Intramuros. The huge ditch stretches like . a black Styx through the heart of the town. Stand Ing on the elevated court, you look down through the grating Into the dim. cavern?llke enclosure.- One look ana you turn sick at he horrible stench that arises. Iu the dim llzht of dawn you see scores of unturned faces, ghastly, despairing, passionless. The;', see you at the grating and wonder mutely what new lonorje you are avuoui iu fiuuei vu thentV Their lieds are dark and foul and damp. They sleep in a den of filth and fover. where minds are aestroyeu ana bodies racked. These are not the pris oners with money. They are patriotic Cubans who are Buffering for their pa triotism. Among them are Alfred Bet- ancourt. ex-deuuty to the Bpanisn court, and Juan Alberto domes, one of the former editors of La Lucrta, a tiav aa paper. When the- present Insurrection broke out Juan Gomel, who was the leader of the Ibarri party of Cubans, surren dered to the Spanish authorities on the promise of protection and. prompt re lease. He was immediately released. according to promise, but the release was a mere form and an evasion, trie was immediately arrested on "a new charge, and shortly afterward was transported to Ceuta, where he has since labored on the stone heaps for the Spanish dikes. When he was arrested Gomes was plump and fleshy. His best friends would not know him now. He has SCENES ON CEUT.A. SPAIN'S grown as thin as a consumptive, his ribs and joints are horribly prominent, and his back is scarred with a pretty constant application of the lash. These prisoners In the huge enclos ure of the lower court are the stone gang. As they rise from their small beds, they groan with the anguish of their stiff joints and the pain of their wounds. They dress In their soiled habilmentn In moody and hopeless si lence. There Is no water In which to wash their hands, which are caked with the toll of yesterday. On one side of the great gloomy room Is a . small orifice, probably a foot square, closed with an Iron door. Sud denly this door is opened and a dark Spanish face appears. "Venga! Venga!" Is shouted through the hole. At the same time a tin plate is thrust forward, together with a spoon and a cup of water. Uruel, pota toes, bread and tepid water are the sum of the sumptuous repast. The man nearest the hole seizes the platter and falls to, ravenously. Other prisoners who have dressed approach the hole. Still others hurry up, and a line is formed. The clatter of tin plates is Incessant. The convicts snarl at each other like lasting hounds. There are a few murderous Spanish prison ers among them, but It Is as much as their lives are worth to thrust them selves forward at such a time. Just as the last of the three hun dred gaunt men receives his plate there arises the sound of a bell from the roof. MARCHING TO THE STONE HEAPS. An Iron door on one bide of the en closure Is thrown open, nnd again comes the order, "Venga! Venga!" and a squal of Spanish soldiers tile into the court. The man who received the last plate through the hole has barely time for two huge gulps, when the prisln ers full into a close locked line with their hands on each other's shoulders. They march out hrough the prison doods Into the outer patio, down the hill and along the awakening streets, where the small, dark children stare at them curiously. Outside the walls are the great stone heaps where the prison ers work. Then the clank of hammers begins, and it is kept up throughout the day with the exception of a brief period during which the prisoners eat More gruel, ore bread, potatoes and water. The toil Is frightfully monotonous. If only the prisoners could converse the monotony would not be so great. A word, however, means a hissing whip lash over the shoulders or across the face. The rattle of heavy hammers is deaf ening and the dust is Intolerable, but there Is no cessation. The nun climbs rapidly overhead and the heat b?comes stilling. Over on the edge of the kneel ing squal a small pale Cuban prisoner reels with every swing of the hammer. He arrived on the Spanish steamer at midnight with two others, and this is his first day. This young patriot has not yet grown hardened to the work. His compan ions, however, are giants in stature. All three were orllcers under Calixto Garcia In Kastern Cuba. "Madre de Dlos!" the small man ex claims. "My strength Is leaving me. I shall die." - - ' A huge convict kneeling at the next heap curls his lips Into a sneer. His broad back is barred like that of a tiger with white scars. "Ah, my young cub," he Is thinking, "you have not yet cut your milk teeth. I used to think I should die, as strong as I am, but that was years, and years ago. I live still. If I am not mistaken we shall see some fun presently.'' - The slim, pale ('titan reeled and al most fell forward - on his face. It Is probable that the srlzsled old convict felt some qualms at pity as he did. a very unusual thing. Leaning, forward toward the new arrival he w'hlspered fiercely, "Look out, young man. Do you wnnt to eet triced up and flogged half to death?" . At that very moment the young Cu ban pitched forward on his face, half senseless. Up came the guard, whip in hand, ready for the fray. He had seen the old convict say something, and had seen the other fall. Down came the whip across the shoulders of the senseless Cuban, who only moaned with the pain. . Again and a-raln the whip descended with a hiss tike tjiat of an angry snake. I'p sprang one of the young man's companions with a jagged stone In his hand. . .''My God!" he cried; "If you hit that man again I'll brain you." TAKEN TO TORTURE. By this time other keepers had ar- I rived and the angry man was disarmed. The young man, who was still sense less, was carried avvcy, and both hU friend and the old veteran who had whispered the warning were conducted to solitary cells in the depths of El Hacho. Then the work which had been for a brief time Interrupted went clattering and clanking on. Not a breath of air stirred down those rocky copples. The sun blazed and burned.ihe guards made their rounds and the hammers swung with a ceaseless rhythm. Near the middle of the heaps where the men were thickest and the dust was densest an other heat stricken prisoner began to reel like a drunken man. This time the guard did not stop for his whip. After a brief admonition to the sick convict the Spaniard clubbed his gun and struck the prisoner a fear ful blow on the temple, felllns hlin senseless on the rock heap. The sur geon came, felt of the unconscious man's pulse and forehead and ordered him removed to the hospital not from humane motives, however. "The man Is too 111 for flogging." said he. It was not that he was too ill to work or In danger of his life from sunstroke. He was merely too 111 to be Hogged. The sun had not sunk below the old town walls before the prison bell clanged. The older convicts knew wha' the early ringing meant. "Somebody COLONY FOR CONVICTS HOH THE (Krom the New York Herald.) to be flogged." Many a horrible whip ping had they witnessed In the rear patio of the prison. They had grown hardened to the sight of welts and blood. From a heart thrilling tragedy It had fallen Into comedy lines for most of them. So it was with something like anticipation that they marched back to El Hacho. In the rear of the prison Is a large and gloomy yard. In one corner of which Is a double armed post, set Into the ground something after the fashion of a crucifix. Into this yard came the "stone gang," sullen and silent, for the whipping, ex hibition. The guards who were to do the flogging were already stawllng r.ear the post In their shirt-sleeves, with the long nine lashed whips In their hands. The three men who were to be flogged were brought out together In charge of a squad of soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant. "Number 317," said the officer. r. The young Cuban who had fainted In the stoneya 1 was seized by two sol diers and stt ped naked to the waist. Then his han were strapped to- the outer ends of i e cross beam, hM feet were tied at the bottom, and one of the men with the whips was called for ward. PAINTED UNDER THE WHIP. He smiled as he looked at he white and scarless back, rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbow in the mean time. Then he swung half around, poised his whip over his head for a second, then brought it down with a "woof" like that of a running hog. The Cuban squirmed and twisted and strained at the straps, but never a sound came from his lips. Great streaks, dark and discolored, sprang up under the strands of the whip. There was no sound from the crowd of spec tators. Again the lash descended, and again the welts, red and angry, sprang Into view. Then with the regularity of a flail in the hands of a farmer the whip rose and fell, swishing fiercely through the air at each stroke. With the tenth blow the Cuban began to moan mon otonously, like a sick man. With the twentieth he shrieked loudly, and hung supine on the straps unconscious. Then he was taken down and carried away. "A weakling," said one of the men, who had been there twenty years or more, and who had forgotten every thing beyond the seven walled town and the stone heaps. "His hide will grow thicker with time," replied an other. Then the Cuban who had threatened to btain the overseer was strung to the rack. His back, like that of his com panion, was unsvarred by .Spanish whips, but it was gaunt and bony from hard life In the hills of Santiago. An other Hunger came forward. He was broad shouldered and muscular, and eager for blood. There was no hesitation In his ac tions. He fairly pranced around the post raining blows on his defenceless victim from waistband to neck.. The big Cuban lasted longer than his com panion. Three dozen flesh cutting blows had been given before he began to weaken. Then the horrible mon otony of the punishment and. the ex quisite agony of the criss-cross blows that were cutting his back into rib bons were too much for him. He shrieked aloud. He blasphemed heaven and earth. He rev bed his tor turer. He cursed the Spanish govern ment and damned the King of 8pain. Then with a wild cry of "Viva Cuba Libre!" he swooned Just as the otner had done. The hardened old convicts who had received Just such doses Intermittently since the Ten Years' War looked at one another and gazed about them at the audience In a theatre gazes when the hero of a tragedy meets his death on the stage. They were inured to scenes like this. ( The senseless man was 'unstrapped and taken down, and laid on the stones until the surgeon had felt his heart and pulse and had forced a dram of btandy between his clenched teeth. Then he was carried away and his clothing was carried after htm. A TORTURED VETERAN. ., Then came the big convict who had whispered the warning. He did not have to be coached In the etiquette of the whipping post. He stepped quickly forward and drew off his shirt without a word. His back was seamed with old scars that gleamed white on his bul locklike hide. He drew out of his pocket a smalt piece of wood he had secui-.vi for the purpose and placed It between his teeth. Then he was triced up to the rack, more tensely If pocslble than the others had been. - "Now "We'll tVst the quality of El Toro's hide," cald the lieutenant. Then i he bade the whipper go -on with his I cruel work. - All the whipping that had I gone before was were child s play com pared to this. The cuts across El To ro's bread back were deeper, the blows harder. Wow followed blow until the man handling the cat-o'-nlne-lulls wus read to drou with exhaustion. Then a fresher man replaced him and the whip ping went on. All the while El Toro stood there without a sin of his suffering other than the hard grinding of his forehead against the post, the gnashing and bit ing of the wood between his teeth and the bloody foam that dropped from UU lips. There was no moaning:, no cry ing for mercy. He knew the futility of a thing like that. During the pause In the flogging the surgeon stepped up and felt the pulse of the suffering man. Then he called a halt In the proceedings. "El Toro's" back was like a piece of raw beef when his fastenings were loosened. He turned and glared at his tormen tors with the eyes of a wild beast. Then he laughed in a maniacal way and be gan to stamp about the court to rouse the sluggish blood In his hands and feet. Next day he drew his shirt over his bloody back and then the entire PRISONERS ARE EMPLOYED. stone gang was marched once more In to El Hacho, Just as the western sun sank below the horizon. Sometimes the miserable prisoners attempted to escape. Then, if captur ed, they are either shot to death or whipped dally, until they are on the verge of dissolution. It has been as serted, even by Maceo himself, that prisoners are whipped to death In Ceu ta. PLANNING TO ESCAPE. During the past summer a successful attempt was made by four Cubans prisoners to escape from the Island. Their names were Ramon Jovan, Juan Mendoza, Carlos Carrera and Pedro Fuentes. When they concocted the scheme they belig men of means were allowed the liberty of the Intra muros during the day. Cognac was a potent factor In their plans. The men used to meet In a small cafe and proceed to play cards and drink. They also plied their soldier servants with drink until they were stupefied, when thty could talk over their plans without fear of being over heard. Outside the prison, and within the Intramuros, were four small publllnnes, or houses, in which the four prisoners were allowed to live, on payment of a monthly sum to the governor of the Island. There was no hope for them so long as they lived In these houses and Inside the well guarded walls. Seven lofty walls and six deep moats were too much for anything human to overcome. For a month or more they discussed the situation pro and con. Finally they ran across an old Spanish fisherman, with a lust for gold. They pretended to be deeply Interested In bis daily catches. They bought such of his UfIi as they desired, at double prices. They cultivated him at every opportunity, and finally, on promise of the payment of 5,000 pesos, they snared him. He had two boats, one of which was sailed by his son. This boat was to be considered as the property of Carrera and his companions whenever they might desire to use It. Ho far so good, but how to get outside the city walls was the question. The four schemers suddenly evinced a great Interest in the doings nf the stone gang. They observeiT, in the comings and goings of the squad, that the rear guard was always composed of the same man. He was a tall Galllcian named Marat. For several weeks the quartet of "trusties" had no opportunity to culti vate the acquaintance of Marat. Final ly, however, fortune favored them. On? Sunday morning they met the. gib C!al lego guard In one of the Intramuros cafes. At first he was surly and re fused to have anything to do wlUi the prisoners. Hoeing, however, that they were well supplied with money.and.havinga weak ness for rum, he finally succumbed far enough to get drunk. Things had to be worked very slowly, as the men could meet only once a week, and that on Sunday. Another month passed before Marat was ripe for plucking. During the time things had progressed only in hints or verbal skirmishes.- On the fourth Sun day the five men met In the cafe and proceeded to enjoy themselves. Marat being In the full possession of his senses, Carreara suddenly said: "Marat, how Would : ou like to quit this life and settle down for life on a nice little farm In Galllcla?" "Hueno!" exclaimed the Spaniard. "There Is nothing I should like better. If I had 6.W0 pesos and my time was up I would go to Spain and stay there. Oh, I know a beautiful senorlta who would be glad to see me come home!" "Look, Maratl See this gold? Look at the yellow of It. There Is a thouand dollars In that little heap alone. Now, see the strange ways of fortune. I have more than ten times that much, where I can lay my hands on It; you have nothing much, beyond a few pesetas, with which to buy cognac. Do you want that gold, Marat?" BRIBING THE GUARD. "Do I want It?" the Spaniard replied. "I should like to meet you on a dark night, Henor Carrera." 'Well, tt Is yours. Listen." Then Carrera made the square proposi tion to give Marat the sum of (.000 pesos If the guard would help them to escape. For a brief space the Spaniard hung In the wind debating the question from every standpoint. If he refused it was a case of three years longer guarding the Ceuta stone gang In the blazing sun. If he would accept--, enough money to buy a farm and live comfortably. Finally, with a great oath, he declar ed he would accept. The compact made, the scheme of the four prisoners was "brought to light. "In the first place," said Carrera, "we must g:t on the stone rang, which works outside the 'wallr. Once there, with your htlr, the rtst will be easy. We have provided for a boat, which Is to be left nt a certain 'paint en thj western coat cf the Itslund on any day we. may direct. "3o fcr so good. You constitute the rear guard of the stone gang. Now, when we are placed In the ganjt we will take good care, with your assistance, to march 1n the rear of the line. On some evening when there Is to be a whipping In the patio, and the gang is marched to the prison earlier than usal, again with your permission, we will drop out and In between the big stone heaps. "Here we will change our clothes for those which will be left there for - by our fisherman, and as soon as pn9slbl we will strike across the opvn for the shore, which, you know. Is about half a mile away." Marat fell In with the Idea promptly, being blinded by the glamour of gold. "When shall we begin?" he nsited. "At once," replied the four prisoners in concert. "When Will the next whip ping take pluee?'" . "There Is almost iure to bo one on next Tuesday. It Is the governor's In spection day, and he always trices somebody up just for entertainment." "Then we have two days' stone breaking before us, anyway," said Car rera. A few moments of terwfird the pro prietor of the cafe w;is startled at the sounds of a violent altercation in the dining room. 'Ho rushed in. Marat was holding Carerra by the coat coliur with one hand and Mendoza with the other. "Call the guard," he said to the proprietor. "These 'trusties' have as saulted me." The four servants of the convicts were wrapped In a drunken slumber at a table in the corner. The Spanish guard arrived on the run and four prisoners were drasged to El Hacho and thrust Into the large gloom enclosure . where the. stone (rang; was conliued. I'r-.elf arrival- created ho-particular comment. "The dull, hopeless faces of the r?nvlets were again turned to the wall a inqinnt afterward, and the new arrivals sat down on the floor In r.loomy silence, ; The next moriTlnsr, when the' prison bell I ftuii, Carrera end his companions were Very slow hi taking their pans of gruel from the iron barred wicket, whereupon they were cursed bitterly by the guard and placed In the rem of ."the ;rocesslon that slowly wended Its way outside the town walls to the etone heaps. THE PRISONERS ESCAPE. All that day they sat and broke Mones with a .wild enthusiasm they could not repress, In spite of the chok ing dust and awful heat. In the even ing they were inarched back to E! Hacho and locked up. In that march, however, they mentally selected the stone heaps behind which they would drop when the time came and under which were the (iishermen's clothes. Past experience has caused the Span iards to feel secure In the belief that r.o prisoner could escape from the iron bound island. That night the four pris oners could scarcely sleep for .think ing of their plot. They tossed and tumbled and mutered until their com panions bean to curse them bitterly and threatened them with personal violence. Next morning they were marched out as usual, Marat walking behind them In the capacity of guard. Tlila day was a mere repetition of the pre ceding one. They hammered at the stones until late In the afternoon, when their hearts wer thrilled at the sound of the prison bell. "The call to the whipping post," they thought. Then events came rapid ly. Marat, the irutml, was as white as a sheet as the four men fell Into tile at the rear of the procession and started on their march for the prison yard. There was a guard on either side and one in the rear. Suddenly Carrera and his compan ions stopped and stepped quickly be tween the tall heaps of broken stone. On went the procession and on went Marat after them. There was no tally taken of the prisoners until they should reach the prison door. They were simply led Into the outer patio in a body to witness the whippings. Carrera and his three comrades knew this, and they depended upon It to give them time to reach their boat, half a mile away. The stone yard was utter ly deserted after the procession had passed out. The four prisoners dug In to the stones In feverish haste. They soon found the clothes which the fish erman had left and put them on. Then, dodging from stone pile to stone pile, they made for the shore, half a mile away. "The boat will be close by the old ruined mosque,"' the fisherman had said. The whipping would occupy half an hour, or perhaps more. Of this they had already taken up about ten min utes. When they deemed themselves secure from observation they ran like a drove of deer for the ru'ined mosque. Here they began to run about and look among the b!g bowlders, black and slimy with sea moss. A cry from Jo van announced that the boat was found. A large hill sheltered "lem from the prison nnd the town walls. Just as they pulled away from the shore the sun sank and the sea crew purple with shadows. The boat was a small one, with a short, stumpy matt, Btepped high in the prow. They turn ed her head for the coast of Morocco and sailed away as fa3t as a beam wind would take them. They were now powerless to do any thing further. They could only sail and pray for the coming of nl?ht. Sudden ly the sound of a cannon echoed from the far away parapets of CYuta. It was followed by a second and a third and the far away prisoners could sea the white smoke drifting from the bas tions of El Hacho. SUNK CY A CANNON SHOT. Possibly twentv minutes later they saw a small, white sailed craft put out from the shore nnd head In their di rection. Then they knew that their mode of flight had Iwen discovered and that they were being pursued. Hut why by a sailing vessel? For this reason. On that morning a lot of Spanish dignitaries had set reit in the only steam vessel on the Island for a visit io Tunis. Thing could not have fallen out better fur the fleeing Di Isoners. Could the purrulng boat citch them? It was doubtful. The night had crept on rapldlv and darkness was hovering about them. Tt was alums, impossible to see the white sail of too Spanish boat across the Intervening waters. The noon was almost full, but occasional clouds drifted across her face. During her clear momenta, however, the pur suing boat could be Been hiiigtiiir on like grim death two miles hi the roar. So the chase continued until about three o'clock In the morning. At that time the Spanish boat had erepl up to w'lhln a mile. The low coat of Mornc cr wai visible In the south, however the prisoners grew hopeful at the sight of It. Suddenly the wind died away. Roth vessels were becalmed. The Cubing were half a mile from the shore. The Spaniards a mile and a half. The four men trot nut their oars and began to row. So did their pursuers. Twenty minutes of this work and once more the wind struck the Snaniard dead astern. The escaping prisoners could hear them cheering as the sails tilled and the boat came spinning onward, The .wind would reduce the gap be tween the two boats to a marked de gree before the Cubans could catch a breath of It, When the leading bo it got under way again scarcely more than half a mile separated the two sloops. Then the Spaniards trained a small brass cannon In the bow of their boat In a lon-j aim at the white sail ahead. The ball flew wide. Again and again they .fired, with a like result. On the fifth shot, more by good luck than good markmanshlp, the ball tore a huge hole In the boat of the prisoners, knocking Fuenta senseless and stunning the others with flying paraphernalia. The craft heeled over ani sank Im mediately.. Jovan clui; to the aids of It. .holding the senseless Fuente above water. MenUozii.and Carrera prompt ly '-truck out for fha shore; '. They were followed a minute later by Jo van and Fuentes, who hud recovered. Carrot a left his companions' and gradually Inclined to the left, where the shore was more distant.. Being a strong swimmer, ha forged rapidly ahead of his- companions. An hour later he waded wearily up the sandy beach and fell on the sands, half sense lets. Here he slept until morning, when he breakfusted on some oysters which he groped and dived for In a small inlet. Then he struck off down the shoie toward Algiers, keeping as mue;h out of sight of passing vessels as possible. Ten days later he was picked up by a Frenchman and taken to Alexandria by slow Blagos. Here he sailed for France nnd from France he came to New York, where he arrived' a month ago. Carrera has never seen his three com panions uinee he separated from them when the boat sank. It is likely that he will soon return to Cuba and resume his tight for Cuba llbre. BROUGHAM'S JOKES. How a Veteran Actor Hoaxed ao Audi ence and Also Riggjd a Pompous Manager of a Theater. Fifty years tn Journalistic harness brings a man In contact with most of the celebrities of that period, scientific, literary, political, art dramatic. Curtis Uulld, of Hoston, editor of the "Com mercial Bulletin" of that city, in giving his experiences in "A Chat About Celeb rities," just published, tells the follow ing good story of one of John Broug ham's characteristic Jokes: I was witness to one of Bunugham's dramatic practical Jukes, which, with Its sequel, is quite amusing and worth chronicling In these papers. It was during Brougham's engagement at the Howard Athenaeum that he announced for his benefit two attractive comedies, and between these the announcement was made that a new and original pro. ductlon would be brought out, entitled "This House to He Sold.". As usual at Brougham's benefits, the house was crowded. After the representation of the first comedy, and when the orchestra had played an entr'-acte, the audience were surprised by loud voices and an un wonted disturbance behind the curtain, which Increased, and the stage manag er rushed In an excited manner before the curtain. "Ladles and centlemen," he raid. "I regret to state that a member of the company who was to appear In the next piece hns come to the theatre In such an after-dinner condition that" He got no further, for a well known member of the company rushed upon the stage In an excited manner with: "Ladles and gentlemen, am I in an after-dinner condition?" "No! no!" "Yes!" Go on with the play," and various other responses came from the audience. Then entered the manager, who, addressing himself to the speakers, said: "Gentlemen. I Insist that you retire." "Not till I have an apology from him," said the Irate actor.,- "Oo off, nil of you," said a respectable elderly loklng man, rising In the private boxes; "this audience came to see the play, and not to settle actors' quarrels." "Oh, father, sit down, do!" said a young lady with the speaker who at tracted the attention of the whole audi ence. For myself, I recognized In the voice of the elderly gentlemen W. H. Curtis, one of the stock company, and the daughter as Miss Josephine Orton, an other, and I at once began to scpnt a Joke. Just then an uproarious, evident ly Intoxicated Irishman in the parquet jumped up and flourishing 'a .stick shouted: "ftedad, I'll perform a part meself If yo don't bring out Brougham." "Will the officer remove that man?" said the manager from the stage. A policeman came down, seized the offending Pat by the collar, and began to drag him away, when the elderly gentlemnn again Interposed: "The Irishman Is all iiuht; let him alone!" P.y this time the audience were be glnnlg to get in confusion, cries of "Go on," Put him out," resounding, some of the ladles begging their escorts to leave for fear of a disturbance. At this juncture, the manager, addressing himself to the elderly speaker, said: "Perhaps you would like your Irish friend to appear here." " I have no doubt he would make a better iob of It than you do," was the reply, amid a nenl of laughter. At this point the Hibernian, who had extricated himself from the officer's clutches, ran down the aisle, climbed over the orchestra, hitting the kettle drum a tremendous thump en route, and, amid laughter and shouts of the auditors, mounted and stood upon the stage, hat in hand,. In an easy attl tude. The moment he did so. and uttered the words "Ladles and gentlemen," the confusion ceased and gave way to shouts of luughter and applause, as he was recognized as John Brougham, who spoke thus: . "Ladles, and centlemen, I promised you an original production, on the occasion of my benefit: it was, 'This House to be Sold,' and if this house has not been sold, please inform me, and the sell shall be more complete on some other occasion." The sequel to this Is quite amusing. Several months afterward Brougham was' interested with Burton in the management of the Chamber street theatre. New York, where they were both very successful, especially In a dramatisation of "Dombey & Son," In which Burton did Captain Cuttle: Brougham, Joe Bagstock and Jack Hunsby: Mrs. Vernon. Mrs. Skewton; George Jordan, Cracker, etc. When Brougham's benefit : night came round he proposetl to repeat for a New York audience his "House to Ke Sold," but on explaining It to Bur ton, that worthy objected to It as "a piece of Illegitimate nonsense." How ever, nfter some discussion he said: "Well, go ahead. Brougham, it Is your benefit, and It will not be m? fault If you rpoll It with suen trash." Brougham "went ahead," th? an nouncement wen made, a full house was In attendance, and all went on as previously In Boston. The audience was thoroughly de ceived but It chanced that Avhun the police ofllcers In front was sumoned to eject the supopsed Irishman from the audience, that official, not having been Kulficiently posted, supposed the party in n.uestlon to be a genuine disturber, and dragged htm with considerable violence toward the door. "Let me co! Let me go," said the actor in an undertone. "I am Mr. Brougham.'" Tb) Li-dig; Dentist. Eight rim' TOP ACQ Spruce Street. "No yer don't," said the officer. "Tott go. out of here." - ' . . And It we.i not tint!! the -comedian was dressed nearly, to the door, and a couple of ushers had come to his as sistance, that he was released from th ClUtClleS Of the officer tell, .in tin In at a cleverly deceived. j Next morning in the green room Brougham. In speaking of the success of his Bell, plumed himself upon hi deceit of the officer. "Fudge," said Burton, "the fellow la an ass he ought to have known you were an actor. I can always tell an actor after seeing him on the stage aa far as I can see him." Brougham shrnirveil til- -km.i-a and said nothing. Burton was very strict In his prohi bition of any smoking In or nbout the theater, and es'ieciniiv in ha U - . ,, ... ...c chiaitw 'ouy. In thote days me cigarette yiminuc jiuu noi ueen invented, and young men did not have to go out be tween the ftctfl nt lha nlou tn . 1. " - ' 'W niuuH them, so that "No smoking" was en- Auii-cu mm respectetl. The stage door to the old Chambers Street theater In Nuiv Vn.b ..i,ki. twenty pacts of the principal entrance, two steps led up to It. and a little jog or niche at one side was at the corner of ihe building. A few days after the conversation above recited Burton came down one evening to the thenter Inut J,L. and, as he was about tn aniu, tn door, found to his surprise the niche at ... .ue uu upiru uy a uuny irisnman in a bifT. milirh ftmt an, I aln,w,K h ' " DtUUVil net, smoking a sort, black pipeof all imi.Ks, curion s especial abomination. Drawlnir buck in intun.. Hiu(v,,a t ... "."V u u.. ta shouted: "Here, my man, get away from here move away!" "DiVll n hit!" o-rnuilat Ik. In.. emitting a cloud toward Burton that made him draw further back in dis gust. "What do you want here?" ejaculated the manager. "Sure. I'm waltlne- f.r Mr nmnsh. ham," was the growled reply.' - wen, jur. Brougham does not play till the second nlecA Cln awav -n,t come back at 9 o'clock." "Dlvil a bit," growled the Intruder, "till I see Mr. Brougham." "If VOU do tint start T will k officer," said the now Irate manager, as ewo or mree oy-standers paused to lee wuui vun ene maiier. "Call him, and bad luck to yez!" This was passing all bounds of en durance. Steniilnir tn tha mila. mmL dor of the theater, Burton summoned the officer, the same one whom Broug ham had so successfully deceived. "Here, Btlkem, haven't I told you to always keep this stage door clear, and jei iiere is an internal irisnman smok ing his nasty pipe directly across the threshold!" The ottlcer came out promptly. "Now, then, start out of this," said Burton. "Divll a bit," was the gruff reply. "Pllll film nllt " BOM Ull.lnn tn th. officer, who approached, cane In hand, hiiu iuiq ms nana upon tne shoulder of the offender. Much to thplr tnirnrlaa hnwavap ha started up, threw his pipe Into the gut ter, hiiu puiung on ms stuuen nat ana a wig as he advanced Into the glare of the gaslights, said to the astonished manager, in well-known tones: "Mr. Burton, do you think, after see ing him on the stage, you can always tell an actor as far as you can sea him?" "Upon my word," said the surprised Burton, "that was very well played." 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers