LIFE IN CEUTA
Dangerous weapons manufactured within the prison walls--Frequent
quarrels--Murderous assaults on warders of constant
occurrence--Disorders and lack of discipline owing to the employment
of prisoners as warders--The "_cabos de vara_"--These posts sold
to the highest bidder--Salillas' description of these convict
warders--Worst criminals often promoted to exercise authority
over their fellows--Terrible evils arising from such a state of
affairs--Description of Ceuta--Life at Ceuta no deterrent to crime
by reason of the pleasant conditions under which the convicts
lived--Popularity of the theatre in Spanish prisons--Escapes from
Ceuta--The case of El Niño de Brenes--The different characteristics
of the Andalusians and Aragonese--Foreigners from Spanish colonies
imprisoned at Ceuta--Chinamen and negroes--Dolores, the negro
convict--His assassination by two fellow convicts--Political
prisoners--Carlists--Different types of murderers.
Life is held cheap in Ceuta and indeed in all Spanish presidios and
gaols. The saying "a word and a blow," may be expanded into "a word and
a knife thrust." The possession of a lethal weapon is common to all
prisoners and prevails despite prohibiting regulations. Fatal affrays
are of constant occurrence. At Valladolid five men were wounded in
a fight over cards, which were openly permitted. An official enquiry
followed, with the result that on a search instituted through the
prison, numbers of large knives were discovered and many smaller
daggers.
It is pretended by the authorities that the introduction of such
weapons as well as of spirits and packs of cards cannot be prevented.
The gate keepers however exercise no vigilance or are readily bribed
to shut their eyes. The ruinous condition of many gaols with their
numerous cracks and openings and holes in the walls is partially
responsible. As a natural consequence blood flowed freely when rage
and unbridled passion were so easily inflamed and the means of seeking
murderous satisfaction were always ready to hand. Quarrels grew at once
into fierce fights which could not be prevented and must be fought
out then and there even to the death. Chains and stone walls and iron
bars were ineffective in imposing order. There could be no semblance
of discipline where the two essentials were absolutely wanting,
supervision and honest service in the keepers.
Knives were often provided by the ingenious adaptation of all kinds
of material within the walls, such as one-half of a pair of scissors
firmly fixed in a handle bound round with cloth; or a piece of tin
doubled to form a blade and stiffened by two pieces of wood to keep
the point sharp; or the handle of a wooden spoon sharpened and as
formidable as an inflexible fish bone.[15] Other arms carried and
used on occasion for premeditated or unexpected attack or in set,
formal encounters were a razor, a file, a carpenter's adze, a hammer, a
cobbler's awl.
[15] I have seen a precisely similar weapon in an English convict
prison, the product of an evil-minded prisoner who used it in an
assault upon his officer.
Some surprising figures have been collected by Salillas to show how
frequent was the appeal to violence and how fatal the consequences
of the bloodthirsty strife so constantly breaking out among the more
reckless members of this hot-tempered Latin race. They had often
their origin in drunken quarrels, for _aguardiente_, the Spanish
equivalent to whiskey or gin, was always plentiful, introduced almost
openly by the warders. Ancient feuds were revived when the opportunity
of settling them was offered by the chance meeting in the gaol.
Occasionally a homicidal lunatic ran loose about the yards and struck
blindly at any inoffensive person he met when the furious fit was on
him. Salillas tells us that in one year sixteen murderous assaults
were committed upon warders,[16] and twenty-four free fights occurred
among the prisoners, eleven of whom were killed outright and forty-two
seriously wounded. One truculent ruffian fell upon an aged wardsman
(a convict also), struck him with a shoemaker's knife and then,
brandishing his weapon, defied interference or the rescue of his victim
whom he "finished" with repeated blows. A Valencian newspaper describes
an encounter between two inmates of the Torres Serranos prison in that
city. "Without warning or suggesting the cause of difference the two
silently hurried to a large empty room, rushed at each other with their
knives, and the only sounds heard were those of blows struck and warded
off and of shuffling feet as they circled round each other. Warders
headed by the governor (alcaide) strove to separate the combatants and
succeeded at last in doing so but at peril of their lives. Both the
antagonists were wounded, one had his cheek laid open and the other's
face was horribly gashed. At Saragossa an old man who complained that
one of his blankets had been stolen was fiercely attacked in the
shoemaker's shop by the thief, who had been cutting out sole leather
with a heavy iron tool. Deadly wounds were inflicted on the victim,
but the infuriated aggressor stood over him, keeping those who would
have interposed at bay until it was clearly evident that death had
supervened.
[16] An official report dated 1888 gives a total of 221 prisoners in
the whole of the establishments admitted into hospital suffering from
wounds, fractures and contusions received in the gaols.
The primary cause of the chronic discreditable, disgraceful disorder
that reigned in the Spanish prisons was the prevailing custom of
employing prisoners in the service and discipline of the prisons. This
practice is now universally condemned as reprehensible and it has been
abolished in most civilised countries and even in Spain. The excuse
offered which long passed current in Spain was the expense entailed by
employing a proper staff of officers, a necessity in every well ordered
prison administration. But till quite a recent date the control and
supervision of prisoners in Spanish gaols was practically their own
affair. There were the usual superior officials, assisted by a few free
overseers (_capataces_) but the bulk of the work was entrusted to the
_cabos de vara_.
The vicious system was the more objectionable from the uncertainty
which prevailed in its working. If the _cabo de vara_ had been
carefully selected from the best and most exemplary prisoners some of
the worst evils might have been avoided. But it was all a matter of
chance. Not only was there no selection of the best but there was no
rejection or elimination of the worst candidates. In some conspicuous
cases the office of _cabo de vara_ was suffered to fall into the hands
of men altogether unfit to hold it. Two in particular may be quoted,
those of Pelufo and Carrillo, who having first committed atrocious
crimes, escaped punishment and were actually promoted. One, Pelufo,
was a convict in the presidio of Cartagena who murdered a _cabo_ and
cut his way out of the St. Augustin prison, knife in hand; the other,
Carrillo, slew a comrade in a duel in the presidio of San Miguel de
los Reyes (Valencia) and both were subsequently appointed _cabos_, "a
reward," as a witty official said, "which they had earned by their
services to penitentiary methods."
With such examples and under such authorities serious crimes were
naturally numerous. A few may be mentioned. A _cabo_ named Casalta
killed a fellow _cabo_ in St. Augustin prison of Valencia with five
cruel thrusts and afterwards stabbed an officer to the heart. When the
military guard came up he seriously injured one of the soldiers and
wounded two convicts, one in the head, the other in the back. Casalta
was however condemned to a fresh sentence of twelve years. One Ferreiro
Volta cut a comrade's throat for having given evidence against the
man, Pelufo, already mentioned. Many more cases of the same heinous
character where the homicidal instinct had full play may be picked out
of the published lists. In one prison thirteen already guilty of murder
or attempted murder repeated their crimes as prisoners; in another nine
convicted of maliciously wounding, pursued the practice or were guilty
of awful threats to murder in the gaols. The cases might be multiplied
almost indefinitely but it will suffice to indicate the terrible
conditions constantly prevailing. No doubt murderous attacks were often
stimulated by the tyranny of the prisoner _cabos_, against whom their
fellows, goaded to desperation, rose and wreaked vengeance.
The discipline exercised by these prisoner warders was naturally not
worth much. It was their duty to correct and restrain their comrades,
to assist in their pursuit when they escaped after having originally
most probably facilitated the evasion, to side with the authority in
cases of serious insubordination and disturbance. But they were weak
vessels yielding readily to temptation, accepting bribes hungrily,
swallowing drink greedily when offered, quickly cowed by the threats
of prison bullies and surrendering at discretion when opposed. But
even although there were good and trusty men to be found at times
among them, no real reliance could be placed in them. They generally
represented fifty per cent. of the staff and the necessity for the
substitution of the non-convicted, properly paid, fairly honourable
warders has been very wisely decided upon. The chief danger lay in
their close and intimate association with the rest, day and night
constantly alone when no official supervision was possible. Their
value depended entirely upon their personal qualifications. If they
were weak-kneed and invertebrate, they could apply no check upon the
ill-conditioned, could neither intimidate nor repress: if on the other
hand they were of masterful character with arrogant, overbearing
tempers, they might do immense mischief by tyrannising over their
charges and leading them astray. Men of this class often claimed an
equality with the recognised officials, treated them with off-hand
familiarity, spoke without saluting or removing their caps, while
insolently puffing the smoke of a half-consumed cigarette in faces
of the officers. Salillas sums up the type as "semi-functionary,
semi-convict and all hangman."
The external aspect of Ceuta is not unpleasing. It is built on seven
hills, the highest of which is topped by the fortress, and in the
word "septem" we may trace the name Ceuta. It still possesses a few
Moorish remains, for it was once an important Moorish city. Some of
the streets show a tesselated pavement of red, white and green tiles,
and house fronts are to be seen in white, black and serpentine marble
with decorated scroll work running in a pattern below the gutter.
It has some claims to be picturesque and possesses certain artistic
architectural features. An imposing barrack, that called Del Valle,
built by prison labour, is considered one of the finest Spanish
military edifices. It has also a cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of
Africa, engineering and artillery yards, a military hospital, another
church, public offices, and above all a palace of the governor and
general commanding. The latter in particular, with its extensive
grounds, handsome façade, and suites of fine rooms, the whole well
mounted and served by a large staff of convict attendants, is the
envy of all other government officials. One wide street traverses the
city from west to east crossed by a network of smaller ways, all airy
and well ventilated by sea breezes and constantly illuminated by a
brilliant sun. From time to time convicts in their distinctive dress
pass along, but scarcely cast a shadow upon the scene, showing few
signs of their thraldom and passing along with light-hearted freedom,
smoking excellent tobacco or singing a gay song. No beggars offend the
eye, for to solicit public charity is strictly forbidden. Generally a
contented well-to-do air is worn by the crowd, and even the convicts
are decently dressed. Other inhabitants, Moors from the mainland, and
Jews long established in commerce seem prosperous and evidently possess
ample means gained by their industry and thrift.
The presidio or prison proper of Ceuta covers a large part of the
peninsula or promontory and embraces four distinct districts; the first
is situated in the new or modern town; the second lies just outside
it; the third is within the old town and the fourth is beyond the
outer line of walls. The first part is connected with the third by a
drawbridge called _boquete de la sardina_ or the "sardine's entrance";
the second with the third by a portcullis; the third with the fourth
and last by the outer gate of the city.
In the first are the artisans' quarters, situated in the cloisters of
an ancient monastery, that of San Francisco, and but for the patching
and whitewashing would look quite ruinous. It is neither secure nor of
sufficient size. The night guards are posted in the old mortuary house,
the bars to many windows are of wood. The building contains offices,
schoolhouse, store for clothing and the workshops, these being in a
sort of patio or courtyard, or in hollow spaces in the cloisters, and
are simply dens and rookeries, in part exactly over the old burial
ground. The handicrafts pursued when I visited it were various: men
were making shoes; fourteen tailors were at work; a blacksmith with
a life sentence constantly hammered out the red hot iron; a tinsmith
produced many useful articles; a turner at his lathe worked admirably
in the old meat bones and fashioned handles for walking sticks and
umbrellas. This turner earned much money and was comfortably lodged.
Convicts at Ceuta are not deprived of their profits and spend their
money buying better food, superior clothing and _aguardiente_ and
using it to bribe their overseers, or they cleverly conceal it, adding
constantly to their store. Industry is a chief source of wealth, but
many political prisoners bring large sums in with them, or it is
smuggled in to them, and a successful hit with the "buried treasure
fraud" will supply plenty of cash.
Other industries followed are carpentering and the construction of
trunks and boxes which sell well. A number of looms are engaged in
weaving canvas for the manufacture of sails for the local shipping,
rough material for sacking and clothing of the convicts, all in large
quantities and to a really valuable extent. These workshops are
filled by the prisoners in the first stage of their detention. The
water-carriers and clerks in the government office are in the second
period, and on reaching the third the convicts obtain the privilege of
going at large to accept employment in the town "from gun to gun."
The prison hospital is situated in this first district, an ancient
edifice erected with part of the funds subscribed in times past to
purchase freedom for Christian captives enslaved by the Barbary Moors.
The building is of good size, well ventilated, and enjoys good hygienic
conditions. But the defects and shortcomings in Spanish administration
extend even to Ceuta and the prison hospital, which a local authority
says "is detestably organised and mounted miserably." The roof is so
slight that it affords no proper protection in summer and the intense
heat of the blazing sun striking through is very injurious to the
patients. The medical resources are small and inferior; the beds
few and unclean; the whole of the interior arrangements, furniture
fittings and appliances, insufficient and worn out. There is no
mortuary and to add a small detail in proof of the imperfections,
autopsies were performed in a small den, part of the hospital proper,
without disinfectants and the essential appliances for carrying out
post mortems. Patients seldom made a long stay in the hospital, for
they were rarely admitted until they had reached the last stages of an
illness and came in as a rule only to die.
The second district contains the principal quarters for convicts. One
is in the chief barrack called _cuartel principal_ and another in the
fortress _el Hacho_.[17] Some further evidence of their evil condition
may be extracted from an account given by Salillas. "It is impossible
to conceive," he writes, "a more unsuitable, unsavoury place for a
prison. The rooms and dormitories occupied by the convicts are dark
and gloomy, always damp, full of pestilential odours and dirty beyond
description. The floors are of beaten earth, ever secure hiding places
for all forbidden articles, weapons, tools for compassing escape,
jars of drink, the fiery and poisonous _aguardiente_. It seems to me
extraordinary," he goes on to say, "that life under such conditions is
possible. A thousand and odd men who seldom if ever wash, who never
change their clothes, are crowded together promiscuously in small,
unclean, ill-ventilated, noisome dens and must surely engender and
propagate loathsome epidemic disease." The fetid air is foul with the
noisome exhalations of many generations of pestiferous people. It is
one sink of concentrated malaria--a reeking hot bed of infection.
The services of supply are carried out with abominable carelessness:
the kitchen is an abode of nastiness: the cooking is performed by
repulsive looking convicts in greasy rags who plunge their dirty arms
deep into the seething mess of soup which they bail out into buckets, a
malodorous compound of the colour and consistency of the mortar used in
building a wall.
[17] See ante, pp. 159 sqq.
Close by is another quarter in which convicts are lodged, _el Hacho_,
or the hilly ground or topmost point of Ceuta on which is placed the
citadel which crowns the fortifications. It takes the overflow from
the principal barrack and is moreover generally occupied by the worst
characters, the most insubordinate and incorrigible members of the
prison population. The rooms, as in the barrack below, are dirty,
overcrowded and insecure, but a few windows of the upper story open on
to the Mediterranean and are not always protected by either wooden or
iron bars. _El Hacho_ contains within its limits a certain number of
solitary cells, well known and much dreaded by the habitual criminals
of Spain. They are essentially punishment cells used in the coercion
of the incorrigible and are just as dark, damp and wretched as the
larger rooms. But the solitary inmate in each cell is generally kept
chained to the wall or is as it is styled _amarrado en blanca_, nearly
naked and heavily ironed. The treatment is exemplary in its cruelty,
but does not necessarily cure the subject. There was one irreclaimable
upon whom several years of the _calabozo_ had had no effect. He had
been sentenced to be thus chained up as the penalty for murderously
wounding an overseer in _el Hacho_, but he did not mend his manners.
On one occasion on the arrival of a new governor all under punishment
were pardoned. This convict when sent out forthwith furiously attacked
the first warder he met and was again condemned to be locked up as a
ceaseless danger to the presidio. He is remembered as little more than
a youth, but with a diabolical countenance and indomitable air.
The district of the _Barcas_ does not contain a barrack properly
speaking, but there is a space cut in the thickness of the line wall
entering a patio or courtyard which gives upon seven rooms, some
high, some low; of these three and part of the yard were filled with
munitions of war, and a battery of artillery was placed over the
dormitories on their upper floor. Many of the convicts are employed as
boatmen and watchmen in the port, others have charge of the walls and
carry water up to the guardhouses on the higher level. They also attend
to the service of the drawbridge between the old and new town. One
who was employed as gatekeeper at the drawbridge was well remembered.
He was trusted to call on all convicts who passed to produce their
permits of free circulation or to enter and leave the fortress. He
had a pleasant rubicund face, was one armed, a little deaf, but with
very sharp eyes, not easily hoodwinked. He was a confirmed gossip who
picked up all the news which he retailed to all who passed in and out.
Escapes were of constant occurrence at Ceuta, but few occurred by the
drawbridge of the _Barcas_.
Half way up the road from the town to the citadel and the fort of
the Seraglio was the Jadu barrack which was occupied by the convicts
who were engaged in agricultural work, in making tiles and burning
charcoal. Many of these were foreigners and negroes. The bulk of the
residents was made up of those who had completed three fourths of their
sentences and lived "under conditions," or in a state of conditional or
semi-freedom. There was little wrong-doing in Jadu, thefts were rare,
fights and quarrels seldom took place. The Seraglio was a fortified
barrack of rectangular shape occupied by troops of the garrison and
lodging an odd hundred convicts labouring on adjacent farms in private
hands.
It will be observed that the convicts established in these last-named
quarters beyond the walls do not appear to exhibit all the unpleasant
features attributed to them by some writers in recording their
experiences of Ceuta.[18] No doubt the truth lies somewhere between
the two extremes but it is certain that the chief penal colony of
Spain shares to a marked extent the drawbacks inseparable from all
forms of penal colonisation. We may see, beyond all question, that at
Ceuta no beneficial results are achieved by the system. Criminals who
undergo the penalty are not improved by it; their reformation, too
generally a will-o'-the-wisp under the very best auspices, is not even
attempted, much less assured. On the other hand, it is perfectly clear
that evil is perpetually in the ascendent, that criminal tendencies
are largely encouraged by the facilities given in the education and
practice of wrong doing; that the presidio itself is a criminal centre
where the seeds of crime are sown and their growth fostered despite the
difficulties of distance and inconvenience. The fear of penal exile is
no deterrent to crime for the simple reason that life in Ceuta is not
particularly irksome and that the convict finds many compensations
there. The obligation to hard labour is not strictly enforced. Man
must work, but not hard and chiefly for his own advantage, to gain
the means of softening and bettering his lot. He passes his time very
much as he pleases. Though he rises with the sun, as is the universal
custom of his country, he turns out of bed without giving a thought to
personal cleanliness and proceeds to his appointed labour leisurely,
after disposing of his breakfast, adding perhaps more toothsome
articles of food, including a morning drink of _aguardiente_ bought
from the hawkers and hucksters awaiting him at the prison gates. He is
dressed in prison uniform, but it is sufficient and suitably varied
with the season. He is not hampered by fetters, as the ancient practice
of chaining convicts together in couplets has long since ceased. The
wearing of irons fell into disuse years ago at the building of the
great barrack del Valle, when several deplorable accidents occurred and
it was found that chains interfered with the free movement of workmen
on scaffolding and so forth. The idea was that irons should again
be imposed at the conclusion of the building; "but all who thought
so did not know Spanish ways, nor the despotism of custom when once
established."[19] "To-day (1873)," says same writer, "there are not
fifty suits of chains in the storehouse and not more than twenty are
worn by special penalty and by no means as a general practice." The
convict loafs about the rooms or courtyard or idly handles the tools
of his trade, gossiping freely with his comrades, or taking a hand at
_monte_ or _chapas_ with the full permission of warders not indisposed
to have a "little on the games"; he finds easy means to issue into the
streets to carry on some delectable flirtation; there may be a bull
baiting afoot, a _novillos_ in which all may join, or a theatrical
performance is being given by a convict company in one of the penal
establishments.
[18] See ante, p. 159.
[19] Relosillas.
The theatre is a passion with the average Spaniard and the taste
extends to those in durance. Cases constantly occur in which popular
plays have been reproduced in prisons situated in the principal cities.
Salillas[20] states that almost all the prisons of Spain had their
theatre and he gives the names of Burgos, Ceuta, Ocana, Valladolid,
Saladero (Madrid) and Alcalá de Henares. One writer who visited the
prison performance at Seville of a musical piece, the "Viejas Ricas
de Cadiz," said it was given well and that the vocal talent was
considerable in that and other prisons. At the presidio of San Miguel
de los Reyes the convicts were heard singing a chorus on Christmas Eve
which was perfectly executed and with great feeling.
[20] "Vida Penal en Espana."
In the Valladolid gaol the theatre was regularly installed by a
company of forty convicts who had contributed substantial sums for
the purpose. It had working committees with rules and regulations
formally sanctioned by the governor of the province. The theatre with
seats for an audience of four hundred, and four private boxes holding
twelve persons each, was constructed in a building which afterwards
became the blacksmith shops. A refreshment room was provided in which a
contractor dispensed sweets and pastry and strong drink; real actresses
were engaged from outside at a salary of a dollar for each performance;
invitations were issued to the free residents and the convicts paid
two reales for admission. Well known, high class plays were produced,
comedies, dramas and comic operas.
The whole proceeding was a caricature upon prison discipline and the
authorities who permitted it were very properly sharply and severely
condemned. They exposed themselves to reproof and worse for flagrant
contempt of the most ordinary restrictions in allowing women to pass
in constantly, and in permitting the sale of alcoholic liquors. That a
place of durance, primarily intended for the restraint and punishment
of evil doers should be converted into a show and spectacle was an
intolerable misuse of power and a disgraceful travesty of the fitness
of things. The positive evil engendered was seen in the wholesale
escape of the theatrical company, while the audience patiently waited
in front of the curtain which "went up" eventually on a wholly
unexpected performance.[21]
[21] See ante, p. 128.
In the matter of escapes Ceuta was famous. It was not difficult to
get away from that imperfectly guarded stronghold when the convict
had means to bribe officers or buy a boat and had the courage to make
the voyage across the Straits of Gibraltar. The story of one veteran
convict who escaped from Ceuta is interesting because he was driven to
take himself off by what he no doubt deemed the ill-judged severity of
his injudicious keepers. This was an old brigand known as "_El Niño de
Brenes_," (the lad of Brenes), a name he must have earned some time
back for he was a man aged seventy when he "withdrew" (the word is
exact) from Ceuta. He was a well-behaved, well-to-do convict of affable
address who had gained many staunch friends among the officials and
his own comrades. The position he had created for himself was one of
practical ease and comfort; he lived in _el Hacho_ pursuing various
industries, usury among the rest, and gradually grew so rich that he
gained possession of a strip of land which he cultivated profitably and
kept a fine poultry yard as well as many sheep and goats.
El Niño was a tall well built old man, dark-skinned, with abundant
white hair. He was of highly respectable appearance, very stout and
sleek, and, being on the best of terms with his masters, he took
upon himself to discard the prison uniform and dress himself as an
Andalusian peasant with gaiters and red sash and _sombrero calañes_
(round hard hat). Not strangely this presumption displeased the
authorities and he was told that he must conform to the rules and
appear in the proper convict clothing and cease to act as a money
lender to his poorer brethren. He received this intimation with
a smiling protest; he pointed out that he used his influence in
pacifying ill-conditioned convicts, in staving off disturbances and
preventing quarrels. If his services were not better appreciated
and he was tied down to the strict observance of the ordinary rules
he would move further away; his remaining in the presidio was quite
a matter of favour and he had always at his disposal the means to
make his escape, and if he were interfered with he would take his
departure. This impudent reply quite exasperated the authorities,
who thereupon resolved to employ sharp measures. The facts as he had
stated them were more or less true and the blame lay really with the
faulty and inefficient régime in force. But the authorities would not
tamely submit to be defied and a peremptory order was issued that he
should dispose of his private property by a certain date, wind up his
financial affairs and renounce all idea of exceptional treatment. El
Niño took this as a threat to which there could be but one reply.
He gathered together his cash and portable property and quietly
disappeared. A hue and cry was raised; the usual signals flew at the
signal staff; all gates and exits were closely watched; the police were
unceasingly active in pursuit, but the fugitive had laid his plans
astutely and was never recaptured. Having the command of ample means he
doubtless used them freely to purchase freedom by taking some sure road
past the frontier or across the sea.
Allies and auxiliaries were never wanting to the enterprising fugitive
willing to pay liberally for assistance. In one case a convict had the
courage to allow himself to be shut up in a chest half full of tobacco
and to be thus conveyed to Gibraltar, to which it was returned as
containing damaged goods. Gibraltar is a free port and the chest was
landed without question. Then the consignee opened it without delay
and extracted the fugitive convict uninjured. The last part of the
story is somewhat incredible and we may wonder why the fugitive did not
succumb to the discomforts of his narrow receptacle, want of air, the
exhalations of the tobacco and the shakings and bumping of the box as
it made its voyage, albeit a short one, from Ceuta to the Rock.
An escape on a large scale was effected from the principal barrack when
eighteen convicts descended into the drains, and finding their progress
unimpeded threaded them safely and passing under the outer wall reached
the outlet to the sea. It happened that the water was high and that
there was a great conflict of currents in which that setting inward had
most force and the exit was blocked by the stormy waves. Some of the
convicts committed themselves to the waters but were washed back with
violence against the rocky fortifications and all of them in terror
for their lives raised loud cries, calling for help. The sentries gave
the alarm, the guards ran down and recaptured all the fugitives but
one, a fine swimmer who persisted in his attempt and was swept seaward
clear of the rough water till he was able to regain the shore on the
far side of the Moorish sentries.
The prison population of Ceuta is made up of a number of motley,
polyglot types of the many diverse families that compose the
Spanish race and of other distinct nationalities. The Spaniards are
generally classified under two principal heads: the Aragonese and the
Andalusians. The first named comprises all from the northern provinces
who are generally coarse, quarrelsome and brutal, sentenced chiefly for
crimes of violence, murders premeditated and committed under aggravated
circumstances, the outcome of furious and ungovernable passion. The
Andalusian is of more generous character, lively and light-hearted,
but of unsettled disposition and much impelled to attempt escapes. He
is a chronic grumbler constantly moved to complain, dissatisfied with
his rations and clamorous for special privileges. The Aragonese on
the other hand suffers long in silence which leads eventually, after
long brooding, into mutinous combination. The Andalusian makes his
grievances heard by word of mouth, the Aragonese rushes without notice
into overt action and organised attack. Another distinct section of
the Spanish race is the Galician and the native of the Asturias, a
sober, quiet and well-conducted people at home, who exhibit great
ferocity as convicts. Sanguinary encounters are little known in these
provinces, but when an Asturian or Galician takes the life of his
enemy, he uses artifice and waylays him, decoying him into an ambush
and murdering him often with horrible mutilation. A criminal feature,
peculiar to the women of these provinces, is their addiction to the use
of poison. Other Spanish females will use violence and inflict lethal
wounds openly, but the Galician woman administers poison secretly,
deliberately choosing her victims among her nearest relatives.
The colonial empire of Spain, now a thing of the past, contributed
in its time a substantial contingent of yellow and black convicts,
Chinamen from the Philippines and negroes from Cuba. It was a
reprehensible practice to associate these foreigners with the European
convicts and it produced many evils. The Chinaman was often shamefully
ill-treated. He bore it patiently, but at times when goaded beyond
endurance, retaliated with bloodthirsty violence. The story of one
negro convict, a rather remarkable person, is still remembered at
Ceuta. He rejoiced in the somewhat inappropriate feminine name of
Dolores, and despite his colour was a singularly handsome man. He
had a slight, active figure, a highly intelligent face and a clear,
penetrating eye. His mental faculties were of a high order, although
he had received only an indifferent education. He had the fondness
of his race for fine clothes and although conforming to the prison
uniform wore it with a certain distinction, improving and adding to it
where possible and having quite a gentlemanly appearance. He had been
guilty of a hideous murder in Havana for which he had received a nearly
interminable sentence. His behaviour in gaol was orderly and submissive
and he always displayed the utmost loyalty to his masters, who in
return lightened his lot as far as was possible.
Dolores, as a rule, was of a patient disposition, although he was
easily roused into fits of violent temper and could be at times,
according to his treatment, either a lion or a lamb. It seemed almost
incomprehensible that the mild eyes so calm and peaceable, when he was
unmoved, could blaze with sudden fury or that his small delicately
shaped hands could fasten murderously on a fellow creature's throat.
Tyranny and oppression were intolerable to him and he altogether
declined to submit to be domineered over by the chief bully in the
prison. His defiance led to an embittered conflict--a duel fought out
with knives--in which the black champion conquered after inflicting
many deep wounds upon his antagonist. With his victory Dolores gained
also the implacable ill-will of his fellows. They put him on his trial,
in a corner of the principal barrack and condemned him to death, which
would certainly have been inflicted had not the authorities interposed
to give him their protection. He was removed to _el Hacho_ and placed
in one of the separate cells used generally for the punishment of the
incorrigible.[22] This was fatal to him. Two water-carriers belonging
to the hostile faction entered the cell when Dolores was engaged in
writing with his back to the door, and throwing themselves upon him
gave him two mortal wounds under the left shoulder. In this supreme
moment Dolores put forth his tremendous strength, caught his assailants
by their necks and broke them before the warders could interfere on
either side. Dolores died but he is still remembered in the prison
annals as one of the most valiant and indomitable convicts who had ever
been detained in the presidio.
[22] See ante, p. 194.
Another alien convict to whom Relosillas pays a high tribute was his
own Chinese servant, a convict known as "Juan de la Cruz, the Asiatic."
He seems to have been unceasingly loyal and devoted in his service, an
admirable cook, an indefatigable nurse, a faithful watchman who guarded
his effects and secured his privacy. Juan had many accomplishments;
he could weave shade hats of the finest palm fibre, he was as clever
as any seamstress with his needle; he was a first-class housemaid and
laundress; he could make a dollar go further in the market than the
most economical housewife. He drove the most astonishing bargains with
the hucksters and purveyors of food, fish and game, with which Ceuta
was plentifully supplied. He had been condemned to a long term for
a murder committed in Havana at a hotel, of which he was the chief
cook. In appearance he was younger than his years, tall, thin, anæmic
looking, shortsighted, with jet black hair and oblique eyes. He was
a man of great intelligence, a dramatic author in Chinese and was
released before his time to accompany the Director General of Prisons
to Madrid as his cook. In the end he started a fruit shop in the
capital and prospered greatly.
An entirely different class of prisoners came to Ceuta in considerable
numbers from time to time,--those exiled for political misdeeds. A
whole discipline battalion was composed of military offenders, among
them a number of artillerymen condemned for the rising in Barcelona
and crowds of Carlists and those concerned in the so-called cantonal
risings. One or two politicals were strange characters, such as the
old soldier named "_el Cojo_" (the lame man) of Cariñena, a conceited
veteran very proud of his many campaigns in which he had served, and
who went everywhere on donkey back, being infirm and crippled. Another
was the ex-curé of Berraonda, a Biscayan priest of ferocious aspect,
tall, corpulent, dark-skinned, with an abundant snow white bushy beard,
which grew to his waist and which was left untouched by the prison
barber.
Speaking in general terms of the whole body all types of character were
represented. Some when in funds liked to pose as dandies with fine
linen, smart shoes or rope sandals tied with ribbons and coloured
sashes (fajas); others, the larger number, were coarse and brutal
ruffians, without private means, or too idle to acquire them by the
labour of their hands, much given to drunkenness and very quarrelsome
in their cups. The attitude of most convicts is mute irritation against
everyone, but they especially hate their warders and superiors; they
are surly and forbidding in manner, silent as to their past, little
disposed to talk of their criminal adventures. Yet they display the
most contradictory traits. Even when they have been guilty of the most
horrible misdeeds they often show a calm, innocent face and are little
vexed by conscience. One who was noted for his submissive demeanour and
who in any trouble always sided with authority, was a parricide who had
killed his father under the most revolting conditions.
This youth, barely of age at the time of his crime, had sought his
father's consent to his marriage with an unworthy character, and
when refused, he retaliated by beating in his parent's brain with a
pickaxe. The fit of homicidal fury which possessed him drove him to
kill his father's donkey also and the dog which had been at his heels.
Then, having satiated his rage, he went home seemingly undisturbed,
and made some paltry excuse for his father's absence. When the corpse
was found he was arrested on suspicion, but for want of more than
circumstantial evidence escaped the garrote, and was sent to Ceuta
for life. Yet this miscreant betrayed no outward sign of the horrible
passions that sometimes dominated him, but was always placid and
of an engaging countenance. He was lamblike in his demeanour, most
attentive to his religious duties, never missed a mass or failed to
confess. He was devoted to children and his greatest pleasure was to
fondle the baby child of one of the warders which he carried about in
his arms in the streets of Ceuta. He seemed absolutely callous and
insensible to the prickings of conscience, but he showed in two ways
that he was consumed with remorse. When any reference was made to his
crime, at the slightest hint or the vaguest question, a fierce look
came into his eyes, his mouth closed, his hand sought his knife and
he was ready to attempt some fresh act of violence. The other sign of
his mental distress was that he seldom slept and never soundly or for
long, and his nights were disturbed with groans, deep sighs, even yells
of despair. Yet his general health was good, he ate with appetite,
maintained his strength well, and there was no apparent mental
failure. But he was no doubt mad and under a more intelligent system
of jurisprudence he would have been relegated to a criminal lunatic
asylum. There is no record however that at Ceuta he had been seized
again by homicidal mania.
There were many other types of murderers in Ceuta. The husbands who
had killed their wives formed a distinct group. Jealousy because of
real or fancied injury led to the vindictive thirst for revenge and
this was more frequently found in the peasant than in the higher
and better educated classes. Death had been inflicted in most cases
by violence, but one aggrieved Othello chose poison, rejoicing in
the acute suffering produced by arsenic. Another, who was half a
Frenchman, adopted the French method of dismemberment, and to dispose
of the damning evidence of the corpse, cut it up into small pieces and
distributed them far and wide, but could not hide them effectually.
Extenuating circumstances were allowed him and he went to Ceuta, where
he is said to have lived quite contentedly, never regretting the savage
act that had avenged his dishonour and made him a widower.
Ceuta made its own murderers. Duels to the death were of constant
occurrence as elsewhere, and the authorities rarely interfered even
when fatal consequences ensued. On this point Relosillas says: "During
my stay of fourteen months in Ceuta hardly an hour passed without a
serious quarrel, not a day when some one was not wounded, not a week
without a violent death in the _Cuartel Principal_. These troubles
were due invariably to the same causes, the admission of _aguardiente_
and the facility with which knives and lethal weapons could be
obtained--points already noted and discussed at the beginning of this
chapter. The drink was always on tap, as it could be introduced without
difficulty through the dishonesty of the warders and the unlimited
traffic with the townspeople. The weapons were never wanting, as it was
impossible to check their presence, for no convict would be without his
long sharp knife ready for instant use.