Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-06-28
FATHER AND SON.
A "Reminiscences of the Prisons Of
Cayenne.


"You observe the man, monsieur?
All I perceive his appearance strikes
you. IT'S that of man with history"
We were lounging in the cool, vine
clad, green-jalousied gallery of the
Commentaries quarters at Fort Ma
poleon, and the person to whom our
host alluded, as he paused for mo-
ment in the midst Of the operation of
lighting his pipe, was leaning against
one of the Caibas that lowered from the
trim Enclosure in front of the house,
tallying on a notcheu stick the timbers
which the various prison-gangs were
bringing in from the forest.
A striking figure indeed. Tall, with
broad, square shoulders, and dark,
coarse face, with a certain bordering,
vague, lifeless, but not at all an evil
look in it, framed with heavy beard,
ron-gray like the hair. Long, sinewy
arms, great hands, and powerful limbs,
looking all the looser and clumsier in
the shapeless blouse and trousers and
the heavy wooden shoes of the prison
uniform that encased them.
"A man with a history" repeated
the Commandante, with a vigorous
puff at his pipe, and sinking back into
his chair" and sad one p
It was evident that our host was
quivering on the verge of story, so
common courtesy dictated our next re-
mark" that we should not think
history so unusual thing among a set
Element of convicts."
Halle Ia 1t is no convict !" inter-
rupted the Commandante, out of the
cloud of smoke in which he has envel-
oped himself.
But the dress?" we venture to OBJ
serve.
"Om the dress, it is true. Never
theless, Antoine Girls is free man.
The Commandante composes himself
into more comfortable angle of his
armchair, and puffs the caporal in his
pipe into furious glow. Then moisten-
ing his lips from the glass of rum and
water beside him, and whisking at a
buzzing marabunta with his bandanna,
he resumes, with his eyes fixed on the
subject of his remarks:
"You wonder, monsieur-is it not
so ?-at the man who, of his own free
will clings to those melancholy sur
roundings, houses with malefactors,
braves the pestilential forests of the
Maroni; while we, whose duty claims
us to this miserable wilderness, count
the very minutes Of our period of SER
vice, impatient for the day that brings
release as any of the felons whom we
guard. Truly, it is to wonder at |!
Judge for yourself the reason for it in
what [ am about to tell
Antoine Lemoine, condanane of the
court of La Rochelle, sentence COM
muted to Punishment for life, arrives at
Cayenne in 1851. Serves without sin
gle recorded act of INSTRUMENTATION, is
instrumental in quelling an alarming
enae,te among his fellows, plunges into
the Maroni to save the life of soldier
who is pursued by manati- In the
midst of the worst Of the bad-for it is
of such as are too dangerous to be de-
tanned about the city that our remote
settlement is composed-he is alone q
model prisoner, such as one rarely finds
among the evil creatures who populate
the fever plantations of Cayenne
When I arrive here to relieve my
predecessor, am the bearer of condi-
tional orders for this mans release
for the report of his exemplary con-
duct has plead to his judges for him,
and outweighed his crime, which was
the murder of his wife's paramour, an
actor at minor theatre where the wo-
man-long since dead-had been fig
urante.
[ summon Antoine Lemoine, who
com s-the same striking figure that
you see to-day, but not so gray, and
with another look in his eyes, is very
little different from what he must have
been in France, for the fever of twenty
years, which have swept off his weaker
companions by scores, have scarcely
worn upon the man. tell him he is
free. 1 assign him his place in the ves-
sci which is tc convey the returning gar
risen to France. His bronzed face
lights up for moment at the news
and then the look passes away.
"Antoine Lemoine, u say, II con-
graduate on you on your release"
monsieur lie Comm andante," he re-
plies, speaking slowly, like man whose
power of speech is partly gone from
hum, and who casts about him for words,
!" [ had rather remain 8i
"How?" - -
Truly, truly, Monsieur lie Com
mandante, [ had rather remain"
"Blt what madness is this?" / say,
when my amazement allows me to
, speak. "You despise the mercy Of the
courU which frees you from. this living
death How is this? You have some
reason surely?"
"surely, surely, Monsieur lie Com
mandante"
"What is it then, Antoine Lemoine %
He pauses in his reply, and passes
his uncertain hand across his face.
here comes into his eyes look, soft,