St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-07-14
JOHANNES ISLAND.
Where 1t Is and What Naval Officer
Knows About It.

!
! Knows About 1t.
'Ever been to Johannes Island?n said
naval officer on leave of absence to a
reporter.
Think not; where is it? Anywhere
| in the Soundp"
mot exactly. It's one of the Comoro
group"
And where is the Comoro group?"
THE Comoro group is off Madagas-
car, that u.s., from 200 to 500 miles off
Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. Gil
mate tropical; verdure magnificent; air
spiced and dreamy. White men idle;
negroes not very busy; woman drowsy
and half dressed
what took you down there?''
ooh, you know some United States
ship is always slipping through Gibral-
tar, creeping down the Mediterranean,
sliding through the Suez Canal and the
Red Sea, skirting down the coast of
Africa and then shooting across to Rio
or Montevido. They follow one
another, man after man, as we used to
say when we played marbles. We got
through in the Alliance early this year
and another vessel is doing the same
thing this very minute. It's our Govern
ment's method of notifying the world
that there's a civilized power in the
Western hemisphere
''And do they all go to the Comoro Is.
landso'
No; l think not. We went there
looking for slave ship. Odd isn't it?
1t was our business to look up Yankee
schooner that was said to have been
carried Off by her master, Yankee
sailor, and sold to Doctor Wilson, a
former surgeon in the United States
navy, who was charged with using her
in the slave trade. Queer story for the
year 1888, isn't it? Further, we were
ordered to seize her by force if neces-
sary wherever we should find her, pro-
vided it was safe to do so, and send her
back to this country with prize
crew.
did you do it9'
''We found her, but we didn't seize |
her She was under British protection |
at Mauritius. But you ought to see
place on Johannes He's been
living there like prince for | don't
know how many years, with absolute
power of life and death over seven hum
dred to eight hundred slaves and de-
pendents, with thousands of acres in
sugar plantations, and no rival but the
sultan, who has twice as many slaves
IS Wilson, and | don't know how many
wives. Wilson lives in bungalo, which
s one-story house with wide veran-
aahs, hammocks, great fans run by lit
lie negroes and every conceivable lux
ary of the tropics. He has ice the year
'ound, makes the best and coolest cock
ails imaginable, gets the New York
Herald, two or three English papers, all
he best American magazines and no
md OF new books. Once a month he
ends little steamboat of his own to
IN island three hundred miles off to
'ring over his mails
"Keep harem?'' Il
''Well, if he does it wasn't on exhibi.
ion"
''And did he use the Yankee schooner
n the slave trade?n
tBlest if | know; but he said he ,
idn't, and he treated us with the hos ,
'itality of prince" II
''And, of course, you didn't disturb '
limp :
Eyes, we did. We sent dozen men i
yer to one of his sugar plantations; t
pre- away three or four great copper $
oilers which we insisted belonged to i
ne schooner, and carried them off to
outh America. Then we took part n
,g drink with Wilson and left him to F
is grievance and his tropic paradise"
T Y TeLeorGu. g