Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-04-26
nls tNn sxEcu1loNeR.
a CHIEF who Himself inflicted tie Death
Penalties He Imposed.

a CHIEF Who tttnteelf inflicted the Deatn
Penalties He Imposed.
If you go down to French Guiana
and ascend the big Maroni river a
little distancs you win find great
many heroes who talk very bad
French. Some of them, however,
have visited France and have a little
education. The more intelligent of
these negroes viii tell you that the
greatest man who ever lived, except
the first Napoleon was Boni One
of these negro tribes is called the
Boni, from the name of the man who
released the people from slavery.
Boni was the intelligent and au-
daciOus negro who, in 1772, revolted
against his master ON the coast of
Dutch Guiana, destroyed his prop
erty. escaped with hundreds of other
slaves and founded a new home for
the people, whom he piloted to the
borders of French Guiana. For many
decades all slaves who escaped from
their masters were able to find their
freedom among the Bonis. A curious
story is told about Boni by the ex-
plorer Henry Coudreau, who has done
so much to make the interior of
French Guiana known.
A long distance up the Maroni river
is the island Adlafo, which means
cutting off the head. This is the
island where for a long time Boni
carried out the execution of crimi-
nails whom he had condemned to
death. The curious feature of his
system of capital punishment was
that he required no assistance what
ever in carrying his judgments into
effect. He alone escorted the con-
demned persons to the island of ID
lafo, and unaided he cut off their
heads. The Spartacus of the me
groes of the Woods" seemed to be
particularly fond of this sort of ex-
ercise. Physically he was the most
powerful man in his country No
one wished to cope with him in COM
bat.
When he had a prisoner whom he
had condemned he would place his
fiintlock and his saber in canoe, seat
the condemned man in the bow of
the boat and then paddle up stream
several miles to the island. He would
not have even a boatman with him
on these little expeditions.
Now" Boni was wont to say to
the unhappy wretch before him, as
he padded along, do not attempt
to escape, for if you do I shall surely
stop you by bullet in the legs. i
shall not shoot to kill you, for l shall
wish to torture you after l get you.
'No, chief" the trembling victim
would often reply, II shall not try
to escape" And such was the terror
Boni inspired that the unfortunate
prisoner would reach the place OF
punishment probably without enter
tanning the slightest thought of es-
Gaping.
When they reached the island,
Boni would tell his prisoner to get
out of the canoe and would then
march him to the place of execution.
This was a large fiat rock, washed
by the waters of the rapid river and
shaded by a tamarind tree. The
rock is still shown to every one who
visits the spot. When they reached
the place, Boni, fierce and inexor-
able, would sternly command:
Now you die. To your knees.
Your hands behind your back. Hold
down your head"
The unfortunate wretch, more
dead than alive, would mechanically
obey the order Boni would raise
his saber, and with one sure stroke
would sever the head from the body.
The head would roll upon the flat
stone, and the blood would be washed
away by the rush of water from the
rapids, which now and then over
spread the rock. Boni would then re-
embark, and upon his return his peo-
pie would more than ever regard him
as an object of terror to evil doers.- =
Chicago Herald.