The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-07-13

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Tho isolated spot ghr5 Captain
Dreyfds has e serve k!s seas4 qce
.con6Eises thte IA 1laf u ~ i
the Go1btl 81 Aah 3 6nas -
deerees north 81. The eqnatofs and
EXCEPT narrow sea frontage -
covered with tropical foresta 1i,e
climate is simply mnrdetaaa, CT
tain death being the result Of staRG-
ing bareheaded in the sun even for
ID instant. From November to- pne
il the wet season, during which the
average rainfall is 16a inohes; yet
the temperature il verIess than
SIS degrees, and rises to lib during
the four dry months. Convict ehiPs
bound for these Islands OF the
Curst" generally sail even from the
he de Re, in the Bay of Biscay, Or
the lie d'Aix, in the Mediterranean.
A month is occupied by the voyage,
the horrors Of which are fit pre-
lude to those yet to come. Dressed
in their convict garb, the prisoners
are confned in patches of fifty in
great iron cages. on the spar deck.
Benches are placed round the sides
Of the cage and hammocks are
slung at night. But day and night
they are watched by guards stand
ing behind loaded mitrailleuses,
ready to fire at the first sign Of mu-
tiny. Sometimes, indeed, such out
breaks do occur, but they are in
variably quelled with remorseless
severity. The horrors Of the pass
age are too repulsive for descrip-
ton, the scenes resembling rather
those observable 9 century or two
back than what one would associ-
ate with the present times.
On the arrival of the prisoners at
the Hes de Salut they are taken to
the Camp" clearing occupied
by strongly-built iron-barred huts,
furnished with double rows Of ham,
mocks. But at nigat the fetid at
mosphere within, combined With
the noisome vapors of the outer air
and the ever-present swarms OF
singing insects, render any but
the sleep Of exhaustion impossible.
From the moment Of his arrival
the convict has no name. He is
known ouly by the number Of his
hammock. The new arrivals are
put to the most severe tasks-drain-
ing marshes and clearing ground
ito break their spirits" They are
conducted to their work by armed
guards, who are ordered to fire at
the least attempt at flight. Hardly
any try to escape, for they know
that if they evade the bullets of the
guards and their pursuit, it will be
necessary to traverse the sea and
the virgin forest. At every step will
lie in weight for them death by
hunger, by fatigue, by disease or by
the poisoned arrows of the natives,
who receive reward for every con-
vict they bring back, dead or alive.
Meanwhile, with bodies broken by
their awful toll in a climate where
walk of a hundred yards is a forni-
dable task, they labor in the blazing
sun with spades and picks. About
their heads hang clouds Of singing
insects. Great red ants cover their
bare legs, and sometimes poisonous
serpents twist about their ankles
and inf1ict mortal wounds. They
stand in trenches up to their knees
in water and m;re, and the exhala-
tons rising from the earth consume
them with fever, or set their feet
chattering as with cold, while the
sweat rolls from their forehead. Oc-
casionally, in their despair, some
of the convicts revolt, in the hope,
which is seldom disappointed, Of
finding in the bullets of their custo-
dams relief from this living tor
ture. Others again 60 mad, or end
their lives by deliberately exposing
themselves to the sun, while very
few ever succeed in escaping. In
deed, only once have any fugitives
reached civilized countries again,
and even then their period of free
dom was comparatively brief.
Public Opinion.