The Saint Paul globe., 1899-02-12
The Prison Of Dre1fus.
From Self-Cnlture Magazine.

In these days. when the name of
Capt Dreyfus is on the lips Of many,
the following information regarding
his island prison can hardly fail to be
Of interest The original sources are
papers and personal testimony of a
French missionary recently returned
from the little known region, and whose
notes were edited and published by a
Partisan journalist within the past
year. That such an article should ap-
pear openly and fearlessly in Paris, in
a conservative literary journal, is in
teresting evidence as to the undercur-
rent of thought in the minds of many
French people.
The Islands Of Safety Qes lies du
SaluD form a group of three rather
small islands situated off the coast of
French Guiana some twenty-Seven
miles to the northeast of Cayenne, and
rine miles off the mouth of the river
Kourou. The group was known up to
the beginning of the last century under
the name of the DEVILS islands Qes
lies du Diable). The king of France
had made a grant of considerable ter
ritory in Guiana, including these ISL
ands, to a party of colonists, who
planned to establish thereon model
colony. The earliest immigrants were
so delighted with the charming pic
ture which the islands presented at a
distance, that by common consent they
Immediately changed the name from
the Devils islands to the undeserved
name of the Islands of Safety; this
name has clung to them ever since.
One of the group. however, preserved
the appellation which fits it better
than any other, for no adequate idea
can be given of the desolation and bar
rennesS OF that accursed place. The
two other islands are not SO bad; on
Royal Island Q'isle Royale) are the
military headquarters. hospital, bar
racks, the guiilotine and the eXecu-
TONER; on Saint Joseph's Island Qisle
Saint-Joseph are confined those ban
ished convicts who are considered dan
gerous and refractory; on these islands
life is bearable, though hardly attrac-
tive But Devils Island. by its loca-
ton and by it's absolute lack of vege-
tation, had, UP to three years ago,
been considered SO uninhabitable that
lepers alone had been able to stay
there. 1t was upon the ashes of lep-
ers' huts that the site was chosen for
the construction of the light house des-
tined for DreyfuS and his guards. This
small structure was divided into still
smaller rooms needed for the wretched
purpose Of its existence.
Upon that accursed spot are only a
lew cocoa HSil1lSs GRASS CdliHOl grow,
for the soil is too tscanty there is
scarcely enough of it to sustain tuft
of parsley Nothing is seen but a bar
rem waste of rocks and sand. All day
long a whitening, scorching, tropical
sun, and from twilight to dawn an un-
healthy dampness. especially favorable
for the Matching of myriads of insects,
some of them venonlous, and for the
most part, invisible--such as mos
quitoes. red ants and jiggers-not to
mention scorpions. spiders, centipedes
and other similar pests living in the
crevices of the rocks. Most of these
insects are so poisonous that simple
bite or sting often leads to fatal re-
suits.
The imprisoned wrefches have to bat
tie INCREASINGLY withVthese pestilential
! hcrdes. If, percbance, some despairing
convict try to flee this abominable land
of desolation. other enemies still more
| fearful are in readiness to environ him
and cut off his flight. Should he throw
himself into the sea. preferring its
/ fathomless and restless depths to the
rough stone floor of his prison-hutch,
! swift, greedy sharks rush upon the
terror-stricken fugitive. If by great
/ good luck the runaway escape the
| sharks he must of necessity swim