New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-09-20

you. Raising his arms, in : strong, firm
voice he cries out: 81 am innocent 81
swear TO you Lam innocent! Long live
France!'' Around him rebound The cries.
aThou art a Judas Y Death to him!''
They strip the galloon from his coat !;
they snatch the buttons off they tear.
away his straps Again his piercing
voice is heard: ssOn the heads Of my
wife and children I swear that L am in
nocent p They seize his sword, Snap!
In fragments it lies at his feet. Once
more the clear voice Of the ex-captain
rings out: g ous degrade an innocent
man But the raging crowd have no
pity for the unhappy man and vie with.
one another in shrieking: ssCoWardl''
"Traitor!'' tDirty Jew p Past the vari-
Gus regiments in his dish IGNORED uniform
he is marched Coming to a group of
officers they call out to him aOf with
you, Judas!' y He turns around and
passionately exclaims 81 am innocent!
am innocentp' None has a compass
sionate word for him. Everyone be-
lieyes him to be the lowest of the low.
As he passes a group of reporters, he
cries out to them: Tell the people Of
France | am innocent" His words fall
on hearts OF stone, and they answer:
"Thou liest, Jew! Thou art traitorl'
And in the air are the cries of .sDeath to
him!" "Down with the Jews!'
The painful spectacle was ended. It
had not lasted long, but how much agg
ony had been compressed into those few
minutes for the wretched man who had
been the chief actorln it, and how much
more he had yet to endure. He was ia
ken back to prison and there closely
guarded until early in March he was
put on board the ship that carried him
to one of the Safety Isles off the Guiana
coast, well named Devils Island. On
this voyage he was shamefully treated,
being placed IN the hold and long left
there in sitting heat without food or
water. #
On reaching the island he was lodged
in stone hut, four yards square, with
an iron barred door. He was forbidden
to speak to his guards, and no one was
ever allowed to visit him, so in order not
to forget how to speak he fell into the
habit of talking to himself, After sun
down he was not allowed to go outside
the door. An armed sentinel never lost
sight of him. In time palisade was
erected around the hut so close that no.
thing could be seen beyond it, and
which cut off any sea breeze that might
temper the torrid heat. This caused the.
heat to become so .overpoweling that
Dreyfus could not always bear up
against it, and frequently tainted. The
government therefore ordered it to be
shortened that the prisoner might have
more air. The inhuman wretch who was
in charge had it cut from the bottom
saying that that would cool his feet.
Life in such place, cut off from
friends and family, would under any
circumstances have been wretched
enough, but its misery was added to by
the cruelty of his jailers. Otter they
would sound false alarm that he was
escaping, and he would awaken with a.
start to find a pointed pistol at his head,
which would be kept there while the
guard would rush around showing him
what they would do should he ever
attempt to make an escape. Another
way they tormented him was to keep a
bright light shining on his head during
the night, so that the tropical insects
might swarm over it. When permitted
he would write to his wife, imploring
her never to cease her efforts to have his
name cleared, and assuring her that he
knew General de Boisdetfre would see
that justice was done him. Little did he
know that General de Boisdeffre was
using his power to keep him where he
was.
Thus weeks passed, and months and
years, and still he was left on Devils
Island, day by day growing feebler, but
nerving himself to hold out until an OPP
portunity for clearing himself should
come. Was that time ever to come?
Was he really lnnocent3 # so, why was
he left SO long in such misery? Had his
family and friends forgotten him, as he
had been told they had?
ITO be continued.)