The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-03-10
DREYFUS' ISLAND HOME.
The Great Tragedy That Was Enacted
in Its NeighbOrhOOd that Cost
About 10000 Lives.

ANVIL A&SOVV AAAVCBs
The island on which Dreyfus is i'm
prisoned, within sight of the South
American coast and 81 miles from
Cayenne, French Guiana, is known as
DEVILS island Gle du Diable), while the
three islands in the little group are
known together as Salvation islands
Giles de Salut). The contrast between
these names is certainly striking, and
the way in which they became applied
to these little rocks is interesting, and
calls to mind one of the greatest TRACE
dies in colonization that ever occurred.
The islands have considerable YER
dure, but in the early days of French
Guiana they had a reputation for ster-
ility which they did not deserve, and
on this account no use was made of
them. They were named Hes du Diable,
and were thought to be of no value un-
til thousands of wretched immigrants
from France who were perishing
among the pestilential swamps on the
Kourou river fled to them in the hope
that they might escape death.
1t was in 1853 that about 10000 per-
sons from Alsace, Lorraine and Saint
onge were landed on the banks of the
Kourou. France was smarting under
the humiliation of having been COM
PEELED to cede Canada to England, and
the bright idea occurred to some of
her public men to replace the lost ter
ritory by clubbing Guiana Equatorial
France" and sending thither fleet after
fleet of colonists. A more cruelty mis-
managed enterprise was never known.
The men who aroused in France en-
thusiasm for emigration knew nothing
whatever of the country to which they
invited the poor victims. They recalled
that in Canada the French had greatly
enjoyed the sport of skating, and ac-
cordingly large supply of skates was
sent with the colonists to tropical
America. 1t was thought, also, that in
their leisure hours they would require
amusement, and so a company of actors
was sent on one of the ships to build
theater in Equatorial France. Those
who provided these means of diversion,
however, forgot to send sufficient food
supplies. and no arrangements were
made for landing and housing the set
tiers. The Chevalier de Turgot, who
was appointed leader of the expedition,
took care to remain in France.
The unhappy victims of this blunder
began to perish by thousands; and they
thought that if they could only get
away from the plague spot where they
had landed they might have chance
to live. They were told that the three
islands which they saw off shore were
the lies du Diable, and that they were
worth nothing for human uses. AT
least" cried the poor unfortunates in
their desperation, they are swept by
ocean breezes. There is no poison in
the air among those islands. We will
call them the Les du Salut, for we
may hope tina, they will save US from
utter extinction"
This is how ii happened that the
three islands came to be known as
Salvation islands and the name has
chung to them ever since. AS group
they are known by no other name. The
immigrants gathered up what was left
of the supply of provisions and $500
men, women and children, all that were
left of the 1900 who had landed on the
neighboring coast, crowded upon the
narrow, rocky area which could COM
fortably hold only about 400 persons.
They landed on the islands without
shelter or clothing, and being exposed
to bad weather and having only the
scantiest supply of food their suffer
on the rocks which they had hoped
would help to save their lives. A few
hundred of them at last succeeded in
getting back to the French port from
which they had sailed.
The Salvation islands were not occu-
pied again until 1852, when the trans
port of convicts to Guiana began. Sairt
Joseph and the lie Royal now form
the convict station proper. On Eng
fish maps the three islands are called
the Salut Islands. and the name lie du
Diabie, originally extended over the
group, now applies only to the island
on which Dreyfus is prisoner, and
which is occupied only by him and his
guards.
The islands are of about the same
area. They form the apexes of tri-
angle, and between them are deep chan
nels where large vessels may ride at
anchor or lie moored to the shore. They
have little wood or water, but rain is
stored in cisterns. The shores are rocky,
and here and there jut out into promon-
tories and cliffs. From Devils island
Dreyfus may plainly see the other two
islands and the mainland, only seven
miles away.-N. Y. Sun.
"Give me a liver regulator and can
regulate the world" said genius. The
druggist handed him bottle of DeWitt's
Little Early Risers, the famous little pills.
Eli T. Reynolds.
Geese with Shoes.