The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-04
THE ST. HELENA PRISONERS.
An Irish skipper Visits the Beers
Hilton CRmu.

| Hogan Line steamship Masconomo. which
made slow voyage from the. famous
| little Island because she has singing to
to her hull the retarding collection OF
/ barnacles accumulated by lying two months
in tropic waters. She will go into dry
dock at Erie Basin today and have all the
marine growths scrsped off. She is so
foul that she was able to do only about
| six knots an hour.
Capt. Alfred Mann, of the Masconomo. is
an Irishman, proud OF his nationality, but
loyal to his British Government. He called
! at St Helena merely because the ships
machinery had broken down and he
thought he might get it repaired there.
He found that there were no shops ashore
that could do the job so he told his plight
TO the Governor of the island, who got
the engineers force of the British Cruiser
Niobe lying off the island, to fix things.
They could not take any pay for 1t. but
the skipper gave them a present on behalf
OF the Hogan Line.
The ship was thirty-six hours anchored
within 200 yards OF the precipitous shore
Of the island off the only port, jamestown,
which lies between two steep ridges, and
is so narrow that it can afford to have
only one street without a slant TO star
board or port. When you try to get off the
street you have to use an alpenstock I'M
less you are a natural born mountain
climber. When the Masconomo dropped
anchor she was quickly surrounded by
feet of bumboats. filed with natives with
things TO SELL They had fruit, necklaces,
bracelets. and purses mace or bright brown
ish seeds, and photographs of everything
on the island. The room in which Ma
poleon died, his house at Longwood, and
every memorial of the Little Corporal on
the island were among the things photo
graphed. There were also pictures of the
Beers as they marched through the streets
of jamestown, under escort of British SOL
diers. who did not show up well in con-
trast with their stalwart prisoners, and
photographs of General Cronje. Nearly
every one OF the ships company bought
one or more pictures and sent them home
to friends and relatives in Britain.
Captain Mann had never been on tho
island, and. having an IrishmaI's admira-
tion for the great French general. he de-
cided 10 go ashore and take look around,
incidentally visiting tie camp of the Boer
prisoners. He says that the camp is about
nve miles from tine shore in a direct line.
but by the zigzag roads winding up the
east side Of the mountain il is about twelve
miles away. lie went up in a two-wheeled
trap and on the way passed many groups
Of Beers bound for jamestown. Some of
them were working for the farmers of the
island. They gave the Irish skipper q mill
itary salute. Some of them smiled, but
most looked somewhat solemn. They
smoked long-stemmed pipes and wore no
uniforms. Captain Mann saw among all
THAI he fell in with only three hats that
were apparently intended originally to be
parts of uniform. He found the prison
els who were not on parole or had not the
privilege of working for the farmers in an
enclosure about a quarter of {. mile square,
surrounded by a high wire fence. Out
side of this fence and about twelve feet
from il was another, along which the
sentinels patrolled. There were notices
posted on the inside fence in English and
Dutch warning prisoners that II they went
beyond the first fence they would be likely
to be shot. 4 week before the skipper
visited the place one Of the prisoners, a
cook was Killed by sentinel because he
went out of the first enclosure AID
refused to halt when ordered to do so.
The sentinel was tried by court-martial
and exonerated.
The Boer camp is on the top of a hill in
a place called Deadwood Plain. II Is d
healthy spot and the southeast trades
blow constantly over it. There was no
sickness among either the soldiers or the
Boers. The original garrison of the island
is from a black West India regiment.
They have nothing to do with the Beers.
who are guarded entirely by men Of the
Gloucester Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel
Evans commanding. The officers CT The
regiment and the Boe- officers. all of
whom have the liberty of the island. en-
parole, frsternize in jamestown and talk
about the events of the war. There is
cable connection with Cape Town. and the
printer of jamestown gets out at intervals
little scrap Of cable news of the war
on sheet of red paper about four inches
square and sells it to Beers and Britons
for a penny copy 1t is also posted in
the s. Helena Club house at jamestown.
where il is discussed by men from the
ships that may be in port and the officers
of the British cruiser Niobe, which Is
anchored off the town TO see that none OF 1
the Beers escapes, or is assisted in escap- T!
ing, by sea Captain Mann said:
What impressed me most about the /
Beers was the great difference in their !
ages l saw many grey-haired and patrl- (;
archal-looking men of seventy and lot
OF boys who could not have been more than /
fifteen or sixteen years old. Men of middle /
age seemed to be the exception. They I.
were chiefly very old or very young. /
talked with Colonel Schiel. the German
artillery officer. and cannot say that | like !.
him. He was inclined to be cantankerous
and criticised everything and everybody. (
The Rcer officers were apparently satisfied .
with their condition l also spoke with /
Coinmandant Roux, who. / believe, cap ,
tured Winston Churchill. Roux is moro !
than six feet tall and is one of the hand
soonest men among the prisoners. most OF .
whom are big fellows. He said that he be-
lieved the war would soon be over and eX-
pressed the hope that the British might
end it by giving the Beers terms that
would not be humlliating. l did not see
CronJe who lives at the Governors house,
some five miles from the Boer camp.
heard that Cranje and the Governor are
very friendly. and frequently dine to-
ge.her. The Boer officers that l met struck
me as men of intelligence, but most of the
rank and file did not seem to me of very
high order intellectually. The Beers live
twelve in a tent and get the same rations
as the men who guard them. Every month
a steamship from England with bullocks
aboard anchors of jamestown. The cattle p
are taken ashore on floats and lifted to
the cliff by a big crane. Our own SOL
diers live thirteen in tent, and so are a
little more crowded than the Beers. The
latter have increased their accommodations
by building shacks OF bamboo and tree
branches. They make tin roofs for the
shelters by flattening out Standard Oil
cans that once contained the kerosene used
in the camp. There are about 2.4C0 pris-
oners in the wired enclosure. 1t is in full
view of the sea, and the prisoners spend
much time looking cut on the water which
most Of them never saw until they were
put aboard the ship nat took them to the
island"
Brcsci's Doom.
CFrom the Utita Chsevcr)
For what DO Anarchists commit crimes? II it