The sun., 1900-09-03
PRISONERS OF ST. HELENA.
IRISH SKIPPER VISITS THE B0ERs'
HILITOP CAAP.

Saw Commandant RouI, hut Missed Cronje
Prisoners Pretty Comfortable, but sch'el'
the Captured German ArunerhL very
Red Bulletins OF Cape Town News.
Tho latest news by British freighter from
the Boer prisonerp at st. Helena arrived yes
tsrday aboard the Hogan Line steamship Mas
conomo, which made slow voyage from the
famous little island. because she has clinginR
10 her hull the retardinE collection OF barnarles
accumulated by lying two months Ia uopio
waters. She will go into dry dock at Erie Basin
to-day and have all the marine gro wths soraped
OF, She IL so foul that she was able to do
only about Q knots an hour.
Capt. Alfred Mann Of tho Masoonomo Is an
Irishman. proud Of his nationality. but loyal
10 his Britiah Government. He called at st.
Helena merely because the ships machinery
had broken down and he thought he might
get II repaired there He found that there
were no shops ashore that could do tho JOB.
40 he told his plight TO the Governor OF the
island, who got the engineers force OF the Brit
ish cruiser Nlobe, lying on the island. 70 M
things. They could not take any pay for IL.
but the skipper gave them . present on behalf
Of the Hogan Line.
The ship was thirty-sI hours anchored
within 200 yards Of the prectpitous shore OF
tho island, on the only port, jamestown WHOM
lies between two steep ridges and Is 30 narrow
that IL can afford 70 have only one street with
out q slant to sarboard or port. When you
try TO get on the street you have to use an olpen-
stock unless you are a natural-born mountain
climber. when the Masconomo dropped
anchor she quickly surrounded by meet
Of bumboats flled with natives with things to
sell They had fruit, necklaces. bracelets
and purses made of bright brownish seeds,
-, inc an lalald.
The room in which Napoleon died. his house
at Ionewood and every memorial Of the Little
Corporal on the island we're among the things
photographed There were also pictures oi
the Beers a. they marched through the streets
Of jamestown under escort Of British soldiers
who did not show up well in contrast with their
stalwart prisoners and photographs oI Cen
Cronje. Nearly every one Of the ships com.
pany bought one or more pictures anu sent
them home to friends and relatives IN BRIAN
Capt Mann had never been on the l7lanu.
and. having an lrishman's admiration ior, the
great French General, he dec ded 70 90 aSn"ir
and take a look around incidentally Visiting
the camp of the BoeT prisoners. lie saws maj
the camp Is about five mile- from the shore ~ a
direct line but by the ZlgIag roads winding up
The east side OF the mountain II /, about twelve
miles away fie went up in a two-wheeIed Trap
and on the way passed many groups OF borrs
bound for jamestown Some of them were
working for the farmers 81 the ISLAND, lheN
gave the Irish skipper military saiute ha, SE,i,1
solemn They smoked long stemued pipes and
wore no uniforms Capt Mann saw among all
that he fell IN with only three mats that we're az
parently intended originally to be parts OF uni
form. He found the prisoners who we're not on
parole or had not the privilege of working Tor
the farmers in an Enclosure about aquarter o!
a mile square, sllrrOu nded by high wire fence
Outside OF this fence and about twelve feet
from i was another. along winch the senuneIo
iatrOed There were notices posted on the
inside fence in English and Dutch warnlns
prisoners that v they went beyond ti,e mr.,
fence they would he likely TO pc Re shot shot Week a1
tss bsca&,s SsGG"s he acS Tfy Ns' %y and
refused To halt when ordered 10 do -. The
sentinel was tried by COurt-martial and exon
Grated.
place called Deadwood Plain. Il is healthy
spot and the southeast trades blow constantly
over it., There vas no sickness among either
the soldiers or the Beers The original gar
rson of the island is from black West India
regiment They have nothing To do with the
Boer',who are guarded entirely 10y men oil the
Gloucester Regiment. Lieut. col. Evans com,
Inanding. The officers Of the regiment and
the Bocr officers, all Of whom have the liberty
OF the island on parole, iraternlle ~ Iatnes-
There Is cable connection with Cape Town,
and the printer Of jamestown gets out az IN
tervals n little scrap Of Cable news OF the war
on sheet Of red paper about four inches square
and sells il to Beers and Brltons for penny
copy. II Is also posted N me - helena ino ,
men from the ships that may he IN port ana
the officers Of the British cruiser Niohc, which
is anchored OF the town 20 see that none ot
the beers escapes. or is assisted in escaping,
by sea. Capt. Mann said
What impressed Inc most about the Boers
was the great difference IN their ages. saw
many gray-haired and patriarchal. Looking men
OF 10 and "A lot Of boys who could not have
besn more than - or 10 years old. Men
Of middle age seemed To be the exception.
They were chiefly very old or very young. |
talked with Col Schiel. the German artillery
officer, and Canno, say that lik" him, lie
was inclined TO be CantankerouS and criticised
everything and everybody. The BOer uffiCeTS
were apparently satisfied with their COndltiOn.
] also spoke with COmmandant RouN, who, l
believe, captured Winston Churchill RouN
j. more than ak feet tall and il one OF the
handsomest men among the prisoners,
most ~ whom nrr big fellows. lie said that h-
believed the war would soon be- over and eN-
N by giving the Beers terms thar would not
be humillatnR did not see Cronle, who
lives az the Governors house, some five miles
from the Boer camp J heard that CronJe and
dine together The Boer officers that | met
struck me as men Of Intelligence. but most oi
the ranl, and file did not seem to me Of very
high order intellectually The Beers live twelve
in a tent and get the same ratons as the men
who guard them. Every month steam,
ship from England with bullocks aboard
anchors or jamestown The cattle arr are
TO the clr bv big crane our own soldiers
live thirteen ia n tent, and SO are u little more
crowded than the Beers. The latter have IN
creased their accommodations 10y building
shscks of bamboo and tree branches They
make tin roofs for the shelters bv fattening
ont Standard Oil cans that once cont aimed the
kerosene used IN the camp. There are aDout
1,tOo prisoners In the wired inClosure. II i
n full view Of tho sea. and the prisoners spend
much time looking out on the water, which
moSi Of them never saw until they were put
aboard the ship that took them to the island