Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-10-17

AA&S 49, ~ SSNo4 Lax - AAON -
land.
Old Providence, as the map maker
calls 1t, is in truth a dot on the waters.
Not over four miles from end to end
in its longest direction and half as
much in width, a good walker can en-
Arcle it by the little coast path the ma
tives call a highway In half a day. The
human beings who call 1t home are
confined to its outer edge, for the SUBJ
marine volcano which at some time in
the past ages gave birth to Old Provi-
dence in M Of it's commissions, topped
1t off with a miniature mountain range
stretching above the center Of the is
land. It Is one Of these mountains that
forms the black gaping jaws SO plainly
seen long before the graceful %cocoanut
palms marking the shore line are visi-
bic. In a whimsical display Of its
power the volcano cut a great wedge
in N of the peaks-a wedge fully q
hundred feet across at the top and
tapering to q score or SO at the bottom.
Today, as centuries ago, Old Provi-
dence is a tiny country to itself. Far
out Of the modern ocean highway, in
n of b least ~frequented parts of the
Caribbean, the steamship or sailing
ship has no occasion to pass near 1t
unless driven there by storm. There is
no postof1ce, for the reason that there
is no mail service. True, it Is claimed
by some country just as every point
that sticks out of the sea is claimed.
Colombia calls Old Providence q part
Of its republic, but not q man lives
upon it to act as governor, judge Or
even agent. So its people kill, steal
and commit other crimes utterly re-
gardless of any authority save force
and the little influence Of the solitary
white man who has cast his lot among
them.
st. Catherine, as it was mockingly
called in the old days, was the strong
hold of Henry Morgan. For nearly $50
years the blood Of his followers has
flowed in the veins of its people, but
before the freebooters sailed into it's
harbor the Spanish governor Of Costa
Rica had made it an island prison for
criminals he thought too dangerous to
keep on the mainland. When Morgan
defeated the garrison he placed as
guards of his captives 100 of these o n
victs, released on their promise to join
has band-literally human dregs Of
new Spain. Again the Spaniards cap
tured the island and turned it into a
penal colony until Morgan's flag was
raised above it in 1910 and the struggle
for it's possession ended. Since then
most Of those whs have lived upon 1t
have been descendants Of the white
outlaws, their convict allies and the
black women who went there from the
West Indies on Morgan's ship.
The blood Of the islanders Is the
blood of English, Irish and Scotch, but
adulterated with that Of the negro. To
day fully 1000 persons live upon this
islet-a thousand human beings who
have degenerated in mind until the
majority of them are little better than
beasts. Murder is common; theft is not
a crime; marriage is unknown. Only
the fear Of a stronger keeps many a
man from taking life for a trife.
Most Of the cocoanuts are traded for
clothing. liquor. firearms, knives and
trinkets. After a vessel has loaded
and departed, for days the island may
be the scene Of a drunken debauch,
which brings to mind stories written
about the carousals Of the buccaneers
after the capture of a prize, but here
is no captain or discipline Of the sea.
The weaker are the prey of the
stronger, and robbery and killing pass
unnoticed. 1t is the testimony of Fa-
Their ST. John. the brave priest who
alone is endeavoring to do something
to improve the condition of these peo-
pie, that scarcely a week passes with
out a murder.
With only a handful out of the LOCO
population acknowledging any form Of
Christianity, it is not strange that the
belief in fetiches, ever voodooism,
should be widespread. Witch doctors
and sellers of charms for good and
evil are numerous. Most Of the wo.
men wear next to the skin a tuft Of
hair, a piece Of rag smeared with
blood or some other amulet which Is
intended to cast a spell over their enc
mics or to keep Off Satin, In which al
believe.
But the life and history of these hui
man renegades are not the only eyt
dence to prove that their home is a rea
pirate island and not the sort of which
the noyelists are 30 fond Of describ
ing. At it's north end rises a rocky
plateau covering half a dozen acres
Really It is another island. but sepa