Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-02-05
these natives but final

watching these natives but final.
ly reached the house of the CO.
mandante Of the prison and Sc
cured the permit, and within an
hour | had passed from the f.e
men and free open into The dis
NAL corridors of the prison,
interviewing lift-men and hald
ling their heavy chains.
The prison camp a Bo "a |.
and the ter ~, LONE of the con-
demned at lie Nou, where he
guillOtine ends tie lives OF thOsr
who have merited dea h a co d.
ing to the French COG, the
centers of the great blot among
the South Sea Islands. 10 d.
scribe the terror of this penal
colony would require The pen of
a Milton, and to picture THIN,
could be done only by such a
man as Dore. Such awful despair,
such terrible brutality, such alb
ject misery cannot be found else
where in all the world. One for
gets that these men have commit
ted crimes as he looks upon the
punishment. 1t is a verltable
hell on earth to which they
have been condemned, where ev-
cry trivial infraction of the
rules brings such brutal punish
ment as would not be melted out
in civilized lands to the most
hardened and desperate criminal
for the worst of crimes.
Accompanied by an officer and
by one of the native guards, one
of the most savage looking in
dividuals | have ever seen | went
into the prison at Bourail to see
the life-men who have been sent
here to pass their remaining days
shut off from all that makes life
worth living. The native was
armed with a heavy, knOtted club
and the expressOni Of savage glee
which shOne on. his face as he
followed the officer, showed that
he was delighted with his posi-
ton. Taking advantage of my
desire to know more about these
prisoners, the officer had the
life-men drawn up in line and he
questioned them regarding their
crimes. The first was there for
shooting his mistress, the second
for robbery with violence, and
so it went down the line. but
one seeming to be hardened
criminal and his response was
"for willful murder. He look
ed as if he would like to commit
the crime again on the person OF
the officer.
As we passed along we came
suddenly upon convict sitting
under a shelter, reading a book.
The native bounced upon him AM
tore the book from him. 1t was
a New Testament, but reading
was an infraction Of the rules
and he was immediately dragged
forth and searched, and then
thrust into solitary cell, with
heavy chains fastened to his an
kles. Here he would have to re-
main for several days without
bread or water. These solitary
cells were shown me nearly all o
them having an inmate. Each
had committed some slight IN
Traction of the rules. One was
there because in his loneliness he
had dared to secrete a fldegllng
sparrow in his bosom and was
trying to rear it to comfort him.
1t is at lille Nou, however,
where the most desperate crml-
Iinals are housed and here is the
guillotine ready to finish the
work of the sentence which is
part confinement and then death
These convcits do not know whel
the time for execution comes,
but on the fatal day they are
aroused at Q o'clock in the morn
ing and told that it is time to
die. They are given a special
breakfast, with champaign il
J they desire it, and then a good
Icigar and they are sent on thell
way to the other world happier
than they have been since then
incarceration.
Surrounded by high, concrete
walls, with broken glass strewr
on the top to prevent any posi-