The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1911-12-01
A VICIOUS COLONY
EngIand's Penal Settlement In
the Andaman Islands.
LIFE CONVICTS FROM INDIA.
Often the Most Desperate Prisoners
Kill One Another, While Others Fall
Victims to the Native Head Hunters,
TO Whom Murder Is Sport.

in the Century Magazine about life In
the Andaman islands, says:
"The sailing Of the Maharaja from
| Calcutta for the Andaman islands was
not accompanied by the usual goodbys
and handkerchief waving, for OF my
| fellow passengers there were seventy
TO whom no one wished bon voyage
! or safe return. These were convicts,
| all murderers under life sentences,
who for some reason had escaped the
death penalty, and included six wom-
en-, for the Maharaja IS the ship used
| by the colonial Indian government to
transport convicts to the penal settle
ments near Port Blair, South Anda-
man island distance OF go miles
| from Calcutta
"The prisoners were all manacled
and shacked about the ankles. with
chains fastened to bands at the wrist.
They were n despicable lot At night
continual moaning and curSing and
hopeless sobblng came up from the
matches and made sleep out Of the
| question for me, though the European
officer in the steamers cabin apparent
| ly slept undisturbed. Early the first
morning ! went on deck and learned
that two Of the male prisoners were
| III and had been brought up to the
| deck for air. They were closely guard
ed. and raw recruits were stationed mt
| the railing TO prevent them from com
mitting suicide by jumping overheard
into the Hugh river.
"The Andamans are literally the
homes OF murderers. The inhabitants
are the most vicious members Of an
older civilization and the uncivilized
| head hunters, among whom murder Is
sport and n pastime. In the settle
ment are about LOO prisoners, includ-
ing 800 women. On arriving at Port
Blair the prisoners first spend six
months in solitary confinement In the
cellular jail Of Viper island. They are
| then transferred TO one OF the aSsoci-
ated jails and the comparative bless
ing Of hard labor In company with
others, though still occupying separate
cells at night. After year and n
! half OF this they become slaves, work
Ing I'm and about the settlement during
the day and sleeping I'm barracks at
night, always closely guarded. At the
expiration Of five years convict be
comes eligible to join the colony Of
self supporters and live In the vii
lage, where he earns his living In his
chosen way, lives I'm his own house
and can send for his wife and chill
dren or marry n convict woman. In
limited sense he becomes patcr-
familias, but is always carefully
watched and cannot leave the settle
ment without permission.
I "Despite the rigid discipline and the
vigilance OF the authorities the com
munal life IS far from harmonious,
and the more vicious often rebel. The
murderers kill one another and are I'm
turn murdered 10y the trcacherous An.
damanese, who regard the hapless con
victs and their guards rs their natural
prey. Occasional attempts at escape
are made by the prisoners, but the cf-
forts inevitably prove disastrous. The
fugitive, finding his conditional free
dom worse than servitude, either dies
Mt the hands Of the Jarawa warriors
falls a victim to fever or other dis
ease or starves. There Is also q sys-
TEN In vogue by which the more
friendly tribes OF savages cooperate
with the authorities I'm capturing cs
|
for the return OF the unhappy desert
ers. More often. however, the head
hunters kill the fugitive and return
only the head, receiving the reward
Just the same, the killing adding zest
to the chase and the return of the
head being the easiest and quickest
way of earning the reward.
"Under these conditions there 81,
few attempts Mt escape. though man,
remarkably hazardous dashes for lih
erty have been made from time {,
time. which, though futile, were mos
daring. Some time ago the steamer
Fulata picked up n poor. emaCiatet
wretch who was sighted on smal
bamboo raft off the Arakan coast. III
was later found to be an escaped con
vict. When picked up he had been oi
the raft for twenty-nine days durin'
one OF the southwest monsoons an'
had secured water 10y catching tn
rain and sucking IL from his turhaI
and loln cloth. lie lived upon hyini
fish that few aboard the raft, eatinI
them raw He was swept off the raf
many times by the waves, but ha'
managed TO cling TO It. After mont
In hospital at Rangoon he was re
turned to prison and solitary confnc
ment
Another daring attempt at eScap
4 was made by n party of six convict
who were sent with two native police
men to small island Off the middl
Andaman to work. They managed
escape from the guards and, holstin
the sail OF the small boat started on