New-York tribune., 1911-10-01
CARGO OF CUTTHROATS
To the Andaman Islands win
Seventy Murderers.
HOME OF LIFE C0NvICTS
Nearly as Many Women as Men
in Britain's Penal Settle
ment for India.

Frederick Taylor. F. r. G. s, wrltins III
"The Century Magazine" about native lie
I'm the Andaman Islands, says:
"The sailing Of the Maharaja from 'ai-
cutta for the Andaman Islands was hol
ACCOMPANIED by the usual goodDys ana
handkerchief waving for Of my fellow pas
seneers there were seventy to whom no
one wished bon voyage or "A sate return
These were convcts, all murderers uhdeI
life sentences, who for some reason hau
escaped the death penalty and included SIX
women: for the Maharaja is the ship USED
bv the colonial Indian government 10
transport convicts TO the penal settlement
near Port Blair. South Andaman Island
distance Of $50 miles from Calcutta.
THE nrisoncrs we're all manacied and
shacl,led about the ankles, with chains fas-
,o,ad IN hands at the wrist They were
dosnicable lot. At night a continual moan
ing and curslng and hopeless soooihs came
ND from the matches and made sleep out oi
the question for me, though the Europed"
officer In the steamers CABIN apPd'en"'
silent undisturbed. Early the hrst morning
went on deck and learned that two oi the
male prisoners were III and had oeeh
! brought up to the deck for air. 1hey were
| closely guarded and raw recruits were
stationed at the railing to prevent them
from committing suicide by jumping over
board into the Hugh River
THE Andamans are literally the nome ol
murderers The inhabitants are the Hlos'
vicious members OF an older ciVill%auio"
and the uncivilzed head hunters, among
wbom murder Is a sport and a pastiihe'
In the settlement are about LOO prisoner -
Including 300 women. on arriving at Port
plair tho prisoners first spend six mohIhs
in solitary confinement in the cellular jan
- ,-i,or leland They are then transferred
80 ono of the associated jails and the COM
narrative blessing Of hard LABOR III 'oiiip"'i'
Min others. though still occupying separate
coils AT night. After a year ana ""''
of this they become slaves WORKING III "'',
about the settlement during the day anu
cleaning in barracks at night, always close
~ Guarded. At the expiration OF hVe year
= convict becomes eligible TO JOIN ul'
colony of 'self-supporters' and i've III ti'
,.woao ubere he earns his living In MS
chosen way. lives in his own house ahu
can send for his wife and c'lhoIeh y,
marry a convict woman. In lili'.'
sense he becomes a pater famllias' pu' .
always carefully watched. and cannot led''
tbe settlement without PERMISSION
.nosoite tho rigid discipline and the
vigilance OF the authorities the coiiiinu""
no "a far from harmonious, and the more
vicious often rebel. The murderers XII o,''
another. and are in turn murdered Oy INV
treachereous Andamanese who regaru 'n'
hapless convicts and their guards d. lle''
natural nrey Occasional attempts at eS
oone are made by the prisoners, Dul 'h'
efforts inevitably prove disastrous u'
fugitive. finding his condiuonal
worse than servitude, either dies at ,i''
hands of the Jarawa warriors rams VIZ
tim TO fever or other disease OF stai -
There il also a system in vogue py "l'i'i
the more friendly tribes OF saNases oo
onerate with the authorities IN caplurln7
escaned convicts and receive rewards loi
the return Of the unhappy deserters. Mor'
often however. the head hunters XIII lh'
fugitive and return only the head recelV'
ing the reward just the same, the klillhs
oddirg zest TO the chase and the return
of the head being the easiest ana qulcAeS
way of earning the reward
"Irnder these conditions there are Ie"
attempts at escape. though many reharha
blv hazardous dashes for liberty nave Deer
made from time to time, which, thougi
eutiIa were most daring. Some time aS'
tho steamer Fulata picked up poor
emaciated wretch who was sighted Oh
email bamboo raft off the Arakah coast
tIa ,vas later found to be an escaped con
,ict from the penal settlement at viper
island When picked up he had been or
tho raft for twenty-nne days during one
of the southwest monsoons, and had Sc
cured water by catching the rain and suck
inc Il from his turban and loin cloth. H'
lived upon fying fish that flew aboard the
raft, eating them raw. He was swept oN
the raft many times by the waves but hac
managed to cling to it. After month II
a hospital at RangooD he was returned t'
viper Island prison and solitary conhne
ment.
Another daring attempt at escape was
made by a party of six convicts who Were
sent with two native policemen To a smaI
island off the Middle Andaman to work
They managed to escape from the guards
and hosting the sail of the small boat
started out I'm a gale in the direction of IN
Burma coast The boat, which had botf
sail and oars proved seaworthy, and attel
seven days of heavy weather they Wer'
dashed upon the rocks of the Tenasserin
coast and the boat was wrecked All es
caped with their lives and eventually
reached the Siamese border, where they
were apprehended by the local authorize.
and returned TO the prison.
The Andamanese are an interesting race
10 ethnologists. They are probably one OF
the most ancient of races remaining on th'
earth and stand close to the primitive hu
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