Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-10-08
A VICIOUS COLONY
Engiand's Penal Settlement In
the Andaman Islands.

So4SuIld 4OE me AnudulSn lSldnQS 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. a distance OF $50 miles
from Calcutta
The prisoners were all manacled
and shackled about the ankles, with
chains fastened to bands at the wrist
They were a despicable lot At night
q continual moaning and cursing and
hopeless sobbing 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 1 went on deck and learned
that two Of the male prisoners were
Ill and had been brought up to the
deck for air. They We're closely guard
ed and raw recruits were stationed at
the railing to prevent them from com
hitting 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 unciviliZeG
head Aunters, among whom murder is
a spore and pastime In the settle
ment are about 100 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 Il year and a
half of this they become slaves, work
ing in and about the settlement during
the day. and sleeping in barracks at
night, always closely guarded. At the
expiration of five years a 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 in his own house
and can send for his wife and chill
dren or marry a convict woman. In
a limited sense he becomes q pater-
familias, but is always carefully
watched and cannot leave the settle
ment without permission.
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 in
turn murdered by the treacherous An
damanese, who regard the hapless con-
victs and their guards as their natural
| prey. Occasional attempts at escape
are made by the prisoners, but the eff
/ forts inevitably prove disastrous. The
/ fugitive. finding his conditional free
/ dom worse than servitude. either dies
at the hands of the Jarawa warriors,
| falls a victim to fever or other dis
ease or starves. There is also a sys-
tenn in vogue by which the more
friendly tribes of savages cooperate
with the authorities in capturing es-
capped convicts and receive rewards
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 are
few attempts at escape. though many
remarkably hazardous dashes for lib
erty have been made from time TO
time. which. though futile. were most
daring. Some time ago the steamer
Fulata picked up a poor. emaciated
wretch who was sighted on a small
bamboo raft of the Arakan coast He
was later found to be an escaped con-
Wet When picked up he had been on
the raft for twenty-nine days during
one OF the southwest monsoOns and
had secured water by catching the
rain and sucking it, from his turban
and loin cloth. He lived upon flying
fish that few aboard the raft, eating
them raw. He was swept off the raft
many times by the waves, but had
managed 10 cling TO 1t. After month
In hospital at Rangoon he was re-
turned to prison and solitary conhne.
ment
Another daring attempt at escape
was made by a party Of six convicts
who were sent with two native police
men to small island of the middle
Andaman to work. They managed to
escape from the guards and. hosting
the sail OF the small boat. started out
IN a gale. After seven days Of heavy
weather they were dashed upon the
rocks of the Tenssserim coast. and the
boat was wrecked. All escaped with
their lives and eventually reached the
Siamese border. where they were ap
pretended by the local authorities and
returned 10 the prison"