The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1912-01-19
A VICIOUS COLONY
EngIand's Penal Settlement In
4 the Andaman Islands.
LIFE convlc1s FROM INDIA.
Often the Most Desperate Prisoners
XIII One Another, While Others Fall
Victims to the Native Head Hunters,
20 Mhoy, Murdar Ia Cnorf

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Frederick Taylor, r. r. G. S., writing
in the Century Magazine about life In
the Andaman islands. says:
'eThe 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 $50 miles
from Calcutta
"The prisoners were all manacled
and shackled about the ankles, with
chains fastened to bands at the wrist.
They were despicable lot. At night
d 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 I went on deck and learned
that two of the male prisoners we're
III and had been brought up to the
deck for air. They were closely guard
ed, and raw recruits were stationed at
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
a sport and pastinle. In the settle
ment are about 1,70O prisoners, includ-
Ing 300 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 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 Eve 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 convict woman. In
d limited sense he becomes a 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 tiic ef-
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 sys-
TEN 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 Oh the
head being the easiest ana 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, we're most
daring. Some time ago the steamer
Fulata picked up poor, cmaciated
wretch who was sighted on small
bamboo raft or the Arakan coast. He
was later found to be an escaped CON
vict. When picked up he had been on
the raft for twenty-nine days during
one OF the southwest monsoons ana
rain ana sucking It ron ms tnfDan
ana ION cloth. re Iivea upon hyins