The San Francisco call., 1913-07-27

shark food. Several bodies will be
lying about! But nobody will tell who
did the killing. Sure death awaits an
informer, even man who is merely
suspected of being one.
Secret societies are common, and
the badge of each is carried to the
grave, because it is tattoed on the
members body. They are proud of
those societies, and membership is
eagerly sought in the band which is
the most desperate.
There is a caste that is jealously
preserved. The worst murderers are In
the leading organization, and the
lesser criminals are admitted to others
that are of less Importance. The blood
lest are the most admired.
They share food with the sick, for
even they have hearts that feel for the
plight of a comrade in their own band.
But each society has one great and
common object-and that Is escape!
Each must help the other. The weak
est must stand aside when a break is
to be made. That is because there is
no hope of survival save to the strong
est.
Then the plotters of an escape must
save food. There is nothing that is
served to the convicts that can be put
by except bread and lard. That is very
hard to do because only enough is
handed out to barely keep body and
soul together. When getting ready to
make dash, it is dreadful to have to
do two mems work on food that would
hardly keep a baby, and then save a
part of that.
Some friends and myself decided to
try to get away. We knew the only way
was to build a boat. While working
out in the forest we found place on a
creek that just suited our purpose. You
must understand the workers are fire.
quently spread over a wide area and
out of sight of the guard. We had to
steal few minutes at time to work
on that clumsy craft
I'VE found creek that was sheltered
and there we began our toilsome job.
1t was terribly hard. We had to chop
the huge roots of the grignon trees and
the Llama vines. We had been able to
save only little store of bread and
lard. Therefore we had to be very
careful of our food, but even then quar-
rels broke out as some of the men de-
manded more to eat. It was hard to
deny starving man.
But fortunately one of our number
was a wonder in strength, and very
forcible in character. We called him
Antoine the Bull. Even that vicious
throng did not dare openly to defy him.
He had record, that Antoine, for five
ferocious murders while in the camp.
! believe that man was really maniac!
"But the more sensible of us knew
that he was right, and that the worst
was ahead of us, and we urged the NAL
contents to yield.
Tough as it was to cut the vines, 1t
was tougher still to bend them into
shape. But at last we had fashioned
the side and. ribs of the boat. There
was framework, but 1t was still not
a boat There was no other way in the
short time left to us, so we stripped
ourselves of our scanty and ragged
clothes and nailed the cloth on the
sides and bottom. To this was added
old rags and bits of waste picked up
about the camp.
1--WE had just enough tar to cover a
part of the bottom to make the cloth
resist the water to certain extent.
IN the mean time we had quit the
camp and we knew the Arab warders
that had been brought from Algiers
we're ranging the jungle hunting for us.
But our hiding place had been chosen
too well. Our scouting parties kept