Evening star., 1925-06-07


forth from Los Angeles in the Wis
dom, ketch-rigged sailing yacht,
with no definite purpose except to
circumnavigate the globe. Off the
regular lanes of commerce. the boat
touched at many romantic and
exotic places at the whim of its
commander, becoming a veritable
gypsy of the sea.
On the voyage Capt. Salisbury
was Joined by Merriam c. Cooper,
who remained until its disa strous
end. This article and a succeeding
one are joint record of some of
their experiences, in which Capt.
Salisbury, for the sake of simplifi-
cation, appears as the narrator.
BY EDWARD A. SALISBURY.
Y n a New York club the other day
met a globe-tr who said tC
me: "A white man must live in a
Il white mans country 70 be happy
Whites who dwell in the lands OF
yellows and browns and blacks con
slider themselves always as eXiles. In
their hearts they are never content"
I'm not so sure of that l replied
LAS contented white men as l have
ever known-and cultured white WON
en-, too-live in q land of all three
colors-a lonely island in lonely sea.
lmpOSSlDle, SAID ne. w nat place
are you talking about?"
'Murderers Island" l replied.
"Murderers Island." he exclaimed.
I looked him in the eyes so that he
might know l was dealing neither in
jokes nor lies. "A lonely island with
only one settlement; that settlement
composed of 10000 convicted brown
and yellow murderers; all the rest of
the island dense jungle in which roam
naked coal-black savage dwarfs. and
ruling over the lot a half-hundred
whites Then I added firmly, And
the whites are very happy there"
Listen"
For two years I had been wandering
up and down the world in my yacht
Wisdom. In January l was sailing
north from Sumatra up the Bay of
Bengal. One hot dawn we sighted a
group of low-lying hills, dark shadows
in a purple sea. Along the coasts OF
these island hills there were no signs
of life-no villages, no fisher boats, nc
living beings. Only the dark jungle
which ran down to the silent sea.
But charts showed harbor, and as
the sun was coming up blazing against
the cloudless- sky we sighted a break
In the jungle. AS we sailed in we saw
that a tiny island hill, dotted with a
score of red bun ngalows. lay off the
mainland We swung in around this
lslet, ana there, a quarter Of a mile
away on the mainland, on a low, grass
covered hill in clearing on the edge
of the jungle, stood a huge. square
forblddinE pile of red brick.
| looked through my binoculars and
saw that every window was iron.
barred. On the tower which crowned
the stern structure there were leaning
motionless on their rifles two bearded
men IN Khaki, who wore turbans of the
Skins. 1t was a prison. Around and
about the prison l could just make
out through the trees the thatched
roofs of villages.
nN the little island a signaIfag
huttered up, telling us to anchor.
A rowboat came alongside, and slow.
speaking Scotchman an officer of the
Indian marines, stepped on board. He
was the port officer. Cooper and 1
went ashore with him and walked over
10 low bungalow at the waters edge.
This was the club. Breakfasting in its
big central room was a one-armed
major wearing on his tunic the ribbon
OF the d. 5. o. AS we were served
with cool drinks, the major asked us
our impressions of the Andaman Is
lands
we haven't had much of a chance
TO get any as yet l told him, and
asked what there was to see.
We'll, not much he replied. Only
about 10000 murderers. You know
Port Blair, this place, is where they
send into exile the murderers from all
over India. We have 'em of all kinds
here" He called, Boy" Some one
outside answered loudly and shrilly
"Sahib,' and in trotted a bare-footed
Indian TO replenish our gla sses The
major laughed. That boy is a muir.
derer, too"
l thought to myself, What Iifeu'
And the major apparently read my
thought from my expression. "Oh, it's
not so bad as that" he said. Wish l
could stay here, by Jove, but no such
luck. I'm ordered back to Burma. Now
here comes lucky man. He's been
here 20 years" He pointed at a dry
little man in spectacles who came in.
was introduced and passed on into
another room.
THAT chaps a forester Dane or
something by birth, but he saved a
British ship. He was the engineer
The government asked him what he
wanted as a reward and he chose a
permanent billet here. Lucky dog"
The port officer, who had gone out.
came in to say that the governor was
waiting to see us. AS we plodded UP
the winding gravel road to the big
mansion on top of the hill, we passed
a two-wheeled carriage. 1t had no
horses, but six sweating, half naked
natives were pulling heavily at the
shafts.
BY its side walked Sikh guard
Half reclining in the carriage seat was
a woman, her face almost as pale as
her cool white linen dress. 1t was the
work of the tropical sun, that pallor
I had been long accustomed to recog.
nize it's disastrous effect on the com
plexions of white women.
"A white woman living IN the midst