Evening star., 1926-05-04
PRISON COLONIES
STILL MAINTAINED
Devils Island Recalls Other
Famous Penal Islands
and Territories.

La. Mariniere, said to be the last
Frehch convict ship, sailed out Of La
Rochelle recently with $40 convicts
destined for incarceration on Devils
Island. French Guiana.
Recently also Mexico dispatched a
noted criminal TO its lonely convict
Island, Maria Madre.
Russia has started air service be-
tween KEN and Solovetski Island IN
the White Sea to transport prisoners.
The famous monastery on the island
has been converted into prison.
These three incidents show that
the practice OF maintaining convict
colonies in the worlds loneliest places
has not entirely been given up says
Society from its headquarters here.
Famous Penal Colonies.
Devils Island, Maria Madre and
Solovetski Island are in very mixed
company historically. Virginia, St
Helena. F'unchal. Monte Cristo.
Siberia. the Seychelles, Australia New
Caledonia. Andaman Island. Tas-
mania and Sakhalin have all been
penal colonies for more or less dis
tinguished prisoners.
"St. Helena, Funchal and the
Seychelles are royal prison islands
The others in their time served Tor
common criminals or unlucky poll
ticians. When Elba failed to hold
Napoleon, he was placed on st. Hell
ena, we'll toward the middle Of the
South Atlantic. out of harm and out
OF the shipping lanes. That vas In
1915. He died in 1921.
'Funcfal in the Azores and the
! Seychelles on the east coast OF Al
| rica north Of Madagascar, are more
recent prison stations. In Africa the
British occasionally find il expedielit
, TO absent certain native rulers IRON
! their subjects. So. when Prempeh,
king Of the Ashanti on the golc
coast, spilled too much blood. they
sent him to sojourn in the sootn:ng
| climate Of the Seychelles: Prempen.
| after 20 years. returned 70 his peo-
asylum. But the English did. 50 they
sent AIwanga, deposed ruler OF
Uganda, to join him and then
Kabarega OF Cnyoro. Sayyid Khahd
of Zanzibar and Saad Zeghul or
| Egypt. The Seychelles detention
| was not nearly so effective in the
! case OF Zaehul. who IS now the lead
/ err OF a popular party i'll Egypt. TO
Funchal was sent the deposed En-
l<peror OF Austria Hungary, fmmedi,
ately following the end Of the World
I War. lie QleQ III eAAlc. Il'o N4NO o-'N
! children are now in Spain.
Tourists visit Chateau DIFF.
>Chateau DIFF. the castle in which
,bA hAro Of Dumas novel. The Count
of Monte Christie vas confined fol
| "a wears, now receives tourists from
| AIarseilie. Curiously. Monte Christie,
where Morei went after his escape
| was also a penal colony Island roT
many years. Monte Christie Is owned
by ITALY. II lies OF the coast from,
Leghorn and about 2o miles nortn OF
Elba.
"Tsarist Russia. for a time, sent
600 prisoners TO Siberia annually.
! Much OF the famous Transioerian
Railway was built with prison labor
! The chief horror Of Siberian exile was
| the knout. BY II. or BY terror OF II,
| guards kept prisoners dociie. The
handle Of the krout Is a heavy Wood
stick. IS inches long. Fastened TO il
is a thong of raWhide. About elgh'
feet from the handle the thong -
split in three parts. These streamers
are three feet long. The ends are
tied into hard knots, although iead o.
4 iron hooks sometimes we're used.
| .Preparatory TO administering the
knout, the victim vas tied face down
ward on a rough table. Close 10 the
knout.wielder stood clerk with a
book. in which he checked the mum
her of strokes as that worthy swung
them and called them. For the trst
% strokes the skin was marked white
nv the lash as II chalk mark we're
| drawn on the flesh. After that the
! thongs began to cut through. When
a knout sentence called fog 100
strokes the last one vas usually
! omitted as a token or lmperlai
| magnanimity.