Evening star., 1936-06-14
Machine Guns Available.

most dangerous. MOSt OF tnem are
serving time for murder, and they look
the part.
Machine Guns Available.
There are only about As officers to
guard all three Islands, and it should
not be forgotten that there are numer-
GUS women and. children, families of
officials, on Royale and st. Joseph.
However, there are plenty of machine
guns available for use in case of a
break.
Those prisoners who are on good be-
havior work eight hours day. They
labor under a fierce equatorial sun.
Some Of the work on the roads and
In construction of walls and build
ings is heavy. A great deal of it is
very light. In any event, the men are
not driven but are given frequent rests.
For their work they get franc (about
Sc cents) day.
The tasks Of many of the men are
pleasant and easy. They work in the
kitchens, about the hospitals, in their
own quarters, in the administration
Offices. Some are assigned to catch
fish for the hospitals, others keep the
walks and grounds tidy.
The day starts at o'clock and ends
at in the evening, when the men
are locked up. The good-conduct pris-
oners live in big, fairly well ventilated
rooms, each housing about two-score
Their beds range on both sides of the
room, and these consist of strips of
canvas stretched over iron frames.
The men are permitted to have per-
sonal effects, including instruments,
and are allowed to read and write.
From o'clock in the evening until
8-bedtime-they engage in such
amusements as they see fit, including
cards and music. One weak spot in
the accommodations is, in many cases,
excessively bad artificial light, con-
sisting of smoking little oil torches.
There is no electricity or gas on the
islands.
Escapes Are Rare.
It is fact that numerous prisoners
escape each year from the various
penitentiaries in the penal colony of
French Guiana, but this almost in
variably happens on the mainland.
Escapes from Devils Island are pre-
vented mainly by nature, not man.
The waters about here are dangerous
for navigation even in fairly large
steamers.
Fierce currents, said to come from
the Amazon stream, swirl about and
between the islands with terrifying
force. A little boat in the vast major
ity Of cases would be hurled to de-
struction against the rocky shores,
leaving its occupants to the mercies of
the clutching. shark-infested seas.
The country Is filled with venom
Gus creatures, including the bushmas-
ter snake, the bite of which is said
to be fatal in about three minutes;
the viper, centipedes, scorpions, ta-
rantulas, and Nightmares in the form
of hairy black spiders as big as the
palm of a hand. Huge boa constric-
tors and anacondaS, whose coils crush
man or beast to pulp, lie in wait for
kill. Pumas and jaguars skulk
through the bush.
Vampire Bats Drain Blood.
Vampire bats drain the blood of a
sleeping man. mnumerable insects,
big and little, some of them killers,
make life a misery.
There is the ever present mosquito,
which frequently carries fever and
other ills. There are ants which bite
viciously, and ants which attack and
devour man If he Is unable to make
a quick escape. There are les mouches
sans raison-crazy flies-which can
end the life of human being if they
assault in numbers.
1t is indeed fortunate man who
wins his way through to safety.
There were but 10 deaths on the
islands in 1885, and several were
accidental. One prisoner was slain
by a comrade.
inert Sunddy-The Liberes, those
hopeless, sen,i-free men tDho,