LIFE IN A FRENCH CONVICT PRISON.

Waikato Argus, Volume II, Issue 112, 27 March 1897, Page 3

LIFE IN A FRENCH CONVICT PRISON.

♦ WHERE EX-CAPTAIN DREYFUS IS EXILED. Les Enfers de l'Ocoan (the ocean inforno) —such is thn ugly name a French ex-con-vict gives to the Safety Islands (Les lies deSalut), which lie close to the Equator in South American waters. Tho writer made the ex-forgat's acquaintance in a Soho cafe, and tho mention of Captain Dreyfus'fi namo led ou to some revolutions of French -jouvict life. Just now Portland is obtaining a_ ugly reputation in cons:quenue of the merciless severity dealt out to the political prisoners ; but barring-one amelioration—smoking—allowed to the exiles, our system of penal discipline will bear favourable comparison with that pertaining to the routine of life on the prison island of French Guiana. The convict barracks are located on a clearing made in the jungle, and, being very badly ventilated as well as swarming l with the most bloodthirsty of mosquitoes, these hot, foul, and foetid dens aro net fit for even dogs to he down iu. A night in one of ihoso infernos is a frightful torture, for, what with the sweltering heat, the close and foetid atmosphere, aud tho attacks of the voracious bloodsuckers, sleep—tho sweetest boon a prisoner can have in the still watches of the night—is out of the question. For hours the wretched forgafc lies in tho awful heat, niadiy fighting the stinging insects, till, completely exhausted, he falls into a deep sleep ; and then—tho prison bell rings out tho reveille. At daybreak gangs of these sunscorehed, haggard, gaunt, and wolfishlooking men are driven out of the huts, and escorted by armed warders and soldiers to the labnir that is only fit for negroes. Imagino yourself on the borders of a slimy aud stagnant lagoon, over which brood fever exhalations and clouds of venomous insect?. At the head of a road that leads down through the forest to tho seashore guards are stationed beside loaded mitrailleuses ready to sweep the works with fire and shot ou tho first sign of mutiny. The toil in the lagoon begins in silence, and with that lack of anything approachintr to enemy that characterises convict and slave labour all the world over. Some of the forgats aro engaged in draining operations, ar.d have to si and for hours up to their knees in the slimy black mud of the trenches. This work under a blazing and fiery sun is awful toil that very soon tells on the strongest bodies, aud breaks the spirits of tho most desperate scoundrels who ever worked le coup de bascule (robbery with violence) or threw a bomb in the streets of Paris. Captain Dreyfus is not subjected to the labour of the gang, for the officials on the islands have strict orders to keep this political prisoner confined to the barrack yard. This is well, for if the captain had to associate with the convicts of the gangs his lifo would be in danger. The fact is, many of the most desperate and wicked ruffians amongst the convicts are sometimes seized with a frenzy of patriotism. The madness often showed itself while Captain Dreyfus was awaiting deportation at the Isle de Re ; and during the passage across tho sea iu the convict ship forgats in the iron cages threatened and abused their companion in misfortune incefliuntly. There is a grim kind of humour in this manifestation of patriotism by desperadoes who, after being formidable scourges to society, aro sent out of their country for their country's good. Art regards the prespect of Captain Droyfus ever being able to escape from the I-iies do Salut, .ny informant assure mo that it was beyound tho bounds of possibility ; for oven on the works in the jungle only one successful dash for liberty has over been effected, and in this casts the convict who perfected his escape to Europe was re-arrested by tho French police and sent back to the islands. This was bard luck, for the only escape ever made from the Ocean Inferno was a very plucky and ad venturous affair. Jules Pontieu, who in his day had made his mark as an expert burglar in Paris, effected a most audacious dash for liberty about a week after bis reception, and he managed to elude thn vigilance of the guards for two days. Five months afterwards P..ntieu made off the second time, and rnc.st with no better luck. The prison authorities after this keep the redoubtable forgut under special observation, and tho soldiers gave the adventurer perfectly to understand that the next time ho led them a pretty dance, a bullet would be sum to find its billet iu his heart. However, neither the vigilance of the warders nor the threats of the soldiers was able to reconcile M. Pjntieu to tho murderous work in the lagoons, and a few weeks aLer his secoud failure the convict dashed into a jungle tho third time, and the soldiers, vowing vengeance on the scelerat, scoured tho island in search of him. The convict eluded the search by crawling on bis hands and knees through tho snake-infested undergrowth. For three weeks lie bid hirncelf in tho jungle, living on roots, and holding his life in his hand, till one night be reached a part of (be coast left, ungurdod. The itdventurei' then dragged tho hollow trunk of a tree down to tho water, and in this clumsy bark he floated out to sea. Fortune favoured the escapee, for tho next morning bo was picked up by au American ship, and tho captain, admiriug the pluck and endurance of Ponlieu, furnished him with a suit "(' clothes and landed him in Venezuela. Thence tho escipce made bis way back to his native country, an 1 fell into the hands of the Parisian police.