DEVIL’S ISLAND

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 December 1934, Page 14

DEVIL’S ISLAND

A SUCCESSFUL ESCAPE Ten escaped prisoners from the French penal colony of Devil’s Island 'put to sea at daybreak recently from San Nicolas Bay, through the generosity of the American and English colonies, states the “Now York Times.” A 25-foot sailboat, equipped with an ausiliary gasoline motor and a supply of gasoline sufficient for 400 miles of travel by the use of the motor alone, had been given to them. Moreover, they had received a month’s provisions, clothes, tobacco, and sufficient money to help them towards a new start in life. The Vescaped convicts were headed by Jean Duvernay. They fled the penal colony more than two months ago in a canoe in which they spent thirty-two days at sea before they were met by a British freighter. Two boats went down under them in the course of their journey. They could regard their present transportation as comparative luxury. All of the men had been in custody in the Devil’s Island group, but four of them were on Royal Island, four on St. Joseph’s, and the other two on Devil’s Island proper. They planned their escape by communications through the food delivery boat that serves the prison islands. Duvernay had the money. With it he bought a 16-foot canoe. The canoe’s owner put out at night from the mainland. The ten men plunged into tho water, which is infested with sharks and barracudas —the savage fish that have ended many Devil’s Island escape attempts—and swam until they all met. Then, in a group, they swam on to board the canoes. DEFEATED MANY HAZARDS They put the canoe owner ashore on the mainland, obtained a little, supply of food and water, and started off for Trinidad. For thirty-two days they travelled under the blazing sun of the tropics. At the end of twentyseven days the water gave out. Two days later they -ate the last of their food. Then along came the freighter, which gave them new supplies and they pushed on to Trinidad. In Trinidad they rested for thirty days, then obtained another craft and set out again. For twelve days they were buffeted about and soaked by rain squalls until their boat was crushed on a coral reef at Curacao. Kindly folk there took them in and gave them a 14-foot fishing boat in which they set out again. But on the very night the mainsail split. They barely made San Nicolas Bay, here at Aruba. They repaired their vessel and started off again. Three miles offshore the little boat went down. A Dutch pilotboat rescued them as they struggled in the water and brought ' hem back to land. '