and to be told so in his own
language, was a bitter pill for the
man and the other early trappers to
swallow.

But there was one more problem to
be met by the Mountie. He had over-
come illegal setting of traps for that
year, but what about subsequent
years when he might not be able to
make as close a check?

The quick mind of the constable,
who by this time was highly respected
by the people, had a ready solution.

He nodded towards the men he
knew had set traps before the season.

“These men who are setting traps
early are stealing from the rest of you.
They are thieves,” he said.

That was quite a statement to make,
for stealing ranks on a par with
murder in the eyes of the inherently
honest Eskimos, and to be called a
thief is a real insult.

A person might kill someone for a
good reason, but stealing in the barren
north where subsistance was extremely
difficult was inexcusable to a native.

“How are they stealing from us?”
came the anxious question as_ the
puzzled group eyed one another sus-
piciously.

“The foxes in the woods belong to
all of you. You must live by catching
them, and you all have an equal
chance to catch them when the time
of trapping begins,” said Alexander.

“The foxes are there for you—not
for the police or other white men—
but for you people to catch,” he em-
phasized.

“These men who start trapping
early are taking some of the foxes
which belong to all of you. That is
how they are stealing from you.”

The statement had its desired
effect, and Alexander doubts if there
has been a trap set ahead of the
season in that region since, for epi-
sodes like this are passed on through
the years by the Eskimos. * *

In Chesterfield County, Va., a man-
hating fox held three startled mo-
torists at bay. James Wooldridge and
two companions were blocked on a
country road when a fox stood stead-
fastly in front of their auto, paying
no heed to horn tooting and shouts.
The men got out and threw stones at
the fox. He charged them, treeing
Wooldridge on top of the car. His
friends ran into the woods. A farmer
shot the defiant fox.

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SALMON ARM BRITISH COLUMBIA

TWENTY-SECOND EDITION

Americans who visit former

French Prison Colony will
buy shivers with their dollars

Playground
for Tourists

ww Ww w Ke

By FRANK CHALLENGER

AS PART of their “dollar drive”
French authorities are turning the
former prison colony on _ Devil’s
Island, off the Guiana Coast, into an
American tourists’ playground. Their
idea is based on the assumption that
the gruesome tales once told about the
sun-drenched penitentiary will pro-
voke the curiosity of holidaymakers.

Recently I met one of the released
Frenchmen, who six years ago was put
in chains after attempting to escape.
When I mentioned the plan to set up
a tourists’ paradise on the island his
face twisted with a wry smile. ‘‘Dollars
for shivers,’ he commented.

Today the huts and shanties which
once muffled the sobbing of men un-
dergoing the incalculable agonies of
tropical isolation stand empty. No
longer can one hear the moaning
chant of the labor gangs.

This penal settlement, as stated, has
been closed down. The Iles du Salut—
Saint Joseph, Ile Royale and, to the
southwest, the Devil’s Island—are to
be converted to normal habitation.
In Cayenne the prison doors have
been opened, and everything is being
prepared for the first “invasion” of
tourists.

The climate is not so oppressive as
reputation has it, according to friend-
ly ex-warders, some of whom are
spending a short leave in France be-
fore returning to find new jobs,
probably as guides. Former inmates of
the settlement agree with them, but a
long stay is only for those with good
stamina. The best season, say these
experts, falls between Februarv and
April, when the on-shore winds are
quite refreshing.

Dollar and pound-sterling visitors
will be given a full run for their
money, for the cells, which, in the Ie
du Diable and in Cayenne, are to be

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remodeled into comfortable bed-
rooms, will keep some of their intrin-
sic attractions. High-mettled tourists
will be able to decide whether to sleep
in the one-time cell of a murderer
whose sentence was commuted, or in
the bed of a big-time racketeer. The
reconverted cells are to be fitted with
all modern conveniences.

The hut in which the rehabilitated
Capt. Dreyfus once tossed feverishly
is to be turned into a showpiece. Other
sights for sensation-mongers will in-
clude the mummified heads of exe-
cuted criminals preserved by the
Cayenne prison hospital and_ the
benches to which men were chained.

But perhaps the biggest attraction
will be the ex-prisoners lounging
around the coastal districts. At first
the Department thought it advisable
to expel the freed prisoners, but
French tourist propaganda experts
convinced them that the retention of
these men would be a potential asset
by providing local color. About a
hundred ex-prisoners are now waiting
to play their part in the “dollars for
shivers” drive. * *

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