The much larger Ile Royale housed prison guards, administrators, and the death row inmates. The entire complex included a hospital, meat market, bakery, church, and a small cemetery for children and wives of the guards. Few prisoners lived more than a short time in the dark and forbidding environment of harsh conditions, prevalent disease, hard labor, and severe punishment. Death by guillotine was the fate for many, and burial rites were non existent, as the dead were tossed to the hungry sharks circling the island. Five to eight year sentences were the minimum, and these were doubled, as prisoners had to serve an equal amount of time by remaining on French Guiana even after release. Many would never leave, as those with sentences over 8 years were forced to stay on French Guiana. The French government brought in the first 28 female prisoners in 1889, in hopes of their marrying released prisoners and thus adding to the population. This effort was eventually abandoned, and no other women were sent here after 1914.

The remote and isolated prison site, Camp Reclusion, on Ile St. Joseph was known as the Devourer of Men by prisoners placed there in solitary confinement, or locked away as criminally insane. Remnants of steel bars and chains used to secure prisoners to their beds lie scattered across the bare dirt floors of the cells. Today, Camp Reclusion is home for hundreds of monkeys, where towering coconut palms grow through the iron grates above the cells, mosquitoes and spiders thrive in the damp and humid jungle air, and vines cling to empty prison bars.

The prisons housed the worst incorrigibles, the thieves and murderers, but many were exiled from France for political reasons, the most noteworthy being Alfred Dreyfus. In 1894, Captain Dreyfus was convicted on false charges of treason and sentenced to life in prison in the Green Hell of Devil’s Island. He spent 5 years of a miserable, lonely existence in a 13-foot, one-man cell, with only a bench to sit upon and wait for freedom from across the sea. The Dreyfus Affair is well known in history for the unparalleled political, religious, and moral controversies that occurred, goaded by the media and divided public opinion – support of Alfred Dreyfus was well presented in Zola’s “J’accuse” in 1898. Eventually pardoned by former President Loubet and completely exonerated of these crimes in 1906, he was reinstated to major and awarded the French Legion of Honor.

Although many prisoners tried and failed, we know of three inmates who managed to escape and live to tell their stories. Clement Duval, a political anarchist, was tried and sentenced to death in 1886. Although he served time in hard labor and contracted smallpox, he managed to escape from Devil’s Island in 1901. Duval spent the rest of his life in New York City, where he wrote about the evils of the prison in his book “Revolte.”

Henri Charrière has given us a fascinating tale of his 12 years on the Iles and his carefully planned escape from Devil’s Island. From a rocky inlet, he had determined that the current was strong enough in every 7th wave to carry someone to shore. Charrière and a fellow inmate floated for days on a crudely built raft of large bags filled with coconuts and eventually reached the mainland. Whether his memoir, “Papillon,” (French word for butterfly, the tattoo on Charrière’s chest) detailing his adventures is entirely factual has always been questionable, but it does provide interesting insight into his experiences and prison life. In fact, so intriguing is his narrative that the film on which it was based is still considered a classic and often compared to the “Shawshank Redemption.”

Much later, René Belbenoît was convicted of stealing a set of pearls in 1920 and sent to Devil’s Island to serve 8 years. His first attempt to escape in a canoe failed, when he was recaptured and sentenced to solitary confinement. Although he was able to spend a year as a gardener in Panama on a prison pass, he foolishly decided to return to France. Here, he was arrested again and returned to Ile St. Joseph. Finally released from prison in 1935, he fled from French Guiana and eventually made his way to Los Angeles. Belbenoît wrote two memoirs of his frightening experiences during those years, “Dry Guillotine” and “Hell On Trial.”

Fortunately, this incredible mass destruction of humanity and cruel punishment such as this ended when the prisons were eventually closed in 1946. Today, tourism has become the economic redemption for these islands. Ile Royale, a resort destination, is a picture perfect tropical paradise of abundant wildlife and lush vegetation where South America cruise ships dock regularly, airlines fly frequently, and tourists come to visit, relax, and explore. A museum of exhibits and history has been established in the old administrator’s house, but the religious murals by Francis Lagrange, former inmate convicted of counterfeiting, have almost completely disappeared from the walls of the small chapel. An interesting 2-hour guided tour (in French) of the island may be available which includes the abandoned prison buildings where monkeys chatter and play in the ruins, and the original lighthouse built in 1914, which is still in operation.

Hours: 10:30am – 4:30pm, Tues thru Sun. Admission: $6.00

For a much more realistic, but depressing visit to the grim past, there is no charge to wander through the rusted iron gates into the Crimson Barracks, so named for the blood shed as prisoners frequently attacked and killed each other. The old foundation of the guillotine remains a tragic reminder of the cruel executions that took place in front of the entire prison population. Beheadings were ordered often at the whim of the guards, and carried out by a fellow inmate. Once this so-called justice was done, proof of the executions was required, and the heads were carefully preserved in jars of alcohol and shipped back to France.

Accommodations: The inn (Auberge) on Ile Royale offers simple guest rooms for 60 Euros, rooms with terrace for 70, and hammock only for 10 Euros. Restaurant, gift shop, and bar onsite, and daily catamaran service to and from the islands and the mainland.

Transportation: Catamarans depart around 8am from Kourou, the main port on the mainland, and return around 4pm. Service on the 2-hour boat ride often includes rum punch and other amenities.

Popular boats: La Hulotte visits Ile Royale and St. Joseph and sails around Ile Diable, price $55 U.S. Royale Ti’Punch, owned by the inn (no extra charge for overnight stays), price $57 U.S. Sothis, ferry to Ile Royale, one-way $35. Tropic Alizés leaves from Kourou or Cayenne, price $55. (Cayenne, the capital, is a popular tourist city, with numerous hotels, restaurants, and shops.)

At certain times and dates, you may be able to view another popular tourist attraction while visiting these islands and French Guiana. The Guiana Space Centre has been in operation near Kourou since 1968 and serves as an excellent location for European, Russian, and commercial launches. Its proximity to the equator, as well as speed and maneuverability, provides an effective cost saving spaceport. Since this area encompasses the Iles du Salut, evacuation takes place during launch times. For visitors interested in seeing the actual launch, there are a limited number of viewing seats available in the spaceport itself. You must be 16 years or older to view the launch from a 4-mile distance, and at least 8 to view from a distance of 7 miles. Seats are free, but reservations are needed well in advance. There are no age or reservation requirements to view the launch from the beach at Kourou. The Guiana Space Centre averages 10 space launch missions each year.

Sharon L. Slayton

Some of the most dangerous and incorrigible criminals in history such as Al Capone, Henry Young, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Robert Stroud, “The Birdman of Alcatraz,” spent time for crimes of espionage, kidnapping, murder, and robbery.  For prisoners, the ferry to Alcatraz was the end of the line, a one-way trip for which there would be no return, a descent into what has been described as a “hell hole” to await their fate.  Although many escape attempts were made, none have been documented as successful.  Five prisoners from Alcatraz, however, still remain unaccounted for and are presumed drowned.

Today, tourists, spurred on by the media, the movies, the books, and the history, flock to Alcatraz in huge numbers by the boatloads.  Over one million curious thrill seekers visit Alcatraz each year, certainly not for pleasure and probably with no significant grief or sadness.  Tickets for all-day tours to Alcatraz, including side trips to Sausalito and the Muir Woods, sell for $68.95 for adults, $47.95 for children, ages 5 to 11, and under 5 are free.  The tour includes a short 10-minute ferry ride, free admission to the park and the museum, and a walk around the island.  Other day and evening excursions to Alcatraz are available, as well, ranging in price from $16.00 and up, leaving daily at 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., from Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

Visitors take a virtual tour of “the Rock” via slide shows, sound clips, videos, and pictures.  There is an eerie feeling of the unforeseen upon arriving at Alcatraz and stepping off the ferry onto the same dock as the prisoners walked.  Immediately opposite the dock, the old barracks building now houses a theater, bookstore, and numerous exhibits within its 10-foot brick walls.  The Guard Tower, with six towers manned at one time by armed guards, has been restored.  Audio headsets are provided for the tour through the Cell Block.  The halls, once filled with the sounds of clanking chains and shackles, are empty and dark.  We see no prisoners reaching out from between the steel bars nor do we hear their cries of anger and pain.  We shudder at the thought of voices echoing from the walls, and yet, we are caught between guilt for feeling empathy and the reality of the evils that once existed.  Leaving the gloom and dark of the Cell Block, we are eager to feel the freshness of outdoors.  The walk along the Agave Trail takes us through the beautiful bird sanctuary and lovely gardens, now flourishing in the California sunshine, and we pause to take in the amazing views across the Bay. 

Alcatraz tours include free entrance to the museum, the bookstore, and walks around the island.  The museum houses a collection of items including artwork and objects made by its notorious inmates, historic photographs, documents, and prison materials from 1859 to the 1969 -1971 occupation by the American Indians of all Tribes.  All types of souvenirs are available in the bookstore, including books, mugs, keys, t-shirts, and even packages of greeting cards.

Returning from one of the Golden Gate’s most popular tourist attractions, we look back at an island now carefully preserved by the National Park Service, a place where spectacular wildlife multiply and thrive and time has erased the fear and grief of years past.  Here, even the once dangerous, man-eating sharks seem to have deserted the waters.  How strange it seems to visit today and find there is so much beauty, where once there was none.  As the sun sets upon the isolation of Alcatraz, a single light from the abandoned lighthouse continues to glow across San Francisco Bay.  Perhaps, we may suppose that it remains a symbol of hope for those who knew and felt the darkness within.
Sharon L. Slayton