[1] Captain Fraser, of the Bermuda steamship _Trinidad_, has published
in _Pearson’s Magazine_ for October, 1901, under the title of “A
Garden Prison,” an article in which he pictures the Bermuda Islands
as a veritable paradise, and tries to create the impression that the
prisoners are foolish to escape from such a delightful place. The
good Captain himself had the misfortune to unwittingly aid Duplooy in
his escape, and his publication was evidently inspired to serve as an
humble atonement. Even the photographs accompanying the article are
apt to be misleading, as they were all taken before the arrival of the
prisoners; and the picture of the camp on Darrell’s Island, _e.g._,
does not represent the Boer’s camp, which is decidedly more dreary
and barren. Compare the picture of a real camp on the cover of this
pamphlet.
[2] There is not sufficient soil in Bermuda to bury the dead; they are
placed in cavities of the rock, where, by the influence of sea-water,
etc., bodies are said to decay rapidly.
[3] There are evidently fine jurists among these prisoners who know the
articles of the Hague Peace Conference by heart. Article VI. of this
document says that “work done for the State shall be paid for according
to the tariff in force for soldiers of the national army employed on
similar tasks.”
[4] An authentic picture of the misery in one of the South African
concentration camps is shown on the inside of the cover. It is a
great consolation to the English press that, according to the latest
Blue Book, the causes of the appalling mortality in the South African
concentration camps are fully established. They are the dirty habits
and ignorance of the Boers, and their distrust of the British surgeons.
The only thing unexplained in this splendid exposition is: why did
not their dirty habits and ignorance kill all the Boers before they
came under the benevolent guidance of the British authorities? Why, on
the contrary, were they able to raise families, which in number and
vigor excel those of any Christian nation? Least of all, the Boers
may be blamed for their distrust of the British army surgeons. One of
these amiable brutes suggested to the reporter of an Austrian paper
that the best treatment for the occupants of the camps would be to
inoculate them with the plague bacillus. He undoubtedly deserves to
be kept in alcohol as a curiosity. But if we are merely guided by the
authority of an out-and-out Englishman, Mr. Mortimer Menpes, in his
“War Impressions,” a man who pretends to have nothing but the highest
praise for the surgeons, the medical men were principally occupied
with photographing and looting. This interesting activity, no doubt,
left them little time for their proper duties, and may explain the low
esteem in which they are held by the Boers, as well as by the medical
profession outside of England.