Diamond Owen, age 12, of East Gary, in~9 for his question:

Where is Devil's Island?

French Guiana lies along the northern eastern shore of South America. It is a wet, sultry region well within the tropics. The land is riddled with steamy swamps, creeks and lazy rivers. One of these rivers is the Moroni, which empties its sluggish waters into the Atlantic. Off shore from the mouth of this muddy river is a group of small islands called the Iles de Salut. One of these small specks of land is Devil's Island, a place which long will be remembered as an example of how cruel mankind can be to his fellow creatures.

In 1852, the government of Franc=e set up the: wretched region around the mouth of the Moroni River as a penal colony. Here they sent wrong; doers to exile where they could be forgotten. Devil's island was part of this prison system and soon to become the most inhumane. Convicts were often exiled to this forgotten isle for minor crimes and sometimes for no crime at all. Prison treatment was harsh and the only escape route led through festering jungle swamps. A few prisoners, however, did. escape and told the story of life on the infamous Devils Island. In 1946, the French ordered the liquidation of the prison, though its cruel story will long remain.