The weekly Butte record., 1862-03-01
NO. II

lively denied there were any there. The officer
insisted that there were and the islet was
secured, but though there must have been at
least hundred Of both sexes on the island.
they could not discover a trace Of the captives
of whom they were in search.
But that they had heard the bell and but
for the strange retrea; of the natives from the
larger to the smaller island on their approach.
as had evidently been twice the case, the off,
GERS would have given up the search in despair.
While they were celebrating what to do, the
bell sounded again quite near them and appa-
renay under the earth. 1t was ruug Irregular
ly, as if some one were trying to prevent
another from ringing it. The savages seemed
+ to become alarmed and the officer in command
threatened, if they did not deliver up their
captives, to extermiuate every man moman and
/ child on the island.
! This threat, when they found that he was in
earnest, had its effect. They asked if they
would be injured if they delivered up the
white men.
NO" said the officer, il they have suffered
no injury at your hands"
After some parley, one who appeared to be
chief led the officers through dense forest to
cavern, apparently of artificial construction,
the entrance to which was so artfuly concealed.
that it had hitherto escaped their observation,
though they had passed it several times. Here
they found six men, and a lady passenger and
her child The captain and two others were
missing. The natives said they had been
drowned in attempting to escape in the boat
which had been carried of by the rest of the
crew. The eaptives believed they had been
murdered but as this could not be proved.
and as if any harm had been done TO the sava-
ges, they would have revenged themselves on
the next unfortunate captves that fell into their
hands, il was thought best to pretend to believe
their own account
In this cavern was found the ships bell, and
a quantity of ship stores and provisions. all
of which were seized and carried away The
joy of the captives may be better conceived
than described.
When they were safe on board the boats.
they informed their deliverers that they had
been two months on the island and had been
compelled to work as slaves, all but the lady
and child, who had been permitted to wander
freely over the larger island The bell had
been suspended over the branch of tree on,
the smaller island, and when the man-ofwar
hove in sight they had been compelled to re-
treat with their captors to the islet
The bell had been struck by the lady but
after having struck it the second time" two
bells"-in hopes of attracting the attention of
those on board the ship, she had been threat
ened with instant death if she went near it
again. When the ship sailed they had return
ed to the larger island and again retired on
the approach of the boats, when the lady had
watched her opportunity, and at the risk of
her life had struck the bell again.
They further stated that from four to five
weeks before, the captain ard the chief mate,
with three lady passengers, had contrived to
elude the savages and make their escape, with
a small stock of provisions, in small boat
which latter had been totally destroyed within
few week after she had come ashore on q
reef near the island
The sloop-of-war, swinging with the current,
had lain with her head towards the islet, hence
the sound. aided by the still atmosphere and
deadened by the trees, had appeared to those
on the quarter deck to come from the bow of
the vessel, and to those forward on the forecas-
tie to come from the air over the vessels bow.
They carried the crew and passengers-one
gentleman besides the lady and child-to
Prince Edwards Island where they were land
ed in safety.
| Some time bad elapsed before anything fur
ther was heard of those who had escaped in the
boat but at length intelligence was received
of their safe arrival at Timor, after having
suffered great hardships for want of food. 1t
was also said that the captain and one of the
sailors, and a passenger had been brutally
murdered by the savages while endeavoring to
swim off to the boats after their comrades. So
the captives were really correct in their sur
mises.
Thus the discovery of the wreck Of the ship
Martha of Bristol, set to naught the old quar-
termaster Johnson's superstitious theory, and
restored to the watch their allowance of greg
which had been stopped from them for a
week ere the captain, who had remained on
board the Coquette, had heard Of the captiyes,
and the innocence Of the men who had been
unjustly punished had been proved.
The world laughs at philosophers, and men
who deal with ideas, and think because they
do not conquer the forest, and SOW the prairies
with grain, and use handiwork and engineering,
that they are persons of 10 account-very
small, unproductive men in this large material
continent. But the world, big as it thinks