Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-09-04

without food or drink. He had his
knife, and one sailor gave him a
handkerchief, and another a long
stick which he had thought to throw
into the boat as they showed off, for
the deserted man to signal with. BY
this time the sun had sunk, and when
the boat returned to the ship it left
the poor fellow behind, alone in the
dark.
He fully believed that the Captain
only meant to frighten him, and bore
up pretty well through the night
with that idea. But when the morn
ing dawned the Recruit was mere
speck in the distance, which surely
but slowly passed away beyond the
horizon. Then the unhappy man rea-
lized that he was a castaway.
The Recruit, Indeed, had caught a
favoring breeze, which carried her
quickly to Barbados, where she join
ed the squadron under Admiral Sir
Alexander Cochrane. Her officers
and crew, mingling with those of
other ships. spoke freely Of the affair,
which presently reached the Admi-
RAILS ears, who sent for the Captain,
questioned him, and. finding the story
true, severely reprimanded him for
his brutality, and ordered him back to
rescue the man.
The island upon which Jeffrey had
been so barbarously left was one of
the Leeward group, desolate rock
called Sombrero, and the Recruit got
back to it just fortnight after the
event. A careful search was institut-
ed, but all that was found was pair
oftrousers, not Jetfrey's, and a toma-
hawk-handle, no trace OF the missing
man being discoverable.
This result being reported on the
ships return to Barbardoes, Sir Alex
ander Cochrane felt satisfied that the
man had been rescued by some pass
ing vessel, and let the II after rest for
the time. But good many formed
q different opinion, and suspected
that Jeffrey had come to some vio-
lent end; and when the squadron re-
turned to England the affair was tax
en- up by the people at home, and
made so much noise that, after two
years had elapsed, the Captain was
brought to court-martial, condemn
ed, and dismissed the service. This
however, instead of appeasing the
p, bic excitement, only inflamed it
the more, by the authentic details
that were brought to light in the
course of the court-martial. The il
legality of the mans having been
pressed at all-the veniality of his
offence, especially considering the
circumstances of thirst caused by the
short allowance of water in SO hot a
climate, and the ready temptation to
appease placed directly in his way.
combined, with the inhuman cruelty
of his abandonment, to stir the. pub
lie indignation. Meetings were held
articles written, petitions signed, urg
ing the propriety of endeavoring by
all means to discover what had be
come of the missing man; and Sil
Francis Burdett lost no opportunity
of keeping the question before the
government in the House of Com
mons.
Illegal DRESSINGS, keelhauling, fog.
ings to death, were not SO uncommon
in the navy at that time as to account
for the usually Indifferent public's es-
pousing Robert Jetfrey's SO warmly;
but it did SO, and made representa-.
tive man of him.
The first authentic news came from
George Hassel, mariner, who depos-
ed on oath before the Mayor of Liver
pool that he had just returned from
Beverly, town in Massachusetts,.
and that a man was living there who
was nicknamed the Governor of Som
brero, whose real name was Jeffrey
Whereupon this Jeffrey was commu.
nicated with, and in due time letter
in reply, purporting to come from
him, was received, giving a full ac-
couut ofhis adventure.
When the Recruit had quite disap
peared, he remained for some time
overwhelmed with despair, but after
a while he grew calm, and felt very
hungry, so he explored his island to
see if there was anything to eat upon
it, but could find nothing except birds.
which flew away, as birds will, when
he tried to catch them. At last he
discovered an egg, but, alas! it was
an election egg-a very good missile
but not edible. Soon, however, the
pangs of hunger gave place to the
severer sufferings of thirst, which he
tried to appease by swallowing the
sea water, and that of course made
matters worse. But Heaven, more
merciful than man, sent him a show.
er of rain, which lodged in the crev
ices of the rocks, and inflicted the
punishment of Tantalus upon him un
til he thought of cutting the quilts, Of
which there was a plenty strewr
about, and sucking up the puddles as
we moderners do cherry cobblers.
In addition to hunger. and thirst, he
endured the agony of hope deferred
for ships were constantly passing, bu'
failed to see his signals till the ninth
day, when some one on board the
Adams, an American schooner, no
ticed him waving the stick to which
his handkerchief was tied. The
master, John Denis, sent boat, ane
brought him off in an apparently dy
ing state, so exhausted as to be ml
able to speak. With care and kind
ness, however, he recovered, and wa:
carried to Marblehcad, Mass, where
he supported himself by his trade as
q blacksmith.
This circumstant:al account salts
fed people at first, but when the let
ter was shown to Robert Jeffrey's
mother she pointed out that not only
was it written in q strange hand, but
! xhe+ - x,vae MT even Sipnpd by ha,