Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-09-08
Six Months on 4 Desert Island.

One Of the survivors of the Strathmore. a
British ship wrecked July /, 1875, on one
the Crozet Islands, in the South Pacific, tells
the tale of mlshap, endurance and rescue in
| ChaH5er's Journal. After narrative of
the voyage and the wreck, he gives the story
OF the survivors residence on the island as
/ follows:
Upon landing, | was regaled with leg of
| young albatr0ss (ot which, and other birds,
there Was fortunately a considerable store on
the island) roasted and after having been
thirty hours on the wreck, need scarcely
say that | never tasted anything sweeter.
\ glance at the sterile rock on which the
iates had driven Us, and on which we were
to live if We could for an indefinite time,
showed that, compared with it, Crusoe 5
island was as the garden Of Eden. We
were on Apostle Island, which, to Judge by
guano deposit, must have been the home Of
seabirGs Tor ages, and on which, very pro-
badly, the loot Of man had but seldom, if
ever, trOd.
Before entering on the subject of our lie
on the island, II may be as well to give a
brief account Of the group Of Islands Of which
ours was one. The Crozet Islands are a
volcanic group to the south Of the Indian
ocean. lying between kerguelens Land on
the east and Prince Edwards Islands on the
west. They take their name from Crozet, u
French naval olhcer. Apostle Island, on
which We were was the largest of reef OF rocks
called the Twelve APOSTLES, forming part of
the group. Large and small, island and
ROCKS inclusive, they are twenty-six IN num-
Der.
We spent the first and second nights
ashore very miserably, owing to the cold ana
damp. Ny first night-the second since the
wrock-l, along with five Others, lay under
"a rock next night We all got into shanty
which had been built, but We were 50 close
y packed that II was not possible to sleep.
therefore, next night, Bentley, Henderson
and | went back 10 the rock, under the ledge
OF which We slept Tor several weeks Be
lore We got more sheltered, by building up
wall Of turf, We were sometimes. in the
morning wien VIC awoke, covered with two
OF three inches Of snow. Little Of any value
was saved from the wreck some clothes
were got out Of The forecastle and pas
scuger' : chest, containing sheeting, blankets,
tatlc-cuycrs, knives, forks, spoons, and few
other things, was picked up on return to the
snip iy the hle-blat. Tho boats picked up.
floating, q ca-k Of port vine, two cases OF
sin, TWO cases OF rum, one OF brandy, one Of
pickles some hrewood, and case Of ladies
boots which were not otmuch use TO Us ; also
q case OF confectionery, the tins Of which be-
came very ser'iee"y-e as pots ior culinary
purposes.
Two barrels of ofgunpowder also were found,
and MATCHES also some deck planks and
'''''' p'1Nc9 oI timber were secured Which
were u9'iuI loF our hres. hen the WOOD
"''S e4n'-s'el we discovered that the SKINS
ID l"e u!fa> made excellent iuel. During the
N-A' 1i ','c ''I ol July the ooatS ue lreu TO the
I-'As u4eAo away anu were lost lhls was
5Ie"l4! &c '9IcI at tAe time b4t consider
:. fortunate circumstance, lor, tie ship
.@'in- SUNK the only uJatase that would
nave hech IecJ'eT4o4e Was spirits, when,
PERHAPS we were better without And ior
announcer I1490I WIKI Tue o. ats We might
nave ucen tempted TO visit and perhaps re
mann On ii : l-.and, winch appeared about
Ni4 miles oI- We should have had greater
variety oi l35u there, and altogether less
lii'-ti9n ana l'~c liniort than we were sub
j-ciel u On Apostle Island, but We would
nave been more out ot the course OF ships
gong To A--;ra.ia OF New Zealand, SO that
our Tescae might have been much longer de-
aye4-
lie want oi controlling. authority was soon
apparent 10 our small community. 1here
S T'-9 ~ '.1 l.y-1 vi eAeIclSLns 'llA' IL,
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az vi ''-'o1 s'ilu' go -
80, ',-''a- I1 t''''' VI ii-9'ali0'' "'i1l l-.
1'.'n'' Va I1' 04I- man 49, US na'
..- -i'- tIt "a low NI-S' ~ oIlS" o'''' :
',.--'-'- ~ '-.' 0N " 'y'e o' D'Ai4
y B.1-e had been saved, winch was read
+ aloud, aad psalms sung from time 10 time
/ with great i1l'ency and early teachings,
which had lain long latent, were revived
with great force in thciT application to our
/ present condition. These readings had a
/ peculiar -olennity when We were laying our
/ dead n their graves. The emotions thus
1 produced were WIKI some probably transient,
although at the time heartfelt with others
the impressions may be more lasting
We found our island TO be about mile
and Aa1 long by half a mile in breadth
DO wood grew on It, indeed, considerable