New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-21
INVOLUNTARY CRUSOES.
From All The Year Round

From, All The Year Round
Involuntary Crusoes have mostly become so from
pure accident, but there are some instances to the
contrary Seaman jeffrey OF II. ~ s. Recruit ven
turing to help himself TO the captains spruce beer
was punished by being set on shore on the unin-
habited island of .SombreIo. Doubtless Captain
Lake repented tho deed when on his return to the
same latitude some two months afterward, the
boat sent to bring the offender on board again re-
turned with tie report that he was nowhere TO lie
found. At any rate the captain had good cause to
repent little later on, for upon the matter com
ing TO the know ledge OF the admiral on the West
Indian Station, Lake was tired by coutt-martial.
and dismissed the service At home Sir Francis
Burdett brought the case before Parliament and a
search was instituted for the missing man. resulting
in his heinc LrougLt 70 Fnrland in October Isod
He had lived on the rock of Sombrero Tor nine
days, subsisting upon lImpets and birds eggs.
when, luckily for oil concerned hc was taken
of by an American schooner, and landed at Marble
head, Massachusetts,
A Dutch skipper once thought to get rid of q bad
bargain in the same way. Putting into st. Helena.
then uninhabited. to bury a dead officer. he left
there a seaman who had been condemned to death.
Disnclined to accept the situation. the criminal
unearthe,l the coffin. and after turning out its
pant, launched it on the water and. thanks to a
calm falling, succeeded in overtaking the ship
The captain, thinking his lpuck deserving OF recog
nition received him on deck, paIdOned man.
Captain Barnard, a victim OF ungrateful mis-
trust found companionship in misery more trouble
some than comforting. He commanded an Ameri
can ship in 1919, and happened 70 be at New ISL
and. in the Falklands. when an English ship was
wrecked there the crew and passengers, number
ing thirty, getting safely to land, Captain Barnard
took them all on board, intending to leave them at
a Brazilian port, and. TO obtain sufficient supplies
went on shore with four OF his men on hunting
cursion. While he was so engaged, tho English
sailors fearful Of being carried TO America pris-
oners OF war cut the cable and made on with the
ship The astonlshcd skipper took the matter phil
osophcally. He set his men to work at once to
build house of stone. strong enough to withstand
the storms OF winter A small plantation of pota-
toes supplied the party with fair substitute for
bread; and by storing up aibatross eggs and
catching n pig now and then, they contrived to live
tolerably well all things considered.
Ills companions however, soon showed symptoms
OF insubordination and at length, tired OF the life
they led, departed in the boat Alone in his glory,
the captain spent his time preparing clothes FROM
tne skins OF seals end collecting food for the
winter never emitting to ascend bill once twice
q day on the chance OF deserving q ship. After
dwelling thus in solitude for some months Barnard
was rojoined by the runaways. who had found they
could not get on without him. Their return was
not an upmitigated blessing. One OF them planned
his murder, for which the captain had him con-
veyed to small island In Quaker IIarbor. and left
there until three months OF his own society
brought him TO Iexpress penltcnce for his purDosed
crime. After this things went on smoothly. until
al English whaler toe X the party OF. and ended
their two years trial Of CrusoeinG on New Island.