Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-10-05
THELOST ISLAND.
a Romance Of the New H7"r'des-
The submerging of Aurora

unnecessary for me to recount the
.ircuvnstauces which, in 1871, had FOR
.vor two wears made me an Inhabltant OF
the Island of Aurora, small put most
fertile island in the New Hebrldes group
Tho island was uuinhabited up to the Tune
ofmv presence upon it. and my HE,
.horgh lonely, as might be expected, was
ot Iavoid of a certain kind OF interest.
Dnrinc the early days of my so1ourn there
I chafpd considerably at the long hours
and my thoughts often reverted 10 Tue Ola
life uDon which had turned my oack ior,
ever. But time Modified my feelings ana
~.aduaIlv grew content with my SIM
la surroundings. Bounteous nature
r,rovidpd for my simple wants and / spent
tbe DAVIS in roaming over the Island ana
~ SAILING from nv rough canoe at some
ais+ance from the shore. The island was
oiothed in the everlasting green OF dense
tronIcal shubbery, while the cocOaDut,
,1olp, and banana trees, which were numer-
ous added variety TO the encnanJlng
scene. Aurora was about nine miles IN
ZENITH and some three or four In breadth,
while from the waters edge on all SIDES
Il gradually sloped to the summit oil
ysIi wooded hill. Without possessing
knowledge OF geology | could readily
SOC thai the island was of volcanic origin.
Erom the appearance of the coral reels 1T
wasevident that number OF upheavals
mad taken place. In many places the
coral had been thrown up to a great
6oight the volcanic rock being plainly
seen cropping out in large quantities
among it. Had | possessed the requisite
knowledge | should doubtless nave Deen
able to give the world mass OF lnforma-
ton on many points In lnat Dranch 0l
10 unROlVAhIp
enigmas to me. My greatest pleasure
was. however. found in fishing. The
little bav was we'll stocked with the
bonito and other specimens of the hnny
tribe. and many an afternoon spent In
this fascinating employment. Of course,
| fsbed only for the excitement OF Inc
snort. and having taken my fish would
carefully remove him from the hook and
return him to his native element little the
worse for his momentary removal tnefe-
from. One lovely day entered my canoe,
and padding far out into the bay, pre-
pared nv tackle and was soon endeaYor-
Ing to tempt the scaly beauties with the
dainty morsels ] threw overheard for
their delectation. But the sport was not
exciting the fish were unusually shy ana
bites were scarce and infrequent. Be-
coming tired of the paucity OF amusement,
| secured my line and curling myself in
the bottom of the boat. was soon asleep.
| must have slept soundiy for three or
four hours, when | was suddenly aWak-
ened by violent rocking of the boat. The
sea was still calm and smooth, but the
water had assumed hard, liked appear
ance, and as | peered into Its depths 1t
looked more like mass of liquid glass.
Several times noticed the strange CON-
motion which had awakened me, huge
waves passing toward the shore and roll
ing higher and higher over the glistenlng
sand. l had never witnessed anything
like it before. The sun was shining In the
west from a cl0udless sky ana on sea and
land there was that air Of peaceful seren-
Ity which is only experienced amid such
scenes. At length L headed my boat for
the shore and was leisurely padding
back when suddenly | saw rise from the
hill in the centre OF fhe island huge
tongue OF flame, enveloped in dense
m ass of smoke. l gaZed with awe upon
the invented sight. Higher and higher
leaped the flames which belched forth
from the mountain, upon whose summit
| had only that morning wandered, un-
conscious of the demon which lay be-
meath my feet waiting for the moment in
which to spring forth with devilish fury
But to that gave no thought at the time.
In the presence OF such scene | was too
was speechless, spell-bOund. To my dying
day the scene can never be effaced from
my memory. While every fore of my
being was strung to its utmost tension, l
suddenly felt myself raised in air upon
the bosom of giant wave, which rolled
maJestically by as if dlsdaining me. 1t
moved grandly toward the shore, swept
over the sheil-strewn sands, covered the
trees, and passing ruthlessly over the
burning mountain, en7elOped the whole
island In It's strange embrace. | waited
0reathlessly TO see what effect would be
visible when the wave would have passed.
but waited in vain; it never receded,
ana my poor home was forever hidden be-
heatn the waters OF the smiling but
treacherOus Pacific. The idea of seeing
ones home vanish from his sight is any
thlng put pleasant one under any cir
cumstances. Fortunately | was unable
al the time to realize my position. Ny
nome buried in the oceans depth. and |.
sIone, without food or drink in a small ca
noe, while around me the declining sun
shdne upon the vast eXpanse OF waters
"hlcn shut me from the world. | was,
however, too dazed and Mortified to think
oi these things | was incapable of ac-
non ana my boat drifted as it pleased
now long foated amlessly about |
KNOW not. Days must have elapsed, but
scarcely felt the pangs of thirst and
hunger. sat motionless, with nv ewes
uAeu upon what seemed to be the spot
"nere mad last seen AurOra's sloping
euores. One morning | saw land before
me: Inc sight revived the love OF life
Whicn ls within us all, and for the first
..ne tOoE up my paddle and made for
Tue snoFe. AS | drew near enough to
ulecern, saw that the banks were lined
WIN natlVes eagerly watching my ap-
pIodch. A new danger awaited me, |
was aware that many of these islands
"ere inhabited by tribes OF savage can
nluSls, and | wondered if | had survived
suy recent perils, only to appear at some
uOiIld Orgle, served up as Que of the
pIlhclpal courses of the feast. | had
stoppeu padding, besItating whether
ouVulu 20 on or not, when | saw two men
SPIlug lhlO boat and come near me. In
Hs emaclated condition fight was impos-
uoe'dnu calmly awaited their approach.
W In the calmness OF despair | took note
- u! surroundings. The island before
Use was larger than the one upon which
sau IVed, but here. also, 1 saw smoke
,sGing from crater of large volcano,
a." mechanically wondered it, some
- II 700, would not disappear. On com
- cioser TO me, | saw that the men had
ius h@ll, which was curiously twisted in
,6es round pieces of bark; and that from
sbe,I ears were suspended large tortoise
III IaIl ,lnGs. They came alongside, and
,SIoheu Win evident astonishment upon
WIZ" man, who had come TO them so
SS,"useIy, but there was nothing in their
81 uedHor 10 alarm ME. | endeaVored by
'~us-WhlCh the volcano nssiRtpt--tO