The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-07-13
yotsAMMes ISLAND.
Whers n Il asA what . Naval O0e'
Knowp Aboat II.

JossANfeG8 ISLAND.
where n \ asa what Q Naval O0esR
Kssvs Abeat II.
Ever been tOJ0hannes Island?" said
naval officer ON leave Of absence to .
reporter.
Think not; where is 4? Anywhere
mot exactly. It's one Of the Comoro
group"
"And where Is the Comoro groupe"
1.-THE Comoro group Is of Madagas-
car. that is. from 200 to 500 miles OF
Madagascar. in the Indian Ocean. Gil
mate tropical; verdure magnificent; air
spiced and dreamy. White men idle;
negroes not very busy; women drowsy
and half dressed"
"What took you down there?"
''Oh. you know some United States
ship is always slipping through 0ibral-
tar. creeping down the Mediterranean.
sliding through the Suez Canal and the
Red Sea, skirting down the coast Of
Africa and then shooting across to Rio
or Montevido. They follow one
another, man after man. as we used to
say when we played marbles. We got
through in the Alliance early this year
and another vessel is doing the same
thing this very minute. It's our Govern
ment's method OF notifying the world
that there's . civilized power in the
Western hemisphere"
"And do they all go to the COmoro Is
lands?"
mo; l think not. We went there
looking for slave ship. Odd, isn't it?
It was our business to look up Yankee
schooner that was said to have been
carried off by her master, a Yankee
sailor, and sold to Doctor Wilson. q
former surgeon in the United States
navy. who was charged with using her
in the slave trade. Queer story for the
year 1883, isn't it? Further, we were
ordered to seize her by force if neces-
sary wherever we should find her, pro-
vided it was safe to do 80. and send her
back to this country with a prize
crew."
ibid you do it,"
I'VE found her, but we didn't seize
her. She was under British protection
at Mauritius. But you ought to see
Wilson's place on Johannes. He's been
living there like prince for 1 don't
know how many years. with absolute
power of life and death over seven hum
dred to eight hundred slaves and de-
pendents, with thousands of acres in
sugar plantations, and no rival but the
Sultan, who has twice as many slaves
as Wilson. and don't know how many
wives. Wilson lives in a bungalo, which
is One-story house with wide veran-
dahs, hammocks, great fans run by lit
tie negroes and every conceivable lux
ury of the tropics. He has ice the year
makes the best and coolest cock
tails imaginable. gets the New York
Herald, two or three English papers, all
the best American magazines and no
end of new books. Once a month he
sends little steamboat of his own to
an island three hundred miles off to
bring over his nails"
keep harem?"
swell, if he does it wasn't on exhibi-
tion."
''And did he use the Yankee schooner
in the slave trader
"Bhst If know; but he said he
didn't. and he treated us with the hos
pitality Of a prince"
"And, of course, you didn't disturb |
him."
"Yes, we did. We sent dozen men
over to one of his sugar plantations;
tore away three or four great copper |
boilers which we insisted belonged to
the schooner. and carried them off to
South America. Then we took part |
ing drink with Wilson and left him to |
MS grievance and his tropic paradise"
N. Y. Telegram.