San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-08-22
CRUSOE SETTLEMENTS.
ROMANTIC LIFE ON A LITTLE
SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND.

story OF q Runaway English odAiOF
other Little Colony in the Kermadec
Group-Castaways on q Coral Reef-Pit-
cairn Islanders.
About four months ago, as the English
bark Queens Island was passing Palmerston
Island, in the Southern Pacific the captain
was surprised to see boat containing eight
persons put off from the shore. It was gen.
orally supposed that this little coral island,
one OF the least important Of the Hervey
group, and about three hundred miles from
its nearest neighbor, was uninhabited, Capt.
Reid, however, had accidently approached
near enough to this little speck in the ocean
to discover another of those romantic island
settlements which are now and then unex-
pectedly found in the broad expanse of the
great Pacific.
The bronzed and rather scantily clad white
man who clambered up the side of the bark
said he was William Marston, the chief of
the little island, where he had lived for
twenty-five years. When he was a young
man he deserted from the British bark Rifle
man in Tahiti and made his way in a small
sailboat nearly 1000 miles west to the Her
vey group. He took a native wife and jour
neyed on to Palmerston Island, where he
built him a cabin and started cocoanut
plantation A few natives joined him, and
now his little world contains thirty-three
human beings, of whom fifteen are his own
children. English is the only language
spoken in this little community, whose island
home is not so large as some Dakota farms.
Here the subjects Of the runaway English
sailor live on the happiest terms getting
along very well without the news and gossip
of the world, while enjoying, nevertheless,
many of the good things of civilization
brought to them by small trading vessels, to
whom they sell the copra prepared from their
cocoanuts
Within the past few years several islands
have been discovered in the Pacific which, it
was found, had long been known by small
traders, who in the interests of monopoly
carefully kept their information to them
selves. After the Sydney newspapers an
nounced the discovery Of a fine new island
not far from New Guinea a sea captain in
port produced very good map of the island
which he had made several years before He
had probably hoped to hand down the secret
to his heirs as an exclusive trading privilege
In this way it has happened that Marston's
little colony has fourished unknown save to
one or two traders. whose interests have kept
them quiet.
Hundreds of the little islands Of the Pacific
are uninhabited and are very rarely seen by
vessels. Who knows but among them may
be modern Robinson Crusoes, waiting pa
tiently for sail, and living in fair degree
Of comfort upon the bounties of which ma
ture is so lavish in those regionss We have
recently told the story of Mr.. Bell and his
little family, who are monarchs Of all they
survey in the Kermadec group 600 miles
from their nearest neighbors The passen-
gers and crew of the bark Henry James, who
were rescued in May last from a coral reef
in Polynesia, know what it is to be cast
Always in the Pacific, hundreds of miles from
inhabited islands. If they had not fortu-
nately saved their small boat they might
have been prisoners for many months on the
little island. Five men in the boat carried
the news of their disaster 300 miles to Sa-
moa, and in less than two months deliver
ance came. They needed clothing, but were
not otherwise in serious want, for fish alsd
cocoanuts had amply supplemented the slen-
der food supplies with which they had
reached their place of refuge.
Among the jubilee presents received by
Queen Victoria were some hats and other
manufactures, most skillfully made Of straw,
the humble tribute Of the most unique and
famous OF Pacific colonies. In 1890 the Pit
cairn islanders may celebrate the centennial
of the landing Of their mutinous fathers on
the little rock where Lady Belcher, their his
torian, says they have become such COM
munity as has been the dream of poets and
re aspiration Of philosophers" It is not
-rtehthe world heaR froR these happy spd