The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-03-28
Seleeteo Stories.
A Romance of the Sea.

plight on little island almost Wltnln
sight of Antarctic ice. The story came
from official sources in France, and was
to the effect that the French govern
ment had been informed by the British
ambassador in Paris that word had been
received from the governor of West
Australia that on September % last
dead albatross had been found on the
beach at Freemantle, around whose
neck was fastened small piece of
metal, on which had been scratched in
French:
"Thirteen shipwrecked men took refuge
upon the Crozet Islands, August 4, 1887"
The story excited some incredulity.
The Crozet Islands are hundreds of
miles south of Madagascar, far out of
the ordinary track of ships. Whalers
are about the only vessels that visit this
vast southern waste of waters. 1t was,
indeed, a wonderful series of fortunate
events if castaways on these far-off
islands had found winged messenger
which, unconsciously exerting in their
behalf his far-famed powers of endur-
ance on the wing, had carried their
tidings over thousands of miles of sea,
with few opportunities to rest on the
way, and had finally dropped dead,
probably of exhaustion, on the shores
of civilized land.
Considering the source from which
the information was derived, the French
government promptly decided that there
could be no doubt that this albatross,
with its important message, had been
found at Freemantle, which is one of
the larger towns in southwestern Aus
tralia. The French minister of ma
rine at once sent orders to the COM
mander of the naval division of the
Indian ocean to dispatch the transport
"Meurthe " as soon as possible to the
Crozets to search for the castaways.
The strange story was published in the
Paris newspapers, and the next day
communication came from the COM
mercial house of Bordes & Son of Bor-
deaux SAYING they had reason to fear
that the thirteen sailors on the Crozets
were the crew of their three-master
Tamaris," which had sailed many
months before for New Caledonia in
the Pacific. She was some time over
due. Her owners had expected her to
take a course not far from the CrOzet
Islands, and her crew numbered thir-
lccu pcISOuS. LIS lulOIludllOll SdNO
additional interest and probability to
the story. The British government
decided to take part also in the search,
and her majesty's ship Thalia,"
which was about to leave England for
Australia, was ordered to 60 out of her
course TO call at the Crozet Islands.
1t is now possible to give the sequel
of this romance of the sea. The French
transport Meurthe," returning from
her search early this year, reached the
bay of Diego Suarez, in north Madagas-
car, January g. On that day her COM
mander wrote report of his voyage.
He said that the first of the four Crozet
Islands at which he touched was the
little island of Cochous. He found no
human beings there, but plenty of evil
dence that the island had recently been
occupied. Traces of recent camp-fres
and biscuit-boxes and other debris,
comparatively fresh in appearance,
were scattered around. A heap of
stones had been piled up to attract at
tention, and in this heap was sheet of
paper on which this communication had
been written in French with a lead
pencil:
"The iron ship "Tamaris " of Bordeaux,
with thirteen men in the crew, went ashore
on the Island of Cochous during heavy
fog. Some time after she got clear and
tioated off, but three hours later she filed
and sank. The crew escaped in two small
boats to the island, taking with them 100
kilogrammes of biscuit. The crew have
lived on Cochous Island nine months,
and their food being exhausted they are
about to set out for Possession Island. Sep
TENDER 30, 1887
Possession Island, which is also one of
the Crozet group is eighty miles from
Cochous. The " Meurthe" at once
went to that island, but found no trace
whatever of the shipwrecked men.
Then she went to East Island, another
island of the group, where she found
some American whalers that had been
there for some weeks. They had
neither seen nor heard anything of the
castaways. All the other islands in
those waters were visited without re-
suit. 1t is firmly believed that the
unfortunate men were lost in their
perilous passage by small boats to
Possession Island, though there is a bare
chance that they were picked up by
some American whaler.
OF course the two hundred thirty
pounds OF biscuit with which the men
reached Cochous Island was only a small
part of the provision they required dur
ing their nine months sojourn there
AT least one other crew has been
shipwrecked on the Crozets, and it sub
sisted until rescued on penguin flesh
and eggs and fish. In this way, doubt.
less, the men of the "Tamaris" eked ou
their food resources, and it is not prob
able they would have starved had theil
patience held out little longer unit
relief came. They probably though
that at Possession Island the chance,
would be better that some whaler would
discover them. They knew there wa
not one chance in many thousand
that the albatross bird to whom the,
intrusted their brief message would
carry it safely and quickly thousand
of miles to the civilized world. The,
little dreamed that eight days befor,
they set out from the desolate rocl
where they had lived so forlornly tn
bird they sent skimming over th
waters had finished his wonderful fligh
and had told the world of their nm