Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-03-29

even broke up and took some of the plank
ing, and stripped as much of the copper
sheathing as they could get at. The treas
ure was also removed and safely stored.
All this occupied two months or more,
and it was barely completed when the
Santa Anna" which had been terribly
buffeted in a storm, went to pieces.
So far the men had worked willingly and
well, obeying their officers without hesita-
ton; but when it became question Of
building boat and "affronting new dam
gers' to use Commander Fane's own
words) they began to murmur. Why, they
said, should they take a perilous voyage in
frail craft-a voyage of at least two
thousand miles (that being the distance to
the nearest British possession)-with the
almost certainty Of they should escape
shipwreck a second time) of falling into
the hands Of the Spaniards and being i'm
INJURED for years in some horrible prison,
possibly tortured and put to death by the
InuuisitiOn? Why not stay where they
were? The country was fertile and beau
tifuI, the climate genial, the people kindly.
What could they do better than make the
Fair Island a name conferred on the
country by the sailors because of its sup
posed resemblance to the Isle of Wight,
which in the last century was generally
known as the Fair Island') their home,
and let the world wag?
Whether this idea had already occurred
to Fame does not appear, but before the
suggestion could be considered an event
occurred which seems to have helped him
to decision. He and his men were living
in tents and huts near the present site of
Fairhaven, when one morning several of
the native chiefs made their appearance,
and gave them to understand that they
were threatened with a grave danger; and
taking the commandment round the noun
tain, pointed to the west, where there was
a breach in the barrier of rocks, and where
the mist occasionally lifted.
Looking through his glass, Fame saw
that the sea was simply black with canoes,
which were rapidly approaching the coast
1t was f1Otilla of invaders, and the Carib
chiefs, who seemed greatly alarmed, i'm
plored him by signs to join his forces to
theirs and help them to repulse the foe
Fame, who wanted nothing better, ordered
his plan of campaign on the spot. 1t
would be impossible to reach the west
coast before the invaders (whOm, for want
of better name, the sailors christened
"Carberoes") disembarked, the more es
pecially as the country was thlckly wooded
and destitute of roads. But the creek that
lies below Fairhaven joins a stream which
sweeps round the foot of the mountain,
and flows halfway across the island in a
westerly direction. 1t was on the banks
of this stream (navigable for small boats
that the English Officer resolved to inter-
cept the Cariberoes and give them battle
His men were summoned forthwith, and
embarked on the four boats which had
once belonged to the Santa Anna" The
crews were, of course, well armed, and the
long-bOat carried small carronade in her
bows. A few hours sufficed to organize
the expedition, which included hundred
canoes, carrying about thousand natives,
armed with bows and arrows and spears,
the whole under Mr.. Fane's command.
The spot he selected for making a stand
was at a ford near an opening in the forest
that the invaders must needs traverse In
order to reach the eastern or Fairhaven
side of the island, which was assumed to
be their objective point, as thereabouts
were the principle Carib villages.
By great eXertion Fame and his men sue
ceeded in reaching the ford three or four
hours before the enemy put in an appear
ance. Keeping his blue Jackets in reserve,
he sent the greater part of the Caribs to
meet the invaders in the open, with orders
| to fall back fighting as the latter advanced,
re-crOsS the river, and take up a position
among the brushwood on the banks At
the same time, feeling himself quite strong
enough, and having no doubt as to the re-
suit, he ordered two of his officers to take
a second party of Caribs through the for
est, lie in ambush near the invaders line
of retreat, and cut them off from the boats.
These dispositions made, the allied forces
awaited the onset of the enemy, who came
on several thousands strong.
The Caribs, after making show of re-
sistanCe, fell back, and then pretending to
be paniC-stricken made in desperate haste
for the river, the foe in full cry after them.
| When the latter were we'll within range,
! the blue Jackets (who had been lying perdtG
under the bank) opened fire on them both
with their muskets and the carronade.
| The invaders. utterly dumfOunded by this
| unexpected reception, retreated in great
confusion; but once among the trees again,
! the rallied, and, turning to bay, showed a
most resolutc front.
On this the commander ordered agener-
al charge, which he led in person. Then
! followed adesperate struggle-'the hottest
thing l was ever in,' wrote Fame. The
! blue jackets, after giving the Cariberoes a
couple of volleys pOint-blank fell on them
with Cutlasses and dubbed muskets, and
were bravcly supported by their native
allies. The fight lasted fifteen minutes,
! and there is no telling how it might have
ended if the ambush party, hearing the
! firing, had not made diversion in the
rear, whereupOn the invaders, being seized
with panic, threw away their arms, and
made off in all directions. Many were
| killed; more We're taken prisoners; only a
very small remnant succeeded in reaching
! their boats and getting away.
The Caribs had no idea of keeping the
| prisoners alive, and were proceeding to
make short work of them, when Comman-
| der Fame interposed. He would have no
| body killed in cold blood The question
| then arose as to how the prisoners were to
! be disposed of To let them go away
would never do; they might come back an
! other day. To let them roam about the
! country was equally impolitic; they would
be a chronic trouble and a permanent dan
! ger. There was only one other alterna-
| tive, and that was adopted. They were
enslaved.
| Fame had many advanced ideas, but the
! age in which he lived was, neither senti-
mental nor humanitarian age. He not
! only thought there was no wrong in slav-
| cry, but that the best use TO which the
! prisoners could be put was to reduce them
to servitude. So they were bound in twos
and threes and distributed among their
| captors, and slavery became one of the
! permanent institutions of the island.
The invaders, as Fame afterward ascer-
| tanned, came from an island about a hun
| dred miles east of Fair Island, and when
he first saw them their appearance excited
his unbounded surprise. Some were black,
others copper-colored or red; but the great
er part had the same spotted skins as the
| Caliban crew of Fields boat-were, in
fact, their ancestors. How African negroes
| had found their way so far west was a
! matter OF conjecture: they were probably.
IS Fame surmised, the descendants Of a
cargo of revolted slaves who, after killing
! their captors, had landed on the island and
| intermarried with the natives.
! Speaking for myself, am unable to as
! sign any cause for the peculiar hue of these
/ peonle, or TO decide whether it was the out
| come of some subtle evolutionary process,
| or mere caprice of atavism. AS the mix
/ ture of aboriSines with Englishmen on the
! one hand. and negroes on the other pro-
| duced analogous results, the piebaldism OF
! their progeny may be attributable either
! to soil or climate, or possibly to some racial
! popularity. have heard of tribes in Cen.