Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-07
"A LETTER THAT CAME NOT.

poarC tflo United STATES snip SIeTt, DOunu lOF
the China station, with orders to visit the
South Pacific islands en- route. We left San
Francisco on the Sd of August, and as | recall
the first part Of the voyage out, we had strong
favorable winds that carried us to the line, a
distance OF over two thousand miles, in six
teen days, a very fair average for a small
steam corvette under sail alone. We slipped
Through the Doldrum regions at the rate Of
a hundred miles day, and took up the south
east trades without being conscious Of having
lost the northeast. The morning watch would
trim the SAILS steady taut the braces, and
t'sweat home" the sheets, an hour would be
devoted TO routine drills, and then the balance
of the day would be given up TO delicious
fdling, the officers with pipes and books, and
the men with clothing and dirty boxes. Acool-
Ding breeze swept through the tattened wind
sails; the royals and al-port stern sails gave
her a comfortable list, and day after day
rolled over and under us UNTIL the page OF the
nautical almanac showed that one whole
month had been crossed off. Then came q
few days Of tiresome calm.
I We were in latitude a degs. south, longi.
stude 123 degs. west. If you viii take the
trouble to look On map Of the South Pacific
ocean at about that latitude and longitude,
you win find a tiny speck, not larger than
THAT made bya needle point, Indicating an
ISLAND There are hundreds of such specks
in the Pacific ocean, many Of them without
names, and all Of more or less uncrtain loca-
Ition. Thisdne, however, bears the name Of
Elizabeth or Henderson Island. have never
been able 10 learn anything about it-Tten
1T was discovered .or who gave it ats name.
A.
bly, one of tho ships of tue Wilkes expedition
or some whaler, may have run across it,
taken a rough set of sights, pricked it on
their charts, named it after their sweet
hearts OF themselves, and then squared away
for new bits of worlds. Maritime history is
wonderfully silent on many such points. All
know is that early on the morning of Sept.
the mast head lookout reported LAND hol"
and the next daywe drifted sufficiently near
it to warrant the captain sending an officer
in boat with seXtaDt, chronometer and
artificial horizon to get a careful set of
sights and TO giYeit a hurried exploration.
Many an addition to accurate geography
has been made in just such way, and felt
quite fattered when the detail fe1 30 me togo
on shore. Aside from the stretch to ones
limbs which the solid earth promised. there
had perhaps never been trodden by the foot
of man before Perhaps it was Mountain
Peak of the Host Atlantis, a silent witness to
some terrific CONFUSION that sunk it beneath
the wave. Who could tella Here it lay, how
ever, indefinitely charted. and liable to bring
Some unsuspecting mariner to grief unless
properly located Here was chance to earn
the fame of having made known an unknown
corner OF the world, and was pleased well
as fiattered. We left the ship in a whale boat
six strong oarsrneD, a coxswain, a midShip-
man TO mark time for the observations and
myself An easy swell lifted US gently to its
crest and then lowered US with mild taste
of toboggAning to its hollow, while thespark-
ling wake behind us showed q line OF bubbles
far down through Che shimInering blue. The
land was fully five miles off, but the menbent
80 a long, steady stroke, and in an hour time
we were near enough to see an unbroken line
of white breakers rolling and tumblng over
the narrow strip of beach. The sides Of the
island seemed nearly perpendicular, while the
lead failed to give bottom at thirty fathoms,
close as We were. l turned tothe southwark
sn hopes OF finding an opening in the breakers
there that would permit me to land, but the
same threatening wall of blue with its crest
of kissing white roared defiance at me. l
began to despair of ever effecting a landing,
when on turning to the northward on the west
side [ found the clasp of this white necklace,
a patch of blue that told of a break in the
reef and passage through 10 the tiny inlet
beyond it. Such breaks in tho coral reefs that
eucircle these lonely islands are very COM
mon, and their explanation simple.
I The rainfalls find their way to the sea
through some depression. Where the fresh
wafer strikes the salt coral life is destroyed.
Directly in line with this break was guich,
the only one observed during my circuit. All
the rain water from the top flowed 10 the
Sea through this guich; hence the little bay
and the cut in the coral circle Advancing
cautiously, l found that at about two hum
dred yards from the beach there were ten
fathonls of water. This continued until about
fifty yards from the beach, when the depth
abruptly Swallowed to three fathoms. 1t was
only by the exercise of extreme caution that
our boat WAS successfully carried through the
marrow passage, clear of the surf that writhed
and dashed GA either side, and we were enabled
10 land.
! Having secured the boat, warned the men
about straying too tar away and eating any
of the berries or fruit that they might find,
I started up the gulch for the top of the island,
accompanied by the midshipnlan and a man
TO carry the instruments. / got fine set of
sights, sent the man back 10 the boat, and
then took a stroll about the plateau like top
1t was ONLY about n mile in circumference
and covered with thin coating of soil that
supported a rank tropical growth. AS soon
Us could examined the character of the
island: as veritabis a corpse rs ever suffering
friends followed to the grave. Once living
an active, energetic life, it was now hfeIeSs,
an inert mass. an object of assault for wind,
gain and wave.
/ The first blow of my hammer betrayed the
dead coral, and subsequent investigation
proved that Elizabeth or Henderson island,
living in latitude - dogs p min. south and !
longitude l23 degS 10 min. west, was simply |
a mass of coral, browning doubtless some |
submarine mountain top, covered with a thin |
Soil of diSintecrated coral and vegetable |
mold, and planted by natures great gar |
GenerS. the birds. We had experienced great |
difficulty in getting to the top: the vines, |
which choked the gulch which we had |
elambered, were so thicllly interlaced as 70 /
cover up the holes and render passage danger
pus, so decided 10 Genuine my exploration 70 |
the tos, and not venture down any of the /
pther sides, particularly as the cliffs were
considerably undermined and threatened to
fau at any moment A few pandanus trees !
were scattered here and there. thick Grass, = {
network OF vines, bright flowers, berries, ana
blossoms were underfoot, l collected few
specimens, and was about TO return to the |
Boat. when my attention was arrested by the
slaclrened ends OF a log OF stick that pro-
4 l.