San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-07-16


dred wards from the beach there were ten
fathoms Of water This continued until about
fifty yards from the beach, when the depth
abruptly Swallowed to three fathoms lt was
only by the exercise of extreme caution that
our boat was successfully carried through the
narrow passage, clear of the surf that writhed
and dashed on either side, and we were enabled
TO land.
Having secured the boat, warned the men
about straying too far away and eating any
Of the berries or fruit that they might find,
| started up the gulch for the top of the island,
accompanied by the midshipman and man
to carry the instruments. got a fine set OF
sights, sent the man back to the boat, and
then took stroll about the plateau like top.
It was only about a mile in circumference
and covered with a thin coating of soil that
supported rank tropical growth As soon
as could | examined the character OF the
island: as veritaAe a corpse as ever suffering
friends followed to the grave. Once living
an active, energetic life, it was now hfeless,
an inert mass, an object of assault for wind,
rain and wave. 8
The first blow of my hammer betrayed the
dead coral, and subsequent investigation
proved that Elizabeth or Henderson island,
| lying in latitude "a dess. 81 min. south and
| longitude lbs degs 10 min. west, was simply
| L mass of coral, browning doubtless some
submarine mountain top, covered with thin
| soil of disiutegrated coral and vegetable
| mold, and planted by natures great ga
deners, the birds Wehad experienced great
difficulty in getting to the top; the vines,
| which choked the gulch which we had
clanfbered, were so thickly interaced as to
cover up the holes and render passage danger
| I a tod RI m y-rlD
the TOP, and not venture down any of the
other sides, particularly as the cliffs were
considerably undermined and threatened to
| fall at any moment A few pandanus trees
| we're scattered here and there, thick grass.
| network of vines, bright flowers, berries, and
| blossoms were underfoot. | collected few
| specimens, and was about to return to the
| boat, when my attention was arrested by the
| blackened ends of a log or stick that pro-
| jected above the thick brush. Ii was slffi-
GENTLY conspicuous to excite my interest, and
| | walked over and examined it. Calling TO
| some of my men, | had them tear asidethe
| vines, and then discovered evidences of the
| work of human hands, for it was blocked in
| position by pieces of coral Further, on
careful examination, | saw that it had been
carved with English letters over its entire
end. Exposure had nearly oblteratod them,
but enough remained for me to decipher the
following: "Ro ley sole su
of t ue A ia 3. yes
is re =. :. ook I'm =. one TX pa
| S d tn"
Nothing further could be made out, and
felt sure from the general appearance of the
rest of the log, which was probably a capstan
bar, that the Substance of the message, dis
connected as it was, lay III the above cipher.
puzzled over it a long time. All hands lent
their intelligence to the work, and we finally
decided that the latter part at least was
Look under stone six PAGES due NORTH
Sending for the boat compass, placed it in
the center of the spot, and with anxious step
paced off the distance. The men soon cleared
a space of several feet in diameter. Almost
in the exact spot where my footsteps landed
me found a fat piece of coral, evidently
shaped by man, and beneath it, in a hole
carefully lined with coral, found a small
tin tobacco case. Opening this produced a
dingy roll of paper, its edges ragged and
torn, the body well nigh destroyed by rust
and moisture. | saw at a glance that the
most careful handling would be necessary in
unrolling it, and as there was slight breeze
blowing over the top of the island decided
| to take it off to the ship and examine it there
Assuring myself that no further evidences of
| the mystery were to be found, | returned on
board ship. Repairing to the cabin, | report
ed my discovery and displayed the box, ask
ing the captain to appoint some officers to
examine the writing and report upon it. He
ordered another officer and myself as board
to examine the roll using the utmost caution
in handling it. We had a thin paste made,
| provided ourselves with note paper, and as
| each layer was carefully unwound from the
roll it was transferred to a stiff sheet of
paper, over which we had first spread thin
coating of paste Great delicacy was neces-
sary; the sheets had little moro consistency
than burnt paper, but after an hours patient
| labor we were rewarded by seeing all the
contents of the roll safely transferred and
ready for deciphering. Traces of writing
were disccrnible, but they were so obscured
by the blackened surface of the paper
sheets, by the way, from some pocket diary
or memorandum book-that it was only by
the aid of a magnifying glass that We were
able to read them at all. Each of us read
separately, and after examining together
some disputed words we produced the accom-
panying story:
Il am Robert Harley, master and sole sur
| Vivor of the bark Acasta. from Sag Harbor,
knocked down by white squaii near this
island. Charles Bennett and myself drifted
ashore on some gratings and capstan bars.
| He died from exhaustion i'll the surf | re-.
| main long enough 30 write this record, which,
the grace of God permits me to do SHALL
die very soon-by the side of Bennett If myj
strength permits me-but l want before II
+r,S E,,I ~