Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-02-21


signaled, but the sight of her inspired hope
and ambition He had had fire cf and on,
producing it by flint and finder, but after
this he made signal pile and kept fire
constantly burning, to be ready for any pass
ing ship
It was like awakening from long Sleep
His hair and beard mad grown to great
length, his clothing was about worn out, and
he found that he had gained enormously in
flesh He prepared a set of rules to govern
his future actions. He got up at certain
hour, went to bed at a certain hour, and put
in SO many hours day at work on his raft
Such craft as he finally completed could
have been knocked together in day by a
sailor with the proper tools, but as he had
only his bare hands his progress was slow.
The foundation consisted of four logs or
beams, about twice as long as broad. These
were foot or more thick, and he burned
holes through them and fastened them by
means of pins Then he built up with planks
and boards until he had a platform about
thirty inches above the sea.
1t was after the raft had been completed
that Capt. Harsen began to dread voyage
on it. He realized what great waste of
waters the Indian ocean was, and the perils
he must encounter in leaving his island on
such float, and he tarried month after
month in hope some ship would come to the
rescue. When forced to provide himself with
clothing he taught himself to weave mats
from the long grass so plentiful around him,
and the skirt OF kilt he had on when we found
him he had worn for year or more. After
he had stepped a mast and made sail he set
out on short voyages with his raft, and he
would not have trusted himself to it entirely
had he known his exact location. When he
finally did set out it was with the expectation
Of soon landing on some other island to the
south.
The captains provisions for the voyage
consisted Of roasted birds and fruits The
only thing he had to hold water was shells,
and by filling four or five of them he cal
culated on a weeks supply. One day. when
fair wind blew from the north and the
weather gave promise of holding good for
several days, he cast loose from the island
and began his perilous voyage. He had been
four days out when we sighted him, and
there was no land, except his island, within
1000 miles. His supply of water was gone,
his provisions within a day of it, and even
the light seas encountered had almost racked
his raft to pieces He figured that he had
made 100 miles in the four days, and when
we came to look at the chart we came to the
conclusion that he was out Of his mind. No
such island was put down-indeea, no land
of any sort-for a thousand miles in any
direction. He insisted on the truth of his
story, however. There was his raft, and
that was in his favor 1t was against COM
mon sense to believe that he had come from
Madagascar or Australia on such a float as
that
The whole story was gone over many times
before we reached Melbourne, and was there
given to the papers and to the government
officials. 1t was SO strange that no one be-
ieved it, and we were seeking to get around
it by denying that the man was Capt. Har-
sen, when lo the man that had been his first
mate and sailed the ship home arrived in port
as mate of Scotch ship and identified his old
commander at once. There was a govern
ment survey ship in port at the time, and,
after some delay, she set off with Capt. Har-
sen on board to locate and chart this solitary
island. We could give her the location within
hundred miles, and, after sailing to and fro
for week, she made a discovery. While she
could not find the island, she did find shoal
or bank in midocean to mark its site.
Further than that, trees and other drift
stuff were encountered in that locality to
prove that some queer thing had taken place.
On spot about mile square soundings
showed a depth of from thirty to sixty feet
only, while all around it the lead would take
down mile Of line. While Capt. Harser
| could not show them an island, he could
point out the site of one, and in their report
| to the government the officers of the shiI
took the theory that the island had sank into
the sea from whence it sprang. The spot
was placed upon all the charts issued the next
year, and foot note warned navigators tt
| give it wide berth. Capt Harsen reached
home in good health to sail many other voy
ages, and died only about ten years ago
While the truth of his story has often beer
questioned in newspapers and on shipboard
the preponderance of proof was in favor O.
his veracity. Not the slightest reason existed
for misstating the real facts.-New York Sun