Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1890-02-03


and would be visited only by accident, the
captain set about building some sort Of craft |
There was heap Of drift wood on the cast
ern side Of the island, and in overhauling 1t
he found a number of planks and boards |
which must have come from a craft pounded
to pieces by gale, but he had no tool Of any
description except large pocket knife.
While this dampened his ardor TO a great ex-
tent be put in an hour or two occasionally at
the work of building, and laid the
foundation Of the raft we found him on.
When Capt Harsen had been on the island
ten months he ate some fruit which poisoned
him, and made him almost helpless for the
next three months. When he finally recoY-
cred he found it almost impossible to rouse
up any ambition. He fell into a state Of apa-
thy, lost all track OF time and did nothing
but eat and sleep. He must have lived a sort
Of wild beast life for two or three years, and
perhaps have been out OF his right mind
much Of the time. What finally aroused him
was the sight of ship sailing past his island
home one day. She was too far away to be
signaled, but the sight OF her inspired hope
and ambition. He had had a fire off 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
1t was like awakening from long sleep.
His hair and beard had grown to great
length, his clothing was about worn out, and
he found that he had gained enormously in
hesh. be prepared a set of rules to govern
his future actions. He got up at a certain
hour, went to bed at certain hour and put
In 80 many hours day at work on his raft
Such craft as he finally completed could
have been knocked together in a 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 hy
means Of pins. Then he built up with planls
and boards until he had a platform about
thirty inches above the sea.
1t was after tho 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 or kilt he had on when we found
he had stepped a mast and made a 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
a 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, aud
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 ne was out Of his mind No
such island was put down--indeed no land
of any sort-for thousand miles in any
direction. He insisted on the truth Of his
story, however. There was his raft, and
that was in his favor. It 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-
lieved it, and we were seeking to get around
it by denying that the man was Capt Har-
sen, when lol the man that had been his first
mate and sailed the ship home arrived in port
as mate Of a 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 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 a spot about a mile square soundings
showed a depth Of from thirty to sixty feet
only, while all around it the lead would take
down a mile of line While Capt Harsen
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 ship
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 TO
| give it a 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 been
questioned in newspapers and on shipboard,
the preponderance Of proof was in favor OF
his veracity. Not the slightest reason existed
for misstating the real facts.-New York Sun.