Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-07-02

New Nantucket. took a sample Of its soil
home with him. He had it analysed; it
proved to be guano of commercial value ;
he sold his discovery for snug sum Of
money and his name has been immortal
lied by its bestowal upon the island. This
| discovery was folio wed by the formation
OF the American Guano Company for the
| purpose of working the guano upon this
| and other islands in the Pacific to which
they laid claim. and for shipping it to the
United States and European markets.
This enterprising company fitted out
ship at New York with cargo of mate
rials suited to the undertaking and work
men were sent from Honolulu to meet her
at the island She arrived out safely in
due time, moorings were laid-there is no
anchorage at the island-cargo was land
ed, piers and tramways were constructed,
houses and shops were built, and she took
on board the first cargo of guano shipped
from the island and sailed for home. The
quantity of guano upon the island at that
time was estimated to be $50 900 tons, and
eleven cargoes had been shipped previous
to our arrival there. The deposit was
strewed in thin laver of from one to eisb-
teen inches in depth, over little more
than one half the surface of the island
which was said to contain three fourths of
square mile inside the sea walls. Twen-
ty-four feet was the highest point Of ee-
walton above the sea level on the island:
and standing upon the deck Of our shin at
the moorings, the eye was sufficiently elc-
waited to see the ocean in every direction
over 1t. The island is Of coral formation.
with reefs extending out from its shores
in all directions, but on the west side.
where the shore is crescent shaped, it mar
rows up to near the shore. and it was
there the ships were moored to recti i've
their cargoes
The outer edge Of the reef descends
abruptly into nnfathomable depths, 50
that there is no safe anchorage and the
buoys TO which ships were moored were
Kept in place by two anchors, one on the
reef, with $50 fsthoms of chain attached
to each
From April to November the winds blow
steadily from the eastward, and then ships
rode securely at the moorings, failing n
shore, but in the opposite season the winds /
sometimes veered and blew from the west.
ward, The ships would then swing around
stern to the reef. straighten up the oil I
shore chain, strike the coral reef, ill ami /
go down at their moorings. To prevent an I
accident Of that paturc ship was always |
expected to be 10 readiness to slip her
moorings and put 10 sea when a westerly |
wind set in, and there remain until wind
and weather changed. This could be done
If watchfulness and care and advantage
were taken of the wind when il yeered Ia
west of south, 10 make sail and stand OFF
clear, as we proved
The westerly winds which prevailed dur
ng our stay there, gave warning of their
approach by dark, rainy weather. a heavy
swell heaving up from y. " aud grad
IL! veering of the wind to west of south.
During the prevalence of these winds, the
weather had the appearance OF the "dold-
ums." the rain descended. and the sea was
'gitated and rough; but the winds did not
'low hard-the cause is from the overlap
ling OF the island by the "doldrums',
orced south 10y northerly gales in the North
A tt,,,n. : ha, !
threatening to engulf it. and no boat can
hen land or put Oh from the shore. on
cunt of the weather we had no difficulty
n clearing the \. w. point of the reef,
.ni after an absence Of eight hours we
,ame back and mlde fast 10 the S W
my time.
For three days following our return the
ain fell in torrents and the surf dashed
With awful majesty against the reef, Great
ng scene terribly grand to witness. We
iled all our empty water casks with good
thinking water, and on the island the men
iled all their tanks and u large pool col
ected in the place where the gusno had
been taken away. which did not dry up for
weeks.
Owing to the rain which falls here and
the thinness Of the layer of guano and its
exposed surface, the guano had no smell
Of ammonia, that property having been
dissolved and evaporated The guano was
dug. bagged, placed upon platform cars.
hauled by horses over platform scale,
weighed in its transit to the beach, there
loaded into whale boats, taken alongside
the ship, hoisted on board, contents poured
into the ships hold and the empty bags re-
turned to the shore to be re-tiled The
boats carried two tons to a load, when it
was smooth, but less when the surf OBJ
structed. The manner of loading and run
ming the boats from the shore through the |
surf was an Interesting sight. The boat
was hauled upon the beach and loaded, |
her crew and dozen other kanakas take |
hold of her, when, upon given signal !
from her captain, who watches the surf,
she is launched on the top Of wave and |
given sufficient impetus to clear the beach |
on the receding wave. Her crew Jump in
to her as she strikes the water, buckle |
down to their oars, and send her swiftly
beyond the line of surf. But sometimes
when the surf ran high the boat was
swamped in the undertaking, in which
case her load would carry her to the bot
tom were it not that the boatmen would
jump upon one side, turn her bottom up,
when the bags would drop out and she
would float; the crew would then climb
upon her bottom there to remain until an
other boat put OFF from the shore to their
rescue, or they would swim back to the
beach, for the Kanakas are all expert swim
mers.
1t would seem to be slow process to
take on board of a ship 1900 or 1900 tons
in that manner, and so we thought at the