Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-02-24
PRICE ONE CENT

from an aunt. ana five OF US Clipped IL
an equal amounts and bought schooner
and fltte& hei ous agad manned her.
Something Of Captain Wheaton's won.
derful adventure got into the papers.
and we had ten times as many men
offer their services MS we could accept
and when the story Of the big lump of
gold MRS whispered around. two other
craft fitted out to follow us We Went
out OF the harl or on q dark and stormy
night and two or three days before We
were supposed to be ready, and thus
gave them the slim
As the captain had So. 600 in the enter.
prise, and had not even waited to Wait
his family. the reader must credit him
with honestly believing all he asserted
AS had an equal amount invested, the
reader must believe that / ann writing
Of things ms they honestly locked to me.
How could or any one else disbelieveg
There was a nugget. there the papers
and relics. aud the English captain
knew Of the raft and its lone passenger
being picked up 700 miles from any
known land. Tnere wasn't the least
difficulty in maxi x others believe.
either. We could l.ave raised 5000. 000
Wheaton had no oner been rescued
than he asked for the Englishmanss
latitude and longitude Then he figured
on the dir, ctioa aud strength OF tile
wind and the progress OF his raft. and
he had had tile location of his island
down to within tie miles have had
miners and geolo lists tell me that no
gold was ever found in volcanic up.
heaval from the sea. Ii not. where did
the captain get that big lump? There
Is no gold on any charted island in the
Pacific and he certainly ,ould not lave
drifted to or put off o his raft from the
coast of South America. Ii Is easy
enough TO sneer at = ory. but not SO
easy to get around co Il facts
We had fine run to Honolulu, and
remained there for week 10 make
some needed repairs and lay In more
provisions aud water. Captain Wliea-
ton there met fellow captain named
Briggs, who commanded New Bedford
whaler, and without suspicion of what
he was doing this man greatly dis
couraged us.
He had just come In from . long
cruise, which the chart showed must
have taken him very near the unknown
island. He had not sighted IL, but the
log book reported that when in that
neighborhood something like an earth
quake had occurred. Indeed, one did
occur. and new Island was born In the
Galapagos Group. The ship rocked vio-
lently in midocean, and a sort of tidal
wave came near Icing her destruction.
Next day the whaler encountered many
green trees floating about and he said
to Captain Wheaton that he had no
doubt some island had been over
whelmed lie had no suspicion OF our
erEnnd, and related the above simply IS
an adventure. However. from that
hour we lbs. all heart Figure as we
would, we could not shake n the con-
v C ion that il was the l,nd which had
Leen destroyed in the same manner it
was born
ff0er long and tedious run from the
Sandwich Islands we finally drew near
tile location. Then for days and days
we sailed TO and fro, and at length real.
IL d that the isla 4 had gone. IL was
not there TO enr cil us and TO prove the
captains story true. hut still we found
proofs. We discovered More than 100
trees floating about as we sailed this way
and that. and after we had given up all
hopes we made a slil greater flnd. The
boat whicll Wheato had built and Lost
turned up there on the vast expanss of
sea 1t was sighted from the masthead
one morning, and two hours later we
had it alongside. 1t was water logged.
but floating well enough for all that, and
its findings was the strongest link in the
whole chain. We hoisied her on board
and brought her to San Francisco 10 ex-
hibit to the silent stockholders In our
enterprise, and that relic was the only
thing we could show them The story
has been told and retold among sailors
in various ways, and portions Of IL have
been published. but have here given it
entire and correctly for the first time.
Officers in the survey service Of both
England and America have denied that
amy such island existed. even for =
month; but ask the reader, as ! have
often asked myself. il not. what land
could Captain Wheaton have reached
in so short time? He know every foot
Of his island and drew map Of it No
other island would answer the descrip.
tion. He built boat aud we found II
He built a raft and it bore him into the
tracks Of ships. He found gold and be
found and saved papers and relics which
settled tile fate Of two missing vessels
That island was born in ten seconds,
when the bottom of the sea upheayed.
Why should not it have been destro ed
just as quickly? 1t is not the only one
which has come ard gone, and the fact
Of is remaining until covered with
timber and vegetation MAS no guarantees
that it would always remain. That's
my story, and if you are unsatisfied you
are no worse off than your humble
servant, who lost his al in the venture.
New York Sunday Sun.