Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-07-09
For the Ellsworth American.I
A Voyage to Bakers Island.
(Continued.)

One day while the writer and his wife
were on board ship. the surf increased,
and while busy In the cabin we could hear
its roar on the reef, and we talked about
the chances of a capsize on our return.
well, said my wife, 1.-The water Is warm
and If we do capsize and get a wetting. it
will not hurt US. and | don't mind If we
| do" The boats continued to bring along
| side small loads of guano, and nothing
more was said about the surf at that time.
| Towards evening we started for the shore
in one of the whale boats belonging to the
island, manned by three of our sailors. As
| we neared the shore the boat was struck
| by a huge wave which turned her bottom
up. spiling us all into the surf before we
realized our situation. The most expert
swimmers lind II very diiilcult in the surf
to keep themselves from being turned
heels over head by each roller, and from
being carried of from the shore by the re-
ceding undertow.
Steadying ourselves as we came to the
surface, we struck out for the shore but
/
| dertow carried Us to the bottom and back
| into the boiling surge farther from land
] Several times We came to the surface
| caught our breath and headed for the
shore, TO be turned over by roller and
taken to the bottom where with movable
| coral we were .aken to the ofing nv the
! undertuw and again came to the surface to
! blow like porpoises. In tins manner we
! struggled until our strength began to fail,
| when the kanakas. who had witnessed our
| plight from the shore, rushed into the
surf and dragged ns out half drowned
| he sailors were also rescued and the boat
| taken care of by our rescuers. which
! placed Us under lasting obligations to
! them, for without their aid we should
t have, IN all probability. been drowned. We
| were greatly exhausted, badly frightened,
| and found il TO be more serious matter
/ than We had anticipated to be cap>ixcd 10
( the surf, but otherwise no harm came OF
It. To the eNpertnes- Of the kauakas in
the surf, and the mercy Of Providence we
owed the preservation Of our lives, and we
never after desired 70 repeat the expert
ence nor to talk lightly Of u capsizc in the
surf.
One OF the most interesting and impress
sIvc scenes we Witnessed during our STAY
al this island was the surf-riding of the
kanakas. which they performed several
| times after our capsize. for their sport
aud pleasure, Their usual mode was to
select time when the surf ran high In
long succeeding roller, upon the shore.
foot Wide aud a foot and half long,
which they took under one arm, they rush
ed down the beach after a receding wave,
dived through the breaker, and came to
| The surface in the hollow OF the waves be-
J yond, reaching in that manner their otling
Having reached a favorite position out
side the line of breakers they rested
quietly aud huoyantly from their fatigue,
! watching for the >teed they wished to
mount and ride. They would select the
largest wave, place the board beneath
/ their chest for saddle and mount the
crest of the wave with head aud shoulders
little in advance Of the foaminy curves,
faced towards the shore. once mounted,
on they rushed towards tile shore with the
speed Of the rolling hillow keeping their
position with exactness and grace, but
/ with increasing velocity as they ntared the
/ rocks, where the inexperienced spectator
I fears they will be dashed in pieces. The
/ beholder ~ alarmed for their safety;
destruction seems inevitable, but when
/ within a few feet Of the rocks, the rider
/ turns suddenly half round using his foot
a. rudder To steer himself, and dis
I mounts the wave rolls on and dashes
/ itself into spray and foam against the
| shore while the rider remains where he
| di>mounted shakes his Wet locks, laugh,
| IN high glee, dives under the succet ding
! waves, comes up in the hollow beyond,
| and thus works his way to the oiilng as
before, for another ride.
/ Language fails to properly describe the
thrilling effect of one of those scenes; it
must be witnessed to be fully appreciated.
How they could keep their positions with
! such precision on the crest of wave as it
combed over into white foam and rushed
on over the reef with the speed of an
| eagle in his flight. is almost incompre-
hensible. They do it, however, With ease
and grace and enjoy the wild sport with
zest never equalled by schoolboys coast
tt,,y
| sliding. They would indulge in this sport
/ for AN hour or two at time without ap-
| parent fatigue, and with as great daring
as if they were amphibious, as the specta.
| tor half imagined them to be. We never
grew weary of watching them at that
sport, nor did familiarity with it lessen
our interest. For sporting themselves in
the water, in feats of surf riding swim
ming and the like the Kanakas, or South
Sea Islanders, can beat any other race of
| men.
| Millions of sea-fowl and other birds fire.
| quented the island to lay their eggs, hatch
and rear their yourg; and to their agency
the guano deposit upon it was wholly due.
The noise and chatter they kept up day and
night, and which at first seemed to drown
the thunderings of the surf upon the reef
and was deafening and painful to the un-
accustomed ear, became by familiarity less
| discordant to US, so that We learned to
| listen TO them undisturbed.
The food of the birds consisted of fish,
with which the waters of the ocean in that
region abound OF the web footed birds,
| there were terms, gannets, gulls, whale
birds, storm petrels, little angels, guano.
birds. mutton birds. boobies and tropic-
| birds, and of those not web-footed, there
were the man-o-war hawks, rock birds,
sandpipers, golden plovers and curlews.
We give here the names by which we
| knew Them, leaving to some one of more
pathological knowledge the task of
classifying them and arranging their
genera. The birds lived upon the island
in distinct communities, each species FORM
| ing themselves into a clan, making good
| the old adage. that "birds of feather
flock together" Some of them burrowed
into the guauo to make their nests, and
the whole deposit was perforated with