Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-04-25

| anu, he pau Ills pdSSttPe TO Odu rran-
cisco. 1t was at this latter port he
found me, and within two hours after
meeting him had the story. had no
reason to doubt its entire truth. Three
or four others were taken into the secret,
and we formed a syndicate to go after
the gold. I had had legacy of $S, 900
from an aunt, and five of us Clipped in
an equal amount, and bought schooner
and fitted her out and 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 as we could accept,
and when the story of the big lump of
gold was whispered around, two other
craft fitted out to follow us. We went
out of the harbor on dark and stormy
night, and two OF three days before we
were supposed to be ready, and thus
gave them the slip
As the captain had SO. 900 in the enter
prise, and had not even waited to visit
his family, the reader must credit him
with honestly believing all he asserted
As had an equal amount invested, the
reader must believe that I am writing
of things as they honestly looked to me.
How could l OF any one else disbelieve2
There was nugget there the papers
and relics, and the English captain
knew of the raft and its lone passenger
being picked up 700 miles from any
known land. There wasn't the least
difficulty in making others believe,
either. We could lave raised 5000, 900.
Wheaton had no sooner been rescued
than he asked for the Englishman's
latitude and longitude. Then he figured
on the direction and strength of the
wind and the progress of his raft. and
he had had the location of his island
down to within five miles. have had
miners and geoogists tell me that no
heaval from the sea. If not, where did
the captain get that big lump? There
is no gold on any charted island in the
Pacific and he certainly could not have
drifted to or put off on his raft from the
coast of South America. 1t is easy
enough to sneer at story, but not so
easy to get around cold facts.
We had fine run to Honolulu, and
remained there for a week to make
some needed repairs and lay in more
provisions and water. Captain Whea-
ton there met a 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 it, 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 being 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. He had no suspicion of our
errand, and related the above simply as
an adventure. However, from that
hour we lost all heart. Figure as we
would, we could not shake off the con-
viction that it was the island which had
been destroyed in the same manner it
was born. ...
After long and tedious run from the
Sandwich Islands we finally drew near
the location. Then for days and days
we sailed to and fro, and at length real
lied that the island had gone. 1t was
not there to enrich us and to prove the
captains story true, but 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 still greater find. The
boat which Wheaton had built and lost
turned up there on the vast expanse of
sea. 1t was sighted from the masthead
one morning, and two hours later we
had it alongside. 1t was water logged
but floating we'll enough for all that, and
its findings was the strongest link in the
whole chain. We hoisted her on board
and brought her to San Francisco to 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 it 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
any such island existed, even for a
month; but ask the reader, as l have
often asked myself, if not, what land
could Captain Wheaton have reached
in so short time? He knew every foot
of his island and drew map of it. No
other island would answer the descrip.
ton. He built boat and we found it
He built raft and it bore him into the
tracks of ships. He found gold and he
found and saved papers and relics which
settled the fate of two missing vessels.
That island was born in ten seconds,
when the bottom of the sea upheaved.
Why should not it have been destroy ed
just as quickly3 1t is not the only one
which has come and gone, and the fact
of its remaining until covered with
timber and vegetation was no guarantee
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 all in the venture.
New York Sunday Sun.
Madical I.nnIxinp Man ExnIaIns.