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

he crawled further up the shore aud
went to sleep again, aud it was sunrise
before he again opened his eyes About
an hour Ia ~ he knew that he was on
an island about three miles long by one
mile wide. 1t WAS well wooded. CON.
tanned several springs of fresh water.
and there was an abundance Of wild
fruit to sustain life. There was not an
inhal liant or sign of oae, nsr did he
fiad any living thing except birds and
monkeys.
Wheaton was not only a & od seaman.
but well educated and we'll posted
man, aud he had sailed ON the Pacific
for many years There was hardly am
island in the ocean which he had not
set foot ON and could recognize by sight
again. After BIT lie began to figure
on his location. aud he made out that
he had been driven ashore on an un-
known and uncharted island lying very
close TO the q iat,r, and in longitude
100 degrees west. I lis put him mid
way, on a northeast and southwest
line. between the Marquesas group and
the Galapagos lslnals. He had visited
both groups, and as 10th were inhabited
at the time. he could not be mistaken
in his location had he gone ashore on
any one of them He found proofs
satisfactory TO himself that the island
was of volcanic origin, not over 12 or IS
years old, and that the luxariant vege-
tation was due to the tropical climate.
The birds. Of which there were several
species, could perhaps have Il avn there
from some II the otller islands, but
how the monkeys reached the spot was
q puzzle the captain never got over.
That he found 'em there was proved
when he was rescued. there Icing two
pet animals ON the raft
When tie castaway came to walk
around his island he found tile wreck
of the Scotch brig Mcneil on the east
shore. and the wreck of the California
ship Golden Bar on the west coast Both
craft had been reported lost with all ON
board two or three years before. The
one was whaler and the other trader.
The captain not only said he found them,
but he had proofs again. He had the
name board of the ship and some papers
belonging TO the brig He buried the
skeletons of 13 sailors, and among the
debris of the wrecks he secured large
quantity of clothing. considerable money,
some bedding, a lot of too.s, ropes,
boards, and planks. and within week
be began the work of building boat to
enable him to escape.
/ always felt that the old man must
have had a jolly life of IL for the 10
months and over he was on what he
called "Wheaton's Island, but he dwelt
on the fact that it was terribly lonely.
1t went harder with him. because he
had a wife and six children, and he
knew that they would be mourning his
death. He found several barrels of
whisky and a lot of tobacco In the
plumber. Tut he was not content to sit
still and enjoy himself. He put in
two mouths on Iii, boat. and had
just got her flushed when a storm
set in and she broke her nioorings and
drifted out TO sea Anxiety and ex
posure. aided by the worry about the
folks at ho ne, laid the old man on his
back for seve al Weeks, and he probably
had close call from slipping his
cables. He got mp slowly, aud as he
had been wastef,il with his materials.
he found that lac must turn to raft if
he ever got away. lie worked at 1t at
odd hours, being i'll and despondent,
for several months, and when il was
finished he hesitated full month be-
fore making a start hoping every day
TO sight sail. He had signal flying
by day and almost every night he kept
q fire going. but resc never came.
One day. two " eeks before he set out
on his voy age. the captain made q great
discovery. In a rougIl, wild place in
the center OF the island, where a mass
Of rock was thrown up in great con-
fusion, he found lump of gold as big
as your fl. {. Ayi more than that, he
found masses of 1t so heavy that he
could not lift them. These chunks, he
said, were as pure as his big nugget,
and that ] not only held in my hand,
but saw the certificate Of assay reading
that it was 81 per cent pure gold. He
sold it at tile mint in San Fran
cisco for over $4,000, and that
in my presence. In tile course
Of three or four days the captain piled
up such heap of gold on his island
that he dared not estimate its value.
There WAS enough to make dozen men
rich for life, and more to be had with
picks and iron bars. Then the demon
of avar c. would not let him wait any
longer for rescue. Indeed, he did not
want to lie rescued. He made his craft
ready, cut branches, and pulled grass to
hide his nuggets, aud set sail with fair
wind to the northeast. hoping to get
into the track Of ships bound for the
S ,ndwich Islands He was picked up.
as have told you. but he found tough
nut in the English captain. He had to
believe that Captain Wheaton had left
some island not FIR away, for there was
the man and there was the raft He
couldn't have made himself believe that
the island ~ as one Of the group to the
east or west. yet lie wouldn't believe in
nearer island. because it wasn't cIlarted.
He simply jumped to the conclusion
that the caslaway had suffered and en-
dured until his mind was of its balance.
This was natural enough in one sense,
but when Wheaton came to show him
the relics from the two W-reeka and ywhen