Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-11-11

THE sTAUECH STEAMER MoLLY's HOPE
SIGHTED THE MARAToUBAs ISLANDS.
quite densely populated, Hawaii alone
having a hundred thousand inhabitants,
and had the Dreadnaught been wrecked
on these coasts the news of the disaster
would most surely have been sent to
Washington by the American CONNER
cial agents resident on the islands
Anyway, four years before this,
when Capt. Willis spoke the Dread
naught, the two ships met to the west
ward of the Sandwich group. Molly's
Hope now continued her course to the
which well merits its name during the
several months of the warm season.
Six days later the fast steamer had
crossed that imaginary line running
north and south by which geographers
separate Polynesia and Micronesia.
Capt. Willis had no reason to search
this western portion of the Polynesian
waters, but beyond them, the Micro
nesian seas swarmed with islands, islets
and reefs which it now became the
perilous duty of the Molly's Hope to
lOT bTdCCS VI d WTcCh-
On August % they touched at Odia,
the largest of the Marshall group, Wis
tied by Kotzebue and the Russia ians in
1917. This group is spread out over a
space thirty miles east and west by
thirteen miles north and south and
doesn't contain fewer than sixty-five
islets or attolons- Although the Mol
ly's Hope might have taken on a supply
of fresh water in few hours from this
island, yet she prolonged her stay for
five days.
Lowering his steam launch Capt.
Willis was able to convince himself that
no ship had been lost on these reefs
during the four years just past. They
noticed some drift wood along the
shore of the Mulgrave islands, but it
was only the trunks of fir trees, palms
and bamboos used by the natives in
building their pirogues, and had no
doubt been caught in the ocean cur
rents. Willis learned from the chief of
Odia island that since 1872 there had
only been report of one wreck on the
eastern attoolns and that was an Eng
lishbrig, the crew of which had later
been taken off.
Once outside of the Marshall archi-
pelago the Molly's Hope turned her
head towards the Caroline islands. On
his way, by means of his steam launch,
Willis made the circuit of Ualan island
but without any results On Septem-
ber 8 he entered that vast archipelago
known as the Caroline islands, taking
for the headquarters of his operations
the island of Yap which is one of the
five hundred islands making up the Car
oline group. From this point the cap
tain pushed his investigations in all
directions.
The devotion of his men was beyond
praise. Not a murmur was heard on
account of the dangers and fatigues
connected with the task of exploring
these countless reefs and passing
through these narrow channels, the
bottoms of which bristled with coral
laceous growths. Besides, the pleasant
season was now over, and there were
already reminders Of those terrible
gales which send so many ships to the
bottom Every day the ships boats
searched for creeks and coyes into
which the currents might have cast
some bit of the wreck In all these ex-
cursions the men were well armed, for
it was far different work from the
search for Sir John Franklin which
took place on the uninhabited shores of
the Arctic regions. Most of these islands
were inhabited, and Capt Willis in
variably made strenuous efforts to es-
tablish friendly relations with the ma
lives, but, in spite Of his overtures, he
sometimes met with hostile demonstra-
wounded.
1t was from this point that Capt.
Willis made his first report to Mrs.
Allaire, but as all his labors had pro-
duced no results it was resolved TO con-
tinue the search further west.
On the second day of December the
Molly's Hope reached the Philippines,
seven hundred miles to the westward
of the Caroline group. These islands
were discovered by Magellan In 1921
and are the most important of the
Malaysian archipelago. Capt. Willis
did not touch at any point on the coast
of Luzon island How could it be pos
sible that the Dreadnaught ever got so
far north in the China sea when she
was sailing for Singapore? For this
reason Willis preferred to make the
island Of Mindanao the center of his
operations, which island, lying in the
southern part Of the archipelago, must
necessarily have been passed by Capt
john IN order 70 reach the java pea,