The morning call., 1893-04-15
SKULL HUNTERS.
Man-Eaters of St. Antonio
Island.
PTAIN MINOT'S PERIL
The Remarkable Cruise of the Bark
Wakefield in Circumnavigating
the Globe.

Tic 0iODSs
Captain Minot. late of the bark Wake
field. wishes it known that there is an eX-
celent opening for few good missionaries
and retail clothing establishment down at
Gerit. Denis and st. Antonio islands
The missionaries must be fat and plump,
and the stock of ready-made clothing must
he CANDY enough to suit the Kearny-street
dude.
II both these requirements are fulfilled
the captain feels quite certain that the par
lies hereinbefore alluded to will be able to
fill lOng-felt want in that neighborhood,
and be very successful In their respective
csllings.
And the captain ought to know, for he
has been there very recently. He is very
glad lie is not there now, and when there
did not particularly care to remain for
longer period than was rendered absolutely
necessary by the exlgencies of the o, ca
sion.
The latter comprised series Of rapid
currents, and the total absence of motion in
The neither atmosphere. In other words the
Wakefield was becalmed on the equator In
the South Pacific Ocean. There were only
fourteen men aboard, and the arsenal COM
prlsed half dozen blunderbusses and seven
marlinsplkeS.
THE cannibal Islands were dead ahead.
and the currents were carrying US 10 them
at The pace of two knots an hour.
mot a breath of wind for four days.
"0n the morning of the fourth day
fiotilla of skull-hunters bore down upon US
from ST. Antonio Island.
Il knew the savage character Of the in
habltants OF he group, and had no hanker
ING fTnT plDSA arnnalntaQP9 with them.
do you know what skull-hunter is?
A cannibal out and out Not a sly oeca-
sional miSSiOuaTy-eater, like the Islanders OF
the Solomon and Marquesas groups, but
man-eateTs out and Out-savaGes with fe-
Tocous appettes for human flesh, and not
over nice in their determinations on ac-
count Of Dlumpness and good hoalth in the
patient selected.
Tine young men of these islands rank in
their tribes by the number of human skulls
which adorn their huts. and white mans
skull is priced as highly as dozen native
craniums.
That's the kind of fix we were in. A
whole fotilla of these skull-hunterS bearing
down upon US, with their warpaint and
deadly spears with them.
I'VE prayed for breath of air to watt US
from the iuhospitable islanders, but only
the deathly stiffness Of an absolute calm an
sWeTed us.
I'VE got out our weapons, such as they
were fourteen. all told, and they were in
countless hundreds
"Oh, for a breath of wind.
Nothing stirred in the atmosphere.
And the eanDibals were drawing
nearer"
But 1t isn't quite fair to let the captain
tell this dreadful tale in his own language,
for he is too modest by far and does but
scant justice to his own heroism in that
trying ordeal.
And there is another reason why these
Rsterisks have been allowed to break in Just
at the blood-curdling part of the chapter.
II Is that the whole story of this entire
remarkable voyage should be told il proper
sequence.
But lest the reader be troubled with hor-
Tibie mlsgiylngs as to the fate of the brave
captain. aud thereby be tempted TO skip to
the end Of the story 10 see how it all turned
out, this hint VIII be given:
That the fact of the captains presence in
this city to-day ought TO be taken as good
and sufficient evidence that his skull hns
not advanced any Of the young men of the
caUniDal islands in their tribal relations,
and that his wishb0ne was not snapped,
after being duly dried In the sun, by the
fair daughters of the froWsy and naked
ehieftain.
Know now that the bark Wakefield left
San Francisco about fourteen months ago
bound for tour of the world.
touched at. 1t was the intention of Captain
Minot to make Singapore via the Torres
Straits, narrow and dangerous channel
between Australia and New Guinea, and
his papers bad been made out for that route.
But when the Wakefield was finally
loaded the insurance men refused to permit
her 10 make The voyage BY that route unless
q greatly increased premium were paid.
The captain decided to make the longer
voyage rather than pay the higher
linn hot ia iHrf ., 81,
bark was becalmed near the cannlbal isl
ands.
Well, from Melbourne the gallant bark
sailed to Newcastle, New South Wales.
Now, instead of taking the short cut
through the straits the Wakefield must per-
force enter the Coral Sea or sail almost due
west along ths line past the Caroline Isl
ands, then up and then down again into the
Indian Ocean.
On this long stretch of eqatorial sailing
1t was that the Wakefield sighted the can
nibal Islands.
1t has been told already how on the
morning OF the third day of the first big
calm sDell, while still in the South Pacific,
the fotilla of mau-eating skull-hunters at
tacked the helpless bark.
During the half hour OF more tn at elapsed
between the sighting OF the oucoming can
nlbals and their arrival at the bark, the
most Intense suspense was suffered by
every man aboard the Wakefield.
Not man of them but fully expected to
be filling the inside Of q cannibal before
twenty-four hours had passed over their
head. Many of the teTror-stricken men fell
on their knees and prayed as they had
never prayed before. Others were calm,
but pale-faced. while many trembled with
fear.
Finally the Prov of the king Of the can
nibal islands canoe touched The copper
side OF the Wakefield, and the king hin self
made terrible grmace as he rose in his
boat and grasped his deadly spear.
BE brave, men," whispered the captain.
Let us sell our lives dearly"
For distance of fully thirty degrees of
longitude the Wakefield sailed along the
line, and Just before the Celebes Sea was
reached her nose was pointed for the Jilolo
passage.
This was another short cut and wonld
have lessened the voyage considerably. but
tate interposed. They found the current
in the Jllolo passage running swiftly agains st
them, and they were carried out into the
Celebes Sea In spite of themselves.
Then they went the whole distance thu
long way, a little to the northward. then
d own through the Straits of Macassar into
the Java Sea and up through the Straits of
CarImata into the China Sea, now down
again through the Rio Straits, and then
straight to Singapore
Here the Wakefield rested for two months