The morning call., 1893-06-10
ON A CORAL REEF.
Terrible Plight of Four
GuanO=EIunters.
STARVING WHEN RESCUED.
They Are Left by Ships on Clip
perton Island.
MONTHS OF MISERY ENDURED.
They Are Fortunately Found by the
Schooner Compeer Before Death
Crowned Their Sufferings.
MONTHS OF MISERY ENDURED.

vessels voyage to that isolated spot.
The COmpeer cleared al the Custom
house for Cllpperton Island on March II
last and returned to this port last Tues
day. The schooner was sent out by the
Oceanic Phos hate Company for the pur-
pose of loading guano at the island, pro-
vided the quality of the fertilizer TO be OBJ
tained there was judged marketable.
In one sense OF the word the Compeer's
trip was a failure; for although there is
plenty of guano on the island. heavy rain
storms had rendered the substance soft
and clay-like, and the Compeer was un-
able to handle cargo of it.
The schooner brought to port four sea-
men of the Darks Caleb Curtis and Helen
Marion. who were left on the island some
months ago. When the Compeer dis
covered them they were almost on the
verge of starvation. Their adventures are
told in the narrative:
"Clipperton Island" said Captain Soren-
sen, ''is about nine miles in circumference
and, like nearly all coral formations, has
lagoon of fresh water in its center.
The island is in the form OF basin, its
rim being scarcely $50 yards vide and COW
cred with deep deposits of guano. At the
southeastern extremity is rrecipice, and
from this can be obtained a birdseye
view of the lagoon and its surrounding
strips of rocks and coral reefs.
Much 10 our great surprise, we found
four men living on the north end of the
island, ana subsequently learned that two
of them were members of the crew of the
Caleb Curtis and two belong to the bark
Helen Marion.
You will perba9s remember that these
vessels cleared from San Francisco under
somewhat peculiar circumstances. No one
knew where they were bound. 1t seems
their destination was Clipperton Island,
their intentions being TO take possession
OF it and astonish the nautical world with
their discovery of new guano deposits.
The four men were landed to protect
the interests of the vessels owners while
the vessels themselves sailed away, prom
isng to return in a few weeks with fresh
stores and force of men to mine the
gua"o.
Provisions in an insufficient quantity
were left with the men, and when we ar
rived we found them on the verge OF starv-
alton and living on shellfish and seabirds'
eggs We took them on board and brought
Ytrm with US to this city"
iThomas Geegan, one of the crew of the
TaleO Curtis. describes his stay on the
island as being months of misery and
Gampness." a shed was erected with
some lumber left ashore by the Marion.
and in this he and his three companions
spent days of discomfort.
Night was the only time during which
life was durable, and even the midnight
hours were oppressively warm.
After three months stay the lonesome
seamen looked anxously for return of the
Curtis and the Marion. but there were no
signs of either in the offing.
Provisions became scarce, and a diet OF
crabs and fish was Iesorted to.
On the night of March q a terrible thun-
der-storm occurred. Rain fell for several
hours and flooded every part of the island.
Provisions were destroyed, and the hut in
which the men lived was nearly washed
away.
From that time forth the four human in-
habitants of Clipperton suffered many
hardships from exposure and hunger.
Fay, one of the Curtis crew, was taken iii
and was on the point of death for several
weeks. Geegan made the rounds of the
island every day looking for the ships that
never returned.
Life became dreadfully monotonous and
the men lost all record of days and weeks.
Luckily the warm weather permitted them
TO do without much clothing, and the
nights, as explained, were very warm.
Living on fish and crabs for weeks at a
time told on the mems health, and they
would surely have died had not the Com
peer arrived.
None of the men knew where the Marion
aud the Curtis went 10, but say that they
feel satisfied that the vessels will return to
the island for them, and have been delayed
in some South American port.
Captain Soren5en only loaded a few
tons of guano and secured a few spec
mems of fish and crabs which he brought
with him to San Francisco.
mo queerer spot on earth exists than
Clipperton Island" said he. "The place
is alive with seabirds of all species. But
the strange thing about the island is its
millions upon millions of crabs. 1t should
be called Crab Island and not Clipperton.
THE crabs live in the lagoon and crawl
about its edges till the lagoOn's margin
looks like moving mass of claws and
shells. If one stands for a minute on the
shores of the lagoon these crustaceans
gather about you like lot of hungry
chickens.
The lagoon contains more peculiar
varieties of fish than | ever knew existed.
Did you ever see square fish? Well
will show you one"
captain Sorensen produced a bottle in
which was preserved in alcohol a fish
about five inches long with hard she'll
like body. which is a perfect square in the
center. Its eyes are large and bulging and
its nose is like pigs snout. This latter
feature has given the fish the name of the
'pg fish" by the sailors.
CAPTAIN Sorensen says that transforms
on Clipperton Island are something to be
dreaded. The Old adage that at never
rains but it pours" could be very appro
priately applied 10 the climate in the lati-
tude of the island.
Storm clouds gather without warning
out OF clear sky aud the rain comes down
IN torrents, which sweep everything
before them. The weather is always
warm, so much 50 that il is feared that no
white man will ever be able to stand hard
work in the ClipperioD guano deposits
The Cnmpeer will not return to Clip
perton Island, but instead the Oceanic
Phosphate Company will charter a steam
schooner and send her there next winter
The Compeer's crew say they do not
care 10 make any more trips to coral reefs.
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TemnAraura nisc0urce