The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1895-09-07
4 PEEk-A-eoo ISLAND.
FALCON Plays Hide and Sock with Three
Natious.

| A PEEK.A.BOO ISLAND.
FALCON Plays Hide and Sock with Thres
Natious.
Falcon island, lonely but picturesque
mass of earth and rocks, situated in
the Tonga group below latitude TWEEN
ty degrees south, has been playing
hide and seek with three nations ever
since 1885,
The coming and going of Falcon ISL
and has been termed by the South Sea
traders ''the right pulse of the uni.
verse"
Reports concerning Falcon island
have been brought to civilization from
time to time for years and years back.
1t was not until 1889. however, that
anything really peculiar was noticed
about the place, but since that time
the rocks have been leading England,
France and the Tonga government a
| lively chase.
The latest news from Falcon was re-
ceived in this city some days ago by
the United States photographic Office.
The information furnished this gov
| eminent came from Pilot John o. Ryan,
of Apia, Samoa. The pilot also sent a
detailed account of the modern aspect
of the mystic isle to seafaring friend
| here.
To tell the odd story of Falcon it Is
necessary to go back to 1889, when the
| British corvette Egeria was sent on a
| cruise among the South Sea islands
and instructed to seize any heretofore
unknown coral reefs or islands and
take possession of them in the name of
| the queen.
| The Egeria fell across Falcon. The
island was noted from miles at sea, for
at it's southernmost extremity rose a
commanding bluff one hundred and
ffty-three feet above the sea-
Palm trees grew on the height and
| at the north end OF the island the land
| gently sloped down to beautiful
white aand beach fringed with tropi-
cal vegetation. The place was beau
tiful gem of the seas, typical South
sea retreat, apparently as secure as the
rock of Gibraltar.
The Egeria's commander took posses
sion of the island and planted the flag
of England on its highest point, then
the warship returned and reported
what had been done.
| A year later a transport was sent to
Falcon and found nothing but low
lying reef against which the sea beat
necessarily. The lofty cliff had disap-
peared. as had the palm trees and the
sand beach. England's flag had sunk
with the land, which appeared to have
been swallowed up by the ocean.
| Very little attention was directed to-
Falcon until 1892, it being believed
that the island had simply sunk into
the sea, as coral islands often do
Ships and trading schooners passed
the latitude, and some would report
that the island was still there, and
that its cliff had again lowered heav-
onward. while others would note that
only fat shoal marked the spot.
These reports were extremely con-
fusing, and were supposed to be the re-
suit of an over-indulgence of the imagi-
nation.
France became ambitious in 1892, and
also curious. She was looking for
islands to annex, and SO sent the
| cruiser Duchaffault. Capt. Mauceron,
| on a cruise after territory.
The Duchaffault, steamed to Falcon.
Then, instead of finding a sunlen
reef. whitened with the foam of
breakers, the vessels crew discovered
an island almost the exact shape of
that found by the Egeria in 1889, only
the southern promontory was but
twenty-five and twenty-seven feet
high, instead of one hundred and fifty
three feet. The palm trees were gone,
| of course, but the rocks were covered
with growth of green bushes and
ferns. and a pretty cove invited the
long boats of the cruiser to its shelter.
| Ashore went Mauceron, who, though
he had not forty thousand men, or
dered his jack tars to draw their
swords and put them back again,
claiming the island at the same time
in the name of the French republic.
The tri-color waved from the TWEEN
ty-five-foot cliff when the Duchaffault
churned north and homeward, to the
booming of rifle gun.
Scarcely two years had passed since
| the Frenchman's visit, when the Brit
ish schooner Ysabel, borne along by an
easterly breeze, came about at the
eastcrly end of the island. This was
on April 10. 1894, according to the
records kept by the United States gov
eminent.
The YsabePs captain consulted his
chart and found that the strip of sand
that lay at his port beam was all that
remained of the elusive Falcon isle.
He was astonished; he made note in
his logbook, and later reported to his
government that Falcon island now
has the appearance of a low streak or
reef, and is dangerous to navigation,
as it cannot be seen on a dark night
Dangerous reefs and rocks surround
| it,
French and English naval officers
were much taken back by this report,
but the Tongan government was not
daunted. 1t sent party to the island,
with instructions to solve the mystery.
The expedition left Tonga last Decem-
Der, and only returned about one
month ago, or in time to allow Pilot
Organ to white his letter and for
ward it by the steamer Australia to
this city from Apia.
Perhaps Englishmen and Frenchmen
will smile when they read that ''ths
expedition took possession of Falcon
island in the name of King George, of