Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-04-23
PERPETUAL LEAP YEAR.
Shfpwrecked Sailor Washed Ashore and
Married Ere He Was Dry

Shipwrecked Sailor Washed Ashore and
Married Ere He Was Dry.
News from the group of Tristan de
Acunha, the three little islands midway be.
tween the Cape of Good Hope and the
coast of South America, arrives here by
steamer Miowera, of the Canadi an Austral-
ian line. To the Miowera it was given by
the captain of the ship hartford. spoken by
the Miowera in Australian waters while on
the northward course.
The captain of the hartford, in report
ing the events Of the voyage from London.
announced that in about latitude AZ degrees
minutes south, and longitude II degrees.
10 minutes west, his vessel was hailed by
small boat. The yards of the hartford were
backed snd the boat came alongside. In it
were several men and quantity of potatoes.
eggs milk and penguin skins. The men Of.
fered the fresh produce in trade, saying they
wanted clothing, tea, rice, sugar and -four
from the ships store in exchange for the
articles they brought from their island
home. They told the captain that they de.
pended on passing vessels for the provisions
they named and for clothing and that the
inhabitants Of the islands were in dire dis
tress because for six months not boat had
succeeded in hailing ship.
The captain of the Dartfored lowered
into the boat some flour and rice and tea
and other groceries, and also some canned
goods. Then the men begged for clothing
tor women and particularly for corsets, hair
pins and ribbons. As the hartford carried
no such articles among her stores the ladies
OF Tristan d. Acunha must 60 corsetless and
permit their hair to float in the breeze. not
confined..even by ribbons.
The population of the island of Tristan
d'Acunha, as reported to III. captain Of
the hartford by the men in the boat. is 60.
the women outnumbering the men in the
proportion of three to one. Therefore
there are IS women and II men-that
means 80 minated women. The group con-
sists of three tiny volcanic isles--Tristan the
largest, being seven miles in diameter, in
the center being mountain 1000 feet
high; the second inaccessible two miles
across; and Nightingale island, baby islet,
Just big enough to hold two mills. The
islands have been under the British flag
since 1890, though, Is the men in the boat
told the master OF the hartford, NO Euro
Pean government has paid any attention to
them in the memery Of the inhabitants.
When Napoleon was at St. Helena, 400
miles distant, British garrison was station
ed on Tristan, but was withdrawn after the
death Of the exile. Corporal William Glass,
his wife and family and two private soldiers
were permitted to remain ON the island
when the garrison was withdrawn. The
population has increased to 70 people, some
OF the accessions being due to shipwreck and
some to desertions from whaling vessels.
The captain Of the Dsrtford reported to
the Miowera no explanation of the extra
ordinary majority Of women, but q his part
ing bit OF information he related that the
men who sought the corsets, the ribbons and
the hairpins told him that the latest addition
to the population Of the island was the
second mate Of the wrecked vessel Allen
Shaw, Who was washed upon the rocky
shores. He was seized By the women and
married before he was dry.