The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-08-20
THE ISLE OF TERROR.
BucH IS UsE1ANT, WHERE THE DRUM
MOND CASTLE WENT DOWN.

Ushant, the island upon whose out
lying reefs the steamer Drummond Gas
tie ran, sinking three minutes after.
ward and carrying down every soul OF
board, except three, lies off the north.
west extremity of France and forms
| the corner around which vessels from
the south turn into the English channel
after crossing the bay of Biscay.
DISTANT" is the Anglicized form Of
"Ouessant, the French NAME Pliny
calls the island "Uxantis," and the
Britons know it as "Enez Heussa, -
which means 1.-THE Isle of Terror" II
well deserves the Celtic name.
The inhabitants Of Ushant are hardy
race, the men all fishermen and seamen,
the women all tillers of the rocky soil
The latter on high days and holidays
still often display their ancient costume,
with its fiat Golf, which strikingly re-
calls the feminine headgear Of southern
Italy, and whence their dark hair
streams in freedom below their waists
Within the last quarter of o century a
breed of ponies still roamed in semi
wildness over large part of the island,
and for centuries the inhabitants them
selves were looked upon as savages. De-
barred, often for long weeks at time,
from any intercourse with the main
land, they certainly led very primitive
lives. But at the same time they pre-
served the primitive virtues, and hon
esty and hospitality have ever been ar
ticles of faith among them.
Losing year by year, with unfailing
regularity, a score or two Of their own
kith and kindred in the treacherous
waters around their isle, their sympa-
thies have always been with those
whom shipwreck has imperiled. Several
Of the Breton islands have notoriously
harbored communities Of wreckers,
but the people Of Ushant have again
and again distinguished themselves by
their efforts to save distressed vessels
or their crews.
Whenever one Of tho islanders is lost
at sea, touching ceremony, called "the
proella" is performed. The relatives
and friends of the deceased carry to his
house small wooden cross, over which
the clergy repeat the prayers for tho
dead, as if this symbol were the corpse
itself. Then tho cross bearer, who,
whenever practicable, is the godfather
of the defunct (this again a touching
instance of symbolism), incloses it in
Golfer, and, followed by all the mourn
ers, deposits it at the foot Of statue Of
st. Pol Aurelien, the patron Of the isle.
A few years ago hundred or SO of these
Golfers could DO seen assembled around
tho statue.
Ushant is known to history. As early
as 1888 an English expedition landed
on the island and ravaged it with fire
and sword. Then, in 177S, its waters
witnessed the much criticised naval ell
gagement between Keppel and dor
villiers, which English histories usually
describe as drawn battle, whereas tho
French invariably claim it as decisive
victory. Finally, 16 years later, Ushant
saw the GLORIOUS first Of june" when
Lord Howe certainly shattered the
French ships Of war commanded by
Villaret-Joyeuse, but at the same time
signally failed to prevent the large feet
Of French merchantmen, on whose ar
rival France depended for means to pros
ecute the war, from getting safely into
the port of Brest.
That Ushant is, in Breton estimation,
predestined to deeds Of blood and death
is shown by a strange rhymed proverb,
which Chateaubriand quotes in his
Memoirs From Beyond the Grave"
and which may be Englished thus:
HE who sees Belle Isle doth see his
isle; He who seeth Groi doth see his
joy, but gaze on Ushant's flood, you see
your blood"
or the wild scenery around Ushant
there has probably never been any bet
ter description than that given by
Chateaubriand. The island is the lar
gest and from the mainland the most
distant, Of those forming the archipelago
to which it gives its name. Molene, the
next in size, trades largely in its own
soil, which on account of certain chem
ical properties is sought after by Breton
agriculturists Then, in addition to
scores of little islets, some Of them mere
aits and rocks, there is Quemcncz,
which is about quarter the size Of
Ushant, while near to the mainland is
Beniquct, or the Blessed Isle, so called
On account Of its proximity to the Bre-
ton shore and tho refuge it offers amid
the most dangerous Of all the adjacent
reefs, that of Les Pierres Noires
Many stout ship and many frail
fishing boat have been shattered among |
these reefs, where the waters ever seethe
and roar, even on calm summer days.
But winter is tho time to sec Ushant
and its neighboring isles, all bare and
rugged, rising from amid the gale dashed
waves. Norock bound coast can offer a
more impressive spectacle than that
which the ocean then presents as it
caps in its dread, blind might around
The Isle of Terror. Westminster Ga