The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-05-20
WONDERFUL TALE.
a South Sea island Astounding
in Ores and Gems.


Two colored men and burly Danish
ship captain. with enormous mus
taches. form a party that has kept the
guests at the Columbia Hotel. on Ed
dy street, guessing for a week or more
says the Chronicle OF May g. The Wis
itOrs are late arrivals from Sydney,
Australia They are the sole owners
and proprietors of information con
corning a mysterious island in the
South seas that abounds in tin, gold,
pearls and other things too numerous
TO mention. This information they are
not yet willing 10 share with the rest
of the world, though they are continu-
ally exhibiting marvellous specimens
Of precious minerals, firing the imagi
nation of people whose further eurios
ity they refuse 70 satisfy.
The party consists of Captain Nels
P. SOrenson. who takes his visitors
aside and confdentially tells them that
he is the head of the project; Cap
tain" z. G. Green, who says the same
thing, and L. Donat. secretary and
stenographer. who claims no share in
the glory Of the enterprise, and is con-
tent to bask in the reflected light of his
two superiors. Green and Donat are
pure types of the West India native,
though college education and years of
contact with white men have brought
them to a high state of civilization.
Both speak English with the greatest
flUency. Notwithstanding these ac-
cOmplishments, some of the hotel
guests still have a lingering idea that
they are cannibal kings in diguise, but
in justice to the two it ought to be
said that they are not cannibals, and
whatever the future holds in store for
them on that mysterious Pacific isle,
not yet kings.
Green, in whose presence both So
rensen and Donal humble themselves
to the earth, is 81 years old. tall and
muscular, wears a blue pilot-clOth
suit cut in loose sailor-like fashion,
and decorates his ample form with
diamonds, Tubles and huge gold
watch chain. SOrensen, with a proper
regard for the proprieties has his jew
elry less in evidence, though a huge
pearl on his little finger gives an idea
of what he could do in the way of
decoration if he chose, Donat wears
no metallic treasures.
The men would not talk Yesterday
of their mission without great deal
of persuasion. Green consented final
ly to make statement. He said:
with the assistance of several in
fiuencial capitalists in Sydney. in
which city 1 have lived for over forty
-
colonize and thoroughly explore an
island in the South seas, which Soren-
son and know to be wonderfully rich
in minerals and offering splendid ad
vantages for cultivation OF tropical
products. We are not here to ask any
body for money or anything of that
kind. The London and San Francisco
Bank in this city has received ample
assurance of our financial stability.
Some months ago information reached
us that a vessel trading on this Coast
was for sale here cheap. The ship was
just the kind we wanted and we de-
cided, with the consent of the other
promoters, to come over to San Fran
cisco and buy her. When we got here
we found that she had sailed a week
before under engagement to bring sal
mon from Alaska. We are now hunt
Ing LOT dnOLleG VeSSel before gong
back 10 Australia. There is one here
that will be put up at auction soon
and we have decided to bid on it. If
we secure her we intend to ship
crew at this port and run her across
to Sydney, starting from there for our
island as soon as possible. Whether
we will accept any offers from anybody
in this country to join our enterprise
/ do not know. One thing is sure if
any man is accepted by us he must
deposit large security for his interest,
and we will ask nobody TO come in
without giving him full satisfaction
about our claims"
Then. displaying a large number of
rich mineral specimens, he stated that
they had been picked up on top of the
ground by Sorensen when the latter
was on the mysterious island several
months ago. Green denied that the
proposition had anything to do with a
wholesale colonization scheme, and
said that when the company had start
ed operations it would put itself under
the protection of the. High Commits
sioner of the South Pacific,