The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-03-16

LSl1lG On i cruel CapEalQ. being pu
ashore against his viii differentiate.
him very decidedly from the vast army
OF successors. But il was this even
that inspired Defoe 10 write the i'm
mortal Robinson CrusOe, without IN,
reading OF which no boys education
is complete. II was the same subjec
that gave Us Cowper's most popular
poem outside of John Gilpin.
a hundred years after Selkirk We
have the first attempt at wholesale
beach-combing in the mutiny of III,
Bounty. Captain Bly, may have beer
q Jyrant; most merchant captains wer,
in those days; but his being set adrift
in an open boat ont in that vast eX-
panse. with a few friends, and the
final rescue, form one of the mos
thrilling chapters in the history Of tbs
sea Byron immortalized this drams
in his poem. the Island You know
the story. how the crew under Christ.
ian and Adams took native wives, set
tied in Pitcairn's Island. and for nearly
two generations were lost TO the outer
world. Then came this unexpected dis
| covery. when all but one OF the origi-
Z A1l N4CN NCAC OS~1A 1 AS WI Az AS<AA II
ed OF their woes, their troubles, their
sufferings, their meanness, and withal
of their triumph, out on the desolate
| little island. and condoned their crime
! When discovered, they had outgrowr
the land Adams. from an old Bible
4 had taught the swarmiug half-breedS
TO read and write. so that when found
/ there was not more moral or peace
full community under the sun than
these descendants of outlaw whites and
savage native women The English
government has transported most OF
these people TO a larger island, where
/ let Us hope, in the language OF your
own Rip Van Wrinkle. they and their
families may live long and prosper.
! I recalled this remark OF the famous
scout and guide when. years after
ward. l spoke with Sam Brant in the
] Island of Hawaii. both of Us sitting al
| the time on the glistening igneous rock
| that forms the shore line OF hilauea' :
ever burning lake
sam BranJ was. II ever there was
one. : professional beach-comber. and
quite as proud Of the name as the
veteran is of his medals. When the
whaler or merchant sailor deserts his
/ ship in Pacific island he remains in
hiding until the inevitable search is
over and the vessel sails, and then he
makes friends with the natives, who
rarely beTay the refugee in their
midst The 6eserIer marries and soon
acquires the language and drops into
the customs Of the people, but il is not
until years have brought forgetfulless
and security that he ventures 10 the
shore when g ship casts anchor.
The story OF this mans life. as out
lined 10 me, was one OF the most inter
esring I had ever heard. During his
long career in the Pacific he had been
IN dozen or more islands. and knew
as many languages. and had adopted
as many heather religions Whenever
he took his departure he left behind
him children and at least one wife.
But they didn't need much clothes
and could get all they wanted TO eat,
so that il didn't much matter where
went" he said by way Of explaining
his seeming neglect OF duty.
AT this time Brant had > wife in the
Famine group OF islands. He had come
up 10 Honolulu for 2 change and was
about 70 return 10 his last wife and
last lot Of children in few days.
When I met Sam Brant he told ne
he was sevenIy-one years Of age. al
though he might have passed for fifty,
he was so straight, strong and supple
I've been 2 beach-cOmber out here
IN the Pacific" he explained. as We saI
looking al the fiery waves below Us
and smoking our pipes, for JUST fifty
five years. I began when ! was six
teen. Why did I start9 Well, its the
old story. I was born a. Ssg Harbor.
Long Island. Ny father and mother
died when I was fifteen. and as was
ny own master I signed articles and
shipped on the whale- John Adams
Why, n those days there vas no
kerosene that the world knOweC OF.
and so whaling was The business Al
one time there vas over 100 whaiers
mostly Yankee. ont in this ocean
When I first shipped II was with
the notion that one day I'd be z
master myself. bat then I was g boy
and fool The captain OF the Adams
was man named PhippS, very nice
and smooth on shore. but hog when
out 10 sea We hadn't doubled the
Cape when another boy and ne made
up our minds 10 desert the first op-
porIunity. and thai chance came in
the Bay Of Islands IN northern New
Zealand. We married and lived with
the natives for two years Then war
broke OuI, We were suspected and Tom
Davidson. NY chum, was killed Ny
wife warned ne and I lit out and
made my way south 10 Auckland Al
that port shipped on an Englishmaa
bound for Fiji. This captain was worse
than Phipps, 50 I deserted with 2 man
named Ross, Soolchman. and We
married and lived with the Fijians IN
Il the missionaries came Then We
left
Many incidents about the beach
oomba-s, learned from the narrative
Of his Apian associates, but, still more
valuable, Cleaned from his own sym
pathetic and unsurpassed powers OF
observation my host repeated 10 me
that night as We sal on the wide
yerznda. the waterfalls music filing
the unfrequent pauseS in our talk. and
the silvery fash Of the moon on The
bay feasting our eyes whenever We
turned them in that direction.
XII Carson said TO NE one night as
We lay in that glorious gorge through
which the Rio Grande tears its way
from the heart Of La Sierra Madre
10 The prairie-like expanse OF ST. Louis
Park:
Yes; the old hunters and frontiers