The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1897-08-19
AN UNKNOWN GRAVE.

Four men We're seated upon q traders
veranda at Maduro one of the Marshall
islands. The night was brilliantly moon
lit, and the hull and spars of little
white brig that lay anchored in the
lagoon about mile distant from the
traders house stood out as clearly and
distinct AS if she were but 80 yards
| away from where they sat
Three of the men present were visit
ors-Ned Packenham, the captain; Har-
vey, the mate, and Denison, the super
cargo Of the Indiana The fourth was
the trader himself, Il grizzled old wan
derer of past 80.
1t was long past midnight, and the
old trader s numerous half caste family
had turned in to sleep some hours be-
fore. 1t SO happened that the old man
had just been talking about a stalwart
son of his who had died few months
previously, and Packenham and Deui-
son, to whom the lad had been well
known, asked his father where the boy
had been buried.
In there" replied the old man.
pointing to a small white walled in
closure about a stones throw from
where we were sitting. There s good
many graves there how. Let me see
There is Dawney, the skipper of the
Maid of Samoa, and three of his crew;
Peterson, the Dutchman-him that got
bullet into him for fooling around too
much with pistol i'll his hand and
challenging natives to fight when he
was drunk; two or three of my wife S
relatives, who wanted to be buried in
my boneyard because they thought to
make me some return for keeping their
families after they We're dead; my boy
Tom and the white woman.
"White woman?' said the mate Of
the brig. did white woman die
here?'
"1'll tell you all do know, and a
- queer yarn it is toe. In those days
/ was the only white man here. | got
on very well with the natives and was
doing big business. There were not
many whaleships here then, but every
ten months or SO a vessel came here
from Sydney, and | was making money
hand over fist.
The house in which | then lived
stood farther away toward the point, in
rather clearer spot than this. You can
see the place from here and also see
that IA house standing in such position
would be visible not only from all parts
OF the inside beaches of the lagoon, but
from the sea as well.
My wife-not the present one, you
know-was a BONN island half bred
Portuguese woman, and as she general
ly talked to me in English and had no
native ways to speak of we used to sit
outside in the evenings pretty often and
watch our kids and the village people
dancing and otherwise amusing them
selves on the beach.
'Rotau, the head chief of this la
COON, one night told us that canoe had
come from Mill, an island about three
days sail to the leeward of Waller S
place, and reported that ship had
passed quite close to their island about
a week before.
after we had sat talking for awhile
my wife called the children in and put
them TO sleep, and Rotau and | and his
wives sat outside IA bit longer smoking
1t was moonlight night. almost as
bright as it is tonight and the sea
was as smooth as "a mill pond - so
smooth, in fact, that there was not even
a break upon the reef, and, the trade
wind having died away, there was not
the sound of leaf stirring in the palm
grove.
ave had been sitting like this for
about half an hour, when Nora, my
wife, just as she was coming out of the
door to join u.s. gave a cry
tie Kaibukel Look at the ship
81 jumped up and looked, and there,
sure enough, was big ship just show
ing round the point and close in, not
more than mile away from the reef
For moment was bit scared, re-
membering that there was not breath
of wind and yet seeing her moving.
Then l remembered the current and
knew that She must have run up to the
land from the westward before dark
perhaps, and that as soon as the breeze
had died away the current which runs
about four knots, had caught her and
was now moving her along, | took her
to be either a Yankee or British North
American.
just as had asked Rotau to get one
Of his women to hunt up boats crew
he sang out: Listen, Ted. l hear a
boat
III another moment or two I heard
it myself plain enough - click clack
click clack-and at the same time saw
that the ship was heading away from
the land.
Il knew the ship was right enough
and could not get into any danger, as
the current would take her clear of the
land in another hour or so, so we all
went to the point to see where the boat
was coming
"As soon as she was within 100
yards of the beach l hailed them to
keep a bit to starboard, as there was a
big coral bowlder right in front of the
spot they were steering for.
AYE, ayeV answered the man steer
ing, and he did as / told him. In an
other minute or two the boat shot up on
the beach, and we crowded round them.
""Stand back, please, says the
officer, speaking in curious, hurried
kind of way, and then l saw that he
had a pistol in his left hand, and that the
men with him looked white and scared,