Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-09-05

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brought to the last extremity before
they finally sighted land. Three
months and eight days were passed
on the Pacific. The crew ate the
last of the bread, and the little water
which remained was yellow and foul,
when, on March 6, 1921, the Ladrone
Islands appeared on the horizon
straight ahead.
Magellan was kindly received by
the natives and the visitors would
have been satisfied to remain con-
siderable time at the islands were
it not for the thievishness of the
natives. How Indians almost naked
could contrive to handle and carry
off articles of the size of those
which disappeared was mystery. but
they managed it somehow, for axes,
heavy crowbars, and even guns,
vanished as though by magic. Magel-
Ian one day noticed one of the
Indians swimming ashore from the
ship. A heavy wave was encountered
by the swimmer He dived under it
and as he came out on the other
side a sharp steel point glittered for
a moment in the sun. AS boat was
then alongs de, Magellan had the man
pursued, and when he was overtaken,
to the astonishment of everyone, it
one of the longest lances on the
ship, weapon with an eighteen
foot shaft. Holding it beneath the
water, he would have escaped with
his booty undiscovered had it not
been for the unusual height of the
wave, which disclosed the head of
the weapon. Thenceforward guard
was placed over the ships, but to-
little purpose, and finally, after pro-
viGing himself with food and water,
Magellan sailed away, and in disgust
gave the islands the epithet of Lad
rones, or Thieves island
Not long afterward Magellan per-
ished i'll a fight which he and his
men provoked with the Philippine
islanders. Of his five ships only
one, with eighteen men, returned to
Spain. Many years elapsed ere any
attempts were made to occupy the
islands which he had discovered.
century military expedition from
Mexico took possession of the islands
and renamed them the Mariana
group, in honor of the Spanish queen.
The natives at that time numbered
at least 10000, some estimates plac-
ing the population as high as 10000,
but, following their usual custom
elsewhere the Spaniards soon ex-
terminated almost the entire popula-
ton. The present islanders are most
ly descendants of settlers from
Mexico or from the Philippine is
lands. The most considerable town
on any of the group is Saypan, on
the island of the same name, the
houses of which, like most Of those
in the south sea islands, being ele-
waited on piles from two to four feet
above the ground. There are few
Spanish settlers on the islands and
the hold of Spain upon the group
has been for the most part nominal.
1t is singular fact, discovered by
Arson, that there are evidences on
several of the islands of former
civilization. Cyclopean ruins exist,
the architecture and dimensions of
the stones closely resembling the
great ruins found in the islands of
the Greek archipelago. These lonely
isles must, therefore, at one time
have been a seat of civilization.
A curious nautical fiction is asso-
ciated with the island of Guam.
Every year thousands of vessels
clear at custom-houses IN Asia and
Australia for Guam, yet none ever
goes there, none, in fact, ever
meant to go there. When ship
clears for any particular place it
must go to that place by the shortest
route of sailing, gale and wreck ex-
copied, and any failure calls for an
explanation. Yet there often arise
cases where it is of advantage not
to declare the port of destination; it
may be that thus a skipper may
avoid being bothered with mail, or
it may be that business rivalry seeks
to conceal some point of good trade.
In such cases the vessel clears for
Guam and sails away to it's secret
destination. Although there is a
Guam upon the charts, the vessels
which have cleared for it never lay a
course in it's direction, and the law
is none the less satisfied. How it
is possible that Guam can be such a
port is based on the old traditions
of Spanish exclusiveness in the
Indies, both East and West. 1t has
only been as result of superior
force that the Spaniards have
opened the Indies to trade, and this
century was we'll advanced before the
last of the old restrictions was re-
moved. By some chance the Ladrones
were not included, and in accordance
with the laws of the Indies every
vessel calling there without Spanish
leave is fortified The penalty of
the law has not been exacted for
many years, but the existence of the
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