The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-21
ON 4 DESOLATE island
DR.. POWerS's Home Away Off
in the Pacific.
HE LIKES A CRUSOE LIFE
His Mothct Lives There with Him
and He Has "A Swedish Sailor for
His Man Friday - ne Has Lived
There Four Years and Has No De-
sire TO Go Back to His Old Home.

of San Diego off the coast of Lower Cal
ifornia. man is living the life of Robin
son Crusoe, and he likes il so much that
he won't come home. He is DR.. T. G.
Powers. of San Diego. He was sent down
10 the island to retain possession of it in
the name of a mining company claiming
d concession upon it. The life was pleas
an 10 him, and after some months spent
there he consented to remain. His moth
e.. desiring to go down 10 the Islands, the
lonely man consented TO have her do so,
and they have been there ever since, APP
parenIy without desire to see ciyIliza-
ton They are heard from occasionally
through the visits of passing schooners,
and the report from the island invariably
is that DIR Powers and his mother are
well and happy and don't care to leave
the island"
IL is now almost four years since the
couple chose that lonely spot for home.
The lonesomeness, they say, soon passed
away. DR.. Powers, it must DE confessed.
has a streak of laziness in his makeup.
i take il easy he told the skipper of
the schooner Alta. 4 have plenty of
much as you would think. There is wood
TO get COR mother, helping her with the
Homework, the killing Of a goat OCCASION
ally the catching of fish, the repairs TO
our house, ana so on. i ramble over the
island and get specimens OF plants and
flowers and trees, and pick up mineral
specimens. too. The aspects Of the sea
are wonderful in variety and charm, and
watch and study them. We have books
10 read and nature TO contemplate. Ii is
the ideal life"
Judging from this, it may be conjec-
tured that DR.. Powers is somewhat OF a
philosopher, as well as a well-educdted
man The chances are that he is nat
t,rsl philosopher. Every lazy man is said
10 be. Perhaps he is right. At any rate,
he declines every offer to transport him
back to civilization. and his mother says
that she. too. IS perfectly contented,
Some months ago a schooner was
wrecked on the mainland opposite Cedros
Island. and three of the crew. jumping
into small boat. rowed and sailed 20
C-edros. where they were cared for by DR..
Powers and his mother The men were
more dead than alive when they stag
gered from the boat upon the beach
They had been without water for two
days and without food for four days. one
Of the men was i'll for six weeks The
others. hardy Swedes. rapidly recovered
schooner going up from the guano
islands to San Diego stopped for water.
and one Of the Swedes and the sick man
eagerly took passage for home. The
third man. known as Suffering Pete. re-
fused TO leave the island. In the few
weeks he had been there a spell had been
woven around him by DR.. Powers that
was too strong to break. While the sight
Of a sail in the ofing brought a thrill of
happiness TO his heart, the charms OF
Robinson Crusoe's life pleased him still
better He saw the sail fade away on the
horizon without much regret. From that
day 10 tins Suffering Pete. from all that
can be learned. is as happy a castaway
as was ever seen. He and DR.. Powers
are companions and enjoy their long
walks over the island. They hunt goats
or the precipitous sides OF the mountains
and seek out the strange growths to he
found in the messy canyons and on the
higher hills.
DR.. Powers Is more fortunate than Cru.
soc in one respect. and that is. he mas
communication with the mainland, infre-
oueut though ii be. A coasting steamer
calls at the island about every six weeks
and leaves provisions for the islanders. A
store Of illustrated papers and magazines
books and other reading matter is also
left Thus tha trio live IN comfort.
When We were there last week. said
the purser Of this steamer. Or Powers
roved out 70 see Us. He rarely visits our
vessel. preferring to remain on the island
He has a fierce black beard, and his hail
Is very long But otherwise his appear
ance is civilized. He has none OF the wild
lieht that is seen in the eyes Of men WHO
have been cast away or ma-OOned 10
starve such as we saw in the crew OF
the Nina when we picked chem up al
Black Warrior Lagoon. Dr. Powers Is
very quiet. however. and seems to gro"
more retiring and taciturn every time We
go TO The island. He replies to question!
r,leasantlv enough. but volunteers no in
formation
Il was curious to know if he kept
garden TO supply himself and his mohe
with fresh Vegetables. No, he said. n
didn't bother with keeping a garden. The,
had canned vegetables and when cooke
nicely they We're just as good as fresh
Now the fact is that DR.. Powers is too
lazy 10 hoe in a garden He might have
a very nice patch of green things grow
ing There is plenty of water that could
be diverted for irrigation. and the warn
climate would make vegetables grow
amazingly. But he prefers to climb th'
hills WI Suffering Pete, killing goats
When our steamer was sailing away W.
saw DR.. Powers and Pete start out 70
a walk along the beach hunting for mus
sells
u have not seen Mrs. Powers for som
months. The last time / saw her wa
when / went ashore TO see the home o
the couple. IL was li1tle cabin that ha,
been built by the mining company 70
the superintendent. but now everything
was deserted. except by these three PEG
pie The house was quite comfortable
inside. Mrs. Powers was cheerful as yor
please. She gree.ed US all kindly, an,
went busting around apologizing for tn
scant luxury of her home, just as Mrs
Lecks or Mrs. Aleshine would have done
She thought no more of being alone on
desert island, with only her son and
Swedish sailor for company, than if sh
had been on a ranch five miles from
town Yet she is year in and year out
almost entirely alone, and for four year
she has no seen one of her own sex.
Ihe comfort Of the lonly home and tn
charm of a do-nothing life almost mad
NE desire 10 stay on the island. too II i
a lotus-eater's life There is no worr-
about il. no straining of nerves. no rival
of pride or pocketbool1s. On the islam
Suffering Pete is joint king of the realm
On the mainland Suffering Pete is a
outcast sailor, TO be cursed and cuffed b
some clustering mate. That is the differ
ence"
DR. Powers wrote a letter to a frien
once giving hints of his life on Cedro
Island.
1T is more like Robinson Crusoe's If
than you would think" he said. Il
fact. we have copy of Robinson Cru
so here and have done many things men
toned IN that book 10 advantage. I hav
enlarged a cave. as CTusOe did for tn
nrntectiOn Of mart M Our SlIDrlie= Will