Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1899-03-22
A CHARLES ISLAND HERMIT
Novel Experience Of Lieut.. Stafford Of
the Iris.
A Lonely Ecuadorean- Once a Soldier
PurpOSely Left Behind Vegetarian by
Force Of Circumstances.

very novel experience on Charles
Island in the Galapagos group
while bound from CalIao to this
port 10 the waer distillipg ship
Iris No one aboard ship expect
d to tind living soul ashore and
Lieut.. Stafford was about the only
one who landed This WAS done
for the purpose Of collecting some
rare plants to take home. (Mr.
Stafford is a botanIst OF no m-an
repute). Imagine hi- surprise
when, upon approaching az ex-
tremely rough part of the i-land
he came upon we'll kept clearing
a, d fue garden. A, The mouth
e cave stood tall, gauDt man
of swarthy compl xion. Mr..
Saff I'D did hit ot re ounoitering
as the man looked rsih savage,
but he was soon put Al his ease
by the fellow extending bis hand
IN a friendly manner and ap.
preached the cave.
The poor fellow was 10 a trans
port of j y over meeting someone
from tie "outsids world" aud
particularly, one who could sp ak
Ills native tongue-Spanish. He
told his whole story and it il
indeed a sad one.
The poor fellow was native OF
Ecuador. Some two We IRA aud a
half ago a man. Don Alexandra
Hill by name, took a number of
Ecuad ,rean soldiers to Charles
IL nd bv consent If the govern
ment. Hill is rich Scotch
man who has lived in
Ecuador nearly all his life
Charles Island is overrun
with wild cattle aud he has r n'ed
tue place trom Ecuador for the
hides of these beasts
Don Felipe. the lone man on
the island, was one Of the band OF
soldiers. For some unknown
reason, Hill one day took the mau
to the place where he now lives
and told him to remain there until
he re'urn"d. Hill never returned
but sailed for ALTERNATE l .lapd
the largest Of thu Galapagos Rroup,
with the remainder of the eolii RS
Strange az it may seem, Mr.. ST.
ford says that Felipe does not
COMPLAIN of his had luck bnj
lives in hope that Don Alexandra
will one day return to take hun
back to his home in Ecuador
where his wife AID children are
supposed to be. Tnis may never
be.
Felipe sleeps in a cave bar
ricaded with rock held together by
wire. This is a necessary precau
ton as wild dogs and pigs abound
IN the island. Indeed the latter
ONE down from thu mountains at
night and sometimes destroy the
labor of mouths on the garden
that he looks to for his daily sus-
tensnce.
Felipe is a vegetarian by force
Of circumstances. Tbi, seems
strange when cattle aud pigs are
80 plentiful, but the fact is that
Felipe has not enough ingenuity
to prep re pitfalls or construct
traps. He labors in his garden
from morning until night or per.
haps roams over the island in
search of vegetables that he eau
bring home as food. A'hous :
Charles Island ia twenty miles
long by twelve wide, he knows
every sp,t of it and is well &C.
quaiuted with the habits of beast
bird aud plant
Felipe's only companions are
Turko, dog; Negroes, donkey,
and Rosa, sow. These came to
the hermit's cave at various times
and were tanned. Felipe speaks tc
them as he would to human
being. "They know what I say,
Senior, aud | cshnot tell you whs,
comfort they are to me. 1t il
very seldom 1 hear human
voice." said the hermit to Mr.
Stafford as the latter was talking
about them.
One day Mr.>Safford was taker
into the woods by Felipe. Coming
to clnmp of lime trees, lot o
cattle were seen eating the fruit
: Felipe explained that it was tn III
the poor beasts got their water a
Don Alexandra had ordered wha
springs there were, fenced 10 an,
protected.
1 Mr.. Stafford had much more @
! interest to Tell Felipe, whom b
has named the "Robipson Cruso
- =. Ionx