The times., 1899-06-11
COMING AND GOING
OF FALCON ISLAND
Sprang Up Without Warming
in South Pacific Seas.
fingered for a While and Then
Disappeared.
Its Last Nestige Goes Before the
Swash of the Ocean-No Record
in Geography.
CFrom the New York sunN


to make a record in geography. 1t popped
into existence in the South Pacific without
any warming; it has dropped out of its
lonely ocean without making any particular
stir. There is a whole lot of this pro tenn
pore geography going on, much more than
is imagined by those whose soc geograph-
ical information consists in ability to
bound the States and to- name the capitals
as well as the rivers they are on Geog
raphy is by no means of the most perma-
nent nature, but it is only when firm land
takes a header with the spectacular fea-
lures of Krakatoa explosion that general
attention is excited to the vanishing points
of solid earth
Falcon Island never did amount to much;
it was in part of the South Pacific where
it was out of the steamer lines and where
the men with schooners rarely passed.
Even if they had gone that way the men
OF the South Sea Island schooners are used
to taking care of themselves, and do not
mind such a mere trile as the sudden dis
covery of a brand new island in place
where the charts give deep water. No one
was seriously inconvenienced when FalC on
Island made its appearance between Fiji
and Tonga, and no one is benefited by the
tion. This does not really mean that tn
bantling islet of the South Sea got in the
way of seafaring pursuits-the phrase is
one invented by the men who make the
charts. They have no other term for even
so important part OF the world as North
America, it is only very large obstac.e TO
navigation. Yet the beginnings of Falcon
Island were pyrotechnic enough TO attra,t
attention anywhere.
There had ALWAYS bepn n SlOal in that
part of the sea. The water was deep
enough to float any ship; the shoal was
one of those things that naval officers in
time of peace delight to discover, and for
which they waste so much time fishing
with piano wire and a bait of soap. just
to see how far down the bottom of the sea
is and what sort OF things are there. So
long this shoal had plenty of water for
all the South Sea trading schooners. and
so long as it never broke above 1t, the
schooner men didn't care at all to know
that the sea just there was only geo fathoms
deep, instead of 1000. as it was all around
this shoal After ALL the schooner men
were right; 1.200 feet is far too deep to go
fishing in. and nothing like shallow enough
to interfere with the navigation of any
copra trader. The fact of the existence of
the shoal was set down on the admiralty
charts; it served to show that there was
foundation of some sort down below.
At long intervals some stray British
gunboat would drift over the shoal, go
fishing with more soap and piano wire for
a sample of the bottom, and discover that
1t was just as deep as when it was first
discovered. This unchangeability endured
until well along in 1885. Then IL was seen
that something unusual was going on.
How long these preliminary manifestations
were in progress there is no way of esti
mating; probably not one vessel year
ha CT tgh nf w hs4T
the shoal was. The chance of wandering
brought a schooner across the shoal. 1t
was clear that things were not exactly
as they should be- The first manifestation
was that of dead fish. They were. every
where in the hollows of all the waves they
were seen floating with the light sides UP.
Under ordinary circumstances single
dead fish in those seas becomes prompt
meal for some other fish. Such schools of
dead fish would have attracted vast Lum-
hers of sharks and bouitos in the sea and
wrangIing flocks of albatross and frigate
birds in the air; yet not living thing
came near this feast. There was but a
light draft of the trade wind. There
was no reason why there should be any sea
on: yet there was most racklng cross
sea. one that made steering very difficult
Suddenly all those on board the schooner
we're thrown violently to the deck with
as much force as if the vessel had been IN
collision or had gone ashore.
The latter was the more natural suppoSi-
tion, but the blue water around the snip
proved that such was not the case, still
further proof being in the tossing of the
vessel in a succession of violent waves
which bore in from every direction The
/ shock had been single. 1t was felt as
blow from below directly upward, or as II
the schooner had settled down on solid
| obstacle and then had been at once lifted
clear. At the moment Of the shock whlch,
as has been stated. was sufficiently severe
TO knock all the men down, the card in
the compass was observed to spin rapidly
around and was a considerable time in
coming to rest The only explanation
which would account for all the eircum-
stances thus observed was that the shock
was an earthquake. or rather a seaquake.
There are always bubbles on the surface
of the sea, but at this time they seemed
larger and more numerous, and when they
broke there was a momentary glimpse as
OF some escaping vapor- In addition, there
seemed d light and tenuous haze close
along the sea as far as the sight could
reach.
Taking into consideration all these man
ffestations of the unusual, it safe to
conclude that some sort OF volcanic
tivity was at work below. That part of
the world has all been made by volcanoes,
built up by the eruptions and cracked and
shaken down into place by the earth
quakes There are no active craters in
Fiji, Tonga, or Samoa, but there is
lively volcano in Niuafoou which lies be-
tween the two archipelagoes last named
and nearer to this shOal than either Ac
cordingIy it WAS not impossible TO sup
pose a drowned-out eruption as the cause
Of all these things-the dead fish, the sea
quake and the jets CT vapor in the spume
( bubbles II that were the case il was
| not safe spot In which to tarry with
the prospect that the whole bottom of the
sea might blow up
Four days later the same schooner came
cautiously back to the place Long be-
fore reaching the site of the shoal II be-
I came marked that much had happened
! there and that much still happening.
There were frequent earthquakes. each
| making the vessel sragger as though dashed
oa shore but now experience had robbed
these tremors OF their terror. There were
loud reports in the air as well, steady
rolling sound like the thunder heard dis
tautly, and at intervals series Of sharp
reports Of deafening volume The whole
air down the wind from the shoal was
obscured with mist and frequent dashes Of
rain but 10 windward OF the spot there
was the bright contrast OF clear sky. In
this veil of mist there solid nucleus
dense yapors rising in a bank fully a mile
in length This bank of vapors was dull
and dark: il was so thick to obscure
} the sun. and it was here and there marked
with lighter banks as of steam This bank
rose TO The height of nearly 1000 feet be-
} fore beginning to yield to the trade wind
and drifting down toward the west. From
the upper SURFACE of the bank there were
Jets and fountains of the same dense