The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1899-07-13
DOTS IN THE PACIFIC.
MYSTERIOUS ISLANDS THAT
ARE HARD TO LOCATE.
CIipperton Has at Last Pcen Def
nitely Placed-Well Worth Looking
For-Its Elusive Neighbor that Is
Still at Large"

still at Large"
Much attention has been given OF
late to what we may call the strange
case of Clipperton Island. 1t is not
more than three miles in crcumfer-
ence. and it lies in the western Pacific.
something like 500 miles west of Mex
leo. In the wide eXpansc of the Pacific
ocean il shows like n mere speck, so
small as to he of no value, seemingly.
save as q refuge for a few of the army
of beach combers who have burst all
bounds of habit and have wandered
far away" in the course of their down
ward progress. But the ownership of
ClippertOn Island has of late been
claimed by no fewer than four coun-
tries - Mexico. the United States,
France and Great Britain; and when it
is added that the island is favorite
haunt of sea birds, and that many tons
of valuable guano are waiting to be
picked up. the reason for this unwont-
ed solicitudc, even in an era of land
grabbing, will be apparent.
Clipperton Island is of interest in
another direction. 1t Is one of those
numerous stretches of land set in the
midst of the seas. sunny and otherwise
which, after their first discovery, for
many years elude all endeavors to 10
cate them again. 1t has now been
as 1t We're. nailed down in one particu-
lar spot in the ocean-that is to say,
t. In I'm lI,-1 do
termined by warships sent out for the
express purpose of searching for 1t
and settling all doubts as to its exist
ence-and the only thing remaining
now is that the question of ownership
should be settled. 1t happens that
there is another island about 400 miles
southwest of Clippcrtcn, and rich in
the same deposits that make that place
worth possessing, for which adventur-
Gus mariners are at this moment look
ing.
AS late as July last a vessel named
Moonlight left Alfalfa, Mexico, on
voyage in search of this latest mystic
rious island, and spent tifty-two days
of fruitless labor toward this end. Her
captain failed to find the place and.
fearing that his provisions and water
would run short, returned home to re
port that either the rough charts of
old Captain Martin and his associates
were in error or else that some strange
seismic phenomenon had caused the
lost isle to disappear years ago, per
haps, for all that mortal soul knows.
Spice is added to this romance by the
fact that another Frisco captain To-
Gated the place definitely Il year or two
before, ana found small colony there.
which colony is still on the island,
shipping guano in their own schoon-
ers, manned by numbers of their own
party. to the leading ports on the Pa
cific slope of North and South America.
Quite number of expeditions have
of late been made with the object of
wrestling this valuable secret from the
handful of men in whose possession it
is, and of participating In the spoils;
and one of these days we will, no
doubt, hear of a sanguinary fight for
the supremacy between the present
cOlOnists and a party of marauders.
Although the stories told about the I'M
known island vary considerably, they
all agree that it exists somewhere
about 400 or 800 miles southwest of
Clipperton. in low coral atoll cover
ed with the richest phosphates. The
place also has its legends of pirates
treasures, which may or may not have
had any founuation in fact. One of
the expeditions of recent date. which
have been fitted out to look for the
island, was the Vine expedition. That
vessels owner claims to have secured
his knowledge of the place from the
old sea captain named Martin. above
referred to, who died some years ago.
and who left an old chart among his
belongings. which told of small isl
and in the south Pacific, not down on
the regular charts. enormously rich in
guano.-New Zealand Herald.