Washington sentinel., 1899-07-08

"A MYSTERIOUS ISLAND q THR PACIFI
Much attention has been given OF lat
to what we may call the strange case c
ClippertOn Island. II is not more tha
three miles in circumference, and il lie
in the Western Pacific something lik,
300 miles west of Mexico. Ia the wild,
expanse OF the Pacific Ocean it show,
like mere speck, SO small as to be o
no value, seemingly, save as a refuge
for lew OF the army OF beech combers
who have burst all bounds OF habit and
have wandered far away" in the course
OF their downward progress. Bat the
ownership Of Clipperton Island has OF
laae been claimed by no fewer than four
countries-Mexico, the United States,
France AID Great Britain; and when it
is added that the island is a favorite
haunt Of sea birds, and that many tons
Of valuable guano are waiting to be
picked up, the reason for this unwonted
solicitude even in an era ofland grabbing
will be apparent. Clipperton Island is
OF interest Ia another direction. II is
one Of those numerous stretches of land
set in the midst OF the seas, sunny and
otherwise, which, after their first discov-
cry, for many years elude all endeavors
to locate them again. It has now been,
as 1t were, nailed down to one particular
spot in the ocean-thst is to say. its
exact position has been firmly decided
by warshIPs sent out for the express
purpose of searching for it and settling
all doubts as to Its existence; 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 Clipperton,
and rich in the same deposits that make
that place worth possessing, for which
adventurous miners are at this moment
looking.
Last year a vessel left Altata, Mexico,
on a voyage in search OF this latest
mysterious Island, and spent So 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
report that either the rough charts OF
old Captain Martin and his associates
were in error, or else that some seismic
phenomenon had caused the lost isle to
disappear, years ago, perhaps, for all
that mortal soul knows. Spice is added
to this romance by the fact that another
Frisco captain located the place de6n-
itely year or two before and found a
small colony there-W hich colony is still
on the island shippiag guano on their
own schooners, manned by numbers OF
their own party, to the leading ports on
the Pacific slope OF North and South
America. Quite a 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;
a1d one ofthese days we will, no doubt,
hear OF a sanguinarY fight for the
supremacy between the present coIonists
and a party OF msrauders. Although
the stories told about the unknown
island vary considerably, they all agree
that it exists somewhere about four
hundred or five hundred miles southwest
OF fCliDpertOn, in low coral atoIl covered
with the richest phosphates. The
place also has Its legends of pirates
treasures, which may or may not have
had any foundation in tact. 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 ofa small island in the South
Pacific, not down on the regular charts,
enormously rich in guano.