Evening star., 1899-03-18
DESERVES ITS NAME
Sable Island is the Graveyard of the
Atlantic.
THE SCENE OF COUNTLESS WRECKS
1t is Constantly Changing Both in
Size and Location.
SURROUNDED BY SHOALS
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
The men OF the steamer Moravia, which
was wrecked in the early morning OF Feb
ruary II on the northeast bar of Sable Is
land. enjoyed an escape from death granted
| to comparatively few who are ever cast
upon the shores OF that terrible mass OF
sand. Though scarcely more than a dot Of
land in the vast and lonely ocean space,
Sable Island has record OF shipwreck and
loss of life unequaled by any other island
In the world. Its name carries dread TO
every sailor whose voyages take him near
it. for he knows how well IL has proved its
right TO be called the Graveyard OF the
Atlantic"
Situated. as 1t is about ninety miles cast
of the coast of Nova Scotia, in the region
of the stormy forties" il is directly In the
line of transatlantic travel. according to
the courses taken by vessels sailing be-
tween Europe and the northern ports Of
this country. This position. together with
the fact that II is enveloped much of the
time in dense fogs. and that 1t shifts its
boundaries with astonishing and puzzling
rapidtty, gives the island a dangerous i'm
portance out OF all proportion TO its size.
In length II measures twenty-five miles
from tip to tip. and scarcely a mile I'm
breadth at its widest part. II is in the form
of long, thin crescent. lying with its con-
cave side to the north, and its ends directly
east and west.
The Dangerous Shoals.
Although the conflicting currents and the
frequent fogs and storms which beset the
island are perilous enough to ships, they
are not nearly SO productive of disaster as
are the wide-reaching shadows into which
the coastline runs For miles beyond the
line where the sea and sand meet the water
is not deep enough to float even a small
schooner. From the northeast end, where
the Moravia was wrecked, an observer can
see, when the wind is high, eight or nine
miles OF roaring, foaming breakers before n
depth OF six fathoms is found. Even be-
yond this there are violent cross seas for
some miles further out before the depth
sinks to as much as twelve fathoms The
bar on the northwest end projects after
much the same fashion. and for at least as
great distance, so that, taking the length
OF the Island and its slightly covered bars
together, there is a line of nifty miles upon
which the waves in a storm boil and break
with frightfuI fury.
Landing is Dangerous.
1t Is only on fine, clear day with a south
wind that a vessel can land with any safety
at Sable Island. The one good place for
this is on the narth side, and even there
the government steamer Aberdeen (which
brought the crew of the Moravla to the
mainland) can come no nearer than about
mile, and must watch carefully at that
distance, ready to put to open sea at once
in case of a change in the wind. The
weather conditions of the region may he
imagined from the fact that not more than
five fine days have sometimes been recorded
IN period of four months and that the
steamer has sometimes spent a week in
trying to make a landing. Stanch. broad
beamed surfboats bear the passengers from
the steamer to the shore, and ii is rough
trip, seldom free from danger.
DwelIers on the Island.
On the island, with a superintendent at
their head, live eighteen or twenty men,
whose business it is to maintain the two
fine light houses and the life saving station.
1t is nearly a century now since the first
step was taken toward making some pro-
vision for the numerous wrecks which oc-
CURED on the island. In lSo2 Nova Scotia
voted 5000 a year for the purpose. This
small was supplemented twenty-five
years later by an equal allowance from the
imperial government. Then, in 1861, when
the provinces of Canada were united the
island came under the charge Of the fed
eral government, and since that time has
had hundreds of thousands of dollars spent
upon it. The life saving station is particu-
lary well equipped, not only with boats,
but with rocket apparatus for signaling.
and there is telephone connection between
n
The rich grass. which somehow draws its
Eourishment from the sand. affords fne
pasturage for sheep and cows, so tnat the
inhabitants have no lack Of fresh meat TO
vary their stores of provisions from the
mainland.
InnumerabIe Wrecks.
In the wreck register kept on Sable Island
are the names Of nearly 900 vessels that
have left their shattered fragments upon
the fatal sands. An interesting chart was
made fourteen or fifteen years ago. at Hal
flax, indicating the locality and date OF
each of the wrecks known up to that time,
as well as the kind of vessel lost in each
case. There are about $50 on the chart.
and they may be seen TO encircle the Island
completely, being trife more numerous
just south of the eastern and western ends
of the crescent 1t need scarcely be said
that the number of recorded wrecks os the
island falls far short of telling the whole
truth. 1t is believed that for every one
known another may be added of which no
body ever hears. After storms all sorts Of
debris are washed ashore-not seldom. in
deed a human body-with nothing TO indi-
cate the ship from which it came. On the
distant submerged bars many a wreck
might occur without even such tokens Of
its presence coming to the knowledge of
the life savers, that the island is I'M
doubtedly the grave of scores of ships
marked missing on the maritime regis
terS.
Rapid Change of shape.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of
all about Sable Island is the rapidfty with
which its size and position have been and
still are changing. On the earliest known
charts, which were French. it was laid
down as being fonty-four miles long and
two and a quarter miles wide. In t776 It
had shrunk to thirty-one miles by two, and
had moved several miles to the eastward
Other charts made at intervals since have
shown the same steady shrinkage and east
ward movement. until, according to the one
made abo1t fifteen years ago, it is now
twenty-five miles by one, and is In latitude
Al degrees north by longitude 80 degrees
west. Briefly, IL is travelling eastward so
fast that topographers must revise their
work often to keep track of II. The latest
charts are always some miles out of the
way. Within 100 years II has not only de-
creased about one-third in length and
breadth. but has also been leveled down
from nearly 200 feet to about eighty feet,
while the west end has changed its position
by twenty-five miles, compelling the build
tngs of the life savers to be moved fire.
Quently to escape from the encroaching
seas. If the process of shrinkage continues
the time is gradually coming when Sable
Island, the meeting place of the arctic cur