The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-21

OF seeing under IL. Yet Il was worth the while
syeWitness q The creation cp atom AZ best y tSsre s ss
little to see when the density did. lit for a
f,HPIncSs ir Their Re , yss t E lhSss ~, ,g seS ard d \ iva Ess S woe:
angle. from the, sea and sspiashine back again
Il was exactly the sort Of stream that would be,
played by a fire hose. but In this case the
than q hundred yards. There was nothing to
be seen but this stream OF mud forced out of
the the sea; carried along is vain trajectory and
there was nothing in sight to show. Approach
was i'm impo SSSPH &c to s ace any SS aSditidnnal details.
Il was only on this second day OF observation
deaser. and at no time, die" Z liit or thin out
Efficiently : to AFFORD g glimpse of the creation
There we're Ave, more such days OF construc-
ton. nothing ~ sight but an incessant commo-
OF mud. and this was al, the evidence, Of what
was going on beneath; Late on the nth Jay
the horizon OF the commotion and was at
tracted To- the unusual spectacle. In the early
val OF the man-of-war there was a sudden ces-
sation OF all the turmoil and urroar, Al, first
th @ silence &c was as hard to bear as / had been
commotion which now had ended.
As soon as daylight came and made 1t possi-
4 was seen that great changes had taken place.
There. was no longer the dense bank OF vapor
away. and the first sunshinne" DISCLOSED an
island bare and broken. with. here and there a
s Sisp 1 Si st q Rili n Tith an fr easy it an sdl0E Icss At Ata %ns
Of oP tb IsT Fiji r b bhe W wax tXo the eas sea & s Sr2ssd on nut thf in base q
outlying dangers and the sea broke heavily all
ever, one, tiny cove In which It was. possible to
make u landing. and here the officers, OF the
n nrldd,sa a s diIiisait H and " wet ses S sSq 10 s ses s'n L %ss
more than a little foolhardy. the land was so
manifcstly new, the maker had knocked of so
any moment. The island was still warm.
expected from volcanic activity. It was a com:
scopiR' T Fl m work and ID 55iiS SintsS OF PgmI Esd ard "a
being scored by little rills Of water which oozed
from the rocks and in the downward course
tween the larger elements Of the new land.
The two sets Of explorers climbed the HILL. a
for the slopes were long and the altitude only
l6O feet. On the exact summit one OF the naval
H Dexins f sasc 81 a a s%f Bri tain t T soof t poss SlaG ae Of
signed it the name Of Falcon Island after the
been known on the charts, A bottle detailing
the circumstances was buried at the foot Of the
this circumstance when repeated in Sydney
which gave rise to the story OF the new island
cast up by a volcano and a British gunboat
waiting until 1t got cool enough to annex.
Falcon Island might have become In a few
thousand years a fit place OF human residence
for those who care for Polynesian real estate.
1t was nothing but mud and scoriR. but those
are the materials Of the very richest soil. and
Judgment. But it was not to be. There was
no time for the corals to build their protective
reefs. there was nothing to restrain the on
slaught Of the sea. with every. wave stealing
away a little OF this trespassing land. The
constructive powers had displayed themselves
In one orgy OF force and had established the
island; the destructive forces. more constant
although less violent. have undone the work in
less than fourteen years.
Falcon Island has now disappeared. The sea
has washed the last vestige, out Of sight and
there is nothing left but a white wreath on the
surface Of the. sea. 1t never was very much OF
an island. nothing grew there 1t had no politi-
singular popularity: 1t afforded almost the
only opportunity which has been given to men
to see the operation of the world-buildinR
forces.