Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1899-09-06
MYSTERIOUS ISLANDS
Little Dots of Land in the Pacific
 That Are Hard to Find
CliDpsrtOa. whOss oxDsrskip Has Been Claissa Ry Four oO0s- tries, ct LAst Definitely
 Located

Aucn AtteuIol ms ucSA ElNNAA 1A AoeN to what we may call the strange case of Chpperton island. It is not more than three miles in circumference and 1t lies in the western Pacific something like 500 miles west of Mexico. In the wide expanse of the Pacific ocean it shows like 6 mere sPeck, so small as to be of no value, seemingly, save as a refuge for few of the army of beach combers ~who have burst all bounds of habit and have wandered far away in the course of their downward prog ress. But the ownership Of jlpPeSton island has of late been claimed by no fewer than four countries-AeXico' the United States, France and Great Br1t- ain; and when it is added that the is- land is a favorite haunt of sea birds and that many tons Of valuable guano are waiting 70 be picked up. the reason for this unwonted solicitude, even in an era of land-grsbbihg, will be sp- parent.
 CBpperton island is of interest in an other direction. IL is one of those au- nerous 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 To- cate them again It has now been, as it were. nailed down In one particular spot in the ocean-that is Co say, its exact position has been finally deter mined by warShips sent out for the ex- press 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. IL happens that there IS another island about 4oo miles south west of ClippertOn, and rich in the same deposits that make that place worth possessing, for which adveutur- ous miners are at this moment looking
 As late as July last a vessel named Moonlight left AltatA, Mexico, on voyage in search of this latest myster1- ous island, and spent 52 days of fruit less labor toward this end Her cap tain failed 10 find the place, and, fear ing that his provisions and water would run short, returned home to report that either the rough charts of old Capt Martin and his associates were ID CT TOT or else that some strange seismic phsn6menon had caused the lost isle to disappear years ago, perhaps, Tor all that mortal soul knows. Spice is add cd to this romance by the fact that another Frisco captain located the place definitely a year or two before and found a small colony there, which colnoy is still on the island, shipping guano in their own schooners, manned ly 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 lt is, and of participating in the sPc'ls' and one of these days we will, no doubt. hear of a sanguinary fight for the su- premacy between the present eoionists and a party of marauders. Although the stories told about the unknown is- land vary considerably. they all agree that it exists somewhere about Eeo or 500 miles southwest of Clipperton, m a low coral atoH covered with the rich est phosphates. The place also has its legends of pirates treasures, which may or may not have had any founda- ton in fact One of the expeditions of recent date, which have been fitted out Co look for the island, was the Vine expedi ton. 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 a small island in the south Pacific, not down on the regular charts enor- mously rich iu guano.-New Zealand Herald.