The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-15

NOW HERE
A Thrilling Story Of
Shipwreck.
MIDWAY ISLAND ROMANCE
lroquois Finding Of the Wandering
Mlnstre's Anchor Recalls
The Tragedy.


strel Of Hongkong. which vessel was
wrecked on Midway Island on February
J. iSSs. over twelve years previously.
Connected with the loss Of the Wander
ing Minstrel Is story of the sea which
n told In all Its details would furnish
material for novel that would be worthy
OF the efforts OF Stevenson or a Defoe
Additional local interest would be add
ed to tho narrative by the fact that Ave
of the principal characters In the story
are residing today In Honolulu. They are
Captain and Mrs. r. ID. Walker and their
three sons. Frederick. Harry and Charles.
The Wandering Minstrel, a 5oo-ton bark.
left Hongkong on September q. 1887. on a
shark fishing expeG.,ion. II was Captain
Walkers intention to be gone for a year
and a half.
The FIRST port touched at was Honolulu.
whore the captain put In with n mutinous
crew The crew. which was composed
mainly OF Malays. deserted right and left
and when the bark again headed seawards
many Of the crew were In irons and
Charles Walker steered the vessel out of
the harbor.
French Frigate Shoals was the next
stopping place. and here the business OF
the party, shark fishing. was pursued for
a while with remunerative results.
Midway Island was the next land sight
ed. and when In Wells Harbor a terrible
gale came on which drove the Wandering
Minstrel from her anchorage and onto a
reef. The crew and all on board took to
the boats and pulled 10 the nearest land.
which turned out to be Sand Island. and
which was reached In safety by the en-
tire party.
The island on which the castaways
found themselves was approximately one
and "A half miles long and one and a quar-
ter miles wide. II was singuiarly barren
and covered with coral dust. There were
m trees on ~. nothing but kind OF scrub
which grew In bushes rarely exceeding a
foot IN height
n was on this desolate spot that the
Walker party existed for fourteen
months.
The wrecked vessel speedily went TO
pieces on the reef and there were left
twenty-nine souls TO subsist as best they
could on the island until rescue In some
form or other should come.
Nothing was saved from the wreck but
n few articles which were from time to
time washed ashore. and the boats the
party reached land IN. Among the most
valuable Of the articles thus saved were
Ratchet. saw and a portion Of the
cabin piano.
ON the island was found n wooden
shack built by some former unfortunates.
which WAS speedily fixed up for the ac-
ccmmodation OF the party. The cracks
IN the house had TO be caulked to prevent
the entrance Of the coral dust, which PEN
etfated and spoilt everything.
81 =
forsaken place the Walkers existed en-
tireiy on birds eggs. fish and shark and
turtle which they were fortunate
enough TO capture. For months Mt n time
their bill OF fare consisted solely OF sea
birds eggs which were. TO say the least.
urpalatable. Sometimes the party were
n week without food save Of the scantiest
description. The birds found on the ISL
and were principally the gonie or sooty
aibatross. the flesh Of which resembles
nothing so much "a shoe leather boiled
In oil. Fish hooks were constructed from
the wires In the plano which came ashore
and nets were made from cotton threads
picked from the sail canvas which was
saved. Tho solitary shark killed was
sreared. Luckily. an abundant supply oil
coed. sweet water was discovered after
much digging.
ON the island was found n man named
Jorgensen. n Dane, who was one Of thu
crew OF ship named the General Sea
gel. which had been wrecked on the isl
and some time before. Jorgensen has
murdered the captain and n man OF tn,
General slagei and after the killing tn
crew had deserted him. having previousl!
destroyed another boat and gone In tn
remaining boat to the Marshall Island
SIX months before the Wandering Min
strel went TO pieces on the reef. Tn
Morning star eventually picked up tn
crew Of the General seagei and brough
them TO Honolulu, where, however, NJ
report Of Jorgensen's solitary existenc
was made. The Walkers say that tn
man showed every Indication OF bein
crazy. more especially at the full Of tn
con. ut which season he would wal
incessantiy up and down the beach. raw
ine wildly. Jorgensen II now suppose
"a be living IN Guatemala.
one day Jorgensen. the mate aud n Chi
nese boy stole the best boat and n silve
compass which Captain Walker had ri,
eu them permission to use for explorin
purposes. and made for the Marshall Is
ards. which they eventually reached safe
ly Arrived there they did not report IN
little band on Midway Island. but sal
that they were the sole survivors OF IN
Wondering Minstrers crew.
after ten months had been passed o
The island. one night n steamers ligt
was sighted. At FIRST "a appeared to /
red and then "a changed to green. tn
hopes OF the party ran high at the pro.
'pect % rescue. hut the light steadily gre
DINNER and finally disappeared. IL
thought that the Hight belonged to N
steamship China. rs Captain Seabury M
since told Fred. Walker that on one o,
castor he came close to the island. h,
was afraid of the results n he can
nearer
The castaways were az last rescued I
the schooner Norma. from Yokoham
engaged In shark fishing. The capita
OF the Norma had been told by frien,
of the walkers In Yokohama TO keep
sharp lookout for them. and he called
!. Midway Island In pursuance Of what
admitted 10 be n foriorn hope.
OF the twenty-nine souls wrecked. =
= were drowned by the upsetting OF a hos
one was murdered. three succumbed
the ravages Of beri-beri. two died OF sta
vetion. one died on the way home nj
was buried at sea. and only sixteen
L the original complement came back ali
10 Honolulu. OF that number only nj
or ten are living today. and among IN
number are the i've members OF {
Walker family. whose survival Ia all I
r. more wonderful on account Of their bel