The Washington weekly post., 1900-05-22

Even His Own NHme-Pieked ~ bS
Trading ye.seI-PiraIe Crew Lost
II YOU had a chart before y0u, you
would see that Wakes Island !s bit uf q
,y- Il. the Pacific ocean. lying a A'tlc
south ~ the regular sailing route between
Honolulu and Yokohama. Nov and tn"E
8; &C. sighted hy steamer or sailing ves-
srI making ;he passage, but the great
majority pass s; by - mics 20 the north.
The traders call there OcCs siOnally for
water or fuel. but as there are no IN
hat.tauts there can be- no trade. II i an
Island three miles long BY one and half
b DAD. ana j., was thrown 20 the surface
Is an earthquake There IS but one spot
where a landing can b. made even In ,he
...mest weather, as its shores are rocky
and rise 10 ii height Of from - 60 100 fee
Isch o. the island IS wooded. and boT.d-
,Es lie about everywhere. and it b. prob
ably one OF the lOneliest spots on the Eni-
verse. For some reason. which no one
e4n explain. 10 birds are ever found
here, nor IS there any animal lie- The
only living things are land crabs, ami
they are Of SUCH size and teTceue-s thdt
traders have hal 10 fee before them.
In the year ls5I The bark Restless sail
ed out Of san Francisco on voyage 10
Japan and China. She had just been pur-
chased by a man named Robert NestaH
who was little known. but had suddenly
made q LOT OF money and the cargo was
also mostly his He went with mis- ship,
and a. fate bcfciI him which reads straug-
tr Jhan nCtlon Of the sea. He Was a lands
man, knowing nothing OF ships and sail
ors and 10 Iranspired that the captain he
elected was d thoroughly bad man, while
-rr mate was little better. II was prob
ably the captains idea from the outset TO
Eet possession Of the ship, but W-stalls
suspicious were not aroused Until after
they had called at Honolulu and resumed
The voyage.
Conspiracy of the Crew.
Then he overheard observations among
'he crew which alarmed him and he went
20 the captain with his statements. He
"as 'oli. without any beating around tie
bush. that the bark was to change hands
he Was ~ be maToOned or Wakes Island,
and she was TO pursue her voyage as
captain and crew decided. II was one
man against fifteen. and. Of course he
"a- helpless. Neither threats nor prom
.-es had the slighg-s, effect, and when he
prr or he would be- set afiOat in d small
boat 10 perish of thirst and starvation.
When The island was finally reached West
all was ordered into a boat 10 be rOwed
ashore. Not pound OF provisions OF an
extra article of clothing was TO go with
him lie was not even 10 have the means
It k.utliHg u fire. Rendered desperate by
,Hr situation. hr made a fight for IL. but
Was soon knocked Seu~e!e-S by the blow
OF a capstan bar. and while i'm that condi-
ZION was rowed ashore and dumped on the
beach When he recovered consciousness
The Restless was sailing away and was al
ready miles distant.
Jules Verne has told how a sailor cast
away on a desert island almost naked
managed 10 live almost luNuriOusiy and /
provide for his every want. The differ |
ence between imagination and reality was !
eN-mpified in WestallS case. He tried I
for days and days To produce fire by rub /
h.ug dfy sticks together but he never 1
succeeded. He constructed a hu, IN the |
woods. but his food consisted Ct shell |
i-A. roots and wild fruits, and there was /
u0 way 10 replace his clothing. He soon |
found fresh water, and he also made the I
discovery that the spot seemed accursed |
JI all living things except the land crabs |
A Cd rule these lOathsOme creatures did !
not bother him during daylight. but a. |
soon as the sun vent down they swarmed |
over the whole island. They were gigantic /
iu size. and his only way of escaping |
them was 10 climb a tree. He built a |
platform among the limbs ten feet from |
Tie earth. and every night during his /!
lung stay he TesCrJed 10 il. About once |
month, generally al midday, the crabs !
would swarm by the million and hold pos /
session Of the island for two or three |
hours. Al such times the noise made by /
rt-iT claws as they passed over rock ana |
Soil was almost deafening and gave him |
great scale.
His Life on the Island.
While the man speedily recovered from !
the blow on the head given him on ship !
board. his lonely situation soon began /
10 t-il on his mind. One day. at the end /
OF three months. ne found that he had |
forgotten his own name. 1t was TWO hours |
teiuI, Z came 10 him, and then, fearful 4
that IL might 80 out Of his mind for /
good bee carved his initials on the bark /
uI - tree with a sharp stone, After max |
ing the circuit of the island three or four |
times, he settled down near the landing /
place. and every day for weeks and |
months and years he hoped that some /
trader would put IN Ct some ship SEND in 4
ter boat. Traders did call or three or |
-Our occasions hut he missed them: again !
De MAS ILL., On thiIG occasion The CTaps /
"-Te out IN such numbers that the trader /
grew afraid and put OF a. soon as he .
lad tOdched
You VIII wonder how a man could have |
lived for a month as Wrstau lived Tor |
three years. For eight months there was /.
"a species OF wild fruit something like 2 !
plum. Now and then 1Ish was LEFT Nv /
The Tide for him 10 capture. but he mad IL ,
eat them raw. There Were oysters and /
muSsels and lImpeJs CHugins Cd the rocks.
but after a while Ar could hardly force
himself 10 swallow them In six months
A.s boots were gone and his cIothiug was /
Ia tatterS, and as The DAYS dragged away /
The man had it on his mind that his mem /
uF was failing him When "a year had !
gone 10y he could 40 longer recall his lder- |
.'E The initials ON the tree stood for a /
aHzya different names 10 him. Sx months
'-'er be- was little better than a wild .
nr.-- Husiug his second year h4I ne
Iuu.at ~ erect some sort Of signal al
b, landing place-Some such signal as a
sailor would have made-he would prob
ably have been rescued, as Two or three
TRADERS came On for water, but he did not
even heap up stones OF sci up Il bush To .
sltss.t attention.
Rescued After Three Years.
liz had existed on the island three
y.aT. ... TWO weeks when the American
whaling ship Jonathan touched there for
..l. W-s in In, boat first sent
,.-...- and while waiting Tor the water
ash. tp arrive ] follow Ell - PAIN ~ irJO
Boo 81 .rts ard discovered WeStall asleeD
.. bis PLATFORM ! believed him al first
.. D.. com, monster gorilla. The weather
i-- uru-d him almost black. his hair
".~ ..r- aI1 matted, and hc Was with
.-' .....ug A. De- came Iumhliug down
l.. !