Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-08-08
AN OCEAN CEMETERY.
THE MOST DEADLY TRAP FOR SHIPS
IN ALL THE WORLD.

the Awful Forests That Supply IL
with Wood In Plenty.
Far out in the Atlantic ocean, off the
| northern French coast, almost due west
from Brest, lies n great rocky island
| that is one of the most deadly traps
for ships in all the world. 1t is the
island of Quessant. the notorious lie
de rEpouvante, the island of terror
Bare, without a tree TO break its mo-
notony, it lies in the path OF the ships
seeking the English channel. If they
steer too far north. the hundred shoals
and reefs of the British coast open
their jaws for them. If they sail too
far south, Quessant reaches for their
bones.
Bleak and far away from any other
land as the island of terror is, il still
has its population. What mysterious
thing is it which attracts that popula-
ton and makes it cling? The infre-
quent visitor sees funny fiocks of little
sheep, scarcely twice as large as hares.
He sees small herds of rough coated
ponies almost as tiny as the sheep.
These are the only signs of productive
industry TO be seen. There is fishing,
of course. but fishing can be prosecut-
ed better from the mainland. with less
risk and more convenient market.
What Is the mysterious attraction,
then? So asked Alexander Shuettc. the
traveller. when he made his way from
the coast of Brittany TO Quessant. The
answer came, at least in part. one even
ing when n great storm swept in from
. Il 81 s.t,g
with unexampled fury.
He says: The daughter of my host
css led me up the narrow staircase To
my room. As / assembled l noticed.
without remarking the oddly of it at
the time, that the staircase was of
shining oak. / was ushered into my
room, Il large. low chamber, complete
~ paneled from top to bottom. Put
ting the lamp on huge oak table that
shOne like n mirror. she said:
IF you should need more firewood.
monsieur. you will find it i'm the next
room. DO not spare 1t. 1t is bitter
cold. and there will be more than
enough firewood in Quessant in two or
three days. Good night
Il sat down before the blazing fire
and prepared for a coy evening. The
storm ragged In the narrow streets of
the little village. The surges thunder
ed against the granite breast of the
coast like endless artillery fire, and
sometimes | imagined that the very
island trembled under the onslaught
of the hundreds of millions of tons of
water.
LAS 1 sat listening | Gazed into the
flames. The wood struck me as strange.
And then l wondered. on the entire
island there is not a single tree, and
yet l had been told not 10 spare fire
wood. There will be more than enough
in two or three days
Il arose and opened the door into the
next room. That room was possibly
90 feet high and was hlled almost to
the top with timber. First with Won
der, then with growing awe. l gazed
at the piles of wood. Truly she was
right, the little maid, when she said
that one need not be economical with
fircwoOd on the island OF Quessant.
There were timbers of every shape
splintered masts and spars. planks
from decks and sides. remnants of n
steering wheel, benches from the fore
castle, yellow. black, brown, white and
red woods even two figureheads. some
bright. as If they were new. some crust
ed with shells and hung with seaweeds.
In the entire room there was not
piece of wood that did not come from
some wrecked ship.
when / returned TO my room, 1 took
the lamp and examined the place close
ly. L noticed n strange, delicate, vet n
very insistent fra grance-sandalwoo
Thick wooden pillars supported the
ceiling. They were of beautiful dull
black-ebOny, as L lived. The panels
were rosewood. mahogany and cedar.
Even an Impractical eye could see that
all these precious woods once had orna-
mented the cabins of noble ships. The
heavy carved chairs, the polished oaken
table, even the bed I'm which l was to
sleep. all came from shipwrecks.
'Now l understood the meaning of
the words stand rights In favor Of
this island. far away from the world !.
and murderOuS for the ships that tie
the world together. AEolus, with his
bride of the winds, is more fruitful
than is Ceres to the mainlands, with
her harvest moon and her blessings of
fruit. The blessings of Quessant come
from the gale.
The forests of Quessant! Are there
such others in the entire world. so
unique. so terrible? This forest, instead
OF trees. has the mighty masts of ships.
In that tremendous forest are the oaks
and pines of Canada and Maine, the
cypress of Florida. the baObabs of
Africa, the teak OF Hindustan. the
ebony and sandalwood OF South Amer
lea. The awful forests of Quessant
form the visible apex of vast Gene
terry that stretches from New York to
Cane La Hague"