Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-07-24
OCEAN CEMETERY,
THE MOST DEADLY TRAP FOR SHIPS
IN ALL THE WORLD.


from Brest, lies a great rocky island
that is n 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, 1t 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, it still
has its population. What mysterious
thing is it which attracts that popula-
ton and makes 1t cling? The infre-
quent visitor sees funny f1ocks 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-
GU bCkICA 42oul LIZ Adl4AIuSAs WILL 1850
risk and a more convenient market.
What is the mysterious attraction,
then? So asked Alexander Shuette, the
traveller, when he made his way from
the coast of Brittany to Quessant. The
answer came, at least in part, n even
ing when a great storm swept in from
the Atlantic and beat at the shores
with unexampled fury.
He says: The daughter Of my host
ess led me up the narrow staircase to
my room. AS I assembled l noticed,
without remarking the oddity Of it at
the time, that the staircase was Of
shining oak. I was ushered into my
room, a large, low chamber, complete
ly paneled from top to bottom. Put
ting the lamp or a huge oak table that
shone like a mirror, she said:
"Tf you should need more frewood,
monsieur, you will find it in the next
room. Do not spare it. 1t is bitter
cold, and there will be more than
enough hrewood in Quessant In two or
three days. Good night
II sat down before the blazing fire
and prepared for a cozy 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 I imagined that the very
island trembled under the onslaught
Of the hundreds Of millions of tons Of
water. -.
"As / sat listening ! gazed into tho
flames. The wood struck me as strange.
And then I wondered. On the entire
island there is not a single tree, and
yet I had been told not to spare fire
wood. There will be more than enough
In two or three days.
81 arose and opened the door into the
next room. That room was possibly
20 feet high and was filled almost to
the top with timber. First with won
der, then with growing awe, 1 gazed
at the piles Of wood. Truly she was
right, the little maid, when she said
that n need not be economical with
hrewood on the island Of Quessant.
There We're timbers of every shape
splintered masts and spars, planks
from decks and sides, remnants of a
steering wheel, benches from the fore.
castle, yellow, black, brown, white and
red woods, ven two fgureheads, some
bright, as If they were new, some crust.
ed with shells and hung with seaweeds
In the entire room there was not a
piece Of wood that did not come from
some wrecked ship.
when l returned to my room, I took
the lamp and examined the place close
~. l noticed a strange, delicate, We.
very insistent fragrance-sandaIwood
Thick wooden pillars supported the
ceiling. They were Of a beautiful dull
black-ebony, as I lived. The panels
We're 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 oaker
table, eve the bed in which / was t.
sleep, all came from shipwrecks.
"Now | understood the meaning Of
the words stand rights In favor o.
this island, far away from the worl6
and murderous for the ships that te
the world together, Eolus. with hi
bride of the winds. is more fruitful
than is Ceres to the mainlands, witt
her harvest moon and her blessings o,
fruit. The blessings of Quessant come
from the, gale. r.: :
'eThe forests Of Quessanti Are there
such others In the entire world, sc
unique, go terrible? This forest, instead
q trees, has the mighty masts Of ships
In thai tremendous forest are the oaks
and pines Of Canada and Maine, the
cypress Of Florida. the baobabs oil
Africa, the teak Of Hindustan, the
ebony and sandalwood of South Amer
lea The awful forests of Quessart
form the visible apex Of a vast GENE.
terry that stretches from New York tc
Cape In Hague"
8 Before the Eoetlfghfs. 4
Il understand that youngS ma who
calls on you,p said old hi. straftiace
awants It'd become an actor"
Eyes. ren1ipdR hfa FAIR da uerhfar ssf,.