The daily morning Alaskan., 1901-08-02
AN ISLE
 OF GOLD.
But It Was Believed That a Curse Rested Upon It

measure of success In the golddelds.
 lu such plnccs men are not dlscrlmi mating as regards Che acqualntances they make. and he fell To with a couple of rough looking sailors who had de serted from a whaler that put Into port for provisions.
 one evening. upon learning that he was a miner and therefore familiar with metals. they showed hlm a strong bag Hllcd with some hard substance, which they asked hlm Co examine and pronounce Judgment upon.
 Uc examined thc contents. which be found Co bc gold of the finest quality wherrupon. after first Imposing an oath of strict secrecy. they told hlm that shortly before arriving a, Pana una thcIr ship had touched at an Island Co take lu wuter The caS.s were mfed ashore and quickly tl.rd. the ship meanwhile standing on and on.
 While waiting for the ship Co stand in these two snilors strolicd along the beach Cor about two miles until they 
 water course came down from a high mountain. passed under natural stone arch and emptlcd Into thc sea Here they noticed that thc sand of the beach was nllcd with a number of shining particles resembling gold and that thc crcylces or seams of Che water course also seemed full or it Not sure whether it was gold they gathered a smull package and rrtraccd their steps Co thc boat saying nothing however. Co thelr companions of the discovery
 RcIng assured by the carpenter that they had discovered genuine gold. the sailors proposed that the three of them should nt out a small vessel and re- turn Co Che Island The plan was agreed Co at once. A vessel was pur chased. and slH or eight morc men were Induced Co join the expedition.
 Thrrc were SO few men available tlat they bad Co take such as they could get. and they got as precious a lot of rascnls as ever went unhauged There were two big negroes. two yll laluous looking SpanlardS who could not be trusted out of sight hunch backed. snaky looking fellow who, t was aftcrward learned was an cscap- ed convict from the penal colony in French Gu'unu and suriy. scared old fellow who had been warned out or California by a vigilance committee.
 He was feared by every member Of Che crew. and even before the coast lines had sunk below the horizon he had let out llttle suggestions that an ed Che carpenter with premonltious that he was going Co make serious trouble Surly and morose be slouch. ed about Che deck without a word to anybody The other members of Che crew were indifferent
 The vessel was dttrd out. ostensibly Cor coastnc purposes. with mining tools. provisions for two or three months and a couple of barrels of rum man and woman wcrr taken along ns cook and stcwurdrsS Toward even pe of thc sccond day out they sighted thr island
 70 was lonesome circcrlcss looking sr.at wltb a rough Irregular beach aluur which Che surf wos tumoling in bong curls of creamy foam. and a little farther in upon thr rocks were groups of siimy. black creatures which gave ,uic. Co Che desolotlon with their hoarsc barking There wns sporadic growth of palms on the island which dwluilcd away Into a scraegy growth of uudrrhrusb upon thc slopes of two mountains which rose symmetrlcally from tbe two cvtremltles.
 A small cove. b0rdercd by a sandy beach offered a safe anchorage. and Into thls thc vessel was cautiously st,rrrd and Che crew was set Co work at once st landing Che stores.
 That night there was a grand carou. sli aboard thc vessel In celebration of thc succrssful termination of thc yoy age. during which rum flowed freely and pmrrcls Verc frequent The car pcutrr and one of The sailors. however. hrid aloof from these orgies. remaining on deck prepared Co leave the vessel should matters come Co a crisis Mat. Gers did come Go a crisis with a crash when one of Che spanlards dragged the poor. frightened stewardess Into the cabin and Insisted that she should sing a spanish song for the company.
 The hIg rutian with a llvld scar who claimed Co be au American. declared thHt she should sing nothing but Van kec Doodle" rhc Spaniard attempted Go force matters by drawing a knife but the American anticipated hlm with hls gun" which be began to dls charge right and left
 In moment Che Gght became gener al Out of the cabin and up on the deck they tumbled. shooting and cut tius and cursing In manner that was frlghtful to hear Half of them would have been killed or wounded had it not been for on accident that drew their attention from the fighting Co a danget that threatened them all In common. lu Che scutile ln the cabin a large lamp was overturned. and before any one at tempted to put out the flames the whole cabin was In a blaze. Without trying Co save the vessel they rushed Go the single boat remaining leaving one man dead in the companionway and another severely wounded on deck. Thus nll the stores and tools were burned. together with the poor wound. ed wretch on deck.
 The next morning a party set out to explore the island and soon found a simple minded old German on the op- poslte side who lived an by himself s sort oG Robinson Crusoe life-tlled e