The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-25

educated, quick ana intelligent, they
have almost all contracted native mar
riages, and thrown in their lot with
the people whom they rule Their sons
and daughters with few exceptions
neither speak nor understand English,
and George Clunies Ross the head of
the family, and a man of remarka Bile
force of character, was at one time
eighteen years without hearing English
spoken, and confesses to being little
rusty in its use.
All punishments are meted out by
one OF the Ross family upon the ad-
vice OF committee consisting of Geo
Clunles Ross and d native and a Malay
citizen These three men have the
power of infiicting the death penalty,
but they have not exercised that right
in dozen years. When g raw is made
Mr. Ross writes it and posts it on the
front of his house. 1t takes effect
twelve hours after it's posting The
people are very orderly
The Government Of Annobon Island
is very much like that in a comic
opera. Annobon is in latitude | de-
gree and "a minutes south and Iongi-
tude degrees and SO minutes east A
century ago race of coalblack, thiev-
ing, murderous and treacherous ma
tives lived there. but an English man
of-war went down there in 1921 and
settled the cussedness of the natives
by few broadsides. The blacks have
been good since that day Young men
are bought for husbands by the young
women, and the Governor has the
privilege, of naming all the children
born on the island. The women own
the islands wood, while the men own
the fruit crops.
President Mccoy of the Pitcairn ISL
and government told me of an expert
ence he once had on Swallow Island, in
the Santa Cruz group. When he and
party of missionaries went there to
open missions he found that a king
still reigned there, and that all his
subjects were members of the royal
family. The party had been on shore
but a short time when they met the
king. He was a full-bIooded white
man, and, what was more astonishing
to the explorers, they found that ev-
erybody on the island could speak the
English language. The king was found
to be hale and hearty, jolly good fell
| low, and his subjects were all pros
porous. They titled the soil and are
self-sustaining people. There were
forty-hye men, women and children on
the island. The king was d runaway
English sailor who had settled there.
L used to know a Chilean who lived
alone for three years on a little island
N the Galapagos group, like Robinson
80 b'T''- his litlle was MANUEL ASullaT.
He was sole master of T.. Charles Isl
and. which IS about 900 miles from
GuayaQui Ha-. on the coast of Ecua-
dor. He had been convicted of crime
had broken Jail and had taken refuge
on this lonely island.
Aguilar set about In Crusoe-like
fashion to make life on the island of
st. Charles as agreeable as possible
He began to keep track of time by cut
ting niche in a tree at every sunset
but when he lay i'll for many days with
fever he lost all idea of time and he
gave up his calendar. He said that
when he left st. Charles island he was
sure he had been there IN or more
years, whereas 1t was exactly thirty
seven months. He had ing about
him to even build Il ire with when he
landed there. In time he learned to
sew with a needle made from the bone
Of bird and hemp fbres for thread.
He became an adept with clubs and
stones at killing game One day he
succeeded after countless failures in
striking spark with stones 81 as 10
start 4 fire. He never let that fire 90
completely out for two years, and from
1t ne made hundreds Of other fires at
different parts Of the island He Ionged
to go back to the penal colony. where
he might have human companionship.
He waited over two years before n
ship came close enough to his island to
see his signal of distress. Then he
freely gave himself up and volunteered
to go back to the penal colony of Ecua-
dor. but the ship that rescued him
was an English whaler, and the Door
fellow was carried to Santiago. Chile.
and there set free"