Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-11-06

They discovered the skeleton of a man.
Ing six pound shot with a line at
tached through the aperture. At first
1t would not bear the weight of n child,
but at last the projectile somehow be-
came wedged, and Craddock, being the
lighter of the two, essayed the task Of
climbing. Once within the embrasure
of that dark and forbidding place, he
and when he returned the
two men set to work with will, SO
that they soon provided n sure and safe
means of ascent and descent, and with
the early morning of another day they
began their tour of exploration.
The opening through which they pass
ed into the mountain was indeed a
crevice which extended from that point
upward to the summit, although 1t
pierced no farther down, and was SO
narrow above that it could not be dis
cerned from the sea. But 1t became
wider as it pierced the mountain and,
leading downward on a gentle incline,
at last broadened and opened upon q
wide expanse of valley more beautiful
to behold than words Of fancy can de-
pict. 1t was tropical Eden surrounded
on every side by towering cliffs Of
smooth obsidian, hopelessly unscalable.
Above them was the yawning crater,
nearly a mile in diameter, through
which the sun glinted diagonally, re-
flected back upon the verdure which
surrounded them by the glasslike sub
stance of the mountains shell. Always
in shade. yet ever in sunlight while the
sun shone upon the world-such was
the condition, and the consequence was
a tropical climate without the intense
heat which accompanies it. There was
water in abundance, too, and near the
center of the Edenlike valley, more
strange than all, were the ruins Of a
house Of stone, or rather Of obsidian,
where somebody at some time long ago
had dwelt.
Entering it, they discovered upon the
floor Of one Of the two rooms which 1t
contained the skeleton of a man, and
beside it block of smooth obsidian,
upon which there was an inscription,
evidently made with the diamond ring
which they found near the feshless
hand that had made use Of it. The in
scription was in English and easily de-
cipherable. 1t read:
August. 174s. doubt much II this be Read by
Hum'n eyes. II So be. then Know who Reads
that ]. in Simonds, once Of London, discovered
this Island ITO. and, being weary Of tn World,
Returned alone It'll. Since then Have remained.
am now above so Years, Too feeble To return
TO The World, which fain Would see again. To
Him who Reads bequeath This Isle, with All 1t
contains, Req'sting Only that He bury My bones
With Prayer to God for my Salvation. There
be Gold here In Full abundance, and Precious
rtones Put here by the Hand Of God when Tn
mountain Was alive With FIRE. It be my Empire,
IN Empire Island Have named It Have it So,
then, II Ye Revere my Mem'ry.
JOHN sIMoxDs.
By the Grace Of God. Near Heaven. Amen!
More than century had passed since
that inscription was made, since John
Simonds ceased to breathe, yet every
where the shipwrecked twain discover
ed evidences Of his habitation and his
Industry. There was no need to search
for gold or precious stones. John ST.
monds had performed that task for
them. There were nuggets sufficient
for kings ransom piled in conelike
heaps around the house beneath the
royal palms which shaded 1t from the
reflected rays Of the sun, and within
the adjoining room of the ruin they
found diamonds and emeralds in the
rough which even their uneducated
eyes were capable of recognizing.
The bones of John Simonds were
buried with due reverence, as he had
requested, and Craddock prayed most
earnestly for the repose of his soul.
After that they returned to the wreck
of the Mascot and by rigging tackle
succeeded in hoisting through the
strange aperture everything that might
be valuable to them in their unheard of
retreat. Even the small boat that they
had repaired was holsted into the
mountain in the same manner, and
then, bit by bit, they broke up the
schooner, saving the timbers and such
Of the brass and iron work as they
deemed might prove available at flu
ture time.
Afterward the stone house was re-
paired. and thus months passed almost
unheeded by them. For time they
kept watch of the sea through their
doorway to the world. but they were
far out of the beaten track of vessels,
and at last they deslsted, convinced
that the only way Of escape for them