The Jersey City news., 1903-08-18
"A Sailor ) Find
lcopyright. 1903. BY 9. B. Lewis j

we We're wen 10 the South OF the
Chagos islands. in the Indian ocean,
when we picked up q man anoat on
raft. He vas not only white man,
but sailor, and his rudaiy construct
cd craft had q cargo. Securely lashed
to the planks and tiinbers were four
large elephant tusks and an earthen
Jar, together with two other jars con
tanning food and water
The name OF the rescued sailor was
William Scott. He was second mate
Of Ceylon schooner called the Hap
py Day. Three months before we
found him the schooner was wrecked
on an island.
or the crew Of eight men Scott
alone escaped. He believed this island
to be one OF the easternmost Of the
Chagos. 1t was, he said, about mile
In circumference, rocky and barren, but
having plenty OF fresh water on it.
Scott lived ON the barren rock for
fourteen long weeks without once
sighting q sail, and but for his own
strenuous efforts the time might have
been indefinitely prolonged One day
lot Of wreckage from some unfortu-
nate native craft drove ashore, and he
secured planks and timbers and set
about building raft.
He had made up his mind to so to
sea and take the chances of being
picked up. Els raft had been COM
pieted and he was collecting shellfsh
for food when he found the mouth OF
cave under q blur. 1t turned out to
be wonderful discovery In the cave,
which ran back for considerable dis
tnnce, he found over 200 elephant
tusls and Ave Jars of gold dust. On
leaving the island on his raft he
brought away four Of the tusks and
one of the jars, and there they were
for ell of us to see.
Had the raft been without cargo the
mans story would have been laughed
at and ridicuied. He said he had
found great fortune in gold and
ivory. He had proofs Of it with him.
It made no difference that he could not
exactly locate the island or that none
such as he described was on the chart.
He could only hare come to us from an
island not so far away.
Our Scotch captain was incredulous,
and yet he had to believe. He thought
the matter over and then made the
castaway q proposition. The sailor
knew the value Of what he had se-
Cured; knew that he was well fixed for
the rest Of his days, and, having
knocked about on the raft week be-
fore we rescued him. he was not at all
anxious about what he had left behind
In the cave. The captain was, how
ever, and so was every man Of the
crew.
Tie proposition was that Scott
should do his best to pilot us to the
island and take another jar Of gold
dust for his full share. The rest of the
treasure would fall to the brig for de-
waiting from her voyage and landing
him in some civilized country
It was a hard bargain our captain
wished to drive, and the castaway-
would never have consented had he
not been told the crew would come In
for fair share of the loot
We were then 200 miles to the south
Of the Chagos, and, as the wind was
from the north, we had to beat back.
This was slow work, and we had not
yet made half the distance when we
got a gale from the west which sent
US driving away toward the Japanese
coast. and 1t was sixteen days before
we reached the islands.
The Chagos archipelago consists Of
q score Of islands, banks and reefs.
While Scott believed that his island
was the easternmost of all be could not
be sure about it, and we had TO ex-
anime each and every one as we came
to it. Running between them and
around them was slow work and we
had to feel our way, and thus it was
six or seven days before we reached
the last.
We found no such island as described
by the castaway, and in our disappoint-
ment and cllagrin We're inclined to be-
lieve him a liar who was working out
some schema. He retaliated by point
Ing to hts treasure.
At the close Of the fourth day OF sail
ing back and forth across q sea Of
which the chart showed 40 land for
hundreds OF miles IN any direction but
the west, we sighted an island which
Scott identified as soon as It could be
seen from the deck.
As we came up to 1t we ran into q
small but deep hnrbor and anchored
for the night within cables length Of
the beach Had the night not been so
dark the captain would have had
boat down. but as 1t was be did not
dare chance it. Such was the excite
ment aboard that no man slept for IA
hour, and as IN as daylight had come
and the men had bite to eat we set
OFF TO secure the treasure.
We soon. found the opening Of the
bay and rowed towardeit Scott had
been on the island for over q year. and
the hut he occupied and the hagstaR
be erected were in plain sight At the
end Of the bay we came to the cave,
and, leaping out of the boat. the cap
tain was the srst to enter.
a moment later he reappeared, and
for the next quarter Of an hour he
cursed as have never heard seaman
before or since. The cave had been
plundered
r,rr fsrr,rot f,1ct. had hoan taff hatind