The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-07

sang Aloha De" and the lights of the
Japanese sampans whipped across the
darkness out at sea. The air was lam
bent with that indefinahle romance of
the tropics that no man who has ever
dwelt beneath its glamour can ever
forget. The great friendly night, the
velvety blaclCness of the star-scattered
skies, the secret breeze that whispered
to each mans ear those poems that
his lips could never frame-and on the
broad veranda a stout little man IN
a white linen suit and the -reddest OF
bald heads, who drank his whisky and
soda through straw and told the
while how he had once tried TO steal
Pacific island and suddenly found
himself the imminent storm center OF
an International complication between
Japan and the United States.
I've BEEN he said. ION this little
old island OF Honolulu for twenty
years. Came here as boy OF "a Mar
ried here. My wife and daughter you
have met. My mother. God bless her,
is here, too. All my money is invested
here. The Moana hotel is mine. The
spirit business of the islands is mine.
I've got an abiding faith in the flu
ture of the. islands that nothing has
ever disturbed When the Panama ca
nal is opened this place Is going to
walk with the band. And III be there
to see. I'm only telling you these things
because claim to be a man of some
substance. / confess to dealing occa-
sionally with sone state legislators TO
our mutual profit and no disturbance
from any grand jury. Little things like
that never interfered with my self-re-
spect or my fair fame.
q . =
But, two years ago. got up against
the national government at Washing
ton, and the character they gave me
when I left was bad enough to be a
good passport to the most exclusive
society In Europe. They branded me
buster. By the mercy OF providence,
I'm here still. but my advice to you is,
Walk wide of Washington And all
this happened because some friends and
/ wanted TO take care of a little old
island in the Pacific that NOBODY
owned. 1t was just rock sticking up
out of the sea, about three days north
east from here, something Ike two
miles across, and simply covered neck
high in guano. Word came to US from
Frisco that a company was being
formed on the coast with charter to
exploit this island, and l knew that
about a score Of Japanese fishermen
camped there Why they went there
don't know yet, but there they were,
and of course anyone wanting to deal
with that island would have to deal
with them. Perhaps the Frisco com
pany had arranged with the Japanese
consul, but il occurred to our simple
island minds that IL we got there first
we could deal with that corporation
from the vantage point Of the parties
in possession.
well, sir, Cap Rodericks and I and
young Englishman who was sum-
mering on the island here, put up So
900 between US and bought a small
schooner at 'Frisco-cost $1,000. We
brought her over here in ballast and
Rodericks engaged q crew Of ten of
the hardest ruffians of Oahu. The diff
ficulty of obtaining twenty rifles and
sufficient ammunition rather stumped
US at first. but / mentioned that mat
ter in confidence to a young military
friend Of mine stationed here and bet
him 800 to nothing that he couldn't
suggest q solution. Three days after
wards I found that case containing
just what we wanted in that way had
been left on the schooner-in error
thought it best not to mention the
matter as IL might get the man who
made the mistake into trouble. My
young friend collected his bet without
comment l didn't know it then. but
that was where got up against Wash
ington. We Incorporated our little en-
terprise as the Pacific Scientific EXplo-
ration company. But before we sailed
1 had TO sign some documents before
national customs officer, and as only
citizens OF the Union can own ships
sailing from an American port, one Of
those documents set out that / was
such a citizen. But wasn't Frankly
forgot at the time that 1 had never
taken out my papers and still re-
manned a Britisher. I've corrected that
defect since. But time and not con-
science was the essence of that con-
tract from my point of view and I
signed everything put before me. That
was my second butt in ct Washing
ton
And then three days before we
sailed the japanese vice consul called
upon me. His peace of mind seemed
disturbed. He seemed distressed for
me and suggested some fears as to
the wisdom or success of our eNpedi-
ton. L gIimmered, too, that the beg
gar knew something about our stock
of arms. How much he knew or how
he knew ii didn't know, but ! looked
as innocent as could and he left
polite and affable as he came.
We'll, sir, IL took our schooner five
days to make that island, and when
we got there I'm blest If the Japanese
armored cruiser Yoshima wasn't an
put OF an boat with five men. and
when he beached he was met by lit
tie smiling Jap lieutenant and squad
of marines. The little man urbanely
explained that his government had ad-
vices OF some filibustering expedition
jects, who We're following on the island
their peaceful avocation as fishermen
He would not for the world suggest
the identity OF the expedition with Cap
tain Rodericks, but his honorable friend
had, of course, some written authority
of some sort to show him, Just as n
matter of form. That stumped the old
man. He tried the bluff of declaring
that he was a citizen of the United
States-which he was-and that he
was out collecting specimens of sea
anemonae-which he wasn't But the
little Jap called him there by suggest
ing that he and his marines would be
honorably delighted to assist him at
such work Rodericks fumed. the Jap
only smiled and spread his hands in
polite protest Then the old man quit
and returned to the schooner.
when we reached Honolulu we did
lodge a complaint with Washington,
and the Japanese government actually
paid over 800 But we haven't col
lected that award We don't mean
to- Ny friend the vice consul Sug-
gested that any application for it might
lead to inquiries about the stack of
arms. and if that happened at the in
quiry God knows what might happen
to us
But that didn't end my troubles. 1
was summoned to answer the charge
Of making a false declaration to de-
feat an act of congress regulating the
fr..af r.f