The Cairo bulletin., 1906-01-20

ABOUT because he is fond of the unus
. ual ana takes pains 10 find il. but we
were hardly prepared to hear of his
teaching school of brier root pipe col
ored children in palmicr
1t was one of his freaks. only Hide
wilder than the others. When his yacht
was run down IN the sound Two years
ago the newspapers We're full OF stories
OF his wealth, his travels, his ndvcn.
lures and hairbreadth escapes. That
was the time they all called him David
X. Chatworth, although everybody
knows that his name is David III. Chat.
field. They described him accurately
/ enough as a tall young man of about
/ twenty-four, with handsome dark hair
and eyes, dark complexion, 1.-THE and
muscular, wearing Il slight brown mus.
| rache.
The only trouble with Chat is that he
! has always had TOO much time and
! money 20 spare. lie is 4 first rate fel-
| low as IT Is. but with the advantage Of
| poverty he might have become great
| fellow. Ii is only fair 10 him TO say
| that he does not bore his friends with
stories OF his adventures We get these
from the papers, and it is hard 10 make
him retail them when we catch him at
the club.
Ii was one of these newspaper stories
about him. an Indian tiger hunting
story, | think, that incidental. led 10
his PALMER experience. We were Ia
NasSau at the Royal Victoria hotel.
and our party were gathered one
morning on The eastern end of the big
piaZza--the end where The building Is
rounded of like the stern Of steam
boat. We preferred that end because
the trade wind gave MS cool breeze
there every morning after breakfast
Somebody was reading the story out
OF an English newspaper. and Chat was
particularly annoyed by it because
she" was there with Us, and he did
moi like the notoriety.
The reader insisted upon reading The
whole thing aloud, and when he con
Guided young Lloyd, who was looking
over Il Nassau paper published mat
morning, broke in with.
81 don't see what YOU want TO be
fooling with tigers and elephants FOR. |
Chat Why don't you try something
peaceable for change: Now here's Il |
chance for nice quiet llttle adventure |
Listen to this advertisement in ihe Mas |
sau Guardian And lie read:
Wanted. - A schoolmaster for PALMER |
island must be q classical scholar and |
al ,fot,.
MATES salary SO per auuum ADD The |
use Of a dwelling house APPLY to The /
honorable the colonial secretary.
Chat laughed at The idea when we
chaf'ed him about il, and it would
have passed off harmlessly II she" had
not taken it up. That young person is
i tease and fond of adventure herself,
aud she Salmost dared him to 50 down
10 Palnlter and teach that school. Still
Chat ohg laughed, and Il few minutes
later We set out FOR Il sail ID The sea
gardens But before the week ended
Chat exploded a bomb by telling us
quietly that he had seen the colonial
secretary aud had been appointed
Of PALMER island.
She was little frightened at what
She had done, think. bur she made no
sign, and in Il few days we all went
down 10 the wharf TO see Chat sail
= way in The mail schooner for PALMER.
The mail schooner makes one round
trip every month and Is the only means
Of communication PALMER has with
.he rest of the world
When the schooner landed Chat at :
PALMER most OF the population were
gathered about the little wharf TO see -
llm, to the number of 300 or 400. in 4
Ill shades Of color and all stages Of
and coatless, and some little black
ihavers with nothing on but a look OF
in their faces. In front OF
hem all was the resident magistrate. {
md you must know that the resident
magistrate ana the schoolmasrer are /
he two great men OF PALMER, the
choolmaster perhaps little the great
II because be is the only white man on
he island
The days are as much alike as the 4
easOns I'm PALMER, and the arrival OF
new schoolmaster is an important
vent The people are all negroes. rs
have said. with no more business Than
an be done IN Two or three little shops,
nd no occupation but gathering cocoa
uts and shipping them away in the
lail schooner and raising Il few vege-
ables and catching fish and turtles.
( Is a terribly isolated island. bat
eautiful one. There are no towering
to scrapc the clouds with
heir green peaks II Is low, almost /
at, and made up largely OF white rock.
nth here and therc patch ofTea sol
,ut efeu the rocks are fertile, aud
rom their crcyices spring trees that
car a wealth Of fruit and fragrant
overs the year through ard bushes
T gorgeous colors and sweet perfumes
nd mammoth ferns that tower am ong
b. trees.
The glory Of the island is on its
ortberH end. where from a smooth
lain * white sand there grows an i'm
tense grove Of giant cOeoanut palms,
ieir fcathery tops so high that to look
t them from below tires the neck.
nd 50 luxuriant that the grapevine
ranches meet. forming green canopy
trough which The sun steals only here
fd there IN narrow beams