The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1907-12-20
!. The Woman Who
Disappeared.

storm that wrecked the brig aloft. We
made shift, however, to work our way
into one of the bays off Chloe island,
and there we spent two weeks refit-
ting. The island named is about forty
miles off the coast of Chile. 1t is fif-
teen miles In length and from three to
ten miles in breadth, and at the time
| write of was not permanently fnhab-
tied. 1t is of volcanic formation, but
well wooded.
Just previous to leaving London on
this voyage Captain Bennett had been
married to a young lady whom he had
been counting for over three years.
She was the daughter of manufac-
turer, and the marriage had the con-
sent and good wishes Of her family
She was handsome, intelligent girl
of twenty, much in love with the cap
tain, and this voyage was their bridal
tour. 1 was the captains nephew and
second mate of the brig.
When we had anchored the brig in
landlocked bay and began at the re-
pairs the young wife suggested tent
under the trees ashore. A tent was erect
| ed, few necessaries taken ashore, and
there the happy couple spent their
nights and part of the days. During
the daytime, If the captain was not on
board, they wandered over the island
or gathered shells along the beach. If
he was on board we could see her NOV
ing about or sitting under the trees.
We finally had things ready to proceed,
and the tent and the wife were to be
brought aboard next morning, when a
strange thing happened. Captain Ben
nett had been with us all the after
noon, going ashore about o'clock in
| the evening An hour later we were
notified that the wife was missing.
1t did not seem a thing of much ac-
count to me when / went ashore at his
call. l myself had seen the woman as
late as 3 o'clock. She had been eau
toned not to wander too far, but had
been a bit needless. l had no doubt
that she would be found within the
hour and that we should all have
good laugh over the incident. The only
direction she could take from the tent
was due west, where a narrow valley
led inland. The captain had gone
mile in this direction and shouted her
name and got no reply. We now hur-
ried along until we had covered dou-
BILE that distance, and we shouted at
the top of our voices, but no answer
came to our halls. We followed the
valley, winding and turning, for dis
lance of two miles and then returned
to the beach for men and lanterns.
The disappearance was strange
thing. The woman could not have lost
her way. She could have gone in only
one direction. She had only to turn In
her tracks to come back to the start
ing point We had been there two
weeks and had not seen a stranger
about. Eight of us, provided with Ian
terms or torches, divided into four par
ties and began a new search. One
party went up the beach, another down,
and the other two followed the valley
to its end. 1t began or ended in a
basin of about an acre in extent. This
basin was shut in by rocky hills and
pretty well covered with bushes. We
had brought musket along, and for
an hour we shouted and fired by turns.
No reply did we get. Then we returned
to see what luck the others had met
with. There was not much to hope for.
The beaches were short, and no one
aboard the ship had seen the missing
woman strolling up or down. When
Iua oha1 thn fant it ~ find that
the other searches had been in vain.
Then the captain said:
my wife has wandered to a dis
lance. and in climbing some hills, per-
haps after a rare flower, she has met
with fall. She may be lying dead, or
she may have been SO badly hurt that
she cannot call out in answer. I shall
continue the search the night through"
There was no one who did not pity
the man. We had a crew Of fourteen,
and, leaving only two men aboard as
an anchor watch, the rest of us res
newed the search. We went on the
idea that the woman must have climb
ed the hills at some point. Six of US
took one side of the valley and six the
other, and we examined every spot
with the minutest care. Wherever it
seemed possible for a woman to have
climbed up we sent man. We looked
for broken branches; we looked to see
if patches of moss had been disturbed;
we looked for fragments of her dress
clinging to briers. Not until daylight
came and we We're thoroughly exhaust
ed and discouraged was there any let
up. Then we returned to the ship for
breakfast and brief rest The cap
tain sat down under a tree ashore
When morning came again he had
made up his mind what to do The
brig could no longer be detained.
Stores sufficient to last man for many
weeks We're landed, and she was sent
on her way in charge of the mate. At
Valdivia he was to arrange for some
native craft to come and take the cap
tain off. He would remain and prose
cute the search until the mystery was
solved, and he would allow no one to
remain with him
1t was three months later when the
captain was taken off. His age was
only thirty but he looked like a man
Of fifty, He was gray haired and bent
and wrinkled. He had gone over every
foot of the island twice and three
times over, and he had not found so
much as shred of his wife's dress.
Not bush nor rock nor a gully had
escaped him. Not a thicket but that
he had searched on hands and knees.
Not foot of beach had been left un-
watched for what the tide might bring.