Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

per supplied the missing link in Sorensen's
identity.
He was a man, so it was agreed, who
had once taken a Frenchman from Mel
bourne off on a pearl hunting expedition
in the New Hebrides banks on just such a
story of secret treasure that Mclean was
following. Sorensen directed the expedi-
ton, which was financed by the French
man. TO Vate, an island inhabited by canni-
balls.
There on some pretext he got the French
man and all the whites on board ashore.
Then with the aid Of the natives among
the crew he sailed off with the boat, gath
cred in herd Of blackblrds, or natives,
from another island and set off for Cooks
town to sell his human cargo to the plant
ers.
Sorensen was captured, tried and SEN
fenced to a term of years. A British gun
boat went upIo Vate and took off the luck
less Frenchman and his white associates,
who had had narrow squeak at the hands
of the man-eating natives.
Fate of SOrensen.
This story the. consul told to Mclean
when he was sure that 1t was right. Nc
Lean sailed off in another week, determined
to give Sorensen chance to make good,
but only under the closest watching.
When in four months the Sophia Suther-
land put back to Apla it was without
Sorensen. The Dane, so Mclean said, had
tried to play his game on the Sophia Suth-
erlands crew after making a fruitless blum
at finding the mythical treasure island. So
while the schooner was touching at little
bay OF the almost uninhabted island of
Bougainville OF the Solomon group the
treasure hunters had taken Sorensen
ashore, triced him up to a palm, beaten him
into insensibility and then sailed away.
This treasure hunt was McLean's last.
After he had returned to San Francisco he
began to go in for the Alaskan business.
That term was all embracing. What il
meant Jack London has shown in the most
unfavorable light in his Sea Wolf
indeed as London says Sandy Mclean and
Wolf Larsen were one. Poaching on Amer
lean and Russian seal rookeries, running
of caches Of skins, defying the revenue
cutters OF the car and Uncle Sam with
impartial impudence-these things were in
cidents Of the Alaskan business.
Call on IA Lonely Garrison.
The story Of the South Sea treasure hunt
is from the lips OF the man who was the
American consul general figuring in the
tale, Miles Reilly, one time captain OF the
spreckels tramp Montara, is authority for
two more.
Reilly had the misfortune to be captured
by a japanese cruiser while trying to run
cargo Of goods into Petropaulovsky on
the Kamschatkan coast In the summer OF
1896 While he was awaiting the action OF
the Japanese prize court iR Yokohama he
told the writer Of how he had twice struck
close TO the TRAN Of Sandy Mclean on the
blockade running trip to the Okhotsk
Reilly said that in avoiding the japanese
fleet that was cruising about the Kurile
Islands in search OF men like himself he
put into the one little inhabited settlement
on Copper island, a Russian possession of
the southeast coast Of Kamschatka. Here
the Russian government had a fur sta
uon and there Is usually about a half
company Of soldiers to guard il.
Reilly said that when ne arrived he found
only ten soldiers. under the command OF a
sergeant, the rest having been removed in
the general panic that seized the Russians
when the Island OF Saghalien was threat
ened with invasion. These mournful ten
marooned there on the bleak island, had a
strange tale TO tell.
In the month Of April. so they told Reilly
just after half OF the garrison had left for
Saghalien, a schooner flying a strange
nag such as they had never seen before put