Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-04-03

pursuers. Try as the men might to turn one, 1t would tear itself away and get to the water, and none was caught until a bright lad found that by rap ping them on the shell with boat stretcher, which momentarily stunned them, they could be turned on their backs before they recovered. Before this one or two men had almost been carried to sea by trying to hang to their turtle after 1t had reached the water.
 The ship hove to off Puerto Aguado and whaleboat ran in to snug boat harbor, and there stood the re- mains of camp evidently occupied by a number of men for many months. Tue kitchen was marked by stone fire place, with the charred remains of q fire, number of pegs arranged for cooking utensils and the bones of tur- ties hanging up, the flesh dried on them. A rusty rife was picked up on one side. Hung over some bushes were old, rough clothes, probably hung out to dry when the cry of Sail hov' had brought joy to the despairing casta- ways after their five months imprison- ment. The object found of deepest interest 10 the search party was a rusty razor with a black handle, on which was scratched "Jeffs," the name of the missing man whose fate is such a mystery. The reason for the camp at this place was found in a pool of fairly good water, one of the few on the coast of the island, as asserted by the guides.
 As the afternoon was now wearing away 1t became necessary to hunt an anchorage for the night, and, standing to the west side of the island, the an- chor was let go in Conway bay, an open roadstead. Here the searchlight was played about the mountain and swung from side to side to attract the castaways eye. At every half hour rocket swished its way into the air from the bridge. The searchlight was seen by the party on the other side of the island twenty miles away, so that it's beam must have been fairly visible all over the island. At daylight boat went in to the beach in case the man had come down, but there was no sign.
 One more point remained to be vls- ited before returning to our search party, and this was the latitude and longitude given In the consul's mes sage as the place where Jeffs remained behind. The guides said there was no water within miles of this vicinity, and no one could live there. The spot was marked by high mass of rock off, shore called Nameless island, and the Yankton lay between this and the main island while the fruitless search was made. No remains of camp, no water, no anchorage, no traces of any thing that could bear on the loss of the ship or any of its men were found.
 Returning to the place at which a landing had been first made, the party who had spent the night and day were picked up. They had found footprints on the volcanic crust clearly depicted, showing that a man had lived in the vicinity at some past time. The foot prints led to q brackish pool of water almost hidden under some dense brush, and here the remains of fire were found. No other trace of the missing man was found. The party separated and walked miles up and down the beach as far as time permitted both days they were ashore.
 Had Jeffs been alive and been any where on this side of the island he would have heard the guns of the ship or the shots of the search party. It Is therefore fairly. safe to conclude that Jeffs died from illness and hardship alone on this most desolate of islands.
 The hardships of the party who sur vived could be appreciated from see Ing their wretched camp and realizing that their only food was turtle and fish, for even the cocoanut palm, found nearly everywhere in the tropics, fails to find enough substance on Indefatiga- ble to grow. A turtle steak is an ex- rellent article the first time it is eaten. About the fourth time 1t pals, and to continue daily to live on 1t would out do the thirty days of quail so often cited.
 At night the shore of the island swarmed with mosquitoes, so that sleep for the party ashore was impossible, and they sat to leeward of a bonfire 10 relieve the assaults of the little pests. On some shallow salt ponds back from the beach teal. plover and surlew swarmed at sundown, and to a party having shotgun and plenty of ammunition these would have made welcome relief, but it is not probable hat Jeffs had firearms of any sort and probably had but very little ammuni- ion.
 There are undoubtedly certain val eys back ln the mountain where there water and many edible fruits and ,lants grow. Also there are about
 hese places wild cattle and goats, but
 get them would mean clearing a
 ath through an almost impenetrable
 arrier of csctus and thorn which to
 c appreciated must be seen. Water
 last while the path was cleared Tould have to be carried; huge Assures the ground would be met with Ehich would block a trail except in certain spots. and the men who under ,ook to do 1t would have 10 give up he chances of rescue which would some by living on the shore. Besides. i man ignorant of the interior would not know if there were any places where life could be sustained while