Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-17
some bushes were old, rough clothes


probably hung out to dry when the
cry of sail ho!' had brought joy to
the despairing castaways after their
five months Imprisonment The OBJ
iect found of deepest interest to the
search party was a rusty razor with
black handle, on which was scratch
ed "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, stand
ing to the west side of the island, the
anchor 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
castaway's eye. At every half hour
rocket swished it's way into the air
from the bridge. The searchlight was
seen ty 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 a
boat went in to the beach in case the
man had come down, but there was
no sign.
One more point remained to be Wis
tied before returning to our search
party, and this was the latitude and
longitude given in the consuls mes
sage as the place where Jeffs remain
ed behind. The guides said there was
no water within miles Of this vicinity,
and no one could live there. The spot
was marked by a 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 a camp,
no water, no anchorage, no traces Of
anything 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 first been made, the par
ty who had spent the night and day
were picked up. They had found
footprints on the volcanic crust clear
ly depicted, showing that a man had
lived in the vicinity at some past time.
The footprints led to 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 par
ty separated and walked miles up and
mitted 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 hard
ship alone on this most desolate Of
islands.
The hardships Of the party who
survived could be appreciated from
seeing their wretched camp and real
izing that their only food was turtle
and fish, for even the cocoanut palm,
found nearly everywhere in the trop-
les, fails to find enough substance on
Indefatigable to grow. A turtle steak
is an excellent article the first time ii
Is eaten. About the fourth time II
pals, and to contiue daily to live on
it would outdo 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 i'm
possible, and they sat to leeward of a
bonfire to relieve the assaults Of the
back from the beach teal, plover and
curlew swarmed at sundown, and TO
party having a shotgun and plenty
Of ammunition these would have
made a welcome relief, but it is not
probable that Jeffs had firearms of
any sort and probably had but very
little ammunition.
They are undoubtedly certain val
leyS DdCk Ill TIE
there is water and many edible fruits
and plants grow. Also there are
about these places wild cattle and
goats, but to get them would mean
clearing a path through an almost
impenetrable barrier of cactus and
thorn which to be appreciated must
be seen. Water to last while the path
was cleared would have to be carried;
huge assures in the ground would be
met with which would block a trail
except in certain spots, and the men
who undertook to do it would have to
give up the chances of rescue which
would come by living on the shore.
Besides, a man ignorant of the inter-
ior would not know if there were any
places where life could be sustained
while attempting to penetrate to it.
Altogether the trip. while not real
Izing its object, was of the greatest
interest, and the glimpses taken of
these extraordinary and interesting
islands will be remembered by all on
board.
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