Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1908-03-13
The Woman Who
Disappeared.

Copyright 1907. by e. c. Parcells1
We were bound up the coast TO Val
diva and Santiago and had run into a
storm that wrecked the brig aloft. We
made shift however, to work ous way
into one Of the bays off Chloe island,
and there we spent two weeks rent-
ting. The island named is about forty
miles off the coast Of Guile, 1t is ff
teen miles in length and from three TO
ten miles in breadth. and at tile time
| write Of was not permanently inhab-
tied. lt is OF volcanic formation, but
well wooded.
Just previous TO leaving London on
this voyage Captain Bennett had been
married to young lady whom he had
been counting for over three years.
She was the daughter Of a manufac-
turcr and the marriage had the con
sent ANA good wishes Of her family.
Sic was handsome, intelligent girl
OF twenty, much in love with the cap
tain and this voyage was their bridal
tour. | was the captains nephew and
second mate of the brig.
When we had anchored the brig in
landockcd bay and began at the re-
pairs the young wife suggested Il tent
under the trees ashore. A tentwas erect
ed, a few nccessares 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 mov-
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 Il
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 thing of much ac-
count to me when went ashore at his
call. | myself had seen the woman as
late as 8 o'clock. She had been eau
toned not to wander too far, but had
been n bit needless. had no doubt
that she would be found within the
hour and that we should all have a
good laugh over the incident. The only
direction she could take from the tent
was due west, where narrow valley
led inland. The captain had gone a
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 a 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 stranger
about Eight of us, provided with Ian
terms or torches, divided into four par
ties and began 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 we'll covered with bushes. We
had brought a 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
we reached the tent it was to 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 rare flower, she has met
with a fall. She may be lying dead, OF
she may have been so badly hurt thai
she cannot call out in answer. l shall
continue the search the night through
There was no one who did not pity
the man. We had q crew of fourteen
and, leaving only two men aboard as
an anchor watch, the rest of us re
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 Il
seemed possible for woman to have
p 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 Were thoroughly exhaust
ed and discouraged was there any let
up. Then we returned to the ship fol
breakfast and brief rest The cap
tain sat down under a tree ashore