Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-04-03
THE HUNT FOR JETS
Uncle Sam's Attempt to Rescue
 Missing American Sailor.
ONLY A FEW TRACES FOUND.

The Yankton's Men Believe Galapagos
 castaway Psrished MiserabIy on in-
 dsfatigabls lsland-Shots, Rockets
 and SearohIishts Used to Attract
 Marooned Sailor.
 The United States gunboat Yankton, tender to the Atlantic battleship fleet, was sent from Callao to the Galapagos islands to search for missing Amer ican sailor, one Fred Jeffs. The infor- mati0n furnished was of the most mea- ger description, only that Jeffs was a member of the crew of the Norwegian bark Alexandra, wrecked in the Gala pagos in May, 1907, that he separated from his companions on Indefatigable island and that when they were res cued in October of the same year at a place called Puerto Aguado, given as 1n latitude 46 minutes south, longitude 90 degrees 20 minutes 30 seconds west, Jeffs was not with them. He had therefore been nearly year on Inde- fatigable island if alive.
 The distance to the Galapagos was covered in four days, and Hood island, the most southern of the group, sight ed at noon on March 3, says a special correspondent of the New York Her. aid on board the Yankton, writing from Acapulco, Mexico. Previous to sighting land great quantities of sea life, for which the vicinity of these islands is noted, and numerous birds testified to its nearness.
 In order if possible to gain informa- tion about the wreck, Chatham island, where there is a settlement, was first visited. Anchoring in Wreck bay, a messenger on horseback was found waiting on the beach with the con- pliments of the local authority, the administrator" and polite inquiry if any assistance could be furnished
 The inhabitants of this island num- ber about $50, all dependents of sin gle estate and mostly engaged in the cultivation of sugar, cotton and tobac. co. The estate lies in the hills and valleys on the southern slope of the island in the only place where water is obtainable. Water is the need of all this group of islands, and the lack of 1t is the keynote of their barren wastes and cactus covered slopes. The shores of all consist of black volcanic rocks and cliffs, with here and there fin sheltered spot sandy beach. The islands, rising in most cases to 5000 or 4,000 feet, have their slopes covered with a giant growth of cactus min gling with a thorn, which made prog ress back from the shore impossible without cutting a way.
 Two guides sent by the administra, dor arrived on board the Yankton at daylight, and the course was shaped for Indefatigable island, thirty-five miles distant. The story of the wreck as told by the guides was interesting. Their information was from a part of the crew which had landed on Chat ham island and from the captain of the island schooner, who had heard the wrecked captains story ot Guayaquil. The bark was becalmed near Abe marie island and swept by the strong current found in these islands ashore under cliff, where she soon went to pieces. The crew escaped fin two boats, one with ten men, the other with the captain and seven men. During the night the boats became separated, the boat with the ten men reaching Hood island, and then, seeing Chatham island in the distance, they reached 1t, found it inhabited and told their story. The administrator forwarded them by the islands schooner to Guayaquil with a letter to the consul.
 The captains boat, of which Jeffs was a member, reached uninhabited Indefatigable island, where 1t was smashed on a reef while making a landing. This second disaster securely locked the party on Indefatlgable is- dand, as there is no kind of wood to make boat on the island.
 The party, finding only a few springs of brackish water near the beach, be- gan search for a better camping place and, abandoning their first camp, moved to the place called by the na- lives Puerto Aguado, but not marked fin any way on the chart. It was at this time that the separation from peffs took place.
 According to the message received from the consul at Guayaquil, the cap tain of the wrecked bark said Jeffs preferred to loaf, and, though they tried to persuade him to go with them, be refused. saying that the chances of rescue were as good one place as an- other and he was going to stay where he was. The story as heard from the guides was that he was i'll and could not follow, and the others left him.
 The guides themselves were pic furesque characters, and one especial ly deserves more than passing mention. old and tall and gaunt, with a strag- gling gray beanl and snappish eyes. he was type not often seen. Unable to read or write. he showed great intel- ligence and caught the meaning of the ideas expressed before half the words were spoken. He cheerfully acknowl- edged that his acquaintance with Inde- fatigable Island was due to a murder committed at some previous time, for which the administrator, who appears to be an absolute monarch. had ma rooned him on Indefatigable island for three years. during which time he had lived there alone.