The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-07-31
Pacific Castaways Had Up-to-
Date Plan for Escape.
LONE SURVIVORS, STORY.

sistant Were Seeking Desert Isle
for AeropIane Trials-Shipwrecked
After Crew Deserted Vessel, They
Saved the FIyer-FinaIIy Flew Away
En- Route for Austraia-American
Dropped Into Sea and Swan
Ashore When He Sighted Inhabited
isIand-His Companion Sailed On
and May Still Be FIying-Anyway,
Mr.. standish Was Rescued Finally
and Brought to SeattIe-He Tells
His Story but Won't 6etray Secret
of AeropIane's Success.
One OF the most wonderful escapes
on record from the salt waves of the
Pacific was told recently in this city
by Frederick K. Standish, civil en-.
glneer from Boston, writes the Seattle
tWash.) correspondent of the New
York Evening Sun. Standish is as
surprised as anybody that he is still
alive to tell the tale. His one COM
panion who shared in the desperate
adventure isn't.
Alone OF the ships company of the
good tramp steamship Aphrodite
Standish reached the port of Seattle
yesterday evening. The members of
the ships crew may be alive and they
- may not. The last of them was seen
early in the story.
Standish set out some months ago
with Count Adolf Won Messenger, a
rich German nObleman and an aero.
pianist They were off to do some
aeroplaning in the South Pacific,
thing which had, of course, never been
tried before. 1t may seem an odd
thing to do; but not at ALL
Count Adolf had worked on aero
plane inventions for years. At last
he had invented secret device by
which an aeroplane could be made to
stay up a surprising length of time,
and fly long distances with the great
est ease and comfort to the occupants.
His aeroplane was rugged SO that it
kept straight ahead, without needing
any one at the nelm.
AS Count Adolf was a very silent
and secretive young man, and much
afraid Of his secrets being discovered,
he hit on plan of going down to the
South Seas and dropping of on des-
ert island, to give his machine thor
ough trying out in the strictest priv
acy. Standish went along as his scien-
tific companion.
And that is how Standish and Count
Adolf happened to be outward bound
for the South Seas aboard the Aphro-
dite.
E The voyage was smooth at first. The
ship pounded among a lot of islands
and traded with the natives, putting
off or taking on everything from
scrap tin for the natives jewelry to
a case of soda for the local king. But
none of the islands seemed deserted
enough for Count Adolf
;, Finally the captain scratched his
head and said he thought he knew OF
an island that would answer finely.
1t was an uncharted isle very. very
far to the south. In fact way down
at the edge of the South Seas. He
had sighted it once years before and
guessed he could hit 1t again. The
count was immensely pleased, and in
duced him to start OF after it right
away.
So the Aphrodite sailed southwark,
always through those nice calm seas
But they came a change. The bar
ometer fell. the captain rolled his
weather eye and ordered the boats
vain to batten down the matches, and
so on And sure enough screaming
hurricane came up, almost before the
captain had done speaking.
1t was bad one. Standish says he
hopes never to see another like it.
Probably he won't. In no time It
jiggled the ship all up, blew of her
smokestacks, smashed the superstruc-
ture, fouled the running gear, shifted
the cargo, settled her by the stern and
crippled the engines. When the hur-
rican went over the ship was dere-
lict
The captain and the crew took to
the boats and told Count Adolf and
Standish that they had better come
along. Adolf, however, was nervous
about doing so. He was afraid that
the ship might not sink, and then
someone might come along and find
her and also find his aeroplane before
he had time to build another. The
aeroplane was still there by the way.
II was the only thing on deck that
had not flown of the deck. That was
because it was such strongly bull.
heroplane.
So Count Adolf stayed, for the rea-
sons given, and Standish stayed be-