The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-06-25
Pacific CastaWayS Had Up-tO-
Date Plan for Escape.
LONE SURVIVORS STORY.

sistant Were Seeking Desert Isle
for AeropIane shipwrecked,
After Crew Deserted Vessel, They
Saved the FIyer--FinalIy Flew Away
En- Route for American
Dropped into Sea and Swan
Ashore When He Sighted Inhabited
isIand-l4is Companion Sailed On
and May Still Be FIyins-Anyway,
Mr.. Standieh Was Rescued Finally
and Brought to seattIe--He Tells
His Story but Won't Betray Secret
Of Acceptance Success.
One Of the most wonderful escapes
on record from the salt waves OF the
Pacific was told recently In this city
by Frederick X Standish, civil en-
gineer from Boston, writes the Seattle
(Wash) correspondent Of the New
York DvenAng Sun. Standish 10 as
surprised az anybody that he 10 still
alive to tell tho tale. His one com
panion who shared in the desperate
adventure kant.
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 act out some months ago
with Count Adolf Won Messenger, a
rich GerrnAn nobleman and an aero,
pianist. They were off to do some
aeroplaning In the South Pacific, a
thing which had, Of course, never been
tried before. 1t may seem an odd
thing to do; bat 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 1t
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 off on a des-
ert island, to give his machine a thor
ough trying out in the strictest priv
acy standish went along as his scden.
titic companion.
And that is how Standish and Count
Adolf happened to be outward bound
for the South Seas aboard the Aphro-
dite.
The voyage was smooth at first. The
ship pounded among 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 it again. The
count was immensely pleased, and in
duced him to start OFF 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 a screaming
hurricane came up, almost before the
captain had done speaking.
1t was a 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 off 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 che way.
1t was the only thing on deck that
has not flown off the deck, That was
because it was such a strongly built
aeroplane.
SO Count Adolf stayed, for the rea-
sons given, and Standish stayed be
cause Count Adolf was the master