The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-02-18
CRUSOE MAY HAVE OWNED THIS GUN

on brushing the dust off the stock
found some letters. They were ASEL
in script capital. Then 1 brushed
some more and the letters turned out
to read "A Selkirk'
81 asked the boy if he had examined
the gun stock for writing, and he said
yes, and that he had made out the
word 'Asel.' He said the man who
brought it in wanted twelve shillings
and he would take that plus as much
more as would pay. 1 made it twen-
ty and took it. l cleaned up the gun
after bit, and found this verse back
of the fiintlock:
With three drains powther,
Three ounces halle,
Ram me we'll and pryme me;
To kill 1 will not faille.
"Then under the name "A. Selkirk |
l found in smaller script, Largo, N. |
B. ! knew at once that N. B. meant
North Britain, which was a usual
term for Scotland in the 18th century,
and that Largo was the place where
Selkirk was born.
"On cleaning up the other side of
the stock the 'Anna-R-1701' became
very clear. 1 doubted that 1901, but
on looking it up found that Queen
Anne assembled to the throne in March,
1902, and that in the old style calen-
dar March was included in the pre-
vious year, so that according to the
old style the date was right.
Forward of the Queen Anne in
scription was seal carved into the
d, wood, sitting on top of rock. I'm
der it were the words, Seal Kraig,
,Kraig being Scotch word for cliff,
and l suppose Selkirk meant by the
emblem to indicate the origin of his
family name. Seals often came then
into the water at Largo.
J, Il took my find, now fairly we'll con-
WINGED that it was genuine, to the Brit
ish Museum for expert examination.
The officials looked it over infinitely,
and saw one of them looking with a
magnifying glass at the triggers and
the wood right around them. It was
finally decided that the gun was prob
ably genuine, because the wear on the
triggers could not have been produced
fraudulently.
Remembering the boys who wen
trooping into the British Museum to
see Crusoes cocoanut drinking cur
and his sea chest, l loaned the CUR
to the Museum so they could see thai
also. But was restless about it, anG
> wondered if there might be anybody
Il in Selkirks home town who coulC
u tell bout it. 4. took it up there, wen
to the church where Selkirk's moth
= err recognized him when he came
= home again after his long absence
and met many descendants of tn,
- family's neighbors. None of then
70 knew about it, or ever remembereC
=. having heard of it.
. 81 then went back to the Ashmo
lean Museum and got from the por
~ ter the address of the man who tool
\. the gun to him. l found him by tn,
n directions given in a poor section o
n the city,. and asked him how he cam
by the weapon. He told me that a
N onetime he had engaged in the an
tique trade, buying up antiques ad
h. vertised in the newspapers. One da
n he saw gun advertised by some on
1T in the Chaplain district, and he bough
yb it for los, although Ell was aske
in the advertisement. In two year
lie he made nothing in his antique stor'
ID so he took the remnants of it, il
to Guiding the gun, down to the museum
IN where l was fortunate enough to a
rive before the master came bac
from his digging in Rome, and aft'
nd his porter had decided to reject it.
re "The British Museum authorize
nd helped me hunt up the records