The chronicle=news., 1913-02-05
YANKEE SKIPPER KING
OF AN ISLAND

bean sea, n TYP" OF lhHk"" mariner
almost extinct. died recently In til"
Boston state hopital, says til. New
York World,
II was more than I" Years ago that
the skipper. then owner Of the trad
ing schooner. Polly Ann. was sail
Ing for the san Bias coast when
Swan Island. then an unchart-d No
Mans Land" pecped 1t, him oyer
the horizon.
Skipper Adams was New England
born aud shrcwd. lie looked at til"
island long tim" through his spy
glass, lie held TO his course and saIu
nothing. but lie did n lot OF thinking.
The little Island might belong Ia
Honduras. or maybe TO Nicaragua,
of whose coaft II lay about 100
miles
II must discover that island fop
the flag, cogitat.i the Yankee skip
per. So ON his way back he visited
tn" island, II" found there about
100 natives, u miNtur" oi indian aud
other races. II" set about 'diEcOy-
/ criug" the island
According to tradition. he ordered
! his boats crew to row him In the
y"wl 10 far away that the island was
lost 90 sight, and then row toward It
again. When Swan Island popped
abov. the horizon again he had tech
nicnly discovered II. lie took pos
session OF 1t IN the name OF In" tuit-
ed States OF America. nnd mad. due
entry oil II in his log. On surveying
| the island he found 1t TO b" five
miles wide at It's hrOaicst stretch.
| with 10 miles OF coast line.
skipper Adams went back To Ellis.
! l.. Ia. a
returned with his wife, II. built u
house on til. island. put up = light
house. aud In his palace was
. sovereign he reared two
daughters aud two sons. lie WIS all
three branches Of the government
] executive. icris'ativ" ana judicial
and ih"r" WAS never any graft ON
Swan 'lsllnd, lie waa godfather to
every child born to til" natives. and
the liiil. monarchy wax u mode,
kingdom. lie recognized the future
possibility OF tn" kingdom rs II coal
iLg station after the Panama canal
should b. built,
Swan island soon became an uu-
official port OF call. King NlonZo
"r", ted flag station aui from 1t dis
plHN"d International code signals
Nor" aud more vessels regularly
passed that way. Whcn swan island
Hisnall"d to slow down skippoTS put
IN and took aboard members OF tn"
adams family or took orders Tor sup
piles To Il" Delivered on tn" next trip.
Vessels also landed members OF tn.
royal household and subjects. and.
mos, important of all took away the
'ocoanuts. the principal commodity y
OF III" little island kingdom.
nj
i"rrcd til. It'll" to u Boston CORPORA
Lou. a development company. which
leased the Island to the United Fruit
ih" most important wireless station
III the West Indies.
AZ the Panama c.inni approached
cumplctloa the United Sta;.s.so,.rn.
nicni made known its intention oi
acting upon King Nlonko's suggcs,
ton and making Swan Island "a coal
irE station, ana II WAS now almost
time Tor him to abdlcai. and go To
Washington. In July. 1893. h. land.
I'd In Boston from the good ship Lii
ZION. Th" fruitcr. attracted by the
signal. had lain Oft swan Island and
taken away its discovcr"r and pro-
rric;or. with his daugl'cr-in-Ilw.
Mrs. ". e. Adams. From Boston he
went difrcily to Washington. where
II" had n conference with tho state
department. which led to the acuui-
Siiion of the strategic do, in the Car
ribb"au Tor a ooailnr station. After
n visit Ia the principal eastern cities
Adams returned to his isiand Ioinn niu
Tor u brief stay.
In January OF 1910 Tiv. earth
quake shocks shook up thu island.
! t.a IA Ii.
Martin. and the operator. !. Roberts
out Of their bed. rocking buildings.
! ups"''ing iurnitur" aud throwing;
pictures from the walls: bu, nobody
was Injured. Then Alonzo Adamr com
plci"i his dbdicIiion and went To-
| farming on a place H." bought In
East Hampton. Conn. Ona of his sons
was already established in East
| Hampton and tho other was In Hos
!. ton O9c daughter lived at Port Jcr-
/. fcrson. l.. l.. and the other was mar
ricd to Dr.. 7. J. Curricr. Icntis'. at
| Fulton street Aand Bedford avenues
In brooklyn. ~
-. Last MAY 'laborcr employed on
swan Island suffered a crushed fin
I ger and it was obvious that unIpota-
/ tiNn was ngCosSlrr: but there was
! no surgeon. The wireless operHtor
called up a ship ~" miles away. The
situation was explained to the ships
surgeon, and detail by detail. he OK
| planned to tn" wireless operator on
swan Island Just how the operation
should be performed The instru-
mcnis were sent by wireless. and the
operation Was II sucr'ss. Th. pHtirnt
insisted on pressing the wireless key
to express his thanks to The distant
steamers surgeon.
taptCin Adams aulass.d "a fortune
on the island. lie was 40 years old
at the time nf his death. His widow
and four child"cn survive. For near
liE lnlf II ce"'':rv he was "a ."rrb-.
OF the N,w II ne lodge of Masnas of
| III ,pbI,i Tins lprt., -,,L nn. -,