The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-25
PLACE SUPPLIES
ON REMOTE ISLANDS
For Accommodation of Shipwrecked
Marines-Masters Notified of the
Exact Place of Caches
From the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
That all expeditions, whether Arctic or
otherwise, place food depots within reach
of need is, of course, well known, but
few people are aware that there are
certain rarely visited islands and DESC
late coasts where depots of provisions
and necessities have been placed for the
use of shipwrecked crews.
The most extensive supplies of this
sort are those existing on some of the
lonely islands in the South Indian ocean.
South of the liner track to Australia, by
way of the cape, lie Crizet and Kergue-
len islands.
In the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria
a French warship placed in hut on
one of the Crozets a good stock of food
and necessities, including two spears and
two hatchets. 1t is highly probable that
the bulk, IL not all. of these stores are
still there. for the warshlp In question
found the provisions left by British
warship eight years before, absolutely
intact.
The handbooks furnished to all British
shipmasters indicate exactly tho where
abouts of these cached stores A seal
hunter who sought to find the depot on
Kerguelen island wrote: 1T was as easy
as IL we had had a signpost"
The Kerguelen depot was fitted out by
the French ship Eure. which, In 1893, left
"2250 pounds of preserved beef in boxes
of nine pounds. 1925 pounds of biscuits,
20 swanskin shirts, 20 pairs of wooden
drawers, 20 wooden blankets and four
packets of matches" Furthermore, great
trouble was taken to protect the stores
from the weather
The beef boxes were coated with tar.
as were the iron-hooped barrels contain
ing the biscuits and clothes, and the
matches were in boxes painted over with
red lead.
Fourteen years afterward Captain du
Baty, who spent many months sealing
on the island examined the depot. Even
though the goods had been buried be-
meath cairn of stones, the casks had
rotted away, and the clothing fell to
pieces when opened out. The biscuits
had been turned to sour pulp, and long,
green strands of moss were growing on
the barrels. The timed beef was per-
fectly good. and was agreeable to the
taste. He failed to find the matches.
but left some of his own, with needles
and twine.
On Amsterdam island, further north,
the board of trades handbook notifies
the fact that the French supplies are in
cavern where have also been left D
cooking pot cots and dry wood. On
this island the stranded Crusoe will find,
too, abundance of wild cabbage and eel
cry growing, and Holsters and fish are
plentiful.
On the west coast of Tasmania thers
are some very lonely districts. AT Rocky
Point shipwrecked mariners may find re-
lief. stores, and in order to aid them to
regain civilization, tracks have been
made for their benefit, with Iron index
fingers every quarter mile. pointing in
the direction of the relief station" And
on a river where fording is necessary "A
raft has been left in readiness.
Similar provision exists on some of
the outlying islands of New Zealand,
and these are visited by government
steamship once or twice each year in
case castaways are needing rescue.
Refugees in Terra del Fuego learn from
the same source above quoted that they
can trust the Yaghans to conduct them
to mission stations or settlements but
the "Alacalufs are aggressive and
treacherous, though, however great their
number, they will not attack a comb.
nation of three or four persons, espe-
cially If they are aware that these per
sons possess firearms or implements re-
sembling them''