The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1914-02-06
THE ISLAND
CAVE
By NJ. QUAD
Copyright. 1913. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

We Wveo washing the decks on the
3Oth day of October. 1906, when u
ma who had been sent aloft to exam
inc a sail which had been damaged in
u squall during the previous night
shouted down to the mate that M
could see u man on a raft about a
mile away and almost directly In on
course.
We rescued the castaWay, who was
neither overgrateful nor greatly sur
priscd at being picked up.
The name Of the rescued sailor was
William Scott. He was second mate
Of a CeylOn schooner called the Happy
Day. Three months before we found
him the schooner set out from some
port ON the India coast for Batavia.
but encountered a typhoon and was
blown a long distance to the west and
finally wrecked on a coral reef sur
rounding an island. OF the crew OF
eight men Scott alone escaped. 1t was
an island about a mile in circumfcr-
ence. rocky and barren, but having
plenty Of fresh water on 1t.
The castaway had explored this is.
land several times, but as the ground
was much cut up and difficult to get
over he had not examined it closely.
Entering the island from the soutl,
side was IL narrow bay, being not over
twenty feet wide, though very deep.
This bay came a cutting the island
in two, as it raj within q hundred feet
Of the north end. 1t was In the stiR
waters Of the bay that Scott construct
ed his raft and only when 1t was
finished that he made u strange dis
covery. He poled it along n day to
the head of the bay, and as he reached
the end he saw the mouth of q cave
fifteen feet above him on the right.
He found the opening large enough
to admit a h%ogshead, and there was
every reason to believe that it once had
been blocked up with stones squared
for the purpose and cemented IN.
These stones had been shaken loose by
some great jar and had rolled down
into the bay. The a v was thirty feet
long. twenty feet wide and ten feet
high. dry and airy. and a far better
house than Robinson Crusoe had. Now
comes the astonishing part of the sto-
ry. According to Scott. he found 21o
elephant tusks stacked up in the cave.
together with five jars of gold dust.
Two jars were emptied Of their con-
tents that he might use them for food
and water. He had samples Of the
gold and the ivory on the raft.
It was a queer story, but with proofs
at hand to back it what could we do
but believe? Our captain was Il
S%cotchnan. and he took n whole day
to think the matter over and assure
himself that the stuff before him was
actually gold and ivory. Then he made
Scott a proposition. The matter was
talked over. and it was finally agreed
that Scott should pilot us to the island
and take another jar Of gold dust for
his share.
At the close Of the fourth day, sail
ing back and forth across a sen sup
posed to contain no land for hundreds
of miles in every direction but the
west. we sighted SCOTS island. He
identified it as soon as 1t could be seen
from the deck. and we ran in and
came to anchor for the night within IL
mile from the beach. Had the night
not been so dark ! believe the captain
would have had u boat down. but as
1t was he dared not chance it. Such
was the excitement aboard that no
man slept for an hour. and as soon as
daylight had come and the men had
had a bite to eat we set 9r ;tossecurc
the treasure. .,'
We.sssoon found the openinSe4 the
bay and rowed into it. Scott had. been
on the island for over a year, and the
hut he occupied and the Flagstaff he
erected were in plain sight. At the
end of the bay we came to the cave,
and. leaping out of the boat. the cap.
tain was first to enter. A moment
later he reappeared, and for the Mext
quarter Of an hour he cursed as l nev
er heard g seaman before or since.
The cave had been plundered. One
broken tusk had been left behind, aud
there was perhaps an ounce of gold
dust lying OF the spot where Scott had
elnptied the jars. That was proof
enough that he had told u straight
story. When we landed and went up
to the hut we soon solved the prob
lem. Some whaler had touched there
for food and water. For wood they
had used all the wreck stuff lying
about. and had also partially pulled
the hut. to pieces. They had flied
their casks at the spring. and we could
still e the marks where they had
been rolled down hill to the boats.
Then the Scotchman did a mean
thing by the rescued sailor. He made
q great ado Of how he had deviated
from his course and lost a fortnight's
time and insisted that Scott divide
with him. ! believe he threatened to
leave him on the island IL he didn't.
There was trouble for a few hours,
and then the sailor came to terms, but
not 80 much AZ q 'penny's worth was