The Hawaiian gazette., 1917-10-09
MOPERA ISLAND IS
EAS|[YDEFENDED
AtoIl said TO Be Sea Raiders
Base Has Plenty Of Food and
WstFs fShyy Captain Murchison

y " MtNN $500 r'
Capt. Neil Murchison, in command Of
the schooner Columbia, River which IN.
rived yesterday from Iquique, sChile,
with cargo of nitrate, was very much
interested in the story appearing IN
The Advertiser telling Of the activities
Of Germaa raider in the South Paei-
fc. ..-. .@.a'." .'.. u. ".~ III. ~.
Captain Murchison is well acquainted
withmOgt Of the atolls In that part OF
the world, and only recently made the
voyage from Newcastle to 1quique,
where he loaded cargo for the Islands.
On previous trips, the captain has al.
ways sailed within sight of Juan Fer.
nandez, the famous Robinson Orusoe
isle, several hundred miles OFF the coast
Of Chile, but upon his last voyage from
the Antipodes, he struck course far
TO the north. rea- - 4 -..s
The group of three volcanic Islands,
on one Of which Alexander Selkirk was
marooned in the early part Of the eight.
eenth century, and around whose ad.
ventures Defoe is said to have written
Robinson Crusoe,'' Is inhabited by
few Chilians and Germans. In the past
y
been a veritable rendezvous for Ger.
man sympathizers, while launches and
small ships have been observed By
passing vessels in increasingly large
numbers. Captain Murehison had been
Informed of the presence of enemy
craft among the numerous islands OF
the south, and for this reason deemed
IL best to steer clear of an island on
which Germans are known to have gath
cred lately. --.......-.. IL.
The captain is an intimate friend Of
Haldor Smith, captain of the missing
schooner r. G. Slade, who reached
Tutuila in an open boat from Mopeha
Island, where, he said, there are TWEEN
ty.seven white men and seventeen ma.
tive prisoners marooned, as result Of
the operations of the raider Sea Leader
and her German crew. As to their be-
ing in dire need of food and water
the captain cannot understand, as he
says ordinarily there is sufficient water
and food for a number OF persons oU
the island. .t't ."...
Mopeha lies in Latitude 16' AS
South Longitude 1882 So West, about
one hundred miles west by south of
the Island Of Marau. According to
! Captain Murchison, it is an atoll and
was discovered in 1867 by Wallis, all
English explorer, who named it Lord
Howe Island. 1t is also known by the
name of Mopelia.
The atoll was visited again and sur.
veyed in 1898. T'Mopeha consists, /"
| said Captain ,Murchison, 9. of many low
islands on a reef surrounding a lagoon,
and occupying a space ten miles long,
north and south, and four miles wide
I The whole eastern side of the reef is
occupied by long narrow band Of
dry land with many ooeoanut trees,
which bear abundantly. For this rea
son cannot understand why the priS.
oners should want for food.
"0n the northern and western sides
are numerous islets, many of them with
i brushwoOd and trees of various sorts.
AS TO accessibility, there is only on
pass through the barrier reef and that
is on the northwestern side. 1t is only
about thirty yards wide, steep-tO, and
with a depth of about thirty feet.
However, its inner part is almost closed
by shoals, so that a small sailing yes.
sci, in order to enter, must furl its
sails and warp through into the open
water of the lagoon.
"This is a dangerous procedure and
can only be done by sending two boats
on ahead with Hedge anchors and haws.
ers to await the vessels arrival There
is plenty of water in the lagoon, and II
few shoals are easily discernible by the
eye. The lagoon cannot be considered
as ordinarily accessible, even to the
smallest vessels, without the greatest
care and most thorough knowledge Of
the pass. With few machine guns on
the island, an enemy would be as Sc.
cure as it would be possible to be any
place. Very few persons could take
vessel through this pass to the la
goon, yet it is possible for ships OF
considerable size to enter.
1.-THE islands are without perma
nent inhabitants, although they are Wis
tied by fishermen for the purpose OF
catching turtle which abound in GER
tan seasons of the year. Other fish OF
various kinds are plentiful the yeaI
round, so from the food standpoint, the
prisoners should be well supplied"