The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-07-28
Lonely Island at Last to Have
Outside Communication.
NATIVES ARE IN SAD STATE
Mostly Descendants of Soldiers Who
Guarded Napoleon at ST. Helena
British Possession in South Atlantic
Has Only 1870 People-Contnued In
termarriage Has Produced Some
Pitiful Children People ListIess
and Without Ambition.

The British island of Tristan da
Cunha, in the middle of the South At
lantic, with its 129 odd souls, mostly
descendants of Napoleon's st. Helena
| guards, who hardly hear from civiliza-
ton more than once in two years, is
at last to have a missionary and radio
| communication.
For more than 10 months an Eng
fish clergyman named Rogers and his
wife have been trying to reach the is
land from Cape Town, and finally in
duced the captain Of the Japanese
steamship Tacoma Maru, which left
Cape Town on March 26 for the River
Plate, to deviate from his regular
| course, and land them at Tristan da
Cunha.s
w. Denis Myers, passenger on the
Tacoma Maru and lawyer Of Cape
Town, recently arrived at Montevideo,
tells Of the vessels call at the island
with Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, and thinks
the population is truly in need of a
missionary.
Much of Interest
THE student of evolution, the psy-
chologist, as well as the missionary,
would find much to interest him in this
curious, forgotten community" says
MI Myers. "The settlement originat-
ed, it is said, when a detachment of
soldiers who were guarding Napoleon
at ST. Helena, to the north, were dis
patched to Tristan da Cunha to fore
stall the remote possibility that Ma
poleon might attempt to escape thith- !
er. Two Of the soldiers remained !
and, importing wives from st. Helena,
laid the foundation Of one of the |
strangest settlements in the world.
From time to time shipwrecked
mariners have added to the inhabi-
tants on the island, who have married
and intermarried till relationship after
a century has become hopeless tan
gle. Nearly all the present population
were born on the island and have
colored strain in their blood. They
speak English with a peculiar draWl,
resembling west of England speech.
There is one old Italian among them,
shipwrecked from sailing vessel, who
appears to have forgotten his own
name and in fact his mother tongue
Continued intermarriage has in this
generation produced some pitiful chill
dren. Some of them are idiots, some
lack limbs, some are deaf and dumb.
The population does nothing agricul. :
turally except to cultivate potatoes. :
with ci,
penguin eggs, they chiefly exist There /
are few wild cattle and few sheep
and out of the wool of the latter the
knit rough wooden stockings +
That is their only manufacture. They ?
wear old clothes, mostly seamens, :
begged from the ships, usually wan
lering windjammers, that visit the is
and at rare intervals. There being no
commerce, there is no need for money.
Attitude Toward Visitors.
"The islanders attitude toward visi-
ors is curious. AS he stands before
me his head droops, his arms fall list
essly to his side and he answers limp
v and uninterestedly questions as to
lis life and mode Of existence. He
GEMS to have no other interest than
0 trade penguin, an albatross skin,
r a seals fiapper for an old shirt a
title tobacco, or anything from civiliz-
ton that would be useful. He articu-
ates slowly and with difficulty as IL
e had almost forgotten speech.
id not see one smile.
Tristan da Cunha is a mountain g.
90 feet high, rising out of the ocean
'astes like an inverted pudding bowl,
nd as we saw it, was wreathed in n
wiring mists. The little colony lives
stone huts on green strip of pas. E.;
Ire land at the foot of the mountain
ssHaving no commerce and no money, ",
lese people certainly cannot worship
ammon, but it is doubtful If they III
orship God. The two plucky mission
les who have exiled themselves re
nong them for at least two years will
Y to teach them. They brought large NJ
lantities Of supplies and civilized
mforts and radio set, so that hence hf
nth Tristan da Cunha will not be cut
{ entirely from the outside world" "a
-. 21o nnn 49, -. ~ c~o;.