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[Illustration: ABANDONING THE "GOOD LUCK."--_Frontispiece._]
PERSEVERANCE ISLAND
Or
The Robinson Crusoe of the Nineteenth Century
by
DOUGLAS FRAZAR
Author of "Practical Boat Sailing" etc.
Illustrated
Boston
Lee and Shepard Publishers
New York Charles T. Dillingham
1885
Copyright,
1884,
By Lee and Shepard.
All Rights Reserved.
PERSEVERANCE ISLAND.
ELECTROTYPED BY
C. J. PETERS AND SON, BOSTON.
To My Wife.
PREFACE.
In all works of the Robinson Crusoe type, the wreck is always near at
hand, the powder dry and preserved, and the days for rafting the same
ashore calm and pleasant. This unfortunate had no such accessories;
and his story proves the limitless ingenuity and invention of man,
and portrays the works and achievements of a castaway, who, thrown
ashore almost literally naked upon a desert isle, is able by the use
of his brains, the skill of his hands, and a practical knowledge of
the common arts and sciences, to far surpass the achievements of all
his predecessors, and to surround himself with implements of power and
science utterly beyond the reach of his prototype, who had his wreck as
a reservoir from which to draw his munitions.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
Boyhood and youth of the author. Sailor's life. The "Good Luck."
South Pacific Island scheme. Loss of crew off Cape Horn. 3
CHAPTER II.
Push forward for the Society Islands. Driven into Magellan Straits
by stress of weather. Anchor in a land-locked bay. Search for fresh
water. Attacked by savages. Serious injuries to Capt. Davis and
one of the crew. Return to the schooner and make sail for the open
ocean. Resolve to return to England. Finally lay our course for
Easter Island. 9
CHAPTER III.
Captain Davis's condition. Only five men fit for duty. Terrific
storm. The schooner thrown on her beam ends and dismasted. Loss of
three more of the crew. Taking to the whale-boat. Foundering of
the schooner "Good Luck." Death of Captain Davis. Storm again,
running to the southward before the tempest. Strike upon a reef.
The author cast on shore. 19
CHAPTER IV.
Return to consciousness. Seek for my comrades. Commence a
calendar, and take inventory of my effects. 38
CHAPTER V.
Attempt to make a fire. Distil salt water. First meal. Reflections.
Hat-making. Repose. 45
CHAPTER VI.
Build fireplace. Make knife and spear from anchor. Build tower of
stones for perpetual lamps. Resolve to explore the island. 56
CHAPTER VII.
Improve my lamp-tower. Make a bow and arrow, and fish-hooks and
lines. Capture a large turtle. Improve my steel and flint, and
build a hut. Procure some salt, and make arrangements to explore
the island on the morrow. 65
CHAPTER VIII.
Rainy day. Reflections concerning climate, season of the year,
tides, etc. Plant several varieties of my seeds. Make a pocket
compass, and prepare for my exploration of the island. 73
CHAPTER IX.
Exploration of the island: First day. Fresh water at Rapid River.
Wild goats, quail, tortoise, tobacco, wild ducks, trout, sweet
potatoes, mussels. Name the island and principal points, etc. 85
CHAPTER X.
Exploration of the island: Second day. Find coal and sulphur,
seals, more turtles, gulls, etc. 96
CHAPTER XI.
Exploration of the island: Third day. Stalking goats. Mirror lake
and river and bay. Sad moonlight thoughts. 105
CHAPTER XII.
Exploration of the island: Fourth day. Finish the exploration of
the island, and build stone house at Rapid River. 113
CHAPTER XIII.
Make a hatchet of my iron hammer. Make matches and utensils for
house. Team of goats, chair, table, etc. Birch-bark canoe.
Arrangements for winter. 124
CHAPTER XIV.
Make chairs, and arrange my house, seal-skins, and goat-skins.
Provide provisions for winter. Discover wild grapes, and make wine
and vinegar. Find potassium, or saltpetre. Make gunpowder, and by
means of my compass discover iron. Thoughts of the future. 136
CHAPTER XV.
Make a mould for bricks. Build a brick-kiln and make bricks. Build a
smelting-house, blast-furnace, kiln for cleansing ore. Meditations.
Build water-wheel and fan-wheel, and set my machinery for an
air-blast to reduce the ore. 151
CHAPTER XVI.
Smelt my iron and make Bessemer steel and all kinds of tools. Erect
an anvil and forge. Build a saw-mill, and plant a farm and
kitchen-garden. 166
CHAPTER XVII.
Make an astrolabe, and obtain the latitude of the island, and, by
an eclipse of the moon, the longitude also. By means of the Epitome
make a chart on Mercator's projection, find out the distance
from any known land. 176
CHAPTER XVIII.
A resumé of three years on the island. Daily routine of life.
Inventions, discoveries, etc. Fortification of the Hermitage.
Manufacture of cannon and guns. Perfection and improvement of the
machine shop. Implicit faith of ultimately overcoming all obstacles
and escaping from the island. Desire to accumulate some kind of
portable wealth to carry with me, and desire to explore the island
for its hidden wealth and the surrounding ocean for pearl oysters. 189
CHAPTER XIX.
Construct a submarine boat, to be propelled by goat power and to
make its own air, to examine the bottom of the ocean near the
island for pearl oysters. 206
CHAPTER XX.
Launch the submarine boat. Experiment with it in Stillwater Cove. 223
CHAPTER XXI.
Explore the bottom of the ocean in the vicinity of the island with
my submarine boat. Discover pearl oysters and invent a great
improvement to my boat. 237
CHAPTER XXII.
Manufacture glass. Build a steam yacht, and circumnavigate the
island. Lay up large stores of valuable pearls obtained from the
pearl oysters. 252
CHAPTER XXIII.
Discovery of a human habitation. The skeleton and manuscript. 265
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Pirate's manuscript. 277
CHAPTER XXV.
Finding of the sunken wreck. The submarine explosion of the hull.
Recovery of over ten millions in bars of gold and silver. 295
CHAPTER XXVI.
Chess and backgammon playing. Fortification of the island. Team of
white swans. Goats as servants, and opponents in backgammon
playing. 310
CHAPTER XXVII.
Discovery of gold. Turn the stream out of the lake, and build
portable engine to separate the gold. 321
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The sea serpent. Attack and capture one of the species, thus
putting the question of its existence forever at rest. 339
CHAPTER XXIX.
Make a balloon and flying machine, in which I make a successful
ascension. 349
CHAPTER XXX.
The manuscript sent forth. 362
THE MANUSCRIPT.
PERSEVERANCE ISLAND, SOUTH PACIFIC.
_To the Person who shall find this Manuscript_, GREETING,--
I hope that in the mercy of God these lines may come to the hands
of some of my fellow-creatures, and that such action may be taken
as may be deemed best to inform the world of my fate and that of
my unfortunate comrades; if the finder will, therefore, cause the
accompanying account to be published, he will confer a lasting benefit
upon his humble servant,
ROBINSON CRUSOE,
Otherwise called WILLIAM ANDERSON.
Everybody must remember the setting out of the schooner "Good Luck"
from the Liverpool docks, England, in the summer of 1865, with the
advance guard of a colony to be established in the Southern Pacific, on
one or more of its numerous islands to be selected; and from that day
to this, the non-reception of any news of her from her day of sailing.
I am the only survivor of that ill-fated vessel, and record here, in
hopes that the manuscript may reach the eyes of those interested, all
the facts of the case, and pray that they will speedily send to my
relief some vessel to take me home, and permit me once more to gaze
upon the faces of my fellow-men before I die.
THE FINDING OF THE MANUSCRIPT.
SHOTTSVILLE, DELEFERO COUNTY, TEXAS,
April 1, 1877.
Returning to my home in the evening after a hard day's work on my
quarter-section farm, I saw in the twilight an object dangling in the
air, and apparently fast to a young walnut sapling. I approached it
and found that it was a small balloon of about three feet in diameter,
made, I should think, of some kind of delicate skins of beasts or
birds sewed cunningly together. Attached in the place where the car
should be, I found the manuscript herewith submitted, written on
some kind of parchment, which, being taken home and read, I found of
such startling interest that I have, although poor, ordered the same
published at my expense in hopes that some action may be taken by
those whom it may concern to move further in the matter. I further
depose that the accompanying manuscript is the original one found
by me attached to the balloon, and that it has never been tampered
with or allowed to leave my possession till this moment. It can be
examined, as well as the balloon, at any time, by any responsible
person, by calling upon me.
[Signed] REUBEN STANLEY.
STATE OF TEXAS,
SHOTTSVILLE, DELEFERO COUNTY, S.S.
April 1, 1877.
Then personally appeared before me the said Reuben Stanley, to me well
known, and made oath that the above deposition made by him is true.
[Signed] RICHARD HILLANDIER,
_Justice of the Peace_.
[Illustration: CHART OF PERSEVERANCE ISLAND.]
PERSEVERANCE ISLAND;
OR,
THE ROBINSON CRUSOE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
CHAPTER I.
Boyhood and youth of the author. Sailor's life. The "Good Luck." South
Pacific Island scheme. Loss of crew off Cape Horn.
I was born in the year 1833, in the State of Vermont, United States of
America, and at an early age lost both parents by that fearful scourge,
the small-pox. I was an only child, and upon the death of my parents,
which happened when I was about six years of age, I was taken charge
of by a friendly farmer of a neighboring town, who put me to school
for several years in the winter, and at work upon the farm in the
summer. I had no known relatives in the wide world, and often felt the
bitter pangs of orphanhood. My master was not, however, unkind, and I
grew up strong, robust, and with rather a retiring, quiet disposition,
with a great love of mechanics and tools. Under all this quietness,
however, lurked, I well knew myself, an unappeasable love of adventure
and enterprise. I loved to lie in the open fields at night under the
full moon; to explore swamps and brooks; and I soon learned to swim
in the pond near by. At the age of fourteen I left my master, with
his consent, and went to work in a neighboring machine-shop, where
castings, etc., were made. I loved all manner of mechanical tools and
instruments, and evidently had a taste in that direction. At the age
of eighteen I became restless, and, having read during leisure hours
many books of adventure and discovery, I took it into my silly head to
become a sailor, and upon the inspiration of a moment I packed up my
small bundle of clothes, and, bidding good-by to my workmates, started
out on foot for Portsmouth, N. H. I arrived there and shipped as green
hand in the schooner "Rosa Belle" for Boston, at which port we in
due season arrived. From thence I shipped again before the mast in a
large, square-rigged vessel for a voyage round the world. It is not my
intention here to give a detailed account of my adventurous life till
I joined the "Good Luck;" suffice it to say that during fourteen years
at sea I passed through all the grades of boy, seaman, able seaman,
boatswain, third mate, second mate, and first mate. It was after my
discharge from a large clipper ship in Liverpool, lately arrived from
China, in the latter capacity, that, having some few hundred dollars by
me, I began to look about to see if I could not gain a livelihood in
some easier way than by going to sea, being by this time heartily tired
of the life, and for want of friends and relations with little chance
of rising higher in the profession; it was at this time, I say, that
this cursed project of the "Good Luck" was brought to my attention. As
fate would have it, the schooner lay in the same dock with ourselves,
and I became interested in her by hearing the talk upon the dock that
she was bound to the South Pacific Islands to seek for pearls, sandal
wood, tortoiseshell, etc., and to establish a colony of which the
persons who were going out on this trip were the advance guard and
projectors. I remember now, oh! how sadly, the Utopian ideas that were
advanced, and although I, as a sailor in those seas, knew many of them
to be false, yet imagination proclaimed them true. I could not resist
the impulse to join my fortune to theirs. Having made up my mind, I
called upon the chief movers in the matter and offered my services. It
was first a question with them whether I could subscribe any money to
the project, and secondly, what position I desired in the adventure?
I satisfied them upon the former, by stating that if I was pleased
with their plans I could subscribe four hundred dollars in cash, and
my services as a seaman and navigator in those seas. This seemed very
satisfactory, and I was then asked, more pointedly, what position I
demanded. I said that I should be satisfied with the position of chief
officer, and second in command on board of the schooner, and fourth
in command on the island as concerned the colony,--that is to say, if
their plans suited me, which I demanded to know fully before signing
any papers and bound myself by oath not to disclose if, after hearing
and seeing everything, I declined to join them.
This straightforward course seemed to please the managers, and I was
put in full possession of all their plans, and immediately after signed
the papers.
It is sufficient for me to give an outline of this plan simply, which,
through the act of God, came to naught, and left me, a second Robinson
Crusoe, on my lonely island.
The company was formed of one hundred persons, who each put in one
hundred pounds to make a general capital,--except a few like myself,
who were allowed a full paid-up share for eighty pounds, on account of
being of the advance guard, and wages for our services according to our
station, with our proportionate part of the dividends to be hereafter
made.
With this fund paid in, amounting to about nine thousand eight hundred
pounds, the managing committee purchased the schooner "Good Luck."
She was a fore-topsail schooner, of one hundred and fifty-four tons
measurement, built in Bath, Maine, and about seven years old,--strong,
well built, sharp, and with a flush deck fore and aft. She cost two
thousand four hundred pounds. The remainder of the money was used in
purchasing the following outfit for the scheme we were engaged in:--
Four breech-loading Armstrong cannon, nine pounders, four
old-fashioned nine-pounders, twenty-five Sharpe's breech-loading
rifles, and twenty-five navy Colt's revolvers, with plenty of
ammunition for all. These, in conjunction with boarding-pikes,
cutlasses, hand-grenades, and a howitzer for the launch, comprised our
armament. The hold was stored with a little of everything generally
taken on such adventures,--knives, hatchets, and calico for the
natives, and seeds, canned meats, and appliances for pearl fishing,
house-building, etc., for ourselves. To these were added a sawmill, an
upright steam-engine, a turning-lathe, blacksmith tools, etc.
Our plan was to find an island uninhabited, that would form a good
centre from which to prosecute our purpose of pearl gathering, and to
there establish a colony, sending home the "Good Luck" for the rest of
our companions and their families.
Ten of us were chosen as the advance guard (all but three being
sailors), to make the first venture, establish the colony, load the
schooner, leave part of our force upon the island selected, and the
remainder to bring back the schooner to Liverpool. "Man proposes, but
God disposes."
On July 31, 1865, we set sail upon this disastrous voyage, and from
that day to this have I never seen the faces of civilized beings except
those on board of the schooner, and not those for many months. Our
captain was a fine, manly fellow, of about eight and thirty years of
age, and we all liked him. Duty on board was of course different than
it would have been in a common vessel; and although we had watches and
regular discipline, each was familiar with the other, having, as we
had, an equal stake in the adventure.
We had a tough time off Cape Horn, and, although the "Good Luck"
behaved well, it was here that we met with our first misfortune. In
stowing the jib, in a gale of wind, preparatory to laying-to, three men
were swept overboard, and we never saw them more. This cast a damper
upon the remaining seven, and was but a precursor of what was yet to
happen. We rounded Cape Horn the first part of October, and, steering
northwest, soon reached more pleasant weather. Our course was towards
the group of islands, so well known in the South Pacific, called the
Society Islands.