FAMILY GROUP OF NATIVES.
Closely following the first boat came another, but, meeting with some accident at the landing place, the boats soon returned to their ship, and she sailed away, much to the relief and satisfaction of the two families who had come to stay, and who were not a little dismayed at the thought of the stranger being so near to them.
The two families and their belongings were soon safely landed. An inspection of the deserted village showed unmistakable proofs that the island had been inhabited by someone for a short time, at least, subsequent to the removal of the former inhabitants. A keg of salt, some old crockery gathered from the deserted houses, and sundry other household articles had been brought together, evidently for the use of someone in need. Some of the houses had been destroyed by fire, while others had been broken down. These were all so many evidences that the island had been lately occupied. The matter, however, was soon cleared up. A slate was picked up in the schoolroom whereon was written with some iron instrument the names of some men who had found an asylum on the island, after having lost their ship on Oeno, a low-lying coral island, surrounded by reefs, some eighty miles northwest of Pitcairn Island.
Further particulars were afterwards obtained, first, from an American sailor who was left on the island by the captain of the whale ship Hiawatha, and later from a copy of the Friend, sent to the island by the people’s faithful friend, the Rev. Samuel C. Damon, of Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. In the Friend was the account of the loss of the Wildwave on Oeno Island. The ship was under command of Captain J. N. Knowles, who, in the early part of 1858, was on a voyage from San Francisco to one of the Eastern States, and who, having lost his ship, came with such of the crew as were willing to Pitcairn Island, where they stayed until a boat had been constructed of such materials as the island afforded, to convey them to Tahiti, whence a passage home could be found.
About twenty-three years afterwards one of the lads who had returned with the first party, now grown into a middle-aged man, was in San Francisco. While there he called at the office of Captain Knowles, and heard from that gentleman’s own lips the following interesting account of their enforced detention on Pitcairn Island:—
The Wildwave was outward bound from San Francisco, when she became a wreck on the reefs of Oeno Island. Besides the captain, officers, and crew, there were ten passengers, numbering in all about thirty-seven persons, all of whom landed safely on the island. The remains of a brother of Captain Knowles, which were being carried home for interment, were also taken on shore and buried. The headstone that accompanied the body was also set to mark the last resting place of the dead. When everything that could contribute to their comfort had been landed, the shipwrecked men proceeded at once to make the best of the circumstances. Abundant food supplies had been brought ashore from the ship, and if that should fail before help could come, the large numbers of birds, as well as of fish, were sufficient to keep them from starvation.
But the captain felt that some immediate action must be taken, and so, as speedily as possible, a boat was made ready and provisioned, and himself, Mr. Bartlett, the first mate, the carpenter, and four seamen bade good-by to the thirty men left on Oeno, and came on to Pitcairn Island, to obtain if possible help for themselves and their companions. The captain, by a wise forethought, had, before leaving, taken the second mate and others to mark the spot where three or four birds were sitting on their eggs. These birds were then secured and taken along with the party in the boat, to be their news carriers in the event of their reaching their destined place in safety. This they did. They landed on the west side of the island, and the boat was drawn up only a few yards from the water’s edge, as it was the captain’s intention to return as soon as possible to Oeno. This plan, however, was frustrated by an unlooked-for calamity.
The captain’s and mate’s first care after dragging the boat to the place where it was to be left, was to take out from it all their nautical instruments, and then, taking the birds in their hands, they started on their way up the high hill leading to the village. Strips of leather had been prepared on which to send the message of their safe arrival to their companions on Oeno. These missives having been securely fastened to the birds, they were let go, and the party stood somewhat anxiously watching them take their flight. At first the unusual encumbrance seemed likely to impede their progress, and the watchers saw them “turn round and round as if stunned a little,” but they soon regained their wonted manner, and the men had the satisfaction of seeing the birds take their way in the direct line whence they had come. In time the men on Oeno had the pleasure of learning of the safety of the little band who had gone to Pitcairn, but the hope of soon seeing them again was not realized, and many months of weary watching passed ere further word reached them.
Meanwhile, the seven men, after seeing to the safe flight of the birds, proceeded on their way. Arriving at the top of the hill, they looked down on the little village of thatched cottages nestling among orange trees. These trees, even at that distance, were seen to be loaded with golden fruit. The sight was a very pleasant one to the shipwrecked men, but no rising smoke gave evidence that the place was inhabited. A few minutes’ quick walking brought them down to the silent houses, where not a human being was seen. For a day or two they remained in the deserted village, intending soon to return to their companions on Oeno; but the mate, having occasion to go over to the west side, found to his dismay that the boat, which had been left too near the water, had been not only reached by the heavy surf that had arisen in their absence, but was broken beyond repair.