ifE had heard rood deal about
f the vrtcktri who lira on ths
rtmola Islands of the Bahama.
Tr. ey ara said to be descendants of tha
old-tima plratea and ara now supposed
to ba engaged In a determined effort
to lira up to the Inglorious traditions
of their anceatora.
A few years ago a band of Ram Vey
wreckers attempted to loot a pleasure
craft In distress and were so savage
In their attack that a lot of them were
apprehended and punished.
Kven more recently a ship went
ashort at Abaro on a Sunday while
most of the wreckers were at church.
The parson hastily dismissed bis con
gregation, upon hearing the glad news,
and arout 30 ptou wreckers at onca
made for the stricken ihip. When they
arrived the captain of the ship threw
roir.s overboard and soon had the
wreckers diving for them, thus giving
Mm time to save his nautical instru
ment before the swarms of hungry
wreckers came aboard.
In consequence of the questionable
character of the natives, wa hardly
knew what to aspect when a wave
Iropped u on the coral beach at An
Iros Island and a throng of natives
swarmed about us. Wa were wrecks,
a.-h of us. and fit subjects for wreck
ers, for we had been caught In a etorm
while trying to cross tha Tongue of
the ocean in a little gasoline launch,
and for five hours had been tossed and
pi united by the fury of tha wind and
sea An open launch la not an Ideal
boat la which to attempt a voyage
across 40 miles of the treacherous
waters or the West Indies, and there
were many times when It seemed mora
than likely that the voyage would ter
minate far from land. Kven In those
hours of anxiety one could not help
pltylna; the poor pirates who used to
cruise about In small boats along these
aelfsame stretches of sea.
As we neared Androe Island the
question of our reception became a
matter of Importance, second only tJ
the enjoyable fact that wa were escap
ing the storm. We knew nothlcs; of
Androe Island except that It was larae
and mysterious, with many parts un
explored, and that It waa on of tha
few Inhabited Islands of the 1400 that
constitute the Bahama a roup. Further
more, we had read that these Inhabi
tants, because of their Isolation, were
aupposed to have reverted back to
African savagery
We were now fo learn at first hand
tlie truth or falsenesa of these stories,
for there we were, drenched, chilled and
bedraggled, surrounded by excited
blacks. A moment later we were
pleasantly surprised to find ourselves
greeted with friendliness. If they were
wreckers they seemed to be nice ones.
We felt much aa Columbus must have
felt when he found tha natlvea of San
Salvador so friendly, and I'm sure that
If we had been ancient explorera we
should have stuck a flag In the sand
and christened the spot Cape Delivery
or Cape Uraciaa a IMos In token of our
gratitude. Kut we were not ancient
explorers, and besides the spot waa
already sufficiently and satisfactorily
named.
From the natives we learned that we
had arrived at Mastic Point, so called
because of the mastic wood that arrows
thereabouts. A majestic row of ralm
treea fringed the beach at this point,
and a number of white plastered coral
housea cave a pleasant air of clean
liness and prosperity to the place.
Scarcely were we safely ashore when
a brisk and friendly white man ap
peared from somewhere and welcomed
us to Mastic Point, lie waa the trader
whose house waa the nucleua of the
little settlement and about whom all
the affairs of the district revolved.
Ills name waa Smith, not an original
name aa namea go. but we soon dis
covered that he waa a most remarkable
man. He w-aa the autocrat and aov
erlsrn of that part of the island. Ha
administered a paternal form of (or
ernment -a benevolent autocracy which
seemed to work beautifully. Every
body waa happy, good-natured and aa
prosperous as tha simple necaasltlea of
Island life demanded.
After welcoming- us and expressing
his amaxement that we bad croaeed tha
reef, he aave ordera to have our water
l"Kcd belongings unloaded, and then
he 1-d the way to his little white
ver.injed plaster house. Hero we were
atven dry clothes, somewhat doubtful
In fit. but crisp and clean and most
delightful after tha dripping things we
bad been wearing.
His wife waa a tall, soft-eyed Nas
sau girl, with a gentleness of manner
that was charming. In their bouse there
were many evidences of an Intel!', ent
and discriminating literary taste, and it
waa hard to Imagine such an Ideally
constituted establishment In suck a re
mote byway aa lonely Androe Island.
one could not help being reminded of
life on tha little South Pacific Islands,
where the traders are the only white
men and where their word la law
among the simple Islanders, la the
South Seas tha tradera dealt In copra
and pearl ehell; here the trader dealt
In sponges. Native sponge fishermen
FEVER OF TRAVEL. KEEPS
AFTER having spent his early
youth In brakebeam travels and
having during seven years cov
ered a distance equivalent to twice
around the globe, Jimmie Jerry Puren
arrived la Portland during the week
and announced that he was going to
settle In Portland.
I have had enough traveling." said
he. "1 am going to ge to work, earn
money enough to start a chicken ranch
and then settle down."
Toung Iu ra a got a Job, worked un
til Friday afternoon and then suddenly
became overpowered with a yearning
to travel again. He left with less than
li In his pocket for Alaska.
I want to settle down, but have got
the wandering habit and simply can't
stick." he announced.
Puran ta by no means a hobo, al
though fee admits that his Inordinate
craving for travel will make him one.
unless h breaks It. For while he has
a fair education, a good home In the
Kast. and Is a bright, healthy young
rr.xa of :i. without bad habits, yet this
craving for travel Is growing upon
h:m. he says Already he has been In
every state In the V'nloa. excepting Ave,
nd has Journeyed once to the Philip
pines. Five dollsrs sod e cents Is the total
smouat expended by Mm to date on
transportation. This was spent ear!y
In his wandering career, before he
knew all the tricks of riding under and
on top of the rare, so he saya He
started out en this career when he waa
14 years old. and says he has always
avoided a hobo's career.
"My first act when I strike a new
town Is to hunt work." said he. "I
keep at work aa long aa I. ran. But I
sever know from one day to another
how long I will be able to stay. The
sight of someone with a suitcase head
ing tor the depot often la enough, to
Heading- Frew tie Slaaala.
go out for weeks at a time, and when
their little sloops are filled they come
In and unload tha cargo In Mr. Smith's
warehouse, where the apongea are
sorted and prepared for shipment to
Nassau, There are 73 classes of sponges,
the classification depending upon alse
and quality. I think tha trader aald
there were 72 grades, or that there
were 72 native boata that brought In
the sponges. However. It la not Im
portant, for I waa mora concerned In
pirates than In sponges. It would bs
an antl-climax to go on pirate research
and come back with nothing but aponge
statistics. So when night fell and wa
were aeated on tha shadowy veranda
of hia house, the conversation was
turned to the subject of plrataa.
Out beyond the little atretch of lawn.
with Ita three or four upturned boats,
lay the lagoon, while from farther out
came tha Niagara-like roar of the reef.
In the foreground, atandlng Ilka sen
tlnela against the sky. were the stately
palra treea that waved restlessly back
and forth. The setting was Ideal for
pirate atorlea.
Very little imagination waa required
to aee again the awlft aloops of the
plratea bearing In toward the lagoon,
where there waa aafety from tha aea
and security from pursuit. Any pur
suer who did not know how to strike
the channel through the reef would
meet certain dlsaater.
"In the old daya thla Island waa a
favorite refuge of the plrataa." said
the trader. "Ten miles north of here
Is Morgan's bluff, probably named af
ter Sir Henry Morgan, one of the moat
famoua of the 17th century pirates.
When once under the lee of the bluff
their vessels were safe for tha "north
era. and the plratea were In a rood
position to attack tha Spanish mer
chantmen which eometlmee cama
through tha Bahama channel bound for
Spain. There are several cavsa near
the bluff "
"Caves?" said I. sitting np.
"Tea. there ara some caves up there,
but I've never heard of anything be
ing found In them. I doubt whether
they've even been explored. Beyond
the bluff "
"How do you reach the cavsa V I
asked.
Well. It's two miles to F'rate Point.
Jimmie Loran Covers 50,000 Miles and Tries to Settle in Portland-After Three Days, Leaves Work and Sets Out for
suggest that I follow. Such s Bight
has led me away from several good
positions.
Here la Duran's story of his travels,
aa written by himself:
Datsa's Stery ef Travels.
I got the fever called the wander
lust at the age of 14 years, and decided
to ramble. Leaving my home at Eas
ton, ra, I met an osd-tlme "hobo." and
together we beat It to Buffalo, N. Y,
riding a fast freight all the way. Stop
ping n Buffalo three daya, I met three
turf men who had s car of horses bound
for Oakland. CaL They seat me along
with the trainer to take care of the
horses. In that way I made my first
trip cross country. After rambling up
and down the coast for nearly two
years. Including a trip to the Philip
pines. I followed the Santa re trail and
landed back In New York City.
But before long I waa on my way
again, shipping to Philadelphia for two
monthi. Fever attacked me and I land
ed In Wilmington. Delaware, staying
there seven months, then rambling
down the Atlantic Coast Una to Florida
After three months the restlessness got
me going and I stowed away on the
Clyde liner Mohawk and landed In Bos
ton. Rambled home again and thought
I had enough rambles. Flayed home
for three ) ears working In drug stores,
but soon the wanderlust returned and
two months later waa working as a
carpenter's assistant at Newburgh, N.
Y. Two days later I waa at the wheel
of the four-masted schooner lona Tun
nel, of Philadelphia, trying to keep It
In line with a tug that wae towing us
oat of New Tork harbor bound for
Brunswick. Ga. For the f'-rst 21 hours
I did cot know whether we were going
to Brunswick or to the bottom of the
deep blue. .With all bands on deck.
i immmmm inii l m i tiiimik iii ii ihWsemrii m naiiinimm
A REAL FIRST
about three across the cove to Cocoa
nut Point, another mile to Nlcholls-
town. and about four miles beyond
Nlchollatovra la Morgan's bluff. Some
body up there would probably know
I
. -
V
r
JIMMIK IJKKRV)
AST AXCIEXT FLOTILLA.
aa
BATE PIRATE
exactly where the caves are."
I made a mental reaolve to explore
those caves the next day.
"The plratea used to run In through
the channel up at Pirate Point, aall up
THIS PENNILESS
4
'
. v
'
- V
? u
Gaardlng the Treasure.
inside the lagoon past where NlchollB
town now Is, and anchor under the lee
of the bluff. Then In later years, af
ter the pirates had been pretty well
cleaned out. thla used to be a favorite
haunt of wreckera and blockade run
ners during; your Civil War."
It waa thrilling to sit there on that
shadowy porch,, with the booming of
the barrier reef out across the waters,
and discourse in terms so attractive
aa these. Pirates and wreckers and
blockade runners! Caves and lagoons
and Morgan's bluff! It waa worth
floundering over a dangerous Teef Just
to hear these romantic terms roll out.
Perhaps the great Blaokbear had often
atolen In through the channel and held
high revelry on the beach nearby. It
certainly would bear Investigating.
Until late at night we aat up listen
ing to tales of pirates.
"Over near Georgetown, on fcxuma
Island." continued the trader, "there
waa a famous spot called the Settling
Hole, where the pirates used to careen
their ships and divide their plunder.
Then when everything was in ship
shape they would sail out for new
raids on the Spanish treasure ships,
which often sailed up Just south of
Andros Island and not bo far from
Morgan's Bluff."
In the old daya there were two fleeta
sent from Spain each year, one for Car
tagena and Ponto Bello (Colon), and
the other for New Spain (Mexico). The
latter sailed in the early Summer to
avoid the hurricane season In the Mex
ican Gulf. This fleet was called the
gallonea (galleons), and sailed from
Spain in January or February. The
galleons generally consisted of six or
eight war vessels, carrying 50 or so
guns, some smaller and faster boats,
and often aa many as 40 merchantmen.
The course of the galleons from
Spain was southwest to Teneriffe and
thence to the Grand Canary to call for
provisions. At this point a small fast
"patache" waa sent on alone with dis
patches and the announcement that
the fleet was coming. Following this
came the great fleet, which entered
the Caribbean through the Galleon'a
passage, near Trinidad, and distributed
Itself to the various porta where It
and good navigation and good luck, we
landed In port 11 days later.
I rambled to Savannah, staying one
day. Three traveling salesmen con
cealed me In the smoking car on the
"over-the-sea" limited till I got to
Yulee, Fls where the conductor hon
ored me with a request to get some
fresh air. While waiting .for daybreak
a bunch of cops trying to recruit con
vict labor for a turpentine camp, gave
me a little exercise dodging shots.
Is Wrulrl by Police.
I wore the ties out and also my shoes
for IS miles to Jacksonville. After a
week In that beautiful town the wan
derlust again led me south to Daytona
or a stay of three months. I then
rambled to Yasoo City, Miss. While
getting out of Birmingham, Ala., I had
s revolver ahot fired at me and it
caught me on my Index finger. I rode
the steps under the vestibule for SO
miles trying to stop the bleeding.
Two ball players took me Inside,
stopped the flow of blood and carried
me through to Jackson, Miss. Three
weeks later my finger was healed and
I set out for New Orleans, but the
famed mosquitoes made a hasty ac
quaintance, and I made a hasty exit for
Texas towns, working in Fort Worth a
month, after which the call of the road
had me on my way for Frisco to see the
fight. During a stop-over in Amarello,
Tet, I received a police salute of six
shots, which missed, and a busted ankle
and 30 days to learn farming at the
county farm. I got all of the exercise
I wanted swinging the pick and shovel
from 5 A. M. till P. M.
After working wlthmy old stde-klck-er.
"Ray the Rambler," In one of Salt
Lake's leading hotels, we beat it to
Reno and witnessed that sad Fourth of
July Johnson-Jeffries affair, beating
tha Pullman sleeper inside till we got
collected its rich cargoes of silver,
cochineal, leather, and cocoa. Sixty
days was the usual length of time for
the voyage. At Cartagena on the
Spanish Main the galleons remained
until they had loaded the gold and
emeralds of New Grenada, the pearls
of Margarita, and the indigo, tobacco,
cocoa, and other products of the Ven
ezuelan Coast
Meanwhile the Viceroy of Peru sent
from Lima an armada laden with
treasure, while from Payta waa dis
patched the gold ship with gold from
the province of . Quito. These rich
treasures were transported across
Panama on mule back to Porto Bello,
on the Caribbean side. Even in those
days the project of a canal across Pan
ama waa proposed to the councils in
Spain, but the matter was postponed
till manana.
In Porto Bello each year they held
a great fair. The wealth that was
dealt In was staggering. It was no
uncommon thing to see 200 mules la
den with silver bars arrive from Pan
ama, and It is stated as a fact that
during the fair, which was supposed
to be open for 40 days, the volume of
business transacted reached aa high as
,150.000,000 to $200,000,000.
From Porto Bello the fleets, now
loaded with this immense treasure,
sailed first to Cartagena in the Span
ish main, thence to the Isle of Pines,
and thence through the ' Yucatan
passage to Havana. From Cuba the
course for Spain was through the Ba
hama Channel, Just south of Andros
Island and on past the Bermudas to
the Axores.
It was this rich commerce that the
pirates and buccaneers regarded as
their legitimate prey. They scoured the
coast of the Spanish main, lurked in
the Yucatan passage and hovered about
the Florida Straits and the Bahama
Channel, ready to snap up any unfor
tunate galleon which had gotten sepa
rated from the fleet. When the pirates
had gobbled up one of the treasure
ahlpa they would scurry off to the
shelter of the little islands and keys
nearby and revel In their plunder.
Perhaps under these pleasing circum
stances they might have sailed In to
Morgan's Bluff to divide their loot, and
it was an agreeable hypothesis that
they might accidentally have left a
chest or two of doubloons in one of the
caves at the bluff.
I decided to Journey thither and see.
That night aa I rocked gently to and
fro In a hammock on the porch of the
trader's house, I fell asleep with many
pleasant visions of the morrow's ex
pedition. Sometimes in the night I waa
awakened by fierce gusts of rain beat
ing down upon me. The wind was
blowing hard and it had an ominous
sound as it droned through the palm
trees. Against the lowering sky I
could see the fronds of the palms wav
ing and whipping In the wind. From
seaward came the steady roar of the
waves breaking on the reef. The stage
was set for a hurricane.
Tha next morning a terrifio wind was
blowing from ths northwest. Even the
lagoon, sheltered by Morgan's Bluff.
BOY ON
Alaska With $6 in His Pocket.
to A.pplegata, Cal., where the knight
of the whisk broom gave us an eariy
call; also a JO-mtle walk before break
fast. We landed In Frisco July 11, but the
call of the "road of a thousand won
ders" soon landed us In Banta Bar
bara. After rambling up and down the
Coast for nine months, I left Frisco
for New York, getting the Shasta Lim
ited at Oakland and riding it for 686
miles, getting ditched at Tangent, Or.
Stopping In Portland four days, I ram
bled on over the Northern Pacific Met
my fellow-wanderer at the Hotel Na
tional. In Topeka, Kan. I guess he
caught the fever from me, but he fol
lowed me and landed in Erie. I toured
through the Canadian cities and New
England states, and landed back on
Broadway one year, four months, three
weeks and three days after my depart
ure, having covered over 20,000 miles
Croaeee Continent Again.
Intended to try and settle down, but
the wanderbug got working again and
I found myself in Cambridge Springs,
Pa. Worked a month and rambled back
to New York. But a few cold winds
and the wanderlust landed me in Los
Angeles. Cal.. December 6. I Wintered
in my favorite California town, Santa
Barbara. After four months the old
longing to wander overcame me, and I
started back to New York again.
I arrived in Portland May 4, after a
cold, dusty, weary 400 miles on the
Shasta Limited, riding on the ladder
under the diner. I looked like Jack
Johnson from want of sleep and food
and water. I slept on the ladder for
29 miles. That is one of the dangers
of seeing America first. A turn in your
sleep and it's all over with.
I have ridden on and in every part
of a train top. Icebox, diner, steps,
rods, tanks on diner, under the pilots
was angry and choppy, while out be
yond the barrier reef the horizon was
heaving and ragged with mighty bil
lows. The prospects looked dark for
the expedition to the pirates' caves at
Morgan's Bluff.
It had been Arranged with the cap
tain of our yacht, the Heather, that it
we did not return within two days
he should search for us along the coast
of Andros Island. By that time our
food would be gone, our water perhaps
gone, and we should be in real dis
tress unless relieved. Today was the
day he was to come to the relief, but as
we looked out over the wild sea there
seemed no likelihood that he would
dare venture out of the harbor at
Nassau. The only justification he
could have in so doing would he his
belief that we were in distress and
urgently needed help. It has been the
understanding that we were to try to
get back the day before on the gaso
line launch, and when we failed to ar
rive in consequence of the sudden
storm on the tongue of the ocean the
captain was much worried. He had
no means of knowing what we had
undergone or whether we were safe or
not, so under these conditions he felt
that he must make an effort to deter
mine what had happened to us. He
dreaded the thought that we might
have been caught in the storm while
crossing the day before, for he doubted
the ability of the little launch to
weather such seas as had been running.
. There is no telegraphic communica
tion between Andros Island and Nas
sau. Once every week or two a little
schooner, manned by blacks, makes the
run across with the mail and a mis
cellaneous cargo. Consequently we
didn't know what the captain thought
and he didn't know what we thought.
We doubted if he would venture out
in a storm like this, but we determined
to wait and see.
If he came we would have to ba
ready to go aboard the best way we
could, for in such weather the yacht
could not safely heave to or anchor
out beyond the reef. So the expedition
to the caves was given up and the
golden treasure, if it lies there, is still
undisturbed in its dust and cobwebs.
By 2 o'clock in the afternoon the
wind fell and the sea began to go
down. There seemed to be a prospect
of a moderate sea later in the evening,
but there seemed to be no prospect of
the arrival of the Heather. We decided
the captain had given up the idea of
venturing forth in the storm and that
discretion held him within the security
of Nassau Harbor.
As the sea went down there came a
rumor that the mail schooner would try
to cross that night, so after definitely
giving, up the hope of the Heather's
arrival' we arranged to go back on the
schooner. '
The gasoline launch was loaded on
board and at S o'clock we climbed up
on the cluttered deck of the untidy
craft. Firewood was heaped up in
places, cargo was plied on wherever it
was secure, two or three pigs ambled
back and forth among crates of chick
ens, and heaps of cordage were coiled
In all inconvenient places. There was
only one little cabin, and that was
crowded with natives. Except for our
selves there were no other white per
sons on board.
Thus we sailed from Mastic Point,
beating down the lagoon for Nicholls
town and the channel through the reef.
And it was then that we saw, far out
to sea, the pitching and rolling speck
that we soon knew to be the Heather.
As she came nearer, plunging wildly,
we signaled her. The schooner's flag
dipped but it served only to awaken
anxiety on board the Heather. The
captain construed It to mean that
someone was lost and that the flag
was being half masted in token of dis
aster. .
With his glasses he finally picked
Out two of us and decided that the
third had been lost in the storm, and it
was not until an hour later, when we
could reach a channel through which
to send a boat, that the truth of the sit
uation was revealed to him.
He had had a terrible time crossing.
The yacht was battered by seas that
terrified everybody on board, and, as
he afterward said, nothing less than a
fear that we were in actual distress
had Impelled him to make the attempt
to rescue us. As the Heather left Nas
sau Harbor the people on shore looked
in amazement at what they considered
a most foolhardy venture.
One of our party elected to leave the
little native schooner and take refuge
on the Heather. The other two re
mained on the schooner for the trip
across to Nassau. We stretched out on
deck and went to sleep with the sound
of the helmsman's song as a lullaby
and with the creaking shrouds and
swaying masts outlined against the
brilliant tropic sky.
At daybreak after a 12-hour voyage
we tied up at the dock in Nassau Har
bor, very bedraggled and very hungry.
The Heather was nowhere in sight.
She had not returned from Andros and
we were face to face with the necessity
of going to a fashionable hotel look
ing like tramps.
THE GO
of engines, battery boxes, under seats.
berths and places too numerous to
mention. The longest I have ever done
without food or water was 36 hours,
riding In a battery box from Butte,
Mont., to Fargo, S. D., 877 miles. The
softest ride I ever had waa for 420
miles from Dodge City, Kan., to Los
Vegas, N. M., riding uner the writing
desk on the California Limited. I have
covered over 50,000 miles, paying about
35.60 transportation. There seems to
be a fascination in beating my way
ihat I cannot resist, and .there is no
stopping. I am 21 years of age, and
have no bad habits but that one. There
are five states I have not been in. My
favorite towns are New York City,
Santa Barbara, Daytona, Fla., and Port
land, Or.
Goose aa Old Man's Guard.
When traveling along the road from
Legars toward Kennetstonehead Cot
tages, Stichill, Kelso, I met an old gen
tleman walking with the assistance of
crutches, and a goose following as
closely as possible behind him. I
stopped and spoke to the old man and
the goose at once took up its position'
between his leg and the crutch on the
side nearest to me. It then proceeded
to make as much noise as possible, and
assumed all the defiant attitudes imag
inable. On my approaching within a
few feet of the old man it at once flew
at me, and pecked, or, rather, bit, vio
lently at my legs. I tried to keep it
at bay by pushing it away with my feet
but that was of no avail, and I had ul
timately to strike It over the bill with
my walking stick to make it release Its
hold of my trousers. I found out later
that It had bitten a considerable piece
of skin off my leg.
The old gentleman informed me that
the goose follows him wherever he goes,
and during stormy weather, when he
cannot venture outside, it spends the
day at the door of his cottage, or else
sc'.r by. it.'rScoUmanJ, J
"F71 1 05.0