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Show A CRUSOE BY CHOICE. About 545 miles south of Now Zealand Zea-land Is Macqnarie island, and on it thero was and may bo now a man of over CO years who made a choice of solitude, sea elephants and penguins, nnd became a voluntary Crusoe Captain Cap-tain J K. Davis on the Nirarod, under un-der Instructions from Lieutonant Slmckleton to locate islands in tho South Pacilic, found him but was un-ablo un-ablo to porsuade him to depart. Presumably Pre-sumably ho remains now the sole inhabitant in-habitant of an island domain. Captain Davis' account of the Crusoe Cru-soe by choice was given in the Geographical Geo-graphical Journal, and is reproduced in the current bulletin of the American Ameri-can Geographical society, A party landing from the Nirarod found tho remains of two huts in wretched condition, con-dition, evidently dating back to tho days of the sealers, numbers of sea elephants and a penguin rookery, but no other signs of life The following dny, steaming northward along the coast and close to the shore, the ex-plorors ex-plorors camo on two more huts, and could see a man ntanding in the door of one. "A boat was lowored amid great excitement," Captain Davis wrote, There was a big surf, but tho man came to the shore, pointed out the best landing place, and, walking into the water, helped to beach the boat. He was found to be a sailor by the name of McKibben He had spent twenty years In the British navy, ho had been to tho Arctic ocean on a relief vessel, and ho had been on oil ships. Ho had come to Macquarle island isl-and on a schooner to collect sea-elephant oil, and had decided to remain. Hie companions, endeavored to dissuade dis-suade him. but he was obstinate. Stores were left for him. and tho schooner returned to New Zealand. Captain Davis found him comfortably comfort-ably housed. His hut had two rooms, and each room had a stove. He had pleuty of ship stores, and for fre3h meat ho used the hearts and tongues of sea elephants He earned his coal from its depot four miles away The men of the Nlmrod endeavored to persuade per-suade him to return with them, but he refused. "Why should I?" he asked "I'm happy enough hero, and have all I want I'm glad to have seen you, but I don't want to leave the Island." "As we steamed away," Captain Davis wrote, "we dipped our flag to the old man, who waved farewell to us from the beach." Presumably he ihas 'been visited since then The oil schoonor was duo for another visit to tho island, and McKibben may hn-e tired of solitude soli-tude and sea elephants or he may not, Chicago Tribune. |