BRITISH SCIENTISTS' WEIRD EXPERIENCES

Evening Star, Issue 16051, 1 March 1916, Page 3

BRITISH SCIENTISTS' WEIRD EXPERIENCES

SEE GERMANS VIOLATE NEU- " - TRALITY. SOUTH SEA "ADVENTURES. .Coincident with■ the arrival in San Francisco, of the schooner-yacht Mana, of the 'Royal Cruising Club of England', after a three-years' expedition on behalf of the British Museum, London, came positive proof that the Germans had repeatedly and flagrantly violated the neutrality of Chile m ',he course of their depredations in the Pacific Ocean. Tho eyewitnesses of these violations were Mr W. Scores'by Routledge, M.A. (Oxon) and his genial wife, Mrs Katherine Routledge, M.A; (Dublin), both distinguished as archajblogists, educationists, and authors of standard volumes on travel and research. Mr Routledge is a stalwart Australian, being, a native of Melbourne. The Mana is one of the most remarkable vessels which ever entered the port of San Francisco. The powerfully-built yacht was from the designs of Charles Nicholson, of Gosport, England (designer of the new Shamrock belonging to Sir Thomas Lipton). The Mana—signifying ''good luck" is of but 23 tons registry, is 90ft overall, and boasts' but 20ft beam. She is steamassisted, and is admirably fitted out.' Its daily record was 210 miles. The distinguished scientists have been away from England almost three years on an archaeological expedition to the South Seas, principally to Easter Island, where they excavated giant monoliths, and where they met German warships, first the Pacific fleet of Admiral Von Spee, destroyed by the British in the battle of Falkland Islands, and then the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Fxiedrich, now interned at Norfolk, Virginia. The Routledges have been diffident to discuss details of their expedition, but gave their first interview at San Francisco when approached by our correspondent there. The scientists told tales picturesque to a rare degree cf the German warships, of a native uprising on Easter- Island, and of a quaint ultimatum addressed to the English manager of tho Chilian ranch there; of how the inhabitants of '• Pitcairn Island are Seventh Day Adventists, and have residing among them an Australian missionary of that faith.; and of how they have aboard the Mana two descendants of Midshipman Y'oung, of the British frigate Bounty, whose crew went ashore at Pitcairn. during the last three years the Routledges have had adventures sufficient to supply themes for fireside tales for generations. The Mana sailed from .Southampton on I'ebr-iary 20, 1913, and touched at Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands,. Perna.nbuco (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Ayres, and thence through the Magellan Strait and the Patagonian Channel, whs-re she celebrated Christmas Day, 1915. On the Pacific she sailed up the coast to Talcahuano, Chile, where she arrived in January, 1914. 'She was aided in every way by tho Chilian Government. From the mainland she went to Juan Fernandez (Robinson Crusoe's island), and thence to faster Island, arriving .there on March 29, 1914. And at Easter Island the adventures were many and frequent. In May the Mana. was sent ■to Talcahuano, Mr ?.nd Mrs Routledge remaining .in Eastor Island busy with their archejclogical work. On ' Easter Island is a ranch, owved by the Chilian, but managed by Mr Edmunds, an Englishman, the only European on the whole island, other inhabitants being about 250 Polynesians, some few of whom are employed by the ranch. On the ranch were 12,000 sheen, 2.000 c.-Utle, and 500 horses, and in July, 1914, whilst the Mana was away, tho natives became restless. An old woman in a dream lir.d a vision that the 'island and cattle were to be delivered into the hands of the natives, -and accordingly the quaint ultimatum was sent to Mr Edmunds, curiously worded, advising him that the lrnd wu~ not held rightfully by the outsiders, that the old dwellers had received nothing for it, and in reality everything was theirj, and not the property of the Chilians.

Then they b<-ga:i depredations, and in one day.the natives 1 iled 56 fine bullocks —an indiscriminate ; id senseless slaughter, for tho meat spo.'cd in a day. and 56 cattle could sai ; Mr Routledge, by any stretch of. stomachs, be a " feast." Mr Edmunds's position, as responsible for tho pioperty, was one of extreme difficulty. The Routledges strongly dissuaded him from za-ir.g on tho natives, but said that, should his life be threatened, they would staid with him. On the first arrival (■: the schooner,.stores from the Mana, to j:.st six months, had been taken ashore r; boxes, and locked in one of the wooLaeds of the ranch. The natives had brc.;en into these, looting many boxes, a?;d with a childlike simplicity they now offered the Routledges a bullock to "make up" for the theft! But the day came when they finally planned to kill Ednvmds. It drew near to.the time when a Chilian ship was expected on n period'-al visit, "and dramatically enough it caiio in time. Mrs Routledge told of how siM wondered whether it would appear; and there it was! She was the General Baqv.2bano, and with her arrival the mutiny magically quietened down. The rinedead.jr and 'four others were arrested, and the chief of the mutiny was deported to Clae,- where he died'. The natives then shoved the utmost kindness to the scientist, whose excavation and research work proceeded speedily until there entered the German fleet, doomed soon to sink under the guns of the avenging British. The Scharnhorst flew tho flag of Admiral Von Spee, and accompanying the flagship were three men-of-war and 10 others -.vssels, probably captives. Because of his archaeological work and his desiro not to let the Germans know, too much abr.v-t it, Mr Routledge remained away from them, he said. —Plight of Antipodes.—

_ Easter Island was ignorant of the war, and the Germans said nothing of it directly, but rumors began to leak' out. "We heard," said Mrs Routledge, "that Australia, and New Zealand were republics; that Canada was similarly placed ; that King George hsd been deposed and a republic formed in Britain; and that the German men-of-wnr had penetrated up the Thames to Chatham, sinking several British battleships in the river. Fantastic as these rumors were, we believed they were not spread out of pure invention, but that perhaps wish was father to the thought, that credulity' had grown by small accretions in long periods of ignorance of the truth. The Gerrrun fleet and ,the 10 prizes remained at Eo.itcr Island nine days. This was, of course, a flagrant violation of the neutrality of Chile, hut this was only one violation of many on the part of the arrogant Germans." In December Mr Eoutkdge travelled on a passing st*am«r to the mainland, and then learned the first authentic news of the war.. Ilmess held Mr Roittled.ge for two months, so that Mrs Routledge was alone for 14 weeks, not knowing what held her husband at Talcahuano. And during that time the Prinz Edtel Friedrich appeared. The French barque Jean was her prize, coal-laden, and" aboard the former German transatlantic liner were the men of the British ship Kidalton, sunk at sea. '* Coal was taken, from the Jean," said Mrs Routledge, "and placed in the bunkers of the Eitel; and this will explain for the , first time how the com-merce-raider managed to keep going about the high seas so long with no visible supply of fuel. The barque was dismantled, and when her coal was all aboard the German she was towed out to sea the last day of the year," Describing the sinking of the Jean, Mrs Poutledoje said : "Like a bird of prey, the Prinz Eitel circled about. the Jean, while shots spat out at herj if the Eitel missed;she circled about again and fired; and all this time the- Jean, light, with no .cargo, was rolling heavily in the sea. Mr Edmunds and the 'sailing master, Captain H. Gillam, agreed with me that the Jean was not more than a mile and a-half off shore when the German began firing, and the 'barque drifted to w'ithin half a mile from shore when shs sank. And this was yet another disgraceful violation of Chile's neutrality by the conscienceless Germans. To add. to our. annoyance, the Germans landed an armed force of men under an officer, and on the highest peak of the island Erected a .huge signalling- station to despatch messages, to .the, Eitel should a

hostile sail swing up over the horizon." Mrs Routledge climbed the hill on© day to see the signal station. .''They donot like it to see yon here".a native said to her; and she replied: "I like still 'less to see them here!"

" After nine days the Eitel," added Mrs Routledge, " left r Easter Island. Her men said they had stores enough to last until April (four months). They bought immense stores from the Chilian ranch, and paid top prices.

" Easter Island was art excellent base for them ; there was" meat to be had in abundance ; they could be on the -watch, for hostile vessels, and there was plenty of smooth water for them to coal in in Cook's Bay. 'Crews ->f the Jean and Kidailton we.ro left at Easter Island by the German when she sailed, and there they remained lamenting their misfortune and their inability to get word home. But the Norwegian steamer Nordic called on February 26 and took off the French and English sailors. The narrowest escape we had was when the Maria was leaving the Chilian, port of Talcahuano in March, 1915, with Mr Routledge aboard. "The German cruiser Dresden was prowling about. Mr Routledge delayed sailing Until the afternoon, and when just out of port he espied the Dresden, soon to be destroyed at Juan Fernandez, whioh had captured a coalsliip that morning, and was so busy stealing the coal that tlw Mana wriggled by and escaped to sea," From Easter Island the Mans sailed on August 18, 1915, after 16 months' archtsological research of the most exacting character. The Routledges related many interesting incidents regarding the Pitoairn Islanders, who now number 163. The story of the Bounty, of course, is one of the classics of the sea, surpassing fiction. From Pitoairn the Mana took Edwin and Charles Young, descendants of the midshipman of the Bounty, and they ;uro aboard her to-day, anxious to reach England to enlist their services in the cause of the Allies. Mrs Routledge paid a. glowing tribute to the sailing master, Captain Gillam, and his 10 hardy fishermen from Lowestoft and Brixham, and' says they have proved themselves the highest tvpe of Britishers on sea and land. "They are all anxious to return to England,"" said Mrs Routledge. " Many of their relatives have fallen in the war, and they have determined to offer their aid 'to do their little bit for humanity.'" Captain Routledge, the owner and captain of the Mana-, referred in terms of admiration to her, which, he said, had covered over 40,000 miles, had been buffeted in terrific storms, but always rode buoyantly through" the water, and was a credit" to the British shipbuilding industry. The Routledges will publish the result of their researches when they return to England. Photographs and 'sketches in abundance'are aboard the schooner, many showing the immense stone ten-aces that line the hillsides of Easter Island, and the huge monoliths, by whom horses and men are dwarfed.

The Routledges penetrated British East in 1808, the result- being a book, "With a Prehistoric People.' Thev saw aborigines there to whom whits people were utterly strange, for thev were tho first m tho land. The scientists will return to England and make an endeavor to pass through the Panama Canal, which has recently been suffering from periodical blockades. San Francieco, January 6.