A UTOPIAN COLONY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 24

A UTOPIAN COLONY.

I Ninety-nine men on a little brig saluted tlie flag of the United States, gave a cheer and a 1 shout, and in tow of the tug Ida W. started seaward yesterday in search of adventures and in quest of a new home (says the San Francisco Chronicle'ot' the 26. h February). On the brig were 99 rifles and a store of ammunition, and & cautious captain with the cold blood of a Norso- , mm. This careful captain stored the 99 rifles J and all the ammunition ia the cabiu. Ouly | seven men live in the cabin. In the company of j 99 men, venturesome spirts, youDg aud botused to the sea or the close companionship necessary on a little brig, quarrels may come and discontent may brood. Hence the rides and tho powder were all under the captain's eye. When Wednesday closed 101 men had signed the articles of the United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands — the fttrangest corporation ever formed by man. Yesterday morning, 10 minutes betore the brig Percy Edwards was pulled away from tho wharf, another mau signed the roll, making 102. But three of the ; membors aud stockholders of the remarkable ! corporation grew fearful as the time came for departure, and, forfeiting fche amount they had paid, watched the vessel sail without them. Thus uinety and nine are the adventurers, and only two of them are married. Betore ths sailing hour the 99 were mustered ou the deck and answered to roll-call. This ceremony was conducted in order to detect any stowawajs who might miDgle with any of the company aud sail 'to the tropic isles without payment of the fee for the purchase of stock. On the wharf was a crowd of 1000 people, friends of the adventuress and loiterers about the docks. Atnoug them were some women, sweethearts of the men who sailed, hoping than they may be summoned to a sunlaud colony, possibly to be tbe mothers of a new nation. The salute of the flag just saved the scene of departure from the commoyplace. Except for the crowd of men on the deck and the quantity I of baggage in cotifubiun 'cween decks abt.uL the 1 Percy Ei wards was no sign that she was doing i t c uuubua'. The throng on the wharf watched the brig as the tug drew her out into thettream aud thence to sea, -arid the day's sensation on the water-front was over. Tie rommtic, adven'urous element in the excedition was clearly apparent in the actions aud demeanour of everyone aboard the vessel, though attempts to disguise it under tho appearance of attention to details, c f jocularity, or of a matter of fact pose were just as clear. The 1 instinct ot play would not bu suppressed. Imagination, iven in tha duilealot the company, I was constautly preseutiug the pr jeet they were j undertaking in a heroic, in a bolder and more vanturoUß light. { Even (Japtain Peterson and Firßt Mats Drigc;s, hard-Leicied, practical sailors as they ) siv, b-it.-ayed an elation regarding the expe- ! dition they probably uevsr have felt since they first signed shipping articles. J There is genuine enthusiasm in this expediI tion ot the United Brotherhood to tho South j Sea Islands. There aas bsen a good deal of ■ hard common sense in the preparations, too. ' About 93 men besides the crew will actually go. . Each has paid his lOOdol into the treasury . of the corporation aud hfcs supplied his own i out tit. Provisions for six months h%ve been put aboard. Bsfcween rleck-, almost irom sxm to utern, has been fit'ed up with banks arranged so as to form' massrooms available j during the duy. Provision for ventilation has bsen u.ade. A library, miscellaneous in its i character, but containing many work? of j standard literature, has been collected, largely j through donations by w.'ll-wi.shera, partly by contributions from members of the brotherhood i them' elves. Banjos, mandolins, guitars, flutes, j and violins are among the impedimenta of tha j adventurers. • Every man who sails with the Percy Edwards, j from master to cook and from peak to afterj cabiw, is a member of the. brotherhood, i Now that the advtn'urers have gene, the mystery of their destination and purposes is lifted. Tbe brotherhood co-operation has appointed F. L. Atwood, au attorney in the Mills building, its representative with power to transact business for the company. From Atwood j cocoes the information of the intentions of the i 99 men on the Percy Edwards. j The plan of the company has changed from i the scheme of the originator, a clever proI moter named Reinhardt. One day reading an I article iv a newspaper about a maoless isle in the southern seas Reinhardt aud C. W. Opdycke suggested an expedition to the place. Reinhardfe hired a room on Mission street and gave out word that be was forming an expedition of men to become husbands to these dusky queens of the tropics. He knew nothing o? the Pacific Isles, but he had a large imagination and a glib ' tongue. Firat he used only his imagination, then he procured a map, and finally obtained a book describing a voyage among the islands. He relieved his overworked imagination by reading from the book to those who asked for information about the expedition. When about I 15 men had gathered around Reinhardt and OpI cycke thoy murmured at Reinhardt's dictation, ! and with such efftct that afterwards his control | waned ur.t:l it was lost altogether. Opdycke is poor and could not gather tbe money to pay his share, hence he is not one of the 99 on the brig. Rdinhardt is on boaxd thePi:rcyEdwardp, but not in authority. And the destination of the vessel is not one of the manless isles of the sea. Atwood says that the arrangements for the expedition were made with order aud decorum. Toe articles of incorporation were drawn with care. Applicants for stcck were investigated b£ a committee, to the end that the lszy, the drunken, and the dissolute should be excluded. Many applications were rejected. Some purchasers of stosk paid 52d01, some 60doJ, some 80dol, and some paid lOOdoJ. Of the total snm collected 2100dol was paid for the brig Percy Edwardß, and 900dol was the co3t of fittiug her for f ea. The cost of edibles for the voyage was ISOOdol. For 600dol were purchased calico, showy jewellery, and trinkets, for use in trading among the island people. The remainder, with the exception of 200uol, w*s gp?nt for agricultural implements, Reeds, sewing machine*, guns, and ammunition, for use of the colonists when they shall have found a new home. The 200dol is the cash capital of the corporation still in the treasury. Several of the adventurer* took musical instruments, violins, baDJoj, and guitars. The destination is Levuka, one of the Fiji group of islatd', via Honolulu and Suva. The company bears a letter from her Britannic Majesty's Consul-general here to the British Governor of the islands. The information ' Kiven the adveaturers to Levuka ia thab the island is about the size of Maryland, with wooded mountains rich in rnineraU and plains of fertile soil. True it is that only two men of the 99 have ever been iv the islands of the Pacific, but if the information is meagre the hope is great. Atwood e,ays that no attempt to take forcible pos«c3Hon of any lands will be made. # Tho company will treat with the proper authorities , aud pay the natives for tbe laud, Xko uativa

population of Levuka is sparse, according to the two travelled men of the 99, and there is no preponderance of women.

Among the 99 there are no men older than 50 years and'few older than 30. The majority are German by birth or descent, bufc, with the exception of two or three, all are citizens of the United States. Among them are two professional men — one a German doctor, a ripe scholar and a merry man of the world, the other a teacher holding a life diploma of this State, formerly a resident of Modoc County. Minerß, farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, are among the 99 ; in fact, every trade except the Bboemaker's is represented. The spirit of adventure rather than the struggle for bread in this country seems to animate them to make this strange voyage. Yet one of them gave a sordid reason for his departure yesterday as the vessel was about to aail. "I was oub of work," said he, "bufc I had lOOdol. I fab that into the company. Even if we find no place satisfactory for a colony, vte shall hive a. voyage of fix months. I could not live here six months for my lOOdol. So its economy to make the trip."

With the buoyant hope that is the characteristic quality of thcss adventurers, they told their attorney that so soon as they should have ' established their colony they would want others to join them — families instead of single men, — So they have authorised him to sell stock in the : compiuy whenever they inform him They are ready for more colonists. If Levuka should ! not r suit them, they will sail to other lands, ' following the aim in the chase for adventure , and for a home where kindly nature requires little effort of man to induce her to give' food | and shelter. !

[Our contemporary's geography ia a little hazy with regard fco the Fiji Islands &n& the position of the towu of Levuk*. — Ed.]