Quarterly Register OF OCCURRENCES IN THE EAST, MISCELLANEOUS ASIATIC INTELLIGENCE. Account of two Men rescued from a desert Island, in the Southern Ocean. On Sunday, the 4th of November, 1827, the Palmira made the desert island of Amsterdam, or as it is sometimes called, St. Paul, the two islands, situated in the same longitude, 77° 53' East, and in 37° 52' and 37° 0' South latitude, being often described by either name, in different maps and charts. According to Horsburgh, the Dutch Navigator Vlaming, examined these islands in 1697, and called the northernmost Amsterdam, and the southernmost, or largest island, St. Paulo, which is more accessible than the other and better known, "They are nearly," he says, the same meridan, and distant from each other, about seventeen leagues, and may be seen at twenty leagues distance, in clear weather. St. Paul, sometimes called Amsterdam by the English, is about eight or ten miles long, and five in breadth." 66 on The island which the Palmira approached, was the northernmost; and, passing to leeward, at a distance of about five miles, a quantity of smoke was distinguishable on the north side, which induced the Captain to run in as close as possible, supposing, that some sufferers from shipwreck might have lit the fire by way of signal;-and, when within a mile of the shore, two men were distinctly seen stand. ing on a little eminence near it. A boat was immediately lowered down, and Mr. Addison, the Chief Officer, proceeded to ascertain the condition of the men, and afford such assistance as might be required. In less than an hour, the boat returned with the two strangers. Their appearance at the first glance, was truly squalid and miserable; they had long beards; their old ragged clothes were patched with seal skin, with the fur on. The bristly hide of a wild hog, fastened together, served for the breeches of one of them; their shoes were also made of hog's skin, of the form called Moccasin, which consists of a circular piece, with the hair outside, and when the foot is placed in the middle of it, a cord, rove through the edges, draws the leather together round the ankle and instep. The name of one was James Paine, about twenty-two years of age, and of the other Ro bert Proudfoot, about forty, both sailors, and natives of Edinburgh. They had been fourteen months on the island. It appeared, from their own account of themselves, that they joined the Governor Hunter, a Schooner of about sixty tons, belonging to Van Dieman's Land, at the Isle of France, that vessel being engaged on a sealing voyage; and in September, 1826, they ar rived off the northernmost island, above mentioned. It is customary for these ships to land a number of their crew at the different islands, where seals and sea-lions are procurable, and to take them up again a few months afterwards, with the oil and skins they may have been able to obtain. Accordingly, a boat was sent off from the Schooner, with a bag of biscuit, a few pounds of flour, and other provisions-also a kettle, a frying pan, and a considerable quantity of salt, for the purpose of curing the seal skins. It happened to be in the evening, Paine and Proudfoot, and the provisions, were landed at a convenient point, were two comfortable huts were discovered, roofed with grass-the habitants doubtless of some former adventurers. The boat had to return again to the Schooner to take off more provisions, and four other men, but after getting on board, a smart breeze sprung up, the vessel was driven to leeward, and nothing more was seen or heard of her at the island. The two sufferers were thus left to themselves, and, in the morning, examining the extent and quality of their resources, they found that almost all the stock of salt had been destroyed by the surf; and that neither of them, a most extraordinary circumstance for sailors, had even a knife; Paine's being in his jacket pocket, accidentally left in the boat, and Proudfoot had lent his to a messmate. Their only clothing was on their backs. They seem to have husbanded their little store of bread and provisions with great care, having made them last five months. After that, they were thrown entirely on their own ingenuity and exertions for every meal they had. Circumstanced as they were, it was natural for them to keep a constant look out for ships, and they saw several, but at a great distance, during the first month of their residence on the island. The last they saw was the Hope bound to Hobart's Town, Van Dieman's Land, which, in November, 1826, approached within a few miles of the shore, and sent out a boat, to fish. Paine and Proudfoot ran with alacrity to the beach, and, hailing the boat, communicated their situation to the Officer, who, in reply, told them, that when he returned to the ship, he would inform the Captain of the circumstance, and act according to his orders. He did return to the ship and the unhappy men had soon the mortification to see the boat hoisted up, and the vessel making all sail in prosecution of her voyage. They had then, however, been but a short time on the island, and their provisions not being exhausted, they had not yet felt the utter desolateness of their condition. From that period to the appearance of the Palmira, twelve months afterwards, they had not seen a single ship. It was suspected, that the master of the Schooner must have committed a mistake, and that the men were intended to be landed on the southernmost island, which we shall call St. Paul, where seals are to be met with in abun dance, whilst at the other, during the whole fourteen months, Paine and Proudfoot were only able to obtain seven. It is certain, that they thought themselves on the is land of St. Paul, for they kept continually looking to the north in search of Amsterdam, the islands, being in sight of each other on a clear day, and wondered, why it could not be seen. It was in other respects a great misfortune to them for there are hot springs on the other island, of temperature high enough to boil fish, which are to be caught with the greatest facility in a lagoon, or bason, close by. It may be worth while to quote the particulars of this curi. ous and amusing fact, "Mr. John Henry Cox, anchor ed off the southernmost island, in 1789.-"May 31st, proceeded in the boats towards the shore abreast the vessel, which is here a sort of cause way, formed of large pebbles appearing as if raised by art; in the middle of this we saw an opening, about a pistol shot wide, into a bason or lagoon, where a great many seals were playing. A strong tide running out of the entrance, at least two and a half knots, it being nearly half ebb, with some difficulty got the cutter over the bar, which is formed of loose pebbles; we were then in deep water, and smooth as a mill-pond, though the sea ran very high without. We landed on the north side of the entrance, where we found seals innumerable. "The bason is between two and three miles in circuit, having twenty-nine fathoms in the middle. Around it is table land. In rowing round, saw smoke rising amongst the stones in several places close to the bason; we landed, and found the water so hot that we could not bear our hands in it. I had a pocket thermometer with me, which, in the open air, stood at 62o., but when put in the water, at 190°, and then, in about a minute fell to 185°. I tried it in several other of the hot springs, in different parts of the bason, and it never rose above 190°; and after being immersed a short time fell to 185o. Our people who were on shore sealing, constantly boiled their dinner of fish in some of these springs; which are in all parts close to the bason, and in some parts mix with, and heat it to a considerable extent; and as all parts of the bason abound with incredible numbers of fish, and no art is requisite to catch them, one of the boys would, in five minutes, catch as many as the whole party could eat, so that, as Vlaming says you may really throw the fish fastened on the hook, out of the cold into the hot water, and boil them." "The stones around the bason are of a dark blue colour, very hard, and most of them bear the mark of fusion, some of them are burnt to a cinder." 1793, the Hindoostan anchored at this island, and on examination found the bason to be the crater of a volcano. In the hot springs, the Thermometer stood at 212°, the general standard of heat at all the springs round the water's edge, at which the men boiled some fish. The hot springs at Reikhalt and Tungahoer, in Iceland, are exactly of the same temperature. To keep an account of time, Paine and Proudfoot, notched the stave of a cask every morning : but they had committed an error of two days their calculation bringing the date up to the 2d of November, instead of the 4th, when the Palmira arived at the island. Destitute, in a remarkable degree, of the means of assisting themselves — without tool or instrument,—fortune, after a short time, contributed a little to their aid. They found on the rocks, at different times, a needle, an old knife, and a spike-nail: with the latter they made a hook and a piece of coir rope supplied them with a line. With this they contrived to catch fish, but there being no barb at the point of the hook, they had often the misfortune to lose their prey. The only kind of fish, they could obtain, was, what the sailors call the Trumpeter, and the only shellfish, Limpets. They were frequently much distressed for want of fresh water. The rocky surface of the ground, not being covered with more than two or three feet of earth, digging for a spring was out of the question, even if they had been furnished with the means. They had, therefore, to search for pools of rain water, and sometimes they had to go several miles for a draught to quench their thirst. The island was well furnished with wild hogs, but all the time they were on it, they could not manage to catch above five. These they ran down, and felled with a stick, torn from a stunted tree, only two or three inches in diameter. "You must have run very fast, for your dinner !" said the Captain. Certain ly we ran fast for a dinner," was the reply," but the pig had to run for his life!" The flesh of the Amsterdam wild hog was very dry and hard, without an atom of fat. Once they caught a few young ones, which could not, in running away, keep up with the old sow. These, of course, afforded the two Robinson Crusoes a sumptuous banquet. Soon after their arrival, they were under the necessity of clear ing the ground, by setting fire to the impenetrable tufts of tusak and long grass, which obstructed their proceedings, and the conflagration, spreading over the greater part of the island, is said to have lasted several months. difference between them. The youngest was a heavy sleeper, so that upon Proudfoot more frequently fell the imperative and indispensable duty of watching. And if they went together any distance from the hut, it was usual with them to heap the fire with peat and moss; and sometimes, for better security, they carried a piece of ignited peat along with them. In Horsburgh, the island is said to be about twelve miles in circumference, but they reckon it much more, having been a whole day in going round it, and they therefore think it cannot be less than about twenty. One day, they succeeded in ascending to the highest peak, where they discovered the crater of a volcano, more than a hundred yards in diameter, and so deep, that no bottom could be seen. The island produces nonothing edible, except parsley, which is found in great quantity; —it is covered with thick underwood and tusak, and dried grass was the only thing they had to supply the place of a bed, or to keep them in any degree warm, during the night. To improve their resources, they attempted to make a bow and ar、 rows, but the branches of underwood, and the shoots of stunted trees, were found too brittle for the purpose. They could only subsist indeed from hand to mouth as the salt failed them, which prevented No snow fell in the winter months their laying up a stock of fish--but hail and sleet continually, and for many months they were accustomed to eat their casually procured victuals without any salt at all. On more occasions than one they were three days without an opportunity of obtaining a mor sel of food. They had a tinder-box when they landed, but the tinder was soon expended, and there was nothing to be found of a vegetable nature, dry enough to supply its place. Keeping up the fire in the hut, therefore, during the latter part of their residence, became a subject of most painful anxiety, especially in the night, for if it happened to go out, there was no chance of lighting it again; and the preservation of the "vestal flame," seems to have been the only, at least the chief cause of any quarrelling, or and it was extremely cold at that season of the year. Their health continued good without interruption-and the only accident that occurred, was a fall, which Proudfoot experienced, from a precipice, and which confined him with a violent sprain in his shoulder, for four months. The only birds they could get hold of were the Snowy Pettrell, and these they caught in holesthe flesh, of course, dry and fishy but the eggs were good. The Albatrosses laid their eggs, and continued themselves, in the most precipitous and inaccessible parts of the rocks-defying the exertions of man to disturb their repose. On the 4th of November, when the Palmira was first seen by them, Paine was sanguine enough to anticipate their deliverance, and offered a wager that his notion was right. Proudfoot, less confident than his young companion, derided the idea. But seeing the vessel come nearer, they both rushed down from the height upon which they stood. and instantly lighted as large a fire as they could, to give intimation of the presence of human beings on the spot. Nearing the island, the ship hoisted her colours, and then their happiness was complete, for they then felt certain of their sufferings being at an end. The surf, though, on the lee side of the island was very high, and threatened destruction to the boat. Mr. Addison hailed the men, and the moment his voice was heard, Paine said to his companion; "I am sure that is my old chief-mate," and so it was, for three or four years before, they had belonged to the same Ship, the Regalia, and had been at Macquarrie island together. As the surf ran so high, it was fortunate that they had left a sufficient length of coir-rope to throw into the boat, and hold on by, which enabled them to get on board without much difficulty.-Govt. Gaz. Jan. 3. CALCUTTA BIBLE ASSOCIATION. Pursuant to advertisement, the 6th Annual Meeting of the Calcutta Bible Association was held in the Town Hall, on Friday evening last, the 4th Jan. In the absence of the President, the Venerable Archdeacon Corrie, on account of indisposition, M. Gisborne, Esq. one of the Vice-Presidents, was called to the chair. The Chairman opened the Meeting by requesting the Rev. E. Ray one of the Secretaries, to read the Report of the Committee, from which it appeared that the Society still continues to fill, with effect its appropriate sphere of usefulness. Most of the institutions, mentioned in the last Report have again been supplied with the copies of the Holy Scriptures required by them, so that the Society has continued to prove a valuable auxiliary to the establishments, formed in this city, for the propagation of the Gospel and education of Christian and Native youth. The teachers of the Philanthropic Academy have continued to act as the agents of the Society, in circulating the Scriptures in the Armenian language. The Committee have been more particularly gratified by an application from the Rev. Dr. Price at Ava for a supply of Scriptures in the English language for the use of a number of young Burmese noblemen, whom he instructs in European science and the English language. It must 'afford great satisfaction to all 'sincere Christians, they observe to hear that those who are likely |