1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of iHeartRadio and 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: Grimm and Mild from Air and Manky. The rugged New 3 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: England coastline has seen its fair share of tragedy. The 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: Isle of Shoals, a collection of nine rocky, treeless islands 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: off the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine, has been 6 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: cast in the starring role of the human dramas that 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: have played out across the centuries. The name of the 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: islands comes from two possible places, from the shallow shoals 9 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: long used for fishing in these waters, or the schools 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: of fish that swam heartily. When Europeans began showing up, 11 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: and with these colonizers, as it often happens, came new monikers. 12 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: Each jut of an island became re christiened with names 13 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: such as Star, White, Cedar, Apple Door, and the one 14 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: where our stories take place today Smutty Nose. The islands 15 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: proved to be a lucrative fishing hub in the early 16 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,960 Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds, and by sixteen forty five as many as 17 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: six hundred people were braiding their harsh, windswept landscapes. It 18 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: was a place that required a certain sturdiness of character 19 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: and temperament, and attracted folks who could play that part. 20 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: It also attracted pirates. It was said that the lawless 21 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: islanders were happy to host these seafaring bandits, and legend 22 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,639 Speaker 1: tells us that not only did their treasures still exist there, 23 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: but so do their ghosts. Author and resident Celia Thaxter 24 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: was among the people who wrote of these legends, telling 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: the story Philip Babb, the island's butcher and a rumored 26 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: pirate associate, who purportedly was so wicked in life that 27 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: there was speculation as to whether he could ever rest 28 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: in death. He supposedly dug a hole in the ground 29 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: of Apple Doore Island, where he and a friend found 30 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: a large treasure chest that stank of sulfur and gave 31 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,559 Speaker 1: off smoke when they tried to open it. The famed 32 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was trying to outrun his family's 33 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: association with the Salem witch trials just down the coastline, 34 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: recorded this tale in his journal, attesting that Celia's father 35 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: had seen this ghost with his own eyes. According to 36 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: one tale, a shoulder on Apple Door was out walking 37 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: one night when he spotted a man running toward him. 38 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 1: He assumed it was a friend trying to scare him, 39 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: but when the figure got closer it became clear that 40 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: it had a corpse's face and sunken eyes. The figure 41 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: then pulled a wicked looking knife from his belt and 42 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: held it high. It looked uncannily like the butcher's knife 43 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: that Philip was known to have carried with him. The shoulder, 44 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: of course, ran some say that this phantom is guarding 45 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: a treasure chest. It's also said that Philip was buried 46 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: somewhere near by. Could it be Blackbeard's treasure and some 47 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: think so. Rumors proliferate around the Isle as each island 48 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: claims to harbor the treasure itself. Blackbeard supposedly stranded his 49 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 1: wife there, though whether it was his thirteenth, fourteenth, or 50 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: fifteenth is still up for debate. Other pirates such as 51 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: ned Lowe, William Fly, and John Quelsh all passed through here, 52 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: with some such as George and Rachel Wall, settling down 53 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: to stay for a while. Even still, many of the 54 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: pirate legends that continue to live on here are just 55 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: that legends. There's no concrete evidence that Blackbeard even visited 56 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: the Isle of Shoals, but in one of the darkest 57 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: hours on the isle, one seafaring man proved to be 58 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: more fearsome than all legends and hauntings that call the 59 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: island's home. I'm Lord Bobobam. Welcome to American Shadows. By 60 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: the eighteenth seventies, the Isle of Shoals was experiencing a 61 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: slow trickle of change. It had long been a fishing hub, 62 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: but now tourism slowly began replacing tradition. A Smuttynose island 63 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: is rumored to have gotten its name from its shape, 64 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: which supposedly resembled the nose of a fearsome sea creature. 65 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: It had gained prominence as a workstation for passing ships, 66 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: featuring a compound that included a dock and warehouse, a 67 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: distillery and brewery, a boat house and hotel, a blacksmith 68 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: shop and windmill. Four fishermen who largely lived aboard their ships, 69 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: the island became a welcome reprieve where they could work 70 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: and play before continuing on back out into the cold 71 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: New England waters. If you can imagine a mirage in 72 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: the distance that could offer you anything you wanted, the 73 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: Smuttynose felt like that. To see worn sailors, but it 74 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: didn't disappear when they got close. The fishing industry, though, 75 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: would be decimated by the American Revolution and the following 76 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: War of eighteen twelve. Still the island did okay. Eventually, 77 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: the proprietor of the compound decided to build a three 78 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: story hotel four summer tourists, which he called the mid 79 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: Ocean House of Entertainment by the Lady. Teen hundreds wealthy 80 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: businessmen took a gamble on the islands, buying up huge 81 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: spaths of land, raising fishing cottages and building hotels for 82 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: tourists to rest in. On Smuttynose Island, only one family remained, 83 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: the Hoovetts and the Christiansens, a close knit group that 84 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: shared one red house surrounded by the sea, six miles 85 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: from the rugged New Hampshire coast line. John and Maren 86 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: had landed on the island first, then sent for Marren's sister, 87 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: Karen A. Karen had found work and lived at the 88 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: Apple Door Hotel. Eventually John's brother Matthew joined them and 89 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 1: together they tended to their fishing schooner, the Clarabella. Together 90 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: the family thrived on their island home not so much castaways, 91 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: as they were a motley crew of seagulls and seafaring peoples. 92 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: John was a good fisherman. He was eventually able to 93 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: invest in trawling equipment the cutting edge and favored fishing 94 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: pools of the day, and occasionally was able to hire 95 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: help aboard his boat. One of those men was a 96 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: handsome six foot tall Prussian immigrant named Louis Wagner. A 97 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: struggling boat hand, John was able to give him a 98 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: job and also a place to stay for a few 99 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: months from April through November of eighteen seventy two. Louis 100 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: ended up spending a lot of time in the home 101 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: with Maren due to his rheumatism. It said that they'd 102 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: got along famously and even became as close as siblings. 103 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: He eventually moved out, most likely to make room for 104 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: the arrival of Marin and Karen's half brother Ivan and 105 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: his wife Annette. It was hard for Lewis to find 106 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:53,359 Speaker 1: work in nearby Portsmouth on the Mainland. Soon he was 107 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: sharing a cheap room in a boarding house with multiple 108 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: other men. Cash was hard to come by, and Brent, 109 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,719 Speaker 1: as it always seems to, was coming due. As fortune 110 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: would have it, he ran into his old friends on 111 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: the Clarabella down at the docks on the night of 112 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: March fifth of eighteen seventy three. He asked John several 113 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: times over the course of their conversation whether they planned 114 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: on returning home to Smutty Nose that night. It's hard 115 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: to say now how this made John feel, but he 116 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: told Louis that yes, that had been the plan, but 117 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: now they were running behind schedule, waiting for a bait shipment, 118 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: and they were going to dock for the night. This 119 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: represented the second change of plans for the Clarabella that day. Originally, 120 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: on their way back from the open Ocean, they had 121 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: planned to stop on Smutty Nose to pick up Karen, 122 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: who wanted to do some shopping in Portsmouth. She was 123 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: dressed and waiting for her ride, having collected all of 124 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: the money for her goods and tucked a little white 125 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: button in her change purse in the hopes of finding 126 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: a matching one in town. But the winds had changed, 127 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: forcing John to bypass Karen and her plans and head 128 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: straight to port. They had sent word by another boat 129 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: that they would return to the island around ten that evening, 130 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: but now they had no way of telling them about 131 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: their second delay. John decided to make use of his 132 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: time on shore and offered Louis a little bit of 133 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: money to bait trolls. When the shipment finally arrived, Louis 134 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: said he would meet him back at the dock. When 135 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: the shipman arrived, John went looking for Louis, but he 136 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: never showed up. He was nowhere to be found. There 137 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: was a good reason John Houtvet couldn't find Louis Wagner 138 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: among the wares and weathered boarding houses of the Portsmouth waterfront. 139 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: It's because he wasn't there. Louis had left John with 140 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: a plan in mind. Around eight o'clock that night, he 141 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: located a small boat along the wharf and got in. 142 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: He unhitched himself, threaded the oars onto their locks, and 143 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: began to pull. Louis began to row up the Scataquas 144 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: River and out into the open sea, covering the ten 145 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: long miles to Smuttynose Island. It was a clear night, 146 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: with a three quarter moon hanging high. The three lighthouses, 147 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: all long cherished beacons of hope and security illuminated Lewis 148 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: in flashes as he went, and then the light could 149 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 1: no longer reach him. He was too far gone. Lewis's 150 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 1: plan seemed simple. He needed money, and he knew where 151 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: he could get cash. He knew that John had been 152 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: saving to buy a new boat, something they had talked 153 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: about at the docks, and like many on the aisle, 154 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: he knew that John kept his cash at home rather 155 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: than dealing with banks on the mainland. When he finally 156 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: landed on the island, he likely intended to burglarize the 157 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:50,479 Speaker 1: house without disturbing Maren, Annette and Karen, who he supposed 158 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: had gone to bed long before his arrival. He was 159 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: surely thrilled and unsurprised to find that the front door 160 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: was unlatched and it popped open easily. He crept into 161 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: the dark house and slid into the kitchen. The candles 162 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: had all grown cold, and the stove's embers faded to 163 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: a whisper. Everything was dark. He noticed that Marin, whose 164 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: bedroom was off the kitchen, had left her door open, 165 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: and he quietly closed it and jammed the lock. But 166 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: he was no match for Canine's years. The family dog, Renya, 167 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: heard a noise and began to bark. The barking quickly 168 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,559 Speaker 1: woke Karen, who was asleep on a cot in the kitchen. 169 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: She assumed that the men had returned home, and in 170 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: her haze, began to speak. Louis realized he was caught 171 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: in a flurry of panic. Not knowing what else to do, 172 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: he picked up a nearby chair and began to beat 173 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: Karen with it as she screamed, and they scuffled a 174 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: clock falling from the kitchen shelf. It stopped at one 175 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,559 Speaker 1: oh seven a m Maren bolted upright in bed. She 176 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 1: blunched for her door, but found it jammed. The latch 177 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: eventually freed itself as as Karen screamed, a shouts of 178 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: John killed me, John killed me sliced the night's quiet. 179 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: Maren could only see a tall man, silhouetted by the moonlight, 180 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: holding a chair aloft with both hands. She grabbed Karen, 181 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: dragged her into the bedroom where a nette was, and 182 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: slammed the door behind them. Karen leaned against the door, 183 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: trying to figure out what to do next. And there 184 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: they were three women trapped and huddling in their night clothes. 185 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: Their only course of action was to try to jump 186 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: out the window and make a run for it. Karen 187 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: collapsed from her beating a Maren held her and convinced 188 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: a Nette that she had to try to escape. Nete 189 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: pushed open the window and climbed out, jumping down the 190 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: short distance into the fresh snow, but once there she froze. 191 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: Their attacker had stopped pounding at the door, and soon 192 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 1: Maren heard a new sound, a Nette's voice in the yard, 193 00:11:55,679 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: screaming Lewis Louis. The two were now illuminated by the 194 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: light of the moon, but it was clear as day 195 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: what was about to happen. He had been identified. This 196 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: certainly would spell his doom, so he made the decision 197 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: to retrieve an axe he had seen by the front door. 198 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: Maren could only watch through the window as Louis raised 199 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: the axe and began to strike Annette until she lay 200 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: dying in the snow. He headed back to the house's 201 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: front door, Now with a weapon in hand. Maren knew 202 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: her only option was to run as fast and far 203 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: as she could on their little island and find a 204 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: place to hide. But try as she might convince her 205 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: injured sister to follow her out the small window, Karen 206 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: couldn't muster the strength alone. Maren wrapped her night shirt 207 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,719 Speaker 1: around her neck and ran barefoot out into the night. 208 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: Karen was now alone and save for Louis. As she 209 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: stumbled out into the house, attempting to hide under her bed, 210 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,439 Speaker 1: Louis caught her, though, and strangled her with a white handkerchief. 211 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: Maren Can continued her run, searching for a place to hide. 212 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: She decided to try a small abandoned house near the water, 213 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: that is, until Rinya appeared. Afraid that the small dog 214 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: would bark and give them away, she ran past the 215 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: dilapidated building and to the island's coal Maybe she thought 216 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: she could find Louis's boat and escape, but it wasn't there. 217 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 1: There were no boats at all. There was nowhere to hide. 218 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: As she ran, she heard her sister cry out one 219 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: last time, and then saw a lamp and the house 220 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: turn on. The abandoned houses were going to be too 221 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 1: obvious to hide in. The risk was too high, so 222 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: she decided to stay hidden among the rocks. It would 223 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,559 Speaker 1: turn out that Marin was right to choose the spot 224 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: that she did. Later, bloody footprints would show that Louis 225 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: had searched the island for her without success. He checked 226 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,679 Speaker 1: every room in the closed mid Ocean House, hotel, opened 227 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,839 Speaker 1: every door in the old store, and fish house and warehouse, 228 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 1: and it seems once his search turned up empty, he 229 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: returned to the house to find the money had come for. 230 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: He also made himself a cup of tea in the process. 231 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,440 Speaker 1: In all, he came away with a total of sixteen 232 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: dollars roughly four hundred in a day's money. What he 233 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 1: didn't notice, though, as he grabbed the money from Karen's purse, 234 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: was the presence of a small white button among his 235 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: handful of coins. The sun rose again, but for Maren, 236 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: the nightmare continued. She waited until dawn to leave her 237 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: hiding place, afraid that Lewis was lying in wait for her. 238 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: When she heard the sound of workmen starting their day 239 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: a short distance away on Star Island, she began to 240 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: wave and jump and yell for their help. They noticed 241 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: her but did nothing. Maren took off along the sea wall, 242 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: where she would be inside of apple door, but just 243 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: a quarter mile across the frigid water. She continued to 244 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: wave and yell until she got the attention of the 245 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: children of one Yorga in Yebertsen, who were playing outside 246 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: in the morning sun. They alerted their dad, and he 247 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: quickly loaded into his doory across to Maren. He was 248 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: shocked by what he found. She was frostbitten and bruised, 249 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: clothing torn and frozen, and the only thing she could 250 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 1: say when he asked her what had happened was Lewis, Lewis, Lewis. 251 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: He trundled her into his boat and brought her to 252 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: his home, where Peebe, his wife, and their neighbor, Celia Thaxter, 253 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: tended to her. Her condition was so bad they worried 254 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: she was going to die. Yorga and two other fishermen 255 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: grabbed weapons and headed back to Smuttynose, prepared for a fight. 256 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 1: At this same moment, John, Matthew, and Ivan were all 257 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 1: heading back out again from Portsmouth. There trolls baited and 258 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: ready for another round of fishing, but as they approached 259 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 1: up people hailed them frantically. Matthew and Ivan hopped into 260 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: a dory and rowed ashore, where the news was broken 261 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: to them that Marin had been found near death, nearly 262 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: paralyzed with fear, and with a horrifying story to tell. 263 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: Brothers John and Matthew immediately set sail for Someboddy Nose 264 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: ivan stayed behind with Maren. When he asked her where 265 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: his wife, Annette was, all she could manage to tell 266 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: him was that she was still at home. He took 267 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: the dory and rode over to his island, where John 268 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: Matthew and the three other armed fishermen were standing outside 269 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: the home, a which was surrounded by blood soaked snow. Meanwhile, 270 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: Louis Wagner had managed to reach the mainland in his 271 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: stolen boat, abandoning it in a less traveled waterway in 272 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: nearby Newcastle. He was icy and sodden, conspicuous as he 273 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: walked bedraggled along the road back home to Portsmouth. He 274 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: was fidgeting, angry and nervous, and unable to eat anything. 275 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: When he found only arrived back at his boarding house. 276 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: He made several strange comments to those who saw him 277 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: at home that morning, including that he was in trouble 278 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,239 Speaker 1: and that he was afraid he was going to be 279 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: taken in. He cleaned out his room and left without 280 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: paying his overdue rent. By that afternoon, he had spent 281 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: most of his stolen money on a shave, a hair cut, 282 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,359 Speaker 1: a new set of clothes, and a one way train 283 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: ticket to Boston. Once there, he went to a boarding 284 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 1: house where he had once lived and asked the owners 285 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: if he could stay on credit. By now the police 286 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: were already on the case, and they didn't have to 287 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 1: look very hard to find him. They apprehended him at 288 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: this old address. Though he quickly denied any involvement in 289 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: what had happened on Smuttynose Island. He was taken to jail, 290 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: and news quickly spread in the papers and through the streets. 291 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,880 Speaker 1: A one newspaper report claimed that as many as ten 292 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,199 Speaker 1: thousand people poured into the streets of Portsmouth hoping to 293 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:01,640 Speaker 1: enact some mob justice. A one headline read fisherman vow vengeance. 294 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: Another said the fishermen that the shoals are terribly excited 295 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: should Wagner fall into their hands while there. In their 296 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: present temper, he could hardly escape being torn into pieces. John, 297 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,479 Speaker 1: Matthew and Ivan, who had lost almost their whole family 298 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 1: that night, soon arrived to see Louis in jail. He 299 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,159 Speaker 1: denied his crime to their faces. John screamed that he 300 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: ought to be cut to pieces and used as fishing bait. 301 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: The person who waited to come was Maren. She did eventually, 302 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: though she had to be carried in. She was in 303 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: bad shape but mustered everything she could to face Lewis down. 304 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,160 Speaker 1: A man who had once been something of a brother 305 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 1: had killed her family and tried to kill her too, 306 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: as she knew it, yet he continued to deny it. 307 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: The betrayal, the horror was almost too much to bear. 308 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: On March twelfth, it was decided there was enough evidence 309 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: to charge him with murder, just three days after the 310 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: funerals of Karen and Annette. Throughout his trial in June 311 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: of eighteen seventy three, he continued to proclaim innocence. It 312 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: became a local sensation and in the public opinion he 313 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: was already good and guilty and hanged. Spectators packed the 314 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: courtroom from all over New England. It was the biggest 315 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: event of the year. The crowd hung on the witnesses 316 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: every word. Maren was the unwilling and unfortunate star of 317 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: the show, reliving the worst night of her life in 318 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 1: excruciating detail for the courts. Over twenty people were called 319 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,119 Speaker 1: to attest to Lewis's actions on the days leading up 320 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,400 Speaker 1: to the murders. And then there was the physical evidence. 321 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: The bloody shirt dumped into the boarding house pretty, his 322 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: bloodied and blistered hands and one small white button in 323 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:54,920 Speaker 1: his possession, Lewis's alibi fell short. He denied making any 324 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,640 Speaker 1: strange statements and attempted to cast suspicion on others, including 325 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: John himself, wept that he was falsely accused. On June 326 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 1: twenty fourth, he was sentenced to death by hanging. He 327 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: appeared to take it in stride because he had one 328 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: more plan. The cell locks in the jail in which 329 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 1: he was held had been installed incorrectly. The jailers knew 330 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: that he could get out, but he promised them that 331 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,920 Speaker 1: he'd stay in. He broke that promise and took two 332 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: other prisoners with him that night. His freedom wouldn't last long, 333 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 1: though he was apprehended three days later. Tired, hungry, and disheveled, 334 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: he talked about wanting a vacation and continued to deny 335 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,639 Speaker 1: his crime until he hung the following June. The people 336 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: of the shoals they tried to continue on, but life 337 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,640 Speaker 1: on Smutty Nose was forever changed. Maryn John, and Matthew 338 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: immediately left for the safe harbors of Portsmouth. Ivan took 339 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: up work on Appleedore Island before eventually moving back to Norway. 340 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:01,439 Speaker 1: As for their little red house, it would never be 341 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 1: the same. It was no longer filled with life and family, 342 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: a holdout of a changing world. By the summer after 343 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:13,160 Speaker 1: the murders, with new hotels on nearby islands ramping up business, 344 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: the murder scene became a tourist traction. The stories of 345 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: what happened on Smutty Nose Island eventually evolved from simple 346 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:32,679 Speaker 1: news into history and legend. Celia Thaxter, one of the 347 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: women who comforted Maren in the wake of this tragedy, 348 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: was a well known poet with a firm standing in 349 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 1: the Isle community. In fact, her family owned Smutty Nose, 350 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: effectively making her the bed's landlords. In the days after 351 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: the murders, she wrote a letter to a friend describing 352 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: everything that Marin had told her, and in May of 353 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,919 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy five, just a month before Lewis was hanged, 354 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: Celia published an article entitled an Amiable Murder in the 355 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: Atlantic Monthly. A copy was delivered to Lewis and his 356 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: cell and he said that Celia was simply telling lies 357 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: to make money, but really what Celia did was pen 358 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: a cornerstone piece in the canon of American true crime writing. 359 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: Unlike many contemporary newspaper accounts, which delighted in the blood 360 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,959 Speaker 1: and gore of a crime, Celia wrote about the world 361 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,399 Speaker 1: of Norwegian immigrants and those who were left behind in 362 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 1: the wake of the killings. It was a work of humanity, 363 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: something that's not often afforded to victims or their families. 364 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 1: Her personal letters revealed that she agonized over whether writing 365 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: about the murders was in poor taste. She intentionally focused 366 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,360 Speaker 1: on the lives of Karen and Annette, reanimating them as 367 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 1: flesh and blood, living and breathing characters, not just inert corpses. 368 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 1: The story of these lost lives continues to echo through history. 369 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,679 Speaker 1: The way that they were written about and remembered continues 370 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: to shape the media we consume today. A scholar's credit 371 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: her article with being a direct influence on the modern 372 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: genre of true crime, especially in the case of Truman capotees. 373 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: In Cold Blood. Karen and Annette might not be household names, 374 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: but it can be argued that their fingerprints remain. There's 375 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: more to this story. Stick around after this brief sponsor 376 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: break to hear all about it. There's a particular literary 377 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: canon that's existed in American high school classrooms for a 378 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,919 Speaker 1: long time now, and if you went to school in 379 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: the States, you've probably read the likes of Catcher and 380 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,440 Speaker 1: the Rye by J. D. Salinger or Kill a Mockingbird 381 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: by Harper Lee. There's another book that continues to set 382 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,439 Speaker 1: its apart as a foundational literary text for young minds, 383 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,360 Speaker 1: The Harrowing Tale of the Lord of the Flies. Published 384 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty four, it was the debut novel of 385 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: British author William Golding, who would go on to win 386 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:18,880 Speaker 1: a Nobel Prize. It details the story of British schoolboys 387 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: marooned on a desert island and what unfolds is they 388 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,440 Speaker 1: try to establish a system of self governance. It's chaotic, 389 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: it's dark. It asks readers to deeply interrogate their own 390 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: morals and whether the ending is a happy one. Well, 391 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: it's hard to say. It's a novel, yes, but stories 392 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 1: of being marooned on islands can be found the world over, 393 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 1: from the long past through the present, and sometimes the 394 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: truth of these tales provides an outcome that fiction writers 395 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: could only dream of. On an evening in June of 396 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:59,440 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five, six boys stole a boat. They intended 397 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: to go for a ride. After all, their strict Catholic 398 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: boarding school in the Kingdom of Tonga left much to 399 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: be desired in the way of entertainment. The boys, ages 400 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:14,159 Speaker 1: thirteen to sixteen, planned to sail five hundred miles to Fiji, or, 401 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,679 Speaker 1: if they were feeling daring and in good spirits by 402 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: the time they arrived, even further on to New Zealand. Unfortunately, 403 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: they didn't have much experience in long haul sailing, nor 404 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: did they have the supplies they needed to make such track. 405 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 1: Their packing list was slim and just two sacks of bananas, 406 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: a few coconuts, and a small gas burner. Notably missing 407 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 1: were any maps or compasses. However, they all fell asleep 408 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,399 Speaker 1: that night, and when they woke up, it was to 409 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: a storm that sent giant waves crashing over their boat. 410 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: When they hoisted their only sail, the wind quickly demolished it, 411 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: and their rudder also broke with the force of the gale. 412 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: For eight days, the boys drifted in the South Pacific 413 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 1: with no land in sight, attempting to catch fish and 414 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,360 Speaker 1: rain water. The boat, which was leaking, barely stayed afloat. 415 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: Despite their concerted efforts to bail it out. Finally, they 416 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: spotted an island roughly ninety miles from where they had begun. 417 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 1: It was Ata, which had been uninhabited since a Peruvian 418 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: enslaver ship had kidnapped almost all of its peoples in 419 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two. The boys employed planks to swim ashore, 420 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: at which they reached after an exhausting day of paddling. 421 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: At first, they dug a shallow cave in the island's 422 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: cliffs and survived mainly by catching and eating sea birds 423 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,200 Speaker 1: and their eggs, as well as raw fish and coconut shoots. 424 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,399 Speaker 1: After several months, they were able to climb up to 425 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 1: the long dormant volcanic crater at the island center, where 426 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,879 Speaker 1: people had lived one hundred years before. They discovered a 427 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: pair of rusty knives left behind by Atta's last inhabitants, 428 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:58,359 Speaker 1: and with them were able to build a shelter. Not 429 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: knowing when or if they'd be rescued, the boys set 430 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: up an island society on Atta that bore no resemblance 431 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:09,920 Speaker 1: to William Golding's story. They took turns cooking, tending their garden, 432 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: and carefully keeping their ever lit fire. Over time, they 433 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,439 Speaker 1: were able to construct pens for chickens, as well as 434 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,400 Speaker 1: a recreational area with a badminton court and weightlifting. One 435 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: of the boys crafted the guitar from coconuts, driftwood and 436 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,919 Speaker 1: salvaged wire. They sang and prayed every morning and evening, 437 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: and composed songs to sing together. When another boy fell 438 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 1: off a cliff and broke his leg, the others splinted 439 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,640 Speaker 1: it and took over his chores. They would end each 440 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:42,240 Speaker 1: day with a council and have a chance to air 441 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: any grievances before the night was done. And it went 442 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 1: this way for many months. In early September of nineteen 443 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,680 Speaker 1: sixty six, a fishing boat called the Just David, captained 444 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: by Australian Peter Warner, was out searching for new crayfishing grounds. 445 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: When they passed Atta A Warner noticed some unusual burnt 446 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 1: patches on the islands of Verdant Cliffs. Above the screams 447 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: of sea birds. Just David's lookout insisted that he heard 448 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: a human voice yelling. Warner, who had confirmed with a 449 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,159 Speaker 1: book on board that the island was uninhabited, was skeptical, 450 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: but that skepticism evaporated when they saw someone running down 451 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,479 Speaker 1: a cliff path and diving into the water, shouting all 452 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: the while. He swam for the boat, and a naked 453 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,640 Speaker 1: teenager climbed aboard, telling them a harrowing story Warner could 454 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: barely believe. The rest of the boys came too, telling 455 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: the tale of their innocent outing gone horribly wrong. Warner 456 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: was worried that they might be escaped criminals, but when 457 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 1: he radioed Tonga with their names, he was met with tears. 458 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,960 Speaker 1: It was assumed that all of the boys had died. 459 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 1: The boys reunited with their families, and the King of 460 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: Tonga granted Warner fishing rights and permission to start a 461 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: business on the island. Then hired all six boys as 462 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: crew on his new boat, which was named Ata, after 463 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: the island they had spent fifteen months on. He figured 464 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: that if they could live together for all this time, 465 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: working to support each other and stay alive, they were 466 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 1: exactly the kind of people that he probably wanted to 467 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: work with too. American Shadows as hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. 468 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,960 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Robin Miniatter, researched by Robin 469 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: Minatter and Cassandra de Alba, and produced by Miranda Hawkins 470 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 1: and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, 471 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,400 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit 472 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: grimminmile dot com. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 473 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.