Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 228 Return to Wake Island

Since the last time they left Guam, the cargo fleet sailed across the vast ocean for a week and finally arrived at the three small coral islands in the ocean after a difficult journey... Wake Island.

The island has changed significantly. A long T-shaped pier extends into the lagoon, and the cargo fleet carefully docks along the deep-water channel at the entrance of the lagoon.

It was already evening, and the sky was filled with brilliant sunset glow.

The cargo fleet was very lucky and quickly discovered the small island in the ocean. If they had missed it, it would have been a lot of trouble.

The old captain who led the fleet had extensive experience in nautical chart operations and was very accurate in calculating the speed, ocean currents, and the location of the ship. He found the location of Wake Island without much effort.

It’s not difficult for those who know how to do it, but it’s difficult for those who don’t know how to do it.

Don't be fooled by the old captain's relaxed attitude. If he were replaced by an inexperienced captain, it would not be surprising that he would have to wander around the waters around Wake Island for a few days.

The vast Pacific Ocean is so vast that Wake Island is like a grain of sand in it.

If the route deviates slightly, you will never find the coral island in the vast ocean.

Wang Haigou and others also got off the boat and watched the people on the island unloading the cargo from the boat with great effort and transporting the cargo off the boat with wheelbarrows, busy coming and going non-stop.

Standing on the beach, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou looked around and the entire Wake Island was in sight.

Wake Island is composed of three small coral islands, forming a "C"-shaped coral island lagoon. The entrance channel is about ten meters deep, which can allow large ships of tens of thousands of tons to enter the lagoon to take shelter from the wind and dock.

It can be clearly seen that the three coral islands have been connected by an artificial causeway. The entire island covers an area of ​​about 6.5 square kilometers. There are dense bushes and sparse woods on the higher sand dunes.

And at a lower

The Chinese residents on the island built a circular stone wall about 6.2 meters high with stone slabs. The stone slabs were grouted with earth cement mixed with shell powder, lime powder and glutinous rice paste. The middle was filled with compacted sand about 4 meters wide, and the inside was lined with sturdy wooden boards, with five thick crossbeams added in the middle of the boards.

Such a circular stone enclosure can reduce the invasion of unobstructed Pacific Ocean storms and protect the houses and property of the island residents, as well as the cultivated vegetable plots.

The circular stone enclosure is about 0.6 square kilometers in area, with a front width of more than 310 meters and a length of about 185 meters on both sides. It is backed by a series of small sand dunes to meters high.

Most of the houses within the stone enclosure are two-story wooden buildings. Each household has two rooms, and dozens of households are connected together, with a layout similar to that of a townhouse.

The houses near the stone enclosure are all made of bricks and stones, and are also two-story. The roofs are sloping surfaces with a gentle slope, allowing patrolling soldiers to move freely.

Standing on the top of the stone enclosure, you can find that 6 cannons have been mounted on it. They are all 2.3-pound caliber long-barreled howitzers. This type of coastal artillery is about 1056 meters long and weighs about 5 kilograms. It uses 2.5 pounds of propellant to fire round grenades at a firing angle of 2055 degrees. The effective range can reach yards.

Because Wake Island is located on a shallow coral reef beach covering an area of ​​hundreds of square kilometers, the water depth around the circular stone enclosure is 1 to 3 meters, and the shallows facing the open sea are 7.6 kilometers wide, so sailing warships weighing more than 200 tons cannot enter.

If it is during low tide

There are large areas of exposed shallows around Wake Island. The shallowest places are only above the knees, and the deepest places are only more than one person deep.

When the tide goes out, the people on the island go to the shallows to catch seafood. It doesn’t take long before they can harvest baskets of various seafood, all of which are plump, tender and juicy.

There are often various large fish stranded in shallow ponds. They can be knocked unconscious with a stick and weigh hundreds of pounds, so they have to be carried away by rowing a small boat.

One trip to the sea is enough to feed the people on the island for several days.

When Wang Haigou was on Wake Island, he saw salted seafood and fish drying in front of every household. This was also one of the supplies exchanged for the long-distance sailing team, and it could help him earn some money to supplement the family income.

In the morning, salt fields were developed, brick kilns were built, and dozens of small fishing boats were placed in the lagoon. Fishing is the main source of income on the island.

Before the fleet arrived, the last group of Chinese immigrants, totaling about 3,000 people, arrived.

This made Wake Island unprecedentedly lively, with children running and adults shouting. Various shops selling fried dough sticks, flatbreads, sesame cakes, fried fish and oil tea opened one after another. Here you can eat Northwestern pulled noodles and beef ramen, as well as various flavors of southern rice noodles, making it a bustling town.

Everyone lives in the stone enclosure. The roads in the town are narrow, with people coming and going on the stone slabs, the aroma of wine and food wafting in the air, and the atmosphere is filled with a strong smell of fireworks.

On the open space on one side of the stone wall, a large number of houses are being built. Chinese people are busy talking and laughing at the construction site, creating a warm atmosphere.

The wood for building these houses was transported from thousands of miles away. After the foundation was laid, they could be built directly on top, so the construction was very fast.

Due to the frequent hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean, the roofs of the houses here are not covered with tiles, but with a whole piece of oil felt, which is pressed down by thick wooden boards and locked firmly to the entire house with special iron fasteners.

Most of these houses are 1 meter above the ground. Under the houses is a vegetable patch covered with guano-rich soil brought from Midway Island, about to centimeters thick, where various vegetables, fruits and melons can be grown.

The Chinese are indeed natural plant experts. Under the houses and behind the eaves, gourds, loofahs, snake beans, tomatoes, greens, lettuce, beans and all kinds of vegetables grow very well.

These vegetables can be eaten at home or sold to passing fleets to provide fresh vegetable supplies.

On another coral island, the Chinese on Wake Island are building a new stone enclosure, which is 2.2 hectares in size, more than 140 acres of land.

This stone enclosure can not only be used for living, but also for large-scale cultivation of vegetables, fruits and melons to ensure the supply of vegetables for passing fleets.

The income from this stone enclosure belongs to the collective ownership of Wake Island and is used to build public facilities on the island, such as roads, kerosene street lights, repair and expansion of docks, increase fishing boats and other purposes.

Wang Haigou also saw that the foundation of the new lighthouse had been laid and many Chinese were busy with construction.

The transported steel bars, cement and other materials were mainly used to build this lighthouse.

This seven-sided lighthouse is about 72 meters high and is made entirely of reinforced concrete. It is a 9-story Chinese pagoda structure. The eaves are also cast in reinforced concrete and then painted yellow.

After the lighthouse was built

Passing fleets can be clearly seen from dozens of kilometers away, which greatly enhances the safety of transoceanic navigation and prevents them from getting lost in the deep ocean.

The built stone enclosure has withstood the test of several typhoons and has provided excellent protection for the people and houses on Wake Island.

It is said that it is still a bit short, and they plan to use the transported steel bars and cement to raise it by another 3 to 4 meters, which can better ensure the reduction of damage caused by strong winds.

This stone enclosure has three gates, two of which are on the main street that runs through the entire stone enclosure from east to west. The gates are usually not closed, so the sea breeze can blow in smoothly along the main road and take away the stuffiness in the city.

There is also a gate facing the lagoon wharf, which is the main channel for transporting materials.

Only when a typhoon forms and huge waves surge on the vast ocean, will the gates of the stone enclosure be closed one after another, entering the highest level of windproof state.

When a typhoon hits, the first thing people in Shiwei do is go back home, pick all the fruits and vegetables that are about to ripen, and bring them back into the house.

Otherwise it would be destroyed by the strong wind, which would be a pity.

As the population of Wake Island increased, the inexplicable sense of loneliness disappeared.

When Wang Haigou was having dinner at a restaurant on the island, he heard many guests talking about building ancestral halls and temples to be located in the new stone enclosure.

Some people also suggested building a stage, a school, and a large water storage tank. Everyone had different opinions, but everyone was very enthusiastic.

Wake Island does not produce food and mainly imports it from outside.

However, the island is self-sufficient in seafood and vegetables. After the completion of the new Shiwei, there is still enough capacity to provide fresh water and vegetable supplies for passing fleets. A small amount of food supplies is also acceptable, but the price is higher.

All the supplies are not free. The main industry of the people on the island is fishing. If sufficient supplies can be provided, it will be enough to feed these thousands of people.

Wake Island is located 3700 kilometers west of Honolulu, Hawaii, and 2060 kilometers from Guam. During this long journey of more than 5800 kilometers, there are no other Pacific islands to stay in.

Therefore, Wake Island is also known as the "Stepping Stone of the Pacific".

In today's era of backward navigation technology, Wake Island's supply role becomes even more prominent.

As long as we collect rainwater, produce enough vegetables, and pickle seafood, we will have no worries about selling them with so many fleets passing by.

The fleet that Wang Haigou was on stayed at Wake Island for a day and a half, and set sail early in the morning of the third day when it was just getting light.

After passing the channel at the mouth of the lake, the cargo ships in the fleet lowered all the mainsails, jibsails and side sails. The sails were filled with the sea breeze, the cables were straightened, and under the huge force of the drag, the cargo ships cut through the waves and headed eastward.

Facing the red sun gradually rising from the sea, the fleet sailed in succession, leaving clear white trails on the blue sea.

Wang Haigou stood at the side of the ship, watching the distant Wake Island gradually turn into a small black dot, with an inexplicable sense of nostalgia in his heart.

The Chinese immigrants on these islands have taken root, guarding the Chu State's maritime borders and defending the dominance of the vast Pacific shipping routes, which is of great significance.

This way sailing
The fleet encountered many American merchant ships, most of which stopped along the way for supplies, which became a routine.

After these white crew members and sailors came ashore, brothels, taverns and restaurants were almost must-go places, which brought substantial income to the islanders and made these islands gradually prosperous.

In time, it will surely develop better and better.

Wang Haigou admires these Chinese immigrants who have taken root on the island from the bottom of his heart. Not everyone can live on this small island in the vast ocean. The vastness here is so despairing that if you can't bear it, you will definitely go crazy.

Fortunately, judging from the current situation, these Chinese immigrants have settled down on the islands and are living well, and seem to be enjoying it.

How could one have such a strong mind without having experienced the hardships of life, the nightmarish displacement, hunger and cold?

(End of this chapter)