Frederick Vehling was something of a showman.
An immigrant from Germany to the U.S., he got some attention sailing his schooner, the Kussiloff, unaided, from Kodiak in Alaska to San Francisco. Then he decided to pursue an even more difficult long voyage, from San Francisco to Guam.
This time he brought along his whole family; a wife and seven children, including two boys, aged 14 and 12. And one black man, as well.
He also brought along items for trade once he arrived at Guam : two cases of clay pipes, one coil of rope, 24 pounds of tobacco, 5 barrels of flour and many other things.
He set sail from San Francisco on May 5, 1894. He made a brief stop at Honolulu after sailing for 28 days.
Vehling had been to Guam long before, during his seaman days, and dreamed of returning to settle on Guam permanently and grow coffee.
He was in Guam by the end of July or early August. The story of his voyage to Guam was carried in many newspapers all over the United States.
Despite a warm reception by the Spanish Governor, it seems Vehling did not stay long on Guam. He was never heard of again.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
November 5, 1894
Interesting story. But how odd that it ends with him leaving Guam, and nobody knows why or what happened to him.
ReplyDeleteWell, never heard of again in terms of Guam. He claimed he wanted to stay on Guam, but apparently he changed his mind. Funny though. Had he stayed, Guam would have been an American possession within 4 years of his arrival.
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