For thousands of years, man seems to have explored every corner of the world. However, even thanks to high technology and space satellites, there is still information about uninhabited islands. The biggest sensation is the facts of the presence of people who, not of their own free will, but by the will of fate, ended up there. All this in vivid detail resembles D. Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe". So, in part, it actually is. Because people who have experienced this literally have to survive far from civilization, in absolutely wild conditions.
Jeremy Beebs is one of those Robinsons with a long history that deserves today's understanding and admiration.
Crash
In 1911, the British freighter Beautiful Bliss was caught in a hurricane in the South Pacific. The ship sank, and with it the entire crew of the ship. Only one young cabin boy managed to escape, who was barely 14 years old. fate likeseemed to show mercy to him. And miraculously, the young man was thrown onto a deserted coral island, overgrown with coconut palms. But this is where the real test begins for him.
First voyage
His name was Jeremy Beebs. He apparently came from a simple English family, where from an early age the children had to earn their own bread. His whole life from an early age was connected with the sea. And the schooner Beautiful Bliss offered him a chance to do what he loves and earn some money.
From numerous sources it is known that the boy could read and was very fond of this business. He was especially fascinated by adventurous maritime stories. It is easy to assume that his favorite work was Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, published two centuries earlier before the fateful day. Who could have predicted then that this book would play a crucial role in his life…
Island
Arriving on the island, just like his favorite literary character, Jeremy Beebs was completely at a loss. He and the island were left alone. It's hard to imagine how any other child would have acted in such a situation, but Jeremy, having gathered his will, began to gradually settle in new territory. And in this he was helped by the same favorite book, which he remembered in detail. It should be noted his character and thirst for life. After all, on the island, except for thickets of coconut and some fruits, there was nothing else.
What helped you survive?
Jeremy Beebs, whose biography is now closely intertwined with the island, built a hut,made a bow and arrows to hunt birds. Fruits became his very first food, they knocked down appetite and quenched thirst. The favorite delicacy of the young Robinson was coconut. He, in addition to delicious pulp and milk, also served as dishes. In its shell, Jeremy collected fresh rainwater.
Caught bird he butchered and roasted at the stake. He used sharp stones as a knife. Fire was made with tinder. In addition, he made a fishing rod and successfully caught fish during the high tide. Bird eggs were his breakfast. Following the example of his literary predecessor, from the first days of his arrival on the island, the young man began to keep a “wooden calendar”, making notches on a palm tree.
Life in another world
It's hard to imagine how Jeremy Beebs overcame loneliness on an empty island. His history as a Robinson lasted 74 years. And during this long time, the planet was shaken by two world wars, the beginning of human space exploration, the invention of the atomic bomb, and the invention of the first computer, which later became known as the personal computer. Of course, Jeremy Beebs did not know about all these changes and discoveries in civilization. Much has changed in his native country. Therefore, having arrived in his native country after so many years, he must have experienced a considerable shock.
Salvation
Discovered already 88-year-old Robinson was in 1985 the crew of the West German expedition (according to other sources, just a German merchant ship), contrary to the schedule and calculations found themselves off the coast of a coral island. Of course, the old man was taken away andtaken home. But who was waiting for him there? It probably doesn't matter anymore. The press was interested in an unusual story that Jeremy Beebs brought with him. Photos of him are not available today. Perhaps they are kept in the London archives. Perhaps they don't exist at all. But today it is not known what the cabin boy-Robinson looked like.
However, when the wave of journalists' curiosity subsided a little, a number of questions arose for the hero. Why, after so many years, Jeremy Beebs hasn't found a way to sail away from the island. He did not kindle fires to attract the attention of ships passing by, perhaps a few miles away. And if we assume that sea routes did not pass by the island, then why didn’t he make a raft or even a boat, figure out the approximate direction of movement and dare to sail away. And there were also minor doubts about his sanity, clothes, climate and other household trifles. But these questions remain unanswered.
After
Shortly after returning to his native country, the thread of the biography of old man Jeremy Biebs ends abruptly. Perhaps he died or voluntarily walked away from the abrupt collapse of fame. His story was forgotten for some time. But today there are different versions. Perhaps the British Robinson, having settled on the island, did not want to return back. After all, one would have to explain the reasons and details of the shipwreck. And also his stay on the schooner at such a young age. And it is not known what kind of cargo, from where and where the ship was transporting. The world has changed dramatically during his stay on the island and it is unlikely that anyone would go into such details, butthe hermit man did not know this. Or maybe he just liked such a secluded life in the bosom of nature. Today, it is difficult to talk about this with complete certainty. But there are people in the world who voluntarily become hermits.
Other Robinsons
World history already remembers many such heroes. But still, it is necessary to distinguish between those who become Robinsons by chance, and who - of their own free will. Of course, Alexander Selkirk became the pioneer of "taming" the uninhabited wild island. He was a sailor and had a fiery temper. After another conflict with the captain, he himself asked to land him on the nearest island. And so the team did. A few years later, Selkirk returned home. It was his image that formed the basis of Defoe's famous novel.
To modern Robinsons include Ivan Jose and Brandon Grimshaw. The first was discovered in 2014 on one of the Marshall Islands. As it turned out, his boat, while traveling from Mexico to El Salvador, broke down and lost a propeller. He wandered the ocean for 16 months. He ate fish, caught birds and turtles. Collected rainwater for drinking.
The story of Brandon Grimshaw is an example of a voluntary robinsonade. In the 60s, he made a trip to the Seychelles for work and fell in love with these places. The entrepreneur chose the least livable island of Moyen and bought it for $13,000. Brendon embraced a hermit life and set out to find someone on the island. The search was successful. "Friday" of modernRobinson became Creole Rene Lafortuno. They became close friends and set about transforming the island: they planted 16,000 trees, ran water, and began to breed turtles. As a result, in 2008 the island was given the status of a national park. Today it is open to tourists.
Among these people, Jeremy Beebs is definitely the record holder. For more than half a century without communication with people, apart from civilization, in absolutely unsuitable conditions for life, he was able to survive, and moreover, live to the very gray hair, without losing faith in himself.
Today Jeremy Beebs is a Robinson whose story may well become a source for a film script or form the basis of another novel about people with a lust for life and incredible willpower.
Truth or fiction?
However, there were skeptics who did not believe in the story of Jeremy Biebs. It suspiciously coincides with the plot of the famous novel and looks more like a fairy tale. Moreover, there are no official documents confirming it. Many modern people from all over the world know his name and remember him as one of the modern Robinsons. Someone heard about him from acquaintances or people of the older generation, someone read on the Internet or even an article in a scientific journal with the title: "Jeremy Beebs, who lived on the island for 74 years." Yet, far away from civilization, he became a hero. True, here it is worth paying tribute to the crew of the ship that discovered it. By the way, its name is also not mentioned in the sources. Otherwise, fame would never have found its hero. And we just havebelieve or doubt. After all, who knows how many of these Robinson people in the world who have not yet been found …
