Ship Steered to “Uninhabited” Island

Admiral Sir Thomas Williams, a straight-forward and excellent man, was in command of a ship crossing the Atlantic. His course brought him in sight of the island of Ascension, at that time uninhabited and never visited except for the purpose of collecting turtles.

The island was barely visible on the horizon, but as Sir Thomas looked at it he was seized by an unaccountable desire to steer towards it. His desire became more and more urgent and distressing, and foreseeing that it would soon be more difficult to satisfy it, he told his lieutenant to prepare to “put about ship” and steer in that direction. The officer respectfully remonstrated that changing course would greatly delay them. This only increased the Admiral’s anxiety, and the ship was steered towards the island.

All eyes were fixed upon it, and soon something was perceived on the shore. “It is white—it is a flag—it must be a signal!” When they neared the shore they discovered that sixteen men, wrecked on the coast many days before, and suffering hunger, had set up a signal, although almost without hope of relief.

What made the Admiral steer his ship in the very opposite direction to what he and his crew wanted was but the superhuman Spirit of God.