Futility Closet

In 1868, Scottish sailor Jack Renton found himself the captive of a native people in the Solomon Islands, but through luck and skill he rose to become a respected warrior among them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Renton's life among the saltwater people and his return to the Western world. We'll also catch some more speeders and puzzle over a regrettable book. Intro: Thanks to one representative's 1904 demand, the U.S. House dining room serves a perpetual bean soup. A 1962 Times correspondent asserts that all thrushes quote Mozart. Sources for our feature on Jack Renton: Nigel Randell, The White Headhunter: The Story of a 19-Century Sailor Who Survived a South Seas Heart of Darkness, 2004. Clive Moore, Making Mala: Malaita in Solomon Islands, 1870s–1930s, 2017. Judith A. Bennett, Wealth of the Solomons: A History of a Pacific Archipelago, 1800-1978, 1987. Walter George Ivens, Revival: Melanesians of the South-East Solomon Islands, 1927. Dennis Chute, "Shipwreck