Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / April 26, 1912, edition 1 / Page 3
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A,Jt S, Sr r ' , DO NOT tell this story be cause either the memory or the relation of the events la pleasant to me. Indeed, It is the record of the most distressing and humiliating experience In my life. But I am Impelled to relate It as a protest against the prevalent idea that the ex istence of a castaway on a tropic island Is one of com parative comfort and ease. In my younger days I wa3 in the employ of a firm of merchants at Apia, ' Samoa, who had established In business in the Ellice Islands a young man of the name of Symonds, son of a well-known missionary. His headquarters were at Funafuti, and after sev eral successful years he had purchased from the "King" of Vaitupu the small, deserted island of Nuulakita "Little Land." It lies some one hundred and fifty miles southeast of Funafuti, alone amidst extensive shoals. Sy monds' ambition was to people and plant it, but not a native could he Induce to make his homo there, for the Ellice Islanders firmly be lieved the place was haunted by evil spirits. Not long after this, Symonds died suddenly,, and I wa3 sent to Funafuti in the company's schooner to install a new manager, with In structions to stop at Nuulakita on the honie . ward voyage, inspect the little Island and set a value on It as an asset of Symonds' estate. We left Funafuti with a southeast trade wind that soon died away, and for days we drifted over a glassy sea in intolerable heat. Finally, on the last day of February, we reached Nuulakita and sailed slowly along Its coast, searching for an anchorage and landing. In a short time we came to anchor in seven fathoms of water, in a convenient place on the west side of the island where we could see an opening through the reef. Four of the ship's crew and I made an easy landing, but, finding a strong shore current running, we were .com pelled to haul our boat up on the sands, for I Intended to take at least two hours to Inspect the place. The captain advised "me to examine the place hastily, for his barometer warned him of a change that was imminent, and this was the dangerous season In these latitudes. Above the sand beach, where had formerly been a settlement, a few jackfruit trees were deteriorating, being overgrown with clinging vines and other parasites. Here I discovered Bome native sepulchers which, beside a well that I found later on, were the only actual Bigns of man's handiwork upon the island. Pandanus, which seems to delight in sterile soil and in opposition to the elements, now predominated, stretching forth its weird branches and standing upon its singular stilt like - roots, an omen of desolation. . Here and there I penetrated the bush, observing the na ture of the soil and noting it in my book. I must have been nearly opposite where our Tessel lay, when I came to a beautiful la goon, with charming vistas and lovely glades leading Jn various directions. " I was about to return to the beach and con tinue my circuit around the island, when I heard a musket shot a signal for my return for the sky had darkened and I felt sure that the glass had gone lower. I started directly for the boat-landing. Towards the center of the island the trees grew less vigorously, and were fewer in num ber, and many old trunks lay prone on the earth. The walking became exceedingly diffi cult, for it was hard to penetrate this broad leafed, stout-stemmed vinery. I had already had several nasty falls, but liad escaped actual Injury, until at last I stepped on what appeared a sound tree-trunk crossing a vine-covered chasm and felt myself swiftly descending into space, clutching wildly at the vines as I passed through them. My head having come into violent contact with a jutting coral, I lay huddled and sense less at the bottom of a deep pit which in for mer years had been used as a well and now was partly filled by the action of the elements. When I revived all was darkness, and rain was falling in torrents. In fact, it must have been , the cool drenching I had had which brought me to my senses. I tried to- raise my arms and found them fortunately uninjured, but one knee had been severely bruised and my back was badly wrenched, while my head ached as If it were about to split In two, and a great lump ex plained why I had wasted hours in this situa tion. Though it was very dark, with occasional flashes of lightning, I found no great difficulty, except from my own injuries, in getting up ward, aa these native wells are so constructed that the owners may walk down one side to dip the water with their shells. When I ap proached the mouth of the pit and thrust my head through the sopping vines, it semed as If the world were at an end. I could hear the screaming wind rush through the now leafless branches, and great boughs and missiles of many sorts were flying through the air, mak ing it hazardous to rise above the level. 1 I thought of our brigantlne and hoped she had .. eot awav without losing her anchors. At thai moment, though the tempest roared, I did n r fear for her safety, for from the direction the wind I was sure she had not been blo ashore. Such a gale would inevitably ' drivj her far away to westward, and her return t this region of frequent calms was quite smi to be, slow and tedious. And here I wr-.c unprovided for, and destined to pass sony?- In utter, loneliness. In time they -wovy back again, and I must contrive tA" they turned up. This would be' to recount to my children round me In the evening, How was I then to V;,"' cyclone had utterly j?-1" while I sat "tcnmpanicna y was, I wasted several of those ' precious matches before I lighted my damp tobacco. It was well on in the afternoon jwhen the pangs of hunger drove me forth to seek provender of some sort Though the force of the gale was quite strong enough to im pede me greatly, I managed to struggle through the torn Bhrubbery and tangled vines until I once more gained the open beach, and stood appalled before the ocean's sublime fury. Great seas hurled themselves at the trifling island, and actually threatened to engulf It- . According to my calculation I had now been above forty hours without food. ..Worn out by the wretched weather,' and quite famished, I grasped a stick to aid my injured leg, and set out to dlscovf ood and shelter. After a paidful effort I came to the second patch of cocoanuts, and was hot disappointed, for most of the fruit lay scattered on,, ihe ground, shaken downs by the storm. Af.er a bit of hard. work in removing the outer husk, I regaled myself upon a ripe cocoa-nut and Its firmer and more matured flesh, and this had to serve me, for I saw nothing else that was eatable at this time. : . ' Night came on while I still painfully, wan dered in search of shelter, and I would have been glad to occupy the pit again had the dif ficulty of returning there been less formidable. The night proved a wild one, and I lay stretched out to leeward of a giant tree, whose out-of-ground roots and buttresses gave me Just a little protection from the chilling blast. Here in this miserable situation I passed the tedious hours till day appeared. My injured leg had grown worse and swell ed to a considerable Blze, throbbing and alarming me thoroughly. Hunger and thirst once more assailed me, and painfully I drag ged myself forward In the. hope of finding ( some sort of sustenance. If uie brigantlne had i been lost in the hurricane there was very lit tle chance of another vessel's coming to Nuula kita for months and months. Possibly It might be years before the place was visited. Such despairing thoughts as these produced a sort of sinking of the soirl, an apathetic sad ness. Why struggle farther? But still I wriggled forward over the soft sands, which seemed barren enough. - A soldier crab cross ed my path, and I devoured him raw without a qualm. Even at this early stage of my Imprisonment I must have been a bit delirious, for I began to Imagine I heard voices calling me, and at length I fancied I saw people quickly flitting about na If t.n avoid mv vision. ! The pain in my wounded leg was Yery ry great, but I sometimes forgot this because or mental tortures far more acute. Another hor rid night, and another boisterous day without the smallest comfort, left me still more help less. Reason, I believe, was on the verge of collapse, when my remaining physical strength suddenly gave way. Sleep, delirium, or prob ably prolonged unconsciousness, at length re lieved me. I awakened at last to behold the splendors of a tropic sunrise, the great orb soon shining directly in my face. My leg was much better for the enforced rest it had had, and, strang est of all, I was not so hungry as I had been. Melancholy forebodings that perhaps I was fated to die there like a dog and lie unburied, a feast for crabs and noxious vermin, spurred me to further effort. Pride and every primal instinct urged me forward, and at length, ex hausted with fatigue and in great pain, I reached the region of the fallen cocoanuts and, after resting sufficiently, food and drink were again my portion, and later in the day I was enabled to stagger along the deserted beach upon a rude crutch which I had im provised. Onward, painfuly onward, I went, craving satisfying food and rest. Eventually I passed a sandy place marked all about by turtles' flippers a depression where eggs had surely been deposited. More than a hundred eggs were in the nest, all closely packed together and" covered from marauders. Gathering some dry wood and bark, I built a little pile and drew forth my treasured matches. What an appalling disappointment I was to suffer! The box in which they were contained was crushed quite flat, and the matches them selves were loose in my pocket Sone, being wet, had lost their black heads. I must dry the matches carefully before one of them should be risked. I did not dare to take any chances of failure, and always afterward I would have to keep a smoldering fire or lose this great necessity. A flat coral stone ex posed to the sun was selected, and my treas ure was spread out in the genial warmth. The ignition papers from the dilapidated box were turned and turned until quite crisp, while each Individual match was given careful attention. When all was ready I tried to strike a light tried and tried again until tlie whole stock was done, and this with never a glimmer of success! Raw turtle eggs are not to be commended as a steady d 'et, but they will serve a turn. In due course I was able to get. to the rookery, but most of the birds were gcae, dispersed no doubt by t.e violence of th gale. None of te vie 'it I V in the' could find w.ro eatable. Ineffectually t produce fire by sticks toeethfii as I had often ioan natives do. No, I could not f think of prep:.rjng myself some ler at least a lodgment where I In comparative 4 omfort. My ear Voduced a kind windbreak only. J eggs when ;tf adily adhered to Wely disgust rfg as a diet, and Vy of. my lef sought many ex- -fcsht serve py turn. Raw un uld not )ide, even when I sweet ltd wholesome. So Ita birdfcr turtle. I cut the ' w r. .. ... .nw nung mem m tue j Hted rocks until they Viking. of thin pajamas; -""V'.-a pecke'vt I a "","Va ' thatched house. After many fail ures I at length owned a weather proof f roof, and was much pleas ed with my per formance. Salt, In jtmall quantities "and mixed with sand, I found in sev eral spots, and the need of this mineral seemed so great that I set about its manufacture from sea-water, by evaporation. In this work I was fairly successful; but even this could not make me content with the raw food I was compelled to cat t Now strongly : suspecting the fate of our ship, I might have des paired, but a new idea entered my brain and for some time claimed my careful attention. Many young gannets were by this time occupying nests' by the lagoon shore, and I decided to adopt several of these, bringing thehm up by hand, and afterward employ thehm to carry away letters describing my deplorable situation and praying for relief. But my first efforts were unsuccessful, and all three of my adoptions were dead birds within a few days. ; This set jrne to thinking that per haps the food I was providing was unsuited to their immature digestions that raw turtle meat, which they ate with avidity, was a dan gerous diet. I now enlisted another family of birds, and by stoning up several small basins near the reef at high water, I was enabled to catch a small supply of little fish, when the tides had fallen and the water had drained away Into the Bea. With a supply of what appeared a suitable food, I was at length able to bring a brood of promising birds, who were tauVit by me t0 rest on Usuai EOrt of perch VTOmArsA nf trio nfhor lalsnHo Whan mv Pro?ges had grown, they were not long in lSfrnlng to provide for themselves. The hopelessness of my situation and my constant longing to be with my family often quite unnerved me, and surely left me less thankful than I should have been for benefits received and unacknowledged. My mind, at times thoroughly discouraged, recoiled before such an existence. Several months had elapsed and my situation was still unpromising. The feeding of my pets had provided a cer tain amount of occupation, and as the birds rapidly approached maturity, I noted approv ingly their greater proficiency in flight At last all of them were able to make extended excur sions. I easily taught them to return at the call of the flag. My tattered pajama coat an swered as a signal. One day while experimenting with my own birds, I called from the skies an utter stranger, who calmly perched himself and squawked loudly for attention. With avidity I searched him for communications, but evidently the animal was off on leave, for he bore no let ters. I fed him slowly, and between whiles I wrote what I thought would have been any where construed as a touching appeal for as sistance. Tearing the leaf out of my note-book I fastened the missive so that it laid flatly underneath the feathers of the back, For several days the new bird continued to resort to my perch, always returning with my message, and t was not until I refused him food continuously that I was able to get rid of him. Then, some days later, having fastened missives to all three of my birds, I took down the perch and refused to notice them at all a treatment they could not understand, for from their earliest recollections I had been their only parent Within a week after the birds had deserted the island, I re-erected the perch, and thence forth every afternoon I waved my rotting gar ment, hoping that some . intelligible answer . would reach me. But days and weeks passed without any sign whatever and I again grew utterly despondent. The turtle season had come and gone, and the extent of my depredations had so alarmed the island birds that I was now forced to trap those which I would use for provender, or climb the trees at night and secure my victims quietly. One day, observing a troop of newly-hatched turtles painfully dragging themselves towards the salt water, it occurred to me that if I were to place these in the lagoon and feed them, a plentiful brood coul be raised, and turtles would ever after be obtainable at all seasons. Once more I decided to entice the distant birds to a renewed perch, and they returned upon my signals of a welcome. At last I found a bird with a letter written in the Samoan tongue and addressed , to one of the teachers. Though I could not write grammatically and with precision in the, native language, I was able to read sufficiently well. After divesting the missive of its religious commonplaces, which begin and end every native communica tion In these latitudes, I saw that the writer, llvin-j, on a distant l'-Whad no knowledge or carrr' r me. for-he addressed a fellow worker in rMsslon field on topics of mutual in- V 'r the birj for some time by such ' Vt af wafl sure to please him and I tow prepared several messages ;n as i coma musier, ana men, y S-d the animals to Induce them " 0 more resumed work upoyt' invhat resem' sg a mons sed ghoul. 1 contlnul dry w v'until igr' lit rr ied tb I had at least acquired some experience. This time success crowned my efforts. From this moment I date a comfortable change of diet, and I may say that in the com pletion of this labor and a dontemplation of its results to me I was happier at any rate calmer than I had been Bince my arrival on the Island. My misery was soon deepened, aye, made in supportable, by the loss of my precious knife, the one Invaluable treasure that yet remained. As I was stooping over my turtle cage to ob serve the welfare of its occupants It slipped from my pocket and dropped Into the water. For some time I had been of opinion that .the bad weather would soon have its ending, and that probably a gale of wind would mark Its exit. The accuracy of my calculations was Justified, for after several days of great heat and unexampled calm, one of those sudden con vulsions of tropic violence assailed the Island with cyclonic force. My frail hut was bodily lifted by the blast as if it were a feather's weight, and no portion of it or its contents ever met my eye again. Torrential rain In blinding sheets, almost suffocating In its profusion, ut terly drenched me, and the great ocean, lashed into a wild fury, seemed bent on submerging the little island, as it had done on previous oc casions. . From the ending of this storm, my days were spent in searching for food and praying to the fiend, and my nights were troubled with such realistic dreams and phantoms if such they were as wholly to wreck my reason. Naked and unkempt, I roamed over the lim ited extent the land afforded; attached now to no particular place, and heedless of any at tempts at rescue, I no longer kept a lookout Like a wild man that I was, I gleaned such i food as the place afforded, untroubled by qualms of any sort. One day while drowsily musing, new sounds assailed my ears more intelligible, more har monious they seemed, than the others I had been accustomed to. Though , they evidently came from behind, I expected the new breed of infernals Jto deploy suddenly in front, as thehir predecessors had always done, there fore I did not turn until one of them laid a rough hand on me. This was a new experi ence, for till now the busy Imps had under close inspection seemed intangible. Turning to the tench, a number of figures in white garb met my astonished gaze, and though their countenances seemed pitying and beneficent, I knew them for their deceitful worth, and cursed their uncalled-for interfer ence. I would have chased them from the Island. Till now all goblins and little inquisi tive imps had fled before my rage, but these new-comers closed in around me, seizing my weapon and overpowering my fiercest efforts, until I lay fast in bonds, and quite insensible. The end had come. I had been rescued by an adventurous and devoted party of Samoan missionaries and their Ellice Island followers. Strange to say, nearly if not all of my mes sages had safely reached some inhabited island, but unfortunately none could read and understand the English words. Paulo, the teacher on Nanomea, sent mes sage after message through the group, an these timely explanations came to the sout ern teachers, enlightening them as to the real meaning of my misspelled and almost un intelligible Samoan notes which they had been getting from time to time by bird post a letter-delivery service which was soon ac tively employed in my behalf. As soon as the defective system would al low, the teachers consulted, and one bold spirit, an aged man. brave old Alamoa jour neyed from Nlcutao to Vaitupu, and on to Funafuti, in an open boat, to give direction to the work of rescue. As an example of infinite unselfishness, of noble devotion to high convictions of duty, I think that the work of my difficult rescue can be favorably compared with many other shin inff records of Christian endeavor. The original party cf thirteen adventurer;? set out from Funafuti v in an ordinary ope boat, three oars on aside, and using a K' tered compassing their only guide. Af rest of sever 'Vc'lNukulailal, and V" ISOd fjrf neyjT creasoa b, and water, th1 journeyj was succey'' tern X v it turef h mothers, Attention Dr. Biggors' Hackla berry Cordial should be kept on hand as a first aid cure for sum mer bowel troubles, diarrhoea, dysentery, eramn r.nlta. rhnlra morbus and all agont- jM zing pains resulting m- from eating green fruit A few doses of Dr. Biggers' Huckleberry Cordial will pr- veni any danger and cure yon at one. Dr. Biffen' HockkWry ConiUl is n old soathara remedy, tested and t:led la thousand of botnas. Try it ; ajc and soc at all drue stores. Send for Confederate Veterans' Bonyenlr Book, nasi Haltiwanger-Taylor Drug Co., Atl&ota,G. 1 rvmn FOR BACKACHE. Dr. J. C Compton, Ratliff , MUs. sys t . "I gave Mexican Mustang: Liniment thorough trial In a case of severe backache accompanying La Grippe and found it gave prompt reuei. i Deneve it ro oe gooo remedy and shall continue to prescribe it." 25c 50c $1 bottle at Drus & Cen'l Stores Eastman and Anseo films, mailed poeV paid. Mall orders given prompt, attention. Any Biio roll Dim developed for lUoenta. PARSONS OPTICAL CO. 244 King Street, . Charleston, & C, SAVE YOUR OLD WORN CARPET We can make you beantiful durable rugs; anyslaa. To St rooms or halls. We have no agents. Catalogue bee ORIENTAL KTJO CO., Baltimore, Bid. . KODAKS and High Grade Finishing. Mail orders iriven Spe cial Attention. Prices reasonable. Service prompt. Send for Price Iisk USSUCS ART 8T0BB, COtEUSTOS, ft, G. DROPSY TREATED. Give quick l vrtwr9l jieft rjgnally remove swel ling and short breath In a few days and entire relief In days, trial treatment FREE. DB. 6BBSII8 SONS, Box A,AUaate,Qe OVER 100 YEARS OLD mm aUBRBCTKa Some men never brag about them selves and don't blame them. Ileal th Is the fashion. Take Garfield Tea, the herb laxative which purifies the blood ai:d brings jjood health. Not Resentful. "Those people say they don't be-' lieve you ever reached the pole. "That's all right," replied the ex plorer, as he looked up from his manuscript. "The more doubts there are as to whether I landed or not, the longer this rather remunerative dis cussion is going to last." THEN HE WENT. Myrtle Have you ever tried ta figure out what Shakespeare meant by the words, "Stand not upon the' order of your going?" George No. Have you? Myrtle Yes. The. definition! It "Don't wait for a house "to fallxor; you." THANKSGIVING PSALM A Rhvthmical and firateful r.hr 7 A ftOQ rh CtT J TV Q Tnvm HatitA school joins in the chorus: "Teaching ia a" business v. quires a great deal of brain fast as expended the te:"' hausted before the close Many resort to stimulat relief. "Fer 3 years I stru most complete exp what relief I could I ics. Then in the had an attack off laria which left tinue my work. give me any r mate failed, r be able to go f I ate enotf meats white I but was hung "I happened article givW otb"nOv mm
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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April 26, 1912, edition 1
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