The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-26 00:00:00

A FEMALE ROBINSON CRUSOE.

The Chicago correspondent of the New York
Times supplies that journal with the following
story :—ln 1856 a Miss Richardson, of Cleveland,
took passage in the vessel of a relation for Green
Bay, where she was to be married. During the
passage the officers and men became intoxicated,
and during a gale the vessel washed on an island
in Lake Superior, near the British coast, and
north-west from Isle Royal. The captain and crew
leaped overboard as the vessel struck, and Miss
Richardson and her cousin (the mate) were about
to follow, when a spar from the broken and shat-
tered mast fell to the deck, striking the mate upon
the head, and instantly killing him. Miss
Richardson's courage forsook her at this awful
sight, and she sank insensible upon the deck.
When she came to her senses the storm was
dying away, and the vessel was fast among
the rocks, about a mile froth land. By her lay
the mutilated body of her cousin, at the sight of
which she nearly fainted. Summoning up resolu-
tion, she got up some trunks from the cabin,
lashed them to a spar, tied a life-preserver round
her and floated ashore, amid a heap of barrels,
boxes, &c. Nothing could she see of the crew who
had left the ship. When night approached she
became very dismal, and knelt down and prayed.
Presently she saw a dark bale floating ashore, and
wading into the water she dragged it to land. It
contained buffalo robes, some of which were dry,
and kept her warm during a deep slumber which
fell upon her that night. Next morning she
set to work to save everything she could from
the sea, and was fortunate to find a case of sar-
dines, from which she made a hearty meal. On
the second day she continued collecting the
cargo, and found sufficient provision to- last
her for four years. On the third day the waves
threw up the dead and bruised bodies of the crew.
In the pocket of one of them (a cousin) she found a
box of matches. She dug shallow graves, and
interred the dead. She does not say how she pro-
cured water. She had learned to catch fish, and
cook her provisions without a stove. She built a
hut, and though she suffered considerably during
the winter got inured to its so verity. Occasionally
she saw vessel's, but could not attract their atten-
tion. On the 25th of February, 1859, after she had
been three years alone, some Indians from the Bri-
tish shore visited the island, with whom she re-
turned to the British territory, and was forwarded
to Fort William.
Such is a condensation of the rather fabulous
account in the New York Times, taken from a diary
said to have been kept by Miss Richardson.

SCENE TN A THEATRE.—An extraordinary cir-
cumstance occurred in the course of the performance at the
Theatre de l'Opera Comique the night before last. Just as
an act was about to finish, a young Woman in what is called
the second gallery climbed over the front, and remained
hanging by her hands. The people just below hurried away
from fear that she would fall on them, and everybody in the
house felt great emotion. Some parsons attempted to drag
her back, but were unable, and it, was evident that her
strength was fast declining and that she could not remain
hanging much longer. At length a powerful man' seiz
bee-
d
her by the arms and dragged her hack. She was taken
fore the commissary of police of the district, and he ascer-
tained that she is insane.—Gedignani. •
ENORMOUS FRESII-WATER EEL.—On Saturday,
the 14th inst., two apprentice lads while passing the small
canal which supplies Pulteney-town distillery with water
from Hemprigg's Loch, Caithness-shire, discovered a large
eel in the bed of the canal, to which they gavd chase, and
succeeded in capturing. it. It measured 6 feet 4 inches in
length and 18 inches in circumference. It was of a dark
colour, and was furnished with very strong teeth, so much
so that upon an old boot being put into its mouth it fastened
its teeth so firmly in the leather that its whole weight was
suspended by the boot for a considerable time. 'Unfortu-
nately it was not weighed, but from a moderate calculation
it could not be much short of 501 b. weight, being fully one-
half larger than any fresh-water eel which was ever heard
of in this oountry.G /ctsYow Mat/.