The New era. [volume] ([Portsmouth, Va.]) 1845-1847, 1845-11-28
THE JACK KNIFE

A ship was driven out of her course and a..
away in sight of an unknown coast, All ., h
might have escaped in the bbats, thouub ra,h.I
crowded, but one of the passengers, on ,bei,
tusng to admit his trunk in any boat. rem,;roI
IN the snip to unasten i; and get out his pocke,
book, which contained notes to the amopn, os
twenty thousand pounds. This, he thouqht wo,ta
not detan him moment, and he requested ,ben,
To wait but in the hurry and confusion of the mo
nent he could not Immediately recoect what h.
had done with the key of the trunk Havinos
found 1t at last, and secured his money. he NO.
ceved, TO his dismay. that every boat was ON, IS
sight. while the ship was falling apart, and spd'
denly ne found himself in the sea. CATCHING a,
some article that floating past, he clung :, !,
almost nnconsciously, not relaxing his hold even
when his senses were failing him. Fortunatelv
ne was fioated to land. and when he revived fnund
himself lying on the beach. As soon az b;a
strength returned, he assembled an emnence. bn,
could see no sign of the wreck or the boats. or rs
any human creature. But as he was leanino Jos
pondingly against tree, he was suddenly STARED
by being clapped on the shoulder, while yo;ca
al MS ear exclaimed, What cheer my hearty %
Turning, he gladly recognised one of the Grow
and inquired what had become of the rest.
Why, don't know, but suppose ,hev 49,,
safe by this time; but have seen nothing rs
them" VI
Were you not with them in the boats ''
No; staid on board TO the last.''
" And SO did |, though was not aware of Won,
being on board. hope you succeeded as we'll 40
did In saving your property
~ had nothing To save but my iacknife and ,
plug OF tobacco-both safe enough in nv tropsers
pocket"
:" Then why did you not think of saving YOUR
self at once ?"
9 No; could not leave the ship SO LONG as the
planks held together. She can't say was mt
true 10 the last. But come comrade, let us ses
what kind of quarters we have got inton
lhey travelled some distance without aDy siqo
OF habiia'lon Necessity quickening their inge.
nuity, they were successful occasionally in catch
ing fish, oysters or birds, in all which the sailnr,.
Jacknlie proved ofinvauable service, in preparing
the proper snares and weapons, IN opening The
oysters, cutting up and cleaning the fish ar birds
and above all, in striking light to build fire fur
the purpose of cookery. Once, also, when tbev
were attacked by a wild beast. the sailor. by a
prompt use of his jacknife, preserved their lives
They had lived in this manner some months
when, arriving al the opposite side of the island
'ney 'ouhd IL inhabited by savages, who conduct
ed them 10 their king. The gentleman. anxinus
to concate his copper skinned majesty, produced
hive hundred pound bank note, and Doiitelv Of
tered 1t 10 his acceptance. The king examined i,
with some curiosity, applied it TO his nose and
tongue, and being satisfied that it was not oood ~,
eat, returned it with some contempt The oen-
tleman soon found that his twenty Thousand
pounds could not procure him the smallest cons;
deTation The sailor, on the contrary in few
Gays became parsonage of great importance from
Ihe many services he was enabled to render with
MS lacKniie, among people where iron was un-
known. They literally supplied all his wants
and his rich friend was glad profit by his bouns
ty.
one day as they were attending the king on an
eminence overlooking the sea, they deserted dis.
tam sail evidently passing by the island. Thew
kInded bonfire, and hoisied signals, but did not
succeed in attracting notice
" II we only had boat" exclaimed the sailor.
" think we could get within hail. as she does
not stand Tar out, though it is plain she intends IN
pass without touching this way"
The gentleman produced his twenty thousand
pounds and offered them TO the king in exchange
for canoe, but his majesty rejected the roll of
paper. and turned to the sailor with single word
-" Knife"
The bargain was instantly closed the jacknife
was received by the king with no less DELIGHT
than was experienced by the Englishmen as thew
jumped into The canoe. BY dint of hard padding
and favorable current, they got within hail and
were taken on board the ship, which proved to be
an English vessel homeward bound As thew
came within sight of the white cliffs, the gentle
man took the sailor apart and handing him two
notes amounting to a thousand pounds, said.
" You must not refuse to accept this. for Won
nave done more for me than twenty times as much
could have done. trust you may find these bills
one day or other as useful as your jackniEe has
been have learned by this time that a mans
wealth is To be measured, not by The extent of his
possessions, but by the use he can make of what
he possesses"