Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1860-01-07

water. After digging TO the depth of sever
feet, he found not so much as a trace of mois.
| ture, and he desisted from his labor with feel.
| ings easier conceived than described. At this
| time deep considerations of his apparently APP
| preaching death filled his mind, and he spent
many hours in prayer and in solemn medita-
tions upon future state. On the morning oil
the 10th of June, faint and sick with thirst he
drank his last portion of water to the very
dregs, and in the strength of il he went out on
fresh search for some of this precious fluid
After four hours tedious walking under a
burning sun, he at length became so weary
and faint, as to be unable to proceed any fur
Their, and he lay down wishing he might die.
His situation was that of the fainting lIagar in
the wilderness, and his deliverance was to
prove as signal Rising at length from the
earth, he walked slowly over the rocks towards
his tent, as he thought to die But not so !;
his eye was led to a hollow place in rock,
toward which he eagerly sprang. Who can
paint his joy, or describe his gratitude, on
finding that it contained little silver rill of
water, pure, cool, and fresh The poor fellow
cast himself on the EARTH and drank most i'm
moderately of the delicious fluid. In the in
toxication of his joy he sat down by its side,
and drank again and again of its life-givng
draught. The treasures OF the whole earth
were poor and mean in comparison with that
tiny streamlet. Evening was closing in, and
taking care to mark well its position, he re-
turned to his tent with step more elastic
than he had yet known, and heart brimful of
gratitude and joy. Thus one source of his
deepest anxiety was for the time ut least, d.
mnished. He was now able to use the water
freely: but whether from previous excessive
over-fatigue, or as the consequence OF long
disappointed hope, cannot be said, but it is ey-
ident that now symptoms of deirium began to
appear and of these he was himself conscious.
Strange fances filled his mind at times, which
disappeared at other times. AT this period
there occurs the following remark in his jour
nal LIT makes me very melancholy to think
that have no hopes of getting off this unhap-
Ply island"
The sharp volcanic rocks, which were like
so many broken glass bottles, cut his shoes to
pieces, and wounded his feet so severely, that
he was scarcely able to stand upright. Now
also terrible adventure befell him. Awaking
from Sleep he heard a dreadful noise around
his tent. Listening more attentively, he recog-
nized the voices of either men or evil spirits in
loud conversation close to him. This contin-
ued all night, so that he awoke in the morning
unrefreshed. The next day, and for several
days subsequently, he speaks of having been
repeatedly accosted by an appartion, which
assumed the form of one of his old comrades
Greatly to his relief, it at length departed. AL
though it is manifest that the unhappy man
firmly believed all these supernatural events,
we are safe in ascribing one and all to the in
roads of delirium uponhis understanding. Pos
sibly, from the tree use Of water, these symp-
toms, which might have taken a part of their
origin i'll the want of that fluid disappeared;
and the entries in the journal resume their
usual simple character. For some time past
his supply of wood for fuel had failed him. and,
as we have before mentioned, that not so much
as a shrub existed in the island, he began to
despair of again tasting cooked food, when one
day, as he paced along the beach, good-sized
tree was cast ashore. This he cut in half, and
was thus re-supplied with fire materials for
little time. Another difficulty then opposed
him; he was quite unable to procure any fresh
food; and with ''raging hunger preying upon
him, he wandered about the island seeking it in
vain. As if to heap misfortunes on his deyo-
ted head, the increased power of the sun, the
heat of which blistercd his face, dried up his
we'll Previously to thishe had filled his cask,
and, for convenience sake, had removed most
of his things to a cave near to the well. Thus
were all his first anxicties renewed again, while
there remained to him less energy of body and
mind to struggle against them. One day he
was startled at a rude cross in the distance.
On approaching it, he found it the graye-mark,
as he coniectured of some one buried in that
spot. This was the first token that he had per-
ceived in the island of previous visit by his
felow-men and while it kindled hope, it was
full of melancholy promptings upon his own
condition. He, too, appeared to be cast there
as one dead, vet with this difference-as one
deserted in his death. This brings us to the
close OF another month. In spite of the most
diligent search, water was not to be found On
the last day in June he writes with mourntul
breyity, aThere is now not one drop"
July opened upon this miserable man with
all the intense heat of the season in that lati-
tude. In one of his water-seeking expeditions
he saw, for the first time, large fiocks of goats,
to the amount of several hundreds. He yainly
endeavored to pursue them but they proved
far too swift for his decaying strength, and
bounded away, leaving him in his desolation.
Great locks of sea-fowl were often visible in
the strand, in such numbers, that, when they
took wing at his approach, they appeared like
a dense cloud, which, coming between him and
the sun, completely intercepted the light
Once he found brush on the shore, and early
in August he discovered other traces of the
visits of previous voyagers, finding in rock
which, at distance, looked something like
rude cottage-some old nails, and pieces OF
broken glass bottles and also piece of bro
ken oar He now called to mind his early at
tempt at horticulture, and set out for the spot
where he had planted his peas and onions, near
to the place where he had first pitched his
tent. He saw from little distance, to his JOY,
that some green plants appeared on the spot,
and on drawing near, he found that few had
sprung up; but as If the whitening hand was
upon him in all things, the rest had been utter
" devoured by vermin. For the period OF
three months there had not fallen half hours
rain on the island. At this period of his his
tory, with his miseries increasing upon him,
he thus writes: my heart is so full, that my
pen cannot utter 1t. now and then find lit
lie water, which the goats have left me. al
ways scoop it up to the last drop, and use it
very sparinglyn On one of his visits to his
old tent, while inside it, he was much alarmed
at hearing great noise, as if hundred cop.
persmiths were at work. His alarm continued
until he resolved to search for the cause OF this
commoton, and ascending a hill, he discovered
its origin in the chattering of vast Hook oil
birds, which whirred into the air as soon as
they perceived him. This little discovery
greatly relieved his mind, which, under the
horrors of his situation, was become much
enfeebled. He measured the contents of his
water-cask, and found he had but six gallons
left. lie drank by measure and eked out his
allowance as much as he could, abstaining from
boiling his food. The entries in his journal
preserve a melancholy monotony-" Went out
= aarch for water, but in yain,p is the only
memorandum for many days. How earnestly
.,e nov lifted up his prayers and his eyes 10
the heavens may well be imagined But that
saving was true of them which had its primary
reference to another race, The heaven that is
over tbv head shall be brass, and the earth that