Middletown transcript., 1868-11-28

condition, on an island said to be inhabi-
ted by Q fierce race of cannibals, we almost
eavied those who were sleeping their last
sleep. Their earthly troubles at least were
over, while the unknown future might
hold for us such terrors aud sufferings as
woaid make us pray for death as a relief.
But still the proverb "while there is
life there is hope" gave little cheer; and
thanking heaven for our present preserva-
ton, we began to toll up the rocks to see
what lay beyond. We were SO exhausted
and bruised as to make our ascent very
slow and painful, and nearly every step
was attended with groan of both mental
and physical suffering.
At length we reached the summit of the
cliff, and found ourselves on the edge of a
heavy wood. We stopped to rest few
minutes, and then pushed forward for
about quarter of mile, through thick
ct of underground. To our surprise, we
suddenly came in sight of small, neat
village of stone houses, scattered upward
along the slope of a neighboring hill from
the bed of romantic valley through which
flowed babbling stream. We could see
what looked like gardens, shade trees, or
chards, green lawns, and, far back, fields
of pasture and grain. the whole having the
appearance of high state of civilization.
Could this be the abode of savages and
cannibals? No-never-impossible and
we shouted for joy at the thought that
Providence had thrown US among people
WOO would not deny us the rights of hos
pitality.
AS We we're about to again set forward,
with frightened spirits, sad event took
place among US. One of our companions,
who had seemed the most delighted at the
discovery of the village, suddenly stopped,
sat down, pressed his hands against his
breast, and complained of a feeling of suf-
location. About the same moment he fell
over on his back, and an examination dis
closed the startling fact that he was dead.
The fatigue and excitement had proved
too much for the action of diseased heart,
and he had gone to join the spirits of those
who b I'd perished in the deep. AS we had
no means Of burying him, we placed his
body upon high rock. took away the few
trifing things we found in his pockets, and
in more sad, detected mood, set forward
towards the village, with the expectation
of getting assistance from the natives and
returning to perform the last sad office of
humanity. But we never returned. We
called him ''poor fellow" then-we envied
his fate afterwards.
As we approached the village, we came
upon few Chinese laborers, at work in
the storm in an open field On seeing us
they fled with cries of terror; and in few
minutes the whole town was in state of
the widest alarm-horns blowing, tom
toms beating and men, women, and chill
dren running to and fro in great confusion.
We stopped to let the excitement calm
down, and was soon approached by band
of some twenty-five or thirty athletic war
riors, armed with bows and arrows, spears,
matchlocks, and knives, AS they warily
drew near us we held up our open hands,
and watched them with breathless interest
and sinking hearts, for we cogld see they
were the dreaded red men Of whom we had
heard such terrible accounts. II
Physically considered, they were not an
ill-looking set of men, being of good stat
ure, with well-developed limbs and bodies.
Their skins were bright copper color,
and their hair BLACK and long, sweeping
down in large masses around their necks
and shoulders. Their features [ did not
like, the general expression being too
fierce and sensual. Their foreheads we're
narrow, their eyes black and snaky, their
cheekboncs high and sharp, their noses
laroa and arohad aaJ 49,. .s.....L -
jaws huge and massive. They wore a
sort of turban around the head, and a strip
of cotton cloth about the body. These
two articles formed their entire costume,
and their only ornaments were large rings
depending from their ears.
As soon as they had satisfied themsel-
YES that we were not armed and hostile,
they came up boldly and one, who SEEM
ed to be = leader or chief, and whose only
distinctive mark was crimson sash
around the waist, made signs to know
from whence we came. I replied to him
as well as | could (; and when / made him
understand that we were wrecked, he
seemed highly pleased, and hurried us off
to the village. There, after undergoing a
close and troublesome examination from a
crowd of women and children, we were
locked up in small stone house, which
had but one apartment, and no outlet save
the door, a4
Here we remained prey to conjecture,
till dark, when the chief and several war
riors came in with a torch, and showed us
something that proved they had found the
wreck. They then proceeded to strip us,
and feel our limbs and bodies, after the
manner of SO many butchers examining
the animals they intend to slay. We re-
membered we were among eannibals, trem-
bled with terror, and regretted we had not
perished with the vessel. Both of nv
companions were larger and stouter than
myself, and one was quite feshy. With
him the savages seemed much pleased
They pinched and patted him. and nodded
to each other with smiles--while he, poor
faIIow with ashen fre,s,hlinv o,,k FROM, fl az,