Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1872-03-02

struck my ear. < bird Of prey was hover
Ting in the air rod or two from me, ant
occasionally darting swiftly into a hollow
of fihe ice, from which il issued again will
wild cries. IJapproached 1 the spot. Be
fore me lay the corpse of n young man
4 whose good humor and mirth had often, il
dull and weary hours, enliyened the spirits
of his fellow voyagers. Although his body
was dreadtully mangled, and his face con
torted and in some measure mutilated by
the voracious fowl, / soon recognized him
and for moment endeavored TO please
myself with the thought that he was not
wholly dead. ,. ..I.... -H i,rF
A black ribbon MAS hung round his neck
/ drew if forth, and discovered the nnia-
ture of beautiful Young woman, wrap
! ped it, together with his watch and pocket
d. book, in his neckcloth, determining, il
/ saved myself, to transmit them tn his friends
| rs mournful mementOes of bis unhappy
end then lifted the body. in my arms,
and approaching the brink of the ice, rolled
it into the sea. was now alone. .....
Stuck to the heart with feeling of my
loneliness and forlornness. sat down,
buried my face in my hands, and gave my
self up to despair. Why had i not perished
with my companions A quiet grave at
the bottom of the ocean, or in the bowels of
one OF the oceans monsters, was preferable
to this icy and living tomb. ..
The love of life prevailed over despair.
rose upon my feet, and looked around me
for the means OF preserving my existence.
/ soon discovered that in the vast mass of
ice upon which l stood, there were imbed-
dcd many fragments of rocks, oftrees, and
other substances, denoting it to have been
formed on the shores of some distant land.
Nothing, however, capable of satisfying
hunger was to be found. No frozen ami
NAL or lifeess bird rewarded my search
and having wandered painfully and labOri-
ously about, wherever the asperites of the
ice, or the presence of some land object
afforded me precariOus footing, at last
reclined hopclessly upon clOyen pine-tree
that protected from the ice. Above me-
for the berg was Of great height--towered,
in ineXpressible grandeur cold and glitter
ing pinnacles of pure aud almost transpar-
ent ice. Below lay the ocean, silent and
calm, presenting surface sOundless and
UNMARRIED.
III H., t...esOu away wearl.y anu mDnoIO
nously ; the night found me ; and still
clung lstlessly tn the shattered pine. The
moon rose--l have always loved the moon;
and that night while gazing upon her pure
orb, now doubly solitary, and thinking of
the friends with whom | had sat at my
own vine-covCrcd porch, almost adorng
her peaceful loveliuess--of many friends
who might be. that very hour, in my own
lost land, recalling the memory of their
friend by gazing upon her agaiu---I forgot
for time that l was alone, and a dweller
on an iceberg.
A rack of clouds passed over her face ;
| started--a sudden explosion, followed by
a long and heavy. growl ofthunder, admon-
ished me Of another tempest. l fastened
my arms to branch of the pine, while the
winds rose and covered the moon and stars
with black clouds. The ocean again was
lashcd TO fury, and the foam of the pillows
dnshing against the sharp angles of the
island, and snatched up By the winds, broke
over me i'll incessant showers.
1t was some time before my floating habi-
tation felt and acknowledged the influence
of the storm ; but when the agitation of the
sea had arrived at its height, there COM
mcnCel scene 50 appallingly sublime that
even the approaching destruction could not
wholly unfit me for enjoying it. The island
IuChEd, but n"t n shin rocks when she
tum bles from lofty wave into the trough
ot the sea. nor even as mountain, when
vex,d by the earthquake in its bowels 1t
seemed rather to reel or spin round, like Il
kraaken in the whirlpool of Norway some
times lurching heavily over, until its tallest
precipices were buried in the waves. Then
a more regular assault of gests and break
ers prevailing, it would stoop and yield be-
fore the wind, and drift with amazing velo-
city through the waters.
Happily my position was in central
part, and although occasionally a billOw
more mountainous and voracous than the
rest would seem almost to oyerwhem the
island, aud dash itself at my feet, l felt
partially secure.
All this, however, was triAing to that
which soon followed. know not whether
the tornado had hudded the other ice is
lands together and impelled them with yiO-
lcnce against my own, or whether my island
may not have struck upon some concealed
rock. BE that as 1t may, was suddenly
alarmed by a shock that communicated it.
self into vibratory shudder to all parts OF
the island, followed by deatening crash
and in another moment | was made sensi-
BILE. by the distracted and tempestuuus tos-
sing of my berg, and by many successive
shocks, that it had been lit in twain, and
was now breaking in pieces.
The storm died gradually away and
with the morning sun came another calm,
and another day of famine and misery.
Several days succeeded to this, dull and
horrid calen der Of starvation, distraction
and stupor. OF water had plenty. l
saked my thirst 10y sucking il from piece
OF ice, or by scooping it in my hands from
puddles that formed every day around the
trees, rock and 0arth on M island. But
food II had no food. | chewed such splin-
ters of bark and wood as could tear away
from the pine tree-they were dry and dis
gushing. l cut strips of leather from my
shoes aud endeavored to eat them. A let
ter that had valued beyond my life re-
manned in one of my pockets-I chewed
and swallowed it; but it gave me no relief
A burning, eXcrucating fire was in my
stomach aud although l drank copiously
of the melted ice, the ieverish agony in
creased till az last even this grew nauseous,
and my stomach rev olted at II. Then
began To sicken and swOOn, and lie for hours
in a state of stupelaction, insensible TO
everything but dull, gnawing pain in my
stomach. Rains would pour down upon
me and beat in my face unregarded and
once there happened another storm, al
most as violent as those l have described,
whicn l listened to with indifference.
cared not, nay, rather desired that some
friendly billow might wash ME away, and
lssf.x, Al,