River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1874-11-20

NIT, and that on all occasions when he
had landed he had seen numbers OF wild
pigs and goats.
1.-The brothers were landed on the
9th of November, 1871; their stores
consisted of their whale-boat, some rice,
-four, biscuits, sugar, tea and coffee,
some salt, little tobacco and pepper,
and small supply of spirits and wine,
some empty barrels for oil, lamp,
matches, a rifle, fowling piece, shot, pow
der, etc, They also had few tools, a
wheelbarrow, cooking utensils, some
seed potatoes and garden seeds, dog
and pups, etc Their library consisted
of eight or ten volumes of very miscel-
laneous reading, with which they got
intimately acquainted before they left
the island.
"They were landed on the single
beach on the west side of the island,
from which, by a ravine, there was very
difficult access to the summit of the
cliffs -Four days after they landed
party of sixteen men, in two boats, ar
rived from Tristan da Cuhna. The
fdU0 had been becalmed off the island,
and the captain had given information
of the landing of the two brothers, and
as the sealing season had set in, the
Tristan da Cuhna men set out ut once
for inaccessible Island; they behaved
with much kindness to the brothers,
pointed ont that the position
they had chosen on the north
west side of the island exposed
them to prevailing winds, and advised
them to shift their quarters to the north
east side, which they at once agreed to
do, and the Tristen da Cunha men took
all their stores round, and showed them
how to build hut, and soon after left
them promising to visit them ut Christ
mas; and the brothers mt once set to
work building their house near water
fall, clearing the ground, and planting
their seed, and otherwise making prepa-
rations for long stay. Firewood was
plentiful, and by aid of the long grass
they could reach the summit of the
island, where they were about four miles
of broken, uneven ground. The beach
was about a mile long, with a strip
of ground back to the foot of the cliffs.
Using the boat, they captured nine
teen seals. The first house they built
failed to keep ont the rain, and they had
to build another; but while thus work
ing hard at their house and plantation,
they were quickly consuming their store
of provisions without replenishing it,
and they soon became fully aware that
that the time would arrive when they
must he entirely dependent on home
produce. They occasionally used their
boat in sealing, but unfortunately she
was too heavy for two men to handle,
and got SO damaged that they could
only Keep her ahoat 10y constantly bail
ing. This was momentOus event to
the poor fellows, as, i'll the beginning Of
April, 1872, the tussock-grass growing
on the cliff mt the back of their hut, and
10y means of which they were enabled
to get to the summit of the island,
accidentally caught fire as they were
clearing the ground by burning, and
the only way left them of ascending was
by going round to the northwest side in
their boat; thus, by the accident to
their boat, their means of subsistence
was cut off; however, nothing daunted,
they cut thoir whale boat in two and
built up a stern of the best half, and
christened their extraordinary looking
craft the Sea-cart, and by means of the
Sea-cart they were enabled to get round
the point and on the summit of the
island, on which were pigs and goats.
They found the flesh of the latter ex-
tremely good, but that of the pigs was
unpalatable, owing to their feeding
partially on sea birds.
On the 14th of May an English ship
hove III sight, and fire was lighted TO
attract attention, as their boat was not
safe to go outside the kelp in. The cap
tain afterwards reported at Tristan da
Cunha that he had seen two persons on
the island, also n square .sterned boat,
but that only one came off, and that
there appeared to be too much surf for
him to attempt landing.
"The poor fellows hearts sunk with
in them as they saw the ship bear away
from the island, MS winter was setting
in ON them with heavy gales and much
rain; moreover, in one ofthe gales, their
Sea cart was washed off the beach and
wrecked, leaving them no means of
getting to the accessible side except by
swimming round high bluff; this
great loss occurred in June. In May
they dug their potatoes, and in the fol-
lowing month some of the other vege-
tables We're fit for food; but being
unable to reach the top of the island,
their store of provisions ran short, and
towards the middle of August the. two
brothers were greatly reduced in
strength. Although fish could be
caught in plenty little distance from
the shore, but few could he taken from
the rocks, SO that the loss of their boat
stopped that means of supply.
In the middle of August the male
penguins landed 10 prepare their nests
for the season, and mt the beginning Of
September were followed by the fe-
males, who began laying; the day before
this happened the brothers had eaten
their roast potato, and but for the time
y supply of eggs for food, they would
have persisted
In September a passing French yes
sci communicated with them, and, in
return for some penguin's eggs, they
obtained about half a hundredweight of
biscuit. and were disappointed of fur
ibn,. ,s,1p,Iy of gfnras hv tba ca ptain mt