The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1875-08-26
The Republic OF Nature.
,. London Times.l

Seventeen years ago Narcisse Pierre
Pelletier, theSson of a shoemaker in a
small town in the department of La
Vendee, went I'd sea, and after a few
months was wrecked with large cargo
of Chinese coolies. BY miracle and
promptitude he survived the brutality
of his own captain, the cannibals who
ate up mostof the Chinese, starvation
and more fatal thirst, to fall at the last
gasp into the hands of a native Austria
Ian tribe. ~
In the settled portions of that 'conti-
nent nativeis asgreat curiosity as in
this metropolis, but the aboriginal races
have much to thenselves the parts nearer
the equator. This was about thirteen
degrees south, not far from Torres
Strait, New Guinea, and the Louisiade
Archipelago . The savages were very
kind to the poor, dying lad, adopted him
into their tribe, found him a valuable
member of society, and were proud of
their possession. He acquired titles of
honor, inscribed upon his skin and car
ried in his nose and ears, he learnt to
carve canoes, and obtained an acknowl
edged pre-eminence in strength, skill and
COuIlScl. NJ t
The tribe isa republic in the strictest
sense of the Jword, acknowledging no
superiority, and fortunately offering
small field for the ambition which leads
to higher political developments. They
have no clothes except fringe in the case
of women; n0houses, except umbrellas
extemporizedo out of leaves when it rains
heavily; no tools except bits of hoop iron
found in wrecks; no arts and sciences; a
very small vocabulary, and, an arithme-
tic stopping short at ten, and indicated
by pointing to various parts of the body.
They have no religion, no history, no
social institutions, not even marriage.
Regarded from our point of view, life is
there one great negative. and the only
wonder is they get on as well as they do.
in all savagelife; they are the property
of the stronger, two or three at q time,
andare put out of the way, as useless
horse is with us, when no longer useful
or agreeable, This is animal life.
sNarcissse Pelletier was quickly alb
sorbed in the new current of his exist
enae. He became pure and simple
savage, and as much forgot that he had
ever been anything else asif he had lived
in q long dream. He could not speak q
word of French lost reckoning of days
and years; knew not his own age
perched on a rail like bird; had restless
monkey eyes;s clave with strong instinct
to his adopted fraternity, and only re.
membered his relations as being of an.
other world who must long since have
passed away. 81
But Narcisse Pelletier has returned to
life. On the 18th of April in the present
year the John Bell, schooner in the
Beche de Mer fishery anchored atNight
Island, small island off the northeast
coast of Queensland, to which boats were
dispatched from the ship in search o.
water. Theeailors sent on this duty en-
countered in the bush party of aborig
inal blacks, with whom they found {
white man, who was, like the blacks, per
fectly naked, and appeared to be com
pletely identified with them in language
and habits The white savage was in
duced to enter one of the ships boats
and the John Bell brought her prize t,
Somerset, the settlement at Cape York
where he was clothed and cared for b,
the residentsmagistrate. The dream O
the long night has passed away and
forgotten. To-day takes up the threat
of yesterday, and forgets the gap be
tween. Narcisse is already readin
French novels.