Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-08-06
CaptIvity Among Sayages.

OaptlVIty Among Savages.
The following account of the history of
a boy who was with a savage tribe seven
teen years, and has been lately rescued,
is given:
1t appears that he at first occupied the
position as cabin boy on the ship Saint
Paul, of Bordeaux. One moonless night.
while on a voyage from China to Austria.
liza, and conveying some $50 Chinese i'm
migrants, the ship struck on a reef in the
Louisiade group of islands, 10 the Pacific
Ocean, southwest Of New Guinea, and
was totaily wrecked. The captain, crew
and immigrants, however, reached an
island in safety, some in boats and others
along the reef. One Of the three boats
was damaged on the rocks, and the re.
naming two being quite inadequate 10
convey all hands to any other land, it
became evident that the crew, if they
wished to save themselves, must leave
the Chinese to shift for themselves. Ac-
cordingly the Europeans made for a
neigbboring island, where they were at
tackled by tie blacks and forced to leave.
During this attack the cabin boy received
a violent blow on the head with a stone,
but managed to reach the boat, and the
crew returned to the island which had
first afforded them refuge. Once more
in comparative safety, their former fears
returned, and they held a consultation
as to what should be done, and it was e.
nally decided to embark in silence in the
dead of night, when the Chinese were
asleep. The boy, overhearing what was
said, followed the sailors down to the
boat, and embarked with them in their
new venture. The captain told the men
that they should make for a country
where they would either fall in with Eng
lish settlers or English vessels. The du-
ration Of the voyage is uncertain, but
must have been considerable, as the dis
lance traversed cannot have been less
than six hundred miles. 1t seems clear
that the men endured great hardships,
for, having no FIRE, they were compelled
to live on -four and such uncooked birds
as they could catch or knock down; and
further, that for three or four days before
sighting the Australian coast, their sup
ply of fresh water ran out. The point.
where they landed is known as First
Red Rocky Point" which is south of
Cape Direction. Raging with thirst, the
crew, consisting Of the captain, seven
men aud the cabin boy, drew the boat up
on to the beach, and searched for water,
and their search was rewarded by find
ing a small water hole, but the supply
proved insufficient for all, and was con-
sumed by the men, leaving none for the
cabin boy, already half dead from hun.
ger, thirst and exposure, and with feet
cut to pieces by the sharp coral Of the
reef. The captain and his men Qeavipg
the cabin boy to his fate retraced their
way to their boat, and ultimately reached
New Caledonia. 1t appears that the
blacks on the mainland, happening to
cross the track Of the boats crew, fol-
lowed it M to the water-hole, and there
found the dying boy, They treated him
with the greatest kindness, fed him, and
finally led him away to their camp.
With this tribe, known in their W
tongue as the "Macadamas,' he remain
ed for seventeen years, until he was dis
covered and taken away on the 18th Of
last April by a crew of a schooner lying
at the Night island. When discovered
the boy was naked, like the rest of the
tribe, his body burned by the sun to a
rich red color and having a glazed APP
pearance. His ear was ornamented with
a piece Of wood about a half an inch in
diameter and four inches long. After
his desertion by the captain and men, his
thoughts continually wandered to his
father and mother, but as years rolled
on these faded from his memory, and he.
became thoroughly identified with the
blacks. Now that he has been reclaimed
to civilization, his greatest pleasure ap-
pears to be ir reading a French novel,
with which his KIDD instructor supplied
him when shipping him in a steamer.
His account Of life among the blacks is.
necessarily meagre, partly because he
has still some difficulty in expressing his
ideas in French. His life, like hat Of
the men of his tribe, appears to have
been principally passed in fishing and
hunting. Que of the remarkable features
connected with him is that, although a
boy when he was deserted, he has re-
tanned his knowledge of reading, writing
and counting, Not only can he read
print, but he can, to a great extent, read
ordinary handwriting; while during his
stay on board he has drawn some excel
lent sketches Of the animals he had
hunted. A subscription has been taken
up, and the money received is to be re.
mitted to France, through the French
Consul, to be there applied as seemed
best for the iurtherance Of his interest.