The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-24


wooden clubs. They would face you when
brought to bay the alDatross seldom did
We used to see these stink pots feeling on
floating substances in the water. very like
ly tho bodies OF our unfortunate ship
mates, but that did not deter Us from eat
ing them. even half cooked Us they some
times were; the very thought of that cd
now almost sickens me. | nm sure that
nothing In the shape of herbs that grew on
the island was poisonous, but our fuvoIIte
vegetable was "a sort of moss W tn II long,
spreading root. On n oold morning you
might have seen us scraping the snow OF
the ground, and tearing up the root with
our beuumbed fingers, often too hungry
TO take the whole Of the soil of the root,
eating everything rnvenously, dirt and al.
The birds were boiled IN 90 ifecilOuery
tins, after being SKINNED and cut up. and
as long as the pickles laste1 they wefo
minced and put into the water the meat
had been boiled in, which made u very toll
cradle soup. Being IN winter time we had
not long days, but about fifteen hours
darkness, which we spent lying in our
novel, forgetting our iniseries III sleep if
possible; Tor though we had tho most
vivid dreams of home, 30, and things TO
eat, yet there was always "a feeling in the
background which dispellej "a good deal
the pleasure OF the dreum-ut least hat
was MY case; but still looked forward TO
my dreams
About dozen OF the men built shanty
little higher up than ours, ana sailor
called " Black jack" ruled II. and capi al
ruler lie made. too. When my mother
came on shore first, she was wet through,
and nearly starved with cold but sue soou
got rig out OF "a semi masculine desorlp
ton. One OF the sailors took tho shirt OF
his back and gave her II: she put on al,o
PAIR Of trousers and drawers, pair OF
stockings, and an overcoat, and various
odds and ends, ali the contributions of the
sailors; handkerchief, an old straw mat
trcss, and COveflet completed her ap-
coat picked up, VIII oh afierward did good
service rs door In our little shanty that
We afterward lived IN for some months.
At last the firewood was finished,
except few sticks, which were
used for killing our birus. Efforts
had been made TO keep up fire with IA
KIND OF turf found on the island, but 1t
would merely shoulder slowly, aud that
only when there was "a strong draught;
when luckily somebody threw "a skin on
thus KIND of ure, and To the delight of
everybody IL burnt pretty well. 30 hero
was this difficulty bridled over and we
should not want fire us long rs we could
get birds; then to save matches, OF which
we had only half IA boxful OF Brynut Il
Mays safetics, we scraped the lat off the
SKINS melted IT down into oil, made sort
OF lamp out of n piece of TIN, and n wick
out OF the cotton padding IN OOais, &C..
aud burnt IL whenever the fire was pat
out, the upper shanty wouli most likely
have hight, so we got 1t rekiuuled with
out reducing the stock of our preclOus
matches. An ordinary housewife would
be rather puzzled to keep up a fire with
BIRD sk,ns-it requires experience. :.
Aug. 81, every one was startled by the
cry of SAIL hol and Immediately we were
IN the highest state OF excitement and
hope; but II was great deal too tar of Tor
sal ! wts IN h.m
Mr.. Henderson,. who had been i'll and low
spirited snoe we landed, got worse. l
daresay the raised hopes that had 80 sud
denly come and gone with the ship, were
too much for him In his enfeeDlUd state.
and he died Sept. 2. His BODY was mere
skin and bone. He had been Ill with a
never-ceasing diarrhpa which nothing
could stop. On account of the severe frost
Tor two or three days. HIS limbs up to the
last were quite supple, and that was the
case with all those who died after
having been any time on the island.
We seldom could clean ourselves; the
dirt was too fast on us TO allow of
water alone taking IL off. aud the weather
was 50 bitterly cold that we could only
dabble very little in II. But W. had mode
of cleaning our faces IA little by means OF
BIRDS skln, rubbing ourselves with the
greasy side first, thereby softeninR the
dirt. and afterward rubbing that of with
the feathery side. Our clothes were black
with smoke anu very filthy, ana we were
era wing with vermln, whicn we could not
get md of There was little of the BIRDS
that We did not lind IA use for; even the
entralls were roasted and eaten, and the
large CUTS we stuffed with chopped up
meat aud tried 10 Imagine them sIusLgcs;
but there was no sucn thing rs anything
with taste on the island, except the
soup, when plenty OF salt water was put
into Il.
We got very hard up for anything 10
. nj la
one or two mollyhdwks for our last meal.
aud BLACK Jack > tent had nothing TO eat ali
DAY. We were very weak and low p lrIted.
| lett AS II AL the moisture IN my JOINS
was dried up and | fanci Il / Couiu almost
near them credk rs | dragged my self
along. 1t was with "a heavy heart | went
out 10 hunt, aud Instead OF CLIMBING up
the hills, l went down by the SIDE Of tho
Island, where remembered TO nave seen "a
large quantity OF nests, built Of muI,
smooth and round, about foot from the
Z ound, looking NJ IA distance like the tur-
refs Of a small castle. Down tne rocks |
went, aud SAW to my great dehgnt, IA
quantity Of beautiful white birds. We
named them the Freemasons." but we
afterwards discovered their real name was
mollyhawk. l killed about fouitee OF
these rs they let me come quite close to
them, when L Knocked them down WI h "A
cluD. They even Hoped down among my
ieel. | carried about halt of my prize
down 10 the tent, and great was every ones
ueuEht anu astOnshuen. al The increase
OF our lirder. Many of the Others wenl
out, and killed about IA hundred Inail. Suun
"A least OF talls we mad Jhenl That appeu-
dage was cut of close To the back, tue
long feathers pulled out, and being purut
Tor time IN The lire. WAS considered IA
great dellcacy, and one of the peruuisitss
Of The hunter. About tins time, seven or
eight who had been engaged building IA
shhnty forthem selves, removed to It, there
by leaving us IA mile more room. Our
larder beng always supplied by the new
birds, We began 10 look about us more,
ana shanty No, was s,Arteu also an timer
great aud real dellcacy came III about lhls
tilne-Vlz., the mutton BIRDS" We found
the young, but never, think, the Old ones,
VINO seemed most mysterious birds. Their
nests were uuu9r The ground, aud 10 mud
them We had 10 stamp about All We ulscoy-
cred hollow place, our 1eet very often go-
ing right through the surface INTO their
Less, when We had only To put IN our
hand aud pull out our treasure. They had
del ghtIul flavor, aud We're covered WIN
beautiful fat.
The weather was now getting rather
less severe, but We could only recoiirot
three line days all ihe time We were there,
aud we always mad TO pay dearly for them.
Another suanty was bong Duul, aud Vas
promises very slnaii one Tor my mother
ana myself, winch n thlrd-cliss Passenger
had previously DullI. ana mad kindly M ar