, 1876-11-12

Of these protestations OF regard 90 influenced
Nick at last, that, upon one occasion, when his
master had given him q tremendous uors;pv for
forgetting to salt the onelettes pref a. j !vr l:,s
breakfast he hed tine huusc, anG, hun.fnS up il $
verbose admirez, besought him to sare him from
the rum-seucr's brutality: Tnc veteran vas
deeply moved, indeed, put in manner Nick hail
ture upon ingrattude in leaving master who
had rescued him from the perils Of the sea and
Installed him in the best bar-room in Tahiti
human felicity-he logged him with as as maei. NJ III
Tigor as weakness caused BY age md dissipati
would allow, and bore him to his old quarters,
where Nick WAS again beaten and locked in on
upper chamber IN solitary confinement, whilc
the veteran was presented with de.nijohn OF
| rum, and retired into state of drunken sec1u-
sion, which lasted for over week Mix, smart
ing with wounds and Mtreatmcnt, lag upon the
floor OF his prison till nightfall, md all the
household had gone to sleep, when he managed
to burst open the window, lowered himself to
the ground By q rope made from the coverings
! of some goods stored in the room. and run out
| into the night, he knew not whittier.
While passing through the town he suddenly
] encountered q tall and fierce looking native,
whom he recognized as the Chief Of one Of the
wild. tribes in the interior, to whom he had fre-
quently sold liquor, for which, like the rest Of
! This native. who was more intelligent than most
! Of his race, and could speak little French, in
| tetrogated Nick as to his destination, and, upon
hearing the circumstances, offered to take MIN
with him to his tribe, and train him as his own
son. The natives were cannibals, and Nick was
rather doubtful whether his introduction might
! not be the signal for grand feast, at which he
! should figure as the principal baked meat, but
he finally reflected that he might as well die ut
once as perish by inches with his inhuman mas
| ter; moreover, the chief seemed sincere and
J friendly, and, If he fulfilled his promise,
| career Of such surpassing delights was open be-
fore him that to q boy Of Nicks temperament
was perfectly irresistible,-so he took the
| canoe outside the town. After padding all
! night and part Of next day, they, reached
large native village nestlins in valley among
ands s an4 roea ,Sntng wne4s spon tie wafef
] WAS crystal clear aud little troubled by the
wares OF the sea. Nick thought he had never
| seen more beautiful spot, aud though he was
! little alarmed at the notions Of some Of the
| sayages, who 1ourished unpleasant-lookins
clubs and spears made Of sharks teeth and fish
| bones; in very suggestive manner, he was
soon relieved BY the Chief, who in q few words
| aDparentl. explained bis position in the tribe,
| and caused the leinonstrative ones to throw
! aside their weapons and bear him on their
shoulders In triumph to the home the great
man occupied Here the curb OF civilization
WAS removed from him, ami the costume OF
| the country, consisting of quantity OF
! blue paint and cocoanut oil, with the minor
| item Of narrow strip Of cloth about his
1oins. was placed uuOn him. 4 native artist
! with dsh-bone needle and a preparation dis
titled from the iuice OF certain plants, then tat
| tooed hts shoulder with q mark lenoting TINT be
was OF the chiefs household, his c:lrs were
| pierced and ornamcntc with rugs and q plcnti-
fu repast Of fish and fruit was set before him.
| Thus began his life among the cannibals,-a life
! lasting for four wears, and male Interesting by
many scenes aud experiences which, II narrated,
would too far extend the limits Of this article.
Suffice it to say that ne thoroughly enjoyed it
while It lasted for ut that are he was little trou-
bled with thoughts OF the future, and l.c was
the leader OF iii the bows OF his Years by virtue
Of his adoption as the s.chief's boy" Bcil.
endowed hy nature with strong constitution
and excellent nhvsiu,e. he WIS soons snbte 10
outstrip all his MONS in fcats Ut strepct!
and agility. and in time became the most sut-
cessfl1I hunter and fisher In the tribe Though
the want Of clothing ratner embarrassed him ut
first, he became 50 habltuated to :.
state of nature in this respect that lie
has never since been quite abie to epsor
the habilimcnts which u collier cliEac AND
the prcjusliccs Of society REQUIRE Ills sc;atious
as he crew to be Is Or is Years o!u-a prriod at
which neonlc mature iu that mart uf thc world
many dusky maiden began to look upon him
with no unkintl1v eyes. Indeed, Nick was at
this time little better than 4 sa;a~c, IL 1ad
BECOME as brown as tho natives throsclyrs; tie
TahtIan language WIS the <op!y Que lie knew
perfectly, and IN most respects It would hayc
been difficult. to see in him a1ly traces of s!,c
| civilization
and which. indeel he hatl far that reagan tried
to forrret.
Il Vas not perhaps srranc-. then, that tie
daughter OF the chief, lis patron, should ,yc
felt q nrefcrcncc for him over the other you:..
men OF the tribe who sought hcr fuyor, RI t.at
her father so Interested In,s-lf in the match rs
to begin erectine, house FOR The youue couple.
Nick loukcd upon these preparations with
apathy. and 1aate no movement to Interrupt
them. for. though hc had no partiyulur fond
ness for the grl, he knew that anr Oh.
! lection be might urge would be Of 70
effect, and might get him into trouble
Besides. he had liycd so Ione with
the sayaecs that he almost forgot that he
had once been q civilized oci,v, and the
thoughts of his former condition we're, at best,
ouly misty and undcfinetl. But, at about tl,u
time which was to consien him forever to bar
barisrn, IN incident occurred which recalled him
to his true posit;on. The tribe Of which he was
= member had been for some time ut war with
another on a remote part OF tho island, and after
torfous, the warriors returned 10 their town with
q large train Of prisoncrs, They were ERECTED
with loud acclamations. and, on tie fol-
lowing tloy. the Instruments of bntcbe-y were
arran5cd. fres buflt. and every nrcparat:on
made for hIdeous cau1,Ibal orgie. I'll. scene
whrh fo1lowaj h,a heon ar nften t1esrrihcfa n,