The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-01-18
NUMBER 80.

be to some extent protected from the
weather, which was so boisterous as to
render il useless To attempt to lau ach the
boat. For some days, owing Ia exposure
and want Of food, they were both very al T;
but still hoping for better weather, tk Y
kept themselves alive by eating seaweed
and such shellfish could be found, unttl
the 18th of September, when the weather
suddenly clearing, they again launched
their small bUat aud this time, after d
days hard toll, succeeded in reaching the
opposite side Of the stIaiIs, where they had
left the ship. which il is needless to say
was by this time far away.
When first the men we've missed, rockets
had been fred, and blue lights burned
and on the following day the cutter was
sent to the westward, while the Chanticlecr
coasted along the opposite side; lookout
men were constantly aluft /; hut nothing
was to be seen Of the missing mon. The
next day the ship had remained at Port
Famine, and exploring parties were sent IN
all directions. On the third day they again
weighed anchor, and examined fresh
piece of coast. but all To no purpose f.; aud
finally it was decided, with much regret, to
give up the search, for every one concluded
that the poor men must by this time have
perished, even If they had suTviV ed the
first nights cold, which no one on board
thought possible. Both men were gener-
ally popular, and great grief was felt fer
their loss. Immsdia ely subscription Was
started by the whole ships Company for
the widow Of the one man and the mother
of the other. Strangely enough, when the
sad news reached England. the former. IN
spite of what st emed conclusive evidence,
firmly refused TO believe the assurance Of
her husbands death. Whether the wife's
intuition of the more logical inferences Of
every one else proved correct, events will
show,
~,
as we have seen; the opposite side of the
straits it vas quite lark but on the fol-
lowing day they found that the current had
Grifted them fourteen miles from Port
Famine, toward which thev had steereG,
and fur which place they now started on
foot. Here they saw in the distance a ship
under steam going toward the Pacific; but
again all efforts % attract attention failed.
They knew of no settlement thar they could
hope to reach, and at this rough season
there was not the slightest chance OF fall-
ing in with any wandering tribes of natives.
The only Course LEFT them was TO endure
the cold, wait as patiently as might be, in
the hope of some ship passing within hail,
and to keep up what little life remained in
them by chewing seaweed. and seeking and
Gevouring the nussels, which fortunately
were to be found in great abundance on
the rocks. After time, however, they
grew so weak as to be only Just able to
crawl ont of the place they had made to lie
down i'll, and every day the effort to gather
their scanty n0urisLment grew harder. -
Once more on the 4th of October, they saw
vessel pass through the straits, but were
unable to make any signals. On 5he 9TH
both men ha6 grown too weak to stir, and
nothing was left for them but to confront
dea:h. The Sth day passed, the 9th, the
10th, and they were still sinking slowly
from starvation. On the nth. when thev
TI,1x
few hours longer, ard had become little
short of living skeletons, they were picked
UP by the officers of the Shearwater. and
a. once taken on board, where, after re-
ceiving the most careful attention, both.
although still suffering greatly, began after
a time to recover. Being conveyed by the
Shear water to Rio, they remained some
time in the hospital there, and finally were
sent home invalided /; and yet both men
lived to regain th air full strength, and to
serve as striking examples of what tough
human nature can endure ia the shape of
physical hardships and mental anxiety.
They had contTived, by patience and en-
ergy almost unprecedented, to lengtheu
out existence for space considerably over
a month, with no other food than seaweed
aud shellfsh the last four days indeed
eating absolutely nUthing while the whole
time exposed to intense cold. the toughest
weather, and more nardsbips than il is pos
sible for those who have never seen that
barren or desOlate region even tn imagine.
TALE OF A Mule speaking about
mules remarked six footer from Barnet
county, as he cracked his whip at market,
I've gor mule at ho'1" which knows as
mucl as lido, and ant Lea somt b d
say I'm half fool
No ore said so, and he went GU
"Tve got disguised, When you come
down to kicking, | want to bet on my
niue. A friend came along and took diu-
ner with me the other day, and as be seem