Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-07-05

An ESCAPED CONVICT RESCUED BY AN AMEKICAS
| vEssEL's CREw-FLoATING on A FRAIL RAFT
AND FOLLOWED By SCHOOL OF SHARKS
TEN DAYS AFLoAT COMPANIONS LOST
| AND HE READY TO PERISH.
Monday, the llth of February, was dark,
rainy day in the South Atlantic ocean The
schooner Carrie +. Long of Stockton, Ne,
on her voyage from Buenos Ayres TO New
York, had reached point inst south of the
equator and about 200 miles from the Brazil
ian coast. Nothing was to be seen in any di-
rection. when all at once the look ont shouted
| out, "A sail = At the same instant a husky
cry was heard by the seamen on the deck.
| All looked in the direction whence the cry
| came and laughed at the lookout for his an
| nouncement that the sail was in sight. All
| that was TO be seen was an uneven mass of
| bamboo, not 10 feet square, in the middle of
which half-naked black man was kneeling
| upon box. The only sail visible was n
shirt discolored with sea water, which was
| flying from a slender bamboo pole. Beside
the man was rusty kerosene can in his
hand rude paddle which he used to support
his feeble body as he raised himself TO shout
| for help. The raft was so narrow and so low
| in the water that every slight wave rolled
| over IT from stem to stern. The man shout
ed necessarily, but now and then the sound
died away i'll his throat, and the hearers only
knew that he had shouted by the convulsive
action of his mouth and chin.
A boat was lowered from the Carrie +.
| Long and made its way toward the raft. The
man continued 10 shout, although rescue WAS
nigh. His cries We're not intelhgible, but
it could be distinguished that he used 20
English. As the boat neared the raft one OF
the sailors pushed off with an exclamation.
The man on the raft uttered scream of de
spair. ''What do You do that for the mate
asked. The offending sailor made no reply,
but pointed underneath the raft. Following
his finger, the Others SAW. three or four I'M
mense sharks swimming lesurely there.
Now and then one would thrust its nose be-
tween the light bamboos as ii to pry them
apart. More than once the open mouth of
one could be seen raising itself over the top
of the raft within Il yard of the occupants
feet. When this happened the man on the
raft ceased TO shout and seemed to become
dumb with terror
Again approaching the raft, the rescuers
this time secured it TO the boat and transfer
red its single passenger to their own craft.
No sooner had he touched the ships deck
than his strength, sprung from excitement
and the instinct Of seli-preservation, aban-
doned him, and he fell unconscious. As he
lay on the deck it could be seen that the
sores on his body had been made by the con-
tinued wetting with salt water. Crystals of
the salt were visible on the raw edges of the
wounds. The body was emaciated, and the
bones at the joints seemed AS if about to
thrust themselves through the skin, The
ordinary black hue of his skin was turned TO
a dirty drab. His tongue, swollen TO unnat-
ural size, hung hall out of his mouth, and
the wonder was that he could have uttered a
single sound. After he was aroused, lie could
only gasp inarticulate moans and point TO his
mouth for water.
1t was nearly week before his appetite,
and with it his strength, returned SO that he
could be questioned. There was not Il Por,
tuguese scholar on board the Carrie L. Long
although one Of the crew knew a little Span
ish. 1t was more by gesture than by word OF
mouth that he told his story. He said that
his name was Manuel Francisco and that be
had been at sea 10 days when rescued. Origi-
nally, there were three on the raft but one
had been washed overheard and devoured by
sharks before his eyes before they were two
days out. The second died from exhaustion
on the fourth day. He threw his body to the
sharks, thinking in that way to cause them to
quit following the raft, but after they had
torn his comrade 10 fragments they only fol
lowed him the more intently. He dared not
sleep, for fear OF walking of the rnit into
their open jaws. Water gave ont on the sixth
His only food was bread, which had become
musty from long confinement in the kerosene
can, and the eating of which consequently
only added 10 his thirst without satisfying
his hunger. His suflerings became SO in
tense that he was about to cast himself to
the sharks when the Carrie L. Long hove in
sight
Where did he come from and what was he
doing on the raft Francisco failed TO an
swer this question satisfactorily. He insisted
that he had originally sailed from the Brazil
ian coast, but took advantage OF his ques
toners ignorance of the language to avoid
explaining why he had put to STA on so frail
craft. The contents OF black bottle
found on the raft in measure answered the
question, and accounted for his willingness
to be more definite. In IT was magistrates =
commitment OF felon, presumably Francis
co, to eight Years penal servitude for some
small theft. The date of the commitment
showed that the prisoner had served three
years. The Brazilian penal island of Fer
nando NOronha, situated three degrees below
the equator and about 400 miles from the
main coast was within few hundred miles
from where Francisco was picked up, and II
was conjectured that he had escaped from
there. This conjecture was confirmed when
the Carrie Z. Long arrived at Matanzas and
the customs officer came on board. As soon
as the accents of the Spanish tongue fell on
his ear, Francisco ran below and eyinced
great fear of recapture. On hearing his
story and reading the commitment, the Bra
lillian agent at that port wanted to hold
Francisco until the governor of Fernando
Noroha had been communicated with But
Capt. Park put his loot down at this and de
clared that Francisco should not he removed
from the vessel. The agent did not press
his claim and Francisco arrived in this city
on the Carrie L. Long on Monday night. On
the voyage he made himself useful serving as
a seaman. The sailors called him Monday,
because lie was rescued on that day
When the writer saw him yesterday. he saw
a stout healthy man, with nothing in his
smiling face TO indicate the horrors he had
passed through. He is II thorough black,
with crisp, curling hair peculiar TO the in
habitants of hot countries. He seems intel
hgent and rather ashamed that he can speak
Lo language but what he calls Brazilian