The Red Cloud chief., 1881-01-06
CRUSOEING,

Some Instances Of Where IL Ia Not be-,
SO Pleasant as IL h set Down In Ro
nance.
THEdelights of solitude have been fer.
wildly extolled by writers who took good
care to kcepthemselves within hail of the
busy hum Of men; but its fancied
charms have oon palled upon unfortu.
mates condemned to a silent life, either
by their own within, the tyranny OF
others, or circumstances over which
nobody had any control.
Alexander Selkirk tried the expert
ment of living in solitary independence
of his own option and under very favor
able conditions. The island whereon
he elected to abide was one of the fair
est spots upon earth, blessed with a de-
licious climate and grateful soil. He
was well provided with clothes 3 cover
him, arms to protect him, books and
tobacco To sOlace him. His larder was
well supplied with kid-flcsh, fish, seal
and sea-lion meat, which he could sea-
son to his liking with pimento-pepper;
while cabbages, turnips, radishes, pars-
nisps, purslain, parsley and water-cress
were at his command. Still it took
eight months to reconcile Selkirk to
his self-elected lot, and after enduring
it for four years, he gladly babe adieu
TO his Eveless paradise.
A YOUTHFUL CRUsOE.
Three weeks experience of Crusoe-
ing sulficed to bring an unwilling soil
tartan TO deaths door, but he was a
mere lad, wanting three years to be out
of his teens, when getting separated
from his messmates, while seeking wood
and water on one of the Galapagos
Islands. he lost himself in the forest.
After passing an uncomfortable night
there, daylight saw Lord rovingin quest
of what he might devOur, and findirg
nothing save a big snake, unavailable
for staying his appetite; and when night
came round again, he was still wander
ing in a maze of trees, weary with walk
ing, and faint for lack of food; fearing
TO sleep on the ground lest he should
intrude upon the privacy of some dead
ly serpent This difficulty he surmount-
ed by climbing a tall tree, and roosting
i'm its branches, that he had a
fellow-lodger i'm a big owl, until, on
leaving his airy chamber i'm the morn
ing, he knocked the bird down, and
turned the accident to account by break
fasting upon the owl, without any fur
Their preparation than stripping it of its
feathers.
That night Lord was out of the wood,
but was not much better of, for, Sleep
ing at the foot of a mountain, he was
drenched with rain, and when morning
broke was in anything but a condition
for climbing. Climb the mountain,
however. he did; from the summit be-
holding the bay in which his whaler
had been, but was not. He saw a brig
there, but she was making her way out.
Nadly he dashed down the mountain
Fto gain the beach all too late. and
ecome oblivious of his disappointment
by going off in dead faint. When he
recovered his senses hunger got the bet
ter of despair, its pangs being none the
less bitter from the knowledge that
there was abundance of food in the
waters washing his prison, and that he
had neither hook to bait or bait to hook,
and must, periorce, live rs best he might
upon berries and seal-llesh.
20 the dismal days dragged on, the
only event breaking their monotonous
misery being Lords nearly coming to
grief altogether in graphing with a
great seal, rolling into the sea with it,
and scrambling out alone as quickly as
his weakness allowed. After this bout
he cOntrived to crawl up the mountain
again, and to his JOY deserted a large
ship making for the island. The sight
gave him new strength, and he man
aged to get down to to the beach lust
as she entered the harbor. Soon a boat
was lowered, and he knew no more.
until his eyes opened upon a little crowd
of friendly faces. He cried out for wa
ter, and drank till he swooned again,
when kindly arms carried him to the
boat, and he was soon safe in the care
of the famous explorer of the seas, Cap
tain Cook.
THE AMERICAN SAILOR.
In 1918, an American sailor was taken
off a desolate rock in the South Seas by
a boats crew belonging to her III. NJ. S.
Queen Charlotte, whose attention had
been drawn TO the spot by the smoke of
a seaweed fire. He had, three wears
before, been left there with three COM
panions. all OF whom had quickly sue
cumbed, while he had lived on, sus-
tanning life by feeding upon the flesh of !
birds, and drinking their blood.
II FLEMISH CRUsoE.
The tind of the Queen Charlotte's
was not so surprising as that of the
Flemish seaman Pickman, when in
16l6, his ship grounded near a small
between Scotland and Ire
~ Some of his men going in search
of eggs. come upon a black hairy crea- J
ture, who by signs entreated them to
come to close acquaintance; and finding
the strange object to be really a man,
took him on board with them to
tell the skipper his story. 1t was a
melancholy one. He and two others,
of the pasSa se-boat between
and Ireland. had been cap
tured. and afterward cast of, by a
French %privateer. Having nothing eat
able, a W a little sugar. with them, one
of the three soon died of starvation, the
lived to be driven on the island, ]
where they built a hut out of what was
left of the boat, and for six weeks lived 1
upon sea-mews, sea-dogs. eggs and !
water. Then the partners in misfortune {
parted company, one of them disappear
ing, leaving his forlorn friend in utter
ignorance of his fate; he could only
that he had fallen into the sea ]
while searching for eggs. Months !
and the poor fellow lost all /
of deliverance. Winter came, |
and found him clothesless. Compelled
10 keep within the hut for DAYS to-
he only kept starvation at bay Q
by catching sea-mews, as hungry as a
himself, by sticks thrust through the n
in the novels walls. So he i
kept himself alive, until the accidental 9
advent of the London-bound Flemish
released him from his
lreary durance. s.
THE STORY OF JoRGENsoN. Il
Less happy was the ending of a Won u