Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1886-03-02
THE OCEAN wAlf.
. rRur ROMANCE or SAY rR,scsoo.

To the habiiues Of North Beach near
San Francisco. the ".hsll gaiherss are
familiar The she'll ga,hcrsrs are q num-
,rou, ella. and comprise the very poor
people dwelling in the district They
turn out when the re,rsaiing tide h. lef,
the bays margin dry and gather the
bones. bits Of wood And dscAysd fruit aud
vegetables. which during the nigh, have
aoa,ed in and lodged along the shore.
These articles ate taken hons for fuel or
food. as the case may be. and many q
family keeT. the wolf from i,' door by
the ol,en,imss bosn,iful allowance the
bay yield. TO them in this way.
Several years ago In one Of the moss
covered .han,ies which are now dilspi-
dated ruin. a, the beach. young Italian
named Frank Silva lived with hn aged
and widowed mother. The young man
was inlu,,rioa. and frugal, aud in add
ton TO labor he performed abOu, the fish
market. during the day, be. in company
With hi. mother. was found every morn.
ing before the tide had gone ou, picking
",hell." from tie waters edge.
After he had engaged In this for a
couple Of years !, was no, surprise to
the n,ishbor when fnnk one day
changed hi. residence and rented por-
ton Of tenement house f1r bis mother.
and when i, va. learned ihA, be had pro-
,ided himself With spawned horse and
a cart and had gone into the business Of
peddling FISH. hi. fhsni' on the beach
only pointed q, him q, an example OF
whA, perseverance, aud industry can &C.
eompli,h. Frank. prosperity however.
va. founded upon something more. and
with hi, sudden rise ia the world there
cling, a story as romAn,ic 30 !, is real
One dark winter morning 10 1877.
Frank and his mother as usual repaired
10 the sandy beach. Mrs. Silva bad her
attention attracted TO whA, appeared a
piece Of wood lying elo'e TO the edge Of
the water. and laying down her lIn,ern
and bA.ke, she climbed down the steep
bank TO se, IL. Instead Of = mere piece
Of wood her ",hslr' proved 20 be small
hardwood boz. which had been thrown
open when IL was tossed upon the shore.
Beneath the rays Of the lantern II re.
yeAled something within which sparkled
brightly. Frank was called, aud n the
two took hurried departure for their
humble cabin. their agitation would have
shown the other she'll sa,hsrers, had they
seen them. thA, something more than
even a new silk bat had found It's way
into their basket. L.. than week
later Frank had closed bargain for a
horse and cart; be had left North Beach
forever. and kearney stree, pawn.brok-
or. q. be glanced alternately q, the inside
Of a rough box aud then =, the name on
an account, book. would matter I'll von-
der where the te,il he GOT \"
For the purpose Of ,hi, story !, Is nec-
e..ary to 20 back some year. Some
where abou, 1866 the chip Savannah.
from New York. by way Of Cape Horn.
tied up to Meisg.'. wharf. She brought
several passengers, amoae them little
girl Of four. The latter had been picked
up a, sea on the voy,ge. and her strange
story attracted much attention q, the
time. When the vessel Was At sea. four
days from Valparaiso, where she touched.
q passenger on deck one morning called
attention to an objsc, lying on the hori.
ron which seemed boat. The captain
ordered a boa, lowered. The objec, Was
found to be rude raft. made from spars
and ship lumber. Tied securely on H..
and ensconced in quAn,i,y Of water.
soaked blankets. shawls, etc, q little girl
was lying nearly dead from exposure.
She was released and taken aboard.
where an examination was made Of the
apparel which surrounded her. in the
hope iha, some clue TO her identity and
the cause OF her presence where she WAS
found could be discovered. This. how
ever, proved frui,less. The blankets
were undoubtedly from ships store.
and one Of the shswls wrapped abOu, her
W. valuable. but no word or trace in
writing was lef, TO tell the fate Of those
who had consigned the infant to the
mercy Of the sea. Captain Price took
deeper interest in the little waif than any
one else, and though he was q bachelor,
he determined to raise her s his own.
When he lsft New York Captain Price
had in view . permanent location In CAL
ifornia, and when the Savannah had dis
charged her cargo and gathered up few
passengers she started on her return, but
be remained in San Francisco. He en-
gagged in business for ,vo or three years,
when he died.
Al the time Of Prices death be and
his charge were boarding with = family
named Davis. The DAvises were with.
ou, children, and they took the dead
captains adopted daughter As their own
The little one had been ehristened Fran
ces Price, and ., the tins Of her guardi'
ans death she Was . bright little thinl
Of eight yesn. Fannis's recollection O
the captains kindness to her was made
more lasting by the treatment she received
at the hands Of her new ''parsnts." He
line with them was continual round o
cuifs and hard knocks, which coniinues
until she Was fourteen, when Davis died
Mrs.. Davis did what vas consistent will