The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1888-02-16

>sa~ 1OS tOVA - tuOuXu Out CAu00 WOuLu
ever reach the brsakers, - It was in dan
ger Of upsetting each moment. the waves
becoming wilder ill the time Our CON
dition was truly miserable. Oh! can
not dwell upon it.! My dear mothers
pale face rises before me - she leaned
down and kissed me, but she said not .
word. The next thing I remember 10 .
deafening crash and . sharp cry from
mother. was struck by something and
consciousness left me.
Il can recollect opening my eyes a. if
from q profound sleep The sun was
smiling down from blue and cloudless
sky. raised myself and found the ocean
at my feet. 1t was IS placid a. q lake.
! was lying on the vet beach not three
feet from where the waves were rippling
on the sand. My clothes were dripping
wet. The occurrences of the storm came
to me like an electric shock. My first
thoughts were regarding father and
mother. Were they safe or-but
reached the horrible alternative! About
thirty feet away saw the canoe cast
high and dry upon the beach. Its side
was stove in where it struck the rock
Running up to it saw it was empty.
Along the stretch of beach no other OBJ
ject was discernible.
eyed the expanse of water and per-
ceived an object bobbing up and down in
the surf. A closer review revealed what
caused my blood to almost freeze in my
veins. That which was the sport of the
waves were the bodies of my dear parents.
They were clasped together. Overcoming
the feeling of horror and sickness that
came over me, dashed into the water up
to my waist, and, with almost superhu-
man strength, brought the bodies out of
the water. Dragging them to a dry spot
l fell over the cold forms in deathly
faint. l recovered my senses only to
faint again. l will not dwell upon what
followed. I sobbed and moaned where
lay all day and night, and prayed that l
might die beside my father and mother.
The following day l was calmer, and
using one of the broad bladed oars of the
canoe, which found under one of the
seats of the vessel, dug deep hole in
the sand and laid the bodies of my father
and mother in the grave. I was so
stunned and overcome with anguish that
the occurrences of the two or three fol-
lowing days are dim in my memory.
know | found some water soaked food in
the locker of the canoe, and that waded
out to the reefs at low tide and gathered
shellhsh. In grove Of cocoanut trees
near the shore l discovered spring of
fresh water. AS strength returned to me
l resolved to explore the vicinity and see
if could learn where l was. Being
ofro;1 Of vpoafin~ hoot1la nat;yoa ootoI
with great caution, moving stealthly
through the palm groves.
"At night l laid down in some sheltered
nook and used fern leaves as protection
against the damp dews. Four DAYS
passed and learned that l was on a
small island, which appeared to be unin-
habited except by nasty looking species
of bat and small pigs and rats. The pigs
were wild and savage, and l had to evade
them to avoid being attacked. My only
sustenance was cocoanuts and species of
wild berries. The nuts found on the
ground, where they had fallen during
storms. According to my reckoning,
about three months of this monotonous
existence passed away. My clothes were
worn into tatters. Every morning l
bathed in the sea and made frugal meal
on fruit. The rest of the day I spent in
exercise and reading stained copy Of the
Bible, which found in the locker of the
canoe. l did not fail to place fresh
greens on my parents grave. The canoe
when turned over made comfortable
abiding place at night, crawling into it
through the hole in the side. There were
three storms during my stay there. OF
course was drenched. think that if
my existence as Crusoe had lasted much
longer would either have gone crazy or
died. AS it was, the consolation afforded
one by reading the Bible gave me
strength.
"One day saw party of natives land
from q canoe. hid and watched them,
and soon recognized among them several
friendly faces had seen at the Wesleyan
school at Kandavu. called to them, and
upon coming up they knew me. cannot
tell how glad | was to be taken in their
canoe to the colony at Kandavu, where
was heartily welcomed. The deepest re-
gret was expressed over the death of my
poor parents. That is all have to say in
relation to the subject. l determined to
follow up the good work Of my father,
and / think have been successful. The
treacherous Ko.Ko was banished from the
island and died in leprosy colony year
or so afterward. l had my parents re-
mains removed from the lonely island
and decently inferred at Kandavu. ."-San
Fr0scisco Call