The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-02-17

here by this sea-bank were Obliterated for
the night.
Taking firmly hold of the rocks, setting
her certain feet securely in the narrow
niche below, the girl began to slowly de-
scend. But the light lay on the other side
of the island now. Darkness, or at least
confusion of light, lay on the side where
she stood, or rather chung, and farla drew
herself up by the hands to the same spot
where she had rested a moment before. She
began to think seriously if it were really
safe to descend by this PERCEPTIONS way
She gathered some eggs that lay IN q
them, one after another. down the steep
wall by which she had climbed.
1t startled her to see how nearly perpen-
dicular she, in her sudden flash OF Plque
and displeasure, had assembled. her heart
beat so loudly that she ceased tossing the
eggs down the precipice and laid her hand
to her bosom.
The soft silver moon came to her in this
3 lofty = l is91st ii%e and add hf fRebp i setsied si eSMiPao oH
J down In the path OF the exhausted sur.
And how lone now!
The shadows that came providing up
from the sea far down below seemed never
so black as now. The girls heart had
ceased to beat so terribly now at the idea
of spending the night alone on the shelly
ing crags, but for all that she, was sadly
frightened. 1t may be safely said that now,
for the first time III her life, tear really
1t was not the danger. She had known
danger both by sea and land from infancy.
But it was her helplessness that appalled,
her, the inability to really move either
the rock.
Fortunately the night was warm, even to
sultriness; but she knew that the small
hours of morning would bring down a cold
blast from the ice foes of Alaska.
Fixing her feet securely in the rough and
porous surface of the land where she stood,
she turned her back on the world and
laid, or rather leaned. her face to the
mighty wall. Then, with great care and
caution, she drew herself up to q more Sc
cure and less p%recipitous side of the singu-
lar prison, and prepared to spend the night
as best she could.
The place was so filled with sea birds
eggs that little or no room was left her
here. And so nest after nest, as far as she
could reach, was emptied by starting the
| eggs rolling down the steep:
Then, making certain of her footing; she
put out her arms and drew all the feathers,
as far as she could reach, under her reclln-
ing body, and thus soon found herself far
from uncomfortable. Still there was the
dread of slipping down while asleep.
The dOwny but slippery bed of feathers
Fortunately she had a stout cord at her
girdle. This stout silken cord she had long
| worn in order to make more secure in its
concealment the knife which she always
carried.
Do not be alarmed at the mention of this
knife. 1t is no rarity. Besides this girls
work at building her curious boat, the con-
tinuous climbing of crags, both in the sea
and on the land, all her life and action, in
deed, made a stout, sharp knife as necessary
to her as is a needle to an ordinary woman.
Taking her knife in her left hand, she felt
about with her right as she lay, or rather
leaned. there till she found a crevice or
crack, i'm the rocks into which she could
fasten the knife. Gradually and securely
driving it down into this crack to the hilt,
she proceeded to fasten one end of the
heavy silken cord to the knife and the
other to her left arm; Then EN- she prayed a
and forehead humbled to the rocks.
Never before was her better, gentIer
self so entirely to the surface. She was
days. Not for herself; she was sorry for
the pain of others. She prayed for her
sister, for her great, rugged father. She
prayed first for all that was near and dear
to her. And last of all, the poor, penitent
and desolate girl. with such a contradiction
of nature, prayed for herself. And then she
slept.
The cold winds of early morning awak-
ened her. She had slept s0undly; but her
limbs were stiff and her hands and feet
numb. She put the cord again about her
body, making her short dress still shorter.
Then she took the knife in her left hand.
After taking one look at the dizzy depths
below, and making certain that she could
never descend in that way and live, be-
numbed as she now was, she slowly began
to ascend.
Bear In mind this island had been her
rocking-cradle.. She knew it so well. 1t
had no terrOrs for her at all under ordinary
circumstances. Like the liOn-tamer in the
cage with the lion he has known so long
and well, she even now, rested and renewed
as she was, with a full day before her, felt
no more dread.
AS said before, she knew every foot of the
ground or crevice of the rock, whether ac-
cessible or inaccessible.
She knew that there was somewhere a
circuit to this continual ascent, that there
was a summit to this crag in the sea, some
where, and she would reach it and descend
by the other side.
This one particular rock is curious. 1t
looks Xix a sea-liOn. 1t rests there, half
lifted from the water, like a huge sea-lion
looking away out toward the orient seas.
Its head overhangs the ocean; its nose is
high, fearfully high, in the air. Ships at
high-tide could, were it not for the fallen
rocks there, that keep the fretful waters
churned to a foam, ships, / say. were it not
for the fallen rocks that thrust up through
the waters here, and are made black with
roaring sea-liOns and white with roaring
seas, could almost sail under this huge stone
nose that is lifted bold and bare more than
two hundred feet above the waters-above
the ten thousand trembling, grOaning,
moaning and continually roaring sea-lions
on their jutting crags and the hungry, all
~devOuring ocean.
Farla found her journey slow from the
beginning. Often she would have to stop
and roll aside and down the steep hundreds
and hundreds of eggs. They were a dan
gerous footing where life depended so en-
tirely on the certainty of her foOthold.
) After an hour of arduOus work she came
to what seemed to her to be the last steep
ascent before the summit. But this seemed
utterly inaccessible. Here was at least a
place to rest, however, and rolling the eggs
aside she threw herself on her face full
length, threw out her long, strong limbs
their full length and ~rested-really rested
for the first time. And thistime her PRAYER
was a prayer of gratitude.
Lifting her face to begin the work before
her, she instinctively turned her eyes to
the world of waters below. 1t was alive
with boats! And such a shout went up
from the thousands of people far, far below
on the decks of these various craft.
All night she had been missed. All night
men had searched about the entire accessi-
BILE portions of the rock. For the girl was
well known; was not only widely known,
but was well known. and she was univer-
sally respected, if not entirely loved.
They had only this moment discovered
her. But when the shout died away and
men looked, and looked again, they grew
white with pity and with dismay.
Some of the boats drew in close to the
island. as if to try to reach her; others stood
4 m or ont IN a Nc II IN ~ l. 80