The Opelousas courier., 1889-03-23

Sat down to wait for daylight, anu Wnen
1t came the situation was plain. | was
on a thickly wooded island, and two
hundred feet from the beach due east OF
where I stood was the wreck OF my
hencoop entangled in a coral reel which
now and then showed its head above
| water. Between me and the reef the
water was ten feet deep and quite
enough to float a canoe.
OFF the southern coast of Japan are a
lot of islands called the Lieon-khieon
group. All of them are inhabited now,
but at that time only the two or three
larger ones were peopled. | was only
a common sailor, bat it did not take me
a great while to figure out that [ had
| been cast ashore on one Of this group.
| Had I started out to become a second
Robinson CrusoagI could not have chosen
a better location to begin business.
The climate was perfect, the island was
loaded with various wild fruits, and
fish were leaping up all around me.
My first move was to take off my wet
clothes and hang them up to dry. and
while they were drying | made a break
fast from wild fruits. After getting into
my clothes again l took an inventory
and found myself possessed of a sheath
knife, a plug of tobacco. three or -four
buttons, and a few silver coins. Had
there been O wreck to draw on, as in
| Crusoe's case, I should have been more
| cheerful. / then set out to survey my
domain, and by noon | found that | was
on an island about two miles long and
one mile across. 1t was a regular
grove, with high and dry ground, and
an abundance of fruits and berries. In
that walk l found the wild tea plant,
potatoes, maize, onions, cabbages, rice,
turnips, mulberries and bananas
There were plenty of birds, but l did
not find a reptile or wild animal of any
sort.
The island was a paradise in almost
every sense, but long enough before
night / was greatly troubled in my mind
as to how 1 was to get along. A young
sailor with a hearty appetite Graves
something more solid than wild fruits.
| wanted a fire, and / had no means OF
procuring one. / wanted company, but
even the birds avoided me. / wondered
how I could make a signal, and what
sort of craft came that way. and how
far to the west the other islands were,
and before night / was so homesick and
kbroken up that / %as ready to shed
h- onae-1l tha Scl,rd fuyiao 611r~
ing the afternoon, looking more partic-
ularly to make sure that there were no
snakes, of which I felt an awful dread,
and as I failed to find any / made my
bed that night under a tree on some
boughs / cut off. I slept fairly well,
and my second breakfast vas again
made of fruits. When ] had got my fill
I determined to make fire. The nov
elist of to-day will have a cast-away
youth rub two dry sticks together for a
few minute and start a blaze, but ! got the
driest sticks / could find and rubbed
until / was completely tired out, and
could not even blacken them. | got
some dry moss, and struck stones TO-
gether. but the sparks would not ignite
il. Three quarters OF the day was spent
in efforts to gefa fire, and then had
to give it up. A smoke would have
been the best signal to passing craft,
but as I cold not get a fire, and as had
no clothes to spare, being in my shirt
sleevesoEhen I went overheard, | had
to abandon the idea and hope that some
native craft would touch the shore.
had landed midway of the island,
, on the eastern shore, and the spot was
as pleasant as any other locality. There
/ fore. on the third day / built me a DOM
|, Portable shelter under the trees, and
settled it with myself that was in fol
it for some time to come. Twice tina
day ! saw sailing vessels to the east
!, but miles aaay. I also went to tht
9 south, west and north sides OF the is
land, and piled up sDells on the beach
, above the tide mark and placed sticks
, on top OF them pointing my way. Who
: ever landed would be apt to see then
, aud understand that some n had beef
. cast away.
A week passed, and no craft cam
near. At the end of five or six days / wa
] thoroughly tired Of my feed, bnt Their
! was no change. unless | wanted RAY
: fish or flesh. I could have made a ne
+ out of vines and caught some fish, or
8 could easily have killed some Of tn
+ birds with a club, but the absence Q
8 u fire was the drawback. Few men ge
& less sound sleep than a sailor. Many
! time / have promised myself q stumble
i OF a week at the end of q voyage.
. ought to have slept like a stone on m
island as there was nothing to max
me afraid, but ! was more wakeful tina
on shipboard.
: About the middle of the second wee
e I had an adventure which quite brok
a me up fir the next day or two. Havin
8 seen no sharks inside the reef, ha
taken a swim in the clear, still water
/ every morning. On this morning, 500
/ after getting out of bed, / stripped o
S and jumped In with a great splash an
D began laundering about. was ahou
to strike out for the reef when ! sa'
8 the dorsal fin of a shark between m
It and it. and I turned and Landed withor
loss OF time. As / looked back some
d thing struck ait me and fell short b
: only 8 foot, and ! leaped away just
n time to avoid another feeler OF a mon
It strous devil fish. / could plainly max
him out on the bottom, and ne ha