Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-03-22

CHAPTER NY.-FATR ISLAND.
Tom aud | went down the side by rope
ladder, taking with us ut Mr. Fields re
quest, n rifle and n revolver; Fame and he
went down as they had come up. The
strength and activity displayed by the
younger man were really marvellous.
Without apparent effort he swung himself
over the bulwark by one hand, seized
rope with the other, and dropped into the
boat ms lightly AZ n monkey. lie was about
the finest, perhaps the very finest, speci-
men of the genus homo | had yet seen.
Though stand six feet in my stockings, he
ovcrtoppcd me by three inches; his chest
development was quite phenomenal, and
his long arms were IA muscular rs n
horses ley. His features, too, were good
and but for the quccrncss of his complex
ion should have considered him hand
some; aftcrward, when pcbuld skins ceased
to he n novelty, did consider him hand
some. lie had broad. though rather low
forehead. short black hnir large dark eyes,
the whites being singularly queer, an aqui-
line nose, small mouth, and square, reSO-
lutte jaws. His head, albeit hardly large
enough for his broad shoulders and lofty
stature, was shapely, and well set on"
he carried himself magniticcutly, and his
movements were as 1.-the, rs graceful, and
rs unconstraincd rs those of any of the
great fclii,C.
The contrast between him and the crew
of the boat was both startling and painful
The six rowcrs were the most hideous
creatures | had ever scen even in a night
mare. Their prcdomiuating color WAS
deep black, dabbed with red and yellow
patches in n sinEularly arbitrary and ir-
regular fashion. Thus, one man had AIRED
nose In the middle of an otherwise Jet
black face. Another had a red mouth; an
other agaiu-aud think he was the most
Notwithstanding of the lot-had red eyelfds
and n red upper lip, all the rest of his visor
being Of the deepest ebony. Add that the
pupils Of their eyes were indistinguishable
from the iris, and the whites large and
streaked with blood their noses huge and
flat, their mouths wide, with blubber, ne
gro-like lips, their forcheads narrow and
tattooed. and that they wore bone rings in
pendulous ears, and you may form some
idea Of the appearance of these Calibaus
(the name. rs | atterward heard. actually
bestowed ON them by the iSlauders) In
stature they were rather short, yet less so
than might seem, owing to the great width
of their shoulders and the muscularity OF
their frames. Every man of them was a
squat Hercules; and their biCeps. as they
rowesl, swelled out to the size of cocoa
nuts.
These beauties evidently occupied very
inferior position. | observed that Field
and Fame never spoke to them except to
give them orders, and always in tone of
harshness that Jared painfully on my
feelings. for, ugly and degraded as the
men seemed, they were at least human.
Vita six oars and the lateen sail (for the
wind now scrvedl, we went swiftly through
the water: but instead of making for the
nearest part Of the coast, as l expected he
would, Fame (who took the heinz steered
the boat mp the middle of the bay, and In
the direction Of a headland some four or
five miles north Of the DIANA" The coast
was thickly wooded, and the character OF
the vegetation-the palms. maCuolias, and
vines. the height and verdure of the trees,
and the hrilliancy of the howers-showed
that the Fair Island possessed milo and
eQuahle climate; that it was far enough
from the pole to escape severe winters, yet
near enough to the tropics to enjoy long
summers and plenty of sunshine.
faucied we Were about thirty to forty
degrees south of the equator; but this was
pure conjecture, and neither Field nor
Fame seemed disposed To give me much in
formation on the subject.
what was the 'Diaua's' position when
you took your last observation" asked
Field, in reply 70 a question put as 10 our
whereabouts
THAT is weeks-months since" / said.
THE last observation was taken by poor
Bucklow, Neither Bolsover nor l under
stand navigation"
so much the better-I mean, 1t is prob
ably no great loss in the circumstances.
You will perhaps learn more OF the geog-
raphy OF the FAIR Island later on. We
shall see. However, l may tell you this
much-you are south OF the equator"
Thank you" l said, laughing. II
guessed as much"
But failed to guess why he was so re-
ticent on the point. What objection he
could have to tell me where we were, l
was unable to conceive. He was equally
reserved about everything that concerned