The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1889-04-27
devil fish. I could plainly make him

ont on the bottom, and he came within
an ace of getting hold of me. The shark
which was fully sixteen feet long, al
yanced toward the beach, and as ne
reached the spot where the devil FISH lay
a row began. The shark was seized by
Mt least two of the feelers, and In the nrst
moment he was rolled over and over.
Then he pulled himself together and LOT
the next five minutes the water was
cburned to fury. think the shark got
the best of the fight, as he made OIL after
a while seemingly unhurt, while pieces
of one of the feclers came ashore to prove
that it had been severed from the BODY
bv the sharks teeth.
The second week passed, and thru
and a fourth. During the time sighteu
many sails, but they were always afar OIL.
| had become so sick of my fare that
scarcely ate anything, and the lazy lie
became a positive disgust. At the emo
of the fourth week would have agreed
to work one year at ditch digging with
out pay for passage to civilization. On
the second day of the fifth week there
was gale and heavy sea from the east.
At about noon on the third day ships
vawl nearly full of water, but containing
a woman. drove ashore almost at my
feet. There was heavy surf, notw tn
standing the coral reef, and had not
been on hand the boat would have been
pulled back by the undertOw and carried
out among the rocks and smashed. The
woman had lased herself to one of the
thwarts, and was nearly exhausted with
hunger and exposure. 1t was little L
could do for her except to give her
water and food, and it was shutdown be-
fore she could tell her story. She was
the wife of Captain Bradburn of another
/ English tea brig. the Constellation. |
was coming down the Pacific when
washed overheard. She was going up.
/ 4 gust or squat heeled the Constellation
over, and she was boarded by sea
which swept Mrs. Bradburn and two
men away, and took with it the boat
and a lot of deck rattle The men she
saw struggling as she got hold of the
boat, but they were doubtless drowned.
1t was almost dark, as in my case, and
she also drove TO the west How she got
into the boat she could not remember,
nor was she clear as to how long she had
ioated. She thought ii must have been
a great deal longer than figured.
1t was three days before the woman
picked up her strength and courage, and
10y that time was ready to leave the
island. The mast and sail belonging to
the boat had been slowed under the
thwarts and were safe, and all / had tC
do was to fill number of big shell:
with fresh water, of which, as | have for
gotten to state, there was a supply or
the island: We left in the morning
heading to the south, and at 3 o'clock il
the afternoon We were picked up by ar
American ship called Happy Home. She
was bound up foD japanese teas, bu
that same day we signaled an Englisl
ship coming out of Shanghai and bound
home, and Mrs. Bradburn was trans
ferredA That was the last | ever saw o.
heard of her, though | know the shil
reached England safely. was rovin!
sailor, with no home or address, and n
matter how badly her husband wante'
, TO thank me he knew not where was t
be found. NeJc York Sun.