Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1889-03-09

fot down % wait Tor Daylight &1dfUhou
Il came the situation Wa plain ~ Asl
on a thickly wooded island, and two
hundred feet from the beach due east Of
where / stood was the wreck Of my
hencoop ehtangled in a coral reef which
now and then showed its head above,
water. Between me and the rect the
water was ten feet deep and quite
enough to float a canoe,
on the southern coast OF Japan are a
lot Of Islands called the Lieon-Khieon
group ALI Of themare Inhabited now,
but at that time only the two or three
larger ones were peeRleda Iswas only
a common sailor, but it did not take me
agreat while 10 Hgdfe out that l had
been cast ashore on one Of this group;
Had | stanted out to become q second
Robinson Crnsoe. could not have chosen
a better location to begin business
The climate was perfect, the island was
loaded with various wild traits, 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 l made a break
fast from,wildfrults. 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 q few silver Coins Had
there been a TO draw. on as IN
Crasoe's case, Tshould have beea mon
cheerful. IT then Set out to survey my
domain, and by Q o | found that | Was
An - ssranu aoouJ TWO miies40ng and
one mile across It was a regular
grove, with high and dry ground, and
an abundance Of fruits and berries. In
that walk / found the wild tea plant,
potatoes, maize, onions, cabbages. rioa.
turnips, mulberries and bananas
There were plenty OF birds, but did
not find a reptile or wild anImalst any
sort Nt .iI
The island was a paradise in almost
every sense, but long enough before
night I was greatly troubled in my mind
as ito. how 4 was to get along. A young
sailor with a hearty appetite Graves
something more solid than wild fruits,
l wanted a fire, and l had no means of
procuring n Iwanted company, but
even the birds avoided me. l wondered
how l 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 I was SO homesickaa and
broken up that l was ready to she'd
tears. I crossed The island twice dur
ing the afternoons booking more parties
ularly to make sure that bhePe wereeno
snakes, of whidh j felt al awful dread.
and as l failed 10 find any IL made smy
bed that night under q tree on some
boughs l cut of. l slept fairly well,
and my second breakfast was again
made of fruits. When l had got my fill
| | determined to make arfre.s The nov7I
elist Of to-day win have b caste9waNI
youth RIB two dry ssttcAs together al
few minute and start a blaze, but / got the
driest sticks i could find and rubbed
until l was completely tired out, and l
could not even blacken them. ! got
some dry moss, AID struck Stones to-
gethe&. but the spsrks would notignite
it Three quarters Of the day. was spent
in Efforts to get a fire; and then 1 had
to give it up, A smoke would have
BEEN the best signgfs$o passing craft, J
but as kcold not get asfire, aad as1had
no clothes to spare, being in my shirt
sleeves when1 went overheard, l had
to abandon the idea and ~hopethat 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 Ibuilt me a'oom
Portable shelter under the trees, and
settled it with myself that I was in for
it for some time to come. Twice that
day | saw sailing vessels to the east !
but miles away. l also went to the
south, west and north sides OF the is-d
land, and piledup shells on the beach
above the tide mark and placed sticks
on top Of them pointing my way. Who
ever handed would be opt to gee them
and nnderstahdfthat some one had lbeeh
cast away.
A week passed, and no craft came
near. At the end OF FIVE or SIX days I was
thoroughly tired of my feed, bnt there
was no change, unless / wanted raw
fish or flesh. could have made a net
out. of vines and caught some fish, or I
could easily have killed some Of tho
birds with club, but the absence of
a fire was the drawback. Few men get
less sound sleep than a sailor. Many a
time Ihave promised mgssH a slumber
OF a week al the end Of a voyage. II
ought to have slept like a stone on my
island as there was nothing to make
me afraid, but / was more. wakeful than
on shipboard.
About the middle OF the second week
| had an adventure which quite broke
me up for the next day or two. Having,
seen no. sharks inside the reel, / had
taken a swim in the clear, still waters
every morning. Onthis morning, soon
after getting out d bed ntrippsd of
and jumped in with a great splash and
haean Laundering about I was about
to strike out for the reef when ], saw
the dorsal fin OF a shark between me
and It, andI turned and landed without
loss of time. As l looked back some
thing struck at me and fell short by
only a foot, and l leaped away just in
time to avoid another fseler OF a mon
strous devil fish, / could plainly make
him out on the bottom, and he had
come within an ace of getting hold Of
me. The shafk, which was fully six