The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1891-05-16

| And now one of the great steamers
carving gold and passengers, the Gen
| Scott. was wrecked on still smaller
island not far Oft.
The wreckers and others saw the WON
an not infrequently now. And the story
rocks was gradually growing higher, and
the lone and desolate figure that mount
ed it taller and taller as time went by.
| Finally the American spirit could en-
| dure this idea of lone and endless cap
| tivity no longer. Two men from Boston,
and some others from | know not W here,
| hired small ship and sailed straight
| for the relief of the poor, desolate prls-
| oner. She stood high and lone on the
| heap of stones and waited for their
| coming.
And what could have been her
| thoughts? Would they, too, pass on
and away to the left and to the right as
| thousand other ships had passed.
Would they come to her? Could they
come ? And what if they should come ?
Would they devour her; as the wild
dogs that were gathered about her
were waiting TO devour her? Landing
without trouble, for the ocean there Is
still and restful as rule, they walked
away over the sea birds eggs and
through the swarms of seal straight up
toward the feather-clad figure on the
high heap of stones. 1t did not attempt
to run away.
And here is the grimmest and most
pathetic part of it all; she could not
run away without danger of being de-
youred by the horde of wild dogs that
literally sat in circle around her, wait
ing, watching for her to come down.
She had been for years building her
little fortress. and she had built it with
all the care and skill of trained en-
gineer. Here was a stone house for her
provisions; there cell for water, and
here one worn and crooked pass where
she could possibly beat back the dogs
with her club as long as she had strength.
But when strength failed her? She had
not been unmlndful of failing strength
in the end, however, and SO had built a
little tower on top, where she could at
the last lie down and die.
One of the resculng party told me
that she surely could have held out but
little time longer.
Strange as il NAV seem, she laughed
at the pity offered her. She would not
come down to them; but when they
came up into her little retreat she
laughed outright and hid her face in her
rich robe of feathers. In fact, as this
same man told me, she laughed almost
continually, perhaps he poor creatures
only form of expression. For of course
she could not understand one word that
any one spoke TO her. And one OF the
interesting things about it all is when
they got her TO Santa Barbara not one
of her tribe was left alive TO talk with
her
DIR. Brin kerhoff, who was the principal
l.,
widow is still there to verify all that has
been said, told me that he took her
from the boat himself when the party
got back from the island with her, and
that she began to laugh as soon as he
took hold of her hand to help her
ashore. He further told me that
as he walked up town with her towards
his house they met a man in the street
on horse back; and that on the sight of
this man on horseback she sat right flat
down in the dust and laughed and
laughed as if she could never stop
laughing.
OF course, the strange story and the
news of the resculng from the island
soon spread all over the world. Bar
mum sent d man all the way from his
Bridgeport home to secure her for his
greatest show on earth" and the state
of California promised TO make ample
provision for her comfort and Well-beiDg
at home.
But before Barnum S agent arrived or
the poor little laughing creature had fair
ly ceased 10 laugh at sight of the first
horse she had ever seen she fell i'll.
i'll was done by the good people of
Santa barbara that could possibly be
done She had the best of care. and
al ha Of nh IL
ed her But she rapidly declined; and
one dav, while sitting on the grass eat
ing piece of watermelon, she suddenly
turned her face away to her island,
looked a moment, and then sank down
on the grass dead
They found a great many tishhoOks
hidden away in her new clothes and
also a number of needles, for tishhooks
and needles were the wonder and the
delight of her heart. and this gave rise
10 the idea that she was getting ready to
swim back to her island. But Pr Brink
erhoti assured me that she was perfectly
content in santa Barbara and had no no.
ton of running away. He said, with
reason, that II was but natural that she
should, after her long enforced habits
Of boarding things, hide away fish
hooks and needles; as the two things
We're important to her in her pltlfully
limited vision Of life.
She left many things of very cunning
workmanship still to be seen in Santa
Barbara. But her gorgeous robe of
feathers. made entirely from the few
green feathers found on the heads of
certain ducks, and composed of more
than goo pieces, was sent to the Pope,
and Is to be seen III the atlcan.
She caught these ducks with tishho0ks
made of bone and sineV. She sewed
her robe of ever 80 many pieces to-
.ether with sinews taken from the
backs of seal, her only needle being a
Sharpened bone. No wonder that all
the wealth of California to her was not
worth so much as a few tishhooks and
noodles