The Press., 1891-06-04
FOLLOWING THE SEA.

At the time of ..the great earthquake of '68," said MT. Swiddler-William Swiddler, of Calaveras-I was at Africa, Peru have not map by me, and am not certain that Africa is not in Chili, but it can't make much difference: there was earthquake all along there.
 Sam Baxter was with us; think he had gone from San Francisco to make a railway or something. On the morning of the quake, Sam and had gone down to the beach to bathe. We had shed our boots and began to moult, when there was slight tremor of the earth, as if the elephant who supports it was pushing upward, or lying down and getting up again. Next, the surges, which were fattening themselves upon the sand and dragging away such trifes as they could lay hold of, began racing out seaward, as if they had received dispatch that some body was not expected to live. This was needless, for we did not expect to live.
 When the sea had receded entirely out of sight we started after it, for, it will be remembered, we had come to bathe, and bathing without some kind of water is not refreshing in hot climate.
 For the first four or five miles the walking was very difficult, although the grade was tolerably steep. The ground was soft; there were tangled forests of seaweed, old rotten ships, rusty anchors, human skeletons and multitude of things to impede the pedestrian. The foundering sharks bit our legs as we i toiled past them, and we were constantly slipping down upon the flat fish strcwn about like orange peel on a sidewalk. Sam, too, had stuffed his shirt front with such weight of doubloons from the wreck of an old galleon that had to help him across all the worst places. It was very dispiriting.
 Presently, away on the western hori- zon, saw the sea coming back. It oc- cured to me then that it did not wish it to come back. A tidal wave is nearly always wet, and 1 was now a good way from home, with no means of making a fire.
 The same was true of Sam, but he did not appear to think of it in that way He stood quite still a moment with his eyes fixed on the advancing line of water; then turned to me. saying very earnestly:
 "Tell you what, William, I never wanted ship so bad from the cradle to the gravel I would give more for a ship-more than for ali the railways and turnpikes you could scare up! I'd give more than hundred, thousand, million dollars! I would-Td give all Pm worth for-just- e-little-ship!'
 To show how lightly he could part with his wealth, he lifted his shirt out of his trousers, unbosoming himself of his doubloons, which tumbled about his feet, a golden storm.
 By this time the tidal wave was close upon us. Call that a wave! It was one solid green wall of water, higher than Niagara Falls, stretching as far as we could see to right and left, without a break in it's towering front! It was by no means clear what we ought to do. The moving wall showed no projections by means of which the most daring climber could hope to reach the top. There was no ivy: there were no window lodges. Stay!-there was the lightning rod! No, there wasn't any lightning rod. Of course not!
 Looking despairingly upward, I made tolerably good beginning at thinking oi all the mean actions I had wrought ir the flesh, when I saw projecting beyond the crest of the wave ships bowsprit paper! Thank fortune, we were saved!
 Falling upon our knees with fearful gratitude, we got up again and ran-rar as fast as we could, I suspect; for now the whole forepart of the ship budgeG through the water just above our heads and might lose its balance any moment If we had only brought along our um brellas
 shouted to the man on the bowspri to drop us line. He merely replied that his correspondence was already very onerous, and he hadn't any pen ant ink.
 Then I told him l wanted to ge aboard He said I would find one or the beach, about three leagues to ths south ard, where the Nancy Tucker wen ashore.
 At these replies l was disheartened It was not so much that the man with held assistance as that he made puns Presently, however, he folded his news paper, put it carefully away in his poek ct, went and got a line and let it dow1 to us just as we were about to give uI the race. Sam made lunge at it anG got it.
 laid hold of his legs, the end of the | al as soon as the men on board had had 8 little grog we were hauled up. can as. sure you that it was no fine experience to go up in that way, close to the smooth vertical front of water, with the whales tumbling out all round and above us and the sword fishes nosing us pointedly with vulgar curiosity.
 We had no sooner set foot on deck and got Sam disengaged from the hook than the purser stepped up with boo and pencil-''Tickets, gentlemen"
 We told him he hadn't any tickets and he ordered us to be set ashore in boat. It was represented to him tha this was quite impossible under the cir cumstances; but he replied that he ha nothing to do with circumstances-di not know anything about circumstances Nothing would move him till the cap tain, who was really kind hearte man, came on deck and knocked hin overheard. We were now stripped o our clothing, chafed all over with stit brushes, rolled on our stomachs, wrappe in hannels, laid before hot stove in tn saloon and strangled with scaldin brandy Wa had not boon xunt nor boi we swallowed any sea water, but tn surgeon said this was the proper treat ment. It is uncertain what he migh have done to us if the tender hearte' captain had not thrashed him into hi cabin and told us to go on deck.
 By this time the ship was passing tn town of Africa, and we were about t go astern and fish little, when sh grounded on hill top. The captail hove out all the anchors he had abou