The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-09-19
4 p10DERp CRUS0E.
Nv Leon Edwards.


Tsland His father was a well-to-do farm
err with four children, two boys ana Two
girls Ned and his brother, ROBERT, OF
Rob-" being the Oldest. -
The senior Pearsall had been In ms
youth. a sailor and had made a number
of VOYAGES to the South Pacific, as had
many of his neighbors, in the days When
whale fishing was more profitable than
now He knew enough of the hardshlps OF
the calling to be eager to keep MS boys
from repeating his experience
Mr.. Pearsall anxious that Neo, the
elder should be lawyer, and that, In
time Rob should succeed him on the tarm
which overlooked the great Peconlc Bay
and Shelter Island, to the east
Unfortunately for the success OF MI
Pearsalls plans. Sag Harpor-lhe to"i
was only a. mile from his farm-was' at
the time, the resort of whaling vessels, the
crews of which were always mace inuch
of on their return from years OF cruising
in the direction of the North Pole, or from
far south of the equator In the winter
season these sailors would gather tipo','
the pleasant fire, on the great open hear,n
of the Mermaid Inn, and SPIN yarns "
their cruising in tropic seas, ana anu e'ie
islands of the Pacific, to the aehsht VI
the village youth, and particularly " .h''
of Ned and his brother.
The boys loved their father ana their
mother and had no reason to be dlssals-
fed with their home, but the love OF al
venture that led their father to sea IN
his YOUTH possessed them, and they longea
to see more of the world than was visible
from the hills about the Great Peconic
Bay. q -,
Despite this yearning for a sea life Ned
p,ioht have gone to college and become
n LAWYER as his father intended, had ne
not when about II years OF age, uhloi
tuuatelv magined himself IN love win
Amy Dawson, the pretty daughter OF
Of course he imagined that there never
had never would, and never could appear
upon the eastern end of Long lslahu, Vi
any other part of the terrestrial surface
so beautiful and perfect a human beng as
ANY. and of course, he further believed
tboueh vouths and madens had been fall
mo in love since the earliest days OF re-
corded history no maiden or youth had
over been so intensely smltten as hihiseh.
Nod like all others of his age, was eN-
ceedingly bashful, but he always 1elt sat
isfied and the laundering at his heart was
filed if he saw Amy at church. or was
permitted to walk home beside her from
singing school. Ned's brother was less
bashful and more self-reiant and it may
be added that he was possessed of spirit
of mischief which took a direction, at
this time that Ned was in no condition to
appreciate He made love to the pretty lit
tie Amy; and, seemingly with great sue
cess The result was that jealousy and dis
content filled the heart of Ned, and, when
uuite in a desperate mood, he determined
to flee from the brother whom he deemed
false and the faithless girl who had the
bad taste to prefer Rob-
1t seemed that the fates favored his pur-
pose Anchored out in the bay there was
a whaling ship waiting for the turn of the
tide at daybreak, to sail for the South Pa
cific islands. The captain of this vessel
was named Snow, and had already made
overtures to the boy to join him, SO that
Ned felt sure that if he could gain the
deck of the Albatross he would be certain
of a position.
Bundling up few of his clothes in a
pillow case. he stole out of his bedroom
window about midnight, hurried to the
shore, few hundred yards away, and get
ting on board of his private skiff
which he expert in handling, he
rowed out into the darkness, guided by the
lights swinging from the shrouds of the
Albatross.
Ned hailed the watch deck and a
rope being lowered, he sent up his package
climbed after it himself, and then sent his
boat adrift.
When the sun rose. hot and red, the
next morning, its rays flashed on the white
sails of the Aibatross, as she rounded Mon
tauk Point and headed for the South.
Soon the headland cliffs and woods of
Long Island became a misty cloud to the
North. and Ned Pearsall was seized by
feeling from which he never recovered,
In his fathers house he was we'll fed,
well clothed, had a comfortable room to
sleep in, and the most pleasant associa-
tons; on the Albatross the food was coarse
and not the best, the atmosphere of the
dark forecastle, in which he was compelled
to sleep, was foul, and his sailor associates
We're obscene and vulgar; but, more than
this, he learned that Capt. Snow. who
appeared to be so jolly and good when on
shore, was cruel and profane tyrant.
I,r1
without seeing a whale, the Albatross
sighted the purple islands that mark the
shores of New Zealand. Here some fish
were caught, and, for the first time, Ned
learned that it would be five years before
his ship returned to Sag Harbor and that
if they secured more oil than she could
carry it would be sent home in other ships
When anchored in the Bay of Islands,
in New Zealand, of which he had read in
the voyages of Capt Cook he was anx-
ious to go on shore and see the beautiful
country and the native Maoris but his
shipmates Mortified him by telling him
that, on their previous voyage with Capt.
Snow, which had lasted for four years.
they had been permitted to land only three
times; and this was true.
A year of indescrbable hardship nassed
during which the boys heart ached more
and more for his Long Island home; and
his determination increased to escape from
the tyrant Snow and his associates of the
Albatross at the earliest opportunity.
The opportunity came when the ship put
in at Pongo Pongo, a port in one of the
Navigator islands. Ned saw the natives a
most gentle and fine looking people, from
the ship, about which they sailed in their
canoes, and determined to join them.
The night before the Albatross was tc
put to sea again, unmindful of the huge
man eating sharks that could be seen in
the daylight drifting through the water
like dense shadows, he slipped overheard
and succeeded in swimming to the shore.
Ned fled to the neighboring hills, where
he lay hidden under the palms and bread
fruit trees for two days. He saw the sail
ors searching for him, he heard their
shouts, and, though suffering from thirst
and hunger, he determined to die rather
than reveal himself, and his heart beat
lighter when he saw the Albatross put to
sea again, leaving him, the only white
man among the savages of these islands,
The natives, to whom hunger compelled
the youth to make himself known, treated
him with the greatest kindness, and soor
adopted him into their clan or tribe. Ned
soon learned their language, taught
them many handicrafts he had learned il
his old home, and at the same time he
adopted many of their habits.
There no need for work in that land
where fruit and flowers and bright plum
aged birds in one unbroken circle chased
each other around the stormless year. The
people were the gayest and happiest he hal
ever seem Yet this easy, Crusoe-lke life
could not wean his heart from it's ceaseless
warnings for his farm home on old Lona
Island.
However, years passed, during which Ne6
Pearsall never saw white man. and he
was beginning to forget his mother tongue
when one early morning, during furious