The herald., 1895-06-09

board the English merchantman which
deserted Roberts in the South Seas, and
his explanation OF the desertion was that
the three sailors had found traces of saw
ages and had hurried back to the boat.
When they called repeatedly for Roberts
and got no answer they concluded he had
fallen into the hands of the cannibalS,
and, fearing that they too would be caught
and devoured, they hastily set out for the
ship with the water and fresh provisions
they had found.
To return to the castaway. Roberts
watched the ship until the tops of the
masts had vanished, and then he turned
sadly away from the shore. He wander
ed for several hours amnesty and hope
lessly, and did not see trace of human
habitation. He slept that night III the
, forest.
When he awoke he was startled to find
himself surrounded by savages. Black
faces peered from every bush, regarding
him with great wonder. They made no
motion for long time; then several of
them stepped up to one OF their number.
who was taller than the rest and talked
to him in an unintelligible jargon The
savages seemed as much at loss as their
captive, The the tall man, who after
wards proved to be the chief. came up TO
, Roberts. who had now risen to his feet,
and began feeling all over his body:
then, grunting approvingly, he turned to
his dusky companions and grlnned, but
Roberts remem bered word picked up
| from the natives who had come aboard
| the vessel on former trips to trade. 1t
was spoken in the form of greeting and
! as he spoke 1t the chief advanced towards
| him spear in hand. Roberts hurriedly
said a prayer his mother had taught him
| in Scotland, az he thought his time to
| die had come, when what was his aston
| ishment tn have the chief proffer him the
spear, Then all the black men began
wild dance around him They seemed
| to regard it as merry occasion. Then
| some of the savages went off and returned
| in few minutes with heaps OF cocoa
| nuts. They tore off the tough tibrous COW
ering with their teeth. and, breaking the
cocoanuts open. laid them at the chiefs
! feet. The chief passed one to Roberts
! The sailors quick wit saw that the ma
tives mistook him for a god and intended
to treat him kindly. This was their
method OF making him welcome, u sort
| OF formal INTRODUCED IN to the wild tribe
| who we're to be his only associates for
| many months.
After that they could not do enough for
him. The rarest fruits and the most del
| icate fish were served to him. They an
ticipated his every wish. He was king
OF their king. white god who had come
! out of the sea to live with them. The
exchange OF language was by signs and
gestures and in Il short time Roberts had
| mastered their tongue.
After the wild dance at this first meet
ing the chief motioned Roberts to follow
! him, and they started for the seashore.
| where there we're many light canoes,
made by laboriously following out The
trunk of a tree. Some wero constructed
apparently of palm leaves and the fiber
OF cocoanut leaves. In those seas long voy-
ages of many miles are made in fragile
canoes. Roberts embarked in the chiei' $
canoe. and after few hours the island
was skirted and they drew up on the lee
ward size.
A great. crowd OF gesticulating savages
assem- bled on the beach to meet the chief,
and when they saw Roberts there was a
great outcry. 1t seems that great chief.
MOI tally wounded some time before in
battle, had foretold the coming of a
white god. When out at sea in his canoe
he bad seen the sailors on passing ship.
and on this fact, for some good, supersti-
tious reason he could probably not &C