Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-10-31

grew abundance Of tropical fruit, while
birds Of rare and brilliant plumage few
about me through the perfumed air.
''It was about a week subsequent to
our landing on the island. was re-
turning one evening from one of my
short excursions inland when On cross
ing a little hill a strange, startling
sound, coming from the camp in the
valley below, reached my ears.
fastening to the top of the hill, l
looked down into the little valley,
where strange sight met my gaze.
Coming swiftly from strip Of deep
forest to the north, leaping over the
jagged rocks that covered the hill,
saw horde Of Formosa savages rush.
ing furiously down upon the sailors at
the camp, brandishing their spears and
gesticulating wildly as they ran.
"For a moment was almost stupe.
fed with surprise and fear. So suddenly
had they appeared upon the scene that
it seemed as if they had sprung up from
the very earth. ! recognized in mo-
ment that as we'll as the sailors was
in the most deadly peril, for the ma
tives of Formosa are as fierce and war
like as the Sioux and Apaches Of our
own country.
81 heard the voice of Peters shouting
to the men to run for the boat, but be-
fore the order could be obeyed the saw
ages were upon them. I heard the rapid
discharge of firearms as the sailors raj
lied about their leader and sought to
repel the advancing foe Then the line
of screaming, maddened natives closed
In upon them, and nothing could be
seen but mass Of tugging humanity.
1t would be impossible for me to de-
scribe the fearful scene that followed,
in which the boats crew were every
one cut down and literally hacked to
pieces before my very eyes.
cat the first appearance Of the saw
ages had sunk down behind clump
Of bushes, and lying there upon the
ground stupefied with horror witness
ed that awful scene, the horror of which
can never be erased from my memory.
"How long lay there cannot tell,
for must have swooned at the terrible
sight / had been compelled to witness.
The next remember was of lying there
among the bushes trying to recall the
past. As soon as I could realize the sit
uation I arose and peered down into
the valley. The savages had all disap-
peared as mysteriously as they had
come. The sun was low in the horizon,
and deathly stiffness had fallen over
the scene.
"For half an hour I stood there, wait
ing and listening for the sounds Of the
savages, but at length, hearing nothing
to excite my fears, stepped from the
thicket of bushes and stole cautiously
down to the little grove where the camp
had been.
''There amid the rank shrubbery lay
the remains Of the i'll fated sailors, dis
figured beyond recognition. Fer several
moments stood there almost paralyzed
by the horror of my situation. Then the
deadly peril that surrounded me reused
me to the knowledge Of the necessity of
immediate action. 1t would not do to
linger there q moment when there was
no telling when the savages might again
appear upon the scene, but what was
to do?
"Suddenly I thought Of the boat.
Was it still there, or had it been taken
away by the savages? With beating
heart I fairly ran toward the place
where it had been left. could hardly
suppress a cry of joy as I pushed
through the thick branches to the wa
ter's edge and found the boat still there,
unmolested by the natives. A glance
told me that nothing had been removed
from the boat save a small portion Of
the provisions, and at once resolved to
put to sea in it and trust to chance to
be picked up by some passing ship.
"It only required few moments for
me to board the boat and push out into
the little bay. I was we'll skilled in its
management and soon had the sail
hoisted to catch the strong offshore
breeze that was now blowing. Taking
the rudder, ran swiftly down the inlet
toward the open sea. A mile farther Oh
I rousded headland and was standing
out toward the middle of the bay when
I heard the sound of many strange
voices, coming from the shore. Glancing
toward a narrow peninsula that lay
on my left, I saw a large band of saw
ages running swiftly toward the waters
edge, brandishing their weapons and
uttering savage exclamations as they
ran.
"A shudder passed over me az l
thought of what my fate would be
should fall into their hands. But as |
could see no boat in which they could
pursue me upon the water I felt that 1
was safe beyond their reach. However,
my feeling of security was of short du-
ration, for scarcely had the savages reach
ed the waters edge when I saw them
scramble down among the rocks and
disappear into what seemed to be kind
of grotto. A moment later long canoe,
filled with the natives, shot out into the
bay and came swiftly in pursuit. Then
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