The National tribune., 1898-08-11

- oAAO ASSAoiA VI xAOuOl.
could, even to the hight where the BAN
boos end in sharp points: our bodies were
much torn by the sharp thorns growing
on the small branches; the rain con-
tinued to pour without intermiSSion; the
wind still bowed and each gust caused
the bambooS to bend, the flexible branches
OF which tore our bodies and faces. |
have suffered a great deal i'm the course Of
my life, but no night ever appeared to me
so long and cruel as this, Joachim Bal
thazard then recovered his speech, and, in
n trembling, broken voice said to me:
"Ahl Don Pablo, do write, | beg of you t0
my mother, and tell her the tragical end
of her son.
/ could not help answering him: You
cowardly rascal Do you think. then
that am more at my ease than you are,
| Hold your tongue, otherwise | shall make
you turn diver, so that I may never hear
| you again" Poor Joachim then knew
what to do, and did not utter a wori
only from time To time he made us aware
| of his trouble by his deep means.
SAFETY AT LAST.
The wind which was blowing from thu
| northwest, towards O'Clock in the morn =
ing suddenly changed TO the east, and
| shortly afterwards gave over. IL was
almost daylight; we were saved. We
could at last see one another: all four OF
us looked in a wretched condition.
Our clothes were torn to pieces. Our
| bodies were lacerated and covered with
deep scratches, The cold had penetrated
! into the very marrow of our bones and
/ the long bath we had taken had wrinkled
| the skin; we looked Just like drowned
| people taken out of the water, where they
| had been for some hours
| Nevertheless, crippled as we were, we
slipped down from the bamboos, and were
| soon bathing in the waters of the lake
| The effect was heaIthful and agreeable
| 1T seemed like a warm bath at 80 degrees
| of heat.
| We were quite restored by this mild
| temperature. We got our canoe out of the
| grove, where fortunately it had been
caught so fast that neither the waves nor
/ the currents could drive it any farther.
| We again set it afOat, and soon sue
ceeded in reaching an Indian hut where
we dried ourselves and recruited our
| strength. Calm was now re-eStabliShed
| the sun shone in all its splendor, but
everywhere traces of the typhoon were
visible.
| In the course of the day we reached
Jala-Jala, where our arrival caused great
| JOY. They knew at home that / was on
| the lake, and everything led them to pre-
sumo that had persisted. My good and
dear Anna threw herself into nv arms in
tears; she had been in such anxiety for
my safety, that for some moments the
tears that flowed down her checks alone
expressed her Joy at again seeing me.
| AS long as BalthaZard was under my
protection the Indians respected him. but
after my departure from Jala-Jala he was
assassinated.
| ANOTHER TYPHooN.
| AS | have mentioned this typhoon, |
| am going to anticipate a little, in de-
| Scribing, as briefly as possible, a still
| more frightful one than that which / ex-
| perienced in my slight canoe and in the
| bamboo grove.
| | had Just completed some pretty baths
upon the lake opposite my house. l was
quite satisfied and proud OF procuring this
new pleasure for my wife. On the very
day that the Indians had added the last
ornaments to them, towards evening a
western wind began to blow furiously; by
degrees the waters Of the lake became
agitated, and shortly we no longer doubted
but that we were going to have a typhOon.
My brother and stayed some time
examining, through the panes of glass,
whether the baths would resist the
strength of the wind, but in heavy
squali my poor edifice disappeared like a
castle made of cards. We withdrew from
the window, and luckily, too, for a heavier
squali than that which had destroyed the
baths burst in the windows that faced to
the west. The wind drove through the
house, and opened a way for itself, by
throwing down all the wall over the
CIliTdlCc-uOOE. luc Idkc was SO dUlLtttu
that the waves went over my house, and
inundated all the apartments.
We were not able to remain there any
longer. BY assisting each other, my wife
my brother, a young Frenchman who was
then staying at Jala-Jala, and myself
succeeded in reaching room on the
ground-foOr; the light came from a very
small window; there, in almost total dark
ness, we spent the greater part of the
night, my brother and | leaning our
shoulders against the window, opposing
with all our strength that of the wind :,
which threatened to force it in. In this
small room there were several Jars of
brandy; my excellent Anna poured some
into the hollow of her hand, and gave it
us to drink, to support our strength and to
warm US.
TERRIBLE DESTRUCTION.
At break of day the wind ceased, and
calm reappeared All the furniture and
decorations of my house were broken and
shattered to pieces; all the rooms were
inundated, and the storeroomS were full of
sand, carried there by the waters of the
lake. Soon my house became an asylum
for my colonists, who had all spent a
wretched night, and were without shelter.
The sun soon shOne splendidly; the
sky was cloudless; but my sadness was