The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-27
A ROCK AND A MAN.
Copvrlght. 1898.

Copyright, 1898.
Summers blue sky overhead. Waves.
tossing waves, with crests of wind-nur-
tured foam upon every hand In the CEN
trail foreground an immense granite rock,
rearing itse.f defiantly above the ocean
waste. No other sign of continent. No
sail, or smoke-cloud Of navigating craft.
Nothing but bare horizon circle Moth
ing? What is that small object far away
to the left giving, even an anon a fash
of white against the somber hue of the
waters, as it strives to make progress to
ward the lonely islet? Some gul.s circhng
overhead keep Il curious company.
\ human being. a man, perfectly nude,
alternately swimming and floating
strength or endurance permits! Truly,
strange fashion, time and place for a
sea bath.
How came he there? And who may he
be? This can be told in few words. In
the darkness of the night he had fallen
overheard from a fishing schooner, bound
from the port of Canso, N s., to the
Grand Banks of Newfoundland. His
drowsy shipmates had not been awakened
in time to save him. To find him on that
great waste of darkened waters was even
more difficult than the proverbial needle
in a haystack. In running hther and
thither in search, they all unwitdngly drew
still farther away. When the young fish
erman realized that he must fight il out
alone, he stripped himself of every YES
tige of clothing, SO as to remain aioat
with least effort. He was a good swim
mer. His name was Danny Hogan
Danny did but little swimming until
daylight came. For the best part of the
time he simply foated upon his back or
trod water, the better to reserve his
strength for that which might follow The
sun rose at last, and the young fishermans
heart throbbed violently at the sight of
the great lonely monolith To reach this
rock islet meant everything in life to him.
The Nova Scotia coast is a rugged one.
Ages of ceaseless buffetings by wave and
wind has there laid bare the very rock
foundations of the earth's crust Hills
and valleys lakes and streams, have .hus
been Slapped away on the all-conquering
powers of nature. And the process is
sam going on. Great powders and huge
prongs from the clean-swept surface cot
the uneven shore line, Similar masses
may be found appearing their heads above
the sea level, leagues distant from the
coast; monuments of continent long since
passed away. OF such was the one to-
ward which Danny Hogan gazed with
longing eye. AT night and in fog-times
these lonely giants become danger spots
to navigation. In order to avoid them
they have been named and charted The
one of the present story is called Bald
rock This cognomen is extremely ap-
| plicable 1t is of a roughly hemisphere
| cial shape, with a ring, of growing kelp
| and other seaweed as far as the nigh
water mark. Above that and over he
| whole surface nothi~g but rock. Not a
| tree, not a shrub, MT 50 much even as a
blade of mountain grass or a shred of
| green moss. Truly the least attractive
| spot in the world for business, pleasure
| or even adventure.
| The swimmer. after many weary strug-
| gle between giving up and holding on, al
! last reached the side of the monoth But
| at the very outset it offered him faint com
/ fort Worn smooth and in some places
veritably polished by the incessant action
of the waves the steeply rounded sides
gave no fair opport unity for their ascent
/ Once, twice, nay, three times, Danny swan
| completely around the islet in search OF
! some practicable path. BY srasping hold
| of the tenacious kelp and pressing feet
| firmly against the submerged side of The
rock he was able to partially rest him
self But only partially. Il was clear
! that something must be done or he would
! perish bly,. At Lass he pitched upon
! a spot where tiny crack extended slant
! ingly in the rocks surface. The aper-
lure would scarcely ADMIT his finger tips.