The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-06-07

| south by the current. Later events
proved this, although I greatly mis-
calculated the distance, and was prob
ably mistaken in supposing the smoke
T saw to be from the ship I had left. 1
hoated for some little time on my back,
until I had fully recovered my breath.
Then I scanned the horizon, for some
thing that promised hope of shelter,
but I saw nothing. I thought of
sharks, but, as none were in sight, L
hoped to escape those dreaded mon
sters of the deep. So far as swim
ming any distance was concerned, 1
had no fear. I could without diff
Guilty remain on top and propel myself
whittier wanted to 60. But my great
danger was exhaustion from hunger.
did not know how long would be
compelled to sustain myself in the
water, and if hunger made me its vic
tim I knew was lost.
The thing to do, then, was to make
the best speed while I could.
I Istarted offwith long, easy stroke.
The water of the China Sea is very
salt and gives great buoyancy to a
floating body. My only work was to
propel myself.
Without stopping swan forward for
about an hour. was rapid swimmer,
but the distance covered was but q
dot in the vast expanse of water. Then
I rested q moment and raising my
head as high as I could I took an
other survey of the horizon. To my
great joy, T saw far away-in the
direction toward which I had been
going-what appeared to be land. I
could see no trees or evidences of
vegetation of any kind. Probably
this was an island of rock. had
heard that there were many such off
the Chinese coast. But whatever it
was, it afforded hope; and with re-
newed courage I swept the water
again with my vigorous strokes and
started toward the speck. The island
may have been two miles away or it
may have been five. Distance is al
most annihilated in the clear moon
light of this region. All that I know
of the distance is that I swan about
four hours before I got near enough
to tell. what it really was.
I saw the barest rock, rearing it's
bald head high above the water. Rock
nothing but rock. But even that
was something, and I gathered myself
for final effort. Curling myself up
in a knot T succeeded in getting off
my shoes. Then my coat flung from
me. I would have liked to save the
coat, but I knew it would retard my
progress, and I had long distance
yet to swim. I was fighting for life,
so the coat went with the shoes.
did not seek to increase my stroke.
I wished, rather, to husband my
strength. It was well I did so. The
rock proved to be farther away than 1
imagined. But, at last, I had the
great joy of being near enough to see
the greenish-white foam from the
waters that broke upon its base. I
had met with no greater danger than
the water itself. I had no doubt that
these southern seas swarmed with
man-eating monsters, but the help of
Higher Power must have been with
me, for saw not one.
reached the rock.
My heart sank within me, for its
sides were as smooth and as per-
pendicular as the side of house.
There was no handhold or foothold.
The frowning stone rose high above
me, cold, inhospitable, pitiless. I
started to swim around it.
The rock covered, I should Judge,
if reduced to figures, about four acres,
but it was like swimming around
continent to me, so hopeless had I
become. There was no other land in
sight. My hope of life hung on this
rock.
At last, having swum more than
halfway round, found an opening
that surprised me. A gateway was
formed by two jutting crags. This
opening led into IN inclosure-a
miniature bay or inland sea, not more
than fifty feet in extent, or perhaps
hundred, in which the water was per-
fectly calm, and would be so in any
weather, for it was absolutely sheltered
from the wind. Iweat through the
gateway, which was about twelve feet
wide. Inside the inclosure I found,
on one side, what appeared to be a
rough stepping-place in the rock.
On each side was an iron ring securely
fastened.
The sight of anything that betokened
the presence of human being in
that waste was something of shock,
But there was hope in those rings for
| me.
BY a great effort I reached one OF
the rings and drew myself upward.
It was no light task to scale that rock
even by aid of the ring and the rough
hewn step. I put forth my entire
strength. I stretched, reached,
climbed, crawled and glued myself to
the rock like mollusk. Twas saving
my own life. A man performs wonder
full feats of strength under those cir
cumstances.
At last I stood on flat table-rocl;.
It was bare and barren. I had found
resting place, but no more. Not a
sign of sustaining food. could not
eat rock, and I saw nothing else. I
saw in my future nothing but linger-
ing death from starvation. Had l any
kind of contrivance with which T
could fish, I would gladly have de-
voured some of the tinny inhabitants
of the deep without any cooking, but