Evening star., 1900-07-07
MISSISSIPPI PILOTS STORY.
ImpeIIed to Keep On and So Rescued
n Boy From Death.

From the New Orleans Times -Democrat.
Men In our line of business have plenty
of queer experiences said veteran bsr
pilot. but think the strangest that ever
fell to my lot happened in 1893. right after
the great hurricane that swept down the
south coast and drowned so many poor
fisher folks on the little islands. The storm
blew itself away on Sunday" the pilot
went on. land next Sunday morning, hay
ing nothing In particular to do, ! decided
to take our steamer, which was a handy
little twelve-knot craft. and go for two
hours run out into the gulf from South
Point to see what / could see. The water
was still full OF driftwood and wreckase
from the fishermen's cabins. but We noticed
nothing in particular until we had been out
about an hour. Then one of the men on the
boat sighted big red can buoy over To the
sou'west 1t was government mark that
had broken away from its moorings. and
he suggested that We go and see whore IL
belonged. Ordinarily / would have said all
right, but something don't know what
or why-made me refuse. No, said !. we
won't change our course. Keep her head
straight out for hour longer. and mayb
well something better than runaway
red cans
''I had no idea that my words would
come true. but in half an hour We came In
sight Of a little raft dead ahead of US. and
as We got nearer We made out what SEEM
ed to be a child on top of IT. We ran to
within a couple Of hundred feet before wa
stopped. and then We saw that the raft was
evidently the floor of some fisherman $
cabin. The child was a boy Of fourteen or
thereabouts, and he was sitting down with
his head hanging forward on his breast
and his arms stretched out clutching the
planks He looked for all the world II
he We're dead. but he was only asleep. and
when | rang the bell he Strengthened up an
of a sudden and glared at the ship like "a
in he had ON, Was a.
little shirt. And while We lawered a smsii
boat and pulled over to him he sat SO.
staring and saying not a word. He had
strength enough to climb in. but when We
reached the ship he tainted. =
THE poor boy had been on that floating
floor for seven days and twelve hours.f'
continued the pilot He was the son Of a
Gascon oysterman. who hved on Grand
Isle. and the hurricanes caught him
alone I'm their cabin. Ii tore the ramshackls
hut to pieces and he found himself adrift
on the floor, which had hung together
How he lived through the storm is one OF
those mysteries that can never be ex1
planned, but he was carried far off ths
coast. and next morning was out Of sight
of land in the open gulf Then followed a
solid week, spent without food, water. on
shelter of any kind. l have been a seafar1
ing man all my life and have known m
many wonderful escapes from death on thd
deep waters, but never OF anything to comb
pare with this. The boy had To lie down orj
/
he grew weak the crawfish bit him fronj
head to foot until he was a mass Of woundsI
He had been a very strong. sturdy fellow
and before the storm had weighed 16l
pounds. When We rescued him he weighed
less than 100.
''Of course. most OF what / have related
we learned afterward. when he was strone|
enough to talk. As soon as got HIM
aboard We headed for South Point, eighI
teen miles away. for, bad luck would
have 1t, there was not a particle of food Of
liquor on the ship. Fortunately. however,
We hailed the fruiter Breakwater, and got
little brandy and a can OF condensed
milk. and II was marvellous how a few
spoonfuls Of nourishment revived the lad
At Quarantine / turned him over to tn
doctor. and in a week he was practically
well. Then an uncle came after him. an
have never heard from him since. / havl
often wondered said the old pilot in con
clusion. where the strange impulse cam
from that made me insist upon holding ou
course that Sunday morning. If / ha
turned aside, as the men on board de
sired, the castaway would undoubtedl{
have been lost. II was not within TIL
limit OF possibility that he could have last
ed another day"