Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1900-01-24
AMAZING ADVENTURE
Story Of a cast-Away Ships Crew
as Related by Mark Twain.
The Survival of Every Person In The
Boat the Most Remarkable In
History of Adventures OF
This Kind.

ooht tht " @spit IN
History of Adventures OF
This Kind.
The title Of Mark Twain's story, "My
Debut as a Literary Person. gives no
idea Of the terrible tragedy OF which it
tells. In May, 1866, Il merchantmen
was destroyed by fire at sea,andthecrew
and two passengers put of in three
boats. with rntions for ten days. Two
Of the boats were lost, but the captains,
with Is frightfully emnciatcd men
aboard, reached the Hawaiian islands
- days later, after n voyage Of 1000
miles or so. One Of the two passengers
still survives. and has long been n pro-
icssor in Trinity college, Hartford.
Mary Twain got the story from the sur
%viyors. whom he accompanied from
Honolulu TO san Francisco.
at is an amazing adventure. There
is nothing of lis sort in history that sur
passes it in impossibilitics made pcssi-
bic. IN one extraordinary lctail-thc
survival Of every person in the hoat-it
probably stands alone in the history
of adventures of It's kind. Usually
merely a part of o boats company sur
yiye-oticrrs. mainly, and oihcrcducat-
cd and lcndorly reared mcn unused TO
hardship and heavy labor: the I'M
trained, roughly reared, hard workers
succumb. But in this case even the rud-
est and toughest stood the rrivations
and miscricS of the voyage almost as
well rs did the college-hrcI young
brothers and the captain. mean. phys
ically. The minds Of most OF the sail
ors broke down in the fourth week and
went to temporary ruin, but physically
the endurance exhibited WAS astonish-
ing. Those men did not survive by any
merit of their own, of coursc, but by
merit OF the character and Intelligence
OF the captain; they lived by the mas
terry of his spirit. Without him they
would have been children without Il
nurse. They would have exhausted
their provisions in j week, and their
pluck would not have LASTED even as
long rs the provisions.
''rhe boat came near 10 being
wrecked nj the last. As il approached
the shore the sail was let go, and came
down with a run; then the captain saw
that he was drifting swift.y toward an
ugly reef, ard an effort wJs made ia
hoist the sail again; but il could not be
done; the mems strength WAS wholly
exhausted; they could not even pull an
car. They were helpless, and death i'm.
minent. It was then that they we're dis
covered by the two KGnukus who
achieved the rescue. They SWAIN out
and manned The boat and plotted her
through "A narrow and hardly notice
able break in the rcef-thc only break
in il in n stretch of IS miles! The spot
where the landing was made WAS the
only one in that stretch where footing
could have been found on the shore;
everywhere else precipices came sheer
down into 40 rathoms of water. Also,
in all hat stretch this was the only
spot where anybody lived.
within ten days after iii" landing
all the men but one were up and creep
ing about. Properly, they ought to have
killed themselves with thc food 81
the last few day-spmc OF them. n
any rate-mon who had frciphtcG their
stomachs with strips of leather from
old boots ard with chips from the lut-
tcr-cask; n freightagc which they I'D
not get rid Of by digestion, but by other
means. The captain and the two pas
sengcrs did not eat trips and chips. as
the sailors did, huI >crapcd the boot
leather and the wood, and made n pulp
of the scrapings by moisteaing them
with water. The Third raate told me
that The boots were old and full of holes;
then added thoughtfully, hut the holes
digcsjed the best Speaking of digcs-
ton, here is a remarkable thing, and
worth noting; durir" this strange voy-
age, ard for awhile afttrward on shore.
the bowels of some cf The men virtually
ceased from their functions; in some
eases there was no action for - and 20
days. and in one case for "a! Slccpirg
also came To be rare. Yet the men did
very well without il. During many
days the captain did not sleep nj all
81, ] think. on one stretch.
when the landing was made. all the
men were successfully protected from
overeating except the Portyghec;' he
escaped the watch and ate an incredible
nuinbr of bananas; . hundred and fifty
two, the third mate said, but this WIS
undoubtedly an cy2egrration; ! thiHk
il was l51. He was already nearly fun
Of leather; il was hanging out Of his
ears. q do net state this on the third
mates authority, for ~ have seen what
sort of person he was; ! state il on my
own.) The ~'Portyghce' ought TO have
died. of course. and even now IL seems
a pity that he didn't: but he got well.
and as early MS amy ofthem; and all 'ull
of leather. too, the way he was, and but.
ter-timber and haudkcrchiefs and ba.
nanas. Some Of The ncn did eat hand.
kerchiefs in these last days. also socks;
and he was one of thrm."-Century.