The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-04-17
Fourteen Months Of
Mutton.

I read occasionally Of sheep
freezing to death, or of cowboys
running few hundred over cliff
and killing them. and I feel glad
not glad because any man has lost
his sheep, but because there is less
mutton in the world. Foi t.ver
men got enough mutton ! me
of a party that did It's this
way:
We shipped at Melbourf Aus
tralia, to go to the Ant des
Islands to dig guano for w R.
Grace & Co. The island lies off
the southeast coast of New Zea-
land, out of the track of all ships.
We were to receive G5 month
and board; a ship was to land us
andreturn for us within six months,
and for provisions we were given
fifty head of sheep, two barrels of
salt pork to give the Mutton a
flavor and plenty Of Australian
canned beef. The canned beef
turned out to be mutton, but that
was some time later. Some years
before we arrived the same firm
had had another party on the,
island, all the members of which
suffered from scurvy-the effect
of too much salt meat. That was
why we took the live mutton.
This island is two miles long
and about mile wide in it's broad
est part. It is a big rock, covered
on the south end with enough,
vegetation to keep sheep alive
but not enough to fatten them
and on the north with gaano. The,
north end is table land, fifty feet
above high water and here the,
guano lies foot or eighteen inches
deep. In the center of the island
was a cabin surrounded by four
large iron water tanks lined with
cement. The tanks were to catch
and hold the rain water, for there
is heavy fall of rain in that part
Of the world and some snow at
times.
When the ship sailed away the
company's agent told us to hurry
up and get cargo and he would
return inside Of five months to-
load it. We worked for three,
months like beavers, digging and
wheeling the guano down to the
beach where the ships boats could
load it, for it had to be taken on
board in lighters.
The first three months was one
long picnic; fresh mutton, canned
mutton, bird eggs and sometimes
fish; but, oh ye gods! there were
eleven months to come that we
knew nothing about
At the appointed time no ship
came to take us home; two more.
months passed and still she failed
to show up, and then we finally
roo i0a1 k1,of x1o xuoA ,,,oroo-oJ -,
a guano rock away off in the
southern Pacific ocean and we're
likely to stay marooned for some
time. The outlook was as bad, if
not worse, than to be in prison; the
grub was a lot worse. Mutton,
mutton, nothing but mutton and
eggs. The pork was all gone. We
got the eggs fresh each day by
cleaning a place on the guano,
field in the evening and gathering
the eggs we found there the next
morning. But you couldn't eat
the birds; they were too fshy.
While the pork lasted we managed
to eat some by parboiling them
for about week and then frying
them, but even then they were,
fishy.
Where was the ship all this
time? The one that was to come.
for us never returned and the one.
the owners had on the coast
caught cargo of wool at Adelaide
for England and then got cargo
for Cape Town and back to London.
then to Melbourne, and then [
guess they thought of us, for one
day she hove in sight off the island.
There was more JOY over that ship.
that returned than over all the
prodigals that ever went astray.
TT WAS clear case IF criynipoI