Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-12-06

execution; ana the Lark, gaming more
wind as it got to sea, sailed clean
away from the cruiser
Finding that it was wasting its
coal, the gunboat turned back; and
now, thought I, they will get me and
no mistake, for l knew they must
have seen ME signaling on the peak.
In fact, l wanted them to get me. |
didn't want &C &c left there on Mon
tuosa with nothing to eat. So as soon
as the warship came near enough, /
swung my umbrella and shouted:
"'Ship ahoy! Here's a passenger
left behind!'
"They saw me. But perhaps they
took my halls for shouts of defiance.
The hard-hearted wretches began
firing at me with their rifles! Bullets
dropped on the rocks about me, and
| was glad to hunt for a hiding place.
| still supposed that they would land
and capture me, but apparently they
thought | was not worth the trouble.
When | ventured to look again the
gunboat was three or four miles away,
going back to her harbor.
"The Lark was gone and the gun
boat was gone, and I was there alone
on Montuosa with nothing to eat! |
had come ashore at six o'clock that
morning, and it was now long after
noon. | was hungry already-and
very anxious as to what would be-
come of me.
Il went down to the shore and fol
lowed it round the islet. On the
north side and to seward there was
nothing except crags; but at the
eastern end was g. gravelly point,
where there was water-grass, and
back OF that shrubbery, like chapar-
raj. At that end, too, there was a
quantity OF driftwood, wreckage and
heaps OF seaweed.
Il suddenly heard sound that
made my heart leap with hope. 1t
was the low grunting of small pigs.
"They were roofing in the thickets,
and when | stole upon them, scurried
away in panic. I caught sight OF
two of them in the brush. They were
black, lean, and little larger than pug
dogs. l followed after them, round
and about, till I counted eleven, all
black as crows.
Il could see or hear nothing of a
mother hog. They appeared to be all
alone by themselves; and how they
had got there or who had brought
them was a mystery. The only hint
as to their ownership was deserted
shack of stones, rooted with kelp,
which l stumbled upon later in the
day, at the foot Of several high rocks
where a little fresh water trickled
down. This looked like human hab-
tation; but the hut had evidently been
long unoccupied.
What a night that was for me!
Life on the Lark was far from easy;
but there, amidst mosquitoes and red
bugs, with nothing to eat, it was the
Quintessence Of misery. I could hear
the pigs, and there was some COM
fort in the homely sounds they made.
They appeared to be feeding on sea-
weed. I tasted some. There was nu-
triment in it, but the flavor was sa-
line and nauseous.
BY the next day l was furnishing,
and determined to capture one Of the
pigs for food. had matches and a
sheath-knife, but nothing else except
the spy-glass; and the pigs were wild
as foxes. But after a fierce hunt l
cornered' one, and despatched it with
club
II contrived to dress it after q
fashion, then kindled a fire of drift
stuff and roasted some of the meat
had no salt that day, but during
the afternoon I evaporated some salt
water in the hollow of rock, and
thus obtained a saline substance with
which to flavor my pig meat. That
day, too, I renovated the shack, and
made bed of dry seaweed.
"That was the beginning of my liv-
ing Ou lOdSI plS. luS LII 81 OuO 1doIOu
me four days, and would have suf-
feed much longer but by that time, in
that warm climate, what was left had
spoiled.
while running down my second
pig I came upon the skeleton OF a
large animal in the brushwood, which
imagine was that of the mother
of the pigs.
81 saw the smoke Of steamers at
sea, but at a great distance. Neither
fshing-vessels nor other craft came
near Montuosa, perhaps on account
Of the pearl monopoly.
'There were now nine pigs left;
but they had grown afraid of me, and
were very wild. 1t was so difficult to
run one down that l resorted to
stratagem. When chased they always
fed along certain paths which they
had beaten in the brushwood. At
point where one of these paths ran
along the foot of crag, among high
rocks, l built kind of pen Of stones
and driftwood. The entrance to it
was narrow, between two great bould-