St. Tammany farmer., 1906-02-10
the boat, but Liela, with seven others,
was swept overload

|
ed, upon the sand.
When she awakened 1t was dark. She
felt something warm upon her face, and
starting up in alarm, found Mons, hel
pet lion, licking her face. The lion had
been cast ashore, and, although one OF
his legs was badly hurt, he was still
alive. and together the exhausted girl
snd the crippled lion lay down and slept.
That was the first night Of 553 that the
young girl and the lion lived on the
speck Of land In the center Of the vast
ocean.
Liela did not know then, or until she
was rescued. where she was, but the lit
tie speck in the sea UPON which they had
been cast was one of the minute islands
northward Of the Bellona reefs, towards
the Chesterfield islands, and from the
south side of their little island home the
girl could see palm trees on another Is
land southwark.
Builds Home for Herself.
Like Crusoe, the girl made the exam
fnation the day after she was cast
ashore. and In less than an hour had
learned the worst. She still hoped that
the boat would find heH for she thought
perhaps It had been cast away also,
possibly on the speck Of land to the
southwark. Some driftwood, a few bits
Of rigging from the lost vessel, chicken
coop filed with dead fowls, a few ta.-
tered bits Of sails, and two large tins
Of sea biscuit were all that the girl
found on the beach during her tour
around the island. and every bit Of this
she dragged up the beach, beyond the
reach Of the waves, that were still break
ing high.
Her first work was to plant piece Of
driftwood on the highest point Of the
island and float a distress signal from 1t.
Then, selecting spot In the wind
twisted grove Of palm trees near the
edge Of the pond, she started to build
shelter. She had no tools, and for
days she labored, using piece Of board
for shovel and her hands, and event.
ually she managed to erect sort Of hut
by planting the pieces Of driftwood
from the wreck upright and piling sand
and stones against the outside. Over
this she stretched the largest piece OF
sail. and she and Mons had a. home
There she carried everything that drift
ed ashore.
For days she was on the verge Of de-
spair. Alone in the middle Of great
ocean, practically without food or shell
ter, her only companion lion cub, the
girl gave herself over to At of hope
lessness. But after week Of living on
the drowned fowls and sea biscuit Liela
suddenly aroused herself and deter
mined to live. Young, strong. athletic.
full Of life, she rallied from the shock
and the despair and set to work.
Her first care was for food, and she
began to set snares for turtles, and
from the cordage that had come ashore
she began to knot together seine with
which to catch fish in the lagoon be-
tween the island and the reef.
Also from her scant supply Of pins and
hairpins she fashioned little hooks that
she set to catch gulls.
Burns seaweed as Signal.
For nearly three weeks she lived with
out fire. Again and again she tried to
make fire by rubbing sticks together,
as she had heard Of savages doing, but
she failed, and she was in despair. Eat
ing raw fish and chewing on the roots Of
unknown plants that she found began
to pail upon her, and she determined
to have fire at any cost. She hunted the
island over for stones that would make
sparks when she struck them together,
and finally on the beach she found two
large pieces of flint. It took two days
for her to set fire to little bunch Of
dried, cottonlike pulp from weed she
found, and then she blew and famed it
into fame and fed It constantly.
The evening that she got fire she was
happy, and she declares that she be-
lieved her battle won. Wood was scarce,
but she resorted to dragging seaweed
from the lagoon and leaving it to dry
on the beach, and over the burning sea-
weed she piled wet seaweed and kept
a great smudge burning at the highest
point Of the island.
Mons-the lion-kept her from be-
coming desperate from loneliness, but
after month he became dangerous.
The diet Of raw fish and oysters and
pieces Of sea gull did not suit him. And
then followed the widest adventure OF
al.
Liela was sleeping. It was near morn
ing. for the stars were beginning to grow
dim and the roseate light was shaving
in the east when the girl was awakened
by strange, suffocating sense of dan
ger. In an instant she was on her feet.
Days before she had prepared a great
stick for use in defending herself, and,
yrasping this, she backed into the corner
81 her frail hut, ready to strike.
A moment later she recognized her
pet, and called him. An angry snarl |
her. and the beast leaped.
The girl realized at once that the saw
age instincts Of the brute had been
and that he had turned upon
1er to kill and devour her Like a fash |
,he swung the club, and there, alone on
The island, thousands of miles from
friends. the two that had been friends
ought duel to the death.
Battle with Pet Lion.
Again and again the maddered beast |
capped for the white throat Of his mis-
ress, and each time was driven back
BY a blow, and finally, as her strength
was deserting her, Liela swung the club !
with an effort born OF despair and laid !
The half grown cub senseless, and, be-
ore it could recover, she killed it. and t
hen sank down sobbing beside its