The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-05-16

, MANY little rooms and was well fitted with
shelves of earth Finally he succeeded in,
covering his palisade with roof of logs,
matched with tree boughs to make It
water-tight.
Until he was cast ashore he had never
handled a tool, yet he found that IL
man will but use reason he can make any
thing that he may want He made boards
by cutting down a tree, hewing 1t on
either side till he had made 1t as thin as a
plank and then smoothing 1T with an
adze. He could make only one board out
of tree. But he had plenty of time and
plenty OF trees So he managed to make
himself chairs and table and shelves,
which gave him the greater delight and
comfort for the huge labors that they had
cost.
Every morning he went out with his gun
for few hours Then he worked till
noon. Then he slept through the heat
of the early afternoon. In the evening
he worked again.
One day he wounded a young goat of
| which there were many on the island.
He took it home, cured its wound and
tanned It, This gave him the idea of
breeding tame creatures that he might
| have food when his powder was all gone.
| He built another stockade and in the end
succeeded so well that he Dad 43 goats.
| Thus he was sure of meat always; but
after a while he became greatly dis
tressed by the lack of anything to make
bread.
One day a great gift came to him from
oil, t.ol,
| a bag that had contained chicken food.
and finding only husks and dust. threw 1t
] on the ground. The great rains came on
| soon afterward. A month later he saw
green stalks shooting up and discovered
| to his unspeakable gratitude that barley
| was growing there Eagerly he searched
| and found some rice growing near by A
! deep religious feeling took possession of
| him for the first time in his life. and he
| thanked a merciful God with streaming
| eyes.
| He saved the grain as no one ever had
| saved gold. In the following season he
| sowed it again. In four years he had
good crops, and needed no longer to fear
| starvation.
! AS time passed and his personal COM
forts Increased ne lOSt all MS early lear
| of savages and wild beasts, but he did not
| neglect certain precautions, still feeling
| that natives might come some day from a
| great land which he had sighted in I'M
| usually clear weather lying far to the
| west. whether island or continent he could
| not tell.
| His clothes wore out and he made him
| self garments of the skins of small ami
| mails and goats, together with prodigi-
4 Gus hairy cap, which he needed to ward
the rays of the sun, for he never could
! harden himself to 1t. For this reason he
| made himself a great umbrella finally,
covered with skin hair upward to shed the
rain.
He made many journeys around the
island. save to one part. which was diff
cult of access. In a valley IN the IN
terror he built stockade bower and
pleased himself with the reflection that he
| now had country house as well as a
town house. His pets increased. He
had saved a dog from the wreck, and the
faithful animal was excellent company
| 10 him. He had saved two cats also, but
| IA the end they increased too much for
comfort. and their descendants became SC
wild that he had to hunt them down like
vevnn.
After he had that one glimpse of the