The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-11-09
DRIFTS
so DAYS IN BOAT
IN CARIBBEAN SEA
Spaniard Rescued After Expert
ence That Reads Like Vel
low Back Novel.

New York, Nov. IA man sun
scorched Spaniard cloaked In a heavy
blanket sat in the forecastle Of tha
British freightship Ikaria and tod
shtveringly how he had been saved by
h fretghter from the blistering Carib-
can after drifting 80 days In an 10
foot ramshackle fiat bottomed boat.
The castaway Is Juan Rodriguez. orig
inally of Almeria. but until recently a
laborer on the Panama canal.
After giving up his job on the canal,
he went to Caracas. Venezuela. and
bought the fiat bottomed boat equipped
with a spritsatl and n bar. and de-
cided to fish for a living. He had luck
in fishing and headed back for Caracas,
blu an offshore wind that finally. be-
came a gale drove him in a northeastern
ly direction and his sail was carried
away.
Seas filled the boat, but he cleared
her somewhat by bailing with his hat.
He a a carboy Of water and food
enough to last Ave days. When morn
Ing came he found no land in sight and
no sun. and. having no compass, did
not know which way to steer. He O
off his shirt and made a sail of 1t and
placed his oar just to keep himself
busy.
How He Kept Time.
At the end of the first day he cut a
notch in the gunwale Of the boat with
mis- jackknife. SO he might not lose
track of the time. This meant that 1t
was September 81. as he had set out
from Caracas on the 18th. 1t vas
pleasant weather the next day and
a school of sharks paid him a visit.
romping around the boat and OCCASION
ally coming up under it with a viol-
ence that nearly capsized it n sent
the Spaniard to his knees petitioning
the favorite saint of Almeria.
On the day of the third notch. in the
gunwale, Rodriguez decided that he
would have to help providence a bit by
putting himself on a diet.
He figured that he might be three
weeks adrift, and cut down his daily
bread allowance to Il mere mouthful
n drank only a few mouthfuls Of
water. When the sharks and other big
sea creatures that frolicked too close to
the crazy little ship for his comfort
were out of the way he fished, having
saved his tackle, and landed some good
ones, which he ate raw. He added to
his supply of water when 1t rained.
He wondered why in SO small! and
navigated sea as the Caribbean there
seemed to be so few vessels af1oat. Aft
er he had made the 10th notch he paid
more attention than aver to his cruci-
fix, but also stuck steadily to his diet
schedule. He slept at night and linz
tied himself to about three hours. he
believes, so that he might ave more
| Till I iooN' ouI. " lllpos
Sits in Water.!ogsed Boat.
After a little blow the seams of his
boat opened permanently, and he sat
in water up to within nine inches OF
the gunwale. On the days when the
tropical sun was blazing, and that was
most of the time. the upper part of his
body was baked, and the lower hall
soaked In salt water. He exercised by
using his paddle until salt water boilS
made it painful for him to move at all
He said he prayed God to keep storms
away, and take care Of him..
He was feeling somewhat blue wher
he cut the 9th notch in the gunwale
calendar, as all his bread was gone and
all the water. But rain came the next
day, and he caught and ate some fish
He began to suspect that navigation
in the Caribbean had ceased altogether
when on October &c at z a. M, just af-
ter he had cut the 30th notch, he saw
the smoke from the funnel of the Ikaria
The Ikaria was in command at this
time of Chief Officer j. T. Meethan. anC
he saw the fisherman five miles off thu
port bow, and headed for him. He was
only a speck at first, and if he had no
passed. The chief officer later got bis
binoculars on Rodriguez, and tina was
when he changed his course He mott.
fed Captain Matthew Robertson, wht
came out and saw the Spaniard hauled
aboard.
He was helpless, having exhausted
himself completely in his effort to sig,
nal for help. He was unable to tel
much about himself until several day.
later. He said he did not know wher,
he was or how far he had drifted, bu
was sure he was in the Caribbean
Chief Officer Meethan said Rodrigue,
had covered probably 400 miles.