The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1915-01-30
THE ABoRIGINE WHO
BEAT A HURRICANE

Whilst we waited at Cairns of the
North Queensland coast for the New
Guinea packet to be under way across
the Coral Sea I'VE got ear of. a Cape
York aborigine who had some years
before astounded the Australian
world by saving his life from the sea
in the midst of a great hurricane
The wind had fallen down SO swift
lyand with such furious white vio-
fence S1said they1 that of the i've
hundred luggers of the pearliflg fleet
which ita east away, some were blown
to the bottom within a few rods of
shore with the loss of all hands
In the season of the Great Hurri-
cane this aborigfne was shipped
aboard a 1ugger of eighteen tons to
fish the Great Barrier Reef off the
Cape York coast for shell and beche-
de-mer When the big wind came
down .(said he'd it lifted the little lug
ger clean out of the water-like q.
leaf in gale-and flung her back
capsized and cast away And so
swift was this. and wanton, and COM ;
'plete and careless and lazy, that the
aborfgine was greatly astonished, for.
he had not thought that any wind.
could accomplish it. It was then near
six o'clock of q Saturday evening And
all at once it was dark. The wreck
Of the Iugger vanished In the surpris-.
Ing night and a smother OF broken
water. What a turmoil there was
how the wind tore or the crests of
the magical waves and drenched the
air with sitting mist OF spray-and
what a confusion Of noise and move
ment, and how black, and how white
the rush of the night-tF1e aborigine
could not with any part relate; but
said, with his eyes popped out, in the
nance Of that jinkie- jinkie gale, MY
word, one big-fellow sea He was
tossed and driven like chip of
driftwood all that night (said he); his
head was up, his heels were up, he
was rolled over and over. he was
beaten deep under water, the breath
was blown back in his mouth; and he
fancied sometimes that the wind pick
ed him up with its hands and cast
him through the air, from crest to
crest, clear of the sea-which was
doubtless true, for the wind was mag
icaIIy stroEg,. and in magical wrath,
and magically as sticky as gum.
In the morning the aborigine fell in
with his 1ubra Cwtfe); and the lu-
bra stood by---to help him (said they)
being a stronger swimmer than he
and a more cunning diver after shell
and beche-dener, and more daring
and elusive in shark-water; so that
her value was known to ali the mas
tiers of 1uggers out OF Thursday ISL
and and known quite as well, you may
be sure, to the aborigine. BY and by
dawn long ago come and noon near,
and the wind ahating-these two
could glimpse the land from the
crests of the waves. It was far away
IA low, blue line. Yet now, having.
found themselves they set out heart
lily, in about their fourteenth hour on
the water, to win the shore. In the
afternoon the aborigine began to- fail
The thing was too much for him. He
lost heart (Said he9: he was worn ont
and needed food--sleepy, too, with
weakness. His anxious little lubra
must rest him, now and again-sup-
port him whilst he lay still, and once
indeed, whilst he nodded or to sleep
and in this way refreshed his strength
and spirit. And SO they SWAN to-
gether. and paused to rest, and
swan on-the woman having no rest
at all, but lending strength to the
man. at shortening periods, all the
while In the end they craw1ed up
the beach and fell down and slept for
a long time. 1t was then eight
O. clock Of Sunday night; they had
been in hurricane water a matter of
twenty-six hourss and the man would
been for the faithful little lubra. And
they did not wake up (said the abo-
rigine) until dawn of Monday
All this while the woman had car
ried the baby. 1t was dead of course
must have died soon in the smoth-
er
wouldn't drop it, said the skipper
of our ship.
we watched the aborfgine and his
Iubra leave the warm, green water
That little woman ?'' said L
t3oni my word, not alp the skip
per exclaimed 1.-THE woman went
crazy when she woke UP in the