The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-12-08


1t was very fiery.
During the night ! heard II yell ON
deck. ] knew that savage'had STEP
ped on my tacks, but had little doubt
that 1t would drive him and those who
might be with him back to his canoe.
And 1t did. The savages knew that
must have been warned of their COM
ing by the cry and, dreading the con-
tents Of my rifle. took themselves
away. The rest of the night was
passed In quiet.
The next morning l was still ailing
and unable to sail on. Not daring to
remain I'M the cabin, where could not
see the approach Of an enemy, took
a mattress on deck and lay there.
also removed my cabinet containing
my medical supplies and set 1t on the
deck beside me- One thing l neglect
ed to do-that Is, lay rifle beside me-
| thought Of doing so. but at the time
so far engaged my attention that the
rifle passed out Of my mind.
| A cup Of water stood beside me into
which ! had put three drops Of the
| fiery medicine have mentioned. Aft
err paroxysm ! would take a tea
spoonful Of this diluted medicine.
| Gradually the pain left me, and with
relief came drowsiness. knew that
to fall asleep might cost me my life:
but, not having slept at all the night
before and soothed by absence Of re-
bent pain. was unable to resist.
should have suspected that the
medicine | was taking to relieve pain
| contained m oplate or at least soda
tive. for pain alterations almost all
rely on deadening the sensibilities. But
| did not think of this or l would never
have taken it, for 1t would have been
much better to suffer temporarily than
to go to sleep surrounded by those who
were bent on murder.
had removed the tacks from the
deck, for, having unwittingly stepped
on them, | did not relish the situation.
and did not suppose | would have
any use for them during the day. Had
I expected to sleep | would have cer-
tainly left them ON the deck AS 1t
was. with my rifles below and the
tacks removed, was absolutely de-
fenseless-no. not absolutely; there was
weapon at hand that required pres
ence Of mind and thought to use. But
as l lay there trying to fight off slum'
Der | was absolutely unconscious or it,
The demon Of the strait must have
been In league with the savages, for
never had | foated in calmer water.
A canoe Is not fitted to breast waves.
and | never feared the Fuegans In
squally weather. 1t was when the
strait was Of smooth surface that they
made their forays.
How long | slept | don't know, nor
can account for being awakened be-
fore q blow was aimed to end my life.
I must have been conscious In my
sleep Of the approach of savages. Sud
denly I opened my eyes. was lying
on my back looking up at the blue sky.
over which light. 1eecy clouds were
sailing leisurely. My head was high.
| had purposely used more than one
pillow in order to be able to see about
me, and, casting my eyes to the right,
I saw canoe only hundred yards
away.
The defenselessness of my position
rushed upon me In full force. There
was no time to get my rifle. Besides.
If l stood up l might be picked off by
an arrow. My medical cabinet was
open, and in 1t espied syringe. The
bottle from which l had poured the
fiery draft stood beside 1t on the deck.
Selling the two. put the point Of the
syringe into the neck Of the bottle and
sucked up charge of the medicine.
was protected from the savages by
the gunwale, and If they saw me fill
the syringe probably they did not con-
slider it weapon. They came on noise
lessly-the paddle gives no southland
through a narrow space between the
lids of my eyes I saw a head raised
beyond the forecastle. The savage
made signs to those in the canoe that
| was asleep. With his hand on the
gunwale he guided the canoe to point
amidships where he was much nearer
me. There he paused and. keeping his
eyes fixed on me, drew a knife from
his belt.
My syringe was In my left hand
ready for use. The savage raised his
knife. His body above the waist was
above the gunwale. He did not need
to come on deck to reach me.
Suddenly raised the syringe. Never
did l so concentrate my faculties on
an aim. Bringing the weapon to bear
on his eyes, ! pushed the piston. The
Fuegan fell back with howl. his
hands pressed against his eyes.
In a twinkling l had recharged my
gun and lay waiting for another at
tack. None came heard q hubbub
In the canoe and, raising my head. saw
the savages padding away for dear
life. Nor did they stop till they were
out of sight.
That was the closest call | had while
trying to pass through the domain of
the demon of the strait. Whether N