Connecticut western news., 1920-07-29

l
 to secure my existence on this strange
 island. The needful things did as best l could In turn. but not always
 with good fortune attending my efforts. 1 In my first planting of barley and corn
 seed. the half of all my precious stock | was wasted by reason of being planted
 In the very wrong time. spent weary | months In making earth-ware pots for
 holding fresh water; and forty-two
 days 1t took me to hew my first long
 plank from a tree trunk. I strove
 for weeks to fashion a stone mortar
 to stamp grain in, only to come at
 last to block of hollowed-out wood.
 Five months Iabored in feIling a
 great cedar tree. hewing and shaping
 1t to the hull of a splendid boat with
 which I was to escape from the island.
 only to be forced to abandon 1t for
 want of means whereby to launch 1t
 into the sea. However. every failure taught me something had not known before. .~ For the clements, there were great winds and rains and earthquakes. But became used in time to all things. I planted and harvested my crops of barley and corn; plucked my wild grapes and dried them into nourishing raisins; raised and killed and smoked and salted my tame goats, being thus for variety of good not so badly served. And so through the twelve years dur ing which I saw no sign of human existence on the island other than my nyxyw H.mN Nxr xx,At< t<N l met with the print of a mans naked foot on the sand. a.a .- ...-- -...-r,
 was then like one thunderstruck. I listened, looked, but I could hear nothing, see nothing. went up the shore, down the shore; but there was only that single foot-printt Terrified to the last degree, ran to my habi- tation like one pursued: and for three days and nights thereafter did not stir out. .......-.. .. f..a.... ...
 After observation I learned that it was the habit of cannibals from the mainland to come to q part of the Island which seldom visited to feast upon the bodies of their captured enemies. One morning from my look out I perceived thirty savages dancing around a fire. They had cooked one victim [ Id had two more ready for the fire, when descended upon them with two loaded muskets and my great sword, and was in time to save one which they had not yet eaten. The saved man called Friday, in honor of the day of his rescue, and his was the first voice I heard in all my % years on the island. He was young, intelligent, of a superior race of saw ages and became my trusted compan- lon for all the time remained on the island.
 What Friday told me of the main land, After I had taught him some English, decided me to leave my island. We built boat, this time not too far from the sen for launching, and were almost ready to set sail when 21 saw ages In three canoes landed on the island with three prisoners for feast. One of the prisoners was white man. which enraged me. double-charged two fowling pieces, four muskets, two pistols, and giving Friday hatchet and also a great dram of rum and myself my great sword, we descended and killed all but four of the savages.
 One of the prisoners was Fridays father. The white man was Spaniard, q survivor from a ship of which had seen the wrecked hull on my island some years before this. and from which had taken some 1,200 pieces of gold. but of which I made small account because of It's being & less value to me than so much sand of the beach.
 The Spaniard and Fridays father I sent with firearms md food in my new boat to bring back the wrecked crew of the Spanish ship. While wait ing for their return an English ship with q .mutinous crew put into my island. I helped the captain recover his ship and took passage with him for England, leaving on the island the most mutinous members with two honest ones who wished also to re- main. Later my Spaniards returned and all settled together on the island, having their dlssensions at first but settling down finally into flourishlng colony, which some years later 1t was my happiness to visit.
 After twenty-eight years, twomonths and nineteen days I left my island. anticipated much Joy of my arrival in England. but was like stranger there. My mother ans father were both dead, which was unfortunate, as could have been of great service to. them; for besides the 1.200 pieces of gold from the Spanish ship, there was 10000 pounds sterling awaiting me from an honest friend. a Portuguese captain to whom had entrusted my estate in the Brazils before setting forth on the ill-fated errand which threw me for twenty-eight years on my island. So pleased was I with his honesty that I settled 100 moidures a