Year: 1877

yaru, anu tne tdll uishppedIcu cutlTely.


My great-grandfather had pulled the
tongue through in one continuous string
He thought it was very extraordinary,
and perhaps it was.


He skinned the panther, and then pro.
ceeded inland. Before long he saw a
low wooden building, which he eau
tiously entered, and instantly perceived
it to be heather temple. 1t was clear,
then, that the island was inhabited by
strangers. There was an idol dressed
up in feathers and, one, thing and an
other, standing in a corner. An idea
struck my great grandfather. He went
up, took off the fixipgs from the old deity,
hid it away, and undertook to play idol
himself, and he made q frst-rate one,
considering that he had never had any
practice. He hadn't got in place more
than a minute before fifty naked canni-
balls came in and began to bow down be-
fore him.


It's very curious, amt itT said my
great grandfather to himself-as he clip
ped one fellow over the head with the
holy harpoon VIII 'ch stood by. The
whole crowd were so scared at this that
they rushed out and brought in gold and
food, and lots, of other offerings, which
they laid at his feet to appease him.
Among other other thing, they brought
in a man whom they had just strangled
with the consecrated lasso. As soon as
the cannibnls had gone, my great-grand-
father got down, bled the fellow, brought
him to, and motioned for him to make
tracks.


My great-grandfather was idol in that
temple three months, and he enjoyed
himself considerably. At the end of
that time, he undertook to escape, one
day, and carry his accumulated
treasures with him. He didn't get more
than fairly IN a canoe, when he was
seen and instantly pursued by a boat
load of savages. He had sail
aboard, and they were compelled to row,
so he went round and round in circle,
and made them so giddy that they were
all taken sick. But they soon revived,
and were almost up to him, when his
boat ran again in the coral island, on
which he had found the oyster. What
was his surprise to find it absolutely
covered with splendid Indian corn, the
result of the few grains he had cast upon
it. He was upon American soil, but the
savages were close to him, and he did
not feel entirely safe. So he took
an ear of corn, shelled it, ram
med the grains into his pistol,
and blazed away at his pursuers. Every
man in the boat dropped dead.


"Ah, hahp said my great-grand-
father, "I'll teach you how TO fool with
a native American citizen"


He left them lying there, sailed off to
a neighboring island, where he thought
he would 60 to farming, for he always
had a taste for agriculture. There was
nobody on the island but my great-grand-
father and first class volcano; so he
would have got along comfortably
enough. only he took to raising yams,
and the soil was so rich that they grew
to an immense size, and finally sunk the
island with their great weight, so that
the ocean poured into the volcano and
generated so much steam that there was
an explosion, which shattered the whole
concern, and blew my great-grandfather
fourteen miles out to sea.


After swimming about a while, his
hand struck against something hard, and
looking around, he found it to he cask,
aud full of brandy, too. To mount upon
it was the work of moment, but the
additional weight sank it so far in the
water that my greatgrandfather thought
he had better get some of the brandy
out at once. So he cut the bung loose,
and inserting his toOthpick in the hole,
drank until he couldn't hold another
drop.


Strange to say that did not make the
cask any lighter, but it made my great
grandfather very drunk, and he became
absolutely insensible. He was aroused
to consciousness by the sound of voices
and cold feeling about his legs. On
looking around, he found several sailors
tugging away at him trying to release
him from the grasp of an enormous sea
serpent, which had already swallowed
half of him.


After violent effort and terrible
struggle the serpent was killed, and, with
my great-grandfather, was taken aboard
the vessel, the captain of which hap
pened to be an old friend to whom my
great-grandfather owed money, 80 of
course the captain was glad to see him
and they Immediately get sail for home
and my gfeat-grandfather, having fayed
the serpent, saved the skin, and pre-
sented IL to the Phoenix Hose Company
when he arrived there, and it was used
by them at fires for twenty-five years
instead Vf leather hose.