IN THE FAR WEST. 395 



compelled to land on the first islet we met, and were only able 

 to do that through the thoughtfulness of a surge that carried 

 us i'ar up on the sloping beach and left us there high and dry. 

 Finding ourselves safe, we pulled the canoe shorewards in a 

 hurry, and had it beyond the reach of the waves before the 

 next one arrived. The islet on which we were stranded was 

 small, and contained scarcely anything interesting, except a 

 few breeze-torn firs, a meagre grass, and some humble flowers, 

 yet it was land, and it was therefore very important then. In 

 wandering about it I noticed several caverns through which 

 the seething waves dashed in masses of foam, and roared and 

 rumbled as if they were in the greatest distress. Mingled 

 with this thundering were the screaming of the wind and the 

 cries of many seals, sounds which seemed to be in harmony 

 with the boisterous elements of air and sea; and on looking 

 down through an opening in the basaltic crags I saw a number 

 of the animals lying on the rocks below, but they were beyond 

 the heavy blows of the billows. 



Pointing this out to one of the men, I told him he had 

 evidently come to a good place; but he only gravely shook his 

 head, and walked away without uttering a word. 



Towards evening the storm abated somewhat, but the 

 violence of the wind was followed by a heavy rain that caused 

 the sky to look like a black pall. To avoid this we sought 

 shelter in a cavern, yet that was not rain-proof enough to 

 keep us from getting a drenching. Our position was made 

 more uncomfortable by the want of food, for though the 

 Indians had some dried clams, which they ate with avidity, I 

 had nothing, as I expected to return to the reservation the same 

 day. I envied my dusky companions their stomachs and 

 appetites just then, and wished I had them for a short time, 

 as 1 was very hungry, and I kept wishing it so much that I 

 finally tried to eat some of their loathsome food, but I had not 

 eaten the second mouthful before I was seized with nausea and 

 its consequence. This made me so faint that I could scarcely 

 move, and when I thought of my situation, and dripping 

 garments, I wished myself back on the mainland. 



The storm having decreased in violence by midnight, it was 



