Part 2 (1/2)
I was in the streets of Arica, Peru, when the earth began to rock and reel Buildings surged and fell, with a crashi+ng noise The dust rose dense, and darkened the sky The earth gaped and sed upto the hills back of the town I followed to an elevation where an awful sight met the terror-stricken populace The hills of Arica had for centuries been the burying grounds of the ancient Ago it seems were fishermen The convulsions of the earth threw to the surface hundreds of the dried bodies of the Indians, still wrapped in their coarse garments, the nature of the soil had prevented decay When the people beheld this they believed the world had co forlouder and louder as each hty crash, a tidal wave fifty feet high,--the after upon its crest the U S Battleshi+p Wateree, one Ger them stranded far inland A sailor from the Wateree was in a boat, and as he ept past his vessel he waved the Stars and Stripes in farewell to his comrades on board
The shocks had ceased and the storht came over the stricken city Huan their work of prowling a they held high carnival ah it all I had been a silent, bewildered spectator I had fled to the hills only because others did, for I could speak but little of the language of the country I was a dawned and I heard a voice into the spot I found aaway a thief I seized a rock and he ran I aided the injured man to a place of safety, where we remained for several days until a conveyance took us back to town
The man whom I had helped was John L Thorndike, an American, well known in Peru and all over South Ae railway in the world, and a man who at once became my warmest friend
But to return to my shi+p When the Aven of Aberdeen reached Valparaiso, the mate and a number of sailors immediately deserted the vessel in a boat The Captain saw theht John Mitchell and I stood watch alone There being no boat it did not occur to theht Mitchell said to s, I dare you to run away”
”I'll take the dare,” I said, ”but hoe get ashore?”
”We'll launch one of the hatches,” he replied
It was no sooner said than we tied a rope around one of the heavy hatches, and bearing it to the side of the shi+p, ered it noiselessly into the water, then let ourselves down the rope and by holding to the hatch, one on either side, we safely swam ashore
We avoided the business streets of Valparaiso and ht We ithout ht was cory and with no place to sleep Our only thought had been to escape from the Aven, for we had i could induce us to remain aboard that vessel since the phantoht in a farmhouse in the distance and on our approach the in The man was a typical Chilean, short and stout He looked curiously at us and by signs Mitchell ry He entered the house and returned with his wife and two children Mitchell repeated his signs and the woman went inside and returned with a cup of reedily The man then beckoned us inside where we had a supper of meat, bread and coffee They collected a nu, and we slept soundly
The next arden, dreater for the cattle and made ourselves useful in other ways I went almost every day for teeks to the summit of the hill where I had seen a splendid view of the bay, to see if the Aven was still in port One day I saw her spread her sails and I watched her until she was but a speck on the horizon
Our host by this time, I think, knee had run away, for on one occasion he followedhe never took any steps to have us arrested, and in fact treated us with great kindness When we left he gave us a large package of food and sos and shi+rts which his wife had htfall e entered Valparaiso Near the plaza Victoria we paused before an English boarding house sign As we stood looking, a ed man came out and asked us our business Before we could reply he said: ”I bet you are the two boys frohtened looks told hiave us supper
We soon learned to our dismay that this man was the notorious cockney Spider, keeper of a runaway sailor's boarding house At night cockney would start out to so been pre-arranged, take off those sailors desiring to runaway, secrete theain The ae, and as cockney always arranged to have poor runaways deep in debt for board and lodging, the sailor on being re-shi+pped orse off, and cockney the gainer He often took desperate chances in stealing sailors, as the coast guard and other officials were sharp
Many in that traffic were captured, but cockney always escaped
After we spent the night in his ho in the affirmative, I was installed as chief book-keeper of the notorious runaway sailor boarding house My duties were to register the sailors brought to the house, keep a record of their , and present their bill when they were ready to leave I held the position for teeks, when one night cockney came home intoxicated and told ht on a French bark A sailor gave me a sly wink and whispered, ”Your turn will come next, he intends to shi+p you on a whaler” My experience with the ice on the Aven had given ht I stole away fro house
I was in dread of cockney Spider, and, in my determination to escape, I became a stoay on a coast steamer and landed at Arica, with a few dollars in my pocket, paid to me by Spider
When I arrived at Mollendo in company with Mr John L Thorndike, he introduced er, as his ”boy protector”
and told hiive me employment and see that I ell provided for
In a short while I was in the railway shops, learning the trade offrom the sea port of Mollendo to Arequipa, more than one hundred miles in the interior The city is situated in a beautiful and fertile valley in the heart of the Andes The majestic volcanic mountain Misti some miles away rises nearly four miles above the sea and smoke still issues from its crater
I had lately been transferred fro fabulous stories of rich gold finds in the Andes, and being imbued with an adventurous spirit, I resolved to try my fortune in the new El Dorado