A LONE CASTAWAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7392, 21 March 1911, Page 9

A LONE CASTAWAY

KETOLA’S TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS. GRIM! BATTLE TOH A SHARK. Anti Ketola, the solo survivor of the Olenbank disaster, which, occurred at Balia Baila on February 6th, related, through an interpreter at I’remontle, Ins thrilling experiences when in tho water. All at once ho was s terrified by a half-articulated yell, aud tho dog which was swimming with him disappeared from view. About half an hour alter tho dog had disappeared, however, he heard a churning sound behind him, and turning around he was jast in. time to see a white belly, and yawning, hideous, awful-looking mouth, with rows of teeth, riding on top of tho 1 wave. Thoroughly terrified, the sailor fell into trough of tho wave quite convinced that his last hoar had come. With great presence of mind, ho drew-his sheath knife, with on© hand still on the oar, and awaited eventualities. He was not kept long waiting. Once more ho heard the uneasy swish of the water, and once more the white belly and cruellooking gash, in which were rows of great teeth, came at. him out of tho water. The * sailor, with four inches of steel in his right hand, struck and struck at the huge form in front of him. When the cold blood spurted from tho sea monster on to tho man’s head and arms, the old Berserk feeling- must have entered into his brains, for a lust to slay rose up in him, and with on© involuntary movement he tried to drag tho knife out of the last wound ready for another onslaught. But tho flesh was tough. Th© shark, in an endeavour to obtain its equilibrium, turned a complete somersault, flapping its tall angrily at the man as it passed over. Ketola turned with the shark and pulled out the knife. For ten minutes ho was left at peace, but tho shark was not done. Eager to avenge its wounds, it returned to the attack. For fully twohours Ketola successfully withstood tho onslaughts of tho sea monster, tho latter attacking at various intervals, but always receiving, an inch more of sheath knife as a reward for its efforts. As time wore on th© shark grew weaker from loss of blood, the attacks became less frequent and less fierce, until eventually there came a time when there was no sudden swift churning of the water and no apparition of greedylooking teeth. The shark had gone. Ketola was eventually thrown up on a reef, and after three days* sojourn was picked up by a pearling lugger. A PITIABLE PLIGHT.

• All he had aa his worldly posses stems wore a pair of_ trousers, a belt, shirt', and sheath knife. Rig body was sore, frequently ranked with pain; his abnormal thirst swelled his tongue, and mado it painful to touch; his toes wero cut to the bone through contact with sharp coral shell, until ho found himself in such extremity that, in sheer desperation, he took off his shirt, and wrapped it round his tom members. Hatless, shirtless, racked with pains, ho sat on the rcof thirsting for water. “M> God," said he. "if 1 had had it! I would have given 10,000 marks for a gallon of water then." It was ’so hot that Ketola had to sleen submerged in tho salt water with only his head visible, and he. could not sleen long. Ho was. invariably tho victim of nightmare. Barely had ho gone off when he would bear in his dreams the sound of eight bolls. Re would wake up in a state of eager expectation: in fact, so weary and miserable and wretched was this lone'castawav that Nature took awaV many of his feelings; Re would He about all day in a atuuor. Of raw eatables there were plentv. ■Rock crabs were easy to overhaul, and the great. turtles wore too luzv and cumbersome to offer much resistance. To butcher them KV»*oln vnn’d turn them over on their backs, and cut their hen*s off. It was not a pleasant business, as f ho -noor brutes took such a long time to die. hnt Nature had to bo replenished. Ketola would ouen up tbo .turtles somewberp near the rfNa. and when ho saw a suitable pioeo of flesh he "’ <, ed t-o cut It out aud eat It, of course raw.