The story of the wreck
In 1911 the British schooner «Beautiful Bliss», along with its cargo, was caught in a terrible hurricane. The vessel was smashed to splinters when it struck submerged rocks. Of the entire crew, only the fourteen-year-old cabin boy Jeremy Bibbs miraculously survived. The huge waves of the Pacific Ocean carried him to the shore of a desert island overgrown with coconut palms.
A lad from a simple English family who dreamed of the sea, he had also wanted to earn a little money. And Jeremy was greatly delighted that he had ended up on a schooner with such a beautiful name – «Beautiful Bliss». The cabin boy pictured his future in the brightest of colors. He could not have imagined that fate had decided to cast him into an abyss of incredible trials, to doom him to long solitude.
The first days on the island
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The island greeted Jeremy Bibbs with the singing of birds and the cries of small creatures scurrying through the thick grass. Luckily for him, no large predators lived on this patch of land lost in the ocean. He stood in complete bewilderment, feeling a deep anguish and the hopelessness of his situation. And suddenly a similar scene, described in Daniel Defoe's novel «Robinson», unexpectedly surfaced in the cabin boy's memory. Jeremy's spirits lifted at once! It was his favorite book, and many useful pieces of advice could come in handy in his difficult life now.
The main problem for Bibbs was the lack of fresh water. But he found a way out. Now Jeremy collected rainwater. He also quenched his thirst with coconut milk. And he then used the nut shell as a dish.
Survival skills
Having fashioned a bow and arrows, Jeremy hunted birds. He needed to keep up his strength, and the abundance of fresh fruit on the island only fueled the birds' interest. Now, despite his young years, he behaved like a real Robinson. Bibbs learned to make fire with the help of tinder. He used sharp stones to butcher the carcasses of birds. And soon Jeremy made a fishing rod, and fish appeared on his table.
Following the example of the hero of Defoe's novel, he kept a wooden calendar and made corresponding notches on a coconut palm. The first fears connected with solitude passed. And Jeremy Bibbs took everything that happened to him for granted.
Far from the serene life of the new Robinson, epoch-making events would take place – two world wars, unprecedented achievements in science and technology.
An amazing rescue
When Jeremy Bibbs was already 88 years old, he was accidentally discovered by German sailors from a merchant ship that was passing by the island. The sturdy old man, who had kept his good health, was brought back to his homeland. Unfortunately, nothing is known about his further fate. It is assumed that Jeremy Bibbs took everything that happened to him in his new life tragically. Apparently, the Robinsonade on the island remained the brightest page in his biography.
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