The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-02-20
GREAT TRAVELLER
who Has Been Twice Around the Globe anc
is Still Going--Colonel John +. Hobbs
Tells Some of His Most Wonder
ful Experiences.


81 have made two tours around the
world covering a period OF between
seven and eight years"
Colonel John F. Hobbs is one of the
most extensively travelled men IN
America. His life has been full Of ad-
venture, and few days ago while IN
communicative mood he gave an ac-
count of some of the trials through
which he has passed.
II have been," he continued, "under
thirteen governments and on twenty
three islands and sets of islands. OF
course the largest of these was Austria
lila, which is as big as the whole United
States with Texas left out. The contl-
nent-for so it may be called-is very
sparsely settled, and while travelling
among the aborigines, blacks or kama
kas, as the natives are called by the
white settlers, I had several very mar
row escapes, and many interesting eN-
periences.
. ''I was drowned, given up for dead
in two or three sicknesses, stood nine
hours undressed on the aft half of a
broken steamer at night in a storm,
been in storms and railway wrecks,
had my head split open, and enjoyed
sundry ugly wounds in my body, but
for intense suffering and pain nothing
comes any where near the terrible ago.
nies of unquenched thirst. Once was
picked up on an arid prairie out there
after being two days and half with
out water in parching sun, with my
tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
It took three strong men to hold me
from jumping into the river to which
I was carried. When my tongue did
come loose the report was like the
crack of a gun"
A SINKING BOG.
The mention of his mistakes made
the colonel communicative.
"I'll tell you," he continued, "of one
trying time. It was once IN the wild
parts of Australia, when [ rode for
hours among the narrow gorges of
low range of mountains, passing be-
yond into lovely valley or plain, en-
tirely housed in, except at one point, by
a solid wall of rock some 500 feet high.
stood to look at a fire beyond. The
night was dark. Just then the moon
rose through cleft in the huge noun
tain wall; and cast flood of silver light
over that little plain that held me mes
merized for half an hour. Then /
pushed forward towards the fire ahead,
with the hope of its being the house Of
the only man in that section. I came
to little marshy place, and urged my
horse forward. I was not long in real
izing that had entered one of those
sinking bogs 50 common and fatal in
Australia. rode powerful seventeen
hands high) Cleveland bay horse. I
could feel him sinking at every step,
and feel overy nerve of the horse en-
phasize that struggle for life. The re-
lease of every foot seemed like the
crack of rifle and the terrible ride l
made through that death-trap was
never accomplished by any one before
me.
ALoT OF SAVAGES.
s'I rode on about quarter of a mile
to the light I had first seen. Judge my
amazement when I found myself con-
fronted by tribe of Queensland blacks.
There was no time for retreat as was
in their power. I called the chief or
king and doctor of the tribe showing a
bottle I had. It was bottle of whisky
7 Icarried for snake bites or any acci-
dent. They came to me. Taking a
drop or so myself to show that it was
all right, T gave drink to each, and
their antics as it went down made me
laugh outright. By motion Of my
hand I called up the whole tribe Of
some twenty odd males and females, l
gave each taste. Then turning to the
king I handed him the bottle, at the
same time saying "McCabe"-pointing
over the hill. "Marcaber," he said in
reply, and then by gestures and jar
gon that I did not understand, gave
me the directions I wanted. That bot
tie of whisky saved my life and kept
many a poisoned spear out of my
body.
''That same night I found the gentle
mans house I was looking for, and re-
lated my adventure.
"'You didn't ride through there he
said. 1T is impossible. Why, man
alive, four of my stockmen and their
horses are under that bog
"SYes, know it," said facetiously,
I rode over on them
"'And," he continued, there must
be no bottom to it. for I've lost enough
cattle in it to fill it up
when I showed him next day
where I entered and where l came out
fifty feet distant, he looked dazed and
repeated his story"
SOMETHING OF AUSTRALIA.
"There are only 3,0OO,O0s whites in
all that vast territory" continued Col.
Hobbs, land of these. over 2,500,000
live within 800 miles Of the coast. So
you cam imagine how sparsely settled,
so far as the white man is concerned,
the country is. The rest is taken up by
the wild and never-to be civilized abo-
risines."
''The aborigine cannot be civillzed:"
''There is no chance for it. Expert
nent after experiment has been made,