Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-08-04
A TRAGEDY NAFRICA
WHAT RESULTED FROM A KISS THAT
WAS TAKEN BY FORCE

He
Missed Her, and the Explosion Which
Followed Was Terrible.
You will find more tragedy than ronanoo
III AFRICA. Sometimes, far from the baun+s
VI ci'iilzeo men, lines of life drawn from
0'ner i''huS cross and recross, and the old
eVory Oh human passions is told anew
ooine'imes there are dramatic incidents
'ha0 IN country of mails, telegraphs and
newspapers would be eagerly picked nm and
recounred in all their details, but in Africa
| they are never fully told and are soon for
| gotten. i0i
rms is such story 1t is true, and If
ul' hoC happen so long ago that the real
names can be used:
The coast of southeast A r;oo 4; 49,
the most dangerous in the world. Chr
rents constantly varying both in direction
and intensity carry the navigator far ont of
MS course and often land him upon some
reel or sand bar. The fact that the Robert
hllier, from London for Bombay, should
nave Deen wrecked near the bay of Port
Natal was therefore not strange, but what
was unusual was the great loss of life that
attended The wreck. Only one man ont of
all those on board managed to reach tho
shore in safety.
Ihls man, Charles Lee, an American nv
Dlrth, but citizen of the world by choice
belonged 70 the constantly increasing class
VINO prefer to spend their lives wander
ing from CLINE to cline, picking up an often
| precarious livelihood, but seeing life in
nearly every phase. Lee had made luckv
strike in London and was on his way to In
dia. He had taken passage in the Robert
Miller, hoping that the long sea VOYAGE
would drive from his body some lingering
seeds or fever picked up in South America
fIung by the waves on the coast of Natal
with his money safe in waterproof belt.
he changed his plans with the readiness
characteristic of his class and resolved m
on n trading trip into the interior. Pur-
chasing Il wagon and span of oxen and bir
ing two native assistants, he ''trekkedn
north into Zululand. In his wagon he car
RED numerous articles for trade with the
natives. Among them, carefully concealed
under the wagon seat, he carried 10 kegs of
powder, concealed because the laws forbid
the sale IF powder to natives
| At the end of three months Lee consid-
cred that his trip had been n successful
one and decided to return home, followinr
another route TO Natal. One morning he
"outspanned' at a small village where
there was missionary station. The mis-
slonary himself was away, but his wife
came down to the traders wagon, eXpect
ing to find many articles needed to replen
lsh her household stores Lee sold what
she wished, all the time looking at her in n
puzzled manner. At last he exclaimed.
by George, know you now! How I'M
der heaven did you get here, Mollie,"
Sir said the woman, deadly ralc. but
drawing herself up proudly, what do YOU
mean b. this insult?''
inf
soon as saw you knew hr seen you he
fore. But it seemed so quc,~ ,u:.t lIcl!ie
Flanders-Moll of San Trancisco-shouId
have turned up here, of all places in the
world. Pretty rs ever, Mol. see Give us
kiss for old times sake"
Grasping her suddenly in his arms, he
kissed her again and again. Finally she
tore herself loose and fled white with emo
ton.
Was she Mollie Flanders or was she not2
Lee was sure of it, but mistakes of identifi
cation 10 sometimes happen. At any rate
she acted as if innocent.
sitting down, the woman wrote Il letter
to her husband, telling him how she had
been lrsulted and demanding reparation
This letter she sent by a native to the
neighboring village, where her husband was
visiting
That night the trader took advantage of
the moonlight to pursue his journey, and,
as fate would have it, ne and the letter
reached the village and the missionary at
the same time.
The missionary was g man of sudden and
violent temper. He loved his wife dearly
and tie news of an insult to her broke
down all the barriers he had built up by
constant training. Urged by him, the
chief Of the village sent men to seize the
trader Surprised without his arms, Lee
was made a captive after desperate strug-
gle and was carried before the chief and the
missionary. The former was anxious not
to go any further. The Zulu war was Just
over, and the natives hardly liked to injure
white man so soon after the sharp lesson
they lad received. Still, urged by the mis-
slonary, the chief finally ordered that Lee
receive 100 lasheS on his bare back.
The trader heard his sentence calmly
He made no defense to the charges and beg
ged no mercy. He merely asked that he be
given an hour to put his affairs in order in
view of the possibility of fatal result from
so tremendous beating After little hes
itatiol the missionary agreed to this The
wagon was searched, and all weapons were
removed. Then Lee was hoisted upon the
seat, and his hands were freed, but his legs
were still kept bound The missionary
warned him that any attempt to free them
would result in the immediate execution of
the sentence.
Once upon the box Lee took out his writ
ing materials and wrote two letters, which
he scaled and threw upon the ground.
Then he reached down below the seat and
quietly drew the plugs from the powder
kegs The powder flowed out into a black
heap with which each keg connected.
Lee then lighted his pipe and quietly
leaned back to await the expiration of the
hour When it was nearly up, he bent
down and began to unfasten the bonds
upon his legs. Instantly two natives sprang
at him, but he raised his head and looked
at them with so deadly a CLEAN in his eyes
that they hesitated. Another moment and
his feet would be free.
The missionary, seeing his prey about to
escape, rushed upon him, followed by the