The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-21
a ROYAL BRIDEGROOM.
OumaIea, the King of the CannibaI
Islands, in New York.
From the New York World.

From the New York World.
The King of the Cannibal Islands is,in
town. He isn't a splendid specimen of
savage manhood or anything of that
sort. but just a plain. ordinary Ameri-
can citizen with broad shoulders, thick
limbs. dark. frank eyes and a kindly
honest face. He is Col. John F. Hobbs,
a native of Lexington county, South Caro-
lima, later of Sydney, Australia, and last
ly Qumalea, or emperor of the Iilka Is
lands of the New Hebrides group. His
kingdom is in the Southern Ocean, 1900
miles east of Australia.
The oumalea is going to marry, before
ne leaves this city, Miss Ella Collin, the
daughter of Mr.. P. Collin, whose home
is at No. S77 Fourth avenue, this city.
When a World reporter called on the
King of the Csnnibal Islands he was
agreeably surprised to find him mild
voiced and soft spoken, without the
slightest trace of the professional adven-
turer in his manner.
Il was sent out in 1890 by the Austria
liam government" he said, Ito investigate
the working of the new labor law. White
men, Papuans, Javanese-au sorts of la
borers had been tried in the new sugar
fields of Australia, but none were worth
having but the men from the New He
brides group. They are tall well-made
saddle-colored fellows, with curly black
hair.
The contractors were careless in re-
turning them to their island homes after
their terms of service in the canehelds,
and as the islands differ in the language
spoken on them and all persons speak
ing a strange language are regarded as
enemies, great numbers of the returned
labOreTS nv
tious tribes as a matter of safety Under
the new law each laborer was to be sent
back to his own king and his own island
latitude and longitude so-and-sO to pre-
vent his being eaten. I was sent out to re-
port on how that law was being kept
by the contractors.
our little sixty-ton schooner was caught
in a hurricane one night, and at o'clock
IN the morning word was passed Every
man for himself ! fastened "A cork Jacket
over my pajamas and jumped overheard
For two days I drifted and then l was
picked up almost dead by two fishermen
from the Ilika Islands. They were twenty
miles off shore. If l had landed on their
island | would have been killed and eaten
as an enemy, but being white and coming
from over the bill of water as they call
the horizon, they regarded me as a mys-
ferrous messenger from God. They took
me before the King, who adopted me
The Ilikans had been preparing for
war for a long time. They expected a hos
tile visit from a neighborng nation. I per-
suaded the king TO let me form an ambush
something entirely new to him Our
scouts, acting under orders, retreated IN
a raVine before the enemy. When we had
them all entrapped we fell on them from
all sides and soon had them beaten. The
king was so delighted with this new bit
of strategy that he appointed me a war
chief forever
"As for the invaders. they asked us
to send them home in our boats-a sign
that they acknowledged complete defeat
and would remain forever after our In,
ferior friends
Not long after this a French man-of-
war stopped at our island and hung OUT
a trading signal AS many of our peo-
pie went aboard, I went. too I demand
ed to be taken away, but the Frenchmen