The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-04-02
A TRUE ROMANCE.

William B. Walker, a gentleman who
moved from the Mississippi valley to Seat
tie and has offices in the Bailey building,
tells story of an acquaintance of his
whose experiences in South Africa are of
a rather romantic character. Early in the
eighties Henry Moore lived near Corinth,
Miss, and was shiftless sors of follow.
He gathered courage enough to shift from
there, however, and climbing on the end
Of a railroad train managed to ride blind
baggage TO Denver. He spent some time
in Colorado, then drifted to the Arizona
gOld6elds, lounged in the everlasting sun
shine of Mexico for while and one day
found himself at Galveston. There he
drifted on board sailing ship and the
ship drifted him to the eastern coast Of
Africa
Here he found there was gold to be had
without the digging When the ship got
to Liverpool he spent all his wages in trim
kets and worked his way back to Africa
on another ship. His exploits from the
time he landed the second time throw those
Of Livingstone and Stanley entirely in the
shade, for they went armed, with a retiDue
Of followers, with baggage wagons and
tents, cOmmissary department and cooks.
All alone, with as big a pack as be could
carry, he started from the east coast in q
direct line for the west. He disappeared
Al LAAb ~ Ial4Su III J6AlGlIdJA5 ACEbSlS anu
was heard no more Of for over a year.
Not that there was any inquiry after him,
for he was not newspaper explorer and
had, in fact, kept his project a secret.
1t was something over year before he
was again seen by one Of his race or heard
his native tongue. He got back to tho
coast, bu5 was not carrying his pack. He
had a string of camels and donkeys to
carry it and it had grown to a go0dly size.
There were ivory tusks in it and gold mug
gets and precious stones and curious things
never seen before. All by himself he had
gone nearly 600 miles into the interior
and bin doin right smart o. tradin with
The coons, - he mOdestly said.
Meet any savages?' he was asked.
mostly all savages, - was the quiet re-
ply
And cannibals?'
Yes they is most all cannibals, but
nary a one NV en- ever eat me an am
here to prove it."
This is what be said when he got back
to Corinth, some time later. What he did
whom he got his goods to the coast was to
get them and himself on to q ship and at
Liverpool he disposed of them. With a
small part of the money he invested in a
still larger pack, and again went into the
Wllds of Africa, but this time with don
keys and oamels and native servants. He
passed through MashOnaland and to the
northward. he carried many bundles Of
matches, and when he deity and swiftly
swung his right hand upward past his
thigh, and fire was the result the natives
were ready to worship the 6remaker- He
also took few firearms. When he came
to a large village on the morning of a fes-
tival, he had the ruler informed that he
could kill q man, and nobody would
know ''what had struck him" The king
was curious about this and ordered out
one of his young chiefs to be experiment
cd upon. Moore said his machine would
work just we'll upon a COW, and an ami
mai intended for slaughter was placed 300
yards away, which dropped dead whom
struck by Nloore's bullet. Moore said he
could have had bigger piece Of land than
the whole of the state of Mississippi, and
its live stock thrown in, for that rifle, but
he could only bargain for things that he
could carry away with him. Some time
after that, however, he did receive a dOna-
tion of land about 20 miles square from
one of these African kings in the interior
and sold half interest in it to an English
syndicate Tor nearly 81, OO0,0 900.
Moore got back to Corinth in 1887 and
has been going and coming between Africa
and this country ever since. When Chat
tanooga had land boom, he went there
and asked the price of a large tract. Che
price was SIS, GOO.
But how much cashg" asked Moore.
He bargained it down to SO, 600 and
gave check for that amount on a san
Francisco bank. The land dealer laughed
at it, but en- a telegram being sent TO San
Francisco on which the check was drawn
replied, Moore good for $3.50. 600. y
Moore has $500, GOO in government
bonds and large accounts with several
banks. He is not married, and his family
connections are all poor peOple-that is,
they were poor before he returned. He has
sent his brother two daughters to fash
ionable boarding school and given each q
bank account of 500 600. He has also
taken his brothers boy and sent him to
school. To the rest of his family and in
innate friends he has also been liberal.
81 have in my possession, said blr.
Walker, "a piece Of seaweed that Moore
Brought from the Red sea, picked up near
the spot where Pharaoh 8 army tried to
cross.
This proves the wonderful romance to
be perfectly true. TT Seattle Post-Inteli-
gencsr.