The times., 1898-10-27
WILD WHITE MEN.

English people are inclined to be skep-
tfcai about the marvellous story of I.on,s
de Rougemont. who claims to have lived
with cahhioais In Northern Australia for
thirty years. The appearance of this
Frenchman leads the Pail Mall Gazette
to recall ali the wild white men known
to history
The first recorded wild white man WIS
William Buckley. a native of Macclesfleld.
and at the close of the last century a
soldier In the Fourth. or Kings Own
Regiment. On December a. Is02, in com
pany with six other soldiers. he was in
vowed In an attempt on the life of The
Duke of Kent He was sentenced to
transportation for life and taken out i'm
convict ship to the Antipodes. During
a brief stay at the head of what is now
the harbor OF Melbourne he contrived TO
escape In company with two other con-
Victs. The latter perished-how was never
northumberland when Buckley was sub
sequently questioned as to their fate he
was exceedingly reticent and discon-
certed. That II was case of cannibaI-
ism was the general belief of the early
settlers around Melbourne. Anyhow. in
the last stages of hunger and privation,
Buckley lay down upon what proved to
be the grave of a recently buried chief.
Luckily for him the widow came along,
and superstitiously concluded that her
dear departed had returned to life in the
shape of a white man. She promptly an
neXed him as her own, led him to the
camp of the blacks, explained the cir
cumstances under which she had found
him, and secured his admission as chief
of the tribe, position for which ne was
physically well qualified. as he was a
man of great stature (six feet seven
incheS), strength and endurance.
For the next thirty-two years Buckley
led the life OF a savage. hunting. fish ng.
and fighting with the tribe ttat adopted
him. He does not appear to have taught
the blacks anything or raised them in
any degree in the scale of civilization.
He simply became one OF themselves and
adapted himself to his new environment
in every respect-perhaps his best and
wisest course under the circumstances.
1t was on July L. 1885, that he saw a
white face for the first time after the
lapse of more than thirty years. On tEat
day the pioneers of the city of Melbourne
landed from their little schooner, and
Buckley advanced to meet them. He
had by this time become but little su-
perior TO the savages around him. bat
the newcomers noticed the comparatively
light color of his skin. He tried to sum
mon up some English words from tie
depths of his memory. and at last sUc-
ceeded i'll articulating the word bread.
He made himself very useful as an in
terpreter between the new white settlers
and the blacks, and when his story
reached London. the imperial authorities
magnanimously drew the sponge over his
offense and sent him q free pardon. He
enjoyed a small pension in his later
wears. and lived until February , IG5j.
when he was thrown out Of cart and
killed in his seyenty-sixth year. IN site
of the present town of Geelong. about
forty miles from Melbourne. was the
headquarters q the tribe to which Buck
ley was attached during his three dec
AIDES of savage life. Three miles from
Geelong there is still shown cave In a
river gorge where he is said TO have re-
sided, and the adjacent rapids continue
TO perpetuate his name as Buckley
Falls
James Morrill,, a native of Maldon. Es-
sex, was the sole survivor OF the snip
wreck of the bark Peruvian, that struck
on a reef off the northeastern coast OF
Queensland on March s. 1876 He lived
with the Queensland blacks until mis- res
cue. in February, 1853. Another ship
wrecked sailor, John Renton by name,
was with the Queensland blacks for an
even longer period. twenty years. The
story of a little cabin-boy named Narcisse
Pierre Pellatier, ought 10 have attracted
the attention of the boys novelists long
before now. He engaged as cabin boy on
the St Paul, bound from China to Aus
tralia with $50 Chinese emigrants- sne
also struck on a reef of the northeastern
coast of Queensland. Officers and crew
got away in the boats, not troubling them
selves about the Chinese passengers, and
in their hurry forgetting the little cabin
boy, who was subsequently found by the
blacks in a dying condition in Granny
among the rocks. They nursed him back
to life, fed him. treated him well. and, in
fact. made him the pet of the tribe Near
" all the Chinese passengers were cap
tured by the blacks and eaten up two at
a time. The flesh OF the Chinaman is
esteemed a great delicacy by the cannibal
blacks of Queensland. From the point of
view of a cannibaI, a vegetarian is vastly
superior to a meat eater. Little Pelatier
lived with the blacks for seventeen years
and was rescued by a British ship, the
John Bell, on April IL. 1870. He immedi-
ately returned to France, where he may
be still living. He would now be man
of between fifty and sixty.