The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-10-09

WnOIe nights my native vile dHu L "'"i'
be immersed IN the sea- clinging on TO
the gunwale OF our frail craft. At last,
about eighteen months after We had Iett
my wife's home in the Cambridge cur
region. we one day recognized certain
Islands and also the coast. and soon az
terward we found ourselves, 10 my great
surprise. at the very spot from which We
had started.
The next attempt ! made was TO the
southwest, starting after some months
Of rest. and cOasting in the dugout as far
as King Sound. / landed upon ex-
plOred many of the islands dotted along
that extensive stretch OF coast. and IN
some OF them I found caves with rude
drawing on the rocks. on what was pro-
badly Bigge's Island 1 found a cairn OF
stones. which / readily saw must have
been the handiwork OF a white We
returned 10 the old camp overland, cross
ing the King Leopold ranges, which were
finely wooded. and appeared to be largely
composed of granite.
MYSTIC MESSAGE STICK.
We next struck was probably
the Orde River. which we followed down
10 Cambridge Gulf, and returned along
the coast 10 our own home. on return
ing from this journey I felt little inchna-
ton 20 make another attempt, ana TOT
three years ! lived among the natives
becoming accustomed 20 the life and nnd-
ing IL not disagrecable. The desire 10
reach civilization returned. and about the
year 1873 started with my wife, resolv-
ing this time 20 cross the continent 10
the south, as I knew in a vague kind OF
way that there were great towns on the
coast somewhere 10 the south. i had
only the very haziest idea, however OF
their position. The tribes were very mum
erOus and altogether II was very thlckly
populated. I never travelled due south,
but found it expeditions 10 go from tribe
20 tribe and from waterholc 10 water
hole. Besides having my native vile with
me-. / was armed with a certain mystic
message stick and. best of all. / had
the power Of amusing the tribes by means
0f acrObdtic performances, my steel "ea-
pons. and the bark Of my dog VINO coulu
also go through a little performance Oh
his own account. dancing to the tune OF
nv reed whistle. / emphasize lhese
things because they saved my Ire over
and over again.
When VIC We're perhaps seven months
out we came suddenly upon FOUR "HIto
men. At this time we were with u ain1u
party Of blacks. who were on "a p""tliFe
expedition. The party had already been
attacked by these same white men al"
had retaliatcd. and. therefore, they were
by no means disposed 20 be friendly.
Naturally. in the excitement OF the NOM
ent. 1 fOreOt that ! was virtually a Dldck
! man myself. and rushed upon them' nut
they promptly fired upon us ana retreat
cd. now know them 90 have been the
Giles expedition of 1slA l Should point
out that I was perfectly naked, ike INC
aavacCs. and was anOinted "liI thr same
protective covering of black. greasy clay
which is used by the natives 10 ward of
D. -.a A.. .st..Trr of Insects nTF HuNTI
| from this. the sur had long since tanned
my skin out Of an resemblance 20 a Eu-
~0pcan. TeDulsed I'm this way more than
/ once. despaired of ever making my real
character known TWO or three weeks
| after the encounter my wife came upon
the tracks of a man whom she described
1s "a white man. and as "a man no longer
in his senses. She deduced tnls lallti
fact from tho eccentric circles Whlch the
tracks followed. Following up inese
! tracks. we did End q white man alone
and diving from thirst. He was hopeless
fv imbecilo. He lived with me for two
wears a serious membrane, and never
reclaimed his intelligence until just before
he died. He asked who ] was. ana "here
te was. end then he said his name was
| Gibson. and that he had been a member
NJ the Giles expedition. The place where
he was lost was. ] now understand CALI
"a BIZ the Giles expedition Gibson De--
ort" and IL lies I'm the southeast OF west
eru Australia.
OFFERED A THRONE.
After Gibson's death 7 made MP my
mind to end my days IN solitude. and
he reason for this was partly that j
seemed doomed to disappointment every
time an opportunity offered itself 20 re-
.irn TO civilization. and partly, also, on
The urgent solicitations OF my wife and
The tribes with whom I lived. Ihey
nointed out TO me that 7 had everything
ID man could want. and that I could DE
King among them. t. was. moreover
quite evident 90 them that my reno"
white men did not want me. Ihus tof
something like twenty years made my
home with them in the mountainous re-
zion near the centre or the continent
where ultimately became King or ruler
over a number Of large tribes. From tal'
mountain home ] made frequent long
i|0urncys and traversed at Do time or
another "a great part Of the interior OF
the continent.
once / followed on tho camel track of
% white party with the tribe for the pur-
nose of picking mp empty tins and for
other things useful to as. and j came
upon am Al s~traliar newspaper. I rem m-
Lor 10 was the Sydney Town and Country
| Journal. bearing date somewhere between
1874 and 1876. 10 was "a surprise indeed.
road it over and over. until ] hai
learned il by heart. and I preserved Do
fn an Op0esum skiu cover until 10 was
literally worn 90 pieces.
Much of the information this news.
naper contained puzzled me greatly ana
nearly worried myself into insanity
over "a statement that "the deputies OF
Alsace and Lorraine had refused 10 vote
fr the German Parliament and had walk
ed out" Turn &C. over how ] might. I
could rot understand how the reprcsen-
tatives Of two great departments in my
own country could possibly be I'm the
German parliament-hno"lng absolutely
nothing. Of course. ~ the war of 1870.
HIS SUBJECTS.
The tribe over which I reigned was
COMPOSED OF beings who were certainly
low down IN the human scale, but az the
same time they have elaborate laws
which govern their daily life precisely
MS i'm the case OF civilized people. They
are savagcs. repulsive in appearance. who
have not even risen 10 such a point OF
civilization as 10 rave permanent houses,
addicted to cannibaiism, ana altogether
Of a. very degraded type. hut. neFerthe-
less. must say that they have many
good qualities. and that their code OF
honor would bear comparison with tha'
Of any civilized nation.
While my natives did NOT, as n RUE
paint the body on great occasions, sucn
as -c0rrob0rees. initiation ceremonies ana
other festivities. they paint ard decorate
themselves elahorately. each trlne nav
ing it's own design or decoration, and
even a ee0metrical design for each cere-