The record-union., 1898-11-18
WILD WHITE MEN.
Derelicts in Australia Who Pre-
ceded Louis de Rougemont.

The meteoric appearance in our midst
of a gentleman named Louis de Rouge
mont, with a marvellous story of hith-
erto unheard of adventures during an
alleged residence of some thirty years
with the blacks of Northern Australia,
revives recollections of the wild white
men, that from time to time have fallen
into the hands of the uncivilized Aus
tralian aborigines and then been re-
stored to white humanity after long
years of separation and degradation. In
the present unsatisfactory condition of
the libel laws it would not be prudent
to say more of the alleged Rougemont-
ian adventures and experiences than
that they have aroused considerable
scepticism in the minds of many we'll
informed Australians The general i'm
preston in colonial circles is that they
are largely superstrueture of romance
based upon a small foundation of real
ity. 1t is little less than incredible that
a man in the opened up Australia of
our time should have lived for three
decades among the blacks, and rescued
two white women from their clutches,
without word of his existence or his
sensational service to beauty in distress
coming to the knowledge of the very
wideawake Australian press. Louis
de Rougemont" has dropped down upon
us as if from a balloon.
The first recorded wild white man
was William Buckley, native of Mac
clestield, and at the close of the last
century a soldier fn the Fourth. or
Kings Own, Regiment. On December
24, 1902, in company with six other
soldiers, he was involved in an attempt
on the life Of the Duke of Kent. Ee was
sentenced to transportation fo: life and
taken out in a convict ship to the An
tipodes. During a brief stay at
the head of what is now the har-
Dor of Melbourne he contrived to
escape in company with two other
convicts. The latter perished-how
was never ascertained-and when
Buckley was subsequently questioned
as to their fate he was exceedingly ret
icent and disconnected. That it was a
case of cannibalism was the general be-
lief of the early settlers around Mel
bourne. Anyhow, in the last stages of
hunger and privation, Buckley. Law
down upon what proved to be the grave
of a recently buried chief Luckily for
him the widow came along, and super-
stitiously concluded that her dear de-
parted had returned to life in the shane
of white man. She promptly annexed
him as her own, led him to the camp
of the blacks. explained the circum-
stances under which she had found
him, and secured his admission as a
chief of the tribe, position for which
he was physically we'll qualified, as he
was man of great stature (six feet
seven inches), strength and endurance.
For the next thirtytwo years Buck
ley led the life of a savage, hunting.
fishing and fighting with the tribe that
adopted him. He does not appsar To
have taught the blacks anything or
raised them in any degree in the scale
of civilization. He simply became one
oe themselves and ada<Sed himself to
his new environment in every respect
perhaps his best and wisest course
under the circumstances. 1t was on
July IL, 1885, that he saw a white face
for the first time after the lapse of
more than thirty years On that day
the pioneers of the city of Melbourne
landed from their little schooner, and
Buckley advanced to meet them TIe
had by this time become but little su-
perior to the savages around him. but
the newcomers noticed the compara-
lively light color Of his skin. He tried
to summon up some English words