Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-11-14
NEW ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Strange tales Told by an Alleged
CastaWay.

commences OF a SOrC on fLOUlHSOu
Crusoe who has appeared with an I'M
paralleled story of adventures among
cannibal natives in an uneXplOred part
Of Australia. M. Louis de Rougemont,
the subject of this controversy, claims
to have been shipWrecked about 1868
or a small spit in the sea of Timor.
There he spent some 21a years alone,
and finally reached the Australian
coast through the aid of some natives
who had been blown from shore IN
their canoes. Reaching the main
land on the northwest coast in the
Cambridge gulf region, he spent sew
eral years there, and then passed into
the interior where he lived 20 years
among the aborigines. M. De Rouge
mont finally returned to civilization in
1885 through the agency of some
white explorers or hunters and dWelt
awhile longer in Sydney. Then one
fine day he appeared in London, and
astonished all England with the story
of his wonderful adventures in a pop
ular magazine. Such, in brief outline,
is the history of his life since 1868,
according to his own claim.
The stories told by De Rougemont
were so rich, SO picturesque and so
varied as to defy more than the brief
est Characterization. The popular
magazine advertised the mans ad-
ventures as the most marvellous re-
corded in history, and the skeptics
admit that history, really has no par
allel to them, if De RougemOnt has
told the truth. The narrative opens
with this man S experience on thepearl-
ing schooner, telling of the finding of
two immense black pearls of great
value, of the shipwreck, and of the
survivors, struggle for existence on
the barren sandspit for 27a years.
Robson CrusOe faced no such diff
culties on his desert island as this
man says he encountered. Then the
rescue by the Australian blacks and
the life among them for over 20 years
afford infinite opportunity for the mass
ing Of adventure upon adventure,
and interesting description of the
life and customs of the aboriginies.
De Rougemont had stories to tell
about riding on the backs of sea tur-
ties and controlling their movements
by sticking a big toe into their eyes
or altering his position on their
shells; of octopuses larger than nat
uralists had supposed to exist in
those waters; of wonderful pelicans
fro IN tho dnonTtnH
sandspit, and most miraculous ever
heard of. Among the natives on the
mainland he became a sort Of king,
and the detail which he gives con-
corning their customs in war, mar
riage, industry and religion is wonder
tul varied and minute.
De Rougemont's narrative was so
highly interesting and on it's face had
SO much of the appearance Of truth,
that well-known people vouched for
his genuineness. Finally, the British
association for the advancement of
science last month, at it's annual meet
ing, invited him to deliver an address
on the Australian natives before it's
anthropOlogical section. This address,
which was heard by a very large and
attentive audience, was reported to
the extent of over column in the
London Times. But the number of
doubters of De Rougemont's veracity
was, meanwhile, growing at a rapid
rate. One of the London papers, the
Chronicle, led the attack upon the
wonderful exile, and for weeks print
ed columns of letters from critics of
the mans statements. De RougemOnt
was soon assailed on all sides, by
naturalists, anthropologists, travellers,
sailors. Yet he bore the onslaught
with remarkable cOmposure, in one
or two cases showing that his critics
0Id not know so much as they thought
they knew. For example, DE Rouge
mont's story of riding sea turtles was
declared an impOssibility by one
learned man. whereupon an old re-
tired English admiral, who had seen
years of service in the south seas,
came forward and testified to having
seen a sailor of his command ride a
sea turtle exactly as De Rougemont
had ridden one.
It was evident that if the man was
an imposter he had in some way &C
Quired prodigious amount of out-of
the-way information, and had, no
doubt, knocked around the world at
a great rate. Still, his critics pointed
out that while De Rougemont was I'M
doubtedly an exceedingly clever man,
he could have obtained all his facts
concerning the Australian natives
from books of travel, adventure and
scientific research. Supplied with the
veneer of knowledge, they claimed,
his extraordinary power as a story
teller would do the rest. At any rate
De Rougemont's critics have found
serious flaws in his armor. Many of
his statements regarding his personal
history cannot be verified. He says
he was born in Paris, but there is no
record of his birth there. It is also
proved that he has lived under many
names both in Australia and ENGLAND.