The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-01-20
Won HaIsbeck's Adventure.
"a Tale of the Guiana Hinterland-
From the Evening Post In Seven Parts'l
PART l.

"a Tale of the Guiana Hinterland-
From the Evening Post In Seven Parts.l
PART L
Tho incidents 1 am about to relate oc-
curred in the year 1915. The strange dis
annearance of the young Baron Won HAS
heck did not attract so much attention
sc If would have done under ordinary cir
c,,n1stances. because the colony was en-
Gagged AT the time in specializing on Euro
mean affairs; and the news of the Baron
having been lost in the bush arrived IN
GEORGETOWN on the very day on walch
vessel from Barbados brought the news
of the battle of Waterloo, and the break
ing. once and for all, Of Napoieon's pow
or. A circumstance which also contribute
ed to the quick loss of interest IN the
matter was the departure from the col
ony. on the day following their arTiVai
in GEORGETOWN, OF the party of four Ger
man orchid-hunters. who had been the
Baron's companions in the bush
It was on Christmas Eve, Is, that l
first heard of British Guiana. 1 was in
Berlin in August of that year, and had
an engag cement one evening 10 dine with
a friend of mine. named Gustav Schell-
ing. He lived in the POtsdammer Strasse,
and I went there ii the tram. When
we reached Potsdammer PIatz the front
door of the tram opened. and an officer
in the uniform of the Ulans entered. He
took a seat opposite to mine, and in turn
ing round to speak to the conductor, ac-
cidentalIy hit Inc across the Sims with
his sword In a moment he faced me,
and said. in good English:
q beg your pardon, sir. Pray, forgive
me for my clumSinesS-
Don't mention it, I replied, ''but how
do you know that 1 am English?'
In Just the same way that l know you
are going to dine tonight with Herr She'll
ing
And that way is?"
''By putting two and two together Herr
Schelling and 1 are old friends, and he
asked me to dinner this evening, to meet
a certain Mr. Marston, who, he says, looks
so like an Englishman that when the
walters at the cafes see him coming, they
always gather the English papers togeth-
er, ready for him"
And 1 really carry my nationality SO
plainly about me?"
Yes; and you may take it as compli-
ment. But here we are at Schelling'
place. Let us get out.
We spent a delightful evening at Schel-
ling's, and the acquaintance thus curious
friendship My friends name was Ulrich
Won Halsbeck. After I had known him
for some months, I mentioned casually
one day that had been in British Guiana,
He Immediately expressed great interest
in the fact and subsequently, on Christ
mas Eve, IS, told me of his fathers Won
Gerful adventures in that colony, and
showed me the account written by his
father in the year 1911. BY his kind per-
mission / took the document, an old anC
somewhat worm-eaten bundle of closely
written sheets, to my friend and teacher
Prof. Krause. who furnished me with the
translation which 1 give here. L have
endeavored in vain to find some trace Of
the Baron's movements in the old files
of the colonial papers, but, as have SAID
before, the matter was little noticed a
the time. In the records of the Prussiar
foreign Office, however, there is a minute
bearing on the subject. 1t is dated the
10th of October, 1916, and is to the follow
ing effect: News was received this day
from Hamburg of the loss of Baron vor
Halsbeck, who became separated from
mis- companions-a party of orchid-hunt'
ers-near the Brazilian boundary of the
British colony of Guiana" There is {
second entry, dated 14th of June, 1917; bu
do not give it, as it would disclose a
too early a point the end of the Baron:
adventure"
The first few pages of the Baron's man
uscript | do not reproduce here, as they
contain merely a description of his arri
val in Georgetown, and his subsequen
departure for the interior of the colony.