The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-08
THE \ OF t
NJ. Quad.l

There was never a more absolute
monarch, no matter what his color,
than King Mateo, who reigned over
three of the New Guinea islands thirty
years ago. He was a savage from head
to heel. He was ambitious, cruel and
obstinate, and he " a full of craft and
deceit. He had been reigning for hf-
teen years before his doings reached
the outside world.
Mateo's subjects comprised about
10000 people. When he was a little
low-spirited and wanted cheering up.
he suspended some OF them over fires
and roasted them to death. threw them
over cliffs into the sea and used them
for shark bait. Once a yea he
rounded up all the men who we're all
ing or had lost their activity and sent
them to sea in leaky canoes.
Mateo's father had made the mis-
take of numbering the crew of a trad
ing vessel, and when word had been
passed around the white men would
trade with him no more. h son sent
word far and wide hat all traders
should be safe with him, and in time
/ many vessels called at his islands. He
had copra and oil and other things to
sell, but he wanted guns and ammuni-
ton in exchange.
He hired white men TO drill mis- war
riors and build forts for him He even
got hold of g nunbe of cannon and
had them mounted. He had the larg-
est fleet of war canoes on the Big Is
l. / 4 HIS LAA I'LL 44A ZEAA
made sailors Of, the old chap could
have 0 n into the pirate business in
hrst-class shape. They would run ten
miles to sea in their var canoes, but
they would nave nothing to do with
ships.
For five years King Mateo en-
eouraged traders and whalers and got
ready for a grand coup, and then he
struck a blow that made his name in
famous in every eastern sea- In his
principal harbor We're lying two Eng
fish whalers and five trading vessels.
when he gave a grand feast. It was
his wish that the crews OF all the yes
sells be present, and only two or three
men were left aboard when the feast
began. BY ~drugging the liquor and
food, Mateo made about a hundred
men helpless. II when they had their
| senses again 1t was to find all their yes
sells captured and every person a pris-
| oner. When the various crafts had
been robbed and stripped, they were
towed TO sea and seuttled. By this
stroke the King secured many more
firearms and barrels more of powder,
as we'll as other things to Increase his
wealth and arrogance. The white men
were used as slaves and worked cruel
Iy hard.
Three months after the attack, Cap
tain Williams. of an Australian trader,
managed to escape to sea in a canoe,
but had neither food nor water. He
was picked up by a vessel d hundred
miles aWaN.F LIMA Iput ilbHlllS iditI
before a British war vessel started
from Singapore to convince King Ma
teo that there were other monarchs on
the face Of this earth. During these
seven months Mateo had grown 50 ar
rogant that he defed the world. TWent-
tv-one of the white slaves a sue
cumbed to the climate and the hard
work and scanty God
No more traders had called in, and
being angry at his, the King had de-
Il +o--sF-aJ - q Grand fa1 cf at which The
last of the white prisoners should be
slain for the amusement of his people
This feast would have been held tWC
weeks before H N. man-of-war Re
venge reached the Islands had not tbs
ruler had 4 spell of sickness. He ha6
issued a royal proclamation when ths
armed craft came sailing into his har'
Dor. She was an auxiliary, but was nof
using steam. For once the British cap
tain resorted to a trick. He made the
Revenge look as much as possible like
a Whaler after j long voyage. and the
few men of her crew allowed on deck
were rugged out any old way. she
had six guns. but these were so well
covered that the spies who were SEM
aboard did not notice them They re-
turned to the King TO report an ordi-
nary whaler, and he invited the crew
/ to a feast. His invitation was refused
He thereupon ordered the craft out OF
his harbor. She refused to GO
h British captain had been in
strueted to move carefully and let Ma
teo take the lead in overt acts He did
not have to wait long. In broad day
&sn the third day, and after send
ing him off word of what he was going
to do, Mateo attacked the Br1tlsheI
with seventy war canoes, each one
holding ten men. They padded oui
from shore singing their war songs and
INDUCING in many boasts. The Re
venge had furIed her sails and goi
steam up, and she steamed down te
the mouth of the harbor and waited
When the first musket was fired at her
her crew 1eaped on deck n began II
work the big guns. She was provided
with round shot, shell ard grape and
canister. and the sea fight lasted only
fifteen minutes. Fifty of the seventy
canoes we're destroyed and most OF
their crews killed.
This was the first licking King Ma