Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-09-09
C0C0S MONARCH
PROVING KINGDOM
CIunIes-Ross Files Royal Fa.
Tiers viii In London.
NO COURTS IN HIS DOMAIN.

Present Head Of Indian Ocean Cocoa.
nut Isles Is Fourth Of Reisnine Fam
lily and Graduate Of English Univsr.
sity-Mixture Of Scotch and Malay
Blood. PIebeian and Royal, In Veins.
John Sidney Clunies.Ross. now in
London, is figure as strangely roman
tic as was ever pictured by writer's of
the most lurid fiction. Just now he
Is well educated and wealthy gen.
tleman. descended on one side from
an aristocratic Scotch family and on
the other from royal Malay blood. but
at home. In the Cocos islands. he is
monarch Of all her surveys. and he sur
veys good deal.
Clunies-Ross. whose father died a
month or two ago. is the fourth Of his
name to rule over the little group of
coral islands in the Indian ocean. The
story Of his family Is that Of man
who would be king who lived nearly
100 years ago.
The original Clunies- Ross bore the
same name rs bis great-grandson. He
was born In the Shetland islands.
whittier his family had fed. proscrib-
ed. after the failure of the Jacobite
uprising In the early eighteenth cen
fury. But he obeyed the call Of the
sea. and In the course Of bis rowing be
fell in with one Alexander Hare, a
dissolute, imaginative, not overhonest
man. who had come under the spell
of the east to the extent Of adopting
most Of its vices. He was In disgrace
with his employers and found change
Of residence imperative.
Pick Out q Kingdom.
In CluniesRoss he met man as
daring as himself, though honorable
and straight living. He proposed that
the pair Of them should seek out an
uninhabited group Of islands and live
thereon like oriental potentates.
The young Scotchman liked the idea,
and the two proceeded to the Cocos
islands, 500 miles from other land, and
established themselves, together with
about 100 others. Hare took a harem
along with him and prepared to spend
his days in riotous living. Clunies-
Ross took his lawful family, was sat
isfied with the primitive life and look
ed about for q chance to trade.
He tried spices and coffee and failed.
Then he pitched on cocoanuts as his
best Investment and planted great
groves of the trees. While they were
growing he traded as best he could.
and good many Malays. with few
whites. were attracted to the island.
Hare tried to enslave the darker por-
ton of the population. with such III
success that be was forced to leave
the island. He went to Singapore,
where he died not long afterward. de-
serted by his harem and "courters."
Fortune In coeoanuts.
The cocoanuts grew. and Clunies-
Ross began to make money out Of the
oil and various other products Of the
trees. Trade prospered In other direc-
tons also, and the island attracted
more inhabitants. The rule of Ross
was recognized and welcomed. He
was just and kind and withai canny in
matters Of trading.
Then John. having ruled twenty-sev-
en- years, died in 1854. He was sue
ceeded by John George, his son. In
his time the territory was proclaimed
under British protection, but the
change was merely nominal. Nobody
interfered with the absolute rule Of
John George He further strengthened
bis position by marrying Malay
woman Of royal blood and fine char
acter. Together they developed the
islands and saw justice done.
The chiefs six sons were all edu-
Gated in Scotland. for the cocoanuts
were bringing in tidy sum. George
was the eldest son. and he studied en-
cheering that his islands might have
the benefit of bis skill. When he sue
ceeded his father he devoted himself
not only to carrying on trade. but
to perfecting the native arts. He in
turn married native woman. who
proved as worthy a helpmate as the
wife of John George.
All Educated In England.
Like his forbears. George Clunies-
Ross had many sons, all educated In
England. He was in England with
them when he died. in June Of this
year. His son, John Sidney. succeeds
to the kingship, or whatever 1t may
be called. and the property. There
has been trouble in England over pro-
batting the will. because there is no le-
gal machinery for doing such things
in the Cocos islands. but this little