Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1914-02-13
MADE PRISONER SWIM
AUSTRALIAN POLICE OFFICER
suRMoUNTED DIFFICULTY.
captor Made Certain That If Any
Tricks Were Tried They Would
Drown Together, and Black
Dared Not Risk Ii.


In the days when the inspector was
a trooper (said he) he took savage
black felloW-meaning by this a
black fellow of some unciyilized bush
for the murder of white squatter.
The slaughter of one black fellow by
another is relatively thing of small
consequence: the aborigine who
achieves this savage eclat is chastened
by an easy detention of year or two
and liberated to his tribe. But tc
spear white man Is a crime most
heinous and intolerable. 1t is visited
with pursuit which seldom stops
short of capture CT death at bay
in the open-a chase of a thousand
miles, it may be, and quick, grim &C
ton at the end OF 1t, arrest or the
alternative. Having now with vast
satisfaction taken his savage, the in
spector made haste back with him to
ward his station to dodge the impend
ing rains. But the rains caught him
A river, dry in the outward track
was widely In food: and on the bank
vi kt-tAO A0lnr LAlC1%NAAk16 q Aoit& AK
crease-the inspector stopped chag
rined. 1t was wild country land the
trooper was alone with his captive
who desired nothing more, as the
trooper very we'll knew, than a cum
ming opportunity to do his captor Il
death.
A crossing must be made
We'll, now, how" the inspector In
CURED of us, in twinkling expectation
of our bewilderment, did manage
it?"
''You swami"
He laughed.
First OF ALL" | continued, to make
the action pleasantly melodramatic
'you strapped your revolver on your
head and having done this, as any
good bushman could, you took your
knife between your teeth, drove the
black fellow in advance, and SO came
safely to the other side"
The invention was woefully short OF
the reality.
"'Tis plain said the INSPECTOR,
that you've never seen black fell
low in the water. Man alive, they
swim like sharks-like turtle and
dugong! A white man would have as
much chance with crocodile. And
there's another thing--I can't swim a
stroke"
Then you didn't get across?''
All, but I did," he cried, delighted.
II made my prisoner take me- And
the big devil had clever dodge, too.
I give him credit for cunning-I do
that. He was to loop a strap over
his forehead, you see, and let me flop
along at the other end. 1t was the
surest way, says he-the usual way,
And that was quite true. But it didn't
suit my book. All they're sly. treach.
erous brutes! Trust myself with that
niger free in the water? Not I!
love my life. He would have turned
on me midway. He would have
drowned me in a jiffy. Ah, no. says
/; it may be that I'm to drown, but if
| drown, you'll drown and that's the
way Well have it, b. gorry!' So /
strapped his wrist to mine-with a
foot of leather for leeway. There was
no getting loose, neither for him nor
for me. 'Twould take the slash of a
knife to do it. saw to the flashing
myself. Do you take my plan? II
one of us went, both would go. had
him fast He couldn't get away He
might drown me, quite So but
would have my hands on his throat
before he got very far with the bust
ness, and he would pay with his life. :"
"And them"
II drove him into the water. He
took me across."-Norman Duncan, In
Harper's Magazine.