The Ordway new era., 1914-03-27
MADE PRISONER SWIM
AUSTRALIAN POLICE OFFICER
suRMouNrEp DIFFICULTY.
captor Made Certain That II Any
Tricks Were Tried They Would
Drown Together, and Black
Dared Not Risk Il.

In the days when the inspector was
q trooper (said he) he took q savage
black fellov-meaning by thiA q
black fellow of some uncivilized bush
for the murder Of a 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 to
spear white man Is a crime most
heinous and intolerable. 1t is visited
with a pursuit which seldom stops
short of capture or a death at bay
In the open-a chase Of a thousand
miles. 1t 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 flood; and on the bank
Of 1.-THE rain threatening a long in
crease-the inspector stopped chag.
rined. 1t was wild country .and the
trooper was alone with his captive,
who desired nothing more. as the
trooper very well knew, than a Gun.
ming opportunity to do his captor 70
death.
A crossing must be made.
well, now. how" the inspector in.
quired of US. In twinkling expectation
Of our bewilderment. did l manage
IT,"
you swami" a
He laughed.
First Of ALL" I 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 fel-
low in the water. Man alive. they
swim like sharks-like turtle and
dugong! A white man would have as
much chance with a crocodile. And
there's another thing-I can't swim a
stroke"
"Then you didn't get across?"
"Ah. but / did!" he cried, delighted.
II made my prisoner take me. And
the big devil had 4 clever dodge. too.
give him credit for cunning do
that. He was to loop a strap over
his forehead, you see. and let me fiop
nfopU az the othor opd II mo. xha
surest way. says he-the usual way.
And that was quite true. But 1t didn't
suit nv book. All. they're sly. treach-
erous brutes! Trust myself with that
niger free in the water? Not 1! I
love my life. He would have turned
on me midway. He would have
drowned me in jiffy. 'Ah. no. says
I: 1t may be that I'm to drown, but IL
I drown. you'll drown. and that's the
way we'll have Il. b. gorry!' So I
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 1t. saw to the lashing
myself. Do you take my plan? If
one of us went. both would go. had
him fast. He couldn't get away. He
might drown me. quite so: but I
would have my hands ON his throat
before he got very far with the busi-
ness. and he would pay with his Hfe."
"And them"
( 'I drove him into the water. He
took me across."-Norman Duncan, in
Harper's Magazine.