Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-03-03
Marine Sergeant Who Was King
OF $4,000 Natives on Voodoo Isle

not successful. Wirkus engaged in
many scraps-he killed seven cacos
in one bitter engagement-and grad
ually gained recognition as an eff
Gent and notwithstanding non-com.
Once in Port au Prince he took
handful of native gendarmerie and
broke up secret voodoo ceremony
and captured the ringleaders. This
he accomplished with not a man in
jured. Voodoo meetings were often
hotbeds of trouble.
During these years Wirkus kept
hearing tales about the island of
La Gonave, 40 miles north of Port
au Prince and about 300 square miles
in area. Voodooism was rampant
on the island, and fearsome were
some of the tales. A white man, so
it was whispered, was not safe on
La Gonave. No one wanted that out
post duty. Ghosts and spooks, they
said, haunted the place.
But WirkuS made one visit to the
island and decided he wanted it as
a sub-district command. He scoffed
at voodoo scare tales-and still does
and figured it would be a good
place as one-man job. Hunting
and fishing were good, the climate
was no barrier, and Wirkus was
ambitious to make name for him.
self as the key man in running the
subdistrict. 1t was his responsibility
to regulate travel and traffic, pre-
vent smuggling, exercise control
over the prison, enforce harbor and
docking regulations, sanitation re-
quirements, and see that lands were
properly allotted and taxes paid.
Natives Suspicious.
When Wirkus arrived on brooding
La Gonave, he found the natives
suspicious Of all white men, which
was hardly surprising. For years
they had been exploited and cheated.
Their lot was poor one, to say the
least. Wirkus set out to correct
these conditions, and behind his sue
cess was genuine affection for the
native population. AS sequester, or
administrator, he not only handled
his official duties, but went out of
his way to help the people. He
showed them better ways to till their
lands, for the main industry was ag-
riculture. He repaired their antique
equipment and modernized it where
possible.
Mothers were astonished but
grateful when he came to their aid
in bringing up their offspring. They
didn't know it, but he bought a
book, 1.-THE Care and Feeding of
Children" to help him with such
problems. He surveyed the lands
and divided, eliminating bitter dis
putes, and he reduced taxes for
some and boosted it for others, many
of whom had enjoyed favoritism
from corrupt local representatives
of the Haitian government.
1t took a full year for Wirkus to
gain the trust and friendship of the
islanders, and particularly Queen I'll
Memenne. The queen" was the
leading figure in a group of matri-
archal societies which dominated
affairs of business and society on
La Gonave. During his early months
there, Wirkus had made it point to
humor the fat and friendly queen,
and she soon began to accept his
advice and help.
Summons From Queen.
One day Wirkus received sum-
mons at his newly built home on the
coast. Messengers from the queen
delivered it. They were very SOL
emn. The message asked that Wir-
kus hasten inland and up into the
back mountain country to the
queens village of whitewashed mud
huts. The queen very urgently want
ed to see the young American, who
was then not quite Is.
Wondering what it could be about,
Wirkus accepted and started off on
horseback. The trails up the noun
tain were crowded with natives, all
heading for the queens village.
When he finally reached the village
he was ushered, still somewhat mys-