MOTORISTS AND SAVAGES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12401, 14 October 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

MOTORISTS AND SAVAGES.

' -** , . I I A nw months ago Mr. Kapferer ami his j friend Mr. Kin oops, both residents of iSinn.i- j ira, and anient aut-omobilists, decided to , cross that island in a motor-car. ; The story of their adventures is almost as ' exciting as Gordon Bennett, races. . j One day they stopped at a native village, ! and the natives were vastly interested iu the I motor-car, especially the "hadji," or priest, j Suddenly, however, there was an agonising > shriek, and " they saw the old ' hudji' run- j ning hither and thither, howling out curses , and holding his hand. In his thirst for ; knowledge he hud begun to examine the j levers, and hail jammed his hand somewhere j in the motor." j The motorists could not restrain their : laughter, and the natives thought, that the ; thing hud been done on purpose. The motor- ; ists got on their car and fled, but the speed j lever jammed, and the natives easily kept up. j Brandishing their long knives, they came ; on like fast hounds, and some of them. ran j by a short path through the wood to cut the , motor off at. a. bend of the road. This was j running the gauntlet with a vengeance '. "Seizing his carbine, Sir. Kuoops iiied over the back of the seat at the pursuing savages, while Mr. Ivapfe-er crouched down, and tugged desperately at the speed lever, which obstinately remained jammed, "To the litter dismay of the travellers, at this critical moment the car stopped short, and was only started again by a superhuman effort. " By this time, however, the first of the savages were upon them again. They seized hold of the tailboard with yells of triumph, but, to the white man's delight, let go again with screams of pain. The cooling-pipes, being but scantily filled with cocoanut milk, were almost red-hot, and so wis the tailboard. "Then suddenly the lever worked again; 'teni, teuf,' went" the engine, and the motor hurled itself through the press of men. mowing down the savages who had expected to cut the car otf. "Howls of disappointment and pain came from every side, and spears whistled round the travellers. One pierced Sir. Kapfwers sun helmet, and half-a-dozen stuck in the back of the seat, and in the footboard : but presently the savages were out of range, and the danger was past." The. motorists completed their trip in the end, after several stoppages for repairs. The article concludes : — It is safe tossaty t that at every native campong they passed through the story of the strange snorting beast carrying two men on its back will be told for years to come ; and in time, if no other motor?, visit them, as is extremely likely, the narrative may become a fantastical legend which will puw.le future investigators into the native folklore.