JUNGLE KING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 1514, 9 November 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

JUNGLE KING.

SAILOR FIGHTS BLACK. RULER FOR HIS THRONE.

SUBPEISIi STORYAN AFBICAN ADVENTURE. Stb-vxgkr adventure than thai which bofel an Englishman on. the East Coast of Africa is seldom met with outside the realms of j'lction. While hunting in the jungle ho fell asleep, was brought before a tribal king, fought that potentate, became ruler because of the attachment for him of a aecred monkey, and entered into full royal possession including the dusky harem. His rule was of short duration, for, according to his own account, the "sixteen wives" practically lien pecked him off the : krone. His escape also makes thrilling rending. The story of Mr. Hugh Edward Gilhespio is told by the Manchester Dispatch, Mr. Cliihespio is a native of Newcastle, .who, after serving an apprenticeship at Hawthorns, entered the sen-ice of the Princo Line, nine years ago, and at the time of his adventure was, as he still is, second engineer on the lioyal Prince, then trading from Monvbassa to New York, and had long nourished the desire to have some big game shooting. At Mombassa lie obtained the necessary leave, and, with a guide, set out for the jungle. Coming on the trail of elands, they followed it up until the tracks became stronger. The guide suggested their separating so as to come on the game from two sides, and this was done. Alone, Gilhespio followed the trail until he felt ho was. either lost or in danger of it, whereupon he tried to get hia guide by shouting, but no answer came. Tired, weak, and hungry, he sat down to contemplate the situation, but fell asleep. He was roughly awakened by a number of natives, who took possession of his rifle and revolver, aud marched him. to their village and before their king. The natives kow-towed to their monaich. and tried to mate the Englishman do tie same. This he refused to do, and, a# they persisted, he lest his temper, and struck out with such effect that three of the natives were on the ground. The King, evidently incensed at the treatment or his men, made a- blind rush for Giliiespie. As he came on with his head down, like a mad bull. Gilhespie stepped aside and delivered a telling blow which laid him. on the ground. No fewer < than six times did the savage make similar bull-like rushes, each time to receive 1 l exactly the same felling blows. ' Then he tried close quarters, and for j fully half an hour the two fought, wrestled, and wriggled on the ground, oh -h get- ! ting a blow in when the opportunity 1 offered. At last Gilhespie deliver-id the ' "knock-out," and while he was recovering his breath and generally pulling himself ( together the strangest thing happened. ( The Sacred Monkey. i A little monkey, which bad been sitting ' at the side of th© throne, ran to Gilhespie ' and climbed on his shoulder. 1 The natives prostrated themselves face , down on the ground and gave utterance _ to weird cries. ' The rest of tie story is beat told in Mr. f Gilhespie' own words. i ''An old chap, with a big staff, the head ( carved in the shape of a strange bird, j came towards me and kow-towed. Then , he pointed to me and motioned towards ' the throne. I then began to realise that ' I was chosen to bo their king. I walked towards the throne, and the natives chanted a weird heathen song. When I sat down the monkey still on my shoulder, they cheered so loud that they brought the king back to consciousness. He took a good look at mo upon the throne, and fled madly into the forest. M I was duly made king by the chief medicine man. I soon learned how it all . came about. The monkey, it seems, was , a sort of personification of. the god which < lived in the depth of the jungle, whom the . natives worshipped, and when it jumped J on my shoulders they accepted that as a ( sign that their god chose me as their j ruler. ■* ( " But by troubles began very soon. All t Because of the royal wires, of whom there ( were sixteen. The man who finds himself s henpecked by one wife is to be pitied, c but think of a man henpecked by sixteen! [ That was my case. j "These wives wore strings of lions' teeth as necklaces, and they were always wanting more. I sent the hunters' of the tribe »aiit to get more, but" they were unsuccessful, and my wives yammered and scolded day and night in ■ consequence. After I hail been king of the tribe for about three weeks I concluded that the job was not to my liking, and I decided to escape. " One night, when the sixteen females had nagged me until my head was swimming, I tip-toed out of the hut, stole through the village, and made for the woods. I had not gone far when I heard " a noise which made my blood cold. I ( thought my sixteen wives were on my trail, i but when _ I look back I saw it waa only , the Bat-red monkey. " I stopped, and as soon as it reached mo it climbed on my shoulder, jabbering 1 affectionately in my' ears. All night I t stumbled through the jungle with the mon- ( key as mv only guide. That monkey was , my salvation, for it took me in the right ' direction. About sunset next day, when ' I was famishing for food and water, I 1 came on the camp of an English hunting | partr. . ,

Well, to make a long storv Abort-. i:he Englishmen cuided me back to MomTwssn. and when I went on board the Royal Prince the crew thought I was a ghost. "Tt ip a strange atorv, but it is true. And if Sonhia—that is the monkey's name now—could only speak, she would confirm every word of it. I did not inheritrovaltv; I had it thrust upon me, and I have had sufficient of it."