A NEW GUINEA MAGISTRATE’S THRILLING TALES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18198, 19 March 1921, Page 13

A NEW GUINEA MAGISTRATE’S THRILLING TALES.

Captain C. A. W. Monckton has “lived,*’ Inddeote in his book, “Some % Experiences of a New Guinea Resident Magistrate’’ (John Lane), read like incidents in ‘‘Treasure island.” Robert , Louis Stevenson would have been amused . by these stories. Captain Monckton fought in the war, but before 1914 his life had been crowded with thrilling , . adventures and many very narrow escapes with his life. The days when he was.in. New Guinea were wild days, and some of . them bloodthirsty days. Like the late Mr - Roosevelt, the author (says John o’, ; London’s Weekly), does not believe in ; whitewash, and he does not attempt to whitewash his own actions or flatter his . superior officers. In reading this bodk.i.so full, of the dfcuff of drama and told with vivid dramatic touches, I could not help admiring the strength and resource of this English official in hia struggles in dealing .with savage races. He is the type that has made the. Englishman the supreme colonist. “Nicholas the Greek.”— .. 4 . ' > In the very first chapter he tells soma bloodthirsty stories of an amasing desperado known throughout the South Seas - as “Nicholas the, Greek” : - “A vessel had been cut out in one of , - the New Guinea or Lonisade Islands—which it was I have forgotten—and the . crew massacred. When , this became known, a man-of-war or Government ship was sent to punish tire murderers,- apd in especial to secure a native chief who was. primarily responsible. The punitive ship came across Nicholas and engaged him., as pilot and interpreter, he being offered £IOO when the man wanted was secured. Nicholas safely piloted his charge to fiojna > remote island, .where the inhabitants,' - doubtless barring guilty consciences, promptly fled for the hills, where it waa impossible for ordinary European* .?■ to follow them. He then offered to go alone to try and locate them, and, armed with a ship’s cutlass and revolver, disappeared on his quest. Some days elapsed, tapt in the night a small canoe appeared alongside ; the ship, from which emerged Nicholes, bearing in his hand a bundle. Marching up to the officer commanding, he nndH. it, - ’ and rolled at rthe officer's feet a gory ’ ' human head, remarking, ‘Here is ycor man; I couldn’t bring the lot of him : I’ll thank you for that £loo.* " z '' r ' 'J, —The Avenging Ghost.— A “Another stony was that Nicholas on one occasion was attacked end frightfully "• slashed about by his native crew, and then thrown overboard, he shamming dead. Sinking in the water, he managed to ret under the keel, along which he crawled like a crawfish until he camfe to the rudder, , upon which he roosted under the counter until night fell and his crew slept. Then •he climbed on board, secured .a tomahawk, and either killed or drove overboard.the whole crew, they thinking he waa an avenging ghost. This dona, badjv . wounded ami unassisted, he worked hia ' vessel to a neighbouring islaad l where, beW sickened and disgusted with men, ‘ he shipped and trained a crew of native ; ~ women, with whom he sailed for many years: in fact, until the day came when Sir W. MacGregor - appeared upon the Fcene and passed the Native Labour Oidi- -■ nance, which, amongst other things, pro- : v, hibited the carrying of women on vessels* Nicholas and Peter the Pilot.— “Of Nicholas also is told the story that once, in the bad old pre-protectorate days, • so many charges were brought against him. ~ by missionaries and merchantmen that a man-of-war was sent to arrest him, whereever found, and bring him to trial. He, through a friendly trader, got wind of the fact that he was being sought for, and accordingly laid his plans for the bamboozlement of his would-be captors. Sum- > moning his crew, he informed them that '■ his father was dead, and that as he had his father’s name of Nicholas, his name must now be ‘Peter,’ as the custom of his tribe was, even as that of some. New Guinea peoples —viz., not 'to mention the name of the dead, lest harm befall. Then he sailed in search of the pursuing warship, and, eventually finding her, went-'on board and volunteered his services as pilot, which were gladly accepted. To all of his haunts he then guided the ship, but in all the reply of the natives was the same, when questioned as to his ' whereabouts ; ‘We know-not Nicholas, heis gone. Peter your pilot comes in his place. Nicholas is dead, and ’tis wrong to . c, mention the name of the dead.’ It jfas said of him that on no part of his’body could a man’s hand be placed without * touching the scar of some old wound—a story I can fully believe.” ■. German Harry.— ; “German Harry” was a “venomous little scorpion,” but “a generous-hearted little man,” who once met a hulking brute of a Dane, a terrible wife-beater. German Harry was reading a newspaper report of the Dane’s assault on his wife. Says the f-rthor : “As Harry, the Dane, and I were’ sitting in the goldfield etore, _ Harry read the , ■ account, and then, gazing at the Dane, , said something in German, of which ‘Schweinhund’ was the only word I understood. A glass of rum promptly smashed on Harry’s teeth, followed by a bellow of rage and the thrower’s rush. Harry in a single instant became a lunatic, and flying like a wild cat at the other’s face, kicking, ■ ■ biting, and clawing, bore the big man to the ground, from where, in a few seconds, agonised yells of ‘He is eating me!’ told us the Dane was in dire trouble. Harry, was _, dragged away by main force, and- wo found half of his victim’s nose bitten off, while a bloodshot and protruding eye showed how nearly his thumb had got its work in. The wife-beater went off a mass of funk and misery. German Harry said ‘he only wanted to frighten him.’ ” She Died.— A European carpenter was married to a native woman, who died suddenly. “‘I sent to every store,’ said the widower, ‘and X bought chlorodvne and. pain-killer, fever mixture and pink pills, cough mixtures and Mother Seigel’s syrup ; I bought every sort of medicine they had got. and I gave her some of each, hoping that one would fix her up. There are the bottles, you can see I’ve done my best. I then’ sent for Bob Whitten to ask him if he knew of anything else, and while Bob was here she died. Is there going to be an inquest, and shall I bring the body up to your house?’ ” Desperate Remedies..— Captain Monckton had a desperate task ) in trying to persuade the natives in one • district not to drink the water from the pools they had been in the habit of going to, and not to bury their dead in their houses. The mortality was very heavy'. The natives sorcerers wore largely respons- . ible. Monckton tied all manner of dodges without avail. and at last hit upon the idea of colouring the pools with peimanganate of potash. Convinced that the water was poisoned, the natives stopped drinking it, and the sickness ceased. But suddenly there was a fresh outbreak. Says the ■ author : . “At my wits’-end, I again assembled the chiefs and village constables. ‘What fool--ery are you up to now?’ I asked. ‘Are you drinking the water from the poisoned wellr c-r burying the dead in the villages and houses?’ 'Oh, no,’ thev said, ‘we have obeyed you meet strictly; also we have carried cut a precaution suggested by . , the sorcerers.’ ‘What was that-?’ I demanded. ‘They have told us that when death takes place, the body of the dead person is to licked hv all the relations.’ ” - The sorcerers cot it hot after that.-