SPEARED BY BLACKS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1926, Page 5

SPEARED BY BLACKS

AUSTRALIAN GOLD SEEKER THEIR CAMP A DEATH TRAP. GRAPHIC STORY FROM ROBAUL. Sydney, Nov. 20. The following gralipic story has been received by the Sydney Sun by radio from Rabaul: — How four Australian gold-seekers were speared to death by wild, naked natives, and how the relief force had to fight through almost impassable country, with precipitous. cliffs, and dense undergrowth hiding armed savages, who used cunning born of instinct to try and ambus.li and spear them, is the thrilling narrative told by the rescue party that has returned from the Nakanai district. Immediately word was received of the murders (says the wireless message), arrangements were made to enter the hostile area, reported to bo held by 790 natives ift entrenched positions. The force moved from Tairobi on November 7. Guides with No. 1 Platoon entered Sinanga village, which they found, deserted. The bodies of Marley, Collins and Fischer were lying where they fell at the village boundary, in the nearest fringe of undergrowth, and a sear.ch was at once made for Page, the only member of the prospecting party not accounted for. His body was found 43 yards down the slope from the village itself, which is set on a small hill in a tangle of secondary jungle. From the positions of the bodies it was possible to reconstruct the tragedy almost in every particular. The six prospectors had selected as their camp a position almost ideal as a death trap. On two sides It was surrounded by thick bush, except in one corner, where the canvas kitchen was erected, while one of the remaining sides was open to the jungle. The south faced two native huts at a distance of some ten yards. Twenty yards in front wtis a flimsy barricade of sticks, dividing the village itself into two sections. In this hemmed-in space the men had built an open hut which was almost filled by fixed beds, a table, and seats, all of which must have greatly prevented their ready escape. Marley carried a five-chambered revolver with a two-inch barrel—almost a toy. The -whole of the weapons were lying in the “house sail” away from the dining-room. WAITED IN THE BL'»H. There wae evidence to show that th* natives waited In tho bush for some hours, probably waiting for the return of two of the prospectors from Tairobi. The men had been attacked while they were unarmed and at dinner.

Three “lines” seemed to have participated in the onslaught, rushing unexpectedly on the party through the open jungle side of their enclosure, round the huts, and through the village barricade respectively. The first discharge of spears wounded Kiso, the cook-boy (who was bringing in dinner), and Collins, a spear passing through the front part of the boy’s abdomen, and ono passing through Collins’s right leg. All members of the party jumped to their feet. C-ollins whipped out the spear. Marley drew his revolver and Nickoils, Britten, Pago and Fischer ran for the bush. Nickoils and Britten were fortunate enough to dash into the thick undergrowth at once, the former lying hidden and the latter running hot foot down the trail, while the natives engaged the four remaining members of the party. HOW TWO LIVES WERE SAVED Fischer succeeded in gaining the otl:-si side of the barricade, away from the natives, while Poge, who was a sick man, stumbled down the slope in the direction taken by Fritten. It was undoubtedly the temporary cheek caused by Marley that savdd the two members of the party wibo escaped. He faced the whole of the attacking force with his revolver, fired his five ahots, and held them off by the threat of the empty revolver, until one native passed round to the rear, through a screen of bush, and threw a spear, that passed through his heart from behind, killing him instantly. At the same time Collins fell under a rain of spears, one of which pierced his left forearm, and another fatally entered his and spine. Fischer, meanwhile, though unarmed and with one arm useless, the result of an old war injury, seeing Marley facing the enemy, who were crowding down on him more and more menacingly, left his place of concealment and comparative safety and ran back through the barricade. As he did so Marlay and Collins fell, and the triumphant natives immedatefy attacked Page, Who was still stumbling heavily down the slope. Broken trees and torn bushes bore silent witness to that fierce rush. A DOZEN FATAL SPEARS. Fischer went down under a do;en fatal spears. Page, evidently exhausted, stood still, and was instantly run through by a host of the enemies. In tho savage exultation and jubilation that probably followed, Nickolls ami Britten escaped pursuit, doubtless being considered already out of reach. So dense is the jungle in all these localities that he might have been ten yards away and yet have defied an army to find him.

Early on the morning of November 8 the force moved towards Umu They met a severe obstacle in the shape of a cliff three miles from Sinanga, which bad been rendered almost inaccessible by the natives felling tree's. The natives, with a force of 200 spearmen, could have held up the whole of the Government party at this point indefinitely, and doubtless inllis-ttd heavy casualties. The advance party found Umu full of warriors, but they were seen by the native sentries at dusk. The sentries gave the alarm and weae fired on by our police. An immediate uproar came from Umu. The garamuts were beaten furiously and derision hurled across the plain.. The neighbouring villages at once took up tho signals, and from everywhere these continued until dawn. The ifiterpretera explained that every new out-

burst heralded the «trance of a new party of warriors Into the Umu en-

trenchment. The villages of the group are set on the most rugged and inaccessible ridges. On either side there was often a sheer drop of 200 feet, while the path itself was a ridge no more than two feet wide. A party of ten men or so showed themselves, and were received with screams and the wild beating of tomtoms, the native's crying out again and again, ’•Como up here; crime up here if you want us; wo have killed four ot your skin. Come up here and die likewise.” A short-range burst of machine gun fire was directed at the lii'.l top, but this aiouscd only louder hoots and insults. A second burst had a similar effect. The range of tiro was lifted to the feet of the natives. One appeared to fall, and the whole immediately fled. RUSHED THE HEIGHTS. The Government party then rushed the heights without resistance, and they found the village deserted, only the bullet-scarred' ground and a few drops of blood marking the site of the congregation of natives half an hour before. It was decided to camp on this point, and dor tho purpose of defence and visibility, it was necessary to cut back the undergrowth on all sides and to destroy most of the houses. During a heavy downpour of rain that drove all shivering to their tents, a warning cry was given, “Kanaki I kum,” and a crowd of approximately 120 naked native warriors, who had got to the edge of the camp without being observed, rushed the camp. There was a brisk volleying for some minutes before the bewildered natives dashed back Into the undergrowth. There they threw themselves headlong down one of their favourite “funk holes” in the 80ft cliff and disappeared in the dense bush at its foot. A party at once pursued, but the members were stopped by the cliff. They brought in three dead natives. From the cries that came faintly up the slope, it is supposed that several others were killed or wounded. This really was the crisis of the whol*. expedition. From that time, though the same programme of pursuit was followed, not a single native, save solitary outposts, was seen by the members of the expedition. All tile villages were rushed and were found deserted. The party had to force its way through jungle paths along dangerous ridges 3000 feet above sea level, across the strong current of a mountain river. Every section of the hostile country was cearched, but the horde of savages had been put to flight. The relief force had completed its work on November 14. Dr. Clineto, with three white men and four police, reached Sinanga and prepared the remains of tho four victims of the massacre for transport to Rabaul, and on tho evening of November 15 the whole party, without a casualty, had again reached Tairobe, where tho Nusa was waiting to convey it to Rabaul.