KNEW BULLY HAYES

Taranaki Daily News, 13 July 1929, Page 16

KNEW BULLY HAYES

“HELL FIRE” HENSLER. A REMARKABLE FIGURE. Sydney, June 27. There is a man living at Curl Curl, close to Sydney, who knew Bully Hayes when that famous skipper was at the | height of his glory as the captain of a blackbirdcr in the Islands, and who knows why Bully lost both his ears. He is “Hell Fire” Albert Hensler, no longer the dare-devil which earned him his ' name, but still hale and hearty for all his 81 years. “Hell Fire” Albert lives in a little cottage within sight and sound of his beloved ocean. And he lives alone. I knew Bully Hayes better than most men,” he said the other day. “And I here is a thing that most people don t know —that is, how he came to have both his ears chopped off. While visiting one of the islands he fell in lo\e with one of the daughters of the local king. As he gave himself a free hand in everything, he simply took what he wanted, and one fine morning both his boat and the girl were missing, There was a terrible commotion on the island [fop some days, and then things quietened down. Months later, Bully Hayes I came back, with his ship and the girl, | who by that time was Mrs. Hayes. I he boat ivas surrounded by natives, and the captain was pulled ashore before he • had time to look around. As they were ( married, the king did not feel inclined to kill Bully, so as & punishment for

taking his daughter he cut off both his ears. I bet none of those who have written about Bully Hayes ever set eyes on him. Otherwise they would be sure to have made a book out of that one incident alone ”

Parts of Mr. Heusler’s life read like a novel by Joseph Conrad or Jack London. Would either of those writers ever have thought to make their skipper hero carry a baked native from one island to another for a feast? This actually happened to “Hell Fire” in his early days as an island trader. “I called at a small island to try and get some labourers for Fiji,” he said. The king came aboard, and after a palaver, asked me if I would take him, and some of the chiefs, to another island about four miles away. Of course, I agreed, for it is always well to keep in with kings — they were willing to help us if we helped them. Early the next day a couple of log boats put off to us. There were about a dozen men in them, and in the king’s boat was a long narIrow object wrapped in many layers of I leaves, covered with an old sail. They -were very careful in getting it aboard, and I thought that it was some ceremonial object. “After we had set sail I pulled back the old sail, parted the leaves, and saw

a human foot. It was a darkie, of course, but you can just imagine how I felt when I realised that 1 was helping a cannibal feast. No, I never did see a cannibal feast, and I don't mind telling you that, had I been told that I could watch one, I should have taken to my heels in the opposite direction.” Mr. Hensler will bear to his grave the mark of a battleaxe on his leg. It runs from just below the knee to the ankle. Here is “Hell Fire’s” explanation: —

“A Frenchman called at an island for labour, and did not understand, or did not want to understand, that we paid the king for taking away his subjects, and he simply blackbirded all the natives he could see. At that particular island I was well in with everybody, but I did not know the mistake made, by the boat that was in just before me. When we went ashore we were surrounded by natives. I thought at first that they were giving me a friendly welcome, but then I noticed that they were all armed with long spears and axes. One big fellow came up to me with his arm upraised. I pointed my pistol at him, but it missed, and I ducked to miss my head being split open. No sooner had his swinging blow hit my leg than my pistol crashed on

his head, and ha went down. AU I remember after being hit was looking at the bone of my leg, and then walking up to my bunk all strapped up. My leg got no more attention than clean water and bandages, but it soon got all right again.”