WHITE MAN AS KING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 156, 30 December 1911, Page 9 (Supplement)

WHITE MAN AS KING.

CARRIED Oiy BY A LIOX. \*o more a.niii/.ing story Iras been bromrht back to London out of the wild-! in recent limes that that told by Mr. .lohn Boyes. of Hull. As a young man of '24 he landed in East Africa, made his way no country, ami so won the heart, of the natives that li* soon became their king. For two and a-lialf years he lived among the savages, organising an efficient army, holding courts of justice, and being recognised as leader and counsellor by the native chiefs. Finally, he was arrested by British officials, tried for his life as an outlaw, and triumphantly acquitted "without a stain on his character." If this man's story were fiction, superior people would smile at the author's fertile imagination. But, as so often happens, "truth is stranger than fiction," and there must he hundreds of people in Hull to-day who remember seeing Johnny Boyes playing around the docks, gazing with wonder and admiration on the trawlers awl deep-sea ships; and happy so long as he could paddle around with a single oar. Yet who would have thought in those days—not so far back; only in the 'eighties—that he would one day live a life of adventure in East Africa, and become ruler over a black tribe in that far-off hind? "I was born at Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on May 11, 1874, so that at the time of writing this book I am still a. comparatively young man"—that is how he introduces himself in the fascinating story of his life, "John Boyes, King of the Wa-Kikuyu" (published by Methuen and Co.) At the age of six he was sent to school in Germany, but at 13 he was back in Hull, ami there he managed to evade all attempts at education, preferring to spend his time at the waterside. "I practically lived on the docks, and ono of my greatest delights was to pilot ■ a boat round them, or to get some of my many friends among the sailors to allow me to help with odd jobs about a vessel, such as cleaning up the decks or polishing the brasswork." After knocking about the world on various ships, he landed at Durban, in Xatal, just after the Jameson Raid. From there he made his way up country, and after a variety of experiences found himself a member of the Matabeleland Mounted Police during the native rising, which was crushed by General Baden-Powell. He wanted to go to Mombassa, the gateway to British East Africa, 250 miles, and for this journey the fare was only 2s 8d! From Mombassa Boyes determined to make his way up country, as transport was wanted in Uganda owing to a mutiny among the native troops. Accordingly he joined forces with a white trader named Gibbons in fitting out an expedition. "Altogether we purchased about 30 donkeys, which cost about 100 rupees each, and got as many waggons as we thought sufficient. In the meantime I set to work to make the harness, as we could not get any in Mombassa, and by' using rope and sacking I managed to turn out a sufficient number of very creditable sets. LIOXS OX THE RAILWAY TRACK. "We put the whole caravan —men, donkeys, waggons and loads—on the train, and started for the rail-head, which was 1 about 150 miles from Mombassa. This was in the year 1898. On arriving safely at the terminus we went into camp. The district was infested with lions, whose ferocity had created such a state of panic among the Indian coolies working on the construction of the line that the work had practically stopped. No less than 30 of the coolies had been carried off by them, and I found the remainder sleeping in the trees and afraid to go to work.

"Three men with whom I was personally acquainted had a remarkable experience. They were watching for lions from a railway carriage—a construction waggon on the line—the door of which they left open. Two of them, Perenti and Ilubner, made themselves as comfortable as they could on rugs laid on the 110-ir of the carriage to rest until their turn for watching came, while the third man, a man named Rial, took up a position near the door, where lie evidently fell asleep. A prowling lion scented the party, and took a Hying leap into the carriage. The impact of hit landing made the carriage oscillate, and swung the door to, caging the whole party and the unwelcome guest.

"Perenti told me that he was awakened by the curious smell of the lion, and putting out his hand, felt the animal standing over him. Directly he was touched the animal let out a terrible roar, and, seizing Rial by the throat, sprang clean through the window with him, and made ofi. The body, partly eaten, was found in the bush next morning."

'Making his way further up country, Bows soon entered the practically unknown country of the Kikuyu tribe, a people whose reputation was such that only the most daring of the white traders would even venture to set foot in the territory, and then only at the greatest risk of their lives. The present town of Nairobi, in Uganda, by the way, now stands in this very country. It was now the end of the'year 1898, and at last, accompanied by two Masai,-the adventurous man from Hull met the people among whom he was to live for some vears.

"At the first sight of us the natives had started running away, but we soon heard the native war-cry being taken up from hill to hill round about, and could catch occasional glimpses of the natives themselves. They were certainly a wildlooking lot. with their bodies smeared over with grease and red clay, or, in some cases, a kind of whitewash, with which patterns were drawn according to the fancy of each individual, while fastened 1o the leg was a rattle, with an iron ball inside, which, as they moved about, made a noise very much like a railway train. Many of them wore wonderful head-dresses, made from the skin of the Colobus monkey, and all were armed with spears and shields."

"My interpreter said that they thought I was very foolish to come among them with only one rifle, so I told him to tell them that this gun was very different from any they had ever seen before. The gun. I explained, could kill six men with one shot, and I told them that I would show them what it would be by firing at a tree. It happened to be the old Martini-Metford, so. putting in a solid cartridge, I chose a tree that I knew the bullet would go I hrough, and fired. Thev immediately rushed in a body to see what damage had been done, and when they found the hole where the bullet had gone in and come out the other side they were, both considerably surprised and impressed. I assured them that that was nothing; if they would examine the side of the mountain they would find that the bullet had gone through that as well!

REPELLTXO A HOSTILE TIUBE. "Turning into my hut, I kept awake practically all niprht, fearing that some treachery might be attempted, but fell asleep at last, to bo awakened early in the morning by an awful row of warlinrnc nrtl _tu_r eT»r>n<

about in every direction. ]',y tin- time 1 had nibbed the sleep out of my eyes I saw ii crowd of very excited niitivcn rushing in a body towards my hut." For the moment lioycs did not expect to see the. dovks nt Uull again, but it tur-iKvl nut that the men hud really come to ask for help. Karuri iniluciice was waning . and there was a split in the tribe. One of the., sections objected to the, presence of a white- man in the country, and hud attacked the village. A number of people -had already been killed, and ninny of the huts were in flames. "Seizin;;- my ride I made, for tin; scene of the light, accompanied by a crowd of yelilng savages, delighted at my decision. When I arrived the row was at its-height, and the sight of the hand-to-hand conllict among the warriors, surrounded by the burning huts, was a stirring one. Seeing the. reinforcements, headed by myself, coming up, the attackers began to waver, and when I iiad fired a few shots with effect finally turned tail and bolted. After pursuing them for some, distance the triumphant warriors returned to the village and made quite a hero of me." His fame among the savages soon spread, lirst because lie treated their wounds with a bottle of iodoform, and then because he helped to beat off further attacks by their hostile neighbors. A bottle of Eno's fruit salts also proved valuable. They would gather round to see him talco a dose, saying tiiat fjhe white man could drink boiling water. They believed that he must have a stomach like iron, and that it was impossible to kill him.

Surrounded .as they were by enemies, Mr. lioycs thought it well to introduce something in the way of military organisation, but had the greatest difficulty in teaching his people to keep watch. It is a peculiarity of the African native that even when, expecting an attack he has no idea of keeping on the alert. The early history among the Kikuyus of this ''man who would be king" was very largely made up of repelling attacks on him and the tribe which had adopted him —or which he had adopted. At last a more desperate onslaught was threatened.

"At the top of the mountain overlooking the ravine I had built another house for myself, and it was here that I decided to wait for the invaders. The only path up the hill from the bridge over the river zig-zagged up the mountainside, and was very rough and steep, so that it was difficult for an enemy to approach in a body. "The men guarding the bridge had been instructed! to send two of their number to bring me word as soon as they saw the enemy approaching, while the remainder were to stay behind in hiding, and destroy the bridge as soon as the invaders had crossed, fcp as to cut off their retreat. The attack came early one to the narrowness of the pßwThey (the enemy) could only approach in single file, and we waited until they had almost reached the top before letting them know we were there. They had got close upon us when I fired, and my riflemen opened upon them at once, while the bowmen followed the volley up with a flight of poisoned arrows. The invaders were taken completely by surprise, and before they could recover themselves the Kikuyu warriors swept down on them with swords and spears. Bolting in a mod panic, they were hotly pursued down the mountain-side, suffering severely in their Hight. "Arriving at the river they found that the bridge was gone, and many of them jumped into the stream. Of these some got safely across, but a good many were drowned on the way."

A trading trip which lie determined- to make to the north provided Mr. Boyes with an exciting time. All the natives were anxious to go with him, but he decided to pick a hundred of the best men. and as he had by this time about 3n rifles, he dressed the men to whom they were entrusted in khaki suits, which lie bought at Nairobi. He had also bought a Union Jack at that town, which lie took at the head of the expedition.

Among the things he carried with him was a musical clock, which played a tune at each hour instead of striking. This was destined to lead to serious trouble with a chief named Karkerrie, who visited the camp.

! "After I had been talking to the chief for some time, the hour came round, and the clock struck up a lively tune. They could not understand this, and thought there must be magic about it, so I told them that I could make it speak whenever T wished, and, unnoticed, moved the lever. When the hands came round to the hour I said, 'Now I will make it play a tune.' It so happened that rain had been expected and as the clock was playing a few drops come. Looking up into the sky they saw tho rain, and at once turned to me and askcii if the clock could make rain, so I said, 'Certainly, it makes rain all right.' They said that it must be a great thing if I could make rain, and seeing that these, things seemed to amuse thorn t showed them a few sleight-of-hand l tricks—never dreaming that they took what I said seriously. "The next day Karkerrie turned up and said that rain was absolutely necessary, and I must make some for them. I said that the best thing they could do was to bring in plenty of ivory, and go on tni<!ing, aiuL the rain would come of itself. They kept bothering nre every day, however, to make it rain, and I kept putting them ofT with the excuse that the rain was coming all right. But, unfortunately, it did not come, and from believing that I could make rain they turned to thinking that I was keeping it away with t'lio clock, and-things began to look threatening." HYEXAS GATHER FOR A BATTLE FEAST. The natives refused to bring in ivory, and a plot was set on foot to murder the solitary white man. One pitch dark night the crisis came. Suddenlv the air was rent with a wild uproar,' and the war-cry of tho hostile tribe sounded on every side. Over ail the din the hideous howl of the hyenas could be distinguished, for these animals seem to realise when a. feast of human flesh is in store for them, and when the war-cry rings out they are at once on the alert, for the natives never hurv those, who fall in battle.

"Word was brought to me that the chief, Karkerrie, had been seen, fully armed, going to join a bodv of the natives who were collected some distance a war. Acting on the. spur of the moment, I called a couple of men, and made my way quietly out of the fort, with the object of intercepting him. if possible. T was just in timo to waylay him before he moved off, and, jumping on him' before 'he was aware of my presence, I mswlo him a prisoner and carried him back to the fort.

"The night dragged on without any atfack being made, and about four or five o'clock in the morning wo could tell by the different noises that we were surrounded by Karkerrie's people, who were only waiting for the first peep of dawn to blot us all out. It was evident that the critical moment was at hand, and that it was time for me to act in some way; so T spoke to Kitrkerrio, telling him that we were surrounded by his people, and that immediately they attacked us, or even fired into the camp, he would be the first man to die. To further convince him that I was thoroughly in earnest I placed my revolver to his head and told

should lire. lie at onccs honied to his followers and told them of the position he was in."

This had the desired effect, and the attack was iwver made, but when daylight came the. footprints around showed that the. little -fort" had been surrounded by thousands of natives in those hours of darkness and peril. -After 'living and trading in the Kikuyu for about two and a-half years, and ruling the people as king, Mr. lioycs was visited by Government officials, who arrived to'take over the country in the name of Great Britain. These officials appear to have been greatly scandalised by the-fact that Mr. lioycs' "army" wore khaki uniforms, and that he Hew the Union Jack. "Did they expect me to ity the Russian Hag?" he asks. TRIED AND ACQUITTED. The end of it was that he was placed under arrest, and a document was drawn up charging him that "during your residence in the Kcnia district you. waged war, set shauris, personated Government, went on six punitive expeditions, and committed dacodty." It was explained to him that "Dacoit" was an Indian term;, moaning an Indian outlaw. The end of it was that ho was sent down to Nairobi and- tried for his life, but was acquitted. "I left the courthouse," ho writes, "as the judge said, without a stain on- my character—the judge going so far as to say that he did iiot understand why the case had been brought at all, and finally apologised to me for the waste of very valuable time."