REAL WHITE HOPE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 14 November 1912, Page 6

REAL WHITE HOPE.

knocks oi:t negro monarch. vStrangor adventure than that befel an Englishman on tho East Coast of Africa L> seldom met with outside tlu» realms of fiction. While hunting in tho jungle he !ell asleep, was brought before a tiib.il king, fought that potentate, bee i'ie ruler because ol' a:': attneiiuu'iu 1:!! ' him of a sacred monkey, and entered into full royal possession, including the duskv harem. His rule was ol ■short duration, for, according to his own account, the "sixteen wives" praetiedlv henpecked him oil tin; throne. His escape also makes thrilling reading. The story of Mi* Hugh ftdward (iilhespie js told by tin? Manchester Dispatch. .Mr Gilhesoie is a native of Newcastle, who, after serving o:* apprenticcsiiip at Hawthorns, entered the service of the Prince Liii(% tlieu trading from Momhassa to New York, and had long nourished the desire to have some big game shooting. At AJomhassa lie obtained the necessary lean 1 , and, with a guide, sit out for the jungle. Coming on the trail ol elands ) they followed it up until the tracks became btrongor, Th; guide suggested their separating as as to come on the game from \ vo sides, and this was done. Alone, Gilhespio followed the trail until he teit ho wrs either lost or in danger ol it, whereupon he tri:/:i to get his guide by shouting, but 110 answer came. 'Jhvd, weak and hungry, he sat down to contemplate the situation, l,ut fell asleep. He way roughly awakened bv a number of natives, who took possession of his rifle and revolver, and marched him to Mioir village and before their king. | .Hie natives kou-toued to their monarch, and tried to make tin- Englishman do. the same. This he refused to do, and, as they persisted, he Inst his -temper ;- iH [ struck out with Midi efleet that three of the natives were, on the ground. ihe king, evidently incensed at the treatment of his men, made a blind rush for Gilhespio. Ah he came en with his 'head down, like a mad bull. Gilhes'pie stepped aside and delivered a telling blow which laid him on the ground. No fewer than six times did the s'xvage make similar bull-like rushes, each time to receive exactly the same felling blow.s. Ihen he tried close quarters, and lor fully half an hour the two fought, wrestled, and wriggled on the ground, each getting blow in when the opportunity offered. At last Gilhespio delivered the "knock-out," and while he was recovering hi* breath and genei.:lJy -puking 'himself together the strangest thing happened. A litt/e m.'jjikey, which 'had been .sitting at the side of the throne, ran to G'llhespu* and climbed on his shoulder. .Hie natives prostrated themselves iace down on (lie ground and gave utterance to weird cries. "An old chap, with a big staff, the liu'd carved in the shape of a strange bird, came towards me ami kow-tow-ed. Then he pointed to me and motioned towards the throne, f then began to realise that I had been chosen as their king. | walked towards the throne, and the natives chanted 3- HX'ird h-.t'hee sr When I gat <low:>, with the nn:ikey still on my shoulder, t.hey cheered so loud that, it 'nought the king back to consciousness. Ho took a look at me noon tho tin one, and fled into the forest. "I was duly made king J>y the chief medicine man. I soon learned'how it all came about. The monkey, it ■seems, was a sort of personification <>f' thft --> od lived in tlie depth <>< the ,I'ingJo, whom the n -tive.s worshipped, and when it jumped on my shoulders they accepted that as a sign that then- god chose me as a ruler. I JJut my troubles began very .soon. Allb eeause of the royal wives, of ! ■ ""hoin there were sixteen! That was I j by ense. "These wives wore strings of lion's | teeth as neckhces, and tl.ev were al- , ways wanting morPj |„ lt t ,' l( ; v I unsil(, cesslul. and my wives vainmer;«d and scoldered day and niHifc in consequence. After I had been king of tlie tribe for about three weeks J concluded that the job was not to 1 m.v liking, and T decided to escape i 'One night when the sixteen fe- ! miles had nagged me until mv head was swimming. [ tip-toed out of the j hut. stolo through the village, and made for the woods. T had not gone 1 far when 1 heard a noise which made j

my blood cold. I thought my sixteen wives wcro 011 my trail, but when I looked back I saw that it was only tho s:.cred monkey. "J stopped, and as soon as it reached me it climbed on my shoulder, jabbering affectionately in my ears. All night I stumbled through the jungle with the monkey as my 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, T ca-nie 011 the cam]) of an Engjish hunting party. "Well, to make a long story short, the Englishmen guided me back to Mombass i, and when T went 011 board the I?oval Prince the crew thought T was r. ghost. "It is a strange story, but it is true. And if Sophia —that is the monkey's name now —could only speak she would confirm every word of it. ! did not inherit royaltv; 1 had it thrust upon me, and T have had sufficient of it." Mr Gilliespie's fellow engineers verifv his storv of his adventures,