The San Francisco call. [volume], September 01, 1907, Page 8, Image 8

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
A KING
IN A
REFUGEE
CAMP
M. D. Oriole
I N Lobo» square refugee camp
II lives a • genuine African prince.
' I Among his associates in ' the city of
little green' houses he. goes by the
Dami •of "Prince Jackson, -but in the
kingdom of Kablnda. on the banks of
the Congo/ hells known to some SO.OOO
loyal subjects as Golentuga 11, son
of the reigning monarch and the hope
of the nation in Its desire to throw
cff the Portuguese protectorate.
He Is very black, this Prince Jack
son, and very democratic, for all his
royal blood. He speaks seven .lan
guages fluently and in recent years has
made a' ctudy of military tactics, engi
neering and navigation, which' he hopos
to put to good use in behalf of Ka
blnda in ; the near future.
At first glance 'and to the casual ob
server Prince Jackson is only an or
dinary darky — kinky haired, thick
lipped end languid as thouw,Js that
were born en' southern plantations be
fore the days of '6L Perhaps the only
noticeable difference, from a snap judg
ment point of view, is In Prince Jack
son's attire. It is not as gaudy as thi
average American darky Is wont'to as
*ome, but is In rather good taste and
cult* becoming to his brunette beauty,
If one may be allowed to Indulge in
a pleasantry at the expense of royalty.
Dem at Lobos ; square most of
the refugees consider Prince Jackson*
title a Joke, and commit lese majesto
to constantly that it has become the
rdt rather than the exception. . But
Prince Jackson doesn't care a snap. He
knows that In East Africa. there Is a, a
anry of black men ready to. hail? him'
a* a sable . Moses, able to free them
{rent the "thrall' of Portugal, "';"
Prince . Jaokson has passed,, his , for
tieth rear and for a, quarter of a cen
tury has been, praotlcally, -an. : exllo
from his natlre land. In 1883 he ran
away from Pern ambuco, where; be iTrvi
attending school, sailing on the British
bark No Name. Since that .time he
has traveled all over the world, study-
Ing everything that would fit - him ;. for
leadership, among his cwn people, and
seeking in vain the aesictance of ; E
uropean and American powers in- throw
ing off the Portuguese yoke
- Shortly- before his departure,. Ka
blnda was rent by a civil war, _>n which
a halfbreed named Ignacio led a seced
ing army of Kablndian blacks against
King Oolentuga. • \u25a0•-. -\u0084---
The king. , though more or less civile :
iced by association with white men,
was an uneducated 'man' from .the; Ca
ucasian point of view, and his; methods
©f warfare! were, more .or less primitive,
as were* also the weapons of '\u25a0 his sol -
Alers. Ignacio, 'who,, it : was thought,
was backed by the Portuguese 'govern
ment, employed modern military tactics
and his men were armed for the most
part with rifles of Improved type. ~,The
only thing which, saved- King; Golen
tuga's-army from annihilation was- the
faot that : Ignacio's men did' not know
how to: handle' their superior weapons.,
'A great battlcwas fought near #tho
capital of Kablnda . and hundreds "on
both sides were slain. Golentugra's
valor finally, won the, day, but* he him
self was . sorely wounded and : never,
fully recovered, his health. •'
During King Golentujra's illness Por
tugal acted as mediator' between him
and Ignacio, with tho; result that two'
puppet kingdoms were* formed, both
nominally under, the * thumb, of the
Portuguese government. During the
chaotic state of affatra which" followed :
the buttle. Crown Prlne*^Golentuga 'fled~
his country In an English chip prac
tically without funds, ;' and* from that
day to this hes made* his way^ln rth-*:r th-*:
world without . cno if farthing * from .' Ka
blnda's'.royal coffere. .: '.»
After a long voyage in the British
bark, during 1 which the "fugitive crown
prlnoe practically earned his own' way,
first as cabin* boy and later as an able
seaman,' the- No Name reached Liver
pool and Captain Wilson, who had con
ceived a ; liking for; the \ lad. took •'• him
to bis home and ' taught : him :\u25a0 the "\u25a0 rudi
ments of the English language.',- It was
while in Wilson's home/at Liverpool'
that Oolentuga changed.his :narae- r Ito
Jackson. It happened', in this ;way:
Captain Wilson,- deeming .< the-: African
name J- inappropriate , to * civilization/
called > his young protege ' "Jack." t 'No- .
tieinsv; however, '. that •*; the" : African
seemed . to dislike the, appellation; iWtl- ¥
eon said' to him - one day : "Wbattls jthe
matter* with '"the^ name? It 1 Is a; good
old English title.' Tou'wlll flnd : Jt v«ry>
bandy in : these ' parts.** ?"'
"Maybe," said the" young.- African,
hesitatingly, "but I. do not \ like iCS In
lay country i it] means, monkey.",".
Captain -Wilson . l=.ughed;and then
apologised. After, sosio consul tatioh;it
vras decided \u25a0 that [ Jackson would ibe , a
good substitute and not: objectionable
from either a Kablndian; or>European
point -of view. And -soGolentugathe
Second became . Jackson,- the
given name serving as a sop to "the
• royalty- he > had forfeited. ' • - ' ;. •
. .Prince; Jackson /proved . an- apt . pupil
and soon spoke. and wrote the English
language \u25a0as fluently as ha did , the
Portuguese. : ' :
' He - made a number " of "voyages with
Captain -Wilson, 'learned "> the 'higher
branches of.seamanshlp and; but for his
color," might have been"a!master.mari
ner" himself." y.However,~ , Prince '\u25a0 '\u25a0\u25a0* Jack
, son's ; proclivities ; were -rather in >: the
direction of knight errant than:navlga
't6r and upon 'the death 'of,, his bene
factor "he cast away such home tieß as
ho had "acquired ;.r and ? some 'ten -:.y eara
a f ter > his departure * from • Pernambuco
revisited Kablnda. There, he", made
guarded inquiries concerning his father
and even paid the "old monarch "a ; secret
•visit He foundithat King Golentuga'a
,mlnd and bodily health had been so im-,
paired by his. wound a decade before
that ' he lacked ' both the jj mental > and
\u25a0physical.' vigor; to; lead *his "subjects in
an endeavor to cast off Portuguese rule.
In fact, .the: old 1 klng.r who ,was v over
joyed to 'see his son, advised,- weakly,
against ; ; v any -such : movement; \u25a0 and
seemed ; tocaccepj. the .« sovereignty- of
Portugal;^ with; a^tprpitudei^whlph,. sad-;
dened the younger f man". \ A conference
with some of the men whom- theicrown
nrlnce 1 remembered as his father's 'chief
aids In >the/old regime .assured Prlnee
Jackson,, however,' that the Kablndians
were far from satisfied' with the exist- •
Ing state "of affairs' and. were held"., fn
check only, - : by. <; the .wishes . of thcir?ln
.valld r,uler v; > /: - ,v;-V.\. s ; . :;. ._ • .'. -^v,-;
'Prince Jackson*- was besought to •" re
rrialh*ahd*iea:d'Ka'blrida's "hosts fagatnst
the' Portuguese, "' but after / studying/the
situation*; he decided that : the -time was
not yet , ripe. ••"..".- - \u25a0\u25a0,-"; \u25a0\u25a0'"\u25a0" v :.[:. '\u25a0'''.".,\u25a0
;l; l Helef t soon . after, carrying with him
the pledge" of Royalty of 'some-SO'.ofOO na
tives, .who .were;wllllng tb'Trisk their
lives , in, an . endeavor to; seat •hirri upon
Kablnda's throcc' ; The Portuguese, au
thorities got wind i* of -"the affair ,arid :
Prince ' Jackson escaped . from " Pernam- .
buco.'in the nick of., time on ; another
English "boat, IwhlchVa Portuguese
cruiser chased but lost in the darkness.
His next move .was \u25a0to go to . London,
where he r - besought. Queen- Victoria to
aid him, in -securing the restoration, of
his rights -as ruler of I Kabinda*.'< ."; Th ls
was refused, however, in . a ; letter" from
the i foreign \~offlce, \u25a0. showing ...that * the
matter; had; at', least' been; given* serious
offlclar consideration. ; •\u25a0;// • ."V .
Finding no assistance -in - England,
Jackson sought aid'^ f ro~m ; nearly,: every
one of Europe's; sovereigns during:- the
next 10 "years arid, : receiving ;'' no./; en
couragement,^ "finally "came " : to '\u25a0\u25a0':' the
United. ...States." -Here he 'petltidned
Presidents McKlnley.' in -like 'manner' for'
reHefr:but ? ln;vain. . -> .
\u25a0His; time;- Jiowever, , during '"the "dec
ade when; ho. was *,Euro
pean" rulers, ' had not ' been'^ confined "to
that object alone: hehad ser\'ed in sev
eral campaigns, studied military strate
gy under,some of ablest'gen
erals* and .^acquired";; avknowledge of
languages \ remarkable , in C. Its if scope. -
Also, j he ; had found employment ; In
some of .' Europe's ; largest "ship"; yards
and i ron works,; Including'; the \u25a0 Krupp
manufactory, in ": Germany, learnlns
every, important : detall ' ln; the construc
tionof warships; and guns.
: After ' coming ; !to 'America , Jacksqn
served a - term ;in \u25a0 the ' United \ States •
navy? and < { later >\u0084 gained - a -^working
knowledge sof ± civil > engineering -^end
bridgo ; building 'through ; practical,: if
menial, experience. ' ' . ." .; ..^ \u0084
San v Franclsoo shortly
before ; the fire and? was despoiled \u2666of
Ills small possessions by-thefgreat^ dis
aster of,>pril,,lßo6:,' Hlsrhealth'im
paired by/ exposures he was "compelled
to , accept r the r city's [ charlty,:f 6i-l aTtime :
but ls.nowjsupportlng:hlmself>by work
as watchman InJ a" downtown', f actory. ' -
\u25a0 Since ;he^ began 1 , work Prince 'Jackson
ha? . .caved .considerable ' JmonVyJ and •\u25a0 It
Is ;hls purpose : to j return isoonUb'; Ka
blnda.;', Just^what^ his .purpose'.- wilirjbe
whenyhe^ roachosithere^be^docilnes to
staie.-butilntlmates'that'it'wniideperd
upon iwhether,, his .^ father \u25a0 Is : still i alive.
.^ -ijhayernot-heardifromtKlngSGolen
tuga,: forA'seyerar.iyears.'%*i says - t Prince"
Jackson, VandMt -Is qulte s possible-that'
he.l^dead.v ifahatils'/thoVcaeejliwilli
dof what.Jithink^bestj for »my f country '
I* cannot say whether tanrattempt^ wili
be made yo^ throwjoff ; the (-Portuguese
protectorate^or^riot.. but I-cbnsider'iti
by,? no means impossible. -There are) too
many.flshting-inen.-ii^KablndaTfor'ariy
white :natfqn?;to^per"manently;Ssubdue/:: natfqn?;to^per"manently;Ssubdue/ :
My/subjects: are loyal to me and? would'
eivenhelr^ lives 'lf m nee easafyV -but '.^l'
don't'' want>t6>provoke "a .• ' irar^whlcii
; mlght.;be;; disastrous ;,tos both j sides. V;l
t: think ; that itnattersf can; be ( arranged >be-
T.tween j: Portugal g and V. myself, 5 * should \Z
. assume the throne of Kablnda," without
\u25a01 shedding ; blood-'^The <whl te \ menv waiit
.:certalniprlylleges.'iwhich'UheyJaretwill
% Ing ito jpay"vfor° If; approached s r> In i-i the
j:proper c-'mahner.-i N;My.tefather,i* King
t Qolentuga,*."does f qot|understandS these
\ things ! and iwasf easlly^vlctlmized.*?. This
> f or^ the Ipresenttdlscon tent } in
:'i' Kablnda/^ i: If/jhowever.^tU?- is f. necessary.
;\u25a0; to J resort tto * arms i I Jshalllbe f prepared
," to J lead V my.-, men r and j)giveS:themi: ? the
& beneftt* of imodernimllltaryj knowledge,
Nwhlch 4 l:have'gained[duringimy t travels,
t:^ "Funds i will j bel f orthcomlng,**alsb t V if
ineceEsary,^ because thy
,fAinerlcansj.wilUback|my|campalgn?if(l
t'promlse^themrthejconcesslonsltheyide-'
\u25a0Jsire^Kabinda^lsfa^rlchTcOuntryiandtlts"
« resources/offerj ample t security | f or|any
fe'advanj:>s^f^his}sort;4@Si^t^f^
;»-.?>PrlncejJackson^is;soon to ;be' married
to*J aiWest^ Indlanl iiegress^tvlib J is f aaid
salsouto«b«fbf< royalfioTlginlvlThe^two'
will i tnen fgo i no"rth''ana f probably «ie»Vv
f rom" the]! port* of by, fa"? cli*
jcuitous^jrbute^rlEast^A^rica^fci'^^
*^,Jacksori*.statea[tKat;agents[fro'mTPoi? ? ;
tugal;areTcbhstantly«watchlng;hlm?fand;
that *f several j attempts * have « b een S made
to?putkhlm(outrof^he^wav.v^^r^
The. San \u25a0- Francisco Sunday- CalL