TEXAS COWBOY WAS
A FIJI ISLAND KING.
SAVAGES TATTOOED STARS ON
JOE CARR'S HEAD.
Edward Burns, His Companion,
Made a Prince -- After Six Years'
Wandering, They Will Set-
tle Again in Texas.
After an absence of six years during which time they were cowboys in Australia and shipwrecked on one of the Fiji islands where one was made king and the other prince, Joe Carr and Edward Burns were at the Union depot last night, on their way to the Texas panhandle where they expect to return to their cowboy lives.
That they will never forget their experience among the savages is evidenced by the fact that Carr, who was the king, has stars tattooed on his forehead, chin and both cheeks. Burns, who was simply a prince, has a single star on his forehead.
Six years ago two adventurous cowboys, tiring of the life on a Texas range, decided to go to Africa. From South Africa they went to Australia. They enjoyed the herders' life on the big cattle ranges there, made some money, but finally decided to return to the country of their birth.
They took passage in a tramp vessel.
SHIPWRECKED IN STORM.
When near the Fiji islands their vessel was wrecked in a storm and they found themselves in a boat with two sailors. Two days later they made land and were received by a grotesque assembly of savages.
The quartette of whites had a rifle and three revolvers and several rounds of ammunition handy, but they soon ascertained that the attitude of the natives was friendly. The savages hailed them as superior beings and taking this as their cue, Carr was bowed to by his companions who also bowed to Burns. This established the class of Carr and Burns.
From that time on Carr was the king of the island and Burns was the prince. All four were taken in great state to the village half a mile from the beach where a big feast was held in their honor. Carr was seated on a throne and was presented with feathers and bits of metal.
LONESOME, THOUGH KING.
"I had a happy reign so far as trouble was concerned," said Carr at the depot last night. "The natives seemed to divine my wishes and they were as obedient as the best reared children. We had plenty of fish and game for food but with nothing to do but watch for a sail, and the time certainly was lonesome.
"We kept a signal flying by day and for the first few months we kept beacons burning at night. It was almost two years, though, before a tramp ship came our way. Both Burns and I by this time had been decorated with tatooing such as you see on my face, which indicated our rank. Our skins were almost black when the boat crew came ashore they had trouble for awhile satisfying themselves that we were really white men. It took us several months to get back to this country, but here we are, and here we are going to stay."
