William Tell Or

Blue Beard?

By J. D. Whitcombe

IN Tongatabu in the early part 9f 1892, a young Tongan had just married his third wife and there was some concern as to how ms other two young wives had met their death.

The husband had sworn that in each case it had been an accident, so me people still doubted hirm Well, he married this third girl and all seemed to be going well, until one beautiful morning the girl’s parents decided to pay the newly weds a visit.

They left Nukualofa early in their plantation dray for the village of Bea, some five miles inland. When they arrived at the daughter’s home there was no sign of life, so they walked towards the back of the house There the girl’s father noticed a heap of freshly-cut coco nut leaves, and on lifting them found the body of his daughter Leaving immediately, he rode in to Nukualofa to inform the police and a body of mounted police at once set out to hunt the murderer.

Searching all day and again the following day, they had no success; but then in the evening, in the bright moonlight, as the search continued, one • of the police, look ing up as he followed a bush track, saw to his horror the body of the wanted man hanging from the bough of a tree. With a blood-curd ling yell he wheeled his horse and galloped back—with the remainder of the police party close behind him. They did not stop before reaching Nukualofa—and the haven of the police station. Dick Tur pin’s ride to York was not in it.

But on the following day the mur derer’s body was brought in.

An examination of the bodies of the three wives, and other evidence, showed that the husband, ap parentiy trying to emulate William Tell, had made each woman stand with a coconut on her head while he used it as a target for bow and arrow. Each woman had been shot in the forehead in the process. No doubt, as the husband had said, each had died by accident.