TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, AUGUST
-
2, 1903.
W1M
WO,
M APMCA
PRANK 3 CARPENTER '
ISSNT COMING If
ANXIOUvf UT AWAITED
AND PICTURED ifOWE OF
VU BIG vUNT"
THAT MAX BE EXPECTED
Lunm
v.
71 - ..ITT-' "T . :v
.:' 4
:
BT FRANK O. CARPENTER.
I HAVE receired several letters asking
as to the President's big game hunt
tn Africa. I have heard of It here and
there all the way down the east coast
of the continent. The official! and sports
men are talking about It, and all are
holding out their hands to welcome the
Nimrod ot the White House. I got the
first Intimation of the Presidents plana,
now more than a year ago, while I was
traveling In the Sudan. They were be
ing; discussed by a German baron and a
British colonel belonging; to the Indian
service as we were crossing the Nubian
Aeeert together. The baron and the col
onel were on their way up the Blue Kile
to shoot Hons on the border" of Abyssinia
and they believed that the President
might find excellent sport there. hile
at Khartum I had a talk with the sirdar
' or governor-general, who was also commander-in-chief
of the troops of the Su
dan, and learned that he would be glad
-to have our President sample the big
game of the Anglo-Egyptian possessions.
When I arrived in British East Africa a
few months later I was told that the
President would surely come there, and
I heard the same story In German East
Africa, both at Mwansa on Lake" Vic
toria and at Dar es Salaam below Zan
zibar. The German officials can assure
Mr. Roosevelt a good bag of giraffes.
hippopotami and elephants, and the same
ii true of British central Ainca ana
northwestern Rhodesia. Indeed the Preel
dent's coming seems to have been anlicl'
cated for some months and the officials
ar.d sportsmen are awaiting his advent
and to see him change his coat or arms
from the "Teddy Bear" to the "Teddy
Lion," "Teddy Elephant" or "Teddy Hip
popotamus.
Big Game In Sudan.
The aeneral opinion is that the Pnesl'
dent will leave New York for Gibraltar
and Naples, ana tnai ne win mere lajie
on3 of the German East African steam
ers and go down to Mombasa, beginning
his hunting expedition in British East
Africa. This can be easily and com
fortably done. There are steamers every
week and the trip to Mombasa will take
lss than a mcnth. The fare I should
say would be about $300.
A far better trip, however, will be to go
to Egypt and up the Nile Into the Sudan.
Alexandria can be reached at a cost of
$150 in a little over two weeks, and an
other four or five days will put the Presl
dentlal party in Khartum ready to take
a steamer up the Blue Nile to the borders
of Abyesslnla. They may even extend
their travels into that country, and if
so the President's friend. King Menellk,
will be glad to send native soldiers, hun
ters and porters to aid In the chase.
For ordinary persons the license to
shoot big game in the Sudan costs) $200,
but the freedom of the country will prob
ably be awarded to our President, and he
will be allowed to shoot without limit
such birds and animals as are not on the
prohibited list. The laws of the Sudan
provide that no one may capture or kill
giraffes, zebras, ostriches, wild' asses,
or rhinoceroses. The holder of a $2U0 li
cense can kill two elephants, two elands,
two kudus, four buffaloes, four hippo
potami and about 10 of the various
kinds of gazelles and antelopes. In
Abyssinia there are no restrictions on
shooting, and there are parts of the
Sudan where any number of hippopota
mi may be captured or killed. In ad
dition to big gam there are In the
upper Sudan large numbers of birds
and also wild sheep and small ante
lopes, so that the hunting is practi
cally unlimited.
In case the President goes there he
will probably charter a special steamer
at Khartum and live upon it during the
intervals of the chase.
Hunting in Uganda.
Returning to Khartum the President
can go via the Red Sea to Mombasa .or
he can outfit for Khartum and take a lit
tle steamer on the White Nile for Gondo
koro, more than 1000 miles up the liver,
and thence on via Uganda into Brltsh
East Africa. The trip by way of the
Red Sea will take him between two and
three weeks, and the Uganda Journey will
be thrice as long.
The latter trip, however, is by far the
better, as he wlil have a chance to shoot
big game all the way. At Gondokoro he
will be In a country swarming with hip
popotami and crocodiles, and a little far
ther on will strike rhinos, elephants, lions
and all sorts of wild beasts. He should
write in advance to the authorities of
Uganda for licenses and permission to
hunt within the limits of that protector
ate: and they will undoubtedly send sol
diers to meet him on the border, while
the Sidar of the Sudan will give him an
escort and 'all assistance on the Upper
White Nile. Leaving the ship at Gondo
koro he will have to go on mules, or on
foot to Nlmull, a march of only a few
days: and there he will get small boats
which will take him to Lake Albert, In
the Uganda protectorate. If he wishes,
he can be met at Lake Albert by Jinrikl
shas from Entebbe: and a couple of
weeks will give him time for a leisurely
run through the protectorate with chance
shots at ail sorts of big game.
Ue will see chimpanzees and colobue
monkeys and baboons of all sorts. On
. the way are great herds of sebras, wild
buffaloes and nearly every known type
of the African antelopes. There are
wild asses like those of Nubia and three
horned and five-horned giraffes. Sir
Henry Johnston claims that there are
okapl In Western Uganda, and I know
that lions and leopards are everywhere
to be found. There are no restrictions
as to hunting lions, and it will be strange
if the President and Kermlt, who, I un
derstand, is to go with him, do not kill
several ot the Uganda species.
As to the elephants, they are found all
over the country, and a certain number
of them may be shot by each sportsman,
when properly licensed. The laws, how
ever, prevent the killing of cow elephants
or baby elephants, and. as a general rule,
none of the females of the big game can
be hunted, killed or captured when ac
companied by their young.
The party will meet with many rhinoc
eroses and will have to be careful to
keep to the windward of them. The
Uganda rhinoceros is stupid and almost
blind, but it can smell like a bloodhound.
and it will charge against the wind. I
met one man. In South Africa who had
shot a white rhinoceros. 3?hls was in
Rhodesia, and I am not sure whether any
such are to be found in Uganda. I am
told the rhinoceros there is timid and J
that he will not charge unless he Is shot
at. The animals go alone and are seldom
seen in parties or droves. They are huge
beasts with two great horns on their
nose. There is a big horn just over the
nose rising almost at right angles with
the mouth, with a small horn behind It.
The longest rhinoceros horn on record
measures almost four feet, and some are
frequently secured which are from 3$ to
42 inches.
About Lake Victoria.
During the trip across Uganda the
President will probably visit Mount El
gon, an extinct volcano, about which
there is excellent hunting,- and will then
go to Jlnga. where the water of Victor!
Nyanza flows out. forming the Nile. At
that point the fishing is good and there
is good sport shooting the birds, among
which is the whale-headed stork. Cross
ing from there to Kampala, the capital
of Uganda, the President will go on to
Entebbe and thence sail over the lake to
Port Florence, where the Uganda railway
ends and whence he can go down into
British East Africa.
I should by all means advise the party
to take a trip around Victoria Nyanza be
fore going south. This body of water Is
bigger than Lake Superior, and hippopot
ami may be seen in the papyrus reeds
almost anywhere along its shores. There
are lions and leopards in the woods, and
one haa no trouble to get a shot at
monkey. There are some wild beaBts on
the islands of the lake, and on Ukerewe
there is a herd ot elephants. At Bukoba
there are a German commander and sev
eral German officials; and at Mwanza,
the southernmost port, there is a fine set
of German officers, who will be glad to
accompany the President on any big
game excursion he may care to under
take. At all of these ports there are
natives who may be hired to carry the
camp equipment and guns, and there will
be no trouble in getting them to chase up
the wild animals. The trip around the
lake la comfortable. The steamers are
small, but the food is good, and the
storms are seldom so great as to affect
one a digestion.
Germans and President.
In going down the Uganda road toward
the ocean the Presidential party might
get off at Vol and tramp across to the
slopes or Mount Kilimanjaro In German
East Africa. I am told there are many
elephants in that region and that big
game of all kinds abounds. This is so in
many parts of the German colony. The
officials there are great sportsmen and
they will welcome the President. During
my stay at Dar es Salaam I had chats
with the governor and his chief officials.
They are anxious that the President
should oome and will be glad to go about
with htm and make his stay pleasant.
I have heard from another source that
there is some talk of the Kaiser visiting
German East Africa at the same time in
order to go hunting with the President.
The two men have about the same tastes;
they are both fairly good shots and the
stories of how they have chased the lions
or the lions have chased them would be
read with avidity all over the country.
As for myself, I doubt the possibility of
the German Emperor leaving Europe; but
it will be rememoerea mat he has alreadv
gone as far as the Medltteranean and
there Is no telling. what either he or
our President will do.
In British East Africa.
Coming back to Port Florence, the
President hud best go down the Uganda
Railroad to Nairobi, the capital of
British East Africa, and make that his
headquarters during his hunting in
that territory. British East Africa has
ore big game than any other part of
the continent; and so much hunting
Is done that It Is no trouble to outfit
or to know where to hunt. -There are
mercantile firms which make a busi
ness of supplying hunting parties, and
there are men who will take charge of
everything at so much per month or I
rcm ttat appica. Ml x '
I'll ..rir ....... , . - . 5T3 Sir. S v M 1
v ' L ,-V ' " fm lilt 1
1 IV'-- - , iiYfOC, I " 1 liK" .Vf-- ci.''i I l v
Jill l.'
I JaissS",,, i- salmon. Indeed,
i Jgass- I pr0p0rtion to Us
at so much per hunt. The expenses
are considerable. I should think It
would cost the President 40 or $50 per
day for every member of his party; and
without he has special privileges given
him each member will have to pay, in
addition, a license of $250 for the privi
lege tf shooting the big game. Such
licenses are now bringing from $50,000
to $100,000 a year to the government,
and thev are looked upon as a live
source of revenue. They are paid by
the nobility of England and all others
who shoot; but it may be that there
will be an exception in the case of
President Roosevelt. '
As to good company, there will be no
trouble about thut in British East
Africa, There are no end of famous
people who hunt there every season
and some of the nobility of England
have large estates with game preserves.
Lord Delamere, one of these, is
famous shot, and so is Lord Hindllp,
who owns tens of thousands of acres
In the Rift Valley. I have already
written of our Pike County millionaire,
William McMillan, formerly of Mis
souri. He has an estate of 20,000 acres
right in the best game region, and
his wife now and then goes out and
shoots a Hon In the back yard. There
la a chance to pop over a hippo
potamus or a rhinoceros in the garden
patch before breakfast, and there are
herds of antelopes and zebras on the
plantations. Mr. McMillan has an auto
mobile with which the President might
run down the zebras, or. In case of an
unanccessful trouble with a Hon, re
treat in a masterful way.
Seriously speaking, the big game of
British East Africa is numerous and
varied beyond description. The Uganda
Railway, which runs for about 60J miles
from the Indian Ocean to Lake Vic
toria right through the country, is
lined with antelopes, zebras, gnus and
wild ostriches, and one frequently sees
giraffes, Hons and rhinoceroses from
the car windows. There is far more
game visible in a ride over that road
than the numDer or came ana nogs in
a journey tnrougn me Dest stocx-rais-
Ing portions of the United States. ;
Hunting In Rhodesia.
One of the tine hunting grounds still
left on the African continent is
Barotseland, now known as Northwest
ern Rhodesia. The President might
reach this by going westward through
German East Africa to Lake Tangan
yika, and thence making his way down
that lake on the small steamers now
plying to the southern end. From there
he could march overland to the Broken
Hill mines, or it may be that the Cape-
to-Calro Railroad will be extended
much further north by the time he
reaches there.
It he should not care to go further
into German East Africa, he can take
ship at Dar es Salaam and go down
Into the Mozambique Channel, landing
at Beira, in Portuguese East Africa.
From there two or three days on a
good railroad will bring him here to
Buluwayo and thence to the Victoria
Falls of the Zambesi. These falls are
equal to It not greater in beauty than
Niagara, and the President should by
all means see them. From Victoria the
train will take him northward across
the Kafue River Into Barotseland,
when he will be in a game country
which affords excellent sport.
I have met the Governor of that ter
ritory since I came here. He is a cele
brated hunter and has killed many
Hons and rhinoceroses. He tells me that
Barotseland has antelope of all kinds,
and also many giraffes, zebras, buffa
loes, hippopotami, elands, kudus, lions,
cheetahs and leopards. There are
numerous wild birds, and In the Zam
besi and the Kafue there Is fairly good
fishing.
Sport With Natives.
In northwestern Rhodes! the President
may have a chance to hunt native
fashion. The negroes there are experts,
and they kill all aorta of game, from
wild hogs to rhinoceroses. They hunt at
the close of the Summer, first, setting fire
to the high grass and burning over the
whole country. As the grass sprouts up
in the swampy places the game goes there
to feed, and the natives lay In wait and
shoot it with their bows and arrows or
kill it with spears. They also stretch
great nets across the paths or drives. Into
which they chase the game, and when
the animals become entangled they rush
in and spear them. These nets are made
of vines and fiber and are sometimes two
miles In length.
It will Interest the President to see
how they snoot Hons and leopards by
means of traps. The most common lion
trap is a noose baited with meat and so
arranged that when tne lion grabs the
meat he is caught by the noose, and
in Jerking away pulls the trigger of a
gun which hangs down from above. The
gun is so fixed that when it goes oft the
beast receives the ball just back of the
neck and is killed. In trapping leopards
the gun is set at an angle ot 45 degrees,
so that the animal is shot through the
brain.
As to fishing. I am told -there is no
sport like catching the tiger fish 'of the
Zambesi. This fish often weighs sb much
as 25 pounds, and It is as gamey as a
it Is far more so In
weight, for it Is said
that a four-pound Zambesi tiger will yield
more excitement than a 40-pound salmon.
The tiger fish is dark blue on the back,
white on the belly, and it has five or
six blue stripes on the eldes. Its fins and
tall are red. The best places to fish for
It are from an Island, or below a rocky
bar, in about three feet of water. The
fish takes almost ahy, kind -of a glittering,
spinning bait, and a good way to catch
it Is to troll for it or cast with a hook
ZEBRA.
with a spoon fastened to the line by a
steel wire. The lines have to be carefully
made, and nothing but wire" Is of any
good In connection with the hook, for the
tiger will cut a gut or twine line to pieces
with Its teeth. Great care must be used
in extracting the hook, and It Is well to
kill the fish first. Its teeth are sharp,
and, if one is not careful, he may lose a
finger. The tiger fish is as full of bones
as a shad, but it does
either the salmon or shad
It affords, and there are many African'
fish which are better to taste.
Season for Hunting.
Down here In Rhodesia the President!
will find the Winter months of from July
to November the best time for his visit.!
Then the rainy season is over, the grass1
Is grown up and been burned off anil tliel
new grass Is Just shooting. The game
now comes out of the woods and bushesi
to graze, and there are practically no ln-
Beets or mosquitoes. There Is no danger
of fever at this time, although I would1
suggest that the President go nowhere tn!
Africa wltrtout mosquito nets, and that he;
put them up whether out on the plains or
in the cars, when there Is the least
danger. j
In British East Africa almost any time!
of the year except the rainy season Willi
furnish excellent hunting. The big game!
country Is so near the equator that the;
temperature Is about the same all the;
year round. This Is also true or uganaa..
not compare with . and, as for the Sudan, the best time there
ad as a table fish. I Is In the heart of our Winter.
About its only virtue is the sport which Bulawayo. July
How. a Man Feels When He Flies
i
T'S AN entirely new sensation.
This swift, free glide of an aero
plane is more exhileratlng than
the fastest automobile or yacht - or the
speediest horse. It's the greatest sport
In the world." This enthusiastic testimony
is given by A. M. Herring, of New York,
one of the oldest and most successful
builders of aeroplanes. It Is generally
conceded that the flying machine haa ar
rived and that within a few years the
new means of locomotion will be com- I
paratlvely common. It is already pos
sible to describe' the new sensation of
flying from actual experience.
The highest praise of any form of rapid
locomotion has always been that it is
"like flying." A fast automobile or horse
or train is said to' "fairly fly," to "go like
the wind." The aeroplane makes it pos
sible for the first time In human experi
ence to actually go like the wind and to
fairly fly. One may feel something of
this feeling In a swing, In a rapidly as
cending elevator or a balloon. This sen
sation of rising clear ot the earth is
not new, but the experience of actually
soaring or sliding through the air is, of
course, entirely new.. There is nothing
with which to compare it. And, accord
ing to Mr. Herring, who haa enjoyed the
experience several times, an aeroplane
ride Is the most fascinating thing in the
world.
An aeroplane leaves the. earth, as a
rule, at an easy angle, moving with great
speed, so that the passenger finds him
self in the air before he can well realize
It. If the rise or fall of the plane be
in the breath one feels in a rapidly as
cending- or descending elevator. A sud
den rise or fall of this kind may occur on
a windy day, when the aeroplane may
rlBe or fall as much as 40 feet One soon
becomes accustomed to the feeling.
Once In motion well off the earth there
la a feeling of Independence and freedom
difficult to describe. In a fast automo
bile, for Instance, no matter how perfect
the tires or the road, there Is always
more or less jarring, and one la conscious
at all times of the support beneath. There
is a freedom of movement on an aero-
plane which goes beyond the finest auto
mobillng. There Is, of course, more or
less vibration from the engines of the
areoplane, but the machine seems self
centered and independent. The aeroplane
adds a new dimension to one's move
ments. An automobile or horse or train
can move only on one plane. An aero
plane can move to right or left and up
and down as well, and consequently the
feeling of Independence of all earthly en
vironment. In long Journeys by aeroplane many
people will doubtless suffer from air sick
ness. Just as on a ship they sunrer irom
sea sickness. The motion or a nying ma
chine is very similar at times to that of
a ehlp, although traveling at a much
higher rate of speed. In passing through
a gusty wind an aeroplane will roll and
pitch much the same as a ship In a chop
py sea. Ordinarily, however, the aero
plane will glide in a series of long, even
pitches, which will give something the
same sensation as swinging. The aero
plane Is not only likely to pitch and roll,
but her course Is usually In a slightly
waving line like that of a fast torpedo
boat. An aeroplane, especially the American
type, rights itself much more quickly than
a ship. The type of machine built by Mr.
Herring, except in very high winds, main
tains an almost perfect keel. The dis
turbances of the air, however, are so
much more rapid and violent than the
waves of the sea that some motion la al
most inevitable. In an air wave the par
ticles usually move in a rotary motion;
such a wave Is almost always cyclonic
In nature. Then again the axis of an air
wave may be at any angle and may
change about with great rapidity. An air
wave again is twice the height of a water
wave.
It is only when the air waves grow very
violent that the aeroplane will roll and
pitch. In passing from an area of con
siderable disturbance to a quiet zone an
aeroplane may rise or fall as much as
40 feet. The sensation in taking such
a wave or roller will be exactly like the
catch In the breath in a rapidly falling
or rising elevator. An experienced pilot
can often see a great air wave approach
ing and humor his aeroplane to meet It.l
In flying over the water an experienced
eye can detect the approach of such a1
wave by the motion of the water. It 1st
possible to tell from the motion of the
tree tops very often the nature of th
air waves well ahead.
Mr. Herring, when guldir his own1
aeroplane, has found time to look about
him and enjoy the flight. An aeroplane is'
likely to take up less of the pilot's at-;
tentlon than does an automobile of 11.4
chauffeur. The engines work largely u-(
tomatlcaliy. requiring little attention. The1
front planes of the aeroplane may be set
and even the steering apparatus left to
care for Itself. It Is often possible to let
go of the steering levers altogether tnr
considerable intervals, leaving both hands
free to adjust the engines. The passen
ger Is left free to enjoy the smooth gilds'
of the car while watching the earth slip'
swiftly and silently beneath him.
The speed of an aeroplane Is equal to
that of a very fast automobile. The rush
of air. It has been found, strikes one's
face with even more force than when
moving with the same speed on land or
sea. Mr. Herring has therefore equipped
his machine with a wind guard, which
protects the face. ,
The anation of flying, once experi
enced, cays Mr. Herring, will never be
forgotten. There are no speed limitations
tn the air, no bad roads, no obstructions.
Once well under way on the aeroplane ay
feeling of freedom and elation awaits the
passenger which no mere earthly experi
ence can Imitate. The fascination of
automoblllng, of sailing, of fast driving
become tame by comparison. The fasti
automobile which is passing up and down!
hill, over perfect roads without any sense
of effort approaches the feeling of fiylngj
A fast yacht flying before the wind on aj
smooth sea suggests it In a measure. The
smooth glide of a graceful skater is an-l
other comparison. An aeroplane flight1
has the charm of all of these sensations,!
but with the speed greatly increased,
without any sense of effort and with the
Indescribable exhilaration of being entire
ly above the earth.