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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 14, 1962)
African Traveler Tells of Game Reserves, French Somaliland (Editor's note: This is an- I euide with a bie came cun.nnrt hj af., h.,j i. ..-.si i, . . . W ether in a series of articles by Luke Lange. former Medford resident who is on an around the world cruise aboard the freighter, SS Friesland. Today's article concerns Kenya and a visit lo the famous Tree Top hotel; and a visit to Djibuti. in Somaliland.) By LUKE LANGE Kenya lies between Ethiopa and Tanganyika on the east African coast. It is a British Protectorate and is now in the process of being given in dependence. Many of the British have gone, and they are leaving as fast as they can train replace ments. Mombassa Is the big port ... for the country, and Nairobi Is the capital. The area from Mombassa to Nairobi to Kil imanjaro probably has more game than any other place in Africa. Near Nairobi thev havi th famous Tree Top hotel. This place has rooms, bar and dining facilities built up in the air on sturdy concrete. It overlooks a water hole and at dawn and dusk every spe cies of wildlife in Africa shows up for a drink. The construction is a replacement of the original, in the trees, because the Mau Maus, while on a rampage, burned the first one. Furnishes Guide This is the only reserve in Africa that furnishes the guide with a big game sun From the parking area to the tree top is a distance of about two hundred yards, and you are escorted there in safety. The present guide has been there two years, and has only had to kill one elephant to protect a tourist. We rented a car in Mom bassa and went to the Tsavo reserve. This reserve, next to Kruger park, is the largest in Africa, and consists of about 8,000 square miles. We were lucky to reach it thi: time of the month because it is ready to close down for the rainy season. The port authorities gave me a permit to take a shot gun along for protection. but with strict orders not to shoot any animals or birds, especially lions, because they were getting scarce. I told the Englishman not to worrv since I was not crazy enough to shoot a lion with a 20 gauge shot gun. He told me that most Americans he came in contact with in Africa were crazy enough to do anything. Typical Englishman He was a typical English man, and not too pleased with Americans. Apparently he he had forgotten about the 50 destroyers we traded his country for a Navel bafe in Trinidad. Our guide in the reserve was from the Masai tribe proudly dressed in a uniform. You can hardly drive a mile without seeing some kind of animal. They were all there. Zebra, rhino, wart hoes. etc.. and herd -after herd of ele phants. The first herd of elephants we saw was about 300 yards from the road and coming our way. I thought that by keep ing the car in gear and all until it started to rain. In the tropics the water comes down in sheets and in a short time the narrow road was a mass of mud. The soil is red clay similar to the Eagle Point gumbo and gets ready to go. one of us could j sllck- I stuck the car in a get out and safely take a 1 b'S mud nole and we all had picture when they got real close, but the euide would hear none of this. i Slays With Rules He stayed strictly with the rules and would not allow anyone out of the car. He had a healthy respect for the elephants and did not take any chances. He went on to tell us of the numerous ac cidents in the park to people passing through without guides and getting out of their cars. The highway to Nairobi runs through part of the park, and while on the highway a guide is not needed so mo?t of the accidents happen on the main road to people who don't seem to realize the ani mals are wild, even the pro tected. We had not gone 10 miles to get out to push. There were six people including the guide, and all of them up to their knees in mud. Then a herd of elephants showed up. Get In Car We all got in the car and stayed absolutely quiet. The herd of about 50 passed by in single file and everyone of them had to stop and take a look. By the time they got out of sight we were a pretty scared bunch of people, anfl pushed the car out of the mud in jig time. The guide, like all natives, was real proud of his uniform and he, like the rest of us. was covered with mud. He felt so bad I thought he was going to cry. We stayed in a tourist lodge near Nairobi and drove the rest of the reserve the next morning. The owner of the lodge had a large boxer dog and it was pretty badly scar red up. A herd of marauding baboons had invaded the grounds the night before and the boxer tied into one of them. He killed the baboon by breaking its neck, but look ed like he had a tough time doing it. Cancel Hunting Trip We were going into Nairobi to make arrangements to go hunting, but after seeing all the animals in the reserve and on the main road we de cided to cancel. After taking pictures of nearly every species from within a few feet to a hun dred yards, we couldn't see wnere mere would be any sport in hunting them with a gun. It just would not be a contest. You can drive about any direction and take your pick of rhino or ele phant, climb out of the car crack him with a gun of large enough caliber to re move any element of danger and there really isn't any hunting to it. MEDFORDfflTRIBUNE SECTION C MEDFORD. OREGON, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 1962 PAGES 1 to 8 But if anyone wishes to hunt in Africa, arrangements should be made at Mombassa or Nairobi, Kenya, East Afri ca. This can be done by ad dressing a letter to the Gov ernment Tourist Agency De partment. French Run Djibuti Our next stop in Africa is Djibuti, in Somililand. The French run this port and it is uieir lasi ioomoid since giving up Algeria. It is easy to see the French do not expect to be here much longer. The buildings are fall ing apart and so is equipment. They expect to give the place its independence shortly so they are just letting thines wear out. It is hard to blame them for this attitude since they will not receive any com pensation when they are kick ed out. This might be the one place in Africa that would be just as well off under their management. Have No Worries The harbor is full of ships that cannot get unloaded, and the French authorities could not care less. Djibuti has one air conditioned bar and the Frenchmen spend part of the days and most of the nights there and really live things up. If they run France the same way they do their Afri can territory, they could wind up losing it too. You must give them credit Now at I 5M - GRAHDUIEW you get the best THRIFTY GREEN STAMPS! TOWS a - M v 4 At' CORN OH THE COB ier, father of PFC HARD TO BELIEVE-Mr. George Absh iarry A. Abshier, 18, reported to have Hf.i n munist North Korea from his post, finds it hard to believe his son did so. Pyongyang radio reported the soldier de fected because of his "humiliating life" in the Army. (UPI) Oregon Laying Out Greenest Welcome For State Visitors Big, green slicing CUCUMBERS Oregon is laying out the greenest welcome mat in the U.S., Phil Hunt, coordinator of the "Oregon Welcome Pro gram," said in an address here Tuesday at the Rogue Valley Country club. Speaking at a luncheon meeting of the Medford Ro tary club, the Portland pub lic relations representative ex plained the economic impor tance of the tourist business In the state, now Oregon's third most important indus try. The $186 million "tab" paid by vacationists visiting Ore gon means a hundred dollars to every man, woman and child of this state. Per capita statistics show that it brings $7 million to Jackson county, yet with this area in the heart of a vast vacationland and with Crater Lake and the Police Clear 97.1 Per Cent of Cases .The Medford city police de partment cleared 97.1 per cent of 2.928 cases reported during May, according to the monthly report. This is slightly over the 94.2 per cent closed during the same month in 1961, when 2.346 cases were reported. Of the 125 major offenses investigated during May, 27.8 per cent were elided. These included aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and auto theft. This category is up sub stantially from May, 1961, when 83 major crimes were reported. During the month, 3,668 parking meter and 434 traffic citations were issued. Local Men Elected To Phi Beta Kappa Elected to the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at the opening of Commence ment week there was David L- Mack. Gold Hill, and Da vid B. Frohnmayer Mack is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gil bert A Mack, and Frohn maycr's parents are Mr. and Mr?. Ot'o Frohnmayer, 1656 Spring st. The two were anKing 87 undergraduate students elect ed to membership in the so- Oregon Caves in this region, the importance of tourism here is probably much more. Former Chamber Official Hunt, former secretary of the Oregon Chamber Execu tives and long associated with chamber of commerce activi ties in Oregon, is now assist ing the Travel Information Division of the Oregon high way department in expediting Gov. Mark Hatfield's hospi tality program. Lewis and Clark were the first tourists to visit Oregon, the , speaker recalled. They are the forerunner of many thousands of people traveling ; Oregon's new highways en route to the Seattle World's , Fair and many other North-' west tourist attractions. I People these days are tak ing longer vacations and trav eling many more miles than previously. Hunt told Rotar ians. Scenery is Oregon's great asset that cannot be i dissipated and has an unlimit ed potential. It is likely that ' tourism will some day exceed lumber and agriculture as a contributor lo the state's economy. Local community coopera tion with the Travel Informa tion Division's S400.000 an-1 nual advertising campaign was outlined. Don McNeil, manager of the Medford Chamber of Commerce, introduced the speaker. liiEiilli Flav-R-Pac-12-oz. frozen T3 Q QfSl I pnnnni a mis r a -LCNiUNAUt qJJ S , Vets-No. 1 Cans Tv nne mm I for one thing. They sure have a good time for themselves and have no worries. The French also have been much easier to get acquainted with and are friendlier than the Dutch, English and Portugese people we have met in Africa. Before leaving any of the African ports, our ship is searched from one end to the other. The natives will do almost anything to get out of the country and given the least opportunity will hide out on any ship they can, no matter where it is going, but prefer one going to America if they can get on it. When we arrived in Assab, Ethiopia, after a two-day run from Djibuti, one of our crew heard a tapping in Hatch No. 1, and we had a sure-enough Somali stow away. The hole was loaded with coffee, and would not have been opened until arrival in New York 30 days later if his signals had not been heard. Creates Headache A stow away creates quite a headache for the shipping company, and the captain was having a fit. He is a man without a country and it is up to the shipping company to get him home. Last year they had one from Zanzibar, and took him all the way to New York and flew him back to Africa from there at their own expense. The Ethiopian custom of ficials were cooperative. The man was kept aboard until plane lime the next morning and flown back to Djibuti. For a native making 80 cents a day, the man had a pretty nice week end, consisting of a two-day boat cruise and a plane ride, all expenses paid. Assab is a small, dirty port town, and is the outlet for most of the coffee of Ethiopa, the country' largest crop. We met one bright little Ethi opian fellow, 14 years old, who guided us around the town and knew quite a bit of English. He had hidden on two different American boats and made it clear to Ellis is land both times. He had been flown back to Ethiopia both limes, and was quite well traveled. Liked Americans He said he liked Americans better than anybody as the ship crews had treated him nice and taught him some English. This town is full of Ethi opian Army men and they are getting ready for a hassle with Somaliland, their next door neighbor, over a piece of ground given away after the war by the United Nations. Both countries claim it and both are preparing for trouble, so maybe this will be the next spot in Africa to have a brush fire war. Next stop is Cairo and th Suez. i) Tryh? New Crescent Original Dill Salt : DILL 1 4 ? A new, exclusive Crescent creation inspires many de lightful flavor ideas: Mix it with melted butter to make a sauce for green vege- laoies. iprinkle on fresh sliced cucumbers or toma toes. Try it in cole slaw or ) potato salad. Adds won- 7 arous flavor to seafoods. I; meats and eggs, too! CRESCENT Luscious Red Ripe WATERMELON Oh boy! Watch Dad and the kids go for this! Dozen 11 Sunkist Juice ORANGES LETTUCE . CELERY So tasty with cheese.. BBHssvaaaaHeBsWi j (j J pound must for ia1adt. 10c lb. 10c lb 2330 CRATER LAKE AVENUE ! Price effective thru Sunday, June 17fh HEW SUMMER STORE HOURS ' Shop daily 9 a.m. 'til 9 p.m. Every Sunday 9 a.m. 'til 8 p.m. MILLER'S 'A' LARGE EGGS.,.. 35c Brownies and Cookies Brownies or Molasses Cookies Pkg. 29c Parkdale No. 303 cans.. 5 PEAR HALVES DRY CAT FOOD little Friskies 2-lb for Mom's favorite for jelly.. RICE CHEX WHEAT CHEX NEW! 9-oi. Pkg.. 12-01. Pkg. Lowest ratio of saturated fats. For delicious sktllat frying, deep frying, crisp salads, tender bakings. For salads, baking, frying. A m f al Grjndview BETTY CROCKER Saff-O-Life SAFFLOWER OIL MCP PECTIN (J I Arn All P POP Borden's Americsn, Pimlento OLIvCU VnCCOC or Swiss. 6-ox. Pkgs CORN OIL MARGARINE Coronet lb. Pkgs.. SLICED PINEAPPLE S&r-.. 2 2 2 ic Boneless PORK ROAST Lean and waste-free $1.00 box 25c for 29c for 49c for 45c $1.00 ALL BRANDS OF COFFEE 49c SNIDER'S BUTTER Solid prints lb. Pkg. SSc TOILET TISSUE Soft Weave ...8-Roll Bag 99c UNIT DRY STARCH 43c Package , 25c Grade A for PLUS the Big Extra Savings of Thrifty Green Stamps All Meats at Grjndview Art the Finest, tnd ' UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED fV You Muit Be f f Satisfied SJl Cut from LQ 1 0 C Young v- Pork IXjJlTJJlb. , 'M J, V4 TURKEYS Yearling Hens 14 Pound Average DAD WILL LOVE IT! Don't Forget Our Locker Beef Buys! Morrcll's Pride Canned Picnics 1 - 11 QQ Nebergall's boneless Canned Beef i Lzylb- 69? So good with cabbage
