Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1871-12-21

what has transpired since that time is
still, as to US, in the future, and since
it is a common, although a wrong
desire, to seek to lift the ve1l a take
peep into the future. we must be con-
tent, while We call 10 mind Pope's dis
itch:
"Oi blindness to the future kindly given,
1t is now the rainy season and our
Spring time; flowers bloom on every |
hand; birds sing more sweetly and |
ioyfully, and all nature seems revived. |
The first rain, not more than a sTrink
lie, which often occurs in the dry sea
son, fell on 14th inst. This was the
first shower since our arrival on the
10th of June. and there had been no
rain for month then. Your farmers
would think this terrible dry spell
but here, from the heavy dews and
moist atmosphere, vegetation, al
though greatly stuntel, does not ap
pear so burnt up as it would from
two weeks of drouth with you. This
is not near so hot and sultry as your
summers. The highest 1 have no.
ticed the thermometer for seme time
was sc deg. The nights are quite cool,
but it must be caused by the dampness
of the atmosphere taking away the
heat of air bodies, for the thermomc-
ter rarely falls as much as ten degrees,
generally six or seven. Almost every
morning it is IS deg, and in the hot
test part of the day 81 deg. And this
is now our hot season. The dry sea-
; son is our winter. Then the sun is
, north of us now it is right over our
heads, and the days and nights are
equal.
There is plenty Cf game now-three
or four kinds of deer, from the little
beautiful gazzelle to the big horned
: antler, fisk and run across the grass
fields. They have come down from
the brush to feed upon the fresh grass
Some very fine ones have been shot
close by our house. Last week was
down, or rather up the coast-for it is
north-to Bonita, perhaps hundred
c miles from this. spent two day;
r hunting. There gre wide prairies
r there where plenty of wild cattle, deer
e and elephants feed. Judging from the
o tracks, or rather paths, the elephants
0 are the most numerous; but the,
IL sleep in the forest in the day time, an,
a only come out to feed at night. so tha
'r we did not get to see many. The dee
also were very wary, and We only sho
IS one. But the cattle were to be see1
} on every hand, of all ages and sizes
o We fired almost all our ammunition
x away at them but for want of ski
d we only killed two, and these ra
Is away with the rest, and were foun
Is dead by the natives. Our guns wer
not heavy enough caliber to kill ther
n at once unless we hit them fair in tn
j. head. They much resemble bufaloe.
w but think they are not so tall or s
al Ieavy, but larger bodied, with drool
ing horns, and the bulls with shagg
r names like a lion; and when the
~ charge, as they did once at NJ
~ 81 Murphy, they must look very frigh
in full; tor although he escaped by bein
a near the brush, he would not 90 ne:
ob them again. There were two larg
or bulls charged at him a. soon as |
aid fired, and but for the thick und
of brush close at hand, he could hard
all have escaped. He forgot to sho
ase again his repeating rifles, and was
= frightened that he left for bon
ur- straightway. But we had not much
ne boast of, for soon afterwards when
were stalking herd, an old elepha
W. started up from a muddy hollow whe
he he had been wallowing, and gave su
9TH an angry snort that the whole par
ce, ran for the trees and left the hu
so, beast and the cattle alone in the
tor glory. The natives said he was ano
IDS and it would not do to disturb hir
are and our guns would have affected b
red about as much as goosequlll pop-gur
: is SO that it was not difficult to persua
&C. US to let him alone. Afterwards
the saw two others, or rather the bush
ing shaking and heard them cracking, /
0ne we could only get glimpses Of the ,
to imals as they crashed down throu
Iers the underbrush into the forest. Y
low saw plenty of monkeys-li q
pop Ones jumping about on the trees, 8
nio large black ones, whose bark was |
ion that of a coarse bull dogs, but tt
re would all hide away in the thick vi
saw covered branches so that we co
not shoot them. These prairies
very fine hunting grnn4a4ls7 5rErtt VII
. for mauy years to come, as the natl
are very cowardly. and their guns
, not capable of killing the large ga
a skillluI hunter might make fort
here killing elephants, if they did
"n kill him.
Jeen
ere Mr.. Thompson, of Glasgow, VIII
safe visiting US, and making some oil
eing va'lons and collections has asst
our me in making several journeys inli
gIish the most extensive one was up
tract bensta River We were supplied
4 to everything for our Journey by