San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-10-26
Hunting Beasts in africa.

Who ever even thought of the lives
tbot have been lost, the suffering en-
,lured. the great sums of money ex-
pended, and the perfect system direct
ING the workings of men and savages
far beyond the limits of civilization,
making collections of wild animals for
the menagerie? Indeed, the business
has been so almost exclusively done by
two very quiet gentlemen, whose agen-
cies cover nearly half the globe, that be-
yond the proprietors and managers OF
gardens and shows only limited num-
Der have any conception of the extent
Of their operations, or Of so much as
their existence. ...
The head of the firm, and directing
spirit of it's workings, is Mr.. Charles
Reiche, considerably this side OF 30, with
the comfortable bouhommie manner OF
an educated, travelled gentleman. His
New York establishment, at 55 Chatham
street, is passed by unnoticed by hun
dreds daily; yet from it orders are sup
plied from almost every travelling show
in the United States, from the Zoology
cal Garden in London, and others Ill
Russia, Austria and elsewhere. His large
supply depot for this country is in Ho-
boken. Henry Reiche, his brother and
partner, lives in Germany, where they
have general supply farm for all the
world, with accommodations and apph-
ances for the keeping of almost every
bird, beast or reptile, from any country
or cline in that part Of the world which
has been explored. They are ready at
any time to fill an order for anything
from single canary, thorough singing
birds, display birds, or trick birds up to
a flock of ostriches, OF from a field
mouse to an elephant.
Africa, the home of the greater num-
Der of fierce, voracious animals, is their
most extensive field of operations In 1t
they have many stations, with sheikhs
or chiefs in their employ, and standing
inducements offered to natives for choice
specimens of rare birds or beasts. Dur
ing nine months of every year they
have band of experienced white African
hunters travelling from station to station,
overseeing and directing the workings
of the natives, and catching elephants,
lions, leopards, tigers, and such other
beasts as they may be instructed to OBJ
tain. The company, usually composed
of four to six. and never more than
eight. under the command OF Charles
Lohse, veteran hunter and trapper,
start from Germany about the LIST OF
September, and return from Africa
early in June. During the remaining
three months of the year, which they
know as the rainy season" the climate
is so severe that it is almost certain
death for q white man to remain In
Africa. A few have tried it, but most
Of them died, and those who survived
suffered terribly from fever, and were
unable to accomplish anything. The
medical treatment is very limited and
confined principally, in the language OF
one of the men, to taking horse doses
ofquinine until killed OF cured and being
cured by the quinine is worse than
being killed by the fever.
Starting from Germany the hunters
take complete outfit of clothing, fire
arms, gifts of the chiefs, and from ST.
900 to $4,000 in drafts and letters of
credit. They go to Trieste, thence to
Corfu, in Greece, thence to Alexandra,
and then by rail to Suez. There they
exchange all their money for Maria The
resa silver, Austrian dollars, the only
coin known to the Arabs and Sheikhs
Of Africa. A bank of England note is
Hlneless to them, and the brightest
sPecinen. of a gold American eagle
would not buy the meanest Ting-tailed