Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-05-08
cRocoDlles AND HlPPoPoTAMl.
What Henry Stanley Says Of Work and
Sport on the Congo.

Whet hehry stahiey says VI "ors s""
Sport on the Congo.
-The most dangerous savage foes we
have to fear" says Mr.. Stanley, "are the
crocodile, hippopotamus, and the buffalo.
We lost five men during my last visit to
the Congo from these animals; three
We're killed by crocodiles, one by hip
popotamus, and one by buffalo. There
are large numbers of hipopotami along
the Congo and its tributaries, and thous-
upon thousands of crocodiles. The latter
are by far the most insidious foes we
have, because they are 50 silent and so
swift. You see a man bathing in the
river said Mr.. Stanley, with one IT his
vivid graphic touches; "he is standing
near the shore laughing at you, perhaps,
laughing in the keen enjoyment of the
bath; suddenly he falls over and you see
him no more. A crocodile has ap-
preached unseen, has struck him blow
with his tail that knocks him over, and
he is instantly seized and carried off. Or
it may be that the man is swimming; he
is totally unconscious of danger; there is
nothing in sight, nothing to stir a tremor
of apprehension; but there, in deep water,
under the shadow Of that rock, or hidden
beneath the shelter of the trees yonder,
is huge crocodile; il has spotted the
swimmer, and is watching its opportun-
ity; the swimmer approaches; he is
within striking distance; stealthily, ST.
lently, unperceived, the creature makes
for its prey; the man knows nothing till
he is seized by the leg and dragged un-
der, and he knows no more. A bubble
or two indicate the place where he has
gone down, and that is all.
For a dread, unspeakable horror"
Mr.. Stanley adds, ~there is no death by
wild beasts like that of being killed by a
crocodile. 1t is worse than being taken
by shark; for the shark must come to
the surface and let itself be seen; whereas
the crocodile strikes unseen and from be-
low.
The danger OF the hippopotamus is
that you come upon it unnoticed. You
are floating down the river or rowing
against the stream, no danger in sight,
when you may be suddenly upset by a
hippopotamus over which you have un-
consciously floated, and the chances are
that before you well know where you
are you are bitten in two by snap of
the beasts tremendous jaws. But the
danger from the hippopotamus is not so
great as that from the crocodile, because
it does not lie in wait, and is not a
stealthy animal. We naturally kill the
crocodile whenever we get chance to
do so, but the Congo and its tributaries
are full of them"
On the subject of sporting, Mr.. Stanley
says: "We do not care to encourage
sportsmen to come to Congo. The dis
tance man has to walk and the fatigues
he has to endure before he gets on to the
ground are so great that he becomes
played out, and gets the fever, and runs
imminent risk of succumbing to the
climate; and then there is an outcry
about the dreadful climate and its terri
BILE effects on Europeans. Sport is all
very well in England, where a man may
go into the stubble, or on the heather,
and shoot his hares or his grouse, or
whatever it may be, and cover his ten or
fifteen miles day, and be back to din
ner and bed at night. That is a grand
thing: it does a man good.
"But to go out sporting in Africa is
another thing. You go out into the for
est to find something; perhaps, after Il
mile or two, you sight a beastie; gener-
ally, however, you will have to go far
ther, for all animals avoid settlements,
unless driven to them from lack of food,
and go deeper into the bush. In sight
your beastie may be at distance of 40G
or 500 yards. You at once set to work to
approach within 100 yards. You creep
along stealthily through the high grass,
the pei spiration is pouring from you; you
are all aquiver with excitement, and
your heart is beating so violently that
you can hardly hold your arm steady,
while your eyes are full of the seed-dust
of the grass, which you shake off as you
make your way through it. The grass,
you must understand, is sometimes as
much as fifteen feet high. At length,
perhaps, you get, as you think, within
striking distance: you prepare to fire; but
while you are doing so the beastie has
got wind Of you, and is gone. Then you
have your work over again, or. as is gen.
orally the case, to go back worn out and
dispirited r-Outing