The record-union., 1897-11-22
AN EXPLORERS STORIES.
He Was Not Murdered, but an Ele-
phant Almost Killed Him.

H CayendiSh, cousin OF the Duke OF
Devonshire, has just returned from
West Africa where it was falsely re-
ported recently he had been killed While
on a sporting expedition. He has been
seen by Reuters representative, to
whom he told an interesting story of
adventure in Somaliland and British
East Africa.
Mr.. Cavendish has the distinction of
being the youngest African explorer.
With Lieutenant Andrews of the Black
Watch, accompanied by eighty-fouf
armed Somalis with 80 camels, he
started from Berbera, travelling via
Lugh to Lake Rudolph and thence by
the Uganda road through Kikuya TO
Mombasa.
When nearing Lugh he found an
Abyssinian force had been about kill
ing men, women and children, and tor
turing prisoners. The natives had fled
from their villages. At Lugh the Ital-
ian commander told him the garrison
had been attacked repeatedly by d
large force of Abyssinians.
On the way from Lugh to Lake Step
hanie salt lake crater was discovered
300 feet deep and a mile and half
wide.
Mr.. Cavendsh had an extraordinary
adventure with a wounded elephant
round Lake Stephanie, and he gives the
following account of it:
My escape was nothing less than mi
raculous. The great beast, mad with
rage was charging me, when at the
critical moment my gun failed, and l
had TO turn and run. But the elephant
soon caught me, and going on his knees
tried to pin me 10 the ground with his
tusks. Failing in this he caught me
with his trunk and flung me round un-
der his body with the idea of crushing
me to death.
How / escaped l do not know, as I
was in this situation for half an hour.
AT the end of that time the great brute
got up, and kicking a piece of wood,
which he doubtless took to be my dead
body, made off to his retreat. Curl
ously enough, l had no bones broken.
i was covered with blood, and owing to
the pressure, my body was for some
time covered with boils.'
From Lake Stephanie to Lake Ru-
dolph there was the additional excite
ment of mutiny on several occasions,
his escort threatening TO murder him
and Lieutenant Andrews, and his head
man at another time making a similar
threat.
AT Lake Rudolph the natives attacked
the expedition, and good deal of fight
ing had TO be done. With the Turkans,
in fact, they had to fight day and night
until the southern end of the lake was
reached.
Mr.. Cavendish made some important
geographical discoveries In addition
to filling in maps he ascertained that
Teleki's volcano had disappeared, and a
bed of lava had taken its place, while
another volcano had sprung up three
miles south. He adds another lake and
q new antelope to those already known.
and he shot thirty eight different kinds
of game.
After leaving Lake Rudolph the expe-
dition had comparatively quiet jour
ney, the last ninety miles to Mombasa
being done by the railway.
Mr. Cayendish, who met Major Mac
donald's expedition at the end of Aug
ust. said II consisted of eleven British
officers, including four doctors. Ma
1or Macdonald's following numbered al
least 1,S00, including an escort OF fifty
Sikhs. He was expecting to be Joined
by 300 Soudanese troops from Uganda
The force was well armed.
The objects of the expedition were
kept secret, but from what was said II
appeared that Major Macdonald intend
ed TO follow Mr.. Cavendish's route as
far as the Juba.
Mr.. Cavendish gave Major Macdonald
fifty-two came,s and number of cat
tie and donkeys, besides copies OF maps
The Majors expedition proceeded ci-
rect for Njemps, Lake Baringo, on its
way 10 Rudolph.
Mr.. Cavendish thinks that the Italian
Captain Bettega was murdered by his
own men Il nndnn Mail.