New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-04-17
HUNTING IN THE JUNGLES.
r.spAp WHITNEY TELLS OF HIS TRIP.
HIS EXPERIENCES IN SEARCH OF BIG GAME i''
SIAM sUMATRA AND THE MALAY

SIAM. suMArRA AND THE MALAY
PENINSULA
Caspar Whitney. the writer on sports. has lately
returned from a hunting trip In the Far East anu
In speaking OF his experiences said;
From "A sportsman's point OF view "an'eu -
hunt In a new country, and, as lndia ana A'''0a '
heen 50 thoroughly shot over and repeatedly "'''e"
Nd there was no novelty In going there A''e,
casting about for some time chose the )ungles Oh
Siam suratra and the Malay peninsula also
esnoc,alv wanted to see these ungles as they were
.o,d 10 differ from those Of India and Africa espe
cially from those OF the latter where the country
IS comparatively open, with patches OF 'u"e'o "
and there.
ION my way West stayed at Chicago Kansas
CIV San Francisco Seattle and Tacoma wnerc TOT
the last three or four years sports have been DOOM
ing and where semi professional methods have had
n wide vogue These methods. am gnd to say.
hav, TO Il great extent disappeared now. and sports
are going on upon a wholesome and healthy basis
Il then sailed for Siam from Vancouver. r. C..
v,a Ch,na and Japan In both OF which countries
made br,e, STAYS. In Japan I found the natives
had lenrned baseball sufficiently 70 defeat nine
made up from the crew Of one OF our warships'
A sIAMEsE HUNTING EXPEDITION.
Upon my arrival in Siam ! made the acquaint-
ance N Prince Maret. the Kings brother who was
exceedingly kind 70 In that country IL Is neces-
sary 10 obtain permit before one can 90 on
hunting expedition. and after this formaity was
attended to- through the courtesy and advice OF the
Prince Joined forces with his head man. who has
charge OF the boundary line between Burmah and
Slam. The combined expedition amounted to thirty
five men and eleven bullock carts.
"On tho frontier line between these countries l
had been advised there lived nomaCic race OF
people. called the Karens who had the reputation
OF being great hunters and therefore made
them our objective point. Except 10 the northward.
Slam IL very low country which Is almost wholly
covered with water during the rainy season. When
the dry season arrives Wild animals from the high
country come 20 the owands seeking water. and
these doughty hunters build platforms near a water
pool and pot game from this safe eminence az It
comes TO drink Nice and sportsmanliks isn't II?
Tho jungle differed from those OF India and
Africa. and changed my antcipations to keen
regret Tho foliage completely interlaced with
no open spaces, tho undcrbrush rising 20 a height
OF fifteen feet and. to complicatc matters. rattan
creepers depended from the trees above and inter-
twined with IT, Then. almost all the shrubbery was
armed with long and exceedingly sharp thorns.
which In many bent backward. Thus you
were compelled when caught TO 20 back and
exricate yourself struggling only entangled you
the SO dense was 1t that | was always pre-
coded by jungle man. who. by cutting a creeper
here and there with his jungle knife. enabled me TO
edge my way through
TACTICS OF THE BUFFALO.
81 stayed in Siam and Burmah six weeks. prin-
cpally hunting buffalo. They n peculiar beast.
resembling our domestic OK. although much larger.
as they frequently stand seven feet at the shoulder.
Should you wound he will crash on into tho
Jungle out OF sight and will then circle round until
ne gets your wind. when he will charge up II just
as the rhlnoccros does II must be borne in mind
that In these iungles range OF vision (on account
OF the thickness OF the underbrusm OF twenty feet
is extraordinary and while you hear the buffalo
dashing abou, in their runways. II is seldom you
can catch sight OF them. They as likely not
10 get your wind and then It's goodby to that but-
falo.
II went out there a Arm devotcc OF the Wnches-
ter and light guns. as against the elephant or
heavy guns. but In that country give me the six
10 twelve bore elephants. even II they do weigh
fifteen pounds and are load to carry. Up to then
had always said that a bullet from light gun In
"A vital spot effective bullet from
heavy gun and you didn't have to wear yourself out
carrying around the extra weight While that rule
may still be In open country, where you
pick your shot. it is failure In those tropical
iungles where you must shoot tho instant. and
II YOU land anywhere near the mark be able to drop
your game.
"As a result OF having only Winchester I got
nothing In Slam. although wounding several ami
mails including an elephant managed TO crawl
within twenty feet OF him and then pumped four
shots into him. three behind tho shoulder and ono
in front OF the hips; but. although followed him
all that day and the next. lost him.
TOUGH SI.ADANG.
This discouraged me In my use OF the Winches
ter and on my way down TO Burmah borrowed an
eight bore elephant gun. and got bison with II.
| had the luck 10 have the wind from the sladang
OLSON to me. which enabled me TO get within M
teen feet OF him put two shots from my Win
chester into his shoulder. but of he went showing
that his shoulder blades unbroken. and that
the balls lacked penetrative force Knowing he
would charge me- went on til came to a peculiar
Jungle tree whose roots formed sort OF natural
bulwark I had just reached It when out he came
direct for me.
II managed TO turn him with two more Wnches-
tiers In tho shoulder but still did not break tho
blade although there were fifty grains OF smoke
less powder behind each bullet. then waited for
him with the eight-bore. and on his next charge
my first shot broke both his shoulder blades and
his spine. -
Il also got nsh-tiger really panther but with
n tigers markings II lives on fish. and hence Its
name
From there went to 6umatra, carrying the
cght-bore. together with a twelve-bore which
had also picked up. l also had high velocity
rife one from which the projcctile travels twenty
three hundred feet a second on leaving the muzzle
but I am not enthusiastic about them. / came
across a rhnoceror swimming "a stream. and. al
though put four high velocity and three Wnches-
ter bullets into him, he waddled out on the other
side rs II nothing In particular had happened to
him.
THE jungles OF Simatra are as dense as those OF
SIAM but easier to get through on account Of there
peculiarly Il they are oiled with mounds. which