The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-05
THE GIANT sLoTH.
MIR. Hesketh Prichard's Expedition
to Capture the MyIOdOn.

Mr.. HeSketh Pr1char0s ENpeeAtlO1
to Capture the MyIOdOn.
London News.
You may seek IT with thlmbles and seek
You may hunt It with forks and hope
You may threaten its life with raVSay
share
-(The Hunting Of the Shark.
That these lines should ring all through
luncheon as l sat and talked with Mt
Hesketh Prichard was inevitable. Thelr
appropriateness borders perlously upon
the obvious Mr.. Heslseth, who. as all
the world knows, starts in about month
for Patagonia on a pilgrimage OF search
for the sloth Is just the man for sucn
an expedition. An old Fettesian. as the
boys Of Fettes school in Scotland are call
ed, an Oxford honor man, first rate
athlete standing feet inches in his
socks. full of enthusiasm and energy, and
only twenty-six years of age, what better
could you ask? He and Sir John Miilais-
himself one Of Four leading Naturalists,
and one OF the most superb shots that
England has ever seen-and / sat long
over coffee and cigars. discussing the
probabilities and possibilities that lie in
front of Mr.. Hesketh and his gallant
band.
II hope. IL It can be arranged said he,
ito take an expedition of sixty across the
continent; that includes, Of course, a
large number Of natives. I have every
hope of discovering the soth. though Mil
lais shakes his head. Prof. Ray Lankes-
ter is very keen the matter. He be-
came so at once on hearing of DIR. Mo-
rinos discoveries in the cave. And only
two years ago DR.. Haughel found more
remains, which are now in the British
museum. You can see there the skeleton
! of his sloth, with blood actually upon it.
Men had evidently kept it alive in walled
caves. and fed it with chopped hay.
A LARGE EXPEDITION.
1--WE read an account of this recently,
! and c. Arthur Pearson mentioned it to
! me, and asked If l would care to go out
! and see what 1 could discover. My idea
4 is to take a large expedition IL the couu-
| try can bear it, If 1t can provide US with
! sufficient food. J. 3. Scrivener, an OK
! ford M. A. and a first-rate naturalist
| and gcologist, will undertake the scien-
! tific work of the expedition On the very
| day the article appeared IN Che Daily
| Express we were inundated with tele-
grams and letters from people anxious to
| join u.s."
And where do you exnect to come
across the sloth first. Mr.. Prichard?'
! Probably on the west coast. You see,
In the Interior the giant natives Of
| Lower Patagonia live entirely by hunting
the guanaco, wild form Of llama Is
their chief quarry. This they find in
| whole herds. which they kill wholesale
| with bolas-leathern thongs With IRON
! balls. Now the chances are that in such
! a country a slow running beast like the
| sioth would be tracked and killed at once.
| And then again our chances will be IN
| creased by the fact that the west coast
| is unexplored."
| 1t viii, - rather difficult to tackle an
animal thirty feet high" 1 remarked.
! NO; the mylodon is an animal with no
! powers Of defense except its claws. II Is
| one Of the few Representatives Of the
! creatures that survived the post-elacial
/ period though nowadays you still find
| the reindeer. musk OK and The saiga OF
Russia. We shall land at Santa Cruz.
and then go 800 miles across country, car
| ryinS our collapsible boat with us and
| accompanied by natives and, l hope. an
| escort provided by the Argentine govern
| meTt, Which is greatly interested in our
| scheme and has promised us all the help
| in its power We shall tTIen reach a chan
| of lakes. which We shall traverse in our
! boat until we come to the great unex-
! plored glacier. Here, 1 trust, We shall
| come across the traces of our friend II
| not there, We shall go south and search
| for him In the lonely regions surrounding
| Last Hope inlet The country Is OF
course, practically antarctic, and so am
arranging for sic ~ I'ags, arctic tents,
| etc"
Shall you go in for any other sport OF
research?" said /.
| 0T,uJL,T1 ANrrz4ATc cOTrcs1rsr