The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-25
cpecial Foreign Service.

worthy of a good deal more attention
than the cable dispatches are likely to
give 1t at this time of important po-
htical happenings. For the intrepid
British officer, who, during the greater
part OF his trip, was unaccompanied by
any white men, not only discovered six
new tribes and many animals, and sue
ceeded in mapping several thousand
miles OF unknown country, but he went
through some experiences that recall
Rider Haggard in his most exciting
vein.
Maj. Powell Cotton, who is a MEM
Der of the Northumberland fusiliers,
went off on this remarkable exploring
trip on his own responsibility. He
started from Mombasa, in Uganda, in
February, 1902 and headed for the
upper Nile, being accompanied as far
as Lake BaringO, near Victoria NyanZa,
by F. c. Cobb. the naturalist. Their
caravan consisted of fifty men, includ-
ing twenty armed natives. At Lake
Baringo, however, Cobb turned back,
taking half the natives with him, and
Maj. Powell Cotton set off on his tick
liSh march toward and through the re-
gion between the Upper Nile, Lake
Rudolph and Lake Victoria-the heart
of equatorial East African which no
white man previously had set foot.
~ Time after time he had brushes with
the natives, and more than once he ex-
apeeted to be wiped out" as he ex-
presses it. The major however, who,
besides uncommon presence of mind
seems to have a pretty keen sense of
humor, was generally equal to the occa-
sion, and once saved a nightly deli
cate SITUATION by entertaining the saw
ages in whose hands he found himself
by treating them to a selection on his
monograph This was near the Ia
rash river, about half way between
Lakes Rudolph and Albert where Pow
ell Cotton and three of his men, who
were ahead of the caravan, marched
right into the midst of 800 fully armed
Turkana who were guarding herds of
camel
These were the most hostile tribe
we expected to meet" says the major,
being the same through whose treach-
cry the Austen and Bright expedition
suffered so heavily. The situation was
critical, for l had no interpreter with
me, and the least sign of fear would
have been the signal for our death. AS
soon as we were noticed the fighting
men collected round while the women
and children drove off the focls. Then
the chief-a man Of great stature
came forward and led me under a tree.
l did not know what it was proposed to
do with me, but We all expected to be
wiped OUT
However, 1t was at this point that the
major turned his trusty photograph, to
/ the merry piping of which the natives
presently began to dance, and so things
went on pleasantly until the explorers
interpreter arrived and explained mat
tiers so satisfactorily that the Turkana
made no further trouble.
Powell Cotton was less fortunate,
however, in the Dodinga country, far
Their along in his journey. Here" he
says, I'VE met with a most hostile re-
ception While travelling through dense
forest we became aware that the ada
cent hills were alive with armed men,
the only sign of their presence being
the glitter of innumerable spearheads
above the vegetation. Occasionally
numbers sof what looked like tin he'll
NETS appeared and shone in the sun
light. I only had three men with me,
and as we came nearer / was prepared
for attack from the strange natives
whom j now saw were all quite naked,
except for curious head dress, shaped
like helmet, and covered with white
beads, which at a distance looked Ike
tin. All were over six feet high.
Il took every precaution," the major
adds, land built strong Zareba round
my caravan, which had now come up.
1t was well did so, for that night these
natives came down in force and sur
rounded the camp. During the whole
night, as on two succeeding nights, they
attacked us from several sides with
great persStency, but did not succeed
in forcing the zareba. 1 lost two of my
men who were speared to death, while
several others were wounded. 1 got
out of the Dodinga country with all
speed, as I was in no position to stand
a further siege at their hands, and after
a prolonged march among unknown
tribes, some of whom were hostile, 1
reached the British post of Minute, on
the upper Nile, in June"
Earlier in his journey, however, Pow
ell-Cotton had cause to admire the 10y
atty of a native tribe. At this time the
explorer was following in the route of
an earlier expedition, the leader of
which had left large quantities of stores
in charge of the local chiefs. Most of
these goods hostile tribes had succeed
ed in lootfng," the major says, but at
another village where supplies had also
been left by that expedition the natives
had proved so true to their trust that
fighting was actually in progress, as I
was told it had been ever since the
stores had been left, and in defense of
two huts full of flour and other stores,
much of which must long since have
become decomposed and useless from
marauding natives, these tribesmen had
lost hundreds of lives"
The explorer had any number of hair
breadth escapes from animals. "While
elephant hunting on the southwest
slope of Mount Kenia.' he says, eve
were lost for time in the almost i'm
penetrable forests, and while descend
ing bamboo slope were attacked by
an elephant of whose presence we were
quite unaware, and which was not Wis
ible till we saw him charging down on
US at eight PAGES distance. A lucky
shot of mine, however, brought him
down, the ball going straight through
his BRAIN"
And having made his way through
the region around Mt. Sirgoi, which ne
says teens with zebra, hartebeeste and
Gland, Maj. Powell-Cotto had a live
Iy brush with lions. Early one morn
ing, on rising, he discovered no less
than seye,- # these brutes lying asleep
on the hillside, and started out alone
In the hope of getting a shot at them.
To accomplish this he made a detour,
but, In the meantime, the lions walked
up and, discovering Powell Cotton's
men, surrounded them and prepared
for an attack. Luckily the major sue
ceeded in warning the natives Of their
danger and rejoined them as soon as
he could, when some quick shooting by
all hands put four of the lions out of