The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-07-18

| places TO which the hCrSeS come II
foal between the latter end of Apri
and the middle of May. The hunter.
were then keenly on the alert. They
form themselves-those two thousand
men-into large circle extending
for about four miles, and there they
sat themselves down, lying behind
the hills for period of waiting which
extended to some six or seven days.
They possess marvellous sight, these
folk of the wild Mongolian plains,
and nothing ever escapes them.
Suddenly one morning a pistol shot
broke the desert stiffness the men in
hiding behind the hills sprang to their
horses. Arrived upon the scene oi
action, having driven the wild horses
into position from which they could
not escape, by means of their circle,
they captured the young horses in
sings fastened to long sticks.
These foals were then taken to
camp where they were put to nurse
with number of Mongolian mares,
which, with their own foals, were
awaiting them. Here they rested for
eight days in the camp, and were
then slowly driven toward the collect
ing place.
Even these hardy little ponies are
difficult to keep alive, for out of the
fifty-two which he captured, Hagen
beck was able to bring only twenty
eight to Hamburg, all the rest hav-
ing died. He has retained most of
these, with the idea of crossing them
with the homegrown article, they
being the original animals from which
all our domesticated horses are
sprung. Two Of them, however, are
in the New York Geological Park.
Mr.. Hagenbeck's largest expedi-
ton and the most varied in its cap
lures was one that he sent into the
Nubian desert some years ago. Some
idea of it can be formed when give
the figures representing the number
of men engaged in the work and the
number of animals caught.
Picture yourself, then, standing on
the edge of the desert near Suez. It
is burning day, the sun beats pitt
lessly down upon the sand, yellow in
the foreground, purple in the dim,
monotonous distance. On one side
you catch glimpse of the sparkling
blue waters of the Red Sea, afar off
is Lake Timsah, and the Suez Canal
on the edge of the desert mirage of
palm trees hovers, Elusive in the
palpitating air; huge railway train
is drawn up ready to receive and
transport the oncoming animals to
where the ship awaits them at Alex
andria.
A cloud of dust arises, and you
watch with keen interest for that to
which it will soon give birth; a loud
murmur reaches your ears, the moo
ing of cattle, the bleating of sheep,
the roar of the African lion, the shouts
of a great multitude of men for to
convey this vast caravan have been
requisitioned the services of five hun
dred Nubians, who are commanded
by ten Europeans, ten of Hagenbeck's S
most trusted henchmen. All these
Nubians are, of course, trained hunt
ers.
Then what strikes you as the vast
caravan draws near, and the mass re-
solves itself, as by chemical process,
into its constituent parts, is the vast
number of dromedaries that have been
employed to carry the food, and the
water in skins, over the trackless
desert. There are no fewer than one
hundred and fifty of these picturesque
but grumbling and discontented ami
mails, making day hideous with their
grunts and groans.
There are also twenty-four don
keys, and several hundred goats to
provide milk for the young animals.
The expedition started with over four
hundred sheep, most of which have
been killed and eaten by the party,
as day after day they pursued their
way into the unknown, mysterious
depths of Central Africa.
But, of course, your chief interest
is centered in the captured animals
themselves. Well, here, rolling ma
jestically along, quite happy and re-
conciled to their fate, come fourteen
elephants. Two camels swing by with
a huge box slung between them, and
when you look inside you see that it
contains newly-caught rhinoceros.
Twenty-eight riches walked
haughtily along, and you catch
glimpses of seven young lions that
are, of course, safely guarded in
strongly-made cages. There are no
fewer than eleven giraffes, some of
which become obstreperous now and
then. Far down the line you see five
wild buffaloes, twenty antelopes and
gazelles, and four big ant-eaters,
caught in Nubia, which were a great
curiosity to Europeans in those days.
The growing of ten leopards min
giles with the savage howls of twenty
FIVE hyenas. There are, in addition,
sixty other animals, such as wildcats,
lynxes, and monkeys; lot of Mara
bou storks, Abyssinian hornbills, sec
retary birds, eagles, vultures, and
twelve boxes full OF small birds, such
as various glossy starlirgs, small
hornbills, guinea fowls, and Franko-
lin fowls, and all these boxes--those
filled with lions, leoparde, hyenas, the
whole lot of them-were carried by
the camels.
And then, when all had arrived,
came the terrible business of packing
all those noisy, frightened, and un-
willing animals into the waiting train.
1t was done at last, for Hagenbeck' S
skill and patience are endless. And
then the train, with its precious bur-
den, crept slowly across the desert
until it reached Alexandra. 1 might
mention that that expedition cost Carl