The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-04-19
A PEDESTRIANS
PREDICAMENT.
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Told by William Charles Bell and
set down by Charles Lavell.
William Charles Bell is youthful
American, twenty-five years of age,
who is walking round the globe on
foot for twenty-five thousand dol
lars wager. He started penniless
from Cape Town on the 4th of July,
1905, and he must neither beg, borrow
nor steal during his pilgrimage. At
the time the. following exciting ad-
venture took place he had been en-
gagged on his monotonous task exact
ly nineteen days, and was within
about two hundred miles of De Aar,
with the intention of walking straight
through Africa from Cape Town to
Port Said. This plan, however, was
frustrated by the impossible nature
of the swollen rivers and bad roads
near Lourenco Marques, and he had
therefore to retrace his steps to the
starting point. Reaching England on
October 18th he entered week later
upon the British section of his tour
which embraced the United Kingdom.
His route next lay through Europe.
Asia Minor, the Soudan, and across
Asia to Shanghai Before he reaches
New York, where his journey ends.
he will have travelled about twenty
seven thousand miles. He has six
years in which to complete his colos-
sal pilgrimage For obvious reasons
he abstains from mentioning the ex-.
act locality of the startling experience
here set forth in his own words.
I was a trespasser. I did not know
it at the time, for one easily oversteps
the invisible border-line between pub
lie and private property on the Karoo
"a broad, undulating stretch of
scorched, brick-tinted soil, dotted with
innumerable kopjes and scrub as far
as the eye can see. l had been on
my long tramp nearly three weeks.
and was, as near as 1 dare confess.
some two hundred miles north of De
Aar.
Ever since the morning I had been
walking steadily through the broiling
sunshine, and, anxious to avoid an
other night like the last, which l had
spent in the open, ] determined to
make the nearest town before even
ing, still some hours distant. Pres.
emily the track-which could see far
ahead, shimmeripg in the bright sun
light-nlade wide detour, and, with
the idea of saving my blistered heels
at least little anguish, struck on
tending to rejoin the road where it
disappeared over the horizon.
Far away on the left 1 caught sight
of some large birds feeding, and, in a
hazy manner, 1 discerned that 1 was
on an ostrich farm But thirst, ex-
IRENE fatigue, and lameness do not
tend to sharpenAone's powers of OBJ
servation, and 1 ploughed as steadily
as might be over the burnt grass in
the direction where my track dived
away into the veldt again.
The great heat seemed to render
my senses torpid. How long 1 had
been walking l do not know, but I
suddenly became aware that some
thing or somebody was running swift
ly towards me. l paused and gazed
under my hand in the direction of
the sound. With bounding, erratic
strides huge bird was coming for
me at racing pace, and in the same
glance saw that the feeding ostriches
had raised their heads inquiringly, ap-
parently wondering what was the mat
ter. While 1 watched, the ostrich
which had first arrested my attention
came nearer and nearer, heading
straight for me, and with no appar-
ent diminution of speed. He appar-
emily meant mischief, and as real
lied this sudden panic overlook me,
and, forgetting utterly the blistered
heels l had been deploring, l turned
and ran.
AS leaped into my stride recol-
lected that ostriches in the breeding
season are invariably dangerous to
NEEDLE with, and chance remark to
that effect, heard at roadside shanty
some hundred miles back, required to
me with maddening iteration.
Anyhow, / ran. and at a tangent,
hoping against hope that the bird had