Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-12-23
Gun FOR ROOSEVELT
English Hunters to Give PreSi-
dent Handsome Rifle.
DANGERS OF AFRICAN TRIP
Rhinoceroses, Elephants, Giraffes and
Snakes Not to Be Trifled With, Says
Earl of Manufactured of Self Con-
troll In Hunting Elephants.

| Earl of WarWick-Need of Self Con-
troll In Hunting Elephants.
Prominent hunters in England are
| planning to present to President
| Roosevelt a handsome sporting rife
| for use on his African trip, according
to the Earl Of Warwick, a sportsman
of wide note. The earl, at the presi.
dents invitation, recently looked over
the armory Mr.. Roosevelt has gather
ed. At a Washington hotel the next day
he told Of some of the experiences the
president must expect and the weap-
ons he would need in pursuing the
various kinds of game.
"As soon as we heard that your
president was going to Africa" said
the earl to a Washington correspond
ent of the New York Times, several
! of us in England who are interested
| in sport began planning to see If we
couldn't make things easier for him on
his trip. North BaXton. the famous
| hunter Selous and myself have al
ready been in communication on the
subject As for the presidents arma
ment, that is amply sufficient for his
needs, and the American guns are as
good as any, but as a token of their
esteem for the hunter president the
Englishmen want him to carry an Eng
! lish piece with him."
The earl said that the popular con.
| ception of the presidents proposed eX-
| petition as one entailing considerable
! personal risk was unfounded. The dan
/ gers that will be encountered, he said
would be for the most part from uneX-
pected sources. His own experience
! had exploded the old belief that the
lion was the animal most to be feared
in the African iungles.
1.-THE rhinoceros," explained the Eng
| lish sportsman, sis the most, danger
Gus animal the, president is likely to
come in contact with This beasts
eyes are so small that he is not quick
| in locating the hunters, but his sense
of smell makes up for this, and more
| The animal is always dangerous when
| attacked. l have actually known it
when unmolested to follow up the
trail of a hunting party and make a
headlong charge among the men.
Ordinarily an elephant is not par
ticularly ferocious, but the fact that it
wanders generally in herds makes the
sport of bagging one very exciting
! Then, too. when an elephant is wound
! ed he has to be killed speedily or the
killing will go to the credit of the ele-
plant"
One of the greatest dangers of the
| trip, according to the earl, arises from
/ the number of snakes everywhere in
| the jungle. But this phase of hunt
! ing in Africa, he said, is no worse
than it is in the river swamps and
! bayous of Florida. Contrary to all
/ general information, the apparently
! gentle and beautiful giraffe is as pug
nacious an animal as can be found.
| The president will not need an elab-
crate array of weapons, in the opinion
of the Englishman. A long range rifle
| for the more timid animals that are
! found on the open stretches of coun-
| try, a small rifle for ostriches and
small antelope, fowling pieces and
heavy rifle for big game at close quar-
tiers will about fill the bill.
The heaviest piece in the armory of
the president takes a 405 cartridge,
carries five shots and is capable of
boring through any anatomy in the
African hunting grounds. This is the
most powerful repeating rifle ever put
on the market. For long range work
the president has obtained an 1894
model, chambered for thirty groove
rimless cartridge A rifle Of the 1896
model, extra light, with a 1910 cali
| Der for big game at short range, has
been obtained.
AS the laws protecting the larger
kinds of game are very strict, the earl
I is of the opinion that the president
will probably get most of his excite
ment from shooting the so called
pests lions, tigers and leopards-
which are not protected. Leopards are
most numerous, he said, and as they
| are very courageous he expects the
president to make a point of hunting
them.
The law protecting elephants is the
one that will test the presidents self
control to the utmost. He will be al
lowed to kill two, and as the chances
are that the first ones he comes across
will not be of the finest grade and al
most worthless as specimens he will
have to restrain his eagerness until
one of the right proportions is Jump
ed"
According to the earl, the president
will be agreeably surprised at the cli-
mate. After he reaches an elevation
of 1000 feet he will find the nights
cold and the days comfortable.
There is the greatest abundance of
small game for the table, said the earl,
and the natives in the part of Africa
to be visited by the president are
friendly and accustomed to acting as
guides and porters to white explorers.
New Christmas Toys.