Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-04-01


jaws of death yawning and oncomlng
two or three seconds away. The re-
coil of this gun is utilized scientific
ally to eject the spent shell, cock the
rifle and simultaneously reload it
Forty per cent of the recoil is thus
utilized in much the same manner
that the recoil of the sixteen inch dis
appearing gun in forts is used to car
ry the cannon back to be reloaded and
resighted. A special autoloading gun
with gold sights and mountings has
been manufactured for Mr.. Roose-
velts exclusive use.
A more varied itinerary for vaca-
tion trip than Mr.. Roosevelts is rarely
seen-New York to Naples, the Medi-
terranean route the steamers follow
ing which stop at the Azores ana
Gibraltar; then a two day run along
the shores Of Spain, passing close to
the Balearic islands of 1vica, Minorca,
Majorca and later historic Sardinia;
then open water northeastward to
the vine covered slopes of Capri from
whose lofty heights for years the no
torious Tyrrhenian pirate chiefs spied
and swooped down upon the richly
laden craft plying to and from the
neighboring bay of Naples.
Changing at Naples in few hours
from the North German Lloyd steamer
to one of the German East African
company. the 1900 mile slant past the
sulphur cliffs of Sicily and across the
Mediterranean to Alexandria will fur
| ther interest the notable American
party. In four days they will be
| ashore in the land of the Ptolemies,
the Egyptian land Of mystery, the land
| that was old when ancient Rome was
new. But the one time city of Alex
ander the Great, Pompey's pillar and
the Pharos light must swiftly pass, as
also the interesting Nile delta, dingy,
dirty, degenerate Port Said and the
| Suez canal, for southwark and east
ward the course of Mr.. Roosevelt's
empire takes it's way-down the Red
sea, south through the strait Of Bah
el-Mandeb, Arabia in view on the left,
Abyssinia on the right-eastward again
through the gulf Of Alden Those dark.
hazy heights on the south shore are
| the Ingali mountains of British Somali.
Now comes another shift of the
course-southward around the hidden
rock ribs of Ras Alula and the treach-
erous Cape Guardafui, on Somaliland,
where full many gallant ship and her
gallant men have disappeared. On
rounding the cape the waters of the
typhoon swept Indian ocean spread
on every side. 1t IS now south and
q south by west run of 1900 miles
to one of the preliminary objective
points of the expedition, Mombasa, the
romance clustered capital of the pro
tectorate of British East Africa, to-
tai of about seventeen days from Ma
pies. 1t is in Kilindini harbor that the
party disembarks, the port nearest
Mombasa, the medieval seaport forti
fed in 1886 by the Portuguese.
Mombasa, on the coral island, con
nected with the mainland by bridge
is the terminus of the celebrated
Uganda railway, built by the British
government at a cost Of $24,000,000 tt
tap and develop the vast and richly
productive East African protectorate.
Loading their immense bulk of sup
plies and equipment on specially ar
ranged train and obtaining a part o
their retinue of native helpers required
in the wilderness, members of tn,
Roosevelt party will now tingle witt
excitement, for the magic door Of tn
big game treasure house is swingin!
open.
Port Florence, 5S4 miles to the ives
by north, on Lake Victoria Nyanza
becomes the second preliminary objec
tive point, for it is there that the rail
way ends, and q steamer takes tn
party across the majestic queen of tn
African lakes to the very heart Of til
big game hunting region, to Uganda
on the plateau Of which country til
principal hunting is to be done Blu
there is much to do before reachin
Port Florence, for en- route along til
railway is the Nairobi district, wher
Mr. Roosevelt gets his first shot at elt
e plants, lions, hippos and rhinos on til
3 $4,000 acres of William Mcmillan
nephew of the late United States Sci
a ator Mcmillan Of Michigan.
s However, Mr.. Roosevelt will see ii
Il jungle monsters in their haunt befol
8 he reaches Nairobi, for the Ugand
0 railway route traverses primordi
a Businesses where many of the spec
s mems of game his license allows hi
to shoot can be seen from the car.
/. The railway journey to Port Flo
It ence Is in itself well worth an Africa
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e II III