The Virginia enterprise., 1909-07-16

"A Blood CurdIing Gorilla Hunt.
/ was commissioned by q German
naturalist society to capture one Of:
each species Of African quadrumana-
A. German professor accompanied me
on my expedition, which set forth IN
q direct line west from Oar es Salaam.
We succeeded in getting some Of each
:speciess the execution ofzlhe: GO
Tdlla.e For syleeks we kxndered about
the eountr1 Mwas mS thesrainy sea
Hon. andsthe Yald, hichspndes Drdi-
nary circumstances afforded excellent
travelling; became a:swamp.z' With our
long line Of native porters Werliterally
waded our, way over the country for
weeks, the black, oo1y slush soaking
Into; our bones sand tbs: clay under
foot, gripping like glue Is ~:
Such was the predich Aent We Were
in; the spirit OF revolt and desertion
had seized the caravan. I called che
men together and told them we: were
going into the Congo forests where
there was no doubt about capturing q
gorilla. A smile of satisfaction swept
over the natives faces. and at. sunrise
we started for three months tramp
to the west of the Tanganyika.
Arriving at q Belgian army post, q
pigmy prisoner told us where we
coul ID find a gorilla, and an hours
travel from the post brought US to the
place where the animal made itl
home 1t. was an ideal retreat, rank
with rotttng vegetation, the accumula.
tom of centuries, reaching up to our
knees. Snakes glided, kissing, out OF
the way, and lizards, green, blue and
every color of the spectrum, bolted in
fear to the tree tops and blinked at
us with their little, glistening eyes
from safe perches among the limbs.
Monkeys looked in wonder and then
scampe:ed in thousands through the
forest, *creeching like wild f1ends and
swinging from tree to tree for such
distances that they seemed to fly.
How a Jungle Looks.
Beautifully designed ferns grew un>
der foot and crept caressingly up the
great tres trunks. Flowers of fan
tastic beauty, weird shape, and al
most mantacal expression grew up
and hung down from the smooth,
black, smole-like vines, exhaling from
their hearts a hundred Intoxicating
odors which mixed with the sickening
etf1uvia of decay.
InHects resembling flowers and
leaves crawlcd over everything, twigs
apparently walking up the trees and
leaves apparently splitting and flying
In all directions. Beetles with big,
hypnotic eyes and bronze backs
buzzed noisily around our heads, and
beautiful birds vying with one an
other in brilliance of plumage sailed
through the air, filling the dismal for
est with their passion-laden songs.
The constantly dripping sap spattered
from leaf to leaf, soaking into the
noxious earth. 1t was a scene, dread
and fascinating, clamoring of life in.
vittng one to death.
For four days we camped in this
hotbed of disease. Beaters went out
In all directions searching for the 60.
rilla. At last some deep, wide scratch
es were found on a cluster of vines,
On close examination the unmistak-
able hair of the gorilla was found on
broken twig.. After some hours we
found the tree where the gorilla lived.
We could tell it by the greasy appear
ance of the bark, made so by the re.
peated rubbing of the gorilla's body.
We could tell by the fresh marks, with
sap still wet, that the animal had re-
Gently ascended the tree The scratch
es were short and deep, showing that
1t had lifted itself up and not slid
down, which would have made a long.
shallow scratch.
We spread a strong net around the
tree In circle sloping upward on the
outer side. Around the top of the net
there were drawn ropes from four d.
rections held by half dozen natives
hidden in the bush. These were to
bring the top of the net together and
thus bag our game.
After waiting some hours the leaves
above rustled and then opened, as a
six-foot male gorilla descended un-
suspectingly and entered the trap. I
signaled, the four ropes were pulled
at once. and we had our animal-for
moment. He roared in fury, twist
ing, Jumping, and biting the ropes into
pieces. The natives were pulled about
like dolls as he tried to reach first one
and then another. The professor
jumped about in excitement, trying to
focus a camera on the infuriated ami.
NAL.
At last the mighty arms of the 20.
rilla broke hole through the net and
he tore the rest from him as though
1t were rotten rag. Most of the na-
tfves fed in dismay. The professor
dropped his camera and tried to es-
cape; in moment the gorilla grasped
him In its terrible hands.
I seized my rifle and fired in the
air to frighten the animal. In my po-
sitfon could not shoot at him without
hitting my friend. For a moment the
gorilla stood still, holding the now un-
conscious man as though he we're a