Mexico weekly ledger., 1909-04-08
GETTING A GORILLA
VICIOUS STRUGGLE WITH ANIMAL
IN AFRICAN JUNGLE.
sru,s's Enormous Strength Enables "
TO Break Bonds and Stay Mem
Der Of Party Trying ts
Capture II.

Cant. Fritz Duquesne, the Boer ivory
hunter. was commissioned by a uei'
man naturalist society TO capture n
Of each species Of African quaafu'
mana. He was entirely successful In
the work, except that he could obtain
no gorilla, he writes In Hampton's
Magazine under the title "Hunung
Ahead of Roosevelt in East Africa
Finally a pigmy pointed out a portion
Of the dark Jungle in which a Corilla
had been seen.
For four days" continues the cap
tain I'VE camped In this hothed OF ais
ease. Reaters went out In all diree-
lions searching for the gorilla. Az
last some deep. wide scratches were
found on n cluster of vines. On close
examination the unmistakable hair OF
the gorilla was found on a broken
twig. After some hours we found the
tree where the gorilla lived. We could
tell 1t by the greasy appearance OF
the bark, made so by the repeated
rubbing OF the gorilla's body. we
could tell by the fresh marks, with
sap still wet, that the animal had re-
Gently assembled the tree. The
scratches were short and deep, show
ing 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 a circle sloping upward on
the outer side. Around the top OF the
net there were drawn ropes from four
directions held by half a dozen ma
tives 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
unsuspectingly and entered the trap.
| signaled, the four ropes we're pulled
at once, and we had our animal-for
a moment. He roared in fury. twist
ing, jumping and biting the rope into
pieces. The natives were pulled about
like dolls as he tried to reach first n
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 60
rilla broke a hole through the net and
he tore the rest from him as though
it were a rotten rag. Most of the ma
tives fed in dismay. The professor
dropped his camera and tried to es-
cape; in a moment the gorilla grasped
him in its terrible hands.
Il sliced my rife and fired in the
air to Brighten the animal. In my po-
sition | could not shoot at him without
hitting my friend. For a moment the
gorilla stood still holding the now I'M
conscious man as though he were a
baby. the brute's lips drawn back from
his glistening teeth. | thrust another
cartridge in my rife. As | did SO
there was a buzz in the air and an ar.
row shot by a native pierced the &c
rilla's side. A roar burst from his red
throat and he dropped his victim. Like
a fash, before ! could shoot, a native
sprang from the leaves, and, half
throwing, half thrusting, drove an as
segai into the gorilla's heart. With a
groan the brute fell dead.
Examining the professor, I found
that his right arm was broken and
that some Of his ribs we're crushed
into his lungs. W. gave up the ef.
fort to get a live gorilla, and, placing
the injured man in a hammock, car
ried him back toward the east coast.
He died on the road, Out on the veldt
a native village a lonely little
slab marked Carl Bloch sticks up
above the grass. Hunting is not all
exciting adventure and laughing vic
1t has tears, like other things"