The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-05-09
THINGS ALONG THE WAY OF
ROOSEVELT'S AFRICAN TRIP

AS Colonel Roosevelt trundles inland
on the Uganda Railroad toward Mario
bi, the terminus of the first stage of
his journey, he will catch a glimpse
of the glistening ice cap of Kiliman-
jaro, the extinct volcano, towering into
the sky in a spectacular way within a
few miles of the equator to a height
of more than $4,000 feet. Notwith-
standing this proximity to the hot
places of the earth, the ice never melts,
mountain side. Occasionally the train
is brought to an unexpected stop in
the stiffness of the night. The passen-
gers jump off TO find what the trouble
is and learn that a giraffe, dazzled
by the glare of the headlight, has paid
the penalty of collision with the
mechanism of civilization.
The inland journey is full of Incl
dents which appeal to the man just
fresh from a country where all the
conventions of modern social life pre-
vail. One of the things which Colonel
Roosevelt will discover will be. the
haste with which he will have to rise
does not arise early in the morning,
| but when it does come up it comes UP
like thunder" for there is only halt
| an hour between the appearance OF
l the first quivers of light along the
| eastern horizon and the full blast OF
| sunshine. 1t goes down in the same
way, and one is consequently in dan
| ger of being obliged to return to camp
| in the dark if he is not careful. The
| tri-weekly trains offer many opportuni-
| ties to study man in his primitiveness
/ for at all the stations the natives
| gather to witness the arrival and de
parture of the curious caravan on
| wheels which has invaded their hunt
ing ground They are largely attired
in the sunshine of smile. the garf
which they received as legacy from
| Adam, or at the most they are wrap
| ped about with a palm leaf or striI
| of cloth obtained from some white
| trader. The women are ornamente6
| with wire, which they wind about
| their limbs. Wire is a passport to the
good graces of the women and an ex
cellent basis for trade. The builders
of the Uganda Railroad experienced
considerable difficulty when construct
ing the road because of the tendency
of the natives to remove the telegraph
! SEirn rThax- al Ia y.oJf 49,
rivets to make spear and war axe
heads and arrow heads. In the eye.
of the natives it was as if some one
from the neighborhood of the African
gold and diamond mines should com,
to New York and string up chains 0
gold and precious stones along Fiftl
avenue with the expectation of find
ing them the following morning.
The witch doctor" or "medicin
man." is a powerful man among tn
peoples Mr.. Roosevelt will visit l
will be just like him to push into tn
wilds without consulting these i'm
portant and influential persons, but
he values the success of his expedition
he will see them. 1t is only fror
them that he can obtain the "simbe
dawa," or Zion medicine" This is
black powder carried in a tiny horr
The natives carry this stuck throug
slit in the ear. A few grains of tn
powder blown about one from tn
, palm OF the hand is a complete SAFE
J guard against such lions as may ;
raging around seeking whom they ma
devour
Insects That Are Dangerous.
The great animals do remarkab
things. The lion, whose body is I
longer than that of man and I
: larger about, drags off animals
large as a horse. In the rhinocer,
the senses of smell and hearing a,
l. so highly developed that. althous
= near-sighted, it can detect the present
e of man at a distance Guided /
n the sense of smell, its charge is lii
;, that of battering ram, and so ski
fully directed that, barring a good sh
or a change in its mind, a man h;
} little chance of avoiding the horns
the Infatuated animal. Many hunte