The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-28

tackled horse and rider. breaking the
horses neck and cutting the would be
rescuer deeply with its sharp pointed
grisly claws.
1.-THE fendish brute almost stiHed
me with its horrible breath, and its
claws felt like the grip Of some mis-
shapen submarine devil who coveted
me for his neither place Of torment"
later said the rider after Williams was
got to camp, where he (Williams) soon
died. The disturbance reused scores of
crocCdiles to the surface, and 1t seem
ed possible to walk from the island to
the mainland On their backs.
Many sDortsmen experienced in AT
RIGA state that the best mode Of killing
them is to approach their. stunning
Epots carefully and shoot them while
asleep. The creatures sleep with their
mouths wide open ard in and cut of
which the black backed plover walks
and hops with marked
Shots at the body of the crocodile
should be aimed at as close to a right
angle as possible or ii such a way that
the bullet strikes the hide squarely,
for a bullet is easily DETECTED by the
scaly surface otherwise.
Chevrotains are handsome little ami
mails, often said to belong to the musk
deer family, but scientists claim that,
examined anatomically, they are shown
to have no such relationship.
y dainty, shapaly, truly graceful lit
tie animal, the fine quality of his flesh
leads to his undoing by hungry hunt
ers and ~carniyorous beasts Of prey.
Weighing from five to seven pounds
and about Il foot and a half high, Mr..
Roosevelt will find him a welcome
addition to his African bill Of camp
fare.
Extremely arduous work is frequent
ly undergone in bringing down an
telopes of the African woods and
plains. Sure scented, ~farseeing, feet
footed and inveterate overcomers of
natural obstacles that halt native and
white men, they coyly prick up their
ears when the hunter gets within gun
shot and gayly skip out Of reach like
hirtatious debutantes at a smart CO.
tillon. The Gland is the largest of all
antelopes, and owing to his indiscrimi-
nate slaughter the officials in British
East Africa have forbidden the shoot
ing Of him.
Captain James Forsyth describes a
male panther that, getting a craze for
human blood, actually killed a hun
dred natives, countless cattle, etc.
Finally a native, an askari, whose
family had lost members through the
beast was detailed to go into the jun
gle and bring back that p%anther's skin
or else never to appear again. After
days and nights Of dangerous exposure
the askari finally located the panther
near a pool where animals came to
drink. Lying almost all night in the
bushes, the askari saw the beast come
down to the waters edge and, obtain
ing a good side shot at him, emptied a
muzzle loading shotgun half full of
lead slugs and pieces Of iron into the
brute. After several minutes of indie
scribable contortions, leaping and
twisting the panther lay dead. "When
the askari returned with the head Of
the leopard" said Captain Forsyth,
there were much feasting and dissipa-
ton"
In some sections of Africa the pan
ther is held in such terror that he is
made a part Of the crude machinery Of
native justice. A native who has CON-
roiftO6 comm oFfoncn cfnn1inr occO,r1f
ETC., is condemned to go into the jungle
and kill a panther. If the native re-
turns with the head and hide Of a
freshly killed beast he is Immediately
%pardoued.
a theory Of various experts IN Afri-
can fauna Is that many curious ami
mails exist as yet unseen by white
men because these animals only ven
ture forth from their hiding places at
night, when hunters and explorers are
either asleep or engaged in seeking
particular kinds Of game. Mr.. Roose-
velt's plan is to do considerable still
hunting at night as q possible means
of securing specimens of these un-
known beasts and thus becoming a
further contributor to the worlds
store of wild animal knowledge.
AS al aid to this end was Mr.. Roose-
velt's conference in Washington with
Sir Harry Johnston, governor of East
Africa and a celebrated explorer.
Though the discoverer of the unique
okapi, Sir Harry could not secure
q live specimen. Mr.. Roosevelt is con
fdent of obtaining a live okapi, as ho
will cross the heart of the region where
the animal is found in Uganda.
The okapi is the wonderful new
beast that looks like a cross between
a giraffe, an antelope and a zebra,
though such hybridiZation does not ac-
tually occur. Scientists have found
the geologic remains Of a creature like
the oSapi in Greece, but supposed It
long extinct. Henry NJ. Stanley heard
Of it among the central African pyg.
mics, but was content to call it a
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