The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-05-26

jaws OF death yawning and oncoming
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.
~ the cannon back to be reloaded and
resighted. A special a~utoloading gun
with gold sights and mountings has
been manufactured for MI. Roose-
velt's exclusive use.
A more varied itinerary for q vaca-
| ton trip than Mr.. Roosevelt's Is rarely
seen-New York to Naples, the Medi-
terranean route, the steamers follow
ing which stop at the Azores and
Gibraltar; then a two day run along
the shores Of Spain. passing close to
the Balearic islands Of Ivica, 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 a few hours
from the North German Lloyd steamer
to one Of the German East African
company, the 1000 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 time city Of Alex
ander the Great, Pompey's pillar ard
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 its 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 1ngau 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 a gallant ship and her
gallant men have disappeared. On
rounding the cape the waters of the
typhoon swept Indian ocean spread
on every side. It is now a south and
a 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, a to-
tai of about seventeen days from Ma
pies. It is in Kilindini harbor that the
party disembarks, the port nearest
Mombasa, the medieval seaport forti-
fed in 1896 by the Portuguese.
Mombasa, IN the coral island, con-
nected with the mainland by a bridge,
is the terminus Of the celebrated
Uganda railway, built by the British
government at a cost Of $24,OOO,OO0 to
tap and develop the vast and richly
productive East African protectorate.
Loading their immense bulk of sup
plies and equipment on a specially ar
ranged train and obtaining a part Of
their retinue of native helpers required
in the wilderness, members Of the
Roosevelt party will nov tingle with
excitement, for the magic door Of the
big game treasure house is swinging
open.
Port Florence, 5s4 miles to the west
by north, on Lake Victoria Nyanza.
becomes the second preliminary objec-
tive point, for 1t is there that the rail-
way ends, and a steamer takes the
party acros the majestic queen Of the
African lakes to the very heart of the
big game hunting region, to Uganda,
on the plateau Of which country the
principal hunting is to be done. But
there is much to do before reaching
Port Florence, for en- route along the
railway is the Nairobi district, where
Mr.. Roosevelt gets his first shot at ele-
plants, lions, hippos and rhinos on the
$4,000 acres of William Mcmillan.
nephew Of the late United States Sen
ator Mcmillan of Michigan.
However, Mr.. Roosevelt will see the
jungle monsters in their haunt before
he reaches Nairobi. for the Uganda
railway route traverses primordial
Businesses where many Of the speci-
mems of game his license allows him
to shoot can be seen from the car.
The railway journey to Port Flor
enc is in itself well worth an African