Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-03-24
WINSTON CHURCHILL DESCRIBES
COUNTRY WHERE RoosE-
WELT WILL HUNT.
FORESTS OF SURPRISING GRAND
URE CONCEAL BEASTS OF
SINISTER NATURE.
TELLS OF RATTLE WITH RHINoc.
erosion NOT DANGER
Gus FOE.

gwen Dg WINSTON spencer Churchill,
British minister of colonies, of his ex-
petition in British East Africa traces
almost step by step the route to be
followed by the Roosevelt party. Dur
ing his trip Mr.. Churchill's English
servant succumbed to a mysterious
and swiftly fatal fever. but the minis
ter and the other two white men who
accompanied him suffered no i'll eff
fects from their equatorial journey
According to Mr.. Churchil's obser-
mos interesting portion of the Roose-
welt trip will be through the Uganda
protectorate. where travel is by foot
bicycle or caravan, unless one elects
to ride upon a seat bourne on the
shoulders of natives The Uganda
railroad, contrary TO the suggestion of
its name, does not penetrate Uganda,
but only reaches to it, its inland term
mus being at Port Florence. or Lake
Victo. ia. Not until the railroad has
been left behind and the party enters
Uganda proper, the garden of flowers
and butterflies. will the supremest
possibilities of the exploration be real
lied. Sinister beasts there are with
out number, but the forests that con-
ceal them are of SURPRISING grandeur
and the foliage of indescribabIe
beauty. The natives are friendly,
gentle of manner and of considerable
Intelligence. The air Is soft and cool.
Yet the contrast between appearance
and reality is striking. for this en-
ehanted land is cursed with malign-
ant attributes, Ever white man
seems to feel a sense of undefnable
oppression, and Mr. Churchill says
that it will never be a white mans
country. "A cut viii not heal; a
scratch testers. In the third year of
residence even a small wound becomes
a running sore. one day man feels
perfectly well; the next, for no appar-
ent cause, he is PROSTATE with malaria
and with malaria Of a peculiarly per
slstent kind. turning often in the
third or fourth attack 10 blackwater
fever" A daily dose Of zen grams
of quinine served to ward off malaria
in the case of the Churchill party.
The impression gained from Mr..
Churchill's writings is that the travel
Ter has less to fear from the ferocious
beasts that inhabit the alluringly
beautiful fastness than from the fever
transmitted by the tsetsehy, which,
when infected in a manner yet unde'
termined by scientists, becomes a
deadly assassin. But the zone of the
tsetse-ny Is known his home is in
the trees and bushes and near the wa
ter, and he may be avoided. Thus the
danger from this source, broadly
speaking, may be said to be proper
tionate with the risk which the explor-
er voluntarily assumes in the pursuit
of his explorations. allowance being
made always FOR bad judgment and the
unexpected fortunes of the hunt. Then
there are leg-long boots, gloves that
reach to the elbow and wells to com
pletely protect the head and neck.
Mosquito netting incloses the camper
at night, and in the morning he hab-
itually empties his boots OF any I'M
desirable tenant that may have
wiggled In under cover of darkness.
In the case of the Roosevelt party Ma
| ior Edgar A. Means will be always
at hand with his antiseptcs.
When Mr.. Churchill made his trip
he occupied o seat on the cowcatcher,
and IL f. safe TO say that the Ameris
cans will be satisfied with no lesser
point of vantage. The magazine
reader may expect before long to see
pictured the members of the Roose-
welt expediiio viewing the country
| perhaps from an old-fashioned church
pew fastened above the cowcatcher o.
an engine. i,s the land unfolds Itself
before the travellers, game of endless
variety will be seen, and deep gorges
crossed while occasional plantations
| of cotton, rubber and fibre and trim
| little railway stations will give a
touch of modern color to the other
wise prehistoric scene On either side
| of the train may he seen an endless
procession OF wild animals. which
seem to have learned that the formid-
able looking locomotive cannot leave
the rails over which It moves through
/ their domain. Troops Of zebras,
herds OF red antelope. black wild
beestes. herds of red kongoni, and. In
fact. most every imaginable beast Is
/ TO be seen, with the exception OF the
/ ion. the rhinoceros and the elephant.
Good fortune may even bring these
within the ken Of the railway passen-
ger, and at slmba, popularity known as
the place Of lions" the guides gener-
ally promise the sight Of the regal ami
NAL But this is exceptional. and the
pauc'ty Of this game is due TO the
greeu OF the hunter. for not 80 long
/ ago IL was the practice to stop the3e
trains wherever opportunity offered to
shoot a lion or two. The royal YER
min have profited by the experience OF
unfortunate relatives and now the
stopping of a train or wagon is the
cue for the exit from the scene OF this
willy animal Hunters travelling by
caravan upon sighting O lion are said
now to drop unobserved from their
wagon Bhile the vehicle itself con
/ tinu.s in motion The absence OF
the rhinOceros from this railway re-