Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-03-13

rhinoceros.
The white rhinoceros, by the way, is
one of the principal objects of the
"trip. The eX-president told a friend
| SO the other day. He said that if he
was only able to bag one white rhinoc-
| eros he wouldn't feel the journey into
| he heart of Africa had been in vain.
| \ white rhinoceros is an important
resident of jungle land, according to
Mr. Roosevelt. 1t is the same type of
an individual as the square-mouthed
rhinoceros and is the nearest living
lally to the extinct tichorine or woody
rhinoceros which existed at the close
of the glacial period.
l Not II Game Butcher.
| But Mr., Roosevelt is not game
butcher. He wrote letter to Secre-
ary Walcott of the Smithsonian insti-
tuition, in which he declared that he
is not in, the least a game butcher"
| 81 like 20 do a certain amount of
hunting the eX-president wrote. but
| my real and main interest is the inter
est of faunal naturalist
Mr.. Roosevelt plans to be away from
l,hc United States two years. Half of
this time will be spent in Africa and
1.-THE other half in Europe, visiting at
least three of the big capitals. The
lex-president is really going more as a
Naturalist than as a hunter History
Twill record that he set out at the head
of scientific expedition ouffitted by
hn her in eli Of h
ington which included, in addition to
his 19-year-old son Kermit three Amer
lean naturalists of note-Major Edgar
A. Mearns, J. Loring Alden and Ed
, mund Heller The party will make a
= collection of mammals, birds, reptiles.
insects and botanical specimens of
central Africa, which will be deposited
in the United States national museum
> at Washington.
Leave Middle of March.
Mr.. Roosevelt and his party plan
to leave New York about the middle of
route to Gibraltar and Naples. There
the party will board a steamer of the
herman East Africa line for Kodindini
lharbor, Mombasa Island. By the end
of April this port will have been reach
ed, and the party will then immedi-
lately proceed by the Uganda railway
to Nairobi, where six months will be
lspent. The party will then continue
by rail to Port Florence, Lake Vic
toria NyanZa, making a total distance
: of 5S4 miles by rail- The expedition
will cross Uganda by caravan, and ii
nally pass down the entire length OF
: the Nile, reaching Khartoum about
: April, 1910.
The present plans provide for the
> joining of the party at Khartoum by
/ Mrs. Roosevelt, who will accompany
the ex-president and Kermit to Europe
: and Great Britain while the naturalist!
iof the party proceed to the United
States with the results of the expedi
ton.
In Europe Year.
Mr. Roosevelt will probably remain
in continental Europe and Great Brit
ain about one year, having accepted
invitations to deliver the Romanes lee
lure at Oxford university, an address
at the Sorbonne in Paris, and a lee
ture before the students of the Univer
sity of Berlin He will speak German
in his address before the Berlin stu
dents, French in his lecture at the Sol
bonnie, and English at Oxford. Will
in London it is not unlikely that MI
and Mrs. Roosevelt will visit 81
Georges church, where they wer
married in 1886. They may be in Lon
don on the 25th anniversary of tn
wedding.
Mr.. Roosevelt wishes it well under
stood that he Is not going to Afric
for sport. but for scientific researcI
and recreation. He is in need of res
and a change of scene, although il
vigorous physical condition, and d.
cided that he would make the Africa
!, trip, as it would enable him to enjo