The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-08-31
HUGE HIPPO WAS FEMALE Sad Discovery Made After Col. Roosevelt Had
 Fired Fatal Shot MISTAKE GRlEVED
 FORMER PRESIDENT Picturesque Description of Dragging Hippo on
 Shore From the
 Water

fNopOlQcuI Ol Iuo On1I6Q FT6SS.l
 Saigo Soi Camp. Naivasha. July IT, (By Mail to New York)-Twenty-four hours have not suff1ced for Heller to finish with the skinning of the huge hippo. She remained over night in the shallow water of the hippo bay near the camp and in the morning was hauled out. Before this point was reached. however. a sad discovery was made. to wit wherefore I spoke of him as 'tshe." Her size, her walk, her habits. her f1erceness. all denoted a male and she was known as such all around the lake. MT. Roosevelt was really distressed when the mistake was when the naturalists pointed out to him that her exceptional size made her worth preserving as a specimen. The work Of dragging the dead hippo Six porters are sent out into the water up to their waists, where the hippo is lying. to tie her firmly and to push. The water is full of leeches and at fre- and leap into the air. cIutching their bare legs or feet and pulling off the worm-like things. But that is not the greatest part of the fun-for the spec and every now and then a man will lose his footing and go flat over back wards into the water. As soon as the hippo reaches water so shallow that the body begins to grate on the bot tom a cloth is laid in front of it, trod- den down by the natives feet so as to get under water. Then the porters, thirty or forty in number, who hold onto the long rope and pull with will. get the animal up on this cloth The cloth is then slipped out. placed ahead Of her and the operation begins again.
 Heller 1oolrin, x,-,.x, ,r,-. .,a a+ + all savage with that hunting knife of his. was waiting by the bank to be- gin the skinning at once. With quick strokes handled as easily as if it had the skin Is very thin on the hippo's belly-he made the necessary incisions and the peeling of the heavy hide be- gan. In less than 3 hours he was in camp followed by porters. some oarry- ing the skin. some the skull and lower Jaw. some the carcass and some the various bones of the legs. Then the delicate work began of peeling down the hide.. tiny silver at a time so that the heavy under skin may be re- moved and leave the outer hide. which only then can be treated and pre- served Heller still had a full dav's work before him when this morning he came into camp with trophy which, on account of the circumstances in which it was killed. is among the most remarkable of the expedition. He had set small trap for rabbits with a branch of a tree tied to the chain as drag and on going out at o'clock saw that the trap had gone. leaving a mark behind it where a beast has pulled itin an effort to escape. He followed the tracks and presently came to bush where a fierce snar1 greeted him. He knew at once that he had trapped a leopard and sent one of his boys back to camp for his rifle. When this was brought he climbed a tree to see where the leopard was knowing that small trap could not prevent q leopard from charging if approached in the brush. He could only see a. patch of mud and fur A howl told him he had hit and in another secone the leopard. very large one, had left the bush and was charging the tree, trap and all. Heller fired again and stopped the second advance, but the leopard recovered and made another dive forward. Only the fourth shot quickly down from the tree to discov- CT that all the while the leopard had been held by only one toe and had but to pull hard to shake off the trap and be free to climb the tree. The natives say they have never seen a leopard as fat. He weighed 126 pounds The settlers say he is an old scoundrel who has destroyed $50 worth of os- triohes in the past year.
 SKINS OF ELEPHANTS
 READY FOR SHIPMENT. By a Staff Correspondent of the
 United Press.)
 Nairobf. British East Africa, Aug. 31.-The skins of three elephants, kill arrived here to-day for shipment tc MombasSa- They were carefully pre- pared by Naturalists Loring and Hel- Ter.