Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-22
DESCRIBE GAME
OF EAST AFRICA
MANY RARE ANIMALS AWAIT
Roosevelt rs PARTY
CABLE FROM MoMBAsA TELLS OF
HUNTING GROUNDS
Great Herds of Antelope Craze Along
Uganda RaiIway-5ig Lions
Abound Near Ju-Ja
Ranch
tB, Associated Press. ]

IB, Associated Press.
MOMBASA, Africa, March 21.-In
the dry bush plains the mysterious
jungles and impenetrable forests OF
British East Africa, where Ineodore
Roosevelt and the Smithsonian African
expedition will soon begin the search
for specimens for the national museum
at Washington, there is variety Of
big game and smaller mammals that
makes this the most wonderful shool-
ing ground in the world.
Hours before the American party
reach the Ju-Ja ranch, score OF miles
north Of Nairobi, where the expedition
will make it's headquarters, game VIII
be sighted as the train makes its tor
tuous way along the Uganda railroad.
There is no shooting allowed within a
mile of the railroad, and the slght OF
herds of graceful mpala antelope or the
massive Gland grazing along the line
within only few miles of the coast
serves to whet the appetite for the
"safart." or hunt, to come in the in
terror There is game all along the line
of the Uganda railway, but hunters
generally go to Nairobi, some three
hundred miles inland. Passing Slmpa.
where lions may be found, the railroad
enters the Makindu district, a rare
shooting country.
1t is to the north of Ju-ja ranch,
abound. A flock of vultures, soaring
in the air, tells of a lion roaming on
the dusty plain. These birds wait to
pick the bones of the lions Kill. me
country is alive with lions, but few
fear them, as they give man wide
berth at all times.
Fights When Wounded
Only when wounded and escape is
disputed will the king of beasts show
fight. All through the night the cry
of the lion may be heard in this terrl-
tory and it is no uncommon thing Tor
party of these beasts to sit outside
of house all night and roar. Skins
of lions that have not been Scared IN
combat with foes or torn in breaking
through the thorny underbrush are
rare. Having obtained god lion skin
the hunters guard it carefully from the
ravages Of the white ant, which Will
destroy a skin in night. The non
prefers the plain where his yellow hide
does not contrast with the brush and
underground.
In point of danger the natives of this
territory regard the buffalo herds as
the most dangerous to encounter, ana
where q travelling party OF porterS Will
scarce notice the roars of hon, the
sounds of a buffalo herd Will send
them into a panic. This much dreaded
BEAST Is trlCky anu DItFO oiio q itAi.o
man needs all his skill to make his Kill.
Wounded, the buffalo resorts to ruse
of retreating into the brush, tempting
the huntsman to follow him. Wheeling
suddenly about, the wounded animal
charges the oncoming hunter, who, un-
less he sends a bullet into the brain
of the beast, is most likely to be gored
and trampled to death under the AMI
mails hoofs. In hunting the buffalo 1t
is customary for the hunter to post his
shikaris in the treetops to inform MIN
of the trail of the beast.
The hunting of elephants is much
restricted in the territory which the
Roosevelt party will cover, and the
killing Of these mammoths is regarded
as little less than slaughter.
Staying Made Easy
Modern rifles make the killing Of ele-
phants easy to accomplish, and With
out much danger to the hunter Hunt
ing for hippopotamii is also limited, as
the animal is hard to locate and only
found in remote places along the rivers
and lakes. The hippo" is timid and
not considered dangerous unless his
escape to the water Is cut off or he is
wounded.
The hunt for the rhinoceros in this
region is no mean venture, for not IN
frequently the hunter is hunted, and
the anR0reQ D6dSL DTedhS up a WhOtC
'safari' party with one of his terrible
charges. The 'rhino" is very near
sighted, but is possessed with re-
markable sense of smell and acute
hearing; in fact his attack is entirely
guided by these senses. Seeming dan
ger from afar, the Infatuated animal
charges in a straight line, trampling
down underbrush and small trees in
his path as if he were making trail
through nothing more than flower
garden. Caught in the whirlwind rush.
native hunters sometimes stand still,
hoping the animal will mistake them
for tree and pass on, which the beast
not infrequently does. The charging
animal can only be halted with well
directed bullet through the eye or
heart.
1t is expected that the American
party will make every effort to bag the
much discussed white rhinoceros, which
has been killed off from HRS original
range in British East Africa. Besides
''rhinos," buffalos and other large ami
mails, the hunting game includes gi-