The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-04-22
GREAT GAME COUNTRY
Fine Hunting In East Africa For
the Roosevelt Party.
PARADISE FOR sP0RTsMEN.
Big Game Of Many Kinds Abound.
Lions Little to Be Feared-Buffaloes,
Rh;nocercses and Wild Dogs Are.
However, Much Dreaded

III Tic uIH DuSH IlillS. INC nvSteF1-
GUS jungles and thick forests of Brit
ish East Africa. where Theodore
Roosevelt aud the Smithsonian African
expedition Will soon begin the search
for specimens for the National muse
um at Washington. there Is Il variety
of big game and smaller mammals
that makes this the most wonderful
shooting ground in the world
Hours before the American party
reach the .Ju-Ja ranch a score of miles
north Of Nairobi. where the expedition
will make its headquarters, game will
be sighted as the train makes its tor
tuous way along the Uganda railroad
There is no shooting allowed within Il
mile Of the railroad and the sight 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 safari. or hunt. to come in the
interior There is game all along the
line Of the Uganda railway. but hunt
ers generally go to Nairobi. some 500
miles inland. Passing Simba. where
lions may he found. the railroad enters
the Makindu district, a rare shooting
country
1t Is to the north Of JULIA ranch,
though. that all kinds of big game
abound. A flock Of vultures soaring In
the air tells of a lion roaming Oh the
dusty plain. These birds wait to pick
try IL alive with lions. but few fear
them, as they give man wide berth
at all times Only when wounded and
escape Is disputed will the king of
beasts show fight. All through the
night the cry Of the lion may he heard
in this territory. and 1t Is no uncom-
mon thing for party Of these beasts
to sit outside Of house all night and
roar
In point of danger the natives of this
territory regard the buffalo herds as
the most dangerous to encounter. and
where a travelling party Of porters will
scarce notice the roars of a lion the
sounds of buffalo herd will send
them into panic. This much dreaded
beast Is tricky and brave. and a hunts
man needs all his skill to make his
kill Wounded. the buffalo resorts to
a ruse of retreating into the brush,
tempting the huntsman to follow him.
Wheeling suddenly about, the wound
ed animal charges the oncoming hunt
er, who. unless he sends bullet into
the brain OF the beast, is most likely
to be gored and trampled to death
under the animals hoofs. In hunting
the buffalo It Is customary for the
hunter to post his shikaris in the tree
tops to inform him 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. Modern
rifles make the killing Of elephants
easy to accomplish and without much
danger to the hunter Hunting for hip
popota is also limited. as the ami
mails are hard to locate and only found
In remote places along the rivers and
lakes. The hippo is timid and not con-
sidered dangerous unless his escape to
the water is cut OF 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 angered beast breaks up whole
safari (hunting) party with one Of his
terrible charges. Caught in the whirl
wind rush, native hunters sometimes
stand etill. hoping the animal will mis-
take them for a tree and pass on,
which the beast not infrequently does.
The charging animal can only be halt
ed with a we'll directed bullet through
the eve or heart.
1t is expected that the American
party will make every effort to bag
the much discussed white rhinoceros.
which has been killed of from his
original range in British East Africa.
Besides rhinos, buffaloes and other
large animals. the hunting game in
cludes giraffes. leopards, zebras aud
antelopes.
In this rare hunting ground the
American party will find three species
Of the hartbeest, the oryx. the sable
antelope. the roam antelope, the oribi,
the lesser reed buck. the water buck.
the stelnbock. the Gland. the greater
and lesser kudu. the gnu and the BUSH
buck. All these various species of an
telopes have keenly developed escaping
faculties. Wart hogs. jackals. hyenas.
with host Of cranes, bus
tards and other feathered varieties. all
help swell the population Of the animal
kingdom in this region.
No hunters can ever be said to have
enjoyed all the experiences Of the
African jungle without an adventure
with wild dogs. which roam in packs
and are the dread of the natives. The
cry Of these animals is not unlike that
OF leopartls or smaller game, and once
heard the natives fly to the tops Of
trees. These mongrel dogs have low
bodies. covered with thick. bushy hair.
A hunter wounding wild dog must.
according to the ethics Of the chase.
pursue and kill the wounded canine.