The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-07-17
GIRAFFE NAY STOP HIS
TRAIN.
Journey Into African jungle Will
Ee Made Easier by Consulting
witch Doctors"


From the moment Colonel Theodor
Rosevelt's steamer glides under tn
shoulder OF the quaint old Portuguese
fortress at the entrance to the channe
which separates Mombasa from tn
mainland of Africa he will see thing
curious and marvellous. AS he Lean
upon the rail he probably Will catcl
glimpses Of Arab dhows. the former
slave ships. whose navigators In some
mysterious way are able to steer
across the sea from port to port with
out the assistance of compass or sext'
ant
| The anchor chain rattles in the
| nawse hole, and as If by magic host
OF Swahili boatmen swarm about the
vessel In their "dugouts." Unless
some one does it for him, Mr.. Roose-
welt Will have an opportunity to settle
night amGng the rivals for the priv.
liege Of earning free free by setting
MIN and his baggage ashore. Its set
slve energy as reasoning with Con-
gress. Once on shore he will doubt
less find 1t most convenient to hire a
'gharrt" for his transfer through the
city. A "gharri" is a four wheeled
vehicle about the size Of railroad
hand car. 1t las a canopy and two
seats placed back to back. 1t runs up
on rails laid through the principal
street and is operated by strapping
Swahili youth, who run along be-
mind, pushing the car at lively pace.
Inc gharri" is trolley car and
taxicab combined.
Scenes on Inland Journey.
AS Colonel Roosevelt trundles inland
on the Uganda Railroad toward Nair-
obi, the terminus of the first stage OF
his journey. he will catch glimpse Of
the glistening ice cap of Kilimanjaro,
the extinct volcano, towering into the
sky In spectacular way within a few
miles Of the equator to a height of
more than $4,000 feet. Notwithstand-
Ing this proximity to the hot places OF
the earth, the ice never melts, and a
glacier flows stolidly down the noun
tain side. Occasionally the train Is
brought to an unexpected stop in the
stiffness OF the night. The passengers
jump OF to find what the trouble is
learn that a giraffe. dazzled by the
glare OF the headlight, has paid the
penalty Of collision with the mechan-
ism Of civilization.
The inland journey is full Of Incl
dents which appeal to the man just
fresh from a country where all the
of modern social life pre-
vail. One of the things which Colonel
Roosevelt will discover will be the
haste with which he will have to rise
i he would beat the sun. The sun
1oes not arise early In the morning,
but when 1t does come up it comes up
like thunder" for there Is only half |
IN hour between the appearance Of the
irst Quivers Of light along the eastern
lorizon and the full blast Of sunshine.
t goes down in the same way. and one
s consequently in danger Of being |
obliged to return to camp In the dark
he Is not careful. The tri-weekly |
rains offer many opportunities to
tudy man in his primitiveness, for at
II the stations the natives gather to
witness the arrival and departure of
be curious caravan on wheels which
as invaded their hunting ground.
hey are largely attired In the sun
hine Of a smile. the garb which they
eceived as legacq from Adam or at
be most they are wrapped about
18th palm leaf or strip Of cloth OBJ
aimed from some white trader. The
omen are ornamented with wire.
'hich they wind about their limbs.
Wire is passport to the good graces
the women and an excellent basis
" trade. The builders OF the Uganda
abroad experienced considerable diff
,lty when constructing the road be-
luse Of the tendency of the natives to
'move the telegraph wire. They also
ok the rail bolts and rivets to make
YEAR and war axe heads and arrow
lads. In the eyes Of the natives is
as as IL some one from the neighbor-
,od Of the African gold and diamond
ines should come to New York and
ring up chains of gold and precious
ones along Fifth avenue with the ex-
'ctation Of finding them the follow
g morning.
The witch DOCTOR" or medicine
an" Is powerful man among the
oples Mr.. Roosevelt will visit. It
II be just like him to push into the
Ids without consulting these import
t and influential persons, but IL he