Semi-weekly herald., 1910-01-17
HOW AFRICAN Beasts
CANE TO WASHINGTON

tBy William f. Curtis. Correspondent
of the Chicago Record -Herald)
WASHINGTON, Jan. s.-A. B. Bak-
er, assistant superintendent OF the Ma.
tlonal Geological park. ha. Just had
the unique experience OF personally
conducting an intelligent party Of wild
beasts from darkest Africa to bright.
est Washington. aud tells an inter
esting story OF his adventures.
The larger number of the animals
were a gift to the government of tho
United States from w. N Mcmillan,
formerly of s.. I.o. r.. who has spent
twelve or fifteen years in Central Aft !.
ca and has dohe a great deal Of ex.
ploration in Abyssinia also. Mr.. Nc
MILAN has several plantations IN Afri.
ca He has an ostrich farm where
he raises feathers for the market, n
fruit farm at Machakos near the east
coast and his principal estate. called
Juja farm. comprises from $4,000 to
10000 acres, lying twenty-three miles
from the town of Nairobi. where ex.
President Roosevelt made his mead.
quarters for several months. The ex.
presidents party mas been occupying
Mr. McMillan's buildings and has had
the use OF his facilities for hunting
and for transportation.
Nairobi 1927 miles from IN, port
OF Mombasa, ON the railroad which
runs up 20 lake Victoria, $50 miles
farther. Mr. Mcmillan has quite q
large plaut at JJJa farm, with droves
of cattle and saeep and irrigates sew
eral hundred acres upon whicn he
raises alfalfa com. vegetables aud
other food supplies for his employees
and fodder for his animals. TIL. Is
village of natives upon the ranch
He spend a goo deal of time hers, bot
has place Il, London and anottei on
the RIVE \ also. He is the only Amer.
lean In :nat par Of Africa, but TIE
land around him has been almost en-.
tirely taken rp IN large tracts by
Englishmen
''Alr Mcmillan has no hunting pre-
serve" said Mr.. Baker. but shooting
Is forbidden upon his property, as II
Is upon all the neighboring places ex
cept by permission, and consequently
the surrounding country is full OF wild
animals. II is possible to shoot
zebra or hartbeest, which is large
antelope with long head, at almost
any time within fifteen minutes walk
of the plantation houses. The plains
are thick with zebra. There are thou.
sands of them. and other wild animals
abound The hippopotami haunt the
large streams and even come UP into
the gardens and eat the vegetables
The rivers are full of crododiles, and,
not long before arrived there, a
buffalo which came down to the river
for water was seized by a crocodile
and dragged into the stream. The
crocodile kept the animals head un.
der water until 1t was drowned. Lions
are numerous. but they wander all
around, and you never can tell where
to find them. While / was there a
zebra was killed and the carcass part
ly devoured by lion within ten min
utc's walk of Mr.. McMillan's house.
McMillan's men occasionally catch
young animal-the cub of lion, or q
leopard, or an antelope-and they
gradually accumulated quite a menag.
erie, which became a care, and was
presented through Lieutenant Colonel
Mearns of the Roosevelt party to the
government OF the United States for
the national zoo. And / was sent
after them.
81 left Washington on the 22d of
last July by way of Naples and the
Suez canal. calling at Port Said. en-
route to make arrangements for trans.
shipping the animals There are three
lines of steamers on the east African
coast. The German East African com
pany sends steamer every three
weeks: a French company at Mar
seilles sends one every thirty days,
and there Is an English line connect
ing with the B. and o. company at
Aden, at the lower end of the Red
sea. 1t takes twelve days to make
the voyage from Port Said to Nom
hasa, and / arrived there on the 18th
o: September
"rhe next day took the train for
Nairobi There are three trains a
week, and it takes twenty-four hours
TO make the 327 miles. There are no
sleeping cars. but there is drop
shelf or berth above every pair of
seats IN the ordinary cars which pas
sengers let down and make up their
own beds with the blankets aid pill.
lows they bring along with them. 1t
is the custom of the country Every.
body has a roll of bedding like a
camping outfit.
'''rhe day after arriving at Nairobi
] went out to Juja farm, looked over
the animals and made estimates for
travelling cages for them. On my way
back TO town l called upon Henry
Tarleton. an Australian who has an
osi rich farm, and had caught and rails
cd some antelopes of a rare species,