The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-29

and the great Nyanza the hunters
camp is pitched
From the lakes he passes into the
White Nile, and in describing his prog
ress down that river he says:
'As night fell we entered the White
Nile and steamed and drifted down
the mighty stream. Its current swlried
in long curves between endless ranks
OF plumed papyrus. White and blue
and red the floating water-ltlics COW
cred the lagoons and the still !nets
among the reeds; and here and there
the lotus lifted it's leaves and flowers
stif1ly above the surface The brilliant
tropic stars made lanes OF light On
the Tapping water as we ran on
through the night. The river horses
reared from the reed beds. and snort
ed and plunged beside the boat. and
crocodiles slipped sullenly into the
river as we glided by. Toward morn
ing mist arose, and through 1t the
crescent OF the dying moon shone red
and 1urid. Then the sun famed aloft,
and soon the African landscape, vast,
lonely. mysterious. stretched on every
side in a siiimmering glare of neat
and light: and ahead of Us the great,
strange river went twisting away into
the distance"
The object Of Mr.. Roosevelt's jour-
ney to the Lado. a dreary region in
Libya, by the River Zaire, was to hunt
the great rhinoceros. Concerning this
beast he writes:
North of the Zambesi 1t was and Is
utterly unknown. save that during the
last ten years 1t has been found to
exist in several localities on the left
bank OF the Upper Nile, close to the
river, and covering north and south
extension of about 200 miles.
1T is q curious animal, on the aver
age distinctly larger than, and ut
terly different from, the ordinary Al
rican rhinoceros. The spinal processes
! of the dorsal vertebrae are SO de-
veloped as to make a very prominent
hump OVER the withers, while for
ward of this is a still higher and
more prominent fieshy hump on the
neck. The huge, misshapen head diff
fers in all respects as widely from
| the head of the common or so.cailed
| black rhinoceros as the head of
| moose differs from that OF n wapitit
| 1t is not often that r1ino is gwen
| sitting for photograph, aud the
| account given of the pains taken by
| Kermit Roosevelt TO secure pictures
! Of the white rhine Is interestingly
1 related as follows:
| AT last Kermit succeeded IN get
ting some good white rhino pictures.
| He was out with mis- gunbearers and
| Grogan. They had hunted steadily
/ for nearly two days without seeing a
rhino: then Kermit ma,e out big
| COW with a calf lying under u large
/ tree on bare plain uf shnrt grass.
! accompanied by Grogan, and by a
| gunbearer carrying his rifle, wniIe he
| himself carried his "naturalist's graph
lex" camera. he got up to within fifty
or sixty yards of the dull-witted
beasts. and spent an hour cautiously
manoeuvring and taking pho.os. He
got several photos of the COW and
| calf lying under the tree. Then some
/ thing, probably the click OF the cam
4 era. rendered them uneasy and they
stood up. Soon the calf lay down
again. while the COW continued stand
1 ing on the other side of the tree, her
| head held down, the muzzle almost
| touching the ground, according to tine
custom of this species. After taking
| one or two more pictures Kermit
edged in, so as to get better ones
Il Gradually the cow grew alarmed She
raised her head, as these animals al
ways do when interested or excited
twisted her tail into a tight knot, and
walked out from under the tree. foi-
lowed by the calf; she and The call
stood stern to stern for few seconds
and Kermit took another photo"
Mr.. Roosevelt records some OF the
thoughts that came into his mind a:
he was about to close his happy year
, in Africa.
Sitting on deck OF Nile dahabiet
, after he started on his homewart
journey, he notes that:
The swimming crocodiles ant
, plunging hippos made whirls ant
H. 10 ;rrht hot oil ayai
? against the black water The unseel
/ birds of the marsh and the night call
I ed to one another in strange voices
Often there were grass fires burning
q leaping lines of red, the lurid glar
, in the sky above them making evel
e more sombre the surrounding gloom.
a LAS we steamed northward down tn
!. long stretch of the Nile which ends a
/. Khartoum. the wind blew in our faces
v day after day. hard and steadily. Mar
: row reed beds bordered the shore
q there were grass flats and groves Q
q acacias and palms, and farther dow
1 reaches of sandy desert
q I'VE reached khartoum on the at
; ternoon of March ii, 1910, and Ker
i nit and parted from our comrade
j of the trip with real regret; durin
4 the year we spent together there ha
e not been jar. and my respect an
;. liking for them had grown Steadil.
4 Moreover, it was a sad parting frol
5 our faithful black followers, whom W
knew we should never see again.
n had been an Interesting and a happ
y year; though 1 was very glad to h
. once more with those who were dea
!. TO me, and to turn my face towar
!, my own home and my own people
, Mr.. Roosevelt's expedition in Afric
{ was undertaken for the purpose
= collecting specimens. especially of b
!, game, for the National Museum
. Washington His book Is, of cours
: exceedingly rich in the amount of ii
!, formation 1t contains about the coul
:, try he travelled over, the people |
: saw. their habits and customs tt
: trees and flowers. and the ANNA
viewed BY him in their natural habita
Such a book is invaluable
: scientists and a coveted addition to IL
library shelves of the general read
> and student. 1t is undoubtedly one
: the most valuable publications Of IL
year.
! The reader of African Game Trails
7 will be impressed with the fact TIL
Il the author conceived 1t from the b.
h ginning as a book and not as seri
\ NJ lofo hnl In. to,