The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-09-20
sT0RY AFRICAN
GAME TRAILS
Roosevelt the American Hunter
Naturalist Tell of His
Years Trip

To- rl. [3lN-llllt " ms pooN
Tr4ils'* Mr.. Roosevelt calls his
l- account Of the African Wan
e of an American Hunter-Nat-
.r..t it is that. but it is much
and a reviewer has truly said
,- ona not familiar with the YER
.a+:ftv of the author might we'll mag
80 II IN be the work Of a syndicate OF
authors or perhaps a whole college
%,.rrr-. He writes about everything
,ba neogIe Of the various types, the
ra+lr9I history, botany, geology, in
Eats fits. mosquitoes, native cOndl-
.;r ,aF the folks and the country,
uith the most minute stories of the
various animals shot or captured by
members Of the party. Mr.. Roosevelt
Is.rares that no game was shot ex-
cent for scientific purposes or for food.
Ne scores hunting merely for the sake
e hunting. Game butchery," he
GAYS is as Objectionable as any other
form o9 uanton cruelty or barbarity,
bat to protest against all hunting of
game is q sign of s%oftness Of e and
not soundneS of heart" thus effect
uaIy. rushing his critics at the out-
set.
The most interesting and valuable
mart of his book, except to n~aturaliStS
ami hunters. is his impression Of the
native population. He gives their
habits n their traits with fulness,
and concludes his story and study
with tn conclusion bearing out the
contention hat the best thing that
ever happened to the negro in Africa
was that so many We're transported to
America. 1t may mott was not best
for the South to have a race of slaves
ana to depend so largely upon slave
labor. but it was through slavery that
The ignorant African found the open
door TO civilization and Christianity. 1t
is the glory of the South that, with
the admitted evils of slavery, the ne
gro slaves had the gospel preached
to them and by association with a su-
periOr race armed lessons in civiIiza-
ton and rogresS not even dreamed of
today by their kin in Africa. Here
is Mr.. RO0seveltS testimony upon this
point. To an American, who neces-
sarily must think much of the race
problem at home, it is pleasant to be
made to realize in vivid fashion the
progress the American negro has made
by comparing him with the negro who
dWeIiS in Africa untouched, or but
lightly touched by white influence"
To guard against the danger Of at
tack by wild animals, Mr.. R~oosevelt's
party organized it's camp on a military
plan. with patrOlmen and gun bearers
and camp-fires. They plunged at once
INTO killing big game. From the lakes
they passed into the White Nile, n
describing the progress down the river
Mr.. Roosevelt writes:
As night fell we entered the White
Mic. and steamed and drifted down
the mighty stream. It's current swirled
III long curves between endless ranks
OF plumed papyrus. White and blue
ard red the floating water-lilies cov-
ered the lagOOns and the still inlets
among the reeds; and here and there
me lotus lifted its leaves and flowers
Suff1y above the surface. The brilliant
uoplc stars made lanes Of light on
me tapping water as we ran on
through the night. The river horses
IodFed from the reed beds, and snort
7u ana plunged beside the boat, and
1totodIles shipped sullenly into h
river as We glided by. Toward morn
ing a mist arose, and through it the
crescent OF the dying 400 shone red
ana lurId. Then the sun famed aloft,
ana soon the African landscape, vast,
1oIsiy' m\sterlOus, stretched on every
sue n a shinmering glare of heat
"Ia Hght; and ahead Of US the great,
~'0"5t river went twisting away into
me disyanCe.'
D-s1Flng to aunt the great rhinoce-
a'5 me party made a journey to Lado,
q 1E"aFy region in Libya, by the river
N"5e' Of hat animal, he writes:
-\oflh Of the Zambest 1t was and
'ttefIF unknown, save that during
~: '3St ten years it has been found to
t".SJ IN several localities on the left
ro"A OF the Upper Nile, close to the
~.sl, ana covering a north and south
N"tGIiSIon OF about 200 miles.
IL IS q curious animal, on the aver
te,I @Isunctly larger than, and ut
ria 49, olHerent from, the ordinary At
81 49, Ih.hoceros. The spinal processes
on ,I9 dorsal vertebrate are so devel-
HIM.. "S 10 make a very prominent
~ tbP? over the withers, while forward
in IN sL.lS IS a still higher and more prom
hnrn He5hy hump on the neck. The
roe7 HISshapen head differs in all
tbapeylS as widely from the head Of
common or ~so-called black-rhi-
ferg .foS as the head of a moose diff
from that of q wapiti."
vbita Hi't must take a picture of the
Eod9G5 IhlnocerOs, and the story Of the