Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-01-18
aAistsllantul1s &eaains.
ROOSEVELT THE HUNTER.
Wonderful Results of His Trip Into
Africa.


If YOU will open your Bible and
turn to the tenth chapter o. the
Book Of Genesis. which gives Il list
of the descendants Of Noah. you
will find the name Of Nimrod, who,
II Is said, began to be mighty
one in the earth. He was mighty
hunter before the Lord. Wherefore
| 1t is said, even as Nimrod', the
mighty hunter before the Lord.
Unfortunately, we have no cata-
loe,le of Nimrod's trophies. There
was no national museum in the neigh
borhood of Mount Ararat. The
Smithsonian institution did not ex-
list in those days. Mesopotamia was
entirely without magazines and news
papers. Therefore, we have no
means Of comparison, but 1t is per-
fectly safe to assert that, even II
Nimrod was mighty hunter before
the Lord, there are others. Mr..
Theodore Roosevelt, like Nimrod'
the son Of Cush. began to be
mighty one in the earth" long be-
fore he went to Africa, and since he
started in pursuit Of lions. hippo
potami, giraffes and other beasts OF
the field and the jungle, he has shown
himself to be a mighty hunter be-
more than 800 casks and bales OF
trophies and a menagerie Of living
things to prove 1t.
Preparation For the Exhibit.
The serious work Of preparing the
Roosevelt trophies for exhibition will
begin next week Scientific tanners
Of great skill and long experience
are on their way to Washington, and
the atmosphere around the basement
of the Smithsonian Institution will
soon be redolent of pungent odors.
such as arise from the contact OF
acids and other chemical agencies that
are employed to arrest the forces or
nature. It will be more than a year
before anything will be ready for ex-
hibition.
The Roosevelt trophies will be set
up in the new museum building.
which is nearly completed. and Will
doubtless be open to the public next
fall. Some of the laboratories are
already occupied, and portions OF the
exhibition hall may be open in the
spring. But it will take at least a
year to tan and stuff the hides and
mount and install the other trophies
which have been received from Afrl-
ca. And 1t will be several years be-
because of the enormous number and
extra ordinary value of the collection.
Mr.. Roosevelt has already sent to
the Smithsonian more than SIX thous-
and objects Of interest, including the
skins and hides of the animals he has
killed, hundreds Of rare birds. rep
tiles. fishes, botanical specimens, ma
tive implements. utensils, and other
chronological material Of great scien-
tific value and intense human inter-
est. No expedition, either private or
public. that was ever sent out for ex-
ploration, ever produced such results.
No expedition Of the kind was ever
conducted on such a large scale, or
enjoyed the extraordinary ADVANTAGES
which Col. Roosevelt has commanded.
All Gave Assistance.
The officials of the British, Dutch
and Portuguese governments: the To-
cal authorities and foreign popula-
ton of Central Africa; the native
chiefs and tribesmen; the mission
aries. and everybody who has been
capable Of rendering any service to
the modern Nimrod, have done their
best to contribute to its success. and
never before have the jungles ana
wildernesses of Africa been beaten
for all forms Of animate and inani-
mate objects of interest. The expe-
dition is about half over, and the
trophies that have been received thus
far include whatever was collected
up TO the 1st Of October. Since that
day the party has been busily en-
gagged adding to the number, and un-
douhtedly the shipments that are al
ready on the way. and those which
NAV be expected in the future, will
he more than double in number and
In value those which have already
been received.
The skins and hides were packed
and shipped in casks Of brine, which
have not yet been opened, but will he
turned over to the tanners next week.
The skeleton Of every beast has been
sent along in another package, and
already a carload of bones have been
boiled and scraped and put In or
der for articulation by the taxider-
mists. They will be exhibited sep
arately The skins and hides will be
stuffed and mounted on manikins. in
lifelike attitudes.
The invoices already received in
olude thirteen lions and lionesses
shot by the ex-president himself: four
eiraffes of different species; two
black rhinoceri, which are very rare,
and a dozen others Of more common
varieties: several hippopotami and
elephants: seven Zebras and hvenas
,eopards. cheetahs. hartebeests water
bucks. gaZelles. impallas. wart hogs,
dik-diks and other wild beasts galore
some of which were never before
brought into this country. And all
these are to be mounted for perma-
nent exhibition in the new museum
There are also numerous cases or
birds, including several varieties htt"-
arto unknown and several hundred
small mammals. such as rats. rab-
hits. moles. mice, numerous snakes
lizards and other evamnles Of crawl
ing and creeping things which are
not attractive to look at, but have
great scientific value.
Of Interest to Tourist.
1t is interesting to conjecture how
these examples of the animal king
dom, which are being rapidly evter-
minated. will look to future genera
tions who will visit the National Mu-
scum that is now approaching COM
pletion. Hundreds of thousands of
people go to see the walking stick, the
account books and the shoe buckles
of George Washington. The field
glasses ana the SWOTuS OI IeIl NEdHl
are of intense interest to everybody.
while a rail that was split by Abraham
lincoln will attract as much atten-
ton as the capitol of the United
States. Then what will future gen.
erations say when they stand in the
presence of the hippopotami, the ele-
plants, the thirteen lions and the
other wild beasts that were shot and
sent home as trophies by another eX-
president Theodorus Africanus, the
terror of all living things in the un-
civilized world.
There is a subject for speculation
with unlimited possibilities.
1t is not the intention of the Smith
Sonian Institution to selfiShly retain
all the trophies of the Roosevelt eX-
pedition. Dr. Walcott, the secretary
says that the duplicates will be used
according to the custom Of the insti-
tuition, for exchanges with other mu
Seums and for presentation to uni
versities. colleges and museums of
natural history throughout the coun
try. Hence it is probable that every
museum of Importance may have one
or more geological specimens from the
bag of our modern Nimrod If
there is any doubt on this question
it might be advisable to ask him to