The Washington herald., 1912-09-15
In african Jungle
With Paul j. Rainey
Most Famous of Big Game Hunters Shows Pic
lures and Tells Facts About One of Great
est Trips in Modern Times.

There Is no more famous big-gams
sportsman in America to-day-barring, OF
course, our mightiest hunter-then Pau
J. Rainey. young man of wealth. who
conquered the animals of the far North
before venturing into African jungles
Mr.. Rainey equipped a costly expedition.
and with J. c. Hemment, an expert pho
tographer, who had previously accompa-
MED him on his trip through the arctic
regions, and two big-game hunters. pene-
trated the heart of the Nairobi country
the widest in all Africa-for the purpose
of scientific exploration and the joy of
hunting. Prof. Edmund Heller, of the
Smithsonian Institution, accompanied the
expedition to preserve specimens and to
direct the trapsetting when il was found
desirable to capture the animals alive.
and with DIR. NJ. E. Johnstone. of Lex
ington. KY, made up the party.
The pictures Mr.. Rainey brought back
with him are the most remarkable actual
wild-game photographs that ever came
out Of the Dark Continent. many of them
being taken at the imminent risk of the
camera operators life. Some We're taken
while the animal was actually in the act
OF charging, at a time when a poorly
placed shot or an instant's delay meant
the death or manning of the man behind
the camera Others were snapped while
some huge jungle beast. brought to bay
by Mr.. Raineys famous Mississippi bear
hounds, scarcely half dozen yards
away, snarled and clawed his dying de-
nance of the weapons of civilization.
Is Ideal in Build.
In physique. Mr.. Rainey is the ideal
hunter. 1.-the and agile as the great
cats he has. conquered. he stands six feet
and. over in his stockings, without a
Euperhuous ounce of flesh on him. His
muscles are of steel and wire, and
glance into his cool, gray eyes demon
strates that his nerves are steady, ever
under control Pre-eminently. he is
man to be depended on In a crisis.
Mr.. Rainey, whose plan of hunting with
American bear hounds was entirely
unique and a wide departure from all
previous methods, scouts the boasts of
those big game hunters who have held
that killing the king of beasts is but
tame sport at the best.
Dangers Attend Sport.
Many mighty hunters" said Mr.:
Rainey, ARE prone TO scoff at the dangers
attending lion hunting-that, of course,
when they are safe within the confines
of their own homes. Just why they
should take this attitude don't know.
i have been a hunter for years, and !
want to say that there are thrills
a plenty in a days stay in the jungle.
Nor do 1 believe my experiences were a
bit more thrilling than those of others.
1t is case of being on the job every
minute, and to kill lions successfully, one
must ever be on the offensive instead of
the defensive. Relax your vigilance or
aggressiveness one instant. and compli-
cations might arise such as l have just
narrated, which, before you could realize
your existence would then and there put
an end to your future usefulness.
When 1 made up my mind to hunt
lions" went on Mr.. Rainey. Il deter
mined to round up a pack Of boar hounds
to help me They are game, willing.
quick of action. and have sense enough
to keep out Of reach of their quarry at
times when another breed OF dog would
be ripped to pieces.
Il have hunted everything worth hunt
Ing in North America. and found them
Invaluable. and there seemed to be no
reason why they shouldn't be just as
valuable in an African jungle as in a
Mississippi cane-break. And they GER
tainly made good. although before We
left Mombassa, when they were trained
TO follow the lion scent. I received
good deal OF good-natured chatting from
the English residents, who thought the
old methods of hunting the ruler Of the
Jungle the only one
"All my dogs were picked with great
care, and while the main pack consisted
Of bear hounds, ! had others which were
unongrel In breed, but scrappers of the
most vicious sort The latter, forming
my auxiliary pack, bore the brunt of the
battles with lions and did the actual
tackling. the others confining their work
TO picking up the trail and running the
beasts TO cover. These We would call
off when We got the lion to close quar-
ters, and then unleash the mohgrels,
who would plunge into the fray and
tackle the king Of beasts with the feroc-
ity OF bulldogs One or two of them
were killed, but all the bear hounds |
escaped uninjured.
Used Bear Hounds.
The impression seems to prevail"
continued Mr.. Rainey, that we pursued
lions to their lairs without guns and
rifles, depending alone on the dogs. |
That's absurd. No one but a fool would
think Of doing such thing.
AS ! said before, we used the bear
hounds TO trail the beasts. then set the
fighters upon them. and when the psy-
Geological moment arrived. one OF the
party would dispatch the quarry with a
bullet. It's true that our dogs gave
the lions the fight OF their lives, but in
no instance did we allow the battle to
progress sufficiently far to ascertain
whether or not the dogs would kill the
lions unaided. We simply demonstrated
the usefulness Of dogs in training and
tracking the game
Next to lion hunting, baggfng the
cheetah or hunting leopard was the best
sport in Mr.. Rainey's opinion, for here
the dogs were given their full chance
In one morning the pack brought down
three Of these splendid creatures, but
were prevented from tearing them to
pieces, as their skins were desired for
the specimen case.
Mr.. Ralney declares that the tanest of
all sports is elephant hunting. His ex-
pedition only bagged one pachyderm, and
that was quite enough, he AYERS.
For the tamest Of all sports" said
he, commend me to elephant hunting
would just as soon fire at a barn door. II
and don't you think 1t would be a bit
more exciting. The great. big, lumber
Ing beast presents a target so broad and
30 easy that even a novice couldn't fall
TO bring him down. ! can understand
why pot hunters go after them. for the
ivory obtained represents a tidy sum.
But we weren't hunting for proflt-wo
wanted only sport-and there's about as,
much sport shooting elephants as in
the neck Of a chicken
Hunting the Rhinoceros.
Rhinosceroses, however, afforded the
party many thrills, and that character !
IF sport especially appeals to Mr..
Rainey.