Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1913-05-02
like BIRD ALK'|LUNDs LONG Walk
Five Thousand Mile Hike THROUGH
"a Widest Africa.
Carried . Seventy Pound XII and Had
Adventures With Animals, Snake, .
aid cannlbaI IrIbes-Fsat Not
to Win q WAGER.


aid cannlbaI IrIbes-Fsat Not
to Win . Wager. r
Emil Lund. Rhodesian settler y,
thirty-six, has Just completed a wa.
from Cape Town TO Cairo. not In tuln,I.
ment Of . wager or without money
or to test system Of diet or traininy
but simply from love OF adventure, t,s
has been soldier and scout since
he was seventeen, serving In the SEQ.
ond Matabele campaign in 1893, ,hs
Uganda rebellion of 1S97-9s and thu
South African war.
He started from Cape Town and
walked all alone right through tho
Cape province and the Transyaal to
Rhodesia. Thence he continued
through the Congo state, tn Sudan and
the Nubian desert to Egypt, distanc,
Of nearly 5000 miles as the crow
flies. MY WISH" he said, in telling
the story Of his great walk to a CORE
spondent Of the London STANDARD,
was simply to be the first man to &C.
complish the feat. l am proudest Of
having walked across the Nubian de,.
ert That was the hardest tramp of
all.
Until he left Elizabethville, in the
Belgian Kongo. he had a comparative.
ly easy time, for he could obtain sun.
plies. good food and good water; but
beyond that point he had a very try.
ing time. He had no porters, carry.
ing all his own timpediments, weigh.
ing seventy pounds. This alone is
no mean task in tropical and wild
country. But he could get no natives
to accompany him, owing to tribal hos.
tilities being in progress.
During most of the time Mr.. Lund
was obliged to be vegetarian, but
he always had meat when he could
get 1t. Sometimes" he said, II shot
buck; but could only eat the liver
which l broiled in the ashes of my
fire. Having no salt. cannot say that
l enjoyed my food. In passing through
the great forests camped on the
ground, lighting a large fire to keep
of the wild animals. l had to be very
careful to keep this going throughout
the night. At early dawn I renewed
my march, tramping continuously till
about II o'clock. After that used
to hunt round, collect wood and cook
my one daily meal. Then I slept till
shutdown. Lions and other carnivora
do not usually attack In the heat Of
the day-they are asleep-and It Is
only when night falls that they set
out In search of prey" &
He met with q good many lions, but
was never attacked by one. The idea
that water will protect one from lion
is, he says, erroneous, for lions are
excellent swimmers. In the Katanga
district he was bitten by black NAM
ba snake and would probably have
died, but he reached q native kraal
and was treated by a woman who ap
piled q decoction Of herbs to the
wound and cured him. She steadfast.
ly refused to say what herbs she used
or how she prepared them.
From Albertville the traveller made
for Lake Albert, and here he had one
Of his most unpleasant experiences.
He came across a powerful tribe, IN.
der the command of very suspicious
chief, who, before he would listen to
him. put him through the "ordeal OF
dirt" This consists Of eating mouth
full of earth picked up from tho
ground
In the native mind this constitutes
a form of oath, and 1t 4s believed that
any one who undergoes the ordeal and
does not speak the truth, will be con.
demned to an eternal diet Of dirt. Tho
ordeal is called "nkola donga." One OF
the worst troubles with which Mr.
Lund had to contend was the Veno'
nous, flies and insects which swarm
in tropical Africa. He was bitten
near the eye by a certain kind OF mai.
ignant tick, ard for time was near
ly blind. II he had not shortly after
ward reached Fort Portal and obtained
medical treatment he would probably
have lost the sight Of at least one eye
A little farther in the course OF bis
walk he fell in with the Baluba ana
Valessi cannibals. When they have
1 cannibal feast the victim is usually
man accused Of some crime In sucn
Z case the man is offered draft OF
poisonous detection. II he takes
long drink the poison is imperative
producing merely nausea. But II,
from timidity or guilt, be drinks ou.
a small portion, the effect Is almost
Immediately fatal. Women are exciuo'
ed from these feasts.
Making wide detour OF Lake A.
bert, Mr.. Lund eventually arrived on
the Nile, which he followed to Adv
Hamed and then struck across the NJ.
bian desert and came to the Nile again
at Wady, Halfa. There are Dut ivy
wells on the route across the desel.
and he had to carry with him tnleo
days food and water supply. But ~
safely crossed the desert and reacnes
Khartum, where he went into the NO.
pital to patch himself up for the ~
stage Of his journey. which ne com'
pleted without further mishap.
Entertaining the Parson.
They we're entertaining the m'n's.e,
at dinner, and after the dessert nag