The Washington times., 1914-08-21
African Cheetah, More Dreaded
Than Lion, Hunted With
Cameras and Lassoed for
Moving Pictures.
Man-Eating Beasts Terror to
Natives-Drag Women and
Children From Doorsteps in
Villages.

A man who has been in close quar-
tiers with death and has realized
what il means to feel that he has
Just one minute TO live and make his
peace with mankind, can appreciate
Paul J. Rainey's position when he
was charged by a beautiful speci-
men of a wild African cheetah.
which he happened to get mixed up
with one morning, when he had
nothing with him but his hounds and
a moving picture machine.
Paul ]. Rainey. millionaire sports
man, is the champion lion and
cheetah hunter of the word, with a
record of having killed ia lions and
three times as many cheetahs. The
story of Mr.. Raineys hairbreadth
escapes during the hunting trip from
which he has just returned, and
which took eighteen months of hard
travelling in the heart of the African
jungle, is told in a series of motion
pictures, which will be shown at the
Belasco Theater next Monday after
noon. That this was the most
p6IllOuS IMP ne ever Hiduc was uuc
to the fact that he had deliberately
started out to face several fierce
foes armed only with a moving pic
ture camera
Most Dreaded of Beasts.
It is ordinarily believed that the
lion is the most feared animal Of
the Jungle This. however, is not
the case. The spotted cheetah. per-
haps better known as the leopard,
is by far the most dangerous and
bloodthirsty. 1t will devour any
thing that comes in its path, and it
is quite an ordinary thing for one
10 break into a native farmers
quarters, and kill a dozen or more
sheep and goats in one night, pos
sibly devouring only part of one
animal of the lot They seem to
have a fiendish mania for killing
any and everything that comes
within reach of their terrible claws.
The cheetah is such a selfish,
cunning animal, declares Mr..
Rainey, that when he has more
than enough to eat he will not leave
animal he has slain for another Of
his fellow beasts, but will drag
what is left up a high tree so that
not even his mightier rival, the
lion, can get at It. Being of the
big cat family. the cheetah can
amount of ease and alacrity. This
Is where he has an advantage over
the other animals of the Jungle
Man-Eaters Common.
"Man-eating cheotahs are common
in Africa-and from information OBJ
tanned they are particularly dan
gerous 10 women and children. In
some parts of the equatorial region
they are so bold as to go right up
to the doorstep of a house and
carry off women and children in
the broad daylight. This condition
may be due to the fact that the
Kikuju, a tribe of natives never
bury their dead. but throw them
out into the bushes TO be deyoured
by the wild animals. particularly by
the cheetah. This seems almost un-
believable. yet il is true. But worse
than that. 1 think, is the way they
get rid of the old folks who happen
TO be i'll and who. they think, will
not recover. In cases of this kind
the old people are led into the
thorn bush, tied there, and left to
be torn or devoured by the beast
of the jungle. The Christian settle
ment workers, however, are dong
a great deal of good in this respect.
To my way of thinking, therefore.
one can get far more excitement in
running down cheetahs than any
other animal, because dizzy arc 30
fast and can scale a tree ike light
ming, keeping constantly on the
alert. l don't think II is generally
known that a cheetah can run as
fast as a limited train for about
300 yards. After that distance.
however. II becomes winded and
must take refuge in a tree.
Pursues Cheetah With Camera.
while out hunting with my camera
one day In British East Africa.
came across the most beautiful
specimen of a cheetah / ever saw
In all my hunting expeditions. 1t
vas beautifully formed and had nne
of the most exquisite coats imaSrn-
able. / called to my hounds and
set them on its trail. IN the pit'Ircs
one can see what a time We had IN