The Meeker herald., 1914-06-13

Nyansa and on the banks OF the Nile did not lea
ssn my regard for them - men. Perhaps their
cAlItn9 - otophantpoachsrs may not have bean
regular IN The syss Of the lsw but thsn there vas
such ~ element Of danger connected with their
WORK that the ofsnsss Of which they were guilty
paled before all other considerations. and one 10
forced to concede to them the possession Of the
acme Of pluck. The freebooter or soldier Of for
tune II ever picturesque figure and the Congo
poachers amply MI this role.
/ had marched one hundred and sixty.Avs miles
across the drsary. swsterinsly hot Uganda coun-
Try and Il was with feelings Of extreme relief
that saw the shimmering expanse Of the waters
Of the Albert Nyanss from the rugged hilltops
overlooking Butiaba, the small port ON the sandy
shore Of the lake.
pitched camp ON the site Of the recent Roose-
welt encampment within one hundred feet of the
lake.
had heard from natives that one Of the Congo
poachers was In camp At Butiaba, but none OF
them seemed to know his name and was At .
loss to know who he might be- remembered that
there were number Of men whom knew init
mately poaching In this district, and wondered
whether perchance was to BE- given an opportu-
nifty Of renewing my acquaintance with one OF
them. Perhaps It might be John Boyes. nick
named King Of the Kikuyu;" or 'Karomoja
Bell the mightiest Of elephant-huntcrs: the Hon
orable Rupert Craven, brother Of Earl Craven;
young Quentin Grogan, brother OF Captain Ewart
g. Grogan of Cape-to-Cairo fame: Pickering, .
noted elephant-hunter: Bennett. an ex-engineer Of
the Nile launches: w. Buckley. partner Of Pick
ering's; or Pearson, to say nothing OF many 9TH
ers whom had met from time to time. l mem
ton them by their correct names, for they made
no secret Of their calling and I feel sure that
am mot committing any indiscretion by 10 doing
Each one of these men has . history, and each
and every one Of them tell thrilling tales OF
his experiences not only in the Congo but also In
overy other part Of Africa
Ny interested conjectures to who the man
at Butiaba might be were soon set at rest 1t il
the custom for all white men In Africa to call on
any other white man who may camp In their VI
cinity, and 30 It was not long before the poacher
came to my camp to see me. It proved to be
Bennett the exengineer Of the Uganda Nile heet
who had abandoned his professional calling for the
more thrilling and lucrative work Of shooting ele
plants for their ivory For many years he had
been in charge Of the small steam launch plying
between Butiaba and Minute on the Nile. and dur
ing these years he had done much shooting on
the banks Of the river. His haul Of ivory added
each year to his small income ~ q launch eng
neer 20 that It was . bad year indeed when he
did mot double, nay treble. his paltry salary. He
had been with winston Churchill, when the lat
ter made his trip up the Nile on the government
aotilla when inspecting East Africa and Uganda
IN hts ofncial capacity under secretary Of state
for the colonies.
This 10 the story Of man. ~ told to me on
my hrst night in camp at Butiaba, sitting in my
tent beating on the attack Of greedy mosquitoes
while entertaining Bennett with the aid Of my lin
tied supply Of whisky. The story was 30 startling
that often had to pinch myself during its recital
to satisfy myself that was mot dreaming Of the
days Of Emin Pasha and Stanley 40 the result Of
the association Of my surroundings.
noticed that his hands were badly lacsratsd.
In fact. IN q fearful state and all the time We
converted about generalities was WONDERING
what had been the cause Presently the CONVEX
satfon turned to the subject Of elephant-shootins
and asked him how he was progressing with his
esest for Ivory. had got him interested now
sad isarad back In my easy eampchair to listsa.